How should I go about choosing the right company to care for my dog?
There are lots of things you'll want to keep in mind when choosing the best care for your pup. When researching, you'll primarily want to ask about the following things...
A dog professional should not ever care for more than four dogs at once. (For an interesting scientific article on this subject, check out this link!) When your dog is out of your home, make sure that they receive continuous individual attention, both for the safety of your animal and the quality of their experience. Sending your dog hiking with a large group of other dogs may look amazing on Instagram, but it is an extremely dangerous and highly irresponsible business practice used to maximize profit.
Leashed walks offer great mental stimulation for dogs, but they very rarely offer an opportunity for increased cardiovascular activity. Dogs need quality cardiovascular exercise every day.
Some companies charge extra for pick-up or drop-off, or do not offer this service at all, instead offering a central location for pick-up and drop-off. You'll also want to look into the company's cancellation policy, as you may be asked to pay the same amount for monthly service, regardless of cancellations.
Even dogs with a solid recall and strong relationship with their adventure leader and dog friends may still startle at the sound of a hunter's gunshot in the distance. They may spook from an unexpected encounter with an unknown person or dog on the trail. They may see a deer for the very first time and decide they simply have to get closer. They may step on a bee and panic in an irrational way by dashing off. In the face of this unpredictability, every single off-leash dog in a company's care absolutely must be tracked using satellite GPS. The only two companies that offer true satellite tracking equipment (and not tracking via cell towers, as with Fi, Whistle, Link, etc) are Garmin and Dogtra. If you can find a company that employs this equipment, also be sure that the collar versions do not have nodes that can disperse electrical currents into your dog's body. (Garmin and Dogtra both produce these collars, unfortunately. But they also thankfully offer collars without the capacity for electrocuting dogs.)
You will want to know that all bases are covered, without question.
As surreal as it sounds, another Portland dog company uses our web copy (verbatim!) on their website, and claims to offer our services. (We are in the midst of pursuing copyright infringement enforcement!)