Family-Style Dog Boarding

In-Home Dog Boarding

A mountain getaway with all the comforts of home

Barking Bear Dog Boarding takes place in Anne & Dan's family home in Kittredge, CO, 30-45 min from Denver, which has:

  • A fully fenced acre for playtime & potty breaks
  • Ten acres of meadow & forest for hikes and zoomies.
  • Two dog-proofed bedrooms dedicated to canine guests.
  • A "rumble room" for play time with couches for naps.
  • Pet gated sections of the house to give dogs their own space until they are fully comfortable with one other.
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Fenced Backyard

One acre on a grassy hillside with a secure 5ft fence

Rumble Room

Play-proofed area with couches for cuddles

Upstairs Guest Room

To accomodate a kennel free boarding experience

Upstairs Guest Crate

A cozy den to call home for crate trained pups

Downstairs Guest Room

A second guest room for pups that prefer privacy

Zoomie Meadow

Huge unfenced area for zoomies or sniffaris

Hiking Trails

For daily long line walks and exploration

Pet Gated Sections

For safety, separation, and slow introductions

Professional, insured pet sitters who treat your dog like family

The Barking Bear family is made up of:

  • Two dog behavior savvy, licensed, insured, and professional pet sitters, Dan & Anne, who both care for your pet and work from home.
  • Our three rescue pups, Ullie, Riley, and Ripley, and a rotating adoptable foster dog.
  • Our cat Strudel, who is kept separate from all dogs in the house.
  • A wonderful community of long-time customers, so your pup will see familiar friendly faces every stay.
Business Insurance of the Carolinas / Pet Care Affiliates Insurance
Red Cross Pet CPR/First Aid

Individualized dog boarding for wide variety of personalities

  • All new clients begin with a trial overnight and stay at the VIP rate until we determine the best boarding fit
  • Dogs stay as VIP guests as long as they are under 1 year, intact, kennel-free, or need to be kept fully separate from other dogs
  • Dogs with separation anxiety or severe fear, anxiety, or stress are accommodated as special needs guests
  • Vaccinated and licensed dogs of any breed, age, or size are welcome
  • Dog social, dog selective, and dog tolerant guests are welcome
  • Meds, enrichment routines, or elaborate food preparation are welcomed
  • Pet parents get daily photo and video updates
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New clients start at $110 per day

Full rates and policies below

Fall 2026 Rates

Boarding Rates

Our rates as of Fall 2026 reflect our strict capacity limit of 3 boarding dogs per night, so every guest gets plenty of space, attention, and time with us.

Major US holiday weekends carry a $10 per day upcharge on all boarding rates.

Boarding Type Per Day Notes
Kenneled $95 Adult dogs after at least one initial VIP stay to adjust, become comfortable with our home, able to be kenneled without distress, and able to be integrated with other boarding dogs during their stay.
VIP $110 VIP is our new client starting rate, as well as our rate for dogs under 1 year of age, kennel-free boarders, or dogs who need to be separate from other dogs.
Special Needs $130 Special needs dogs are those who need full time care from us and fewer other concurrent boarders in order to be comfortable — this may be dogs with high generalized anxiety, dogs who are unable to be alone (e.g. separation anxiety), dogs who are unable to be cared for by all staff members (e.g. fear of men, severe stranger danger, bite risk), or high medical needs (e.g. activity restrictions, incontinence).
Add-On Training $25 A great way to add a little extra fun, enrichment, and learning to your dog's stay, and recommended when there is a single specific training goal you have in mind. Have more to work on? Check out our Board & Train option for a more in depth training experience during your vacation

Handoff Hours & Transport

Option Hours Fee
Standard Pickup & Dropoff 8am - 6pm $10 upcharge for outside of that window
We recommend dropping off by 12pm on your dog's first day so that your dog has time to adjust before bedtime — this also makes the most of our per day pricing model.
Last Day Early Pickup Before 9am Pickup before 9am on the last day avoids per-day pricing for that day
Private Transport to/from As requested $30 each way
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Boarding FAQs

Common Questions

Yes, before the trial night, we always start with a meet and greet out at the property. This can be requested by filling out the contact form found by clicking "Book Now" and I will reply to answer your questions and provide a link to schedule a meet and greet!

Unfortunately, No. We have had SO many incredibly tough weekends where a dog that had a strong history of being ok alone and ok kenneled had trouble adjusting those skills to a new environment. Please trust that boarding is a stressful experience for ANY dog, and we start at VIP so that we can spend the extra time and attention needed to help your dog start off on the right paw.

Possibly, yes! We take dog-dog introductions very slowly and carefully and don't push it if your dog is stressed overall by being in a new place with new people and routines. They can be completely visually separate from other dogs, slowly integrated outside on walks or through pet gates, and we just ask that they can tolerate being alone and smelling/hearing other dogs in the house.

We don't put the pressure of meeting dogs on the meet and greet with parents present, or on their trial night or first night of boarding. If your dog seems excited to meet and interact with other dogs and low stress, we may attempt a slow intro during this time, but usually we wait until after an initial adjustment period, and then we go for a slow leashed intro with reinforcement for neutrality. For leash reactive dogs, we can do a similar distanced slow intro through a fence outside or inside, or build up some reactivity tolerance skills to make the leashed intro successful.

This means that you pay the full boarding rate for the day you drop off and the day you pick up, and all days in between. We don't charge our boarding rate per 24 hours, or per night, we charge per calendar day.

We have this pricing model to account for the fact that most boarding stays start early in the morning and end in the evening, but also because the first day and last days are always a little extra effort with our detailed cleaning protocols, slow dog-dog introductions, and the extra exercise, enrichment, and attention to help settle dogs' natural nervous energy during transitions. Also, we have a strict 3 dog capacity at our facility, so if your dog is at our facility one morning, we can't have another paying client fill their space that day or night.

We recommend dropping off by 12pm on your dog's first day so that your dog has time to adjust before bedtime, and an early last-day pickup between 8am and 9am so that you are not charged for the last day of boarding with our per day pricing and early pickup policy. This way we are able to clean and be ready for new clients by the time they are dropped off.

We do our best to minimize kennel and alone time and adjust to the needs of your dog by rotating through different distinct groups of dogs who are able to be comfortably together with supervision. We have pet gate separations across rooms so multiple groups of dogs can be out but with their own space.

Rabies and Distemper (DHPP/DAPP/DA2PP) must be up to date. We recommend and track Bordetella, Leptospirosis, and Canine Influenza. Though we have never found a tick on our dogs or client dogs, we also recommend that your dog is on monthly heartworm, flea & tick preventative.

Please try to request your dates 1 month out, and occasionally we will be booked as much as 2 months out. However we have a flexible cancellation policy so feel free to check if we have last minute availability.

Due to our strict capacity of 3 boarding dogs at once, we do not currently have a specific discount for sibling pairs. We may re-introduce this in the future — thank you for your understanding!

Yes! The Ranch Regular discount is given on a case by case basis to dogs we know especially well who have been with us for more than a year. This is based on how your dog fits in with our pups, how much time they have spent boarding with us, how frequently they board with us, how many other services they use with us (training, hikes, playgroups), and discounts their boarding rate by 10%. This discount is available regardless of what boarding type you have, so even a Special Needs boarder may be a Ranch Regular.

Please bring any meds/supplements, your dog's regular food, a well-fitted harness, and a collar with ID tags — these are required. Treats, chews, comfort items for their crate/room, written care instructions, a checklist of belongings, and a muzzle (if applicable) are all recommended. We provide leashes, bowls, poop bags, food puzzles, and plenty of toys, so there's no need to bring your own unless you'd prefer we use them.

Please update your dog's care instructions and emergency contacts, and check that vaccines are current — these are required. We also recommend downloading the PetPocketbook app and letting us know about any changes to care preferences, like updates, feeding, crating, car rides, being alone, introductions, or off-leash permissions.

An invoice for the entire stay is sent from PetPocketbook to your email the Monday after your pickup, and payment is due within 10 days. You can pay directly via Venmo, cash, or check, or through credit card/PetPocketbook (a 5% service & processing fee is added for card payments).

Time-sensitive updates come via call or text. Daily updates, including pictures and videos, are sent through the PetPocketbook app and to your email.