Dogs Deserve It

Had to move last April and sadly part ways with DDI, which is when i started using Walk the Dog (a company i still recommend highly). However, DDI and I stayed in touch and I am very happy to report that DDI now covers my new area (fulton river district) and I am back with them! They are still as awesome as ever and i just love how i can trust that my pets will be taken care of by such professional, amazing people!

I’m moving to the East Coast. I would do anything to have dogs deserve it come with me! I’m so sad that I have to start from scratch and find a new walker. There is no way anyone can top the experience that I’ve had with DDI.
I hired them to walk my old lady Jack Russell and newly adopted Chihuahua for days I’m at work about a year ago after I was having terrible problems with my previous dog walker. (Sometimes didn’t show up and didn’t let me know he wasn’t coming, walked the dogs much later than we agreed on etc. etc.) Unlike my previous walker, DDI offer consistently reliable walking and dog care services.
Additionally, Irene went out of her way to ensure that the sometimes neurotic Chihuahua was comfortable with having someone else walk him. She must be the dog whisperer because he hates anyone except me and his dad and sister!
Aside from the quality of their care, the online scheduling program is excellent. I especially appreciate that you can cancel a walk as long as the walker is not on the way to the home. It’s convenient for those who have changing work week scheduled etc.
If you’re looking for a quality and experienced dog walking service go with DDI. Don’t waste your time sifting through the bad ones like I did!

We have been using DDI for the past few years and we love them! Our walker, Christy, is amazing and has a way of handling our dog like no one else. She cares so much for our dog and we love her like family! Overall, We can’t speak highly enough about DDI as they are flexible, responsible and affordable.

So, first a disclaimer that this review is a bit overdue. I last used DDI in February 2014. Also for full transparency — when I used DDI, they offered an incentive to customers who review them on Unilocal.Roll with me here: if you’re continuing to employ someone to watch your pet, would you write a less than stellar review? Doubtful.
Anyway I’m going to be «that» person giving a «5 star company» a 1 star review. Here’s my long story short.
We had just gotten our puppy, a mastiff-​mix who was about 35 pounds and only 4 – 5 months old. A big little guy, we were trying to potty train him during the polar vortex. Not the greatest combo. Add to that a dog who is nervous near major streets and shy around strangers and you get a sometimes immovable force, a puppy who mid-​walk will park it and be stubborn as all hell. This is frustrating. I know. I totally get it.
However, after meeting DDI I felt confident we had found a trustworthy, affordable, and pet-​first dog walker to help care for our new addition. The reviews online, organization, communication — it all screamed credibility.
While I still give credit to the broader company, my experience with my walker was a very poor one. About 3 – 4 weeks into service I received a morning walk note (we were doing 2x day) from Cynthia saying the following:
«He did ok but he did get stubborn a few times. When we got back I noticed he had hurry his paw sometime during our walk (his left heckle pad). Its just a scrap and I think he’ll be fine. He did levee a few light blood streaks on your rug by the tv though. :(We’ll take it easy for the rest of this week.»
Um…what? He’s bleeding? I had an afternoon walk already scheduled and didn’t want to make too big a scene until I could be home and see my dog/​know she wasn’t in my place.
After some gentle back and forth, Cynthia said the following:
«I think he scraped it when I pulled him along when he got stubborn. He didn’t cry or anything so I had no idea I was hurting him. I only noticed it when we got home and I saw blood on the rug when we were playing.»
You’d think that this admission alone would prompt the company to give me a new walker and also comp those 2 walks. Minimum. But no. I had to actually *negotiate* on the phone and via email for this recognition alone. Very poorly handled.
Thankfully, my dog is fine. She did drag him, he did cut his paw, and he did bleed on our rug. We have since moved on and are glad to have DDI solely in our past.

DDI is hands down the best dog walking and petsitting service! I was worried about finding a reliable and trustworthy dog walker when my husband and I moved to Chicago two years ago. We’ve used them for two years in both places we’ve lived (in Lincoln Park/​Lakeview and in Lincoln Square) and have been blown away by their client service and animal knowledge. They do both daily dog walking and cat-​sitting for us. My experiences with both are below:
Dog Walking:
I have an Australian shepherd that’s wary of strangers and told Lauren (the owner of DDI) about this during my initial walk consult. She was very comfortable and knowledgeable with how to handle it and by the end of her visit, my dog was bringing her toys and begging for more attention. All of the walkers are also well-​equipped to handle my dog and she’s loved every single one of them. We get notes every day on how the walk went which really brighten up my day at the office and gives me peace of mind that my dog is well cared for.
Administratively I wish I could give DDI 6 stars (Alli does most of the communication and she’s amazing)! They are proactive communicators regarding any walker absences/​changes and always make sure someone is able to take care of our dog within our scheduled timeframe (I request a 2-​hr window in which our dog needs to be walked everyday) so I don’t need to worry about anything. When weather is too bad for a regular walk (remember the winter of 2014!!!) they’ll send everyone a note explaining that walks will be shortened and replaced with indoor play/​cuddle time. During the canine influenza outbreak this year they sent notes about what they were doing to limit the risk to our pets while they were in DDI’s care and provided info for what we as owners could do too.
Sometimes I’m stuck late at work and need a last minute evening walk for my dog, it’s never an issue, I just email them and they work it out. I can rest easy and concentrate on what I need to get done everyday knowing DDI is taking care of my dog.
We also did the 2014 PAWS Run for Their Lives 5k with DDI, they treat all their clients and their pets as part of their family!
Catsitting:
I use DDI for cat-​sits during the holidays. The holidays are busy for DDI so I make reservations ahead of time. Our regular dog walker is usually able to cover these as well which is nice because she sees the cats everyday when she comes to take out our dog (they love her too… I usually get a comment in my daily walker note about my cats demanding attention from our walker as she’s trying to get our dog leashed). We leave instructions with DDI and they communicate them to the person that’s coming to care for the cats. They’re fed and watered, litter is scooped and taken outside to the trash and then she pets and plays with them for the remaining time. We also get a note every time she comes (it gets emailed to us like the daily dog walk notes) telling us how they’re doing. It helps us relax when we’re out of town knowing they’re in good hands!
Other wonderful things about DDI:
They’ve just started doing field trips on certain days for their client’s dogs (eg, a walk to the lakefront and playing at the beach). I haven’t taken advantage of this yet for our dog but it sounds pretty awesome. You have to sign up your dog ahead of time, there are additional fees and behavior requirements for the dogs (e.g. They can’t be leash aggressive bc they’ll be with other dogs) but if you want your dog to do something different from a normal walk one day this is it!
The online system they use to keep track of pet profiles and billing information is easy to use. Their rates are competitive with other dog walking companies and individuals for equivalent amounts of walk time.
Last winter one of their managers (Christy) did a photo shoot for clients and their dogs at DDI’s office. It was a lot of fun and the proceeds went to an animal rescue organization. We got a few frame-​worthy shots of our dog just in time for the holidays for an incredibly reasonable price that went to a great cause!!!

I’ve only used DDI for a few weeks but I can already say that they are fantastic! They are very prompt at responding to emails and appointments are always scheduled quickly. They have been very reliable and have always let me know if my regular walker, Sarah, is unavailable.
One of the best parts about the app that DDI uses is being able to see two pictures of Jericho, my pup, while I’m at work. In the pictures, I can clearly see how happy Jericho is to Sarah in her arrival pictures. She writes very personalized notes and it’s really great to know what Jericho was up to and how he was feeling. Although the GPS map is included on the app, Sarah is great at letting me know if specific events happened on particular streets ex: Jericho almost joined a yoga class on Lincoln.
I would recommend Dogs Deserve It to anyone in need of a dog walker! Truly appreciative of their services!

After using DDI for nearly 2 years, I figured I was long overdue to write a review. I’ve had a wonderful experience with DDI walking my dog Rocco. I love their new app that lets you know when your dog has been picked up and dropped off from their walk with a picture, and also shows the route taken and a note about how they were on the walk. The entire team is very nice and friendly, and quick to respond to email/​calls.

DDI is an incredible service and I highly recommend them. One quick story of many situations in which they have gone above and beyond: they were pet sitting and I found out my dog needed to see vet right away, I called them and they immediately organized someone to pick him up and escorted him to the vet, stayed with him while at the vet, took him home and took care of him (meds, etc) until I got back from California — simply awesome!

Cannot stress enough that this is the première service that I have used in the Lincoln Park area. I have been with two other companies previously in the last three years and DDI has been the best experience I have had. I have been a customer for two years and use DDI for both dog walks weekly and dog sits as well.

I can’t say enough good things about this company. They are so reliable, flexible and friendly. I love that we can see pictures of my dog from her walk on their tracking website. They take such good care of my dog I couldn’t be more thankful.

I have been using ddi for a year now and couldn’t be happier. They have great staff, clear communication, and are incredibly flexible. My dog definitely enjoys their company and I appreciate their commitment to keeping her routine even if the dog walker, time of day, or season changes. I recommend them to all my friends!

when I got a new puppy last year, finding a reliable and trustworthy dogwalker was one of the many decisions that I had to make. I have never had a single issue with DDI. They are great with the dogs, and would highly recommend DDI to anyone looking for a great dog walking service!

DDI was by far the best dog walking service I have ever used. They were extremely professional and made sure that we always knew that our dog was taken care of. DDI walkers send you a complete email every time with exactly how your dog is doing and even how the walk went. They are extremely flexible and try the best they can to accommodate all of your request. The staff was very friendly and completely understand how important your dog is to you. I recommend that everyone who is looking for a dog walking service use DDI.

We loved using Dogs Deserve It when we lived in Lincoln Park. We were so sad that they don’t walk in the West Loop. The owner is extremely nice and was so good with our dog (he can be a bit of a wild man). She was very informative during our initial visit and made us feel very comfortable. We had 2 great walkers during our time. I really like how they moved to the GPS tracking system and appreciated all the notes they left us! I would recommend this place to anyone!

Very happy with the service. Love that you can really know how much exercise your dog is getting my the GPS tracking system. I also love that we can have as many cancellations a month as we’d like!!!
Charley loves his walker Lauren V and gets so excited when she arrives! I recommend DDI to anyone I know looking for a walker and their prices are reasonable. I love that we can choose just a 15 minute walk for those times when our pet just needs a quick potty break :)
Thanks again!

I seriously cannot say enough good things about this business. I love our walker, Spencer, who comes to our house every Friday. I think he knows our dogs just as well as we do now. I trust him more with them than I do my own family at this point (don’t tell my husband!).
And whenever we go out of town, Pippin comes to stay with them and gives them so much attention and care. They are always so excited to see her and incredibly happy when we get home. Plus, she leaves our house super clean.
Honestly just the best dog care givers I’ve ever used.

They are the best dog walking service in the city. My walker is tops! I’d give her name but don’t want someone to steal her away!
Very friendly from Lauren to her staff. Very responsive, they give updates via an app, clock the how far they walk and give you an update on your pup (s).

I love Dogs Deserve It! I needed to find a flexible, affordable walk service for days when I couldn’t come home right after work to let my dog out, and was having the hardest time finding a flexible company. Most require a set amount of walks per week, which is not what we need. Our neighbor recommended Dogs Deserve It and I’m so glad they did! Customer service is excellent — they respond incredibly fast to emails and questions. I LOVE the online tracking system — I know when they come to our apartment, the status of the walk, and I love the cute little notes the walker puts in the system :) They are so trustworthy and I truly appreciate the service and help they’ve provided us. Highly, highly recommend this company!

So this is my third week with DDI and I couldn’t be more pleased! After having a feeling my dog walker wasn’t showing up and noticed my dog was acting different I decided it was time to bring someone else in. I met with Lauren who was an absolute delight to meet. My baby Maggie was so gentle with her and would not stop kissing her (she is very particular who she kisses). Lauren answered all my questions and took time with us. She even set up another day so Maggie and I could meet Sam our new BFF The second Sam came in, he took out his notebook and asked me questions and wrote down things I was concerned with. I adopted Maggie 1 ½ yrs ago and she was abused and neglected so she has some trust issues. That went out the door with Sam who she also was trying to kiss any chance she got! Needless to say I have personally noticed a huge difference in Maggie when I come home from work. She is more calm and controlled and no pee or poo in house anymore!!! Yay!!! Friends have made comments on the difference they see in her. I also love getting an email everyday on how the walk went and how she did. I feel like a proud mama when Sam tells me how great she was. Soo happy if found lauren and Sam. They take pride in caring for your baby just like you would.
Thanks DDI

Just like everyone else on here: I’m embarrassed it took me so long to write a review for Lauren and her team.
I’ll attempt to keep this brief: we are beyond thrilled with Dogs Deserve It. We got a new puppy back in November 2013 and needed a dog walker who could start soon. We’ve been with DDI ever since. Lauren came over to meet us and Oshie and was so wonderful. She is someone you just seem to trust immediately being in your home while you are not there. Lauren and her team are SO flexible — I have never had an issue with anything.
The technology used is seriously impressive and I loved that DDI offered «puppy walks» (two 15 minute walks a day for when the little guy just couldn’t hold it yet.) You can also tell that Lauren cares about her staff. During the recent way-​below-​zero temperatures we were kindly asked to cancel our walk for two sub-​zero days, and we had no problem doing so.
Christy is our dog walker and Oshie is OBSESSED with her. We’re not normally home during the day, but I have been home about maybe 10 times when Christy has come and seriously my dog goes crazy over her. Christy is so patient and warm and always leaves us the best notes after Oshie’s walks.
In very short: I am someone who absolutely combs through Unilocal reviews before making any decisions. I am SO grateful that Unilocal led me to Dogs Deserve It! We could not ask for any more!