An assessment is carried out to ensure the safety of your dog, other dogs and our staff. During this assessment we shall be checking whether your dog is well socialised and has good manners.
Unfortunately, not all dogs are suitable for day care and not all day cares will be suitable for every dog.
23.—(1) “ALL dogs must be screened before being admitted to the premises to ensure that they are not afraid, anxious or stressed in the presence of other dogs or people and do not pose a danger to other dogs or staff”
Their First Day
We ask that you bring your dog early for their first time.
Then we spend some time with them 1 on 1 so they get used to the humans that are around. Within that first interaction and based on the information you give us upon registration we will have a good idea of your dogs personality and confidence levels.
Based on that period we will decide how and when we introduce them to the other dogs in the centre. We have various options and areas to use.
We may take them to the boarding play area which is usually kept for the shy or smaller dogs. Here gives them opportunity to sniff and say hello to some more dogs through our uPVC fencing, we can introduce them to individual dogs slowly, or we may keep them in the puppy play area where there is a bit more excitement and we can bring other dogs in one at a time to say hello.
We will then decide if your dog is ready to mingle with everyone or needs more time to acclimatise to their new environment. If they need more time we will give them their own tour of our centre so the can have a good sniff around.
They will be constantly supported by our Pet Whisperers until they are fully confident and happy to socialise. The majority of new dogs love to jump straight in and play with their new friends but some may have a little more anxiety or have less experience interacting with other dogs. They may be brand new puppies who haven't experienced much or 4 year olds who prefer a chilled day. We have experience at dealing with all circumstances and we tailor their first day to suit their needs.
All our customers receive an update around 4pm with information of how they are settling in, and a link to a photo album of their first day. This allows us the whole day to ensure they settle well.
What are we assessing?
99% of dogs we can accommodate. We have rules and behaviours but our Pet Whisperers are there to help your dogs learn those, for example a dog who jumps up wont at people wont fail as we will teach them to sit whilst at daycare. However we are a daycare centre.
Daycare won’t re-socialise a 2 year old dog who is uncomfortable with other dogs.
One of our specialities is separation anxiety but we can have little impact with dogs who are struggling with clinical separation anxiety if we're not supported
as a temporary solution while their family members work with a positive reinforcement-based trainer, their veterinarian, and possibly a veterinary behaviourist to work through the dog’s underlying anxiety issue
Similarly, if your dog is social but tends to resource guard, it’s best to avoid sending your dog to daycare, we don't allow this behaviour as it can easily instigate fights.
Dogs who are stressed, anxious, reactive, or otherwise struggle with interactions with other dogs are not always good candidates for ad hoc daycare and may be required to attend a minimum amount of sessions to help them settle and feel completely comfortable.
Consistent Barking, find out more about our no bark policy here
What if they're not suited to daycare?
You will be aware from the other information on our website that we only accept dogs who have not previously shown signs of aggression which means that the majority of Pet Parents only bring their dogs if they are likely to be suited.
In the very rare event that they are not, we are still able to care for them for the whole day. We have several different areas where a dog can still roam free without any interaction with the other dogs until you collect them in the evening. We'll let you know in their report why they've been deemed unsuitable.
Most owners are concerned that their dog might be too much, or too hyper for the other dogs, so don't worry if so long as your dog isn't aggressive it's very likely we can't accommodate them.
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