An assessment is carried out to ensure the safety of your dog, other dogs, and our staff. During this assessment we check whether your dog is well socialised and has good manners.
Unfortunately, not all dogs are suitable for daycare, and not all daycares will be suitable for every dog.
"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."
Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) Regulations 2018, Section 23(1), It's also the law.
1Their First Day
We ask that you bring your dog early for their first visit. We spend some time with them one-to-one so they get used to the humans around them. Within that first interaction, and based on the information you give us upon registration, we will have a good idea of your dog's 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, usually kept for shy or smaller dogs, where they can sniff and say hello to some dogs through our uPVC fencing.
- We can introduce them to individual dogs slowly, or 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.
- We will then decide if your dog is ready to mingle with everyone, or needs more time to acclimatise. If they need more time, we will give them their own tour of our centre so they 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 less experience interacting with other dogs. We have experience dealing with all circumstances and we tailor their first day to suit their needs.
All customers receive an update around 4pm with information on how their dog is settling in, plus a link to a photo album of their first day. This allows us the whole day to ensure they settle well.
2What 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 at people won't fail, we will teach them to sit whilst at daycare. However, we are a daycare centre, not a rehabilitation facility. Daycare won't re-socialise a two-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.
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 number of sessions to help them settle and feel completely comfortable.
3What If They're Not Suited to Daycare?
"We only accept dogs who have not previously shown signs of aggression, which means 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 suited, 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.
Don't worry if your dog seems too energetic or boisterous. As long as your dog isn't aggressive, it's very likely we can accommodate them. Most owners are concerned their dog might be too much for the other dogs, in our experience, that's rarely the case.