DAYCARE IS A REQUIREMENT PRIOR TO BOARDING
It may seem like an unnecessary step when you’re preparing to board your dog, but there’s a reason - a real reason - that we require daycare prior to boarding. The reason? We want your dog to have a successful, safe, and enjoyable boarding experience, plain and simple.
While dogs may be intelligent - even more so than we once thought, there are some things that don’t always compute for them. Being dropped off in a strange place with people they don’t know can be scary. Sometimes they think they’ve been deserted and that’s amplified when they’re new to the facility. Visiting for daycare can help alleviate those fears.
We often talk about how when a dog is boarding, their eating habits can vary greatly from their habits at home. It’s completely normal for a dog not to eat much when they stay with us. If it is persistent throughout the stay, we may contact the owners in the event there’s a real issue, but what we usually find is that after skipping a meal or two, the dog will eat. This, of course, doesn’t apply to every dog, our Lila, for example, will never pass up an opportunity to eat!
Boarding at Good Dog is all about comfort and familiarity. A dog who visits us regularly or semi-regularly for daycare will always have a better time boarding with us than a dog who doesn’t. When a dog visits on a regular basis, they get to know our facility, our staff, and the other dogs. They reach a level of comfort that teaches them that they’re in a safe, fun, and happy environment, and that comfort level helps ensure a successful boarding experience.
That, plain and simple, is why we require some daycare visits prior to boarding.