Day Care Policies
PREREQUISITES
All dogs must be spayed or neutered to attend daycare.
All dogs must be up to date on all core vaccinations, as well as Bordetella every six months.
A Rabies certificate, signed by the vet who administered the vaccine, is the only accepted form of proof for Rabies vaccinations. For all other vaccines, anything from the vet will do.
All dogs must be kept up to date on a topical or oral flea preventative.
Friendly Beasts Only
It should go without saying that your dog needs to play nice with others to hang out here. We might need to meet them before they're allowed into school, and these meetings always take place off-premises. Once they're accepted though, you'll have peace of mind knowing that we don't conduct behavior assessments at daycare—in other words, we'll never use your pup as the guinea pig for a new student.
We may require a behavior assessment before your dog is allowed to attend daycare.
All assessments will be conducted in a dog park that your dog is familiar with.
We won't meet your dog at any dog park they haven't been to at least a few times previously.
We reserve the right to ask you not to bring your dog back for behavioral reasons at any time, even if they've been coming for years. Reasons we may expel a dog include:
Showing any sign of aggression to other dogs.
Showing any sign of aggression towards humans.
Unresponsiveness to basic control commands.
Extreme herding or obsessive behaviors.
First Days
On your dog's first day, you'll bring them in at 7:15. We don't like waking up early either, but it really does work out best this way. We've found through experience that how a dog fares at daycare is very much influenced by their initial introduction to it, and because of this the 7:15 thing isn't optional on the first day. Here's why we make you do it:
You won't normally come into the daycare when you pick up or drop off your dog, but on the first day they'll benefit from you showing up early so that you're able to come inside with them. It's less stressful when they can see you being comfortable in the space, and comfortable interacting with us, even if it's just for a few minutes. Otherwise, you'd just be handing them off at the front door of a place they've never been, to people they've never met. That'd make any dog anxious.
And because we don't crate the dogs, they all run to the door to greet incoming friends in the morning. It can be a little overwhelming to have to walk in through the crowd, especially for dogs who have no idea what the heck is going on. By bringing your dog in at 7:15 on their first day, you'll ensure they're the first dog here. They'll run to the door each time a new dog shows up, and over the course of the morning they'll figure out the dynamic of that situation. The next time you bring them in, they'll understand what's happening, and will know that the other dogs are just greeting them.
RESERVATIONS
Reservations are required for daycare, and once you're a client you'll be able to log in to your account and simply enroll your pup on whichever days you'd like. We ask that you please always enroll your pup before dropping off!
Pick-up & Drop-off times
After your dog's first day, you are welcome to drop them off any time after 7:30am, and they need to be picked up by 7:00pm sharp. Our drop off time ends at 10am and if you need to drop off after this time-please contact our hotline (267-939-6527) first to see if we are able to accommodate you and your pup ! The pups have a post-walk chill time from 1:00-4:15, and no pick-ups or drop-offs are allowed during this time. They take their relaxation and recovery from the morning very seriously!
Shot Records
You are responsible for providing Dog School with updated records from your vet every time your dog receives a vaccination. We will work with you to get all of the records we need before your dog’s first day, but going forward it is your responsibility to make sure we always have up to date shot records. If a dog is at daycare and it is found that the shot records we have on file are expired, the owner will be asked to leave work and pick up their dog immediately.
ALL Breeds, All SIZES
There are no breed restrictions at Dog School. From Yorkies to Pit Bulls to Dragon Terriers, everyone is welcomed here as long as they're friendly with the rest of the gang.
We don't separate the dogs based on their size either. Small dogs are perfectly capable of participating in a playgroup with large dogs, and if your small dog is fearful or defensive when it passes a large dog on a walk, making big-dog friends at daycare actually helps out a lot.
Walks
Dogs who come to Dog School get a midday walk—either individually or with one other dog—at no additional cost. Most daycares don't take the dogs out on walks, but we think that regular walks are an important part of every dog's day. It not only gives them a chance to relieve themselves outdoors, but also provides some quality one-on-one time with their caretakers.
Our No-Crate Policy
There is absolutely no crate time at Dog School, end of story. It's like recess, not prison.
We have a few crates to use for timeouts when they are really needed, but more often than not if a dog needs a break they get to hang out on a comfy bed in office area.
There are no meals served on this flight
There's no lunch time at Dog School. Because we don't crate the dogs, we can't feed them while they're here. Just imagine putting food down in a room of 20 dogs, and you can imagine why this doesn't work. So, please make sure they eat breakfast before they come in!
Payments
We only accept credit or debit cards for payment via our online system. Once your dog is approved for daycare and you have a first day scheduled, we'll create an account for you in our system. From there, you'll be able to purchase a prepaid or monthly pass—if you choose not to do either, then you'll need to leave a card on file so that we can charge you on a daily basis for your dog's visits. For more information on available plans and passes, click here to see our pricing page →
Registration is quick, free, and there's no obligation whatsoever.