FREQUENTLY BARKED QUESTIONS

BASIC INFORMATION

Q: What are some of the Benefits of Dog Daycare?

A: For Dogs:

• Dog Daycare helps to promote good mental and physical health through exercise and socialization.
• When is comes to boarding, your dog will be already familiar with his surroundings, making his stay less stressful and more enjoyable.
• Dog Daycare helps to prevent destructive behavior stemming from boredom and loneliness.
• Dog Daycare reinforces good socialization skills so that you can take your dog with you in a public setting.
• Dog Daycare can be one of several programs for your dog, giving him a break from routine.
• Dog Daycare can help relieve separation anxiety.

A: For People:

• Dog Daycare allows dog owners to pursue their interests and career objectives freely, without the guilt associated with leaving the dog unattended for hours at a time. At the end of the day, the tired owner will pick up a tired (and happy) dog.
• Dog Daycare (and Night Care) gives owners peace of mind knowing that the dog is being cared for in a safe and supervised environment, making a one day or one month trip more enjoyable.
• Dog Daycare can give the owner a more well adjusted dog, making the time spent with the dog more enjoyable.

Q: What are all of the Eligibility Requirements?

A:

• Your dog must pass a temperament testing process – The Interview.
• Your dog must be four months or older, with all shots completed.
• Your dog must be current on all vaccinations, including having had Bordetella every 6 months, DHLPP annually, and Rabies (1 or 3 year vaccintation)
• Your dog must be spayed/neutered by 6 months of age, but we will make exceptions up to 9 months of age if the vet would like to wait, but depending on their temperament, we may require that they wait until they are fixed to play here.
• Your dog must get a fecal test every 6 months that tests for Giardia Elisa, as well as Ova & Parasites.
• Your dog must be in good health.

Q: What is the Interview?

A: Please call to schedule an interview appointment at either location! You can plan on being with us for about 15 minutes while we get your dog started, but plan on leaving your pup with us for a couple of hours. We will slowly introduce your dog into our pack a few dogs at a time, to ensure the highest level of comfort that is possible. At pickup that day we will give you a run-down on how they did, and assuming all goes well you will be welcome to bring them back any time after that to either location.

Q: How do the dogs Not Fight?

A: It is a remarkable thing to watch dogs in a Dog Daycare environment. There are three factors that make it a smoother environment than you might think. First, there are no leashes. The dogs are free to roam around and play. Second, the owners are not present. Many dogs behave aggressively on leash and around their owners. Third, the dogs are carefully screened prior to admittance. While there are always the scuffles that normally occur between dogs, fighting is not a regular occurrence. We invite you to look at our webcam so you can see the dogs interact.

Q: What are some of the Risks of Dog Daycare?

A: While we take every effort to avoid it, injuries are inevitable in a dog daycare environment. Dogs play with their teeth; they grab each other by the neck, nibble on tails and paws, and steal toys from each other. Nicks, scrapes and the occasional puncture are going to happen. Ears get nipped by accident all the time; they can bleed terribly and are hard to stitch. Sometimes you even have to wrap a bandage around their whole head to let an ear heal. This is a risk you must be willing to accept if you want your dog to play in this environment. The Bone Adventure has a strict supervision policy, and your dog will always be in the company of one of our trained employees. However, there could be fights among the dogs in any play environment like this. The staff is trained to anticipate a problem and break up a serious fight quickly with the marine air horns and hoses we keep in each play area. If your dog causes an injury to another dog or staff, you are financially responsible for that injury. If there was no incident and your dog was injured during play, you are financially responsible for that injury. This is a risk you accept when you enroll your dog in daycare.

Q: How do you Control barking?

A: While barking can be a natural by-product when dogs get together, The Bone Adventure wants to keep our neighbors happy, and we want to discourage continuous, nagging, barking. We will make every effort to keep the noise level under control. Your dog will not need to bark out of loneliness or neglect. However, we will need to control the barking level even if it is all in fun. This means that we will tell your dog, “No Barking!” when necessary. If the barking becomes a problem, we will use a squirt bottle filled with water, followed by a “No Barking” command. We also use Citronella No Bark Collars in more relentless barking cases. Citronella is a harmless spray that conditions your dog to stop barking. If your dog is an incessant barker, it may be necessary to put him/her in a time out area until he/she is better trained to stop barking on command. We appreciate your effort in working with us on this command even when you are not at The Bone Adventure.

Q: What is Kennel Cough and how do we avoid it?

A: Most of the diseases that your dog could get at daycare are preventable by keeping your dog up-to-date with vaccinations, worming and flea/tick prevention. However, some diseases, like Bordetella, commonly known as “kennel cough”, can happen in this environment. It is always possible your dog could contract “kennel cough” when one dog in the daycare has been exposed to it and begins to show the symptoms. It’s not deadly, even though it sounds awful when they catch it. It sounds like a very deep, froggy cough that occurs when your dog is pulling on his leash and collar, early in the morning or after exercising. He/she will often cough up white foamy mucus and be tired and listless. Your dog can get this at the dog park, daycare, walking around the neighborhood, or even at the veterinarian. Once our staff hears a dog coughing — we will quarantine the affected dog and send him home. It is our policy to let you know if an outbreak has occurred, clean the daycare thoroughly, and observe if the other dogs begin to show symptoms.

Q: My vet only requires the Bordetella once a year. Will you accept that?

A: No, we will still require your dog to receive the Bordetella every 6 months.  It is for the benefit of your dog that we require this. Although having this Bordetella vaccine every 6 months will not protect your dog 100% from Kennel Cough, however it is our best chance of preventing it.

Q: Where do the dogs go Potty?

A: The short answer is, “Anywhere they want!”. Most dogs feel comfortable going outside on the K9 grass we have at both locations. As often as we clean, many dogs still mark their favorite spot when they walk through the door. This is natural in an environment with so many dogs. We have never heard of a situation where the dog transferred this behavior back to their home.

Q: How are the dogs fed? Can I bring in my own food or do you give them food? What about treats?

A: We encourage you to bring in your dog’s food to keep them on the diet they are accustomed to, and we will feed them on the schedule you specify: breakfast/lunch/dinner. We just need to know how much your dog should eat at each meal (i.e. 1 cup) so we can measure it out properly.

If you forget your food, The Bone Adventure serves Natural Balance dry and wet foods for $3 per meal. We also use the Natural Balance dog food rolls which we grate up with a grater to sprinkle on top of food as extra enticement to our reluctant eaters (at no charge).

All of the dogs are fed separate in a hotel room (at Bone Home) or a doggie den (at Bone Backyard).

We do not give the dogs treats unless you supply treats that you would like us to give them. A lot of our dogs have allergies and sensitive systems so we will not give them anything that you do not give us permission to! We have freezer/refrigeration/microwave capabilities. If you have questions about our ability to handle your dog’s specific needs please let us know!

Q: Can I bring my own toys or bedding?

A: Toys: We do not allow personal toys into The Bone Adventure playgroups. The toys we use in the facility are all the same to prevent any arguments over the “cool/different” toy. We hope you understand!

A: Bedding: We have plenty of beds and bedding at both locations to make your dogs nice and cozy, however you are always welcome to bring in your own bedding if you would prefer! Just remember: at The Bone Backyard location your dogs bedding will be placed into a GROUP setting, and at The Bone Home location your dog will be sharing their room with one other dog at night; so in both cases we cannot guarantee that your dog will actually be sleeping on the bedding at night! There is also a chance that your bedding may get peed on or worse! And while most bedding that comes in to us goes home just fine, there is the occasional bed that gets chewed up. So if you are ok with something potentially happening to your bedding, bring it on in. If it is something you or your pup might shed a tear over, leave it home.

Q: What if I can’t pick my dog up by 8pm?

A: If you are running just a few minutes past 8 pm, we can leave the doors open for you if you call us to let us know. However, any time past that and your dog will need to stay another night with us. It is hard to get all of the dogs to settle down for the night, so a disruption after they have settled down is not fair to them. We hope you understand that is for the benefit of all the dogs that we do not offer after-hours pickup!

 

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1. Basic Information

2. Daycare

3. Boarding

4. Eligibility

5. Packages