Rules, Requirements, and Requests

Overall Health

All dogs visiting Dawg Gone It must be in good health and must also be over 4 months in age with all required vaccinations. For the protection of all the dogs staying or playing at DGI, any pet with a communicable condition will not be allowed. Dogs adopted from shelters need 30 days in-home prior to admittance to our facility. Pets that have been ill with a communicable condition within the past 10 days will require a veterinarian’s certification of health prior to being re-admitted to DGI. Medications required during lodging stays are limited to oral and topical applications, dispensed no more than three times per day.

Flea and Tick Control

Pets must be on an effective flea and tick control program; if fleas are found at check-in your pet will not be allowed to enter the facility. If fleas are found during your pet’s stay, the pet will be given a “Capstar” flea control pill at an additional cost of $12.00 and you will be asked to pick up or arrange for someone else to pick up your pet immediately to remove the threat of fleas spreading to other pets at the facility.

Spaying and Neutering

While Dawg Gone It accepts dogs that are not spayed or neutered, certain conditions apply. Once a dog reaches the age of 9 months, non-fixed dogs will not be allowed in dog play groups. This is to prevent accidental pregnancy and to avoid behavioral issues that can be caused by hormones and pheromones of non-fixed dogs. Dawg Gone It does not accept female dogs that are in heat for either daycare or lodging visits.

Vaccinations

Dawg Gone It requires that all dogs that enter the facility by vaccinated against rabies and core diseases. We request evidence from your veterinarian of your pet’s current vaccination status for rabies, parvovirus, distemper and Bordetella (canine cough).

To reduce over-vaccination of pets, DGI will accept Titers in lieu of vaccines. We defer to each pet’s owner/veterinarian team regarding existing immunity status and recommended vaccination protocol for that pet while in our community facility. If your veterinarian has advised against certain vaccination protocols for your pet, we will not require those vaccinations and will accept your veterinarian’s letter and your release of liability in the event your pet contracts a disease.

Our vaccination policy complies with California state law and is designed to protect the health of all dogs in our facility while also supporting growing concerns in the pet community about potential health risks of over-vaccination of pets.

Temperament Assessment

Here at DGI, we take the safety of your dog and our staff very seriously. The Temperament Assessment is the screening process we use to evaluate if our daycare environment is a good fit for your pet. We accept appointments for Temperament Assessments Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (free of charge). If you intend to leave your dog with us for the day, we may allow for earlier dropoff or later pickup of your dog upon request with a paid half day or full day of daycare/day lodging. In either case, appointments are required to allow for us to verify up-to-date vaccines prior to your dog’s arrival.

While we all want to think that our dog would love to be playing amongst a group of dogs, the reality is not all dogs can or should be allowed to play in a group situation. Doggie daycare is for dog-friendly and social dogs that have a well-balanced personality. While it is obvious that daycare is not suitable for dogs that are aggressive towards other dogs or humans, there are less obvious situations where daycare is not a good choice.

  1. Daycare is not a place to begin the socialization process for your dog as a large group of dogs may feel overwhelming to a dog that has had no prior socialization.
  2. Daycare is not a good fit for dogs that enjoy playing with other dogs, but that escalate into bullying behavior. A dog may behave appropriately with other dogs in certain settings, like the dog park or the beach, but inappropriately in a daycare setting.
  3. Daycare is not a good fit for dogs that are so shy that they prefer not to play with other dogs. We want all dogs to enjoy their stay, and some dogs simply do not enjoy daycare.

For more information on the Temperament Assessment or to make an appointment, contact us today.

Daycare Dog Social Skills & Attendance Requirements

All dogs attending daycare must be spayed or neutered by 9 months of age. Inappropriate dog behavior can result in termination of daycare privileges. Inappropriate behavior includes, but is not limited to, bullying another dog, biting, and fighting. We will discuss all situations and concerns candidly with you and recommend training or behavior rehabilitative options that may remedy any undesirable behavior. For everyone’s safety, dogs need to play at least once per month to retain daycare privileges. We reserve the right to re-assess any dog we deem necessary if we have not seen the dog in 3 or more months.

Lodging Behavior Requirements

The layout and equipment in our lodging facility are such that we require that all dogs can be safely handled for feeding and cleaning of enclosures by our staff. Inappropriate behavior can result in termination of lodging privileges. Inappropriate dog behavior includes, but is not limited to, growling, snapping, biting or excessive stress exhibited in continual barking, pacing, drooling and/or physical destruction of property.

Lodging Recommendations

To make your dog’s stay as comfortable as possible, we suggest bringing and feeding their own food. We request that you package each feeding portion of dry kibble in brown paper lunch bags. We also gladly accept your dog’s bed from home and one of your dog’s favorite toys to help your dog feel more comfortable.

In our experience, there can sometimes be a significant change in a dog’s behavior if staying more than 7 days. We typically see an increase in anxiety which manifests as excessive barking, excessive drooling, appetite loss, or lethargy. For this reason, our policy is to limit first time stays to a maximum of one week. If you seek a longer stay, we may require you to make one or more appointments in advance to allow your dog to get comfortable with the facility and so we can assess your dog’s behavior prior to allowing for a longer stay.

Early Check-in or Late Check-out

Overnight lodging is charged just like when you stay at a hotel. Check-in is from 3:00pm and check-out is no later than 1:00pm. Early check-in and/or late check-out will result in an additional half day charge of $18.00.

Risks

While doggie daycare is a fun and healthy way for your dog to socialize and exercise, it is important to understand that there are certain risks involved as well. Specifically, the same risks that apply to child daycare apply to dog daycare:

  • While we require proof of up-to-date vaccinations (just like a child daycare), there is still a risk of illness (just like child daycare). While some vaccines are extremely effective in preventing illness, some vaccines are less effective.
  • Notably, the Bordetella vaccine (canine cough) is similar to the flu vaccine for humans: it can help, but a vaccinated individual might still get sick. Canine cough can be caused by any of a variety of contagious diseases, and the vaccine only addresses a few of the potential causes. Further, an individual can be contagious without showing symptoms yet, so screening for symptoms and sending symptomatic dogs home is not 100% effective.

It is important to remember that a dog might contract Bordetella anywhere: the dog park, meeting other dogs on a walk, or even going to the pet food store and touching objects upon which another dog has coughed. There is no good way of eliminating the risk entirely, but it is important to be aware of the risk when enrolling your dog at any doggie daycare facility.

  • Dogs love to play in a variety of ways: wrestling, chasing each other, chewing on each other, sometimes just dancing together. Different styles of play can sometimes lead to injury. If a dog likes to wrestle, that dog might fall down wrong. A dog who likes to chase might run into another dog running in a different direction. Dogs are beautiful and wonderful, but they can be clumsy and careless as well. Whatever the case, there is an increased risk of injury at dog daycare versus leaving your dog at home. Of course, those same risks exist at the dog park, but it is something you should consider when deciding to enroll your dog at a dog daycare facility.
  • Despite our thorough screening procedures and constant monitoring of all doggie group play, there is an increased risk of a fight when dogs get together in a group. A fight could be due to conflicting personalities or simple misunderstanding, and our dog handlers monitor all play to prevent behavior escalation, but the risk remains and is something you should consider.

Transparency

At Dawg Gone It, we want you to know everything about your dog and about how we handle your dog. If you have questions about our policies or procedures, please call us. We’ll gladly answer any questions you have. We provide full tours of our facility and will show you any area you wish to see to give you confidence that your dog is being kept in a safe, clean, comfortable environment. For lodging dogs, we take thorough notes on each dog’s stay so that we’re able to give you details on request, even if you call with questions up to a month after your dog’s stay. If you start to worry while you are out of town, we encourage you to call us and ask for an update. We’ll tell you how your dog is doing, how well they’re eating, if they’re having regular potty breaks, if they’ve made some friends. Your dog is family, and we’ll provide you with any information we have so that you are comfortable and confident that your family member is safe and happy.