Behavioral boarding
An overnight boarding program designed to reduce stress and increase safety while you are away!
Have you ever felt like you cannot leave your companion with a sitter or another kennel due to behavioral sensitivities? With Behavioral Boarding, your companion will be kept safe and enriched by certified, professional trainers while you are away. Behavioral Boarding is ideal for fearful dogs, shy dogs, dogs that generally cannot thrive in busy kennel environments, or dogs that cannot attend regular boarding programs due to past bite histories.
While this is a boarding program and does not include structured training, every effort will be made to provide enrichment that is safe for your companion. Since we are a fear-free facility, we will work hard to help your companion transition and associate the presence of our trainers with positivity, which includes counter conditioning training methods to keep everyone safe. If any behaviors observed are a safety concern for our staff, we will work to modify those behaviors in companions that are deemed appropriate to work with in free contact. The main focus of our boarding program is minimizing emotional distress and prioritizing your companion’s behavioral health through low-stress handling and when needed, working in protected contact to empower your dog to make the right choices while staying with us.
Our facility is located on over an acre of land to explore and is situated rurally and privately, cutting down on visual access to triggers and allowing your companion to have a relaxing experience during their stay.
While this is a boarding program and does not include structured training, every effort will be made to provide enrichment that is safe for your companion. Since we are a fear-free facility, we will work hard to help your companion transition and associate the presence of our trainers with positivity, which includes counter conditioning training methods to keep everyone safe. If any behaviors observed are a safety concern for our staff, we will work to modify those behaviors in companions that are deemed appropriate to work with in free contact. The main focus of our boarding program is minimizing emotional distress and prioritizing your companion’s behavioral health through low-stress handling and when needed, working in protected contact to empower your dog to make the right choices while staying with us.
Our facility is located on over an acre of land to explore and is situated rurally and privately, cutting down on visual access to triggers and allowing your companion to have a relaxing experience during their stay.
How it works
All Behavioral Boarding includes:
- On-site supervision
- Clean, private indoor-outdoor kennel runs with no more than six companions at a time
- In-kennel enrichment, calming music, and visual barriers to promote a stress-free environment
- Individual potty breaks
- Administration of daily medication and supplements that your companion is currently taking
- Behavior and health observations sent through our Gingr client software along with photos and videos of your companion during their stay
- Daily play, exercise, and enrichment designed to fulfill your companion’s needs emotionally, as well as what is appropriate for their breed. Activities will be offered at the sole discretion of our trainers and at a pace that is comfortable for your companion. Activities may include the following:
- Small playgroups that are appropriately matched by size and play style for social dogs with no history of aggression
- Doggy Parkour using natural environmental elements and/or agility equipment designed to increase confidence and offer your companion choices that empower them
- Digging, scavenging, and foraging games
- Shredding and tearing activities
- Structured playtime with toys
- Relaxation exercises
- Chasing, hunting, and tugging games
- Solo and/or tandem walks
- Free time on over an acre of fully fenced-in property to explore and sniff
The finer details
- Drop-off: available 7 days per week between 8 am – 12 pm
- Pick-up: available 7 days per week by 6 pm
- $135 per day with no minimum requirement. Clients who pay in cash at pick up will receive a $10 discount per day for a rate of $125 per day.
- Your first and last day count toward your overall total of days booked.
- If we have never met your companion before, then each initial booking will include a 30-minute meet and greet to be scheduled ahead of your stay. Meet and greets have a $50 deposit that will be deducted from your dog’s first boarding stay.
All companions must be up-to-date on all age-appropriate vaccines. You will be required to submit proof of rabies, distemper, Bordetella, and have a negative fecal result dated within the last year for any dogs 4 months of age or older.
considerations
- Behavioral Boarding services book quickly, so please contact us as far in advance of your needed dates as possible, especially for peak times like New Year, spring break (late March/early April), Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
- We have found that it can take an average of three days for companions to get comfortable enough to take treats while in our care, so we encourage guardians to be mindful of that when requesting Behavioral Boarding services.
- Additionally, your companion may be hesitant to eat and/or drink and may experience GI upset during transition.
- None of our programs were designed to assist companions with separation anxiety. Furthermore, we do not recommend any drop-off programs with other facilities who promise to address separation anxiety. We recommend pursuing private, in-home training with a CSAT or SA Pro certified trainer to reduce emotional stress on your companion during the learning process. Please click the link below to learn more about our stance.
