Welcome
At Doggie Zen Den, our daycare is all about safety, fun, and friends! In order for us to maintain these values, we require all new dogs to schedule and pass a temperament test before being eligible for boarding and daycare services.
Important Prerequisites
All dogs must be 16 weeks of age or older in order to temperament test
All dogs 7 months of age or older must be spayed/neutered prior to visiting us for daycare/boarding services
All dogs must be up to date on their Bordetella, DHLPP, & Rabies vaccinations prior to visiting us
Shots
Please send us a copy of your dog’s vaccination records to our email (info@doggiezenden.com) prior to your temperament test date! These records should include the future expiration dates for the required vaccinations noted above.
About
Temp
Tests
What is a Temperament Test?
A temperament test is a free day of daycare with a supervised introduction to the other dogs in our play groups. We introduce your dog to the daycare group one dog at a time, starting with the calmest, neutral & easy-going dogs in the group working up to the most energetic. The temperament test allows us to observe closely and carefully for signs of extreme nervousness or fear/aggressive looking behavior. Temp test procedures altogether require a bulky amount of time since we conduct them at the pace of your dog. Please plan for your dog to be with us for most of the day! We ask that you drop off no later than 9am and pick up no sooner than 3pm (unless otherwise noted) so that we can conduct an accurate assessment of your dog’s behavior throughout the day.
Temp Test Procedures
We will first let your dog out into the yard with no other dogs present, giving them a few minutes to relax and explore. Your dog will then be moved into an area of the playroom where they can see, but are not yet integrated with, the other dogs. Once your dog has had enough time to acclimate to the new setting, we will place them in the empty playroom with a daycare attendant to begin the introduction process with our daycare pack members. We will begin by selecting the calmest dog to go first. If all is going well with the first dog to dog greeting, we will continue to release more dogs, individually, until the entire pack is together in the playroom. We make sure to allot an appropriate amount of time between each pack member’s greeting with new dogs so that your dog can meet & greet at their own pace. Once your dog has integrated with the entire pack without any issues, they have passed their temperament test and are eligible for daycare and boarding services!
Failed Temp Test Criteria
If at any point we see interactions or body language that are not appropriate for group play (aggression, guarding a resource, extreme fear/intolerance of group environment), we will remove your dog from the group and call you to let you know that the daycare environment was not a good fit for your dog. Should your dog exhibit inappropriate behaviors for group play AFTER initially passing the temperament test, we may reconsider your dog’s eligibility for daycare/boarding services.
While we would love to be able to accept every dog, the group daycare environment is not always appropriate or enjoyable for every dog. The safety and enjoyment of all of our canine guests is our top priority! We want your dog to be happy and minimally stressed, and we want all of our pack members to be safe. We will always give you an honest assessment of your dog’s behavior in our facility.
We look forward to meeting you and your pup soon!