 If you are selling you home, no doubt your realtor has given you a list of things to do around the house to create a clean slate for potential buyers. Top of the list includes you and your family not being present during showings, including your pets.
You may think leaving them in a garage, kennel, or yard will suffice. Not really. Here is are things to consider:
So, what do you do? Take your pets off site during showings. Take them for a walk or leave them with a friend. If this is not an option for you, consider a local day care or boarding facility. Your pet can be socialized and play with friends while you sell your home. Our service is recommended by many local realtors giving their clients flexible hours and competitive rates. We have a fantastic day care and boarding program. Dogs will enjoy their stay with us and you will have a piece of mind during your transition.
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 What is Socializing my Dog?
Your dog being social is just what it sounds like; your dog is able to be out in public, and around other dogs and act sociably. This means that:
When should I socialize my Dog? As soon as possible! The younger the dog, the easier and more effective the process will be for them. If they’re not a puppy anymore, then start right now! The older they get, the more set in their ways they will be and it becomes more difficult for them to learn new things and adjust to different scenarios. How do I socialize my Dog? Getting them around as many other people, dogs, and places as possible will help socialize your dog! The more dogs that your dog meets, the better they will be at reading other dog’s body language. This means better at greeting new dogs, better at playing with other dogs, and that your dog will have more confidence overall. How can Day Care help? Wag Atlanta's Day Care program groups dogs based on size and temperment. The groups get tons of time together, giving them endless opportunites for them to make new friends. New dogs are being added to the group all the time, creating more chances for them to hone their skills. The dogs in the group will "correct" any inappropriate behaviors from a a new dog. The new dogs will catch on quickly and become comfortable and social! It is wonderful to see them bonding, learning, and growing. A social dog is a happy dog! At Wag Atlanta, our daycare runs from 6am-10pm. Come play with us! Pumpkin carving is a fun tradition, and pumpkin is a super healthy dog teat as well! Even the seeds are okay for them to have! Keep the candy out of reach! Chocolate, especially dark chocolate is toxic to dogs. Keep some dog treats on hand for when they are getting jealous of the candy. Halloween is a great time to socialize your dog! Having them out on the porch or going trick or treating with you is an excellent way to get them used to people, and especially masks and costumes!   aWith our left play yard renovations recently completed, now is an ideal time to go over the value of turf over grass or gravel that most dog boarding and day camp facilities have.
K9 Grass vs Grass The first and most important advantage of turf over grass, is the ability to clean and sanitize it. We spray down our play yards every night with a disinfectant to make sure that disease is not being spread. It is near impossible to do this every night on grass without killing it and turning a great play yard into a big mud pit! Cleanliness and your dogs health is the most important aspect of their stay, and clean yards and play areas are an important piece. K9 Grass vs Rocks Lots of boarding facilities have rock and pea gravel as their only outside areas. That is because it is easy to maintain, and inexpensive. However,wanting whats best for the dogs in your care is usually not the cheapest. Pea gravel is easy to disinfect, but is rough on puppies and dogs paws. If your dog is mainly an indoor one, running around on rock is not going to feel too great. Pea gravel also does not provide sure footing, and sliding and kicking rocks into other dogs faces is a constant hazard. K9 Grass vs Concrete Concrete is easy to clean, and is cheap to maintain, and is relatively easy on most paws. However it can be very hard on dogs joints. Running around and playing on concrete all day is sure to leave your dog sore in the wrong areas. Instead of sore muscles, they'll have sore joints. Turf is a soft surface that is easy on their joints.  Leaving your pet at a dog boarding facility can be stressful! Here are a few tips to make sure that you’re leaving them at a top notch facility. Take a Tour Taking a complete tour of the facilities is an important aspect when deciding where to leave your pet. It will let you see: 1.Where you dog will be staying You always want to see where your dog is staying before you dropped them off. Misleading pictures online, or a misunderstanding about play areas can quickly be resolved by taking a complete tour of the facility. Except for a quarantine area, there should not be many places off limits to tours, especially the main boarding area. Any facility that does not keep the main area where the dogs are staying up to tour-ready standards, is not a place where you want to leave your pup. Seeing the exact spot where they are staying will help you have peace of mind before while you are away. 2. How the dogs already there are being treated While taking the tour, check to see how the animals currently there are being treated. See if the tour guide knows each dog by name, if each dog has water in their den, that each den is clean, and the dogs look comfortable. 3. How clean the facility is It’s hard for a facility to not smell at least somewhat like animals, but it should not be an overpowering smell. It shouldn’t smell like animal waste unless an accident just happened, and an overwhelming smell of bleach is not a good sign as if it’s too much for you it’s definitely too much for the boarders.  Ask Questions If there is anything you don’t know or are unsure about, ask questions! The boarding staff should be friendly, helpful, and reassuring. Asking lots of questions is the best way to find out what you don’t know, and to assess the knowledge of the staff. There are no dumb questions! Look at what others are Saying Read Reviews! Seeing what others are experiencing is a great way to get a feel for their standard of service before trying them out yourself. Facebook, Yelp!, and Google Reviews are all great popular resources for unbiased reviews. Not every place will get it right 100% of the time, but a standard will be able to be seen through the reviews.  Take a Test Run
Bringing your dog for a day of daycare or boarding overnight before the big trip can get them adjusted to the atmosphere, and you can see what the usual check-in and check-out process is like. How long it takes, how happy your dog is, and how friendly and knowledgable the staff are.   Dogs experience stress in some of the same ways that humans do. Being an in unfamiliar place, meeting unfamiliar faces, and sleeping away from your bed are all things that can cause stress. When you board your dog when you’re away, they could be facing all these same stressful situations at once! So what can you do to minimize their stress while they stay with us, and what do we do to minimize their stress?
What you can do: Have them come for a half day of daycare Make our pet resort familiar to them by bringing them by for a half or full day of day care! Especially if you are going to be gone for a longer period of time, a short day visit will help when you leave them for your trip. They’ll be familiar with our staff, facility, and our daily schedule, so it will be less of a shock. Pack their meals Familiar foods in an unfamiliar place helps immensely! They’re going to be more likely to eat what they usually do, when they’re here with us. It also helps with tummy troubles that can come from switching foods. If you forget or would like for them to try out our house food, we always have some available. Pick the right accommodations If your pup tends to be more of a nervous nelly, then picking out a luxury suite may be the better option. they’re more like the accommodations that they’re used to at home. Secluded, ultra comfortable, and quiet, our luxury suites are an ideal choice for those who need seclusion. Keep yourself relaxed Just like children react off of the energy of their parents, dogs are the same way. If you’re not a cool customer and relaxed, then they’re sure to be nervous themselves. Instead, act like you’ve done this a thousand times before and stand confidently. Pack some special treats No matter the preparation, being away from mom and pop can be hard. Bringing them some special treats like pigs ears or smaller treats can be a great way for your pup to pass the time and gives them another thing to look forward to everyday (in addition to all the play time and love from our staff!) If you didn’t pick up any treats, we have peanut butter Kongs to treat your baby with. What we do Go slow With Those Who Are A Little Unsure Taking our time and going slow for the dogs that are skittish or a little nervous is the easiest way to put their minds at ease and open them up for the fun time they’re going to have with us. We talk soothingly to them, telling them that they’re doing a good job, and pet them when they’re ready. Not rushing is the best way to build lasting trust and a strong friendship between us and your dog. Careful About Who Plays With Who We love our play groups! Socializing and having your dog meet others is one of the best parts about boarding. Even those that seem nervous at first usually warm up to the group and have a great time with us. However, we’re very careful about who gets to play in the group. No dogs that are aggressive or are intact are allowed. We also have time out periods for those that need a cool down period if they’re getting too rambunctious. This ensure a safe and fun environment for all personality types. Confident, Trained Staff Just like your baby feeds off of your energy, they also feed off of our staffs energy! Our trained, competent, and friendly staff ensures that your baby is always well taken care of and in good hands. Relaxing Environment The guests staying with us get so much play time, that our facility is quieter than others, especially in our luxury suite area. Our loving staff is always there to offer the reassuring touch or voice to those who are having a hard time relaxing.   Why is my dog so tried after boarding?
When you pick up your dog from us, especially if they are social and playing in play groups, they are most likely going to be tired once you get home. This is from all the playing! Most of the dogs get a lot more exercise, and play a lot harder than what they are used to at home. Meeting lots of new friends, and running and jumping can be a lot of work! Just like how you’re tired coming home from an adventurous vacation, your dog will also be tired coming home from their vacation with us! Some dogs are also more prone to stress than others. And while we keep the standard boarding area as calm and relaxed as possible, if your dog tends to be sensitive, picking out a luxury suite might be a better fit for them. |