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Refer a client who comes for a day of daycare - Get a
Refer a client who purchases a PACKAGE – Get |
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Doggy daycare provides dogs with a social setting which allows them to learn proper interaction with other dogs and humans. Barkalounge’s cage-free environment allows your dog to socialize freely and get the exercise that is so beneficial to their health and well being. Our 4,800 square foot facility is specifically designed with your dog’s comfort and safety in mind. We understand that the needs of dogs, just like people, are different and accommodate large, small, exuberant, and shy dogs in multiple large play rooms. Your dog will enjoy the day running, playing, socializing, and relaxing. Quiet periods are a part of each day at Barkalounge—we want your dog to come home tired and happy but not exhausted!
Why BARKALOUNGE DOGGY DAYCARE? Aren’t all daycares pretty much the same? The answer to this is both YES and NO! All dog daycares function on the basic premise of providing a facility for your furkid to get exercise, socialization, and to play and have fun! Yet once you move past that simple and basic tenet the differences are plentiful. Many daycares operate on the standard of “one size fits all” and have arena style daycare where all the dogs play in a large Coliseum like environment. Many offer different play areas based on the size of the dog where medium, large and XL breeds go into the main room and small breeds are put into a smaller and/or separate area. Separation on size can be very important, but it isn’t the MOST important factor of division.Barkalounge believes one of the most critical factors in assessing a play group is based on the dog’s TEMPERAMENT and not necessarily size. A typical play group at Barkalounge is 12 dogs. It is a primary part of our written business plan to provide training on behavior and socialization for each and every dog. Contrary to popular belief dogs do not always have an intrinsic understanding of how to APPROPRIATELY interact with other dogs in a group setting. Like people, this comes from practice and training. Sure most dogs know how to play and know how to be dogs but it doesn’t mean they are a natural at walking into a group or pack and understanding what is or is not acceptable! More importantly than the DOG knowing what is and isn’t acceptable is the knowledge of your daycare staff on what is and isn’t acceptable and the ability to work with the group towards that end. If staff are not appropriately trained or lack canine behavior knowledge you can do more harm than good by deciding to intervene or correct a dog’s behavior. A common error many make is responding to a dog’s behavior with a HUMAN emotion and definition. Animal behaviorists (such as Patricia McConnell whom we love) have written multiple book-length works on the subject. After all, it would be highly disturbing for someone to interact with you using doggy language. Dog behaviors can and DO mean decisively different things than from a human standpoint. For example typical mounting behavior is rarely of a sexual nature—more frequently it is determining and/or establishing the hierarchy of the pack and more frequently even a predecessor to PLAY! Sadly, so many dogs are expelled from daycares because of the assumption all dogs interact and play exactly the same and a severe lack of canine behavior knowledge on the part of the staff. The parent is left feeling they have a problem child and are instantly turned off from ever trying a daycare, dog park or social setting for their furbaby again. Supervision levels and the form of supervision differ greatly from daycare to daycare. Often the supervision ratio can be as high as 50+ dogs to 2 humans or even 40 dogs to 1 human! The actual form of supervision is also a critical factor for safety of the daycare, staff and dogs. Is supervision at a level of 100%? If so, how is the supervision provided—does a single person patrol different areas or are staff present in the play area(s)? More importantly are staff present in ALL sections of the play area at all times. For example, if an outdoor area is open all day to the dogs, is someone dedicated to supervising the indoor area as well as the outdoor area? Does 100% supervision mean staff members are assigned to other duties or locations in the facility and monitor from a closed circuit camera/TV system or are they physically present with the dogs? What is involved in a daycare supervisor’s training? What are the credentials required for the supervisor position? Of course loving dogs and even having dogs should be a given. If you didn’t love dogs and at minimum have a basic knowledge of dogs through ownership why would you ever want to work in a dog daycare? If the knowledge level of the individual responsible for your dog’s safety and socialization training does not at minimum meet or ideally highly surpass your own, is this a good match? Would you drop your child off at a pre-school without investigating the knowledge base and the skills of those responsible for caring for your child? Does the staff have training AND certification in Canine First Aid and CPR? Are any members knowledgeable in behavior modification, temperament assessment and testing, or training techniques? Barkalounge was founded on and operates on the premise that ALL dogs are good dogs. There are no bad dogs, there are only bad owners, and there are dogs that have not had the same opportunity to learn how to properly socialize with other dogs. Every dog, like a person, is unique and a product of their past and present experiences and environments. Having the facility, knowledge, and commitment to integrate these factors is what makes Barkalounge unique in a saturated market of doggy daycares. If a dog has been assessed and found to not be ready for group interaction and play, they leave with a suggested behavior plan and a list of resources their parent can utilize to aid their dog in acquiring more of the important behaviors necessary to grow and enjoy group socialization. EVERY new dog coming to Barkalounge must be scheduled for attendance on their first day. Only one new dog per day is admitted to Barkalounge to allow us the ability to focus on our new student and adequately assess and address their existing social skills. We want everyone to have a safe and FUN day—most new dogs need a little extra TLC and assurance they are doing well and fitting in. It is our honor AND commitment to provide this level of training and assessment to every new client. As a special service to our daycare clients Barkalounge offers overnight services for individual nights or extended stays. Once we know the temperament of your dog through daycare they can be approved to stay over in one of our lavish bedrooms without the confinement of a cage! During the day your dog will be in 100% supervised daycare and then at night they will have their own bedroom which can be shared with siblings if desired. Barkalounge does NOT provide overnight services to any dogs who have not regularly attended daycare and been through evaluation. Ask us for more details on this special service! Damage PolicyDetermining your dog’s appropriateness for overnight boarding at Barkalounge is based on their age, social behavior while in daycare, and direct information from YOU...the parent! Simply because your dog is social and does well in supervised daycare does not necessarily mean they will be perfect overnight in their own bedroom without human or canine companions. If your dog exhibits extreme separation anxiety, storm anxiety, or is under the age of 1 year it is entirely possible they are NOT candidates for boarding here. Our bedrooms are large and roomy, some have full windows, but all are basic drywall with traditional wood doors. We are not a traditional kennel, and we do not cage or crate dogs overnight - therefore our environment is somewhat unique. While we attempt to control for damages such as digging through the drywall and excessive damage like scratching on the doors or ventilation grates, we cannot promise you your dog will be perfect. If your dog does damage the premises during their stay, fees may be assessed and charged to your bill, as indicated in the Client Contract. We attempt to take care of minor damages without requiring any fees - it is understood that painting and basic upkeep is going to be necessary. We also attempt to control ANY costs and if items have to be repaired or were damaged, we will seek to repair and replace them at the lowest possible cost to you. We want EVERYONE’S experience at Barkalounge to be a wonderful one! Please do not be upset if we determine that your dog is not a boarding candidate - We are happy to make multiple referrals to local places we know and TRUST that have damage proof facilities!
Refer a client who comes for a day of daycare – Get $5.00 BARKABUCKS to use on goods and services! Refer a client who purchases a PACKAGE – Get TWO FREE Daycare Passes! Brandy Allred Pet Stylist/Groomer Cell: 317-840-4486 Email: barkaloungegrooming@yahoo.com Grooming By Appointment Only Prices Vary Depending on Breed - call for estimate!
Barkalounge proudly retails the following products within our facility:
To Enroll: If you would like to enroll or have questions, please call Barkalounge (317) 788-8551 or email info@barkaloungedaycare.com or Katie Feltman (317) 374-7303 email: bigwhitedogtraining@gmail.com Basic Manners, Puppy Preschool, Canine Good Citizen, Private Training, Rescue Resources, About the Trainer
Basic Training and Manners Class
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| COST: | $125.00 per dog/handler team for 8 week session | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TIME: | 7:30 PM each consecutive Tuesday evening for 40 minutes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Canine Good Citizen (CGC) and Therapy Dog International (TDI) Certification Preparation Class
Objective
With the same positive, reward-based training method used in our Basic Training and Manners Class, we go one step further in our goal to enhance the dog-human bond. This class is for people who want their dogs to become official Canine Good Citizens as certified by the American Kennel Club (AKC). This program is designed to reward dogs who have good manners at home and in the community. It stresses responsible dog ownership for owners and basic good manners for dogs. Many people use CGC certification as an introduction to competitive dog activities such as obedience, agility, tracking, Rally-O, dock diving and hunt trials. CGC is also very helpful in a variety of everyday situations such as taking your dogs out and about, to the vet, to a groomer and many dog-friendly rental properties will be more accepting of a dog who possesses a CGC certification. Additionally, whether you have a rescued mixed breed or a specific breed of dog, the CGC certification helps you and your dog be a good community ambassador for your breed, rescues and our four-legged best friends in general ?
TDI - In addition to the ten specific testing requirements to obtain CGC status, an additional four items are added on to the test for those who want their dogs to be therapy dogs as certified by Therapy Dog International. TDI is a volunteer organization dedicated to qualifying and registering therapy dogs and their handlers to provide comfort and companionship to patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and other institutions, and wherever else therapy dogs are needed. Sharing your dog with other people in their time of need is very rewarding for all involved. Trainer Katie Feltman and her dog Jojo are a certified CGC and TDI team.
TDI/therapy dogs - For dogs to pass both their CGC and TDI tests, dogs must have an exceptional temperament. The dog should be outgoing and friendly to all people of all ages and genders and be accepting of touching and attention from all people. Your dog should be tolerant of other dogs and non-aggressive and non-reactive toward other pets such as cats, birds etc. Being a working therapy dog team is an amazing opportunity for you and your dog to give back to the community and because of this temperament is critical.
The class will prepare those seeking CGC certification as well as the optional 4 items for TDI certification.
Pre-Requisites
Dogs and handlers enrolled in this class should already have a basic understanding and working knowledge of basic training principles. They should have already completed a basic training course at some point previous to the start of this class, or be able to demonstrate their dog's ability to perform basic behaviors such as sit, down, stay, come here, and walking on a loose leash. Dogs should naturally be of good temperament in the presence of other dogs, as well as other people, as these are key components of the CGC and TDI programs. The Basic Manners class can serve as a pre-requisite to this class, but is not required.
| COST: | $100.00 per dog/handler team for 6 week session | ||||||||||||||||||||
| TIME: | 6:30 PM each consecutive Wednesday evening for 1 hour | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Other Training Assistance
If group classes do not fit your needs or schedule, personal, one-on-one, private training help is also available with our trainer. This can be accomplished at your home or at Barkalounge. Destinations further away than 20 miles will be subject to an additional gas/time fee.
Discounts and Services for Rescue Organizations
Barkalounge and Big White Dog Training are passionate about supporting our local rescues and both do what we do because of our rescued dogs. We firmly believe that training is a critical component for achieving successful rescue adoptions. We offer discounted training classes and one-on-one sessions for rescues, we offer no-cost behavioral evaluations and temperament tests, and can work directly with rescues on the training needs for your dogs as well as what we can do to help out with any volunteer or fundraising events. Please contact us for more information!
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For more information on our trainers, please visit the following website: Katie Feltman |
