Do I need to schedule a meet and greet appointment?

It is not mandatory for us to meet your dog prior to boarding. We have a large and secure facility, and can accommodate all doggy personalities and breeds. When booking, we ask our clients to be honest about their dog's habits and behaviors for the safety of our family. If you would like to come meet us and see the grounds, please use our online booker. We can not accommodate meet and greet appointments during our busy holiday seasons (Thanksgiving weekend, Christmas-New Years, Spring break, Easter, July and August) or on SUNDAYS.

How can I prepare my dog for a safe and healthy stay?

We suggest the following vaccines or that you have a protocol to keep your dog protected when boarded . Please check with your vet for the best care of your dog. A gentle reminder that no vaccination is 100% effective. There is always a risk when boarding your dog  of contracting an illness. Board at your own risk. Please ask your vet how you can help boast your dog's immune system during peak seasons when more dogs are sharing an indoor space. 

• Rabies
• Distemper
• Parvo
• Bordetella

Do I need to bring my dog's food?

Please bring food for the duration of your pup's stay with us in a large zip lock bag or individual portioned out small baggies.  We discourage large bags of food as we store all belongings in individual cubbies.

When some dogs are in a new environment, they might detract from their normal eating schedule. We always leave the food bowl down for grazers. Some dogs express anxiety by not eating, it might take them a day or two to get acclimated to a new environment. That's ok! They will never starve themselves, and if they are in good health, they will eat at some point. Some dogs lose a few pounds from extra exercise here, and eating less than normal portions of food. 

Can you administer medication?

Yes, please clearly label and write out medication directions. Also provide pill pockets, peanut butter, cheese etc... that your dog uses to take the medication. 

How/when do make a payment?

• We charge our clients per night. There will be a half day charge for all dogs picked up after our morning office hours the following day
• All reservations must be made online. If this is impossible, please call our office and we will schedule you in ourselves. Our software program collects your information for easy scheduling and reminders
• An invoice is sent to your email the morning of your dog's departure date
• You can pay online, cash or check in the office​​

Will my dog be socialized with other dogs?

We do not socialize dogs from other different families together. Dogs have natural instincts that need to be meet and that is what we offer. We provide them the outlets that they need. Dogs at our facility are never alone. Dog's have a neighbor to their left, their right and across from their kennel run. They can choose to sit along the fencing run right next to their neighbor in the next run, or they can choose to take some quiet time on the inside with their privacy panels blocking their neighbor from their view. They run and play with our family in the exercise/play yards, they get cuddled and pet, and our kids pay them plenty of attention (granted they are kid friendly!) Sometimes they just like to bask in the sun up on the rocks on top of the mountain by themselves.  They are getting their vitamin D, breathing fresh air, surrounded by the sounds and sights of nature, and get human attention and interaction. Dogward Bound is a complete hands on family affair that supports your dog's natural needs.

Dogs benefit far more from metal stimulation and physical activity then simply being around other dogs. Dog can be impulsive and the risks of a dog being injured by another dog does not outweigh the benefits. We always reinforce basic manners by making the dogs sit, stay, and wait before entering the play yard. 

We believe that socialization with other dogs has benefits but must done under authority of the owner. We are a dog boarding facility that offers daycare services, not a traditional indoor doggy daycare facility. If your dog is coming home exhausted then we did our job! We provided the mental and physical stimulation they were craving. 

 

Photos

It is our policy to not take pictures of individual dogs for our clients. We would love to provide this service for everyone as we know it brings peace of mind, but it is not feasible. We purposely stay a small business in order to give personalized attention to all of our pups. The time in our day is spent with your dog, not staging photo shoots. We also believe in preserving the tranquil environment we work hard to create here on top of our mountain. Unnecessarily going into the kennels to achieve a photo disrupts the pack's peaceful state of mind. As stated in our customer service agreement, there are times where our dogs are photographed for our website and Facebook page. If this occurs, we will let the owner know so they can check out their shining star!

In case of an emergency

It is imperative that all clients provide an emergency contact that is available or can be contacted in your absence . We will call if we observe any illness or injury. If your dog needs medical care and you or your emergency contact can not come pick up your dog, we will call Ambu-Vet (emergency pet transfer service) to take your dog to Guardian Vet specialists in Brewster, You will handle all arrangements from that point on. 

Sanitation

We are committed to a keeping our facility clean and sanitized for the health and safety of your dog. We thoroughly clean, mop, and hose down our indoor and outdoor kennel kens with a mixture of bleach and disinfectant  2x daily. All pet cots and bowls are cleaned/sanitized daily. We periodically check the ground and kennel runs for spot cleaning.