FAQ
Bring the food they’re used to eating. We don’t want any upset tummies. You are also welcome to bring any snacks you may want us to give. Just let us know how much to feed and when you want snacks to be given. You can also bring toys, just no rawhide or rope chew toys. All of our guests have cots to sleep on but you’re welcome to bring their beds or even a tee shirt with your scent on it.
No, we furnish stainless steel or plastic bowls. We have a commercial grade dishwasher to sanitize the bowls so they get changed out several times a day. We don’t want your bowls to get lost in our kitchen.
We have really good procedures in place to make sure your dog gets the correct medication at the correct time. And there’s never any additional charges when your little buddies are staying with us.
Dogs are a lot like little kids. They act completely different when Mom or Dad isn’t around. We often see those scared little dogs strut right into the kennel with us and act like they’ve been there 10 times before once mom and dad are gone. One thing we offer and its completely free, bring your little buddy in for an evaluation. We’ll see how they do with other dogs; we’ll try to find the right temperament of dogs to be with when they play. They’ll be moved into and out of kennels so its not scary when they do stay with us. We recommend about 2 hours. We want your fur babies to have some fun and then be picked up by Mom or Dad. That way its not scary when they stay with us. They’ve been here before and they were picked up.
No, all breeds are welcome here. Some of the breeds with the worst reputations are the sweetest dogs we’ve met. Regardless of the breed, we do need to be able to handle your pet. They need to be people friendly so we can love and hug on them.
Of course, they can. We don’t let unaltered dogs mix with our altered guests but they can be run as singles. We have 9 outdoor yards for any dogs that need to be run as a family or any dogs that are singles. They still go outside and run around and go potty. Being around the other dogs keeps them mentally stimulated and at night they’re glad to go to their kennel and go soundly to sleep.
Not only do you need your shot records, we don’t allow any dogs thru the doors to our facility that don’t have up to date shots. That includes the Bordetella being no more than 6 months old. There are several vaccines that are good for a year but the manufacturers of the vaccines recommend all high traffic dog facilities be required every 6 months. We do everything possible to keep your furry ones safe.
I wish we could say yes. The truth is the Bordetella vaccine is a lot like a flu shot. It doesn’t guard against all strains of upper respiratory infections. It only guards against the 4 or 5 most common. That’s why we are so diligent on guarding against it. We are the toughest on the frequency of the vaccine, we have installed oasis air purifiers that radiate the air, killing all airborne infections and we use a strong kennel grade disinfectant several times a day.
There is water available to every dog all the time. We have several buckets of water in the play yards and they get changed out every 20 minutes. There is never a dog in a kennel without a bowl of water, that includes grooming dogs. If your dog comes home and is really thirsty that doesn’t mean they were deprived of water. Water is a comfort to dogs. When they get home, it feels so good to be in their own surrounding they may eat or drink even if its not necessary. They’ll also be extremely tired. There just isn’t anything like coming home.
What you saw was a family of dogs. Because we have the largest kennels in the area, (6ft X 6ft), or our luxury kennels (8ft X 8ft) we tend to have families of 3 or 4 dogs. However, your dog will always have their own kennel. There is never a time when dogs outside of the family share kennels.
Dogs are like little kids on the playground. Sometimes they get excited or a little rambunctious and injuries occur. The dogs rarely know they’ve been injured because their having so much fun. All of the staff involved with keeping your pet safe are Dog CPA certified. There are procedures in place to inspect, clean, and disinfect the wound. We model our procedures after children’s day care. We will notify you no matter how small the injury. Your dog’s health always comes first.
Its not a good idea. We never want your dog’s toys to be ruined or chewed on by another dog. That is also a reason for the dogs to get into fights. It only takes one fur baby to show dominance over a toy and everyone has to get into the act. We find that dogs have a natural way of playing. They love the chase or run game, or just rolling around on our synthetic grass. We have huge, synthetic grass outdoor play areas. All yards have fresh water, pools, lawn toys, shade canopies, and lots of attention from our professional yard techs. They have a blast, and of course they are always supervised. At night after a full day of playing you can hear the dogs snoring.
Here’s a normal day at Canine Courtyard. All of the dogs go outside starting about 6:45. The kennels are vacuumed and mopped with our kennel grade disinfectant. The bowls are picked up and sanitized in our commercial grade dishwasher. All of the beds are disinfected and wiped down along with the walls of the kennel. The kennels are spotless.
We then set the bowls with fresh water and the individual food bowls. This whole process takes about an hour and a half. We then bring all the dogs in for breakfast. As a safety precaution we require all the dogs wait at least an hour after eating to give their tummies time to settle before going out to potty or play.
After the waiting time all of the dogs go back outside and play the rest of the day. This is not an endurance test. Many of the dogs need to come in for breaks or a long nap. We closely monitor all the dogs and rotate the dogs with the lower activity needs through out the day.
All of the dogs come back in for dinner. We have the same hour waiting period after dinner. All of the dogs go back outside to go potty and get the last bit of energy run out. When they come back in, we play lullaby music and dim the lights. The only noise you hear from the dogs is snoring. Dogs love a routine.
After a day or two there are very few messes in the kennels. The dogs know when they’ll be back outside. They also love to play all day and to be really tired when they come in. When they come back into our air-conditioned kennels with the cool tile floors, and the lullaby music, its lights out. Even the dogs that need a little less activity are tired from just watching the goings on all day. Everyone gets a good night’s sleep.