First Time Guests
Here at WOOF, it’s not all licks and belly rubs. We are very serious about taking good care of your precious family member.
For that reason, each new dog must meet our eligibility requirements and complete a doggie interview at our facility prior to becoming a daycare or boarding guest.
What are the eligibility requirements?
Each dog over 9 months must be spayed or neutered, up-to-date on DHPP, Bordetella and Rabies vaccines and already be socialized with dogs and humans. See our Eligibility Requirements page for more details! Did you just rescue your dog? Click here to learn about the 3-3-3 Rule.
Why all the rules?
Intact dogs (not spayed or neutered) can attract unwanted attention from other dogs and cause fights – not to mention eliminating possible mating!
Vaccines protect all of our guests from serious, life-threatening diseases.
We are not a facility that specializes in training dogs who have socialization issues (fear biting, bullying, etc.). If you are looking for a dog behavior specialist in the Bay Area, we recommend Gary Maria’s Professional Dog Training.
What is a “doggie interview”?
We’ll never know if your dog is going to be happy playing at WOOF – until we see them playing at WOOF! For that reason, we require you to schedule a “doggie interview”: basically an appointment where you drop your dog off for a minimum of two hours so we can assess your dog in our playgroup.
Schedule Your Doggie Interview
How do you assess my dog?
Slow, small and safe is the name of the game. First, we place your dog in our chute, which is a fenced-off space that allows the playgroup to see and smell the “new kid” WITHOUT being able to overwhelm them physically.
Next, we make the playgroup smaller by putting some dogs in another area, so the new dog can acclimate to just a few dogs at a time.
Once we can see the new dog is ready to enter group (noting visual cues like relaxed posture, sniffing noses, wagging tail), we open the chute and escort them into the play area.
We observe your dog with this small group, noting their personality and play style. Are they shy? Are they super active? Are they somewhere in between?
Soon, most dogs become comfortable enough to handle being introduced to the whole group. A daycare handler will then bring the rest of the clan in a few at a time and continue to observe your dog and monitor for safe play.
What happens when I pick up my dog?
We will tell you how your dog did during the “interview,” answer any questions and give you our honest recommendation of whether or not we think your dog will enjoy being at WOOF.
What if I just want my dog to board? Do I still have to do the interview?
Most of the time, yes. WOOF is a playgroup-style boarding facility. Our boarding dogs get daily play periods just like our daycare dogs and must be able to safely play in a group setting.
Does the interview cost anything?
Yes. We charge a fee of $25 to meet, monitor and assess your dog. If you’d like to leave your dog for a full day of daycare this can be done for an extra fee.
What if my dog doesn’t do well on interview day?
We will remove your dog from the group, contact you immediately and keep him or her in a safe environment until you are able to pick up. We will give you details on why we think your dog is not ready for a group setting and provide any training or class recommendations you’d like to pursue.
Thanks again for your interest in WOOF! We look forward to a long, happy relationship with you and your dog.