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Taking Doggy Daycare to Another Level

By Amy Fernandez

Once the domain of upscale, uptight, urban owners, the doggy daycare business has exploded into lucrative franchises from coast to coast. With big business comes blockbuster profits, AND king size problems. The first of which, although obvious to anyone possessing the slightest familiarity with canine behavior, apparently came as a cold shock to upper management in this game.  Grooming shop, dog park, or plushy daycare facility, the harsh truth is that dogs do not invariably love each other. They display the full spectrum of personality types, social skills, and mental hang-ups that run rampant in our own troubled species.

In concept, of course, the idea of doggy daycare seems vastly preferable to the old-style dog storage arrangement–the de facto boarding kennel. Every dog was housed individually, and dealt with individually by a broad range of kennel help. Employees ran the gamut from smart and skilled to hopeless and clueless. However, job aptitude didn’t matter so much when it was focused on one dog at time. Like incarcerated prisoners, group contact was minimized for the safety of all parties. That, of course, went out the window when the homey type, group living concept came on the scene. Early on, most daycare programs implemented segregated play areas for large dogs and small dogs. This concept at least acknowledged the realities of the situation, but did nothing to prevent territorial dominance displays, food guarding, and all the other delightful canine atrocities committed in the name of fun.

Still, the demand for this service continues unabated.  As we know, AKC has become the latest big player with a stake in this game. And this is not a tentative dip into the shallow end of the pool. Over the last few months, six AKC daycare and boarding facilities have opened throughout Manhattan. And – true to their no-nonsense image- they are determined to bring order to this chaos via a truly daunting screening process for admission.

The “entrance exam” is overseen by Garrett Reed, officially the general manager and safety coordinator for the whole shebang. The lengthy application covering all the usual basic background info is just the first step. It’s the next part that’s making news. That’s a face-to-face, four-hour personal evaluation session where AKC’s daycare management team assesses prospective candidates for general temperament, social skills (both human and canine), basic training aptitude, and general troublemaking potential. Owners also get the third degree.  Sounds worse than getting your kid into Harvard? Maybe so, but expectations for the program are running high. According to a recent NYT article, 40-50 candidates are evaluated for admission each month. And yes, there is a notable rejection rate. Exclusive, competitive, now you’re talking NYC. This might work.

AKC is inarguably stepping into a thriving industry. Whether their distinctive, structured approach will make new inroads has yet to be seen. Likewise only time will tell if this unorthodox plan will resuscitate their image as a bastion of canine expertise. Never mind the question of exactly how it jives with their purported mission statement.

Short URL: http://caninechronicle.com/?p=154729

Posted by on Nov 13 2018. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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