Interested in joining the family? Please read below and click the link at the bottom of the page to complete your application!

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We require all potential clients to pass a Temperament Test to gain admittance to Down Dog Lodge. The Temperament Test is designed to determine a mutual fit between the testing dog and our open-cage environment. To be eligible for a Temperament Test, the dog must be over four months old, in good health, at least two weeks removed from spay/neuter, have current vaccinations, and basic obedience ability.

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*Required* Vaccinations: Rabies, DHPP, Bordetella. Highly Recommended Vaccinations: H3N2 Canine Influenza

 

Each Temperament Test has two phases on two separate days, $40 per dog ($20 per phase). To begin Phase One, we ask that the owner stays for the initial introduction, which will usually last about 15-30 minutes - the testing dog is slowly introduced to one dog at a time, with our Supervisor standing by. It is the Supervisor's job to analyze the dog's body language, verbal and non-verbal queues to determine their level of comfort, joy, fear, or aggression. The Supervisor will continue introducing dogs of different temperaments until they have determined the testing dog's comfort in the environment.

 

Assuming that all goes well in the initial 15-30 minutes, we ask that the testing dog stays in our care for an additional 2-5 hours. This will help solidify any conclusions derived from the first few minutes of the test. Following a pass of Phase One, we require a second day of daycare as Phase Two which consists of a full day of daycare, roughly 5 hours, to solidify the mutual fit between the dog and our environment.

 

Following the pass of both Phase One and Two, each dog will enter a trial period in which their behavior will be monitored over a series of daycare visits. One full daycare visit after the two phased Temperament Test process is required before boarding, however, from experience we do highly recommend multiple; in most cases, multiple daycare visits before overnight boarding are very helpful in assimilating the dog into our environment and making them feel as comfortable as possible before staying overnight.

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Finally, as dog temperaments change just as humans do, we require a retest for all existing clients who have not been into the facility in 6 months or longer. Please call in advance to schedule your retest!

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*Upon completion of a Temperament Test and admittance to Down Dog Lodge, please note that your dog may be used in future Temperament Tests*

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