Frequently Asked Questions

To ensure the efficacy of vaccinations, we require them to be administered by a licensed veterinarian. We will also accept paperwork from your veterinarian stating due dates.

We offer an active-duty military discount of 10% on standard boarding stays, a 10% discount on multiple pets boarding in the same room, as well as significant discounts on daycare, day boarding, and enrichment packages, as well as a reward program. All packages must be used within 90 days of purchase.

While it is not guaranteed, we do our best to take pictures of your pup every day (Greenbrier) or when they have their play-time session (Bayside). At checkout, you will receive an email and text message with a link to your report card. During boarding stays, you can log into your portal and see if any pictures have been uploaded. Keep in mind, even though we are taking pictures, attaching them to your pet’s profile takes quite a bit of time and is not an instant process. Please refrain from continually calling or emailing the front desk demanding more pictures. Our goal is 3 pictures per day. Most of the time we meet our goal, but sometimes our focus is on reassuring a nervous pet rather than snapping more pictures.

To participate in daycare, dogs must be spayed or neutered if over 7 months old. Unaltered dogs are still able to do overnight boarding and small group play.

• Our goal during a temperament test is to find the best possible play situation for your pup. The first thing we do is a “touch test,” where we ensure your dog is comfortable being handled by strangers. We do this by petting them and leashing them while you remove their collar.
• After the touch test, we do a crate test. Dogs sometimes need breaks during long days of daycare, or a private place to eat their lunch. To test this, we place them in a crate and ensure they are not overly scared or try to harm themselves.

Temperament test days are extremely stimulating days! We want your pup’s first day at the Ruff House to be 100% positive, so typically we do not offer baths or nail trims on temperament test days.

YES! We LOVE showing off our facility! Appointments are not necessary, but we request you avoid the 7-9 a.m. drop-off rush, as well as the 4-6 p.m. pick-up rush. 3:30 pm on the day of your temperament test is a perfect time, so we can also talk to you about how your pup did! Do not have time for a personal visit? We have a virtual tour of our Greenbrier facility online.

• Dogs that test into Daycare are comfortable with all other dogs. They are spayed/neutered if over 7 months of age and enjoy the stimulation of a large playgroup. Unless specific breaks are needed, they remain in the Daycare Group from drop-off to pick-up.
• Day Boarding dogs do not fit all the criteria of a Daycare Dog. They might enjoy group play in a smaller group, may not be neutered/ spayed, or may simply be too nervous or reserved to join the rambunctious Daycare group. This does not mean your dog will not be socialized! It simply means we take extra care in selecting the right size playgroup (or individual play), as well as the appropriate duration of socialization so all dogs with us can thrive.

• Overstimulation – overwhelmed by external stimuli (e.g.: other dogs, smells, humping, chase games, etc.).
• Herding/Policing – responds negatively to other dogs playing by taking action to interrupt them.
• Third Wheeling – When two dogs playing, an additional dog tries to join in, causing unbalanced play.
• Bullying/antagonizing – picking on many or one dog(s) and not listening to handlers’ or dog’s corrections.
• Chase Games – running around the yard causing other dogs to chase them, can lead to herding + overstimulation.
• Tagging – Following one specific dog and not listening to their corrections.
• Fence aggression – Following the fence line and barking/snapping at dogs that pass by.
• Excessive barking – Barking continuously at other dogs or handlers.
• Resource guarding – Occurs when a dog is possessive of items such as toys, water, pools, buckets, food, etc.
• Dominant behavior – Dogs that show dominant signs over other dogs like putting head over neck, stiff body language, mounting, and not showing any submissive behavior towards the dogs, etc.
• Active timeout – Walk around the daycare yard on a lead, used as a correction to redirect a dog’s energy into something other than unwanted behaviors.
• Figure 8 – Using a slip lead by making a figure eight under the snout of a dog and pulling it over the dog’s muzzle to activate specific pressure points to help self soothe a dog. This method is used for a few minutes at a time until the dog settles down.
• Crate Breaks – Dogs going into a crate for 10-30 minutes to help calm them down from either overstimulation, or if all other types of corrections did not work.

At checkout, you will receive a text message and email with links to your report card. Any pictures taken during your pet’s stay will be attached to the report card. If you have trouble accessing it, let us know!

We do!! Anything less than 5 hours is considered a half day of daycare. Please let our friendly front desk know so we can ensure your reservation is correct.

We work hard to maintain a peaceful and low-stress environment in our daycare yards. Chase games and excessive barking inject unwanted stress and frustrate the rest of the dogs.