Preparing for a Stay

​We have multiple fridges, microwaves, freezers, and storage for your dog's food.   Please bring the amount for the total of the stay, plus one or two cups more!  Sometimes spills happen, or your pup may not be hungry.  We will try to save as much as we can, but sometimes the uneaten food can get wet or spilled, and we won't save that. ​ We feed our guests twice a day. Plush Suites have a complementary Morning Brunch, and you can add a Brunch to your stay for $5/meal (let us know if you'd like it to be a full or half normal serving). ​ Example Your pup is staying 4 nights.  You feed them 1 cup of food a day.  You added a Normal Serving Morning Brunch to their stay for all 4 days. You will want to bring 3 cups of food per day, so a total of 12 cups. We won't ever complain about too much! TREATS We do not encourage bringing or provide rawhide treats at Dogwoods. ​ If your dog has favorite treats, that's great! Bring them to us (label the package, or put them in a labeled baggie!). If they have allergies, let us know, as we do have chicken-free treats or allergy-free treats on site. If you would rather them have no treats at all, just let us know! HOW TO BRING IT We keep your dog's items in a separate tote away from other dogs.  You can put the food in a Ziploc bag with your dog's first and last name, days staying, and how much to feed per meal.  (Just their name is fine, too!)

​If your dog needs medications, we have trained staff to provide them with their medicines. ​ Each dose is an additional $3 for pills. ​ Injectable medications are given by tenured staff at $8 per dose. ​ Please be sure to bring extra medication, should your dog not want to take a medication and drop it or damage it. ​ Please let us know how often you give your dog their medication(s), so we know when to provide it. ​ You are welcome to write it out on a calendar or piece of paper for us prior to your stay! ​ HOW TO BRING IT ​ We have fridges and separate totes for medications (along with pill pockets). ​ Label your dog's medication as much as you can, including their first and last name, how often you give it to them (i.e. 1x in the AM, 1x in the PM, as needed), and if they are difficult to medicate (i.e. wrapping pills in caramel--yes, we have done this before!).  It's also helpful to know if we can crush these pills (sometimes we can encourage them to take their pills by crushing and mixing with food!). ​ If your dog is taking injectables, please be specific with dosage times and amounts (i.e. 5 cc's at 8am, 5cc's at 8pm).  Please bring us extra syringes, just in case.

​Your dog may have different behavior in a boarding or pack/social setting than you're used to seeing.  This is totally okay! This means that sometimes they may destroy something they wouldn't have at home (like a toy, bed, blanket, etc.).  We are always monitoring our dogs, but they can quickly destroy extra items in their kennel, especially items left overnight (don't worry, it's not that common, but we see it happen!). ​ What this means is less is more! Don't bring anything you wouldn't want to see destroyed.  A toy or two are totally fine, but you don't need to bring anything! ​ We have beds, toys, stuffies, kongs, chewy items, sweaters, and cots, if they are safe to have them overnight!  And, if they use a Dogwoods item, it's no sweat off our backs, and no charge to you! ​ We do our best to have any soiled personal items thoroughly laundered prior to pickup, and we will notify you if this happens. ​ HOW TO BRING THEM ​ If you do wish to bring a personal item, label it with the dog's first and last name (or their first name and last initial) with a Sharpie (on a tag is fine!). We will document your personal items upon checkin with color and description, but having them labeled helps a ton!

​Please always have your dog leashed on Dogwoods campus. ​ Even if your dog is your absolute shadow, they may be excited with all the smells, all the people, and all the other dogs!   ​ For your safety, other dogs' safety, our employee safety, and especially your dog's safety, KEEP LEASHED AT ALL TIMES. ​ Much like personal items, we have leashes, collars, harnesses, etc., that we use to transport your dog around campus.  If your pup is not going to daycare or has any additional outside time, we do provide frequent outside stretches and bathroom breaks.  We leash your pup to take them out into our fenced yard, then let them off the leash to run and play and do their business! We do not suggest retractable leashes for personal use, nor do we use them at Dogwoods. These are very unpredictable leashes which can cause injury to both human and dog, so we do not suggest them.