Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions - Do you offer overnight boarding?
- Do you offer grooming?
Daycare - Will my dog be indoors or outdoors?
- Does my dog have to come every day?
- How secure is your facility?
- What if I can't pick up my dog by 6pm?
Training - Do you offer in-home training?
- What training method do your use?
Events - When is your next indoor agility match?
- Can I rent your building for my function?
We are not a kennel, so we can only offer overnight boarding during the week to our regular daycare dogs. The dogs have their usual daycare fun day, then go to their crates at 6pm for a nap. They go out again sometime between 9 and 11pm, then back to bed until 7am when the daycare day begins anew. We can sometimes accommodate weekend boarders, but space is limited and depends on our trial and boarding training schedule, so please check first. Reservations are required for all boarders. [ Rates ] For regular boarding, we recommend Labby Lane Kennel in Harrison. Many of our daycare customers camp out there, and they have regularly received the very highest ratings. For pet sitting and other in-home services, we recommend Sonya's at 423-344-1521, again, based on our customers rave reviews.
We currently offer only basic grooming for small dogs (under 20 pounds) in conjunction with daycare: - Bath
- Blowdry
- Brushout
- Nail trim
We are looking forward to offering full service grooming as a stand-alone option, and would welcome your input. Please let us know if you're interested!
Depending on the weather, we're usually outdoors for most of the morning and afternoon group sessions. When it's too cold, hot, or wet, we generally hang out indoors and just dash outside briefly to answer calls of nature. Naptime is indoors in individual crates, with your dog's favorite toy or a Kong, and Mozart for company. See our daycare schedule for more information.
Absolutely not, in fact, daycare is both mentally and physically exhausting, and most dogs (excluding young puppies, who seem to run on some untapped form of renewable nuclear fusion) do very well resting up after a full day of such intense fun and frolic. Think Disney World only with fewer lines and more tennis balls! Most of our customers come two or three days a week. We do encourage regular attendance, however; no less than once every other week. That way, the dogs know the schedule and know the other dogs, and the whole adventure is much more familiar and comfortable - and FUN! - for them.
Safety is our primary concern at Play Dog Excellent. All of our entrances have double doors. Our outdoor area is completely enclosed by a 10-foot fence, and we check frequently for signs of excavation near the perimeter. Dayton Boulevard is a very busy street, so please be extremely careful on your way to and from your car. Double-check your dog's collar, and keep a tight grip on the leash until you're in a safe spot.
We can usually accommodate late pickups since we're here Monday-Thursday for evening classes anyway. Fridays are a bit iffy since we sometimes have to bolt right at 6pm to leave for weekend trials. Either way, just give us a call (423-870-7740) if you need to be late. We'll put some fluffy towels in your dog's crate and let him chill to Mozart until you arrive.
At this time, we're only staffed to offer training on site. However, we do offer several convenience-based alternatives for training your dog, including daycare training, private training, and boarding training. Please visit our Training page for details.
Over the years, we've found that there is no single ultimate training solution that works for every dog, all of the time. Most methods have something beneficial to offer, and we spend a fair amount of energy keeping current on emerging strive to learn about each. The art is in figuring out which techniques work best on any given dog, on any given day. This means that we keep a very large "bag of tricks", and then find ways to customize our approach to match each dog's talents, motivations, and challenges. Most dogs respond extremely well to a combination of positive reinforcement and calm, consistent training. In all cases, we emphasize the importance of good leadership in your relationship with your dog.
Please see our Events page for a complete schedule of upcoming events.
We often rent the building to groups looking for space to host dog events, seminars, and other functions. Please check our Events Calendar first, then contact us via email with specifics about your event. We'll get back to you right away!
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