At Ruff House, we believe that a tired dog is a happy dog! Each guest at day camp spends several hours a day in physical activity appropriate to breed, play style, age, health and physical tolerance.
If the weather is good, we’re outdoors playing in one of our fully fenced very large exercise yards. When not outdoors, we make use of our climate-controlled, 2700 sq. ft. indoor exercise area where there are toys and various types of equipment to keep minds and body busy.
PLEASE ASK ABOUT OUR FOSTER DOG PROGRAM!
RUFF HOUSE POLICIES
What you need to know before bringing your dog to stay at Ruff House whether for the day or longer or if you are bringing your dog to classes.
1
For the protection of all our guests, we require that your dog’s vaccination for Rabies, Parvo, Distemper and Kennel Cough be current within the past year (or within the accepted protocols) and at least 3 weeks before coming out to the facility.
If your dog is coughing or sneezing or exhibiting any signs of illness that may be contagious, we reserve the right to refuse access to the facility. A veterinary certificate stating that the dog is not contagious but has a congenital issue will be accepted as proof of health.
2
We do not do training per se while your dog is boarding with us but we do reinforce basic manners such as sit, wait, no jumping up, come, etc. WE NEVER USE ELECTRONIC TRAINING DEVICES ON OUR GUESTS. We do use operant conditioning (clicker) and positive reinforcement (reward) and negative reinforcement (taking away of something of value – toys, freedom) if necessary. If your dog goes home better behaved than when it came it is because of the number of repetitions and reinforcement of positive behaviour.
3
Dogs are not on leash very much while staying with us. We do use leashes for dogs who have poor recall. For these dogs we allow the leash to drag so that we can step on it for ease of getting them to come in. We may put a leash on the dog to help us to integrate dogs who are frightened of other dogs. Sometimes they are more comfortable at first being tethered to a person until they realize that playing with other dogs could be fun.
4
Pick up and drop off times are between 9:00 in the morning and 9:00 in the evening unless otherwise arranged. We do appreciate knowing approximately when dogs are being dropped off or picked up so that we can arrange our schedule.
5
Owners should understand that whenever dogs get together, no matter how vigilant the care, incidents, accidents or illness can occur.
Ruff House does not permit smoking anywhere on its property. You may smoke in your vehicle. Cigarette butts are dangerous to dogs, so do not leave any on our property. Thank you for your co-operation.
8:00am potty & breakfast
9:00am–noon supervised activities whether indoor or out
noon–3:00pm rest time in crates or rooms
3:00–5:00pm more supervised playtime
5:00pm rest time again, and dinnertime for over-night stays
10:00pm last potty break, cookie and bed time
(of course, times vary depending on our day!)
We do not provide training with Day Camp guests unless previously discussed.
We do expect a sit at the door, no jumping up and come when called. All of these behaviours are reinforced.
Other behaviours that will be corrected involve: improper social interaction with other dogs, and excessive barking.
The methods of correction that we use include: blocking, redirection, leashing and time-out.
WE DO NOT USE ELECTRONIC DEVICES FOR CORRECTIONS
day rate: $20 per day for 1 dog
weekly rate: $75 per week for 1 dog
For families with more than 2 dogs, please call for space availability and pricing.
For payment of services, we accept:
- PayPal (+ $5 convenience fee)
- E-Transfer
- Cheque ($20 administration fee for returned cheques)
- Cash