You thought your kid’s preschool application was difficult, but to gain access to the most elite of canine care centers, dogs are the ones who have it ruff.
The Wall Street Journal reported this week on an interesting trend in the world of pampered pups: the growing exclusivity of doggy day cares. Now, if you want your pet to gain access to their very own oasis of puppy playdates, chew toys and affectionate humans while you’re away or at the office, many day care centers across the country are requiring stringent applications, interviews and even behavioral evaluations.
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While these types of requirements may seem extreme, Heidi Ganahi, founder and chief executive of Camp Bow Wow in Long Island City, NY, tells the WSJ that the business is just evaluating the risks to promote a stable setting for all their cuddly clients. “Screening the pups assures us the dogs are good candidates for our all-day play environment and [that they] will be able to play safely.”
Centers like Camp Bow Wow charge from between $25 to $32 for an eight-hour day of play, or $35 to $55 for an overnight stay, according the WSJ. But if your pup doesn’t make the cut — and approximately 5 to 10% of applicants do not — don’t worry. You can always spring for some extra obedience courses to help your pet acclimate to a social setting. Now if only they offered that for some of us awkward humans.