Top Dog Winner Lazy Dog Crazy Dog is reinventing doggie daycare and boarding in Portland. Its owners, Pete and Jackie McClellan, are also inventing a new language for their industry. For example, “tommy and taddy,” meaning “temporary mommy and daddy,” refers to them and their eight employees. The McClellans maintain the philosophy that a dog “is more than a family member.” Says Jackie, “We treat our dogs like they’re somebody’s kids. Like they’re our kids.”
How’s your dog? Whether your family’s first pet, or a recent new addition, most dogs — like their human counterparts — come with a few quirks.
Depending on the nature of said “quirk,” behaviors run the gamut from amusing to stressful. And of course some can be really expensive. Behaviors like separation anxiety, chewing, and barking can make the otherwise wonderful experience of life with dog a challenge, and sometimes even untenable. Following is a how-to guide every dog parent needs but doesn’t always know where to find. Spot spoke with three experts in training and socialization who shared their best tips on the making of a good dog.
Daycare
Spot sought out regional professionals considered experts in doggie daycare. Here they offer their expertise and opinions on the Top 3 most important Tips for pet parents seeking daycare.
The pros weigh in on boarding
Spot sought out regional leaders in their fields who are expert on boarding. While each has enough expertise and opinion to fill the following pages all by themselves, we asked each of the four to boil it down, giving us their 3 top guidelines when dealing with pet boarding.