Nice to Meet and Greet You!

Each new furry friend that walks through our door is eagerly anticipated by our team from the moment we receive your inquiry until we officially meet. In order to ensure the best quality of care, we schedule a ‘Meet and Greet’ before any daycare or boarding service. This process allows your pup to meet our caring team, make some new buddies, and get used to our facility.

A dog’s world is very small; much smaller than ours! Oftentimes, the newness can be a lot to process when they first arrive to Dogtopia. Some dogs bask in the love and attention they receive, and for others, they are apprehensive of the noisy barking, new smells, and folks who aren’t mom or dad. Both of these responses are okay! More often than not, we see the pups blossom and kindle new friendships by the end of the day. Dogs are resilient creatures!

Meet and Greet Process

Our process to get to know your pup is a simple, four step operation.  Each of the steps is designed to help us build a stronger relationship with your dog and get them ready to play in our rooms.

Step 1 – Meeting the Team

The first step in our process is acclimating your pup with our team. We will spend a couple minutes one-on-one petting, examining and lovin’ on your precious pooch. This is beneficial for multiple reasons – it helps our team understand your pet’s response to new people and it is an opportunity to establish a relationship straight-out-the-gate.  We’ll also take time to make sure there aren’t any places that your pet does not like to be touched, such as ears, tail, stomach, or neck.

Step 2 – Kennel Desensitization

Depending on which room your pup will graduate into (Toybox, Lounge, Gym), they are placed in the Evaluation Room, a room right outside the playroom. In our Evaluation Room, we monitor how your pup reacts to being put in a kennel, and if there are behaviors we’ll need to monitor moving forward. Some dogs are crate trained at home and are completely comfortable with our kennels, while some will need a little desensitization work, which is something our team of trained Canine Coaches are able to work on! 

Step 3 – Meeting New Friends!

This is where it gets exciting – we introduce a few friends from the corresponding playroom into the evaluation room with your pup. This process usually includes tail-wagging, play-bowing, and plenty of sniffing. We will introduce multiple styles of dogs, which brings different energy levels and the opposite gender. Some dogs are more reactive towards male or female dogs or even certain energy levels. We are watching to see how all the pups interact with each other, and how comfortable your pup is with their new friends.  This smaller interaction lets us know if your pup is ready for the playroom, or they still need a little more time warming up with the smaller group.

Step 4 – Room Introduction

The final step of the process is to introduce your pup to the rest of the playroom. The playroom your pup goes into is based on their size, energy level, play style and age.  We want them to be comfortable and around as many other dogs that fit and compliment their style.

Once in the playroom, behavior and play will be monitored until your dog is properly acclimated. Inside the room, pups can now explore the playroom, meet all of their new besties, and learn the ways of daycare!

After our team has completed its assessment that your pup is comfortable in their new environment, we will notify you that your pup is officially the newest Dogtopia North Austin Pack Member!   After every passed Meet and Greet, webcams are accessible, and Pet Parents are able to book any of our services through the app.

Does every dog pass the Meet & Greet process?

Dogtopia is not the perfect fit for every dog, and that is perfectly fine.  Each dog is unique and has different tastes and places where they feel most comfortable.  If our trained staff senses that Dogtopia is not the right fit, we’ll have a detailed conversation about what we saw, and suggestions on either how to work with your pup to get them ready for this type of environment or suggest alternative environments for your pup.  Our end goal is to get your pup into the best possible situation.

You can learn more about the process from our video.

Ready for your pup’s Meet & Greet? Please give us a call at 512-766-3649 or fill out our quick Meet & Greet form to become a member of our pack! We can’t wait to meet you!