Have you ever wondered what happens when you drop your dog off at DDD?
We thought you would enjoy a behind the scenes outline of what a day in the life of Daily Dog Digs is like for your dog and our hard-working team!
7:00 We always like to get in early to prepare for the day ahead. Before the first dogs arrive, we fill all the water bowls and put a selection of toys and equipment in place. In the summer, we get the sand pit and paddling pools ready for a fun filled day. Of course, in the winter we make sure the heating is turned on, so the rooms are nice and cozy for our first arrivals.
7:30 Our visitors start to arrive. The team remember who your dog’s friends are, so we put them together in the right play areas. Energetic dogs go together in our Zoom Room, quieter dogs will start off the day in our cosy Snug. Lastly, there are always the playful puppies who enjoy their first burst of energy in our puppy pen, next to reception. This is when we start our day monitoring and cleaning the play areas to check that everybody is having fun.
9:30 The morning play session begins! The toys come out and the fun and games start. We have several toys to hand, so every dog gets a chance for a game of fetch! Many of our dogs are tired afterwards, so some of them may swap rooms, just to give them a bit of a breather from all the excitement.
10:30 Enrichment begins! Our first batch of Gold Dogs are taken out for their walks. We do not walk more than four customers dogs at a time so we may need to do two or three walks throughout the day. On the other hand, any dogs having a one-to-one enrichment session are taken into our Enrichment Zone for their session. This session might involve some basic agility, scent games or running through some basic training.
11:00 This is the time we arrange for potential customers to come and visit our facilities. We like to get as many of the team as possible to meet the new dog so that we can all get to know them when they come for their first visit!
12:00 It’s lunchtime for those dogs who have brought food with them. We always remove the dog from the play area and feed them individually. This can take a while as we can sometimes have ten or more dogs to feed. Some of them may eat at earlier or later times, so we will always stick to schedule that they have at home!
13:00 This is our session changeover period. Dogs who were in for the morning go home and our afternoon visitors start to arrive. It can be quite busy during this time, but we will always send off our morning visitors with a delicious treat!
14:00 Our afternoon session goes into full swing! Following a nice lunchtime nap (for the dogs that is), it’s out with the toys once again for the fun and games to resume. Naturally, any dogs who still prefer a quieter time, can continue resting. At the same time, we take any afternoon dogs on our Gold Package for their walk or enrichment session.
17:00 We now start to think about getting ready for the end of the day. If one of our indoor playrooms is unoccupied, we go in and start our cleaning regime. This involves sweeping, scrubbing and mopping the floors. In addition, we wash the walls and thoroughly clean the water fountains. Once we have finished all the rooms inside, we can concentrate on our garden areas. Outside, everywhere gets hosed down and paved areas are disinfected. Toys and water buckets are cleaned, paddling pools are emptied, the sandpit raked and closed, and the sunshades put down ready for the next morning.
17:30 This is the start of rush hour when customers come to collect their dogs. Sometimes, it seems that everyone arrives at once! We take the dog from their friends, attach their lead and take them to their owner. Before leaving, the dog will soon remind the team if they have not been given their going home treat (or in some cases, treats)!
18:15 This is when sometimes, understandably, we get a call telling us that someone may be delayed, due to trains, traffic etc. This does not happen very often, but rest assured, one of the team will always bring the dog over behind reception for some extra cuddles until its owner arrives!
18:30 We wave the last dog goodbye, lock up and go off home. The team is happy, knowing that we have all done our best to ensure your dog has had the best day possible and we will be back tomorrow to start all over again!
