Welcome to Daycare Orientation!

We are thrilled that you have chosen West Chester as your pet’s daycare destination! This folder is full of PAW-some resources to walk you through what exactly this orientation week is and what to expect. These documents will help to further explain how we assess a dog’s playstyle and what factors go into making our decision on which sort of play will best suit their individual needs. However, before you dive too deep into all of our fun hand-outs, we wanted to take a moment to explain what orientation week is and why it is so incredibly important.

What:
Orientation week is designed to be your pet’s first week of daycare. It takes place Mon-Fri on select weeks (which you should already be scheduled for if you’re receiving this folder! ). Your pup should be dropped off no later than 10:30 am and picked up no earlier than 3:00pm. This allows our staff to have plenty of time to assess your dog’s playstyle throughout the day.

Orientation week will be the week that your dog starts to become familiar with our facility and interact with other dogs in our care. While they are here, our trained staff members will begin introducing your dogs to other pets and taking detailed notes on their interactions and playstyle. At the end of the week, you will receive all of these notes in a report card so you can see exactly how your pup did and better understand our playstyle placements.

Why:
Here at West Chester Pet Resort, we believe that the physical and emotional well-being of your pets are equally important. Placing dogs in a situation they are uncomfortable with can leave lasting impacts on your dog’s behavior and mental state. Our orientation week has been designed by our credentialed on-site trainer as well as our experienced and highly-trained shift leads to ensure that we can give your pets the most fear-free and stress-free introduction to a group play setting.

By offering a full week of orientation as opposed to a singular day, our staff is better able to familiarize themselves with your dog’s playstyle and communication skills. This allows us to place them in the type of play that best suits their needs. Introducing a pet to group play too quickly can be stressful and frightening – which can ultimately lead to these dogs disliking other dogs by associating them with fearful situations. Our orientation is designed to give your dogs a slower and more natural introduction to avoid this fear factor. While this week will provide your dog with the best opportunity to enter into group play, please understand that group play is not the best option for all pets.

We are super excited to have your pet join us and to be starting this journey with them!

Thank you!
-Your Friends at West Chester Pet Resort

What is “Group Play?”

Our group play at WCPR is divided up into two playstyle categories: High Energy Play and Calm Play. Through our years of operation and continuing education, we have realized that the SIZE of your dog really doesn’t say much about how they enjoy interacting with other pets. By separating our groups by their preferred play style, everyone is much happier and much safer.

Regardless of the playstyle your pet prefers, if they are eligible for group play, they will be out and about with the other dogs of their selected playstyle. Playgroups go outside for playtimes a minimum of 3 times per day, and each play session lasts for roughly an hour. Depending on how tired our furry friends are, or how they feel about the current weather situation, playgroup time may be slightly shortened or extended. On occasion, and weather permitting, we sometimes keep our playgroup out all day long.

Group play pets will have access to our fields for running and exploring as well as our bone-shaped pool during their playtime together. We will never force a dog to swim if they do not wish to, but that option will be available for them. Due to potential resource guarding issues, we do not play with toys during group play. If your dog prefers playing with toys over other dogs, please let us know as they may enjoy personal play instead.

Our playgroups vary in size from day to day, but it is possible to have 20 or more dogs in a given group based on the day. Our average day of group play generally includes 10-15 pets. We tend to have smaller playgroups on the weekends and when the weather is crummy. Our larger playgroups are during the weekdays, busy holiday seasons, and when the weather is beautiful for play!

What is “Personal Play?”

Our resort is unique in the fact that we have the ability to offer Personal Play to our guests. Personal Play is the best option for some of our furry friends for a variety of different reasons. You can read more about why Personal Play may be the best fit for your dog in the handout titled “Why Personal Play is Best for Some Dogs.”

All dogs on personal playtimes get the same amount of playtime opportunities as our group play guests. The only difference is that, instead of playing with other dogs, your pup will get individualized attention from one of our staff members! Your pet will not be in their room any more than our group play dogs are – so don’t worry about them being bored or having too much energy when they return home. We make it our mission to ensure that doesn’t happen.

Personal Play pets will still have access to all of the same fields and the pool, but they get to set the stage! If they want to play chase or fetch – great! If they’d rather bask in the sun or snuggle with the staff, that’s great too! Personal Play also allows for the use of toys – so let us know your pet’s favorite games and we can incorporate that into their playtime!