Meet and Greet – What you need to know.

The Meet and Greet is the most important step in taking in a dog for boarding or day care. It provides the perfect opportunity to get to know your potential client, human included. It also helps determine whether or not the stay will be a good fit.

Meet & Greets usually take place at the home where the stay will occur. However, you’re welcome to arrange the first meeting in a public place like a dog park or café, if that makes you more comfortable. Because I board dogs I prefer meeting in my home.

When the family comes in, I put Ginger in the kitchen behind a doggy gate. The dogs get to know and sniff each other while separated. This allows me to spend some time with the family and get to know the dog. This is when the owners will ask you specific questions, you should have a set of questions as well. If you have any “deal breaker” questions this is the time to ask. No sense in taking in a dog if you have certain requirements that won’t be met.

For me those are, spayed/neutered, vaccines and flea treatments are an absolute must. Dogs must also be housetrained. But again these are mine, yours may be different. Also, if you have other pets such as cats, let the owner know. Believe it or not some owners do not read entire profiles and although it’s listed on mine, some didn’t know I had cats.

Once we’re comfortable we will let the dogs off leash so that they too can get to know each other. I will give clients a tour of where the dog will stay, as well as a tour of my yard.

I will also ask clients to step outside for a moment while we interact with the dog. I will observe the dog to see how he gets along with me and my husband. but most importantly Ginger. This also allows us to evaluate the dog’s level of separation anxiety. Learning to read the dog’s behavior is very important. You can check out Rover’s illustrated dog behavior guide by clicking here .    Keeping treats on hand is helpful and I always ask the owner first if I can give one to the dog. A little bribery doesn’t hurt.

If you feel that the dog is a good fit, let the pet parent know you would love to watch their dog. Letting the dog owner know you think it’s a good fit will increase your chances of booking the stay. I will let them know that I think they are a great match andI will have the owners fill out a dog boarding application which allows me to get more pertinent information.

The same goes if you don’t think the dog is a good fit. Thank them for taking the time to meet with you and offer kind words about their dog. Be honest and state why you felt the stay wouldn’t work out. Luckily most of my meet and greets have been successful. I did get bit once, needless to say that dog did not stay with us and I did once have a disastrous meet and greet that I will share in my next post.

Here are a few more helpful tips:

• You should be the one to open the door, and you should stay for the entire Meet & Greet. If anyone else will be caring for the dog, it’s a good idea for them to be there as well.
• Make sure your home is spotless and safe for the dog. Remove any clutter, they should have room to move about.
• Have paper towels and an enzyme spray like Nature’s Miracle on hand in case of any accidents. Accidents do happen so be prepared.
• Always go with your gut instinct. If I’m on the fence about a dog I will decline the stay. I have to want to care for that dog 100%.  There is nothing worse than having the owner make arrangements only to be told by you that you have changed your mind.