FAQs

We’re very proud to offer Brisbane dog lovers the ultimate outdoor experience when choosing a Doggy Daycare option. Houndog take smaller numbers than your regular indoor daycare centre. There’s acres to run and explore. We exercise the pack outdoors at the beach and the park.

No, there’s no need to leave home as we’re a mobile service & we offer the convenience of a door to door home pickup & drop-off. Our Doggy Bus comes to you, saving you time and fuel!

• Tuesday – Brisbane Southside
• Wednesday – Brisbane Northside
• Thursday – Brisbane Southside and Logan once/month
• Friday – Stradbroke Island & Mt Tamborine Adventures (once a month)

Houndog nominates the day your dog attends daycare, depending on which day our Doggy Bus is in your area. It is very important that you are flexible with this. Most weeks it will be the same day, however we may occasionally swap the day (depending on our numbers/schedule etc). Every Monday we send our clients a text message informing you which day we’ll be in your area to collect your dog.

We run our service on a weekly or fortnightly basis. Unfortunately we don’t take one-off or casual bookings. Our daycare services most suburbs in Brisbane and Logan but not all. Please check with us to see if you are in an area we cover. Clients choose to send their dog either once a week or once a fortnight and be committed to the schedule. We run our service this way to provide routine and structure for your dog. Another important reason for weekly or fortnightly daycare, is to provide harmony and a well balanced “pack” who are familiar with each other. There is far less chance of conflict when a group of dogs know each other really well. Your commitment to the schedule is simply a verbal agreement between Houndog and the client. There are no contracts to sign, so you can withdraw at any time.

Cancellation Policy (we accept the following reasons):

• Your dog is sick or injured
• You’re away on holidays
• We’re away on holidays
• Financial hardship

Payment day is each Monday (in advance of the trip) via an automatic transfer to our account. We do not accept cash.

We’re not a seasonal company, so our Doggy Daycare operates all year round (including winter). We even run over Christmas. We still run our doggy adventures if there are showers around, however in extreme weather conditions, daycare will be postponed to another day that week . We do not accept cancellations for showers or rain or cooler weather.

BODY HARNESS

Due to our schedule, we only have a few minutes per pick-up, so it’s important that your dog’s harness & collar is already ON before we arrive. The body harness is for safety & control measures and we also use it to seat belt your dog into our van. Please be sure your dog’s harness has a clip or an “O ring” on the back of it, not the front. We recommend Ezydog quick fit harnesses.

COLLAR

Your dog must also be wearing a firm collar (for safety reasons). Your collar must pass the ‘slip test’. If your dog’s harness & collar are not suitable for any reason, we’ll let you know.

TOILETING

Remember your dog has to travel for a certain amount of time while we pick up his doggy mates and get to our first location.

It is not healthy for your dog to have to “hold on”, so toileting is very important. Over the years we’ve had many dogs soiling in our van because the owners did not give their dog enough time to do their business before we arrived for pick-up. All clients need to allow their dog plenty of time to go to the toilet before the bus arrives (generally a minimum 15-30mins).

NO FOOD

Please do not feed your dog breakfast before Doggy Daycare. This can cause sickness, vomiting & soiling in our van. It is recommended by vets (for health reasons) not to feed your dog before exercise. We are happy to feed them when we drop them home (if you leave food out for us).

For our initial first meeting – yes but from then on – no. If you’re not home upon pick up and drop off, we simply need instructions on where to access your dog and where to drop them off. We only have a few minutes per pick-up and drop-off, as we have dogs waiting in the van, so time is of the essence.

We generally collect dogs around 5.30/6am onwards depending on the geographical route on the day. You must be flexible with this. We collect early to avoid peak hour traffic & to beat the heat.

An average of 25 dogs separated into two or three smaller groups – keeping the smaller dogs separate to the big dogs. We always match personalities and enegry levels accordingly. The dogs are supervised by expert staff, who are all experienced in dog pack behaviour. Our staff to dog ratio is the best in Brisbane – 1 staff per 5 dogs. We have an average of 4-6 staff supervising at all times. Safety is number one at Houndog.

No because normally they’ve had a lovely salt bath at the beach which leaves them fresh and clean. Please note: the salt water is great for a dogs skin & coat condition, as well as a natural flee deterrent. Houndog is a Doggy Adventure Service, which may in turn attract some dirt but it’s all for a great cause!

3 to 4 hours of non-stop exercise, swimming & socialising. We guarantee your dog will be exhausted upon drop off. Dogs do not need a whole day of exercise & socialisation, it’s TOO much & can be overwhelming. Our philosophy is about draining your dog’s energy via exercise & mental stimulation. Please note – being a mobile service, there is a percentage of travel time included for pickups & drop-offs.

Professional Doggy Day Adventure photos & music videos are also included. You can share these photo albums & music videos with your family and friends.

YES all dogs must be de-sexed and all dogs must be vaccinated.

Yes your dog should have a good social history. Not all dogs are suitable for daycare. Some breeds simply don’t have the right “play style for our Group”. It is mandatory that new dogs undertake a behavioural assessment before being enrolled in Doggy Daycare. The assessment involves firstly a friendly chat on the phone to discuss your goals, followed by a temperament test via a paid trial day.

If your dog passes, we then continue to monitor its behaviour while at daycare and gradually acclimatise each dog to the environment and schedule. We always report back to our customers any changes we see at daycare. If your dog makes physical contact with its mouth on another dog (ie lunging, snapping, biting etc) we will discuss with you the possible use of an exercise muzzle. The purchase and desensitisation of the exercise muzzle is the owner’s responsibility.

If you own a medium – large dog (and your dog is a puller) Houndog will most likely use either a gentle leader headcollar or black dog halti for walking your dog in the pack. It’s important you understand that your one-on-one walk with your own dog is completely different to a “pack walk” with up to 6 excited dogs at a time. Maintaining control of the pack is very important. There’s a lot of mis-information about head collars. They are highly recommended by vets and leading trainers as a fantastic walking tool. They are not muzzles. They simply act like a bridle on a horse to control the head of the dog whilst walking. These head collars are literally only on the dogs for a few minutes a day. We use the haltis to walk our pack from the bus to the park and then remove them during the play session. We also use the haltis when walking the pack into the water and once again we remove them once in the water. If your dog is a strong puller, we will ask for your assistance in training them on the head collar to help desensitise them to it. If the use of head haltis is an issue for you, please call us to discuss in more detail.

Our trainers at Houndog choose to use head collars/haltis for health & safety reasons, as we must avoid being pulled over and injuring ourselves.

NO. Not all dogs are natural born swimmers. We have a few dogs that prefer to play at the beach & splash around at the water’s edge. Other dogs love swimming. We do encourage dogs to swim for the great advantages & benefits. Some customers even request that we give their dog swimming lessons. We have had many dogs (over the years) that were initially non-swimmers but by mimicking the pack and with the help of our doggy life vests and expert dog handlers, grew in confidence & became confident swimmers.

This depends on which beach we visit. The dogs are not allowed off lead when we visit Wellington Point & Brighton Beach as it’s against the council bylaws, however when we visit Raby Bay Beach or Stradbroke Island, they are legally allowed off lead on the off-leash beaches. All dogs are kept on our LONG leads at the beach. This way, they still feel FREE but are under our control at all times.

If we have the owner’s permission to go off-leash at the beach, we are happy to do this, as long as your dog has a good re-call.

Dog walkers generally walk your dog around your immediate neighbourhood and charge $1 per minute. Our Doggy Day Adventures offer so much more and are far better value! With Houndog, your dog will play in a pack, exercise, swim & socialise at the beaches & parks around Brisbane. It’s more than a walk, it’s an adventure!

The most common beaches we visit are:

• King Island
• Wellington Point & Raby Bay
• Manly Beach
• Brighton Beach
• Nudgee Beach
• Victoria Point Beach
• Stradbroke Island (conditions apply)
• Gold Coast Spit

• After the initial paid “trial day”, your dog will join our weekly or fortnightly roster (for certain suburbs in Logan, it’s once a month attendance).
• Your dog must wear a firm collar & body harness.
• Cancellations are for sickness/injury only OR if you’re away on holidays or we’re away on holidays.
• We are not a seasonal company. We run Doggy Daycare all year round (including winter).
• We still run daycare even if there are showers & rainy weather. This is not an acceptable reason for cancellation.
• As part of our 3 to 4 hour trip/exercise program, there is a small percentage of travel time for pick-ups/drop-offs.
• If your dog is a strong puller, we’ll ask you to do some basic training on a head halti at home for 5mins/day to help desensitise them to it.
• Payment day is each Monday (in advance of the trip) via an automatic transfer to our account. We do not accept cash.
• Collections start early between 5.30 – 6am depending on your suburb. In winter it may sometimes be dark.
• We do our best to keep a regular day but the day & time may change occasionally (due to various circumstances).
• We do our best to keep a regular trainer (who collects your dog) but occasionally this may change (due to various circumstances).

Phone the pack leaders:

Angela & Leah: 3823 5781 / 0407 987 323 / 0409 878 161