Behavior assessments help determine a dog’s adaptability to participate in K9 Club’s off-leash, small group play environment. This assessment cannot predict every behavior of a dog, but it can give us some important information about the following:
- A dog’s social drive
- How he / she tolerates being handled
- Whether or not he / she guards or protects things that many dogs consider valuable
How a dog responds to those three things can help us to determine how we can best accommodate your dog at K9 Club.
The Behavior Assessment Process
Our behavior assessment begins with our review of your completed Off-Leash Play application.
Upon completing our review of your application, we will call you to schedule a time for us to meet both you and your dog. Behavior assessments do require an appointment and are done weekdays between 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. and weekends from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Our behavior assessment begins with looking at the dog’s social drive towards humans. If a dog seeks out human contact, enjoys being touched, talked to, and played with, there is a greater buffer against aggression than with a dog who doesn’t care whether or not you are there. A dog with a high social drive will probably be less inclined to bite when provoked (accidentally being stepped on for example), and significantly more tolerant when something is being done to him / her that it does not like (such as having teeth brushed or nails trimmed). A dog who is relaxed and happy with people makes a much better fit for a small group play session than one who is leary, scared, or apathetic towards people. We can also assess how a dog responds to being handled.
We also assess whether or not a dog tries to guard or protect it’s valuables. While it is impossible to predict exactly what a dog might decide is valuable, we use items that are likely to be considered worth protecting, such as wet food or a rawhide chew. If a dog willingly shares it’s food, chews, and toys…this is considered a buffer against biting and an attribute important for small play group harmony.
How Much Does it Cost?
Our behavior assessment fee is $25 and lasts approximately two hours. Following, we will sit down and review the completed assessment with you. This will allow us time to answer your questions and discuss how K9 Club can provide the best possible experience for your dog while entrusted to our care.
Ready to Get Started? Great!
All dogs must meet our vaccinations and requirements before scheduling a behavior assessment. Our vaccination requirements are:
- Rabies – 1 or 3 year
- DHPP (distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus, and parainfluenza)
- Leptospirosis – administered yearly and bolstered if your dog is not current
- Bordetella – a minimum of 10 days prior to check-in to ensure maximum efficiency and protection against kennel cough
- Canine Influenza – 2 initial doses, 2 – 4 weeks apart; administer a single dose within 1 year following completion of the initial 2-dose series; then every year thereafter
- Fecal exam – required every 12 months
- Flea and tick free – guests with signs of fleas and/or ticks will be treated at our grooming salon at the pet parent’s expense prior to check-in
Please note that we do require written verification from your vet validating vaccination records. Please provide your vet with our “Authorization to Release Veterinary Records” form.
Additional Requirements
- Dogs must be at least 4 months of age.
- Female dogs over 6 months old must be spayed.
- Male dogs over 6 months old are not required to be neutered to attend K9 Club, however we would place them in our Personal Play / Boarding program rather than Small Group Off-Leash Play.
- If you would like your dog to participate in one of our super-fun small group off-leash play groups, please complete our Off-Leash Play application.
Ready to Make an Appointment?
A behavior assessment for your pet may be scheduled by contacting us at (248) 928-5129 or by selecting the Request an Appointment button.
Payment for behavior assessments are due at the time of scheduling. We do understand that you may need to reschedule and we are happy to accommodate requests for scheduling changes. We ask that you provide 24 hours notice for appointment changes.