Our Approach to Pet Care

Building Trust

Let’s be honest, not all dogs warm up right away to a complete stranger. We understand that it takes time to build trust, whether that’s socially, emotionally, or physically. We meet them every step of the way, providing patience, positive reinforcement, and progressive goal tracking to build, meet, and exceed long-term goals.

Meeting the dog where they are at regardless of age, breed, rescue history, or medical issue is one of the most essential values we put to the forefront of our approach. Some dogs have some quirks they need help with, and we know how to be patient. Our Pals anticipate needs as they arise, communicate issues, and actively practice informed decision-making. As such, we meet all our animals as a collective team to ensure you and your pet’s comfort and well-being.

Meet and Greets are an equal opportunity for you to meet your Pals, make introductions, provide a home tour, and get down to business. Since the home is where we will be working, it's good to get a sense of how your day-to-day lives operate and the routine we are stepping into.

Our intake process is a comprehensive assessment of all home, plant, and pet care needs. To list a few of the things you may cover:

• basic commands and handling,

• rescue history

• medication administration (instructions, location, side effects)

• home access instructions (required)

• plant/garden care instructions,

• enclosure cleaning and sanitation

• trash day/garbage location.

Maintaining Goals and Positive Reinforcement

Setting walking goals is the best way to maintain a working relationship. While we don’t provide training, we do like our dogs to walk reasonably. We will help maintain those basic commands such as heel, “watch me”, sit, stay, wait, stop, cross, etc. into our walking routines.

Maintaining walking goals largely depends on the dog’s motivations as well as our own. While some dogs may happily run for 30 minutes, others may prefer a long, slow sniff… or a quick potty break and 28 minutes of belly rubs. Let’s have that conversation on how YOU would like services to look versus how the dog wishes it to.

Behavioral goals such as learning socialization cues, separation anxiety and trust building with strangers, and environmental triggers will naturally improve with long-term services. We understand how hard it can be to have a temperamental or reactive dog, and we also understand how to work with them. Let’s have a meeting, or a few, and start working on meeting/exceeding those goals.

Medical Limitations can arise at any point without warning. Our Pals are Animal First Aid and CPR certified and offer routine observational notes on behavior, emotional well-being, social temperament, and walking triggers after every service. If in the case of a medical emergency, our Pals may provide transportation in getting them to your preferred vet. Necessary medical history and emergency plans are required of our clients.