Are you expecting a dog to fit into the same daycare programme at one, three, six and eight years old… even though the DOG has completely changed?

Are you seeing dogs coming through your doors who need more help, more downtime or a different kind of social experience than they did five or ten years ago?

And are you losing perfectly good long-term clients because their dog has “aged out” of traditional daycare — when you could be adapting the service around what that dog needs NOW?

In this week’s episode of the Pet Boarding & Daycare Podcast, Dom is joined by Mallory and Sam from Pack Pro and Fetch and Catch to talk about how daycare needs to evolve with the dogs inside it. Sam explains why sustained socialisation isn’t simply about putting dogs into playgroups and hoping they figure it out, particularly when many dogs appear to have less emotional bandwidth for long periods of social interaction. Mallory and Sam share how they continually evaluate their current groups, adapt environments as dogs mature and use enrichment, smaller groups, paired play and other options to keep dogs safely and happily using their services throughout different stages of life.

They also lift the lid on what’s been happening behind the scenes at Fetch and Catch, where intentional staff development is helping them build the next generation of leaders from within. Mallory explains why owners need to deliberately identify and develop the people who could eventually replace existing leaders, while Sam shares her own journey from young canine coach to supervisor and Pack Pro coach over almost eleven years. Plus, Dom explores why pet businesses should think beyond what clients and dogs SEE and deliberately create multisensory experiences involving scent, sound and touch — borrowing ideas from Disney, luxury hotels, art galleries and other experience-led businesses.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why Daycare Can’t Be a One-Size-Fits-All Service – The dog arriving at one year old won’t be the same dog at three, six or eight, so why should its daycare experience remain exactly the same?
• How to Sustain Socialisation Throughout a Dog’s Life – Why handlers need the skills and options to adapt play, enrichment, downtime and social interaction as dogs mature.
• Why New Dog Evaluations Are About More Than the New Dog – How your existing “inventory” of young, adult and senior dogs should influence whether and where a new dog fits into your programme.
• How to Build Your Next Generation of Leaders – Why successful owners deliberately identify potential future leaders rather than waiting until somebody leaves and desperately trying to replace them.
• What Sam’s 11-Year Journey Can Teach You About Staff Retention – How investing in ambitious young employees can turn what looks like an entry-level dog job into a genuine career.
• The Multisensory Pet Resort Experience – What pet businesses can learn from Disney, hotels, exhibitions and even Viking museums about using scent, sound, touch and other senses to create memorable experiences

We’re now only around THREE WEEKS AWAY from the Pet Boarding & Daycare Expo in Hershey — and Mallory and Sam will both be speaking at this year’s event. Tickets available here

And as Mallory says in this episode, Hershey isn’t simply about the presentations. It’s the conversations at the bar, around the fire and between sessions with owners at every stage of the pet business journey that can create relationships and ideas you’ll still be benefiting from years later.

And your host Dom will also be delivering multiple sessions, including his four-hour Pet Business Mastermind Experience, with live hot seats and practical business development advice you can take straight back to your facility.

No time to lose, grab your ticket at petboardingexpo.com

Find out more about this weeks guests Pack Pro by going to Packprotraining.com

A HUGE thank you to Canine Lab Testing for sponsoring this week’s episode.

Did you know most dogs carrying parasites show no symptoms, meaning infections can spread unnoticed through busy daycare and boarding facilities.

Canine Lab Testing offers quick, affordable on-site sample collection with next-day results, helping you protect your pack, reassure clients and potentially create an additional revenue stream.

Find out more at caninelabtesting.com

Episode Highlights

[05:40] – Dom explores the growing use of scent in art, hospitality and experiential businesses — and what pet resorts can learn from it.
[08:03] – Why scent should be more than something you use to cover up the smell of dogs and can become part of the client experience.
[12:16] – Mallory and Sam share what’s been happening at Fetch and Catch as the business celebrates its 14th anniversary.
[13:55] – How Mallory and Dan are deliberately developing their managers so those leaders can develop the next generation underneath them.
[16:13] – Sam’s journey from young canine coach to supervisor — and how she’s now actively looking for the “little prodigies” she can develop herself.
[19:30] – The moment Sam realised working with dogs didn’t have to be an entry-level job and could become a genuine long-term career.
[26:07] – Sam previews her Hershey presentation on sustained socialisation and helping dogs remain successfully within daycare programmes.
[27:51] – Are dogs becoming less resilient? Sam explains the changes she’s noticed in dogs since COVID and why some need more help navigating daycare.
[30:49] – Why educating the OWNER about how their dog’s needs will change should be part of the daycare service from day one.
[35:49] – How Fetch and Catch adapts the environment as dogs mature, including enrichment daycare, smaller groups and paired play rather than expecting the dog to adapt to one fixed programme.