Requirements
Thoughtful Requirements for Safe, Comfortable Homestyle Boarding
At Wiggling Tails, boarding dogs are welcomed into our Queen Creek home and become part of our household while they are with us.
For 15 years, we operated Wiggling Tails in the San Francisco Bay Area, providing professional dog daycare, boarding and walking services. After moving our business to Queen Creek, Arizona, we chose to create a smaller and more personal boarding experience while maintaining the health, safety and care standards that guided our previous business.
Because our guests share our home, yard and daily life with our personal dogs and other boarding guests, choosing dogs who are comfortable in this environment is extremely important.
Our requirements help us provide a safe, relaxed and enjoyable experience for every dog staying with us.
Who Our Boarding Is Designed For
Wiggling Tails is best suited for social dogs who enjoy being around people and other dogs.
Our homestyle boarding may be a good fit for:
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Dogs 45 lbs and under
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Dogs who are friendly and comfortable around other dogs
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Dogs who are comfortable living in a home environment with other dogs
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Dogs who enjoy supervised outdoor play and exploration
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Dogs who can comfortably settle and relax indoors
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Families looking for a smaller, more personal alternative to a traditional boarding kennel
Because this is our home and not a traditional kennel facility, dogs must be able to safely and comfortably live as part of a household.
Meet and Greet and Evaluation
All new boarding dogs must complete an evaluation before their first boarding stay.
This gives us an opportunity to get to know your dog and allows your dog to become familiar with us, our personal dogs and the environment where they will be staying.
We evaluate things such as:
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Comfort around other dogs
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Play style and social behavior
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Comfort with people and handling
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Ability to settle and relax
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Behavior in a home environment
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Overall compatibility with our household and current boarding guests
Our goal is not to accept every dog. Our responsibility is to make sure each dog we welcome into our home is a good fit for the environment we provide.
A trial visit or trial overnight may be required before a longer boarding stay.
Vaccination Requirements
To protect the health of all dogs in our home, boarding dogs must remain current on the following vaccinations:
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Rabies, updated according to veterinary guidelines
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DHPP, including Distemper, Hepatitis, Parainfluenza and Parvovirus
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Bordetella, annually
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Canine Influenza, annually
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Leptospirosis, annually
Current vaccination records must be provided before your dog's first stay and kept up to date for future visits.
Fecal Testing Requirement
We require a negative fecal test every 6 months for all boarding dogs.
Fecal testing helps screen for intestinal parasites, including giardia, which can sometimes be present without obvious symptoms.
Because boarding dogs share our home and outdoor spaces, parasite prevention is an important part of protecting our personal dogs and every guest who stays with us.
Testing documentation from your veterinarian must be submitted and kept current.
Flea and Tick Prevention
All boarding dogs must be on an effective veterinarian recommended flea and tick preventative.
Dogs showing evidence of fleas or other external parasites cannot be accepted for boarding until the issue has been resolved.
Keeping parasites out of our home and yard protects every dog who stays with us.
Health and Wellness
Dogs must be healthy when they arrive for boarding.
Dogs experiencing vomiting, diarrhea, coughing, unusual lethargy, contagious illness or other concerning symptoms should remain at home or receive appropriate veterinary care.
Please let us know about any recent illness, injury, medication or significant change in your dog's health before their stay.
If your dog becomes ill or injured while boarding, we will contact you or your designated emergency contact and determine the appropriate next steps based on the situation.
Spay and Neuter Guidelines
We generally require:
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Spaying by 8 months of age
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Neutering by 1 year of age
Exceptions may be considered for valid medical reasons with veterinary documentation.
Because boarding dogs live and socialize together in our home, we must also consider how hormonal maturity may affect interactions between individual dogs.
Behavior and Safety
Safety is central to our boarding environment.
All dogs are handled using positive reinforcement methods.
We do not use prong collars, choke collars or aversive training methods.
Dogs must be able to interact safely with our personal dogs, other boarding guests and the people caring for them.
Dogs displaying serious aggression toward people or other dogs are not appropriate for our homestyle group boarding environment.
Supervised Outdoor Time
One of the benefits of staying at Wiggling Tails is access to our large, securely fenced grass yard on our one acre Queen Creek property.
Outdoor time is supervised.
Dogs are not simply put outside and left in the yard for extended periods. We are outside with them to supervise interactions, monitor play and make sure everyone remains safe.
This also helps prevent dogs from getting into trouble, excessive barking or other behavior that could become a nuisance to our neighbors.
Dogs enjoy time outside to run, play, explore and sniff, followed by time indoors to rest and relax as part of our household.
A Home, Not a Kennel
Our boarding environment is intentionally different from a traditional boarding facility.
There are no rows of kennel runs and dogs are not housed separately for most of the day.
They share our home and daily routines with us.
That makes social compatibility, good health and appropriate household behavior particularly important.
We keep our boarding group intentionally small so that we can get to know the dogs staying with us and provide the personal attention and supervision that are central to the Wiggling Tails experience.
Pet Sitting Is Another Option
Not every dog is suited to a social homestyle boarding environment, and that is perfectly okay.
Some pets are happier remaining in their own home, particularly those who prefer their own space, have difficulty living with other dogs, or simply do better maintaining their normal household routine.
Wiggling Tails also provides professional in home pet sitting throughout Queen Creek, Chandler, Gilbert and San Tan Valley.
Pet sitting may be a better option when homestyle boarding is not the right fit for your pet.
Finding the Right Fit
Our requirements are based on 15 years of professional experience caring for dogs.
They are not intended to make boarding complicated. They help us protect the comfortable, social home environment that makes Wiggling Tails different.
When we accept a dog for boarding, we want their family to feel confident leaving them with us, and we want the dog to feel comfortable coming back.
That relationship is what we hope to build with every Wiggling Tails family.
Next Step
If you think our homestyle boarding environment sounds like a good fit for your dog, tell us a little about them and let's start the conversation.