New client information
Thank you for your interest in our boarding & daycare service! HDA has a reputation for taking good care of happy dogs. That simple premise depends - and is built upon - strict entry criteria, an in-depth onboarding process, regular clientele and a genuine commitment to treat boarding dogs as we care for our own.
We welcome well socialized dogs who naturally enjoy being in the company of others, and can settle happily alone at night and during quiet (down) time.
Unfortunately we do not accept:
- Occasional, infrequent or one-off bookings
- Hunting breeds and/or escape artists (our large, open forest fields are an unsuitable environment)
- Dogs with strong guarding and/or herding tendencies (we are on a busy hiking trail with lots of passing people and dogs)
- Barkers (we live in a very peaceful hamlet so we owe this to our neighbours and ourselves!)
- Dogs who are stressed meeting or being in the company of other dogs
- Female dogs that are in heat or due to go into heat
- Adult male dogs that are not surgically castrated**
Puppies (over 6 months), rescue dogs and/or those with limited experience of interacting with people/other dogs, are strongly advised to attend training and socialisation classes before coming to visit. Whilst we make every effort to supervise play, a busy boarding facility is not a suitable environment for a dog to learn social interaction.
While this seems very prescriptive, it is designed as such. Over the years, we have evolved into a "club" facility where the same dogs come to stay frequently and, as a result, know us and each other extremely well. This makes for a very happy, friendly environment, for our family, our own dogs and the dogs coming to stay. We have a responsibility to keep it like that. We have limited availability, and we are always booked up for school holidays.
As a result, we only take on a small number of new clients annually, actively avoid boarding occasional and/or infrequent dogs, and strictly assess the suitability of each potential new dog. The positive side of this for clients is that we really strive to cater to the needs of our regulars, even during busier times or last minute requests.
Most dogs happily settle here after an introductory visit followed by a trial overnight. All dogs must a) visit and b) stay overnight at least once before boarding bookings can be confirmed. We appreciate that leaving your dog in the care of someone else may cause some level of worry for both you and your dog, so we feel this is an important step in ensuring that you and your dog are completely happy before a longer booking takes place. It also allows us an opportunity to assess the suitability of your dog to board at Happy Dogs Aigle.
The overnight trial can be arranged at your convenience (Monday-Thursday) outside peak holiday times and is charged at usual boarding rates. The trial is from a pre-arranged time in the afternoon (usually 3pm) until 11am the following morning.
Being away from home can be stressful for dogs and, despite our strict entry criteria, even the most social of dogs may demonstrate unusual or out of character behavior. If, for any reason, we are concerned about your dog's behavior during the overnight trial, we will play with, and walk him separately to the other boarders. Excessive barking, fear, aggression, destructive or anti social behavior by any dog is not accepted, here for the comfort and safety of themselves and other dogs, and for the sake of our family life and that of our neighbors.
While many dogs settle happily here, it is not the perfect environment for all. Other boarding services suit and serve some dogs better, those that appreciate a more structured routine perhaps, or prefer to spend their time without the company of other dogs. Time, training & experience has given us the ability to assess a new dog's suitability fairly quickly and the confidence & network to recommend suitable alternatives for those we cannot facilitate here.
In view of our limited capacity and high demand, we prioritize our regular guests for peak boarding periods such as school holidays. This is our way of saying thank you for their loyalty and custom throughout the year. With that in mind, and to minimize stress for boarders and new friends alike, we do not arrange new client visits or overnight trials during peak season times. Please get in touch well in advance of your holidays to ensure plenty of time for the onboarding process. Once we know your dog it’s much easier to facilitate boarding, even during busy periods.
**We strongly recommend allowing dogs to reach maturity before castration for their emotional and physical wellbeing. However, we do not accept intact male dogs for boarding or daycare here. The reason for that is the unpredictability of the reaction of other adult dogs towards the intact male. We also do not accept dogs that have been chemically castrated as results can be variable in our experience and our foremost objective is always the safety of all dogs in our care.