A Play Date, Every Day

About seven years ago, April Liscombe listened to her grandson mention that his friend could not have a dog because his parents worked. The comment, along with her love for dogs, sparked an idea to start a day care business for dogs:  

“I thought that wouldn’t it be ideal if people could have dogs, still have their jobs, and not have to worry about how they were cared for during the day?" Liscombe said.

Now, Liscombe, 57, helps dogs stay active, while their owners are working at their jobs. The business is at 80 Sumner St.

Are there challenges to keeping a lot of dogs together?

The challenges to keeping a lot of dogs together are making sure that they all get along, definitely, doing temperament testing before letting the dogs attend day care. The challenges are making sure that we are very selective in who attends, not necessarily in regard to breed but more with temperament and behavior. 

Are there dogs you cannot take for day care or grooming for any reason?

We do provide day care services to the dogs that can’t play in the large group. What that would consist of would be finding maybe one or two playmates for that dog, and if that is not possible, making sure that the dog gets enough exercise with a dog handler. That would be leash walks and playing in our backyard. We have about an acre of fenced-in space that we can actually take an individual dog out, throw a ball, play Frisbee, or let them play in the pool, so that they get plenty of exercise. 

Is there a schedule for the dogs over the day? Does that alter depending on the dog?

There is a schedule that we like to follow and it alters mostly due to the weather, but sometimes the dog, depending upon if the dog can play in the group. Sometimes the owner will bring a dog in and say that he is particularly tired that day, so we have to change the schedule a bit. We’re pretty flexible and adaptable to that. We definitely want to hear that from the owners so that we can provide the best service for the dog. 

Do you offer dog training?

We do. We currently are looking for a new dog trainer, but we have had two dog trainers in the past. We do several types of service. We have what they call in-house boarding training, which the dog would come to stay for two weeks and be totally obedience trained while he’s here. We also offer training at day care where there are small 15-minute segments of training, which is usually just a brush up for the particular dog. And then we have group classes. 

What are the steps to grooming a dog?

Depending upon the type of dog, the breed, always brushing out and making sure that the coat is free of debris and not matted. Cleaning ears and teeth if the owner has asked, and clipping the nails. Then, a bath and a final brush out. With long haired breeds or breeds that need to be trimmed, we would cut prior to the bath and then a finish clipping after the blow dry. 

Are there any special events or challenges for the dogs?

On warm days we have the pool set outside. They are kiddie pools. Most all of them love to get in them and wade. On holidays we try to do something dog appropriate. We have sort of little scavenger hunt for Halloween or those types of things where they can find treats hidden out in the backyard. We definitely set up, but again, with regard to safety, not all dogs can do those types of things. We have to hand-pick the group and are very careful [to see] if any are food aggressive because the treats are usually biscuits. But for the most part, the group that is here on a regular basis can participate. 

What play equipment do you use for dog day care?

For play equipment we use a lot of Little Tikes, toddler playground equipment, swimming pools. We use only toys that cannot be destroyed or that they’ll fight over. So [we have] a lot of large Nylabone type toys for the dogs to chew on. 

Have you had to change any dog care routines or methods over the years?

We are constantly meeting about procedures and ideas that would work better with regard to safety. Safety is definitely our number one. If one of the staff members comes up with an idea about exiting the building safer, or play routines when they get over excited, [we will change our procedure]. One instance would be that when we get ready to go out into the large play area outside, they all become very excited. So we have learned that we need to not announce that, and we need to take a few out at a time and make it uneventful, so that it is not quite so exciting. Because they’re all fired up to go out, and it is hard to get a bunch of excited dogs out at one time. We’ve [also] use a process of double gating so that we gate a portion of the outside fenced-in area so that they step into a sort of holding area and then are released into the big backyard.  There is a staff member outside waiting for them and a staff member helping them get out the door.

What are the worst and best parts of the job?

The worst part of the job is the cleaning. It is never-ending. Anything with animals is non-stop cleaning. The best part is spending the day with animals. There is so much to learn from them. They love unconditionally. They’re fun and they’re cute. They seem to bring the best out in people, so I think my staff totally agrees that just spending time and playing with them is the best part of the job.