Best of Pets 2021: Tucson’s Dogtopia Locations Unique Compared to National Locations | feature

Tucson’s Dogtopia franchise locations are relatively new to the area, but after a major transformation last year, they’re seeing lots of stores and wagging tails. With locations in the USA and Canada, Dogtopia presents itself as the leading provider of dog day care centers in North America. The two locations in Tucson and one in downtown Phoenix, however, work on a slightly different model to facilitate a close canine community.

The first local Dogtopia opened in March 2018 in the Oro Valley on Oracle Road. The following year, a second Dogtopia opened on Tanque Verde Road. According to David Duran, Relationship Manager at Dogtopia, both locations in Tucson underwent massive changes during COVID, closed briefly and received a new management team.

These local locations now operate on a “weekly registration” model whereby all dogs in the daycare center must come to play at least once a week to ensure familiarity. The locations offer various enrollment plans from one day a week to unlimited daycare. In addition, only dogs that are enrolled in the day care center can be admitted.

“Our full focus on regular day care vs. boarding or occasional day care means our dogs know us, we know them, and they know each other,” said Duran. “It makes the daycare a lot better because you can really be yourself and have a great, stress-free time with your friends … That’s exactly why we believe so much in our school enrollment plans. Since all of our dogs in the day care center have to pass a Meet & Greet before registering, we can ensure that our playrooms are filled with a committed group of dogs who are having fun playing

together.”

The meet and greet process includes one-on-one conversations with a Dogtopia representative, followed by a slow induction with two or three dogs from one of the playrooms. As soon as the dog is comfortable and the staff feels safe, he will be introduced to the rest of the pack in the play room. After further observation in the playroom, they assess whether the weekly daycare is suitable. According to Duran, they usually only schedule two meet and greets a day so as not to rush the process and take the right time with each dog to ensure maximum safety. This meet and greet lasts between 30 minutes and an hour. Each location has three play rooms to accommodate dogs of different sizes and their play styles.

“Of course there will sometimes be minor disputes between dogs, but our dog trainers, who undergo extensive training, including reading a dog’s body language, are trained to identify problems before they arise and, on rare occasions, to be confident about the situation solve that, “said Duran.

In addition to accommodation, they offer dog treats, photo parties, spa times and, more recently, community events for their customers. Duran explains that they want their “dog parents” to find community through Dogtopia, just as other parents find community through their children’s schools.

“Between the return from work and the urgently needed vacation, we have seen an enormous increase in new registrations. We may have to put up a waiting list soon! ”Said Duran. “It was certainly very busy, but it’s hard to tell if it’s the heat or the people who come back to the offices and travel. The summer heat demand is usually complemented by an increased number of visitors from the north who winter in Arizona, so we are pretty stable all year round. ”

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But despite the increased heat, Dogtopia keeps its play areas air-conditioned and is open seven days a week, 365 days a year, with extended early drop-off and pick-up times from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Customers can even access the webcams in the playroom so they can watch their dogs remotely.

“Outside of our daycare centers, Dogtopia is very proud of its Dogtopia Foundation, which funds programs that focus on three good causes: service dogs for veterans, literacy programs for teenagers, and employment initiatives for adults with autism,” said Duran. “Our two Tucson stores are well on the way to raising enough to sponsor their first Veteran Service Dogs each, and we couldn’t be more proud of our teams and grateful to our generous dog parents who continually donate to the foundation.”

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