![The Board Hound [ Premier Boarding Facility: Shirlington, Arlington, Virginia + Old Town Alexandria, Virginia ]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/the-board-hound-logo.png){kind=logo}
Dog Daycare
At The Board Hound, our daycare was established to enrich the lives of the dogs in our community through healthy outlets for play and socialization. Our smaller play groups come with individual care and attention, while providing a low-stress, safe, daycare environment at our locations in Arlington and Alexandria. Since safety is our first priority, we start with providing a high staff to dog ratio of about 1 to 10. This personalization ensures that your dog is always closely monitored.
We understand that not all dogs are the same so we match energy levels, comfort levels, and play styles to create the perfect playgroup with each dog in mind. These playgroups are continuously adjusted as the dynamics fluctuate throughout the day to ensure that all the dogs stay safe, happy, and healthy. Our goal is to provide a positive play space for dogs to flourish and be dogs. Our approach is always fear and force-free.
Shirlington Daycare Availability
The Shirlington location is full for daycare thorough Labor Day. We are not able to accommodate reservation requests dates earlier than September 7th. If you would like to be placed on the wait list, please request specific dates to our email address below. Thank you for your patience.
Please email us at shirlington@theboardhound.com to request a daycare reservation at our Shirlington location
All daycare reservations must be cancelled by 5 pm two days before your reservation to avoid the late cancellation fee.
Old Town Daycare Availability
The Old Town location is full for daycare thorough Labor Day. We are not able to accommodate reservation requests dates earlier than September 7th. If you would like to be placed on the wait list, please request specific dates to our email address below. Thank you for your patience.
Please email us at oldtown@theboardhound.com to request a daycare reservation at our Old Town location.
All daycare reservations must be cancelled by 5 pm two days before your reservation to avoid the late cancellation fee.
Our facilities are temperature controlled for comfort, with flooring made of epoxied concrete to prevent paw and pad injuries. And because our floor and walls are non-porous, they are easy to clean and disinfect. Our play areas are thoroughly disinfected to provide an exceptionally clean daycare environment every day.
Our Shirlington location includes our trademarked RoofTop PlayTM space. The Board Hound is the only dog daycare in Arlington with an outdoor play area! Our unique outdoor space provides your dog access to fresh air throughout the day in monitored playgroups. RoofTop PlayTM is approached just the same as our other play areas to provide a low-stress, safe, and clean environment. Our Old Town location also features a fully-covered outdoor play space for dogs to get fresh air in any weather and any season!
At The Board Hound, we understand that every dog has unique needs while in daycare. We do our absolute best to accommodate any special request for your dog while in our care. We can accommodate a wide range of requests to suit your dog’s needs ranging from midday lunch to scheduled rest time. In addition to providing exceptional care for your canine companions, we are equally flexible in the understanding of our clients’ needs. We offer early drop off in the morning before we open, as well as late pick up in the evening.
To uphold the highest safety standards possible, all our dogs are required to successfully complete our daycare evaluation and trial day of daycare before they can attend daycare with The Board Hound. The evaluation and trial day are very important for the well-being of your dog, our staff, and all other dogs in our facility. This process gives us the opportunity to get to know your dog, and for your dog to get to know us, while enjoying all that group socialization has to offer. During the evaluation (4-hour minimum) we are able to establish a behavioral profile for your dog. This profile is used to determine the appropriate play group and daycare plan for your dog and to ensure that our daycare environment will be a positive experience. We understand that a dog’s behavior is always adjusting as each dog builds confidence, learns the rules of socialization, and gets comfortable in a group play setting. As a dog’s behavior changes, we are able to adjust their personalized plan for daycare as needed.
Our daycare evaluations are always 100% free and includes the trial day of daycare at no additional cost. Once your dog has completed a Drop-Off Daycare Evaluation, you will be able to schedule recurring daycare reservations, or daycare reservations as needed, at either location.
Here’s how to get registered for our Daycare Services
The Board Hound is no longer accepting new daycare clients through Labor Day. Evaluation availability is limited to the availability as shown on the evaluation scheduling portal.
- Please complete and submit a New Client Registration Form. If your dog is a current training client, there is no need to fill out the form.
- After submitting your complete application, please schedule your free daycare evaluation at either location.
- Once scheduled and confirmed, you will receive an email confirmation for your appointment(s).
Requirements for your Dog to Participate in Daycare
For puppies under 16 weeks of age, a training consultation with trainer approval is required prior to scheduling a drop-off daycare evaluation. All puppies must be at least 10 weeks of age, and they must be vaccinated with the first two rounds of Distemper & Bordetella prior to scheduling a daycare evaluation. The training consultation is waived for puppies who have attended at least one Puppy Party or registered in Puppy K.
For dogs over 16 weeks of age, up-to-date Rabies, Distemper, and Bordetella vaccines are required prior to scheduling an evaluation. The Canine Influenza vaccines is not required, but recommended. Titer testing will be accepted in place of vaccine requirements. If you are interested in waiving the vaccine requirements for health reasons or otherwise, please contact us.
Daycare Pricing
Drop-Off Daycare Evaluation + Trial Day: FREE
Full-Day Daycare (up to 12.5 hours): $42
Half-Day Daycare (up to 6 hours): $30
Daycare Packages & Pricing:
- 05-Day Package: $200 ($40 per day)
- 10-Day Package: $380 ($38 per day)
- 15-Day Package: $540 ($36 per day)
- Weekday Package: $160 per week
Daycare Pricing for Additional Dogs in the Same Family
Drop-Off Daycare Evaluation + Trial Day: FREE
Full-Day Additional Dog Daycare (up to 12.5 hours): $37
Half-Day Additional Dog Daycare (up to 6 hours): $30
Additional Dog Daycare Packages & Pricing:
- Additional Dog 05-Day Package: $175 ($33 per day)
- Additional Dog 10-Day Package: $330 ($32 per day)
- Additional Dog 15-Day Package: $465 ($31 per day)
- Additional Dog Weekday Package: $150 per week
Additional Daycare Services
Early Drop-Off services are offered Monday through Friday at both locations for $15 per daycare dog. Early Drop-Off services are not offered on weekends, holidays, or any day we are scheduled to open at 9 am.
Late Pick-Up services are offered Monday through Friday for a cost of $15 per daycare dog. Late Pick-Up services are not offered on weekends, holidays, or any day we close at 7 pm.
Transportation services are available from Old Town to Shirlington for any daycare dog that has not been picked up by 8pm. A $20 fee will apply.
Enrichment Activities can be requested while participating in daycare as well. Those services are listed on our Dog Training Page.
Bath & Nail Trimming Add-On Services
Bathing and Nail Trims are accommodated by request for dogs attending daycare or boarding. We also have a self-wash station at our Shirlington location that clients can use to bathe their dogs themselves.
Standard Bath includes Top Performance Fresh Pet Shampoo, Ear Cleaning, Brush, & Blow Dry (daycare & boarding dogs only): $35
All-Natural Bath includes Top Performance All Natural Green Tea & Mint Shampoo, Ear cleaning, Brush, & Blow Dry. This option is best for dogs with sensitive skin (daycare & boarding only): $40
Nail Trim Add-On (daycare & boarding dogs only; with bathing service): $10
Nail Trim Only (daycare & boarding dogs only): $15
Self-wash (Shirlington location only, for daycare & boarding clients only; Walk-ins welcome!): $20
At The Board Hound, our daycare was established to enrich the lives of the dogs in our community through healthy outlets for play and socialization. Our smaller play groups come with individual care and attention, while providing a low-stress, safe, daycare environment at our locations in Arlington and Alexandria. Since safety is our first priority, we start with providing a high staff to dog ratio of about 1 to 10. This personalization ensures that your dog is always closely monitored.