The Lucky Dog Newsletter
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
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 Thanks to all.... who took the time to answer our online survey. We have decided to use our Newsletter to answer some of the questions, concerns, and ideas our clients have sent us via the survey. Hopefully, this will provide you with some information about Lucky Dog, the way we manage, the challenges,the fun stuff and, at the same time answer specific questions asked on the survey by our clients. We have not edited these questions; you see them here good or bad.Our newsletter is a bit longer this time to accommodate answers to your survey responses.
We picked out questions we thought would be of interest to the majority of our clients. However, if you would like to speak to me personally about anything you don't find here, just e-mail me at debi@bealuckydog.com.Thank you!
Debi Ropes-Stevenson
General Manager, Lucky Dog Resorts
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Our Locations, Business Hours,Classes etc.
Q: The afternoon drop offs are hard on Sundays. Could you go back to Sunday morning drop offs?
When your staff comes to you to say they have nothing to do during a normal shift you know they mean it. That's what our staff told us about Sunday mornings. They would have one, maybe two pick-ups or drop-offs and that was it. After examining our receipts for Sundays we found the traffic to be almost non-existent, so in an effort to keep our costs down we did away with this office shift. However, if there is a time when it is absolutely necessary that a dog come in on Sunday morning we may be able to work something out.
Q: I would bring my dog more if you had a location out East.
We would love to have a Lucky Dog East, but we think the dog daycare community is spread a little thin right now. Remember, when you open a new location you "cannibalize" your older locations and our numbers must stay high to keep up the quality at our existing kennels. Our connection with the future Pueblo Animal Welfare Society is in the works because Pueblo has no dog daycare, and is far enough out of Colorado Springs to not "leak" clients from our kennels here. However, we are keeping an eye on the local community and should expansion show the need for another facility, or should someone come forth with a business proposition for another kennel, we are all ears (like a basset hound!)
Q: I would be interested in my dog taking the canine good citizenship test.
Your dog can work towards this goal within the levels program at our Central location. Private lessons can also be arranged with our trainer Angie Neal to work on certain tasks needed to pass the test. Angie can also give the test itself when your dog is ready.
Q: Have seminars or one time training classes, and tricks classes.
We now offer seminars to address particular canine problems at our Central
location. Angie Neal also offers a tricks class there. Let us know what type of class you are interested in at the front desk and we will start a list of client's with the same needs. See our web site for information on all of our
training classes, private training options etc.
Did you know?
Although there is no Department of Agriculture regulation governing how much space dogs need to safely play, the Pet Care Services Association recommends an average of 75 sq ft per dog? For 30 dogs that comes out to 2,250 sq ft, and BOTH Lucky Dog locations have over 7,000 sq ft of play space. More expensive all around but we think it's worth it!
A word about our cash card program -Remember, you can load your card for a daycare package (10 or 30 days) get the reduced daycare price, but use the money for any service or retail item we sell!
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Money, Amenities, etc.
Q: Your parking lot needs attention and it should be better lit.
I bet you're a Central client:) Yes, our parking lot is horrible. Unfortunately, this is our landlords responsibility and he's had workmen out there scraping and filling, paving, making mounds to direct the water into the pipe leading to the lake...etc; it has been a battle! It is better than it was (I know that's hard to believe), but the building is lower than the street and all water runs our way, freezes and turns to ice. I'm sure you see us out there chipping, salting, and shoveling.We will continue to try and work with our landlord to improve the situation. We will also look into a light for out there.
Q: (Combination of a few questions) Could you provide more help in the morning and the evening to take dogs so we can get to work, or get our dogs so we can get home?
This is a tough one because dog daycare is a strange business. You are crazy busy for a very short period of the day. We struggle to keep payroll down to keep costs down, so try to use only one person on desk. The situation is worse at Central because the desk assistant has a lot further to go to get the dogs, and it takes more time.With the economy the way it was our daycare numbers dropped some last year, so we are still staffed for those numbers. However, daycare is picking up and we are looking at having a dog runner for the busy hours during the day.
Q: (Combination of a few questions) Please keep your costs down, boarding is expensive, if daycare were less expensive we could come more often.
Running dog daycare the right way is more expensive than running it the wrong way. The wrong way is ducking Department of Agriculture Regulations that state "Facilities must have 1 human supervisor per 15 dogs in any area. If you have a solid wall between areas, you must have 1 person in each area." If any area can be seen straight through (like our little dog area can be seen from the big dog area,) then you can have one person supervising both groups.as long as the total does not go over 15. But once you have that 16th dog you must have 2 dog supervisors in the group. There are other daycare facilities in the state that count the front desk person as a supervisor, or they count other staff members cleaning kennels as a supervisor, but we do not. There are also facilities whose webcams show NO guardians actually in with the dogs. We ALWAYS have 1 dog supervisor for 15 dogs. The result of this is a very high payroll number. We're not willing to sacrifice the safety of the dogs to try and lower payroll costs, so we are stuck with that big number. Having said that, we offer quite competitive prices for daycare and boarding.Space is another expensive commodity and we have tons of it. That is the problem with running a big, clean, caring facility - it takes a lot of money! Having said that and with our rising costs we must unfortunately raise the cost of daycare to $18 for a full day starting April 1, which is still lower than almost all the daycares in town. See the closing article of the newsletter to see new options that can save you money.
See New Pricing and Options Below
Q: The outside camera at Lucky Dog Central makes it hard to see the dogs in the far end of the play area. Another camera would be great!
We plan to add another camera to the Central far end outdoor play area, but probably won't be until the summer. By the way, we get some great compliments from our clients about our webcams! We even have dog lovers from other countries watching us, along with those that rate webcams world wide. We are proud of the clarity of picture, and the inside look into your dog's day that our cameras provide.
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Staff Behavior, Play Room Noise etc.
Q: Central Location - Little Dogs. My boys like to sit on the bridges in the big play area. Can you switch the toys around.....and allow little dogs full run of the (big) floor for awhile?
We have this on my agenda to work into the schedule. Sometimes staffing won't allow us to do this, but when we can we will.
Q: I would like to see the staff interacting with my dog more. Some dogs seem to get more attention than others.
Dog daycare is about dogs playing with other dogs, although sometimes our guardians throw balls, do a lot of petting etc. The most rewarding interaction at daycare is dog to dog. Our guardians are there making sure every one is peaceful and playing well, like teachers on a playground at recess. However, we will be speaking to all of our guardians about showing some dogs more affection than others, which is not fair and not good for group dynamics.
Q: It was noisy during our training classes at Central (combination of comments.)
We recently put up sound absorbing panels made of recycled materials that really helps with our sound level. We are going to put up similar panels at our South location. Unfortunately, most buildings that provide enough room for dogs to run around in are warehouse type, with tall ceilings. The height of our ceilings is what causes the sound bounce...so, along with the size comes a certain amount of noise.
Q: I wish your playroom was separated from the boarding area.
The boarding areas and play room are separated at each facility by walls and doors. I think what this client was thinking of was the daycare kennels that surround the play floor. Also note that our lobby areas at both locations are also separated by walls and doors from the play areas. This keeps us true to our policy of having play floor handlers dedicated to the play floor and separates the staff for each area.
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The Dog Food Guru Speaks
We asked our clients if they bought food at Lucky Dog and why or why not? The major comments were as follows:
Survey Comment: Lucky Dog does not carry the food I need.
Lucky Dog regularly stocks Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance, Merrick and Precise brand foods.We can also special order Iams, Royal Canin, Wellness, Fromm, ProPlan,Purina, Eukanuba, EaglePack,ProPac,Pedigree, Nature's Variety (raw/frozen) and Nutro. If you currently feed one of these foods, please e-mail store@bealuckydog.com with the food, flavor and size you usually buy and we will let you know what your Lucky Dog price would be. We are happy to keep a stock of your regular food in our stores. Pick up your food when you pick up your dog - pretty convenient, and we'll even carry it out for you!
Survey Comment: PetCo or Petsmart offer frequent buyer discounts.
Precise and Blue Buffalo offer frequent buyer discounts, which we can track for you at Lucky Dog. When purchasing food, please inform us if you have a frequent buyer card. Keep in mind that some of the manufacturers require the UPCs off the bag for the discounts to be given. The usual discount is buy 10 bags get one free. If you special order food through Lucky Dog other than Precise and Blue Buffalo, we can track that for you too.We accept all manufacturer coupons on any food we sell.
Survey Comment: Our food is too expensive.
We visit the major pet retailers and check their pricing. We do our best to make sure our everyday pricing is lower than our competition. We do not try to keep track of when someone else is offering a sale or running ads with coupons. We try to keep it simple and always offer the lowest price possible. If you are able to purchase a food we carry at a lower, non-sale price, please bring us a copy of the receipt so we can do some checking and see if we can match or beat the price. Please keep in mind that we are a small local business that does not have the national purchasing power of larger chains, so we may not always be able to beat everyone's price, but we sure will try!
Survey Comment: Vets are the only ones who should discuss nutrition. Corn is not bad for dogs.
Thanks to the Colorado Association of Dog Daycares we were able to attend a canine/feline nutritional seminar with a veterinarian who is an expert in pet care nutrition. Along with that meeting, we take every opportunity to meet with the nutritional experts from the various dog food companies. We feel confident that the information we pass on to our customers is accurate and is the most current information in the industry.
No one says corn is bad for dog or it will hurt them, they just can't digest it. It is a poor filler used in dog food and when it is the first or second ingredient on the bag it is taking up a lot of space within that dog food. (Ingredients are listed in order of how much of that ingredient is in the food.) Look for high quality proteins as your first couple of ingredients, Example - Chicken, chicken meal..etc.
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Yeah - We have an "app" for that!
You can now watch your pooch play from your iPhone or any smartphone. No watching while driving:) See Quicklinks above.
NEW PRICING, BUT MORE OPTIONS STARTING March 29, 2010!
It's been two years since we have had a price increase. You will note a small daycare price rise beginning March 29, however compare to other facilities in town and you will see we are still below the average cost of daycare. We are sensitive to the need of affordable options, so we have added several new programs to help:
Weekday Workout - We took our Winter Workout that so many of our clients liked and made it permanent. This one session workout can be performed in the morning or afternoon for $5.00. Strict drop off and pickup times are enforced on this great daycare bargain! See our web site for drop off and pickup times.
Double Play Workout Day - We think this option will become quite popular. Your dog will attend play session in the morning and one in the afternoon. In between sessions he rests in his kennel. This is great option for those who want their dog to have play time, but not too much. Also good for older dogs, or dogs who are quite excitable. This is a full day of play/care for $15.00!
All Day Workout - On and off play all day (our normal daycare day!) $18.00/day one dog pay as you go.
Two or more dogs $16.00 per dog pay as you go.
Daycare packages - Thirty Day package $15 per/day
Thirty Day package 2 or more dogs $14.00/day
Ten Day packages $16.50 per dog/day
Ten Day packages 2 or more dogs $15.00/day
Puppy Pals Social Club - Tuesdays and Thursdays, Central location - Pups 10-16 weeks FREE!
Boarding 10 days or longer? DISCOUNT! (10%)
Boarding dogs of active duty military? DISCOUNT! (15%)
Our summer boarding prices will show no increase over last year.
Does your dog need a makeover? Bring him to Lucky Dog Grooming! - Where else can your dog play FREE before and/or after a groom at either Lucky Dog location. We may also be able to match or beat our competitors grooming prices!
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Sincerely,
Debi Ropes-Stevenson
Lucky Dog Resorts |
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Buy 1 Jones meat treat (curly cues, pigs ears etc.) and get the second one at half price! (Treat of same or lesser value discounted. Limit 10 per customer)
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Coupon expires March 31, 2010 No need to print coupon. Just mention offer!
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