Mile High Mutts - Doggie Day Care, Boarding & Grooming

Daycare is from 6:15 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week. We charge $3 per hour past 7 p.m. if you need your pet to stay late. At 9 p.m. our boarding guests come outside for their last potty break of the day and we simply can not leave them to come up front to help so absolute last pick up is 8:55 p.m.

We are in our building from 5:45 a.m. until 9:30 p.m. every single day of the week. Ours hours do NOT change on weekends or holidays. You may drop off as early as 6:15 a.m.

Our playrooms are large and fluid. There are accesses built from all sides. Our dogs play all day with the exception of naptime. Naptime is from 12-2 p.m. and is necessary to keep the dogs healthy and happy. Most of our dogs are used to 12+ hours of sleeping not 12+ hours of a very active daycare. Giving them a nap in the middle of the day, in their own safe space, allows them to get into a deep restorative sleep. Small dogs have their own space both inside and out to play. Older and mellower dogs can benefit from this area as it has 1/2 inch thick black rubber matting. We have taken every precaution with our small dog area, including putting extra piping in between gates to ensure there are no gaps large enough for escape.

There are six oversized garage doors throughout the building that we open every single day to create air flow and access to the outside. During nice weather these doors stay open most of the day. During very hot or very cold weather they are opened at least twice a day just to ensure proper airflow. The dogs almost always have access to the outside as we leave a pedestrian door ajar. We have three separate large HVAC units in addition to ceiling fans and huge wall fans that blow air in and force air out. For very hot days, along with air conditioning we have five 5 x 10 foot shade sails that we hang outside. There is a also large tree to the south that provides shade.

We strive to train your dog on how to better behave in doggie society and, even more importantly, HUMAN society. While it may sound silly, there are very specific techniques that we use that make our daycare special. Our staff is long term. We train our employees in the art of reading a dog. Every single staff member is required to not only know every single dog, every single day,-- they are also required to know their personalities and the idiosyncrasies that make them special.

As with a child’s daycare, routine is extremely important. The dogs know when things will happen and they are used to the handlers that are working with them. Our dogs are required to find and maintain their manners. We do not allow barking. Constant, excessive barking is not normal dog behavior. It is highly stressed and aroused behavior and is not conducive to calm and enriching play. Stressed dogs are more likely to develop colds. We do not allow jumping, mounting, rough play, body slamming or extreme chasing, although we frequently place our highest energy dogs in the "Driveway Pen" which can be viewed on the cameras for fast paced, rousing games of throwing the ball. As an example of the in-depth training we frequently do, the dogs allowed in these high-energy playgroups are screened and must be polite, or they are not allowed to play. Polite means not barking, snapping, biting or growling and coming when called. Running, chasing and jumping are allowed. Not allowing them to play if they misbehave (separating them from the group and timeouts if they start barking) trains them to contain themselves the next time. We have these high-energy groups every day so it usually only takes a few times of losing their chance before they get with the program. As you can see, dogs that love the snow are allowed to go outside as long as it's not actively snowing a very wet, heavy flake. We wouldn't want them to get too wet and then get chilled. Short-haired dogs are encouraged to wear coats and can stay inside if they show no interest in playing in the snow. In below zero weather, dogs are allowed outside 5-10 minutes at a time once an hour. Arctic dogs like Huskies are allowed to go out to play if they seem interested.

We have LOTS of toys for the dogs to play with. We train the dogs to play properly with the toys and sometimes the process is long. We may take the toys away from the dog or give time outs while teaching them proper play. We may do name recalls (dog must come and sit by our side) or they may even have to do the "Walk of Shame" and be on leash walking next to a handler unable to participate in play. But once they improve their behavior, they are off to play.

In the summer we have swimming pools and water hoses out every day. We are able to dump our pools multiple times a day and refill with clean, fresh water. This "Gray Water" drains out into the front of the building and into a retaining area in the front where we are always in the process of adding plants. Feel free to scatter seeds if you like.