08/30/2026
Crate free/cage free boarding sounds great… because it is! When done right.
And here’s a small glimpse into how we do it.
Many people confuse us with a facility or building. That is incorrect. Our business is run out of our family home. These dogs are with us 24/7, in our space, in our home. There is always a qualified and trained individual present when dogs are playing, having fun, enjoying themselves in our home, with the exception of bedtime.
This exception does not mean dogs are housed loose at night, unsupervised and together. They are not. Our old country home has doors to every single room, the kitchen, the living room, every room. We utilize these doors, alongside baby gates and locks on said doors, to keep dogs safe and separate during the night, without the use of kennels, crates or cages.
Some people assume we feed our dogs together. Again, this is incorrect. All dogs, regardless of age, temperament, and including dogs from the same households, are separated for meal times. No exceptions.
No dog is ever allowed to eat around one another and all bowls are removed and placed back with their things after each meal. For our dogs who like to graze their food throughout the day, we offer them their food as the day goes by, separate from all other dogs.
This implies to treats as well. All treats are offered separately to ensure no food reactivity or resource guarding behaviour. Not that we would allow a dog into our pack that has those behaviours.
New arrivals are not just thrown into the pack either. Proper introductions, meet and greets and evolutions are done every time, and we never take on more than one new dog (or dogs, if from the same household) at a time. This ensures our current pack members are safe, and ensures we can safely determine if a new dog will fit in well with our group.
As mentioned above, there are always eyes on our dogs. This also ensures dogs who may be getting overwhelmed, overstimulated or otherwise needing a break from all the fun, can be separated to decompress and relax.
In addition, we separate by age, breed and temperament. For example, if we have a senior dog and a six month old puppy, those two would be separated. A six month old puppy is likely to irritate and stress out a senior dog. Another example, if we have a golden retriever and a yorkie, those two dogs aren’t playing together. The size difference is too great and injury risk is too high for the smaller breed dog.
Behavioural concerns, changes and other similar issues are always discussed with the pup parent when they are discovered. We never allow a dog who’s reactive to other dogs, human reactive, food reactive, toy reactive, has resource guarding and any other behaviour that could be deemed unsafe into our home.
Over the past twenty plus years we’ve been running this business, we have only had two incidents of dogs with reactivity towards humans that weren’t revealed until shortly after their parents had left after drop off. Said parents were immediately notified and the dogs were collected promptly.
We have twenty plus years of experience working with canines, learning canine behaviour, body language and what dogs will, and won’t, fit in well with our setting. Safety comes first and we have spent a long time ensuring that safety.
For emergencies, we are grateful to say we have only had one emergency over the last two decades involving a dog and that was an undiagnosed medical condition that involved no other dogs.
Responsible boarding means having the ability to separate dogs for:
- Meals
- Rest and decompression
- New arrivals
- Overstimulation
- Resource management
- Behavioural concerns
- Emergencies
And we do that. Just without a kennel, crate or cage involved.
There is nothing wrong with using a standard kennel, or using a crate or cage for your dog. It’s a management and safety tool at the end of the time, and we support crate training for all dogs.
But for our families and their dogs, they prefer the comfort in knowing their beloved furbabies are, without the use of kennels, crates and cages, safe, fulfilled, happy and healthy.
Not all crate free/cage free dog boarding is the same. Trust us, we have heard some horror stories. So find one, like us, that does it right. That keeps your dogs safe, while keeping them in a home away from home.
Because when you’re responsible for multiple dogs, their safety has to come before making boarding look fun, and we do that.
Video of Igor (boarding pup), Billiee (our dog), Elsie (our dog) and Crimson (a family member’s dog) enjoying the fresh air and having fun a few weeks ago!♥️
