FAQ's

If your dog has never stayed with us before, the easiest way to schedule his first stay is to set up an account in our booking system by choosing the "New Customer" button on our Book Now page and book an evaluation visit for your pup(s). An evaluation visit is always required before any new dog can stays with us. We call you when we receive your evaluation visit booking to ask any questions we may have and to answer any questions you may have as well.

There is a $40 charge (+tax) for the evaluation visit which you can pay in cash, via venmo or by check made out to Happy Dogs Maui LLC when you pick up your dog.

On the day off your dogs evaluation visit you will simply drop off your dog at the agreed time (yep, just drop the leash and you are good to go) and leave him/her her with us for the 2 hour time slot that you booked.

During this time we will: - let him/her sniff out the yard first - introduce him/her to the other dogs that are staying here at the time (depending on the confidence of the dog we usually introduce dogs one on one and give them time to settle in) - let them play together as long as they desire - let him/her come inside to sniff out his/her home away from home - leave him/her settle down for a short period of time (if he/she doesn't settle down well around the other dogs we give him/her the opportunity to be in a quieter part of the house. - possibly go out for more play time (depending on age and energy level of your dog) - when you return to pick up your dog we will have you come inside and sit down with you to answer any questions you may have and have you check out your dogs home away from home too. :)

Finding the answer to this question is the exact reason for the evaluation visit, because there are many reasons and nuances of dogs "not getting along" with other dogs.

Most dogs are actually totally fine when they meet our dogs and the visitors here. Even if your dog is reactive on a leash, behind a fence or in your own home, this usually changes once he/she is off the leash and has the freedom of speaking and reading doggie-boddy-language and is allowed to tell the other dogs what is too much for him/her.

Some dogs are shy, some dogs just aren't very well socialized, other dogs are just older and don't want to be bothered much... once we get to know your dog during the first part of evaluation we will make him/her feel comfortable in whichever way he/she needs and usually this eliminates any issues.

If however your dog really doesn't get along with the other dogs at all, we will let you know at the end of evaluation and will discuss the options with you.

You really don't need to bring much and often times doggie parents drop of their pooch with the amount of food needed for his/her stay and the required paperwork... and that is it.

However, once your dog's stay with us is booked in and all is set, you will receive an email from us in the days leading up to his/her stay with a list of things to bring and do.

Dogs that require medication or supplements need to be dropped off with the necessary meds.

Things you don't need to bring are food bowls and dog beds... we have plenty of those. :)

Your dogs day here will be structured largely after his hours of activity (dog's activity hours are the morning and evening hours), which means that he /she will get up with the first dog to wake up (or he/she might be the first dog to wake up in fact :D) and go out for a "first call" potty break at that time. Some dogs are already full of energy and ready to play and get to do so, others just want to go back inside and nap/rest a little more before breakfast is served.

After breakfast we let the pups and their stomaches rest a little bit and then we all head outside for a long play/sniff/explore session, all depending on what your dog prefers to do. If your dog has been with us multiple times and is a good "pack dog" that stays with everyone else, he gets to run free by the stream and run back and forth alongside it. If your dog is more of an explorer and doesnt have a very reliable recall, he/she will either stay in the fenced part of the yard (one terrace up from the stream) during this time.

Once everyone is exercised and tired we will head back inside where everyone can take their time to settle down and lazy play (e.g. play-biting on the couch, stealing toys from each other..) in the play room. Older dogs may enjoy escaping into the quiet living room, some dogs might just want to hang out on a dog bed on the shady deck or lay belly down on the cool concrete pad underneith the roof in our dog area. Either way, pretty soon veryone will have settled down for a nice long nap./

There is a dog door in the play room and most dogs will learn to use it pretty quickly by following other dogs through, so most dogs will go out to potty when they need to or go in and out as they please. However, if your dog can not figure out the dog door we will take him/her outside again for a potty break and for some sun bathing or sniff-ary around noon and puppies will get their lunch when we come back inside. Usually everyone will just want to nap some more after that.

Another nice play session follows in the late afternoon, once it isn't too hot and sunny anymore and once everyone is awake again and ready to go. :) Often we stay out until just before dark, sometimes the dogs just hang on the deck for sunset... depending on their preferences.

Then follows dinner time and possibly some snuggles with pups or people, maybe some more lazy play in the playroom or some more napping on the couch. And around 9pm to 9.30pm we let everyone out for the "last call" of the day to potty one more time before letting everyone settle in their favorite spot and turn off the lights. Good night :)

The scenario above samples a dry/sunny day here on Maui... if it rains all day the outdoor time will be cut a lot shorter and the dogs get to play inside more (which they will totally do :D). Sometimes we even need to lure (or carry) dogs outside to go potty in the rain if they don't like to get their paws wet, but nevertheless they will always go outside a minimum of 4 times a day to do their business and get some fresh air. And well.. the rest will vary a bit day by day depending on appointments and tasks that come up... just like your days vary too. :)

This is a question that almost every dog parent asks and it is probably the most difficult one to answer... it really depends on your dog's preferences. Some dogs want to just sleep in a big dog pile in the play room.. either on the doggie couch or on the dog beds on the floor. Other dogs (usually especially older dogs that are pretty comfortable when alone) sometimes like to sleep in the living room on the human couch or in one of the beds in one of the corners of the living or dining room. In very special cases a dog might even sleep in the bedroom with us, but that really isn't the norm. Most puppies sleep in crates and are being let out at night if age-appropriate. This helps them so settle down in the presence of other dogs and gives them the quiet time they need and it also prevents them from having potty accidents in the house or getting into the habit of chewing on things they aren't supposed to chew on.

Before your dogs stay we ask for your dogs health records to be uploaded to our booking system so we can make sure everyone is up to date on his/her general vaccinations (DHLPP every 3 years). We do not require the Bordetella vaccination, however, you may want to still get this easy (taken by mouth) vaccine for your peace of mind. If you do however get the Bordetella vaccine for your dog, please make sure he/she gets it at least 10 days prior to a visit with us.

If you want to book a Stream Splash around for your pup we also require the Leptospirosis vaccination. If your dog doesn't have this (initial immunization done in 2 shots about 2 weeks appart, repeated every 6-12 month for continued immuization) we will not let him get close to the stream at any time.

As for preventatives, yes, we do require your dog to be on heartworm and flea/tick preventative and if these are due during his/her stay we would also like to ask you to bring these preventative along so we can administer them.

For a repeat stay you can always just book your pups stay by choosing the "Existing Customer" button on our Book Now page and we will confirm your booking dates as soon as the pups allow us to.