It’s been nearly two years since we opened the doors at Barkansas, and it’s been a wonderful and BUSY stretch for us. I have dearly loved getting to know so many sweet pups and their owners. I find that we are fully booked more often than not on most weekends/holidays, and I’ve had to drastically reduce daycare because I just don’t have enough empty kennels to be able to house daycare dogs on a regular basis.
Many of you have asked me if we had expansion plans—and to be honest my husband and I thought seriously about adding a second kennel building. . .
But in the end, I went the other direction. That’s right. I chose to downsize instead!
There were several weeks last summer and over the most recent holidays where I had 25 or more dogs here at once. Keep in mind, 99.9% of the time, it is just ME who does all the taking care of the dogs. I do the playtimes, the feedings, the medication dispensing, cleaning the kennels, scooping the poop, cleaning the turf, washing the food/water bowls. . .not to mention the booking/reservations/questions/updating owners/photo taking/social media/etc.
I determined that it was too much for me to handle alone. I’m no spring chicken after all. 🙂
So I had some of my existing kennels physically removed from the kennel building. I did that because if I’d left them, I would have filled them. I have a very hard time saying “no” to dogs and their owners! Ultimately, I took that option away and removed some kennels completely.
This means a few things:
- I book up faster than I did before, especially during peak times.
- I am no longer able to accept new daycare clients. If this changes, I will make an announcement.
- Your dog will get lots of individual attention now that I am keeping fewer dogs.
- My play groups are small by design.
It’s been about two months since we downsized, and to be honest I wish we’d done it this way from the beginning! I am much happier and the dogs who have experienced our “low-capacity” kennel have all done very well and enjoyed their time here.
As always, thank you for trusting me with your furry family member! 🙂
Barkansas Dog Boarding 