Puppy Student Portal
At your evaluation, you received a paper copy of our Welcome to Day School handout. Please take a few moments and read it – it covers a lot of questions about the program! Please share it with anyone who is coming to Crossbones on behalf of your puppy, such as spouses or partners, adult children, pet sitters, and dog walkers.
Afternoon pick-up is 3-6:30PM.
Anyone dropping off or picking up your puppy must read the Welcome to Day School handout.
In the Morning (7-9AM)
First, give your puppy a chance to go potty here at our facility (even if they went at home). This keeps morning drop-off moving smoothly. There is a mulch potty area with dog waste bags available past the training hall door, towards the highway.
If no one is at the front desk when you enter the lobby, please text us — sometimes we are “all hands on deck” with the dogs in the back. We’ll come up front as soon as we are able!
In the Afternoon (3-6:30PM)
After 3PM, come into the lobby to pick up your pup. If no one is at the front desk, please text us. Sometimes we’re “all hands on deck” with the dogs in the back. We’ll bring your puppy right out front!
If you have a Puppy Teacher Conference to attend, your instructor will chat with you first, then bring out your puppy for you.
If you have a Flex Class to attend, you must arrive at least 5-10 minutes before the start of class so we can bring your puppy out to you. You’ll need to give your pup a chance to go potty outside and get all of those “happy to see you” wiggles out before class starts.
If you’d like to make a purchase from our retail store, we recommend making your selections and paying for your purchase before asking for your puppy. Or, shop online and we’ll have your order ready for you at pick up!
If you are Late
If you arrive after 9:00AM, please text us, then wait in your car until we have finished settling the dogs into their playgroups (approximately 9:20-9:30AM). During this time, our staff is fully focused on the dogs and cannot step away for late arrivals. Text (not call) when you arrive and we will come outside as soon as the dogs are settled into playgroups.
If you are late for afternoon pick-up after 6:30PM, there is a $30 late fee per 10-minute interval (i.e. 6:31-6:40PM = $30, 6:41-6:50PM = $60, etc). Please be on time!
Between 9AM and 3PM
Midday drop-offs are for pre-scheduled appointments only.
If your dog has a morning vet or grooming appointment and you would still like them to attend school afterward, you may drop off between 12:15-12:30PM. Please let us know ahead of time so we can plan their day accordingly.
If your dog needs to miss a day of school to accommodate a vet or grooming appointment, providing 7 days notice ensures the day will be made up at the end of your dog’s program. Please check your calendars for upcoming appointments and let us know.
Please limit early pick ups.
We understand that emergencies happen, and there may be times when you need to pick up your dog before 3PM. To keep things safe and calm for all the dogs, early pick-ups should be limited to occasional, genuinely necessary situations.
If you do need an early pick-up, please text us when you arrive and wait in your car. Do not enter the lobby before 3PM. A team member will bring your dog out as soon as we can safely pause what we are doing, which may take 10-15 minutes.
If you are Picking Up Early
If you are picking up prior to 3PM, you must text on arrival and wait outside until a staff member is available to bring you your puppy. This may take 10-15 minutes, because all staff members are busy with the dogs after 9AM.
We have some dogs in our training programs who are fearful of strangers. Your presence in the lobby may disrupt their training or stop them from enjoying playgroup. For their safety and comfort, please do not enter the building between 9AM and 3PM.
Starting Puppy Day School brings big changes to your puppy’s routine! You may notice changes to your puppy’s eating, drinking, and potty habits when they start school. These changes are normal and should improve within a few days.
You may also notice your puppy’s behavior changing at pick up and drop off and wonder what to do when they are so excited.
Click here to read “New Transitions: Your Puppy’s First Days in Puppy Day School” to learn more about what to expect as your puppy adapts to attending our program, and how to help.
We have a Dropbox folder full of resources for you to follow along with as you train your puppy. Be sure to read “What is my puppy learning at Day School?” first, as that answers the majority of the questions we get about our curriculum.
Puppy Teacher Conferences are 30-minute one-on-one appointments with a trainer. You may book one PTC per week of your puppy’s program (one to take place during Days 1-5, one to take place during Days 6-10, and so on). These appointments are “use it or lose it” – you cannot save these appointments to book later.
Appointment Limits
On weekdays, your puppy can either attend a class OR a Puppy Teacher Conference. Attending Puppy Day School, coming to a group class, AND doing a PTC appointment is just too much in one day. Please be sure you are not scheduling multiple appointments on a weekday for your puppy. If you accidentally schedule both, and we notice it, we will cancel your class enrollment that day.
Remote Puppy Teacher Conferences
You may schedule a Remote Puppy Teacher Conference (held via Zoom video conferencing). This is a great option if you’re traveling or if your work schedule doesn’t allow you to be here by 6:30PM.
If you’re booking a Remote Puppy Teacher Conference, consider scheduling it to take place while your dog is here at the facility, and you are home or at work. It allows your instructor to demonstrate exercises with your puppy while you watch. The students who have done remote PTCs this way are very pleased with the information they’re getting. If you prefer, you can still pick your puppy up before your Remote PTC or book an in-person PTC instead.
Puppy Day School clients have access to our Flex Class program. Puppies may attend one class per day and must meet eligibility requirements in order to register (some classes have prerequisites.) We recommend attending approximately 3 classes per week. It is important that you have time to practice with your puppy outside of group classes, too!
You must register in advance for Flex Classes! Currently, most classes are filling a few days in advance. We recommend signing up for classes immediately after your evaluation is complete.
If a class is full, you can add yourself to the wait list. You’ll get an email immediately when a spot opens up in class, then you can choose whether or not you’d like to register for it.
Please only register for classes and appointments you intend to attend. Review the “Three Strikes” policy for missed, late, and no-show appointments prior to booking.
Your access to Flex Classes ends on the last day of your puppy’s Puppy Day School program, regardless of what expiration date appears in Breely when you sign up for classes. If you would like to schedule classes beyond the last day of your puppy’s current program, you must purchase a Flex Pass or renewal. If you’re not sure what day is the last day of your pup’s program, just e-mail us and ask!
Click here for details on our Flex Class program. The first class you need to attend is Orientation.
Appointment Limits
Each day, your puppy can either attend a class OR a Puppy Teacher Conference. Attending Puppy Day School, coming to a group class, AND doing a PTC appointment is just too much in one day. Please be sure you are not scheduling multiple appointments per day. If you accidentally schedule both, and we notice it, we will cancel your class enrollment that day.
Our “Three Strikes” policy helps us keep classes running smoothly and ensures every puppy and family gets the most out of their time with us. This policy applies to all Puppy Day School appointments, including Flex Classes and Puppy Teacher Conferences (both in-person and virtual).
- If you miss, arrive late to, or cancel an appointment with inadequate notice (48 hours for PTCs, 24 hours for classes), this counts as one strike.
- A second occurrence results in a second strike.
- After a third strike, any remaining appointments in your puppy’s current program will be cancelled, and additional bookings will not be available until your next enrollment period. When you renew, your strikes reset to zero.
To keep sessions productive and fair for all participants, we do have firm arrival windows:
- Arriving more than 5 minutes late to a Flex Class, or more than 10 minutes late to a Puppy Teacher Conference, will be treated as a last-minute cancellation. You won’t be able to join the session, and it will count as a strike.
- If multiple clients are running late, your instructor may choose to delay the start of class by a few minutes. However, if class begins on time, late arrivals beyond the grace period will be turned away and will count as a strike.
We appreciate your understanding. These guidelines allow us to stay on schedule and provide a safe, focused experience for every puppy and family.
By popular demand, we’ve created an extended version of Puppy Day School! Complete Puppy Raising includes lifetime access to Flex Classes, more one-on-one lessons with our training team, and off-site socialization field trips!
Click here to learn more about the Complete Puppy Raising Program.
If you’re interested in upgrading to the Complete Puppy Raising Program before your Puppy Day School program is up, you can apply what you’ve paid for your most recent session of Puppy Day School to the tuition. Or, you can purchase the full program (16 weeks) outright and it will start when your pup finishes their current Puppy Day School program!
Want to know more about the difference between Puppy Day School and Complete Puppy Raising? Watch this video where Katherine breaks it all down for you:
We have two options if you would like to renew your puppy for another 4 weeks of Puppy Day School: a renewal in Puppy Day School or an upgrade to Complete Puppy Raising.
Renewals include Flex Class access, weekly Puppy Teacher Conferences with one of our staff members, and weekly report cards.
Click here to compare & purchase Puppy Day School renewals & Complete Puppy Raising Programs!
Educational Daycare is the natural “next phase” for many of our Puppy Day School students. If you’re happy with the foundation PDS has built, you want to keep that progress as your pup grows up, and you like the ease and peace of mind of staying with the same people and place… then Educational Daycare is for you!
It’s designed to protect the training you’ve invested in and keep the weekly routine you already enjoy rather than starting over somewhere new.
Is my puppy ready for Educational Daycare?
Your pup is eligible to move into Educational Daycare when:
- Your puppy is over 6 months old or your puppy has attended at least 2 consecutive sessions of Puppy Day School
- And they meet our behavior benchmarks for Educational Daycare, such as:
- Rarely having indoor potty accidents
- Consistently coming when called
- Playing nicely with their peers
- Greeting people politely
- Staying reasonably under control during pick up and drop off
If your puppy is still having frequent accidents at school, ignoring recalls in playgroup, jumping up on staff, or barking at dogs or people during pick up or drop off, that just means they need more time in Puppy Day School before making the switch.
How Educational Daycare continues what PDS started
Think of Puppy Day School as the place where we build your puppy’s manners and confidence, and Educational Daycare as the place where we protect and grow those skills with the same trusted team and environment.
Educational Daycare becomes your puppy’s long-term “home base” with us, where all of the good habits from PDS are consistently reinforced so their training wasn’t just a one-time event. Educational Daycare makes it become part of who they are as they grow up.
In Educational Daycare:
- Your dog spends their day in a structured, enrichment-based daycare setting where our team continues to reinforce the manners they’ve already learned. Their daily routine stays the same.
- While there are no dedicated one-on-one training sessions included (unless you purchase them as add-ons), our staff uses every interaction as a training opportunity:
- Opening gates and doors only when dogs are sitting or have four paws on the floor
- Letting dogs out of crates only when they are calm
- Rewarding polite behavior like sitting instead of jumping or barking
One of the biggest differences you’ll notice (often without realizing it) is how closely your puppy is supervised. Our playgroups run at a maximum ratio of 1 staff member per 10 dogs, which allows us to manage play safely, step in early if tensions rise, and consistently reinforce good choices. Many traditional daycares operate at ratios closer to 25–35 dogs per staff member, which makes this kind of individualized attention and manners reinforcement impossible.
Educational Daycare is ideal if you are happy with your dog’s current manners and want to maintain and generalize those skills. If your puppy’s basic manners still feel rough around the edges, they should stay in Puppy Day School a bit longer or add training sessions on top of their EDC days.
What’s included (& what changes)
To help you plan your routine:
- Attendance: You can enroll 3, 4, or 5 days a week. 3-day schedules are reserved for calm, low-energy puppies who can comfortably handle more time at home. Active pups need 4–5 days per week, so they have a consistent outlet for their energy and plenty of practice using their manners throughout the week.
- Meals: Breakfast is given at home before you arrive. If your puppy still needs lunch, we can provide it in Educational Daycare for an additional fee.
- Classes & conferences: Weekly Puppy Teacher Conferences are exclusive to the Puppy Day School program. Flex Classes are not included with Educational Daycare, but you’re welcome (and encouraged!) to continue classes by purchasing a Flex Class Pass to support a smooth transition between PDS and EDC.
- Nail trims: In Puppy Day School, nail trims are included weekly as part of the curriculum. In Educational Daycare, nail trims are available as an optional add-on.
- Training sessions: Dedicated, one-on-one training sessions aren’t included in Educational Daycare, but you can select them if you’d like your dog to get more practice, learn something new, or try agility!
Educational Daycare is different from standard daycare at other facilities. Our staff is always working to maintain your dog’s current level of training and uphold the same behavior expectations your puppy has learned in PDS.
Special pricing for Puppy Day School families
When you move directly from Puppy Day School into Educational Daycare, you’re eligible for our PDS-to-EDC transition plan: you enroll in 8 weeks of Educational Daycare, and the second 4-week program is 50% off. This helps your puppy stay on a steady schedule with us during the important adolescent phase, while giving you some savings for committing to their continued progress.
How to transfer to Educational Daycare
If you’re ready to join us in Educational Daycare and your puppy is transferring directly from PDS to EDC with no time off, simply complete our online Transfer Form.
Click here for the Educational Daycare Transfer Form!
Once you submit the Transfer Form, our team will confirm your puppy’s spot in Educational Daycare and send your invoice for the EDC program you select, with the Puppy Day School transition plan promotion applied.
If you have questions about whether your puppy is ready for Educational Daycare or should remain in Puppy Day School a bit longer, email us. We’re happy to recommend the best next step for your puppy!
