Puppy Socializing
Puppy Socializing in Mesa and Chandler
Puppies can start as early as 10 weeks old. Small groups, sanitized indoor and outdoor play yards, and potty-training habits kept outside.
Puppy Socializing and Puppy Daycare in Arizona
Puppies can start socializing with us as early as ten weeks old, as soon as they meet the health requirements further down this page. Everything we run for puppies is available at both Mesa and Chandler.
There are three price bands and they split by age. Up to six months, puppy daycare is $30 for a half day or a full day, any day of the week; add two short training enrichment sessions and it becomes PUPPY PLUS at $60 for the day. From six months to one year, Puppy Wednesdays let your puppy play a full day at the half day rate of $33, every Wednesday.
Alongside those, our AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy course runs six consecutive weeks for puppies under a year, for owners who want structured puppy classes near them rather than open play.
If you are looking at puppy socializing in Mesa AZ or puppy daycare in Chandler AZ, the first step for all of it is the same, a pre-screening visit. Call 480-207-1852 to book it.
How Puppies Learn Best
The right resources make all the difference when helping a puppy learn good habits. We encourage owners to use positive training with their puppies. Puppy should be able to learn in a safe environment so they recognize the experiences as a positive one. Puppies learn best in a culture of trust and love.
We suggest using praise, affection, positive reinforcement, healthy treats, and lots of repetition.
Puppies have a short attention span and need calm interactions and structured rest to help them learn better. Patience and love are key.
Puppy Socializing in Doggy Daycare
Puppies can start socializing at Happy Pets Palace as early as 10-weeks old, as long as they meet health requirements as shown below. Socializing your puppy young is helpful because they are easily taking in all the wonders of life.
The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior states the puppy’s first three months are the primary window of opportunity to introduce your puppy to new experiences, including new people and other dogs. The benefits of socializing younger far outweigh the risks of having a fearful dog later in life.
Plus, our facilities and outside playgrounds are sanitized and safe. The Veterinary Society recommends owners take advantage of every safe opportunity to have your puppy experience new stimuli. Read more here.
Why the First Three Months Matter
The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior puts the primary socialization window in a puppy’s first three months. What happens in those weeks is not training in the usual sense. Your puppy is building a reference list of what counts as normal, and whatever does not make the list in time tends to get filed later as a threat.
That is why the honest answer to when to socialize a puppy is earlier than most people expect. Waiting for the full vaccination course to finish can mean the window closes first. The society’s position is that the behavioural risk of under-socializing outweighs the infection risk when the environment is a controlled one, which is why our indoor and outdoor yards are sanitized and why we set health requirements before a puppy’s first day rather than after it.
What early exposure buys you is specific. A puppy who has met dogs of different sizes, walked on unfamiliar surfaces, heard a busy room and been handled by people who are not you is far less likely to become the adult who lunges at the vet, panics at the groomer or cannot be left alone. Those are slow and difficult to undo later. Puppy socialization in Arizona is easy to arrange year round here, because the play yards run indoor and outdoor together.
Puppy Health and Vaccination Requirements
Fecal sample
We require all new puppies under 6-months of age have proof of a clear fecal exam from a vet showing no parasites. If your vet has not yet asked you to provide a fecal sample to them, please contact them to get that set up.
Parvo/Distemper
Puppies should receive a minimum of one set of vaccinations at least 7-days prior to the first day (pre-screening day) at Happy Pets Palace. All dogs need to be kept up-to-date on their vaccinations throughout socializing, daycare, and overnight boarding. We do accept Distemper titers for dogs over 1-year old.
Rabies
We require all dogs to be current on their rabies vaccine, except puppies under 4-months. Most vets administer the rabies vaccine around 4-months of age. Maricopa County requires all dogs have their rabies vaccine and be licensed at 3-months of age.
Bordetella
We recommend all puppies get a Bordetella for Canine Cough because their immune systems are still developing. Bordetella is not mandatory to attend Happy Pets Palace. We let you choose if the Bordetella vaccine is right for your dog.
We do not demand that your dog have a vaccine for Bordetella because this vaccine is not effective to prevent every strand and your dog can still get kennel cough even when they are vaccinated. If your dog eats a healthy diet and is not stressed, then an adult dog’s immune system should be adequate.
We agree with Dr. Karen Becker, DVM, a Proactive Vet, who believes many pets are over-vaccinated and a more common sense approach is better. This video explains more about Kennel Cough and the Bordetella vaccine.
Neuter/Spay Requirements
Neuter/spay is required by two-years of age. More vets are recommending waiting so their bodies can develop, and we agree. We know there are documented negative health effects to premature spay and neuter. Dogs in group play do have to maintain good behavior. We can work to help correct mild/occasional humping. However, excessive humping is not allowed for several reasons.
Puppy Daycare
We offer a special discounted price of $30 for puppies up to 6-months old to come play and make friends any day of the week for half-day OR full-day daycare. It’s a great deal!
Mon-Fri drop off after 6AM and pick up by 6:30PM. Weekends drop off between 8am – 10:30am and pick up between 4pm and 6:30pm.
Our inside / outside play yards help maintain important potty training habits OUTSIDE. Daycare is a popular way for new puppies to learn socializing and play skills from other dogs and lots of puppies. It is a very fun and active day!
Your puppy will be loved, cared for, supervised, encouraged to play and make friends, and tired out at the end of the day. They are so adorable! (Military discount not applicable to already discounted rates.)
Puppy Training
Daily PUPPY PLUS Daycare for $60 includes training enrichment and activity sessions to help advance your puppy’s skills and focus. Covers cost of special discounted puppy daycare plus two short training enrichment sessions during the day.
Puppy Daycare Compared With Puppy Training
All three options are the same day of play. What changes is how much structured work goes into it. The puppy daycare cost in Mesa and in Chandler is identical, so location is not part of the decision.
Puppy daycare at $30 is the baseline, for puppies up to six months. Open group play, indoor and outdoor yards, supervised throughout. Choose it when the goal is social skills and a tired puppy.
PUPPY PLUS at $60 is the same day with two short training enrichment sessions worked into it. The sessions are small group, so your puppy practises basic commands with other dogs around rather than in a quiet kitchen. Choose it when your puppy knows commands at home but falls apart with distractions, which describes most puppies.
Puppy Wednesdays at $33 covers the next age band, six months to a year, as a full day at the half day rate. It is the cheapest way to keep a maturing puppy in regular play once they age out of the under-six-month rate.
If what you want is a course with a curriculum and an evaluation at the end, that is puppy training rather than daycare. Our AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy program runs six consecutive weeks, and puppy training in Chandler AZ and Mesa both enroll from the dog training page.
Puppy Wednesdays
Puppy Wednesdays for $33 at Happy Pets Palace are such a fun time! We offer a special discounted price for puppies 6-months old and up to 1-year old. Puppies can play for a full day of doggy daycare at the half-day rate every Wednesday.
Canine Enrichment
Would you like your puppy to learn positive behaviors, confidence and good manners through interactive games that reward focus and obedience? Canine enrichment is perfect for puppies and it includes fun agility equipment, nose work, puzzles, training games, doggy treadmill, positive rewards, and more. Learn more here.
Ready to Get Your Puppy Socializing?
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How To Get Started
Make sure your puppy meets the vet health requirements shown above. We know that your dog is your baby!
We invite you to tour our facility so you can see where your dog will play, rest and eat – if you bring them food.
Reservations are not required for walk through tours. You can stop by anytime although it does get busy during drop off before work and at pickup after people get off work. The slower times for tours are between 9 am and 3 pm.
All dogs must pre-screen before being entered into our system. We need to make sure all dogs are a good fit for our group play environment. Call 480-207-1852 to schedule your dog’s meet and greet pre-screening appointment. The pre-screening is like a half-day of daycare. Daycare rates do apply.
First-time visitors can take advantage of our “Warm-Up Package”— buy 3 daycare days, get the 4th free (available for both half-days and full-days). New clients may purchase up to two packages at this special rate. Packages expire three months from the purchase date.
Your Puppy’s First Visit, Step by Step
1. Check the health requirements. Everything listed above needs to be in place before day one: a clear fecal exam for puppies under six months, at least one set of parvo and distemper vaccinations given at least seven days before the pre-screening day, and rabies if your puppy is four months or older.
2. Tour the facility, if you want to. No reservation needed, just stop by. Drop-off before work and pickup after it are our busiest stretches, so between 9AM and 3PM is the calmest time to look around.
3. Book the puppy pre-screening. Call 480-207-1852. Every dog goes through this before being entered into our system, so we can confirm group play is a good fit and place your puppy with the right size and temperament. It runs like a half day of daycare and daycare rates apply.
4. Pack for the day. Food if your puppy eats while here, and any medication with written instructions. That is genuinely it. We provide bowls, raised beds and fleece blankets.
5. Use the Warm-Up Package. First-time visitors buy three daycare days and get the fourth free, on half days or full days. You can buy up to two of these, and they expire three months from the purchase date.
That is the whole new puppy owner checklist. The puppy first day at daycare is usually easier than owners expect, because by then your puppy has already met the yards and the staff at pre-screening.
We Advocate for Puppies!
We know the time you make when your puppy is young will pay off for the rest of your life and be the best thing for your puppy. The pleasurable feeling of a bonded relationship with your puppy is one of the greatest feelings you can have.
Your puppy can make friends and learn socializing is safe fun play. Any questions, please call us.
Helpful Online Resources
- Free puppy tips from AKC
- Dunbar Academy, a leader in dog training
- Puppy Culture by Jane Killion
Great books to Purchase
- Training the Best Dog Ever, by Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz and Larry Kay
- Teach Your Dog 100 English Words, by Michele Welton
- AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy – A Positive Behavioral Approach to Puppy Training, by Mary R. Burch, PhD
Goat’s Milk
Because puppies have developing immune systems, we highly recommend giving your puppy goats milk with their meals. Goats milk contains colostrum, which is in the mother’s milk, and aids in your puppy’s developing immune systems.
Goats milk also helps the puppy use more of the proteins in their meals and aids with gut health. It a healthy and natural way to give your puppy the best nutrition. Purchase goats milk for dogs at reputable dog food stores like Pet Planet.
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