(PRESS RELEASE) NEW YORK — As a business owner, you can go above and beyond to use fancy tools and systems, but if your employees aren’t motivated to do great work, your business won’t thrive and grow. It’s up to you to spice things up from time to time. The Dog Gurus, a staff training and business consulting group serving the pet care industry, has officially kicked off its annualDaycare Games off-leash competition.
Controlling a large group of dogs off-leash is not an easy thing to do. It’s true that dogs can fight and bite, but it’s also true that certain skills used by excellent daycare facilities will keep dogs safe while they play together. Robin Bennett, and Susan Briggs, the co-founders of The Dog Gurus, designed the Daycare Games to be a skills-based challenge that keeps dogs safe and happy, and recognizes top dog daycare providers for their unique skills.
“Our annual Daycare Games competition puts your staff’s dog leadership skills to the test,” says Robin, CPDT-KA and Co-Founder of The Dog Gurus, “We want to recognize the handlers and facilities taking the best care of dogs in daycare by hosting this fun and friendly competition.”
This year, there are 100 facilities and more than 900 staff participating. All of the pet care businesses competing offer off-leash dog playgroups, and have been grouped into and compete against like-sized businesses per their small, medium, and large class sizes. The competition consists of three main events: The Dog Recall, Group Sit, and Gate Boundary.
Daycare Games helps pet businesses to:
- Recognize the rising stars on your team.
- Challenge your staff in new and exciting skills-based competitions.
- Show current and prospective clients what makes your pet business THE go-to.
- Sizing up (in a good way) the current competition and other top industry leaders to learn and grow from.
“We want Daycare Games to be an event where everyone walks away feeling inspired and fulfilled,” expresses Susan Briggs (MA, CPACO), “This year has been especially challenging for people and businesses across the country due to the pandemic. Our competition is a great way to bring back some excitement to pet careestablishments all while working towards creating the safest environment for employees and four-legged clients.”
To ensure each employee going head to head has a fair chance to show off their skills, The Dog Gurus categorize competitors based on the following experience levels:
- Novice: New employees or owners/ operators still in training to be off-leash dog playgroup attendants.
- Intermediate: Employees or owner/ operators that have completed training at a center and have one year or less experience leading dog playgroups.
- Advanced: Employees or owner/ operators that have one or more years of experience leading playgroups.
The Dog Gurus will award weekly virtual Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals for individual dog handlers and facilities throughout the month of February. There will also be award recognition for overall medals at the end. Lots of chances to win virtual medals, bragging rights, and media coverage too. Learn more here.