Finding the Right Fit: Why Our Screening Process Matters at Furry Flitches
At Furry Flitches, we believe that every dog deserves a place where they feel safe, happy, and understood. For some dogs, that’s a lively daycare surrounded by new friends; for others, it’s the structure of kennels or the quiet companionship of a one-to-one sitter. Our role isn’t just to welcome dogs into our home-style daycare and boarding — it’s to make sure the dogs who come here are truly suited to this environment.
That’s where our screening process begins. The very first step is a short online form, where owners tell us a little about themselves and their dog. It might seem straightforward, but this stage is the foundation of everything that follows. Our goal isn’t to say “yes” to every dog — it’s to create the right matches, so every pup in our care feels at home and every owner has peace of mind.
Step One: The Online Screener Form
Before we ever meet a new dog, we start with the online screener form. Each question* feeds into a model that helps us quickly build a confidence whether the dog described will be a good fit.
Each question has been carefully designed to highlight things that matter in a home-style daycare and boarding setting. The answers are then fed into a model that looks at all the information together, not just one factor in isolation. Instead of a simple “yes/no” checklist, the model calculates a probability of fit. This helps us identify whether a dog is likely to be comfortable and happy at Furry Flitches, or whether they might thrive better in a different type of care.
If the outcome suggests a good fit, we invite you and your dog to the next stage: a meet and greet. If not, you’ll be informed straight away. We don’t provide specific reasons for non-approval because the decision is rarely down to a single answer — it’s often a combination of small factors. Most importantly, if a dog isn’t approved to move forward, we don’t hold on to any of your information. Since we’re not moving into a customer relationship, there’s no reason to keep that data, so it’s securely discarded.
What the Screener Looks At — And Why It Matters
Every question in the screener has a purpose. They might seem like small details, but together they help us understand whether a dog is likely to feel happy and secure in our home environment. Here are some, but not all, of the factors being considered:
Neutering and Seasons
One of the first questions is about whether your dog is neutered. The reason is simple: in a mixed group setting, we have to think about the risk of pregnancy and the likihood of aggression. For intact males, we can often accept them, but it depends on other factors. Large intact males can sometimes bring challenges in a group setting, while very young intact males may still be excitable and unsettled. Medium-sized, middle-aged intact males are often easier to integrate successfully.
For females, being unspayed can also be fine, but there are clear stipulations. They cannot attend when in season, and we ask owners to have reliable backup care for those times. In practice, this often means families with unspayed females don’t end up needing our services as regularly — but it’s an important safeguard for the wellbeing of all the dogs in the house.
Breed Characteristics
Another factor we consider is breed. Not because we “accept” or “reject” dogs based on breed alone — every dog is an individual — but because different breeds come with tendencies that affect how well they adapt to a home-style boarding environment.
For example, poodle-type breeds often have anxious personalities. They can become very distressed when separated from their owners, which may lead to crying at night and disturbed sleep — for them and for us. In a kennel setting, this might not be such a problem, but in a family home it’s much harder for an anxious dog to settle.
Border collies are another good example. They’re incredibly intelligent and energetic, but many are more people-focused than dog-focused. That means they don’t always enjoy the highly social environment of daycare. It doesn’t mean they’re “bad dogs” — just that they may thrive better in a setting where they can enjoy more one-to-one interaction and mental stimulation.
These are just two examples, but they show why we ask the questions we do. Every detail — from size and age, to breed tendencies, to how a dog behaves in everyday situations — helps us build a picture of whether they’re likely to fit happily into life at Furry Flitches.
Why We Don’t Ask the Obvious Questions
You might wonder why we don’t just come out and ask the big, direct questions: Is your dog anxious? Does your dog pull on the lead? Is your dog aggressive with other dogs?
There are two main reasons.
1. Owners don’t always know how their dog will behave here.
A dog can act very differently in our setting than they do at home. Even though our setup is family-style, it’s still a new environment. Some dogs who seem calm at home can become unsettled and anxious here; others treat it like a full-blown holiday, testing boundaries and forgetting their normal lead manners. Because of this, an owner’s honest “no” might still not reflect how their dog will behave with us.
2. Not every answer is fully honest.
Sometimes, prospective customers really want their dog to join daycare. In trying to “sell” their dog, they may underplay or omit certain behaviours. This isn’t unusual, but it does mean that straightforward yes/no questions don’t always get us reliable information.
That’s why our screener uses a combination of questions that act as proxies. Rather than asking directly about pulling, aggression, or anxiety, we look at related factors that, when combined, give us a strong indication of whether issues are likely to appear. It’s not a perfect guarantee, but it does a good job of filtering out situations that are less likely to succeed here.
And here’s the honest part: our spaces are limited, and demand is high. We’re very fortunate to have lots of families who want to book with us, which means we can afford to be selective. That might sound harsh, and in a way it is, but it’s also the fairest approach for everyone. It means we’re not wasting your time or ours. Instead of spending days in back-and-forths, only to discover later that your dog isn’t comfortable here, you get a quick answer right at the start — often in just a couple of minutes.
At the end of the day, this isn’t about exclusion. It’s about ensuring that every dog who walks through our doors has the best possible chance of thriving in our home — and that owners know from the outset whether Furry Flitches is the right fit for them.
*A single question around booking type helps us check later for availability but doesn't impact the final outcome.
To sum up
To summarise, we're in a situation where we are heavily oversubscribed and to maintain the peaceful nature of the homeboarding setting we have to be very selective. For the sake of our wellbeing and that of the pets that stay here. By using our screening process we can quickly give you an outcome.
Once the pre-screen is complete, there's a meet and greet followed by a trial. These steps are more time intensive and give you and your dog the opportunity to learn if we are a good fit for you.
