Everything Dog earns SPCA Certified® doggy daycare status – a first for the South Island

Why this accreditation matters

Doggy daycare is a wonderful way for dogs to socialise, burn energy, and build confidence. But unlike many sectors, dog daycare is still largely unregulated in New Zealand, which means standards can vary widely from one facility to the next. SPCA Certified® exists to raise the bar by setting clear, evidence-based welfare standards and auditing businesses against them. It gives pet parents independent assurance that their dog will be cared for with practices that go beyond the minimum legal requirements.

SPCA Certified® is not a branding exercise; it’s a rigorous process. Facilities must pass an initial assessment and ongoing audits to maintain certification. The standards are designed to improve animals’ lives through continual improvement, not a one-and-done tick box.

What SPCA Certified® means in practice

SPCA’s doggy daycare standard covers the full day, from intake to home time and spells out how dogs should be assessed, grouped, supervised, and rested. You can expect, among other things:

• Behavioural assessments at intake to make sure daycare is the right fit for your dog, and to inform their playgroup placement.
• Thoughtful grouping by size, play style, age, and temperament to keep interactions safe and positive.
• High levels of supervision, with staff trained to read canine body language and intervene early to prevent scuffles or stress.
• Structured routines with planned rest periods (because even social butterflies need downtime) and enrichment that stimulates minds as well as muscles.
• Safe, well-designed spaces with appropriate flooring, ventilation, temperature control, and hygiene protocols.
• Clear policies around health, vaccination, handling, and incident management. These standards sit alongside the NZ Code of Welfare for Dogs, which applies to all contexts (including temporary housing like daycares) and sets baseline care expectations nationwide. SPCA Certified® builds on those requirements and pushes them further.

What we did to reach the standard

Earning certification meant opening up every part of our operation to scrutiny and being ready to upgrade anything that didn’t meet the benchmark. Some highlights from our journey include:

• Deep-dive staff training focused on canine body language, play style matching, low-stress handling, and early intervention techniques.
• Refining our playgroup structure to ensure each dog has the right mix of social time and rest, with specific schedules for puppies, adolescents, and seniors.
• Enhancing our intake process so every new dog receives a thorough behavioural assessment and a personalised acclimatisation plan.
• Investing in our spaces; optimising zones for safe movement, adding more visual barriers where helpful, and fine-tuning our cleaning and ventilation routines for a healthier environment.
• Sharpening our incident and health protocols so if something unexpected happens, we respond fast, document well, and keep learning. Under the hood, it’s a big lift. Out front, it simply means your dog’s day is calmer, safer, happier, and purposefully designed.

How this benefits your dog (and you)

• Safer social play: Careful assessments and groupings keep play compatible and fun. Dogs that prefer quieter company aren’t pushed into energetic groups; high-octane players get equally matched mates.
• Happier home time: Built-in rest breaks reduce overstimulation, which can lead to better behaviour at pick-up and a more settled evening at home.
• Transparency you can trust: Because certification involves independent audits and documented standards, you’re not just taking our word for it.
• Continuous improvement: The program encourages ongoing learning and upgrades, so the standard doesn’t stagnate, it grows with the science.

A milestone for the South Island

SPCA Certified® first welcomed its first (and previously only) doggy daycare member in 2023, signaling a lift in expectations across the industry. Becoming the South Island’s first SPCA Certified® daycare and only the second in New Zealand is a milestone we’re incredibly proud of and we’re excited to help set a higher benchmark for our region.

(If you’re curious about how to choose a daycare, Consumer NZ highlights SPCA Certified® as one of the accreditations that can help owners identify operators who meet higher welfare standards.)

What to expect at drop-off

When you arrive, you’ll notice we’re a touch more methodical, on purpose:

• A quick check-in to confirm how your dog is doing today (sleep, appetite, any changes at home).
• Placement with the right group based on size, play style, energy, and who’s in on the day.
• A balanced daily rhythm: welcome sniffaris and warm-ups, play blocks with trained supervision, calm-down cues, rest periods, enrichment, then a gentle taper before pick-up.
• Notes from the day, what your dog enjoyed, any training wins, who they buddied up with, and anything we’re working on together.

Our promise going forward

Certification isn’t a finish line; it’s a commitment to continual improvement. We’ll keep investing in staff education, facility upgrades, and evidence-based practices. We’ll keep listening to your feedback and collaborating with the SPCA Certified® team to stay ahead of the curve. And most importantly, we’ll keep championing your dog’s welfare, because that’s the heart of everything we do.

Thank you

Huge aroha to our team for embracing the process, to our wonderful dogs (and their humans) for trusting us, and to SPCA Certified® for setting a standard that elevates care across the country. If you’d like to learn more about the program or read the doggy daycare standards yourself, you can do that here.

https://www.spcacertified.nz/standards/pet-care 

Ready to book a visit or enroll your dog? Get in touch, our team would love to show you what SPCA Certified® care looks like in action.