Behaviour, before it is set in concrete.

The problem

Most facilities that take dogs in are designed by people who love dogs and know their trade. Rarely by people whose trade is reading what a dog is telling you when he walks into an unfamiliar place, full of smells, noise and other dogs.

The result looks much the same from one site to the next. Crossing points where dogs meet head on, with nowhere to go. Acoustics where one dog barking sets off the other twenty. Admission protocols that put two dogs together when nobody has read the signals of either. Veterinary waiting rooms where the animal arrives already in emotional debt, before the consultation has even started.

That is what makes these mistakes expensive: they are structural. They are paid for afterwards in incidents, in staff turnover, in clients who do not come back and never say why.

What I look at

The premises. Circulation, crossing points, escape routes, noise, transitions between spaces, the pressure points you can see coming.

The protocols. Admission, assessing a new dog, how groups are put together, separation, feeding, handling incidents.

The team. Reading signals, thresholds for stepping in, what to do and what to stop doing. Not turning your staff into behaviour consultants: giving them enough to see things coming.

What you offer. What you sell, to whom, and what you turn away. Being able to say no to a dog who should not be on your site is part of the quality of the service, and it spares you the incident that costs a reputation.

Three formats

One-off review. You have a plan, a protocol, a specific question. One working session on the documents, then a written response.

Audit. A full analysis of the existing site or of the project, on the documents and on site where that is useful. Written report, ordered by priority: what has to change before opening, what can wait.

Ongoing support. Following the project through, from design to opening. For the people who would rather think as they go.

What I do not do

I certify nothing, I issue no accreditation, and I replace neither your vet nor your architects and engineers. What I tell you is what your future residents will experience inside the thing you are building.

A wall in the wrong place cannot be undone with a staff training day.

Who it is for

Boarding kennels, day care, veterinary clinics, events, any site that takes dogs in

Formats

One-off review, audit, ongoing support

How it runs

On the documents, and on site where that is useful

First step

A 30-minute scoping call, free