Dog daycare celebrates 2 months

Meg Margison washes a dog at the centre. Photo by Christina McDonald.

Far from the typical sedentary nine-to-five day in the office, two women are celebrating two months since opening a business which keeps them on their toes.

Queenstown's first dog daycare centre, the Dog Company, was opened by Erica Wymore and Meg Margison on September 18 after the pair met through a mutual dog groomer and left their jobs to start the new venture.

The number, breeds and ages of dogs varied greatly from day to day, and bookings were encouraged to help with planning.

Ms Wymore described it as "an active job" since the dogs were walked and the women often supervised the animals in the play area.

"It's quite a change from going into the office," she said.

Many cities nationally and internationally had dog daycare centres used by dog owners with traditional working schedules, but Queenstown was different, she said.

"We have to be flexible - it's a different lifestyle here."

Some people dropped off their dogs at 11am, while others collected them at that time.

For dogs spending the full day at the centre, the mornings were a time to walk and play while the afternoons were typically spent catching the afternoon sun and making use of the many beds.

Ms Wymore said the only thing that had surprised her during the past two months was the variety of dogs brought to the centre.

"A lot of people think it's just toy dogs."

All dogs were welcome at the centre provided they were up-to-date with vaccinations, registered, not aggressive and males were neutered.

Over the Christmas period the centre would be closed only on the statutory holidays, and she did not know how brisk business would be on the days they were open, Ms Wymore said.

"It will be interesting ... It will either be really busy or completely empty with people being off work."