question I get asked a lot is, “Dom, you’ve worked with thousands of pet businesses—what’s the one thing I can do to make my business better?”

The truth? There isn’t one thing. Success isn’t about magic bullets—it’s about a series of proven actions that compound into sustained results. That said, for dog daycares and pet resorts, there is one thing that will transform your reputation, the quality of care you deliver and the profit you generate. That one thing is enrichment.

Let’s be blunt: Allowing dogs to roughhouse in a group setting all day isn’t healthy, safe or even desirable. It’s lazy, it leads to over-stimulated dogs and it makes your facility look like a free-for-all. Parents want better, staff deserve better and your bottom line needs better.

That’s why enrichment isn’t just an “add-on.” It’s the golden key that lets you step away from the outdated “pile-’em-high” model and position your daycare as the premium, professional choice in your community. So, it’s no wonder that the stand-out, profitable, future-proof daycares all lean hard into enrichment.

You may be thinking, “We don’t have enough space,” “My staff won’t do it,” “I don’t know what to charge,” or “Clients won’t pay anyway.” But none of these are true.

You don’t need a football field to create meaningful enrichment space; a lobby or small outdoor scent space can transform a dog’s day. Staff can be trained (and motivated) to deliver it, clients will pay when you show the value and the biggest cost of all is giving enrichment away for free (which far too many daycares still do).

So, if you want to step out of the race to the bottom and into premium territory, here’s what the best facilities are doing right now…

1. Themed Experiences

Check out the description of any Disney attraction and you’ll feel like you’re about to set off on a full-blown adventure. And because Disney weaves narrative into every ride, they’re able to transform an ordinary experience into something extraordinary—and charge a premium for it.

You can do the exact same thing in your daycare. Any everyday daycare session can be elevated when you wrap it in a theme:

• A pool session can become a Pooch Pirate adventure.
• An outdoor walk becomes a Canine Camping Expedition.
• An agility run morphs into Pawlice Academy training school.

Themes keep staff engaged, get parents excited and turn everyday activities into shareable, premium-feeling experiences. You do this at Christmas, Valentines Day and Halloween, and you make more sales, so why not do it all year round?

2. Personalized Activities

We’ve already discussed how not every dog thrives in group play. This is where personalized, one-to-one activities come into play:

• Scent spaces in small rooms or corners of the facility.
• Dog mazes that challenge brains as well as bodies.
• Storytime sessions that calm anxious dogs.

Photo provided by Mark Klaiman, owner of Pet Camp

These kinds of activities will help calm down boisterous dogs, boost the confidence of the shy or anxious ones, and provide a much-needed respite for overstimulated dogs who may not get a lot of human contact throughout the day at home.

And remember, pet parents—especially affluent ones—want the opportunity to treat their dog to something special. If you can offer an activity that makes their dog happy, they’ll be happy too, and you’ll be amazed what they will invest in premium upsell activities.

3. Staff Engagement

Here’s the truth: Enrichment won’t stick if your team sees it as “extra work.” You need to educate staff on why enrichment matters and build clear employment pathways that reward them for delivering it.

The best operators I know give their handlers a ladder to climb—from basic care to enrichment leader to program designer. That’s how you create buy-in and pride.

Once your team starts doing enrichment activities, they’ll see for themselves how enjoyable it is, as it provides a much-needed break from the usual routine of just “watching dogs” all day.

4. Selling Enrichment

Enrichment doesn’t sell itself. It needs a multi-media, multi-step marketing approach. That means using every channel at your disposal—email, socials, printed guides, posters in-house, even follow-up calls.

A great way to start is with a simple “Why Enrichment Matters” Or “Why Your Dog is Bored” guide for new clients. Hand it out at meet-and-greets, and suddenly you’re educating instead of “selling.”

Facilities have also had great success with putting on client appreciation events, which double as enrichment education sessions. If you give your clients the opportunity to take part in sensory activities that are fun and interactive, then you help join the dots between enrichment activities and happy dogs.

5. Pricing Enrichment

The fastest way to kill your enrichment program is giving it away for free. Remember, enrichment carries a hard cost; it requires more staff involvement, more planning and more resources. The good news is, dog owners will happily pay for it. In fact, they’ll pay more because they see it as a premium service that goes above and beyond.

Imagine increasing your revenue per dog by $10, $20 or $30 a day. Well, you can by creating a simple enrichment menu that has a range of activities which ascend in price. This gives new clients an opportunity to try something different for their dog, provides additional options for clients who already bought into enrichment and want to book multiple offerings, and points clients who want to spoil their dog towards your most expensive enrichment options.

The facilities that will thrive in the next five years won’t be the ones cramming in more dogs at rock-bottom prices. They’ll be the ones that use enrichment to create safer, healthier, more exciting experiences for the dogs—and in doing so, they’ll create more profitable, sustainable businesses for themselves.

So, are you ready to step up, embrace enrichment and claim the crown as the leading daycare in town?

Dom Hodgson is Europe’s leading pet business coach, and is known as the Pet Biz Wiz. His mission is to help pet service providers create superior customer service systems that enable them to build an impactful and profitable pet business. Dom has written over nine books, and is a much in-demand speaker. You can instantly download a free copy of his latest book “How to Disnify Your Doggy Daycare Business” by going to www.petbusinessmarketing.com/daycaremagic