FREE puppy play & socialization experience!

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Start Your Pup
on the Right Paw

Puppy Hour is a FREE supervised puppy playtime and social hour at Central Bark®. Puppy Hour is a ton of fun, and it also provides a critical opportunity for puppies to get socialization during their “sensitive period.” That is generally between 8 and 16 weeks of age. Socialization is a process of preparing your dog to enjoy interactions with other animals, people, places, and activities.

We invite you and your puppy to attend as many sessions as you would like until your pup reaches the age limit. Meet our staff, speak with our trainer and groomer, and check out our facility. At Central Bark, our mission is to nurture and enrich your dog’s life. A great way to start your pup on the right paw is through puppy socialization!

puppy socialization session

During this puppy hour program, your pup will:

  • Enjoy off-leash age-appropriate play with vaccinated puppies of similar ages
  • Be supervised by an experienced caregiver to ensure all play is safe and appropriate
  • Meet new dogs, humans, toys, environments, and obstacles
  • Be exposed to new and interesting obstacles to encourage age-appropriate socialization and exposure

Benefits of Puppy Hour & Training:

  • Long-Term Emotional Development: Puppy Hour provides your puppy with interactions with other dogs and people. This will help them develop confidence and social skills that can positively impact their emotional development throughout their lives.
  • Learn Important Group Play and Social Skills: During Puppy Hour, our staff will help guide your puppy through important group play and socialization skills. These including proper play behavior, impulse control, bite inhibition, and more. These skills are essential for your dog to develop healthy and appropriate social behavior.
  • Comfort and Confidence: During the sensitive period of 8 to 16 weeks, puppies are more likely to feel scared or uncomfortable in unfamiliar situations. By attending Puppy Hour, your pup can get exposure to new sights, smells, sounds, and experiences in a controlled environment, which can help them become more comfortable and confident in unfamiliar settings.
  • Expend Excess Energy: Puppies have a lot of energy to burn, and attending Puppy Hour can give them an outlet for that energy. Through supervised playtime and interactions with other puppies, your dog can get the physical exercise they need to stay healthy and happy.
  • Establish a Strong Foundation: Puppy Hour is an excellent way to establish a strong foundation for your puppy’s future training and development. Our program can help your pup develop essential skills and behaviors that will make them easier to train and manage as they grow older.

Rules & Requirements:

  • Puppies aged 8–16 weeks
  • Space is limited
  • Preregistration is a must
  • Proof of up-to-date Bordetella and DHPP vaccines
  • Children with a dedicated adult are welcome to participate* There will be learning opportunities for children too!
  • Observe CDC guidelines, including social distancing and wearing masks
  • Regular 6-foot flat leash (no retractable or flexi-leads in the lobby) and a quick-release collar. If your dog usually wears a harness, you’re welcome to bring one.
puppy outdoors

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can a puppy be boarded?

Yes. We offer sleepovers to puppies and dogs enrolled in our Enrichment Day Care. Sleepovers at Central Bark® provide your dog a calm, relaxing sleepover in a place they can feel comfortable and loved. Because they’re in a familiar place, they can feel less stressed about being away from home (and so will you). A full day of Doggy Day Care is complimentary with your sleepover stay.

Learn more about Sleepovers at Central Bark.

What are flexible playgroups?

Flexible playgroups allow us to match your dog with the social atmosphere and play schedule they can enjoy and benefit from most. This helps give them a healthy balance of play, rest, and learning and creates a safer social environment with a better quality of play. And our lower dog-to-staff ratios offer more individual attention, education, and love.

Learn more about Enrichment Doggy Day Care.

How do I Request a Reservation for a Day Care or Sleepover service in my online account?

Step 1: Login

  1. Click the “Client Login” option found at the bottom of all pages on our website. 
  2. Enter either your email address or phone number that you signed up with 
  3. Click “continue logging in”
  4. Then enter your password and click “Sign In”

Step 2: Request Services

You will now see the page below. From this page you can do a number of things along with requesting a reservation from the drop downs including editing your information, editing your pet’s info, adding/removing pets, checking your package credits, purchasing package credits, and adding/editing/changing photos.

  1. Click the blue “request services” button 
  2. In the popup window, click the “Book Day Care or Sleepover Now!” button 

Step 3:  Select a Service Type

  1. Scroll down past the notes (after you have read them) until you get to the “Details” section. 
  2. Click on the drop-down in the “Type” row and choose your reservation type. 
  3. Note: Grooming requests cannot be made through the customer portal. Please call to schedule an appointment.

Step 4: Make Your Reservation Request

  1. Choose the pet or pets you would like to add to this reservation 
  2. Choose the date you are looking for 
  3. You may edit the drop-off and pick-up time from within our open hours, if you know those approximations 
  • You can set up “recurring dates” for the same day/days each week for a timeframe 
  • You can add additional reservations for other days at the same time. 

Step 5: Add-on Services and Notes

  1. You may add any additional services (such as enrichment training, training tutor, special meals (outside of lunch), salon and spa services, etc, to their reservation. 
  2. You may add any notes that you would like us to see in the notes box 
  3. You may run an estimate for the total cost of your reservation request (please note that the charges for “additional services” such as salon and spa, may vary from the default that shows in the estimate) 
  4. Once you have added everything you want, click “Save” in the lower right corner 

Your Done!

You should see the page below if everything went through correctly. You will get an email confirmation when your reservation has been accepted and confirmed, if you are added to a waitlist, or if it is denied. 

What dog grooming services do you offer?

We offer everything you need to keep your dog clean, healthy, and comfortable at our Salon & Spa. Our expert groomers focus on creating a calm and relaxing experience your dog can enjoy. 

We offer:

  • Dog baths
  • Dog grooming
  • Dog ear cleaning
  • Dog teeth brushing
  • Dog nail trims
  • Dog deshed treatments
  • Dog brush outs
  • Dog gland expressions
  • And more


Make a reservation for your dog’s grooming session

Read all FAQs

*The safety of guests and puppies in attendance at Puppy Hour is of the upmost importance. Upon arrival, a Central Bark team member will instruct you and your children of the rules and requirements to ensure safety, fun and learning for all involved.