TEN-YEAR ANNIVERSARY FOR CANINE CLUB

After moving to Grants Pass in 2005, Ryan and Sandy Mays, owners of Canine Club at 3045 Highland Avenue, didn’t feel comfortable with any of the existing, more conventional kennels to board their own pets and decided to start a small social play and training kennel at their home.

“It was perfect because I could work from home and home-school our kids,” Sandy said. “Over time we were constantly maxed for capacity and decided to open a second location in town which Ryan would run. Having our kennel business at home for nine years prior to starting Canine Club in February 2014, gave us the confidence and experience we needed to open up Canine Club in town. We had also started and operated a horse boarding facility together in California prior to our move to Oregon.”

Sandy had previously worked at several social play dog boarding and training facilities, had years of training and behavior experience as well as having been a veterinarian technician for large and small animals for 12 years.

“We both had experience working with clients, animals and their care,” Sandy said. “In addition, Ryan had extensive management skills from previous ranch management jobs and his years working as a supervisor at Costco.”

Canine Club offers a full service boarding, daycare and training facility. “It is important to us to provide social play with the dogs and provide a safe haven so that pet parents can have a piece of mind leaving their pets with us,” Ryan said. “We offer interactive training classes, drop off day training, enrichment programs and grooming services. We take pride in educating our staff on all aspects of care, behavior and training so they can better understand and assist in the safe, loving handling of our guests. We have many long-term employees whom we trust, who in turn help coach our new trainees. All of our staff own their own pets and care deeply about animals.”

Sandy’s parents lived in Southern Oregon during their high school and college years. After marrying they moved to California to pursue their careers and raise their family, knowing they wanted to return home to Oregon when they retired. Sandy and Ryan soon followed.

While in high school Sandy worked after school at a Petstore and started offering private dog training lessons as she continued honing her training skills. Her passion for dog training followed her to Sonoma County, California, where she attended college and later met Ryan. They would soon open a horse boarding facility together, while Sandy continued working at a local board-and-train dog kennel and was later hired as the trainer at a Service Dog Organization.

“We are passionate about the pets in our care and helping both animals and our clients,” Sandy said.

Ryan was raised in Ferndale, California, and was involved in a variety of outdoor activities including sports, backpacking, Boy Scouts, and anything else outdoors. After high school, he moved to Sonoma County where he got a job managing a large estate/cattle ranch. After 14 years there and meeting Sandy, they moved to Grants Pass where he worked in management roles at Costco and local hardware stores. 

“Our goal is that pets enjoy their stay with us and that we provide a fun and relaxed environment with as little stress as possible while they are away from home,” Sandy said. “It is important to us that pets remain on a feeding and potty schedule that is as close to their schedules at home as possible. To do this we include an early morning and late evening potty break for all dogs outside of our regular business hours. During daytime hours our dogs are taken outside to potty every few hours so no need to ‘hold it’ for long hours or have accidents. We also have staff on the facility grounds 24 hours per day to help with the safety and care of our guests.”

They also provide care for cats. “Being called Canine Club doesn’t stop us from loving and caring for kitties too,” Sandy said. “We offer a special cat room just for our feline guests. Each kitty can have their own condo or share a condo with their other kitty family members. Owners can bring their own beds, toys and food so their belongings smell like home. The kitty room is bright, sunny and allows for some window views.”

For more info, call 541-507-1230. You can also see them at canineclubgp.com and on Facebook.