Doggy School Bus provides more than just daycare for dogs – it offers services such as adventure time, socialising courses, as well as boarding.
But its standout feature has to be the designated van that has been transformed into a minibus for all the dogs to ride in comfortably. The eye-catching vehicle in schoolbus yellow is used to pick up and drop off pets whose humans are unable to do so themselves.
Amanda Koh and George Ng are the masterminds behind the venture, which began operating two months ago. “We have three adopted dogs of our own, and we always spoke about opening a centre where we could train and play with them,” Amanda tells FMT.
Today, the business and life partners run their doggy daycare centre from a premises on Jalan Gasing in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Of all their services, “adventure time” is the most popular. “We take the dogs to a dog-friendly park where we let them run free and play games with them,” Amanda says.
Rest assured, the couple always survey the parks to ensure they are well-enclosed and safe for the dogs to play in. And before heading to the park, the dogs firstly gather at the centre to get reacquainted – or, in the case of newcomers, for a meet-and-greet.
During adventure time, George and Amanda play catch with their four-legged clients and teach them to climb the ramps at the park.
“We usually spend about two hours there, but if we get bigger dogs such as beagles that are very energetic, we spend about four hours letting them run around and play,” George tells FMT.
“Many of the owners always tell us how their dogs are so tired once they pick them up, they just sleep through the night!”
Amanda adds that they also like to hide treats around the park and send the dogs on a “little scavenger hunt” to find them.
They make all the treats themselves, using quality ingredients such as buffalo meat or fish; “that way, we know everything that goes inside them,” George explains.
Back at the centre, there are huge indoor and outdoor areas for the pups to roam about freely in. Inside, the space is separated for big and small dogs.
In the evenings, they get to run around the garden, and some even enjoy rolling in mud with their fellow fur-riends. Don’t worry, Doggy School Bus also provides showers!
The centre is able to hold over 40 dogs, although George and Amanda admit they don’t usually get that many at once. Things do get more crowded during the holiday season, though, with pets being sent for boarding.
Doggy School Bus also offers two types of training courses – Doggy Socialising, and Reactive Dogs. The former is a one-on-one class for pooches to meet other pooches, especially those that have been deprived of canine interaction during the various lockdowns.
The Reactive Dogs course, on the other hand, is aimed at behavioral correction, and is suitable for dogs who are defensive or highly reactive to other animals or humans.
To send your companion to Doggy School Bus, all you have to do is contact Amanda and George to get started.
“When we get a new dog, we first start by seeing how he or she is with the both of us. Then we get the dog to interact with the other dogs,” Amanda explains.
Their adventure-plus-daycare service starts at a RM50 flat rate, no matter the size of the dog, while courses range between RM60 and RM120.
In the meantime, Amanda and George are taking courses themselves in the hope of providing more services – among them new techniques for canine training, and grooming skills.
And they hope to eventually expand Doggy School Bus by opening more centres around the country. “I have received many queries and requests from those in other states, so we hope to provide our services to them in the near future,” Amanda adds.
To find out more about Doggy School Bus or book a slot for your furkid, visit its website and Instagram profile.