Launching Pawsitive Start JR as an Investment in Customer Longevity

On: September 24, 2025

Pawsitive Start Jr. is more than a service, it’s an investment in your Camp’s future. The average age of a new Camper is over 2 years old, meaning we miss the period when dogs are most likely to visit frequently and spend more per visit. By attracting customers with young puppies (ages 4 months to 1 year), you can increase day care visits, capture a higher average daily spend, and build a foundation for lifelong customer relationships.

This program offers a structured, age-appropriate curriculum that provides puppies with essential skills and socialization while they also get comfortable in Day Camp. This specialized care sets Camp Bow Wow apart from competitors by demonstrating our commitment to a dog’s long-term well-being and supporting pet parents during a puppy’s challenging transition from puppyhood into adolescence.

Key Objectives of the Pawsitive Start Jr. Program:

  • Increase Day Camp Visits: The program’s activities and curriculum are designed to encourage more frequent visits, translating directly to higher day care revenue.

  • Improve Customer Longevity: By attracting puppies at a younger age, you can increase the overall length of time a customer stays with Camp Bow Wow, from puppyhood through their adult years.

  • Enhance Staff Knowledge: The program provides specialized training for staff, improving their skills and understanding of young Campers’ needs.

  • Strengthen the Brand: This specialized, high-quality service elevates the Camp Bow Wow brand and reinforces its values, enhancing customer trust and loyalty.

To learn more about the program’s specifics, daily schedules, and marketing materials, please refer to the Pawsitive Start Jr. Handbook and supporting resources on CampConnect. 

Please reach out to Ami Schroeder, and Kaylyn Ward for questions or help needed! This is super important for our Camps as we work to grow dog counts.

Card on File Changes

Team, as part of our continued review of reining in costs, we are making some minor changes to how we take credit cards and use card on file in particular. Credit card fees range from 2.5-3.5% depending on how we take the card. If a card is present the credit card fees are much less than if the card isn’t present. As an example Card on file is much more expensive for us, so we’re going to make changes to that process. We currently absorb these costs as part of doing business, but we’re going to make a minor tweak to our process to reduce this costs.

What’s Changing and What you Need to Do:

  1. We will continue to use card on file for Deposits over phone/email or via the app.

  2. For all other charges, If a customer is present, we will now require them to use the card on their person to pay for the balance, vs using card on file. They will need to swipe or tap via the terminal in order to pay their balance.

How to Educate Customers:

  1. When talking to the customer about this change, just explain and keep it simple:

    “The Credit card company charges us an additional 1% to use card on file, to keep our prices where they are, we’re asking our customers to help us by using their credit card and swiping or tapping, so we can avoid that additional 1% costs, we really appreciate your help!”

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to your Manager, Ops Manager (Amy Guy) or Services Manager (Ami Schroeder).

Making Dogs Happy!