What Fear Free Looks Like at Z Pet Hotel

Contrary to the name, the term “Fear free” doesn’t mean your pet won’t experience any fear at all while at our hotel, but it does mean we have committed to ongoing training of our team, changes to our process, and updates to our intake procedures to reduce your pets overall Fear, Anxiety, and Stress (FAS) during their stay with us.

FAS (Fear, Anxiety, and Stress) is an important measurement of the Fear Free program, and our staff recieve ongoing training to look out for emergent signs of FAS, including:

• Not eating
• Not using the litterbox (for cats)
• Avoidance, hiding, retreating or not allowing touch/handling

We joined the Fear Free program in 2026 when the hotel hired a new full time manager. Our goal is to go above and beyond in how we care for animals, starting with staff training.

Fear Free Intake Procedures

By the end of 2026 we are committed to streamlining our intake process to make all of our forms available online.  This means that instead of waiting in the lobby with your pet while you fill out paperwork, you can drop-off your baby and we can get your pet into the hotel environment faster, minimizing waiting in the lobby.

Your pets visit starts in the lobby, where long wait periods can make pets feel uncertain and uncomfortable as they try to understand if they’re at the vet, groomer, or some other unpleasant and stressful location.  The quicker your pet can get to their room or to join their friends in the park, generally, the better their overall experience is primed to be from the start.

Victory Visits

We welcome and encourage “Victory Visits” to our hotel, especially in puppies, kittens and customers that are interested in daycare for their dogs. A “Victory Visit” means bringing your pet to the facility for a short walk around, then going home as normal. .

For the safety of all guests, visiting with your dog is by appointment only and we require valid proof of vaccination before you can bring your pet into the building, but you can contact us by phone or via the reservation request form to coordinate your visit.  

Of course, there is no charge for these visits and you can repeat them as often as you would like before your baby’s stay.

Handling pets

In general, we take a different approach to handling than facilities that do not practice the fear free ideology. For example, if you request a nail trim during your pets stay, it may be done over a period of multiple days instead of all at once, to minimize fear and strress.

Treats

At Z Pet Hotels, feeding tasty treats is an important part of your pets stay. Whether it's a kitty Churu or small "training treat" for dogs, we strongly recommend you allow our staff to feed your pet treats during their stay. If your pet has food allergies, we recommend bringing safe treats for your pet, including:

• Frozen blueberries, bananas, peas, or carrots
• Cooked unseasoned chicken breast, steak, or turkey
• Hill's Hypoallergenic dog treats
• Hydrolyzed Dog Treats

Treats go a long way in helping pets adjust to the hotel and enjoy their stay. If your dog cannot have any treats at all, please let us know when you inquire about your stay so we can discuss other options, like using a portion of your pets regular food as a treat instead.