Limited-capacity, home-based care where dogs join the same routines, environment and communication system I’ve built with my own dogs for more than 20 years.

Steezy is small, home-based care built around a real work-from-home routine—not an all-day playgroup and not a sitter whose job is to keep your dog entertained every minute you're gone.

Dogs get structured play, enrichment and supervised social time alongside the less exciting parts of real life: crate rotations, downtime, naps, household boundaries and learning how to settle while I'm working.

They get to play with toys, interact with other dogs, test boundaries and show me who they actually are. I'm there to supervise, communicate, redirect when needed and pay attention to what happens.

Some dogs need more individual attention. Some need help settling. Some need more appropriate outlets. Some already know the routine and mostly need a good place to spend the day.

THE POINT ISN’T TO KEEP YOUR DOG BUSY ALL DAY.

IT’S TO GIVE THEM A GOOD DAY INSIDE A ROUTINE THAT STILL LOOKS LIKE REAL LIFE.

THE BALLARD UNICORN:

A REAL DOG YARD.

BUILT FOR MY DOGS.

AND NOW YOURS TOO.

A private outdoor space with high-drainage pet turf, built for the extremely reasonable Seattle expectation that it will eventually rain again. Meaning no tracking muddy paws inside the home or caked on your dog when they go home.

Dogs use it throughout the day for potty breaks, supervised play, enrichment, sniffing and quick outdoor resets.

The turf is routinely cleaned and maintained with dog-safe products as part of the normal care routine. I observe all outdoor play and actively hose rinse every potty spot and poopy spot, so neither of our dogs smell like defecation after play.

AND YES, THEY LIVE IN THE HOUSE.

Dogs aren’t confined to one room all day.

As part of the normal routine, they may spend time in the studio, yard and everyday living spaces with me—settling while I work, hanging out while I make lunch, playing with another dog or discovering that absolutely nothing interesting is happening right now.

Access depends on where each dog is developmentally. Throughout the day, I can give dogs more opportunities to experience the home as they show me they’re ready for them.

It also gives me a chance to see how they actually behave around everyday life—not just how they behave during playtime.

That’s Intentional…

Steezy stays small because not every dog needs the same thing from me.

A puppy learning the routine needs something different from an experienced adult who already knows how to settle while I work. A dog working through something developmentally may need more observation, repetition or one-on-one time. Another may be perfectly happy napping until something interesting happens.

That mix matters.

I decide how many dogs I can care for based on the dogs who are actually here—not simply how many spaces I can fill.

Keeping the group small gives me enough bandwidth to supervise play, notice behavior, manage individual routines and give a dog extra attention when they need it without everybody else’s day revolving around them.

The goal isn’t maximum capacity.

It’s enough dogs for socialization, play and a good group dynamic—with enough of me left for each individual dog.

Some dogs arrive ready for the normal lifestyle routine here:

flexible WFH consulting + structured dog care.

Others need more support with things like settling, independence,

boundaries, social skills or simply learning how life here works.

And sometimes a dog is already doing great in regular care—but

there’s something else their parent wants them to be able to do.

That’s where Development comes in.

MEET & GREET

↓

SEE WHERE YOUR DOG IS TODAY

↓

REGULAR CARE ←→ DEVELOPMENT

↓

MORE CAPABILITY

LESS MANAGEMENT

↓

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO TOGETHER NEXT?

Development means I’m putting additional time and attention toward

something specific we want to build, strengthen or work through.

For one dog, that might mean learning to settle independently or

getting comfortable with the crate again. For another, it might be

household boundaries, social regulation or making the commands they

already know actually work during everyday life.

Some of those things are meant to be outgrown.

If your dog needs extra support just to comfortably participate in my

lifestyle routine, the goal is to build that capability until they no

longer need the additional management.

But Development can also be about what comes next.

Your dog might already be doing great here and we decide to tighten

one or two skills, connect several commands for a real-life activity,

or start building toward something you want to do together—camping,

hiking, travel, staying at your BFF’s house or more appropriate off-

leash freedom.

Development doesn’t have one finish line. It certainly doesn't stop with any of my dogs.

Sometimes the destination is needing less help.

Sometimes it’s being able to do more together. Every activity, lifestyle and/or environment change brings another opportunity for development. That’s how my boxers and I built a lifestyle together.

← SWIPE LEFT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MY DOGS AND ME.

ALREADY THINK YOUR DOG’S READY FOR REGULAR CARE IN MY HOME.

Great.

Not every dog needs Development. I’ll use the Meet & Greet and their first experiences here to understand what they already know, how they handle my environment and where they fit.

If your dog is ready for regular care, that’s where they start.

I pay attention.

Not just to whether your dog ate, pooped and had fun—but how they settled, played, handled boundaries, shared space, responded to communication and changed throughout the day.

Then I tell you about it…

THE STORY

What happened, what your dog got into and the personality that came with it.

THE RECEIPTS

Photos and videos from the parts of the adventure you missed.

THE OBSERVATIONS

The little things I notice about how your dog communicates, regulates, socializes and navigates everyday life.

You don’t just find out your dog was cared for.

You get the episode you missed.

Dogs don’t always behave the same way everywhere.

Something that works perfectly here might fall apart at home—or your dog might already be doing something beautifully at home that I haven’t seen here yet.

That difference tells us something.

HOME INTEGRATION

Sometimes I need to see what your dog is showing you at home.

I can work with your dog in their own environment, see how your home is set up, watch the routines and repetitions you’re already doing, and compare that with what I’m seeing at Steezy.

Sometimes the dog already knows what to do—but the environment, timing or routine is different.

Sometimes we need to change how we’re practicing something. And sometimes I can show you how I’m working with your dog so we can create more consistency between both places.

That gives us something real to work with—and helps what your dog learns here actually become useful in your lifestyle routine and home.

You don’t need to know whether your dog needs Development, what level they’re at or exactly what we need to work on.

Tell me about your dog, how they live with you and what you’d like to be able to do together.

Then I’ll meet them and we’ll go from there.

MEET & GREET

Your dog gets to explore the environment, meet me and, when appropriate, meet Mabel and/or another dog.

I’ll also do a 5–10 minute crate test while I’m in view and completely out of view to observe how your dog handles separation and settles.

When I leave the room, I use a camera to see what their behavior actually looks like without me there.

I’ll share those observations with you so you understand what I’m seeing and where my assessment is coming from.

TRIAL DAY

If I accept your dog for a Trial Day, it means I saw potential for them to successfully adapt to my routine.

Now we give them a full daycare to experience it.

That includes positive crate decompression time paired with enrichment, play, social time and relief rotations throughout the day.

This lets me see how your dog settles into the actual rhythm here—not just for a few minutes, but as the routine repeats throughout the day.

THEN I’LL TELL YOU WHAT I SEE.

Your dog may be able to jump right into regular daycare.

I’ll let you know whether they have the skills to be manageable within my routine. They don’t have to be perfect. If they have the foundation to participate successfully, I can continue developing their skills while they’re here.

I’ll also assess whether they have the additional skills needed to graduate to boarding.

Most dogs graduate to boarding through daycare. Their Trial Day gives me time to see how they manage within my routine, and if they’re already showing more developed skills, I can begin testing some of the additional skills I look for in boarding dogs that same day.

Some dogs may show me everything I need at the Meet & Greet and move directly into boarding, but that’s the exception.

Boarding requires more. After my workday ends, boarding dogs transition into my personal spaces and begin living like part of the family in my home at night too.

That means earning more freedom—and having the communication, boundaries and ability to settle that make that freedom manageable.

I’ll let you know where your dog is based on my Development Stages, what they’re ready for and what we may still need to work on.

Then we can decide what makes sense next.

← SWIPE LEFT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MY DOGS AND ME.