Dear clients,
It is with my sincerest apologies to our Overlook Road location clients that I give you this news.
Teamworks will no longer offer Dayschool and InBoard Training after Jan 15th, 2024. We will, however, honor all boarding and dayschool reservations through Jan 15, 2024. We specifically chose this date so that we would not interrupt any holiday plans.
We will close the Raleigh location on Jan 31, 2024 and consolidate all of Teamworks Dog Training activities to the Youngsville location.
As you may know, we have been struggling to hire and retain kennel staff over the last two years. You may have also noticed that quite a few new boarding / daycare places have opened up locally. I have always held firm that our model of business for boarding – with training sessions, small play sessions, and an overnight shift was the only way to do boarding/daycare right. The problem is, that the competitor models (with less staff and more dogs) can pay higher salaries. We have done our best over the past two years to tweak our boarding model to be able to compete, but we finally ended up reporting a loss from the boarding program that was large enough to make me rethink the viability of this program.
I began the dayschool/boarding program in my home in 2006. It overtook our house and yard, and I finally moved it to the Raleigh location in 2017. This move allowed us to expand our space in Raleigh, which ultimately led to the acquisition of the Overlook Road location in 2019. Somehow, we made it through the pandemic, after being closed for 3 months. (This was achieved by boarding dogs in our home again.) However, following the pandemic, the expectations of the young workforce changed drastically, and that effect has made a significant impact on our boarding business.
Unfortunately, without the boarding/dayschool aspect of our business, we cannot afford the lease at the Overlook Road location based on group classes alone. So after much deliberation, and a few other scratched plans, I came to the conclusion that it was time to consolidate all Teamworks activities to the Youngsville location and focus on dog training and dog sports, which are things we have always excelled at.
For those of you who haven’t been there, our “Youngsville location” is off of 401, just north of Rolesville. It is only 16 miles from the intersection of 540 and 401. We have climate-controlled buildings for group classes, a canine dock diving pool, a doggie swimming pond, a covered agility arena, and barn hunt barns.
So, again, in summary, Teamworks is consolidating to one location – the Youngsville location – as of January 2024. I realize the drive to Youngsville is further for some, but when the Capital Boulevard expansion project comes through in 2025, significantly limiting access to that location (and Overlook Rd still doesn’t get paved), you may come to understand one of the reasons this decision was made.
Personally, I find it very difficult to be giving you this news. There was much time and effort put into alternative plans over the past few years. So, although this change may affect your future plans, I would ask that you PLEASE BE KIND to the office and boarding staff. It’s not their fault that this decision has been made. Nor is it the fault of the boarding employees you see there who have stayed with us all this time. Please remember that the people left are the ones who stayed because they really care about you and your dog. If you have feelings / comments about this, you can email me directly at michelegodlevski@gmail.com, but please be kind to our staff.
Again, I am very sorry for this change of plans, but I wanted to give you as much advance notice as possible. I feel it is time to simplify and return to our roots of dog training and dog sports. To further enhance the Youngsville location, we will be opening a new building there called the The Wag Center. We will expand our offerings to include regular visits from a veterinary chiropractic, a canine massage therapist, and a cooperative care specialist. We will even add new indoor classes like Treibball and Urban Rat Hunting Sports. I hope you will join us in Youngsville for classes, private lessons, swimming, therapeutic sessions, and events. As an incentive to try our classes in Youngsville, we are offering a $10 coupon off of 2024 group classes. You can also use the discount code TAKETEN if you register online.
I want you to know that I am grateful for each and every one of you, and your loyalty to Teamworks over the past 23 years. I am dedicated to continuing the mission of helping people and their dogs…here in Youngsville, where it all began in August of 2000.
Thank you for your understanding and patience during this difficult transition.
