Recently we had the chance to hold one of the outdoor training session at Happenstance Cafe, this is also our first time visiting this place.
Happenstance Cafe was located at Opal Crescent, the cab we hired was very familiar with the place, once mentioned the road Opal Crescent he asked right away if we were going to the "dog place"! The road to Opal Crescent was narrow and quiet with few familiar shops around, there was also a budget hotel nearby, probably this was the reason why the driver could guess where we were heading.
Upon reaching, we were greeted by a pretty sign, the front of the entrance was blocked by a garden fence like door, which was very narrow (no one could stand in between), we had to open the fence door with one hand, then use another hand to push the glass door to enter the place. It was a very uncomfortable experience as dogs were free roaming in the cafe and could easily run out when people are entering or leaving the place. The overall look of the cafe was clean and comfortable looking, we were taken to our reserved seats by a staff, everything went smoothly from seating to ordering food. Both of us ordered one main course each, Seafood Aglio Olio, Cottage Pie and some drinks.
Our orders arrived in about 15 minutes, the Seafood Aglio Olio had fair amount of seafood and tasted unique, the recipe was obvious designed by a chef but they were a bit bland in my opinion, Cottage Pie was very good though, worth it for the price!
The cafe was acceptable in terms of space, not very spacious but just enough for dogs to roam about, we could see that the management had put in a lot of effort to make the cafe dog friendly, there were purifier, music, water fountain, pee tray, mop and wash room, the staffs were also helping to clean up the mess made by the dogs, if they do notice that someone's dog poop without cleaning they would notify the owner, if not they will just pick them up.
There were quite a number of dogs on that day and it was a good environment for training, we noticed a couple of very aggressive dogs, there were barks and growls every now and then, even saw some fights going on, as usual there are still a lot of irresponsible dog owners around that do not wish to control their dogs when they go crazy. When Pocky (the dog undergoing training) came, we brought him out for some walks before settling in the cafe, the road outside was very narrow and dirty, we simply walked for a short while before re-entering the cafe again.
Pocky used to pounce at another dog to play but was able to refrain from doing so this time round, he sniffed a couple of dogs and even played with an obedient large dog, at times wandering into the territory of aggressive dogs and being chased out, our goal was to mainly teach on dog body language, to prevent unwanted scenarios, this is very important when bringing your dog to meet strangers, a simple reading can tell you if the other dog is suitable for interaction. Amber on the other hand was doing quite well, she still jumped at people when they touch her but is able to come over when called, Amber is no longer excited about dogs as she sees them on a daily basis, for humans wise because we do not have visitors she tend to get over friendly. We also met Weewee on that day, we were really happy to see her trying to socialize and not barking and hiding anymore, hope to be able to see her improving further, she definitely looked more carefree.
Happenstance Cafe managed to prove that there are still sincere businesses that truly care about dogs. The fence blocking the entrance door definitely needs to be fixed, if not dogs will start to get lost one day, most dog cafes has another baby gate/play pen on the inner entrance of the cafe, this much safer. Water fountain is not advisable to be placed openly to all dogs as bacteria like Leptospirosis could be transmitted very easily.
Other than that we don't see anything that needs to be improved, it is clean, spacious, food is also great, we will be returning again once we have the time!
Happenstance Cafe was located at Opal Crescent, the cab we hired was very familiar with the place, once mentioned the road Opal Crescent he asked right away if we were going to the "dog place"! The road to Opal Crescent was narrow and quiet with few familiar shops around, there was also a budget hotel nearby, probably this was the reason why the driver could guess where we were heading.
too tight
Upon reaching, we were greeted by a pretty sign, the front of the entrance was blocked by a garden fence like door, which was very narrow (no one could stand in between), we had to open the fence door with one hand, then use another hand to push the glass door to enter the place. It was a very uncomfortable experience as dogs were free roaming in the cafe and could easily run out when people are entering or leaving the place. The overall look of the cafe was clean and comfortable looking, we were taken to our reserved seats by a staff, everything went smoothly from seating to ordering food. Both of us ordered one main course each, Seafood Aglio Olio, Cottage Pie and some drinks.
Cottage pie
Aglio Olio
Nice decor
Our orders arrived in about 15 minutes, the Seafood Aglio Olio had fair amount of seafood and tasted unique, the recipe was obvious designed by a chef but they were a bit bland in my opinion, Cottage Pie was very good though, worth it for the price!
Appreciate all the help!
The cafe was acceptable in terms of space, not very spacious but just enough for dogs to roam about, we could see that the management had put in a lot of effort to make the cafe dog friendly, there were purifier, music, water fountain, pee tray, mop and wash room, the staffs were also helping to clean up the mess made by the dogs, if they do notice that someone's dog poop without cleaning they would notify the owner, if not they will just pick them up.
waiting for the dogs to calm down
Pocky taking a peep
There were quite a number of dogs on that day and it was a good environment for training, we noticed a couple of very aggressive dogs, there were barks and growls every now and then, even saw some fights going on, as usual there are still a lot of irresponsible dog owners around that do not wish to control their dogs when they go crazy. When Pocky (the dog undergoing training) came, we brought him out for some walks before settling in the cafe, the road outside was very narrow and dirty, we simply walked for a short while before re-entering the cafe again.
Pocky used to pounce at another dog to play but was able to refrain from doing so this time round, he sniffed a couple of dogs and even played with an obedient large dog, at times wandering into the territory of aggressive dogs and being chased out, our goal was to mainly teach on dog body language, to prevent unwanted scenarios, this is very important when bringing your dog to meet strangers, a simple reading can tell you if the other dog is suitable for interaction. Amber on the other hand was doing quite well, she still jumped at people when they touch her but is able to come over when called, Amber is no longer excited about dogs as she sees them on a daily basis, for humans wise because we do not have visitors she tend to get over friendly. We also met Weewee on that day, we were really happy to see her trying to socialize and not barking and hiding anymore, hope to be able to see her improving further, she definitely looked more carefree.
Pocky playing with a big dog
Weewee!
Other than that we don't see anything that needs to be improved, it is clean, spacious, food is also great, we will be returning again once we have the time!
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