Hi. My lab is 8 months old and I started to take her to half day supervised day camp. A very strict camp where all shots have to be up to date and verified. I only started to take her once every second week. Is a day camp a good idea? I read some negative stories online.
Hi @Madone Is dog camp the same thing as day care? My defnition of day care is a creche for dogs with may be one or two handlers acting as supervisors.
Hi Michael. I guess it is, it is a very large indoor area with 1 or 2 supervisors depending on how many dogs. They get 1 hour for lunch if they eat if not they still get alone time with water but no food if the dog does not usually get fed during that time.
Thanks @Madone for the reply. One hour for lunch time is way too much time. You could end up with a fussy eater. Is day care a good idea? It all depends on what you are comparing it to. If you work all day, then day care can be better than spending all day penned up. The problem with such places is that the dog can learn that being highly aroused is that the appropriate way to be around other dogs. And that is not a good idea. But as I said, goodness here is going to measured in terms of considering the relevant alternative to day care? What objective are you trying to achieve?
Since we are taking a break from puppy classes, I was hoping to allow her once every couple of weeks to be with other dogs. We do not get to see many dogs on our walks and I refuse to go to dog parks due to many reasons and one is some owners not being responsible with their dogs causing stress to many people.
Okay @Madone thanks for the clarification. Since your dog is now well and truly out of the socialisation period, it is not necessary that she plays or hangs around with other dogs. I can't think of any significant benefits to be gained from such habituation. And in fact I can think of many downsides. There is much more to be gained from you training your dog. Think of a new skill you would like her to learn. Retrieve is a challenging activity and can be applied to a vast range of activities, such as getting her to help with the laundry, or picking up her toys.
I agree with Michael. Dog day cares are not a good idea except in occasional circumstances and/or as a last resort. Dogs should be very closely supervised (one member of staff to 4 dogs, is the recommended ratio) and very few dog day cares provide that level of supervision. Dogs learn 'bad' things from each other - such as how to bully other dogs, or to be scared or overwhelmed by them - just as much as they can learn 'good' things. Really, if you want to continue your dog's interactions with other dogs, it is best to make some 'dog friends' from the classes you attend or from other dog people in your area, and arrange play dates at your house or theirs - that way all the dogs are known quantities (unlike a dog park or day care), people know and understand their dogs well, supervision ratios are usually one person to a dog, and generally it works much better. However as Michael says, assuming your dog is well-socialised with other dogs, there's no need to continue offering them ongoing play sessions with other dogs. That can be counter-productive since your dog can end up learning that other dogs are amazing fun - and you are quite irrelevant....leading to them thinking their mission in life is to get to and play with every dog they see. Really it is best to increase the training you are doing with the dog in outdoors environments away from the house, and not let those times get associated with play with other dogs. Work on control and focus on you, in the presence of other dogs, instead.
