What are thoughts on using doggy day care? I work at home and Edsel is with me all day, we have been working on socialization, walks, trips through the garden to grandma and grandpa's and he has Oscar his 16 week old Golden Retriever nephew who he plays with about weekly. But I'm concerned that where we live he won't get as much time with other pups as he needs and would like. Thinking about obedience classes but also wondered about 1 day a week at day care for fun and play. Lori
Re: Doggy Day Care Hi Lori, Doggy Day Care sounds great, but I think you have to research quite hard and look into how the Day Care is managed. I think there is a mix of experience from forum members. I haven't ever used it, but I am sure the others will chip in with their experiences. Like everything, word of mouth is good.
Re: Doggy Day Care We've used daycare extensively. These days we don't do daycare as such but we use a different company that does group walks and morning playgroups (kinda like daycare but half a day). Day care is fab for wearing your dog out. Whether or not it's good for socialisation or behavioural development depends on how the day care is run. We stopped going to our old day care because they wanted to use a water spray to control barking (we did not want that) and because they allowed totally uncontrolled play (which meant that the dogs were not learning to use an 'off switch'). You want to see, IMO: - a decent staff to dog ratio - assessment of the dogs before they are allowed to join - areas where dogs can have a break if it's all a bit much - the use of time outs and calming breaks to deal with behaviour that is getting over the top - an understanding of positive training methods - no 'aversive' techniques - staff who are knowledgeable about dogs and who display a caring attitude to the dogs I would recommend trying anywhere that has that kind of approach. The company we use now has those features and it is absolutely brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. They even do staff training fortnightly to talk about specific 'cases' and new approaches to dog behaviour management.
Re: Doggy Day Care Hi there Lori, Rachael's criteria is an excellent guide.....I use a daycare facility for a couple of hours a week and the number of dogs in each group is something that was important to me as well.I didn't want Dexter free running with a massive pack of dogs.He's in with 9 others ( I'd prefer that to be smaller but that's the best I've got)he's only there for 4 hours max and I vary the days so he's interacting with as many dogs as possible. Day care was never something I thought I would need to use....we waited until I wasn't working to get Dexter and the facilities are pretty poor in Dubai.By that I don't mean the physical premises...they in most cases are excellent,but I've heard of several dogs that have been attacked whilst being supervised by untrained ,inexperienced staff.Rucks are something to consider though,I've since learnt that is can happen in even the best of facilities .I weighed up my feelings about it against the reasons I was considering it.Like you I wanted Dexter to meet a bigger variety of dogs.... And I also wanted him assessed to be honest as I was having a few struggles with him lunging and barking at other dogs on lead ,a few well placed comments had me worried that I had an aggressive dog....I haven't got an aggressive dog at all by the way ;D....but he's my first dog and I worry I'm not doing right by him all the time :-[ I wouldn't say he loves Daycare,he wouldn't get out the car last week.....but it was the first week I hadn't taken him,my Husband did,so things were different.and he was the last to arrive for his room so he went into a full room of dogs ( I get him there early :) and chris said his back was up for a minute or 2 and he just let everyone sniff him but after he'd been checked out : he joined in. I like that about the place I'm using,you can take them right into the room they are in..or outside to the 'park' if it's their session and watch them for as long as you want.....you can turn up at any time and the staff just let you walk straight through to your dogs room and you can stand and watch through the one way window and they take photos and put them up on Facebook so I can see which dogs he's been playing with . I tend to overthink things with Dexter too Lori,I'm sure he loves having a hoolie with new pals every week ;D ,I also guess I'm not 100% comfortable with a facility having responsibility for my dog during hours I'm available to have him.....Chris my husband thinks this is silly and he is right because Dexter benefits much more being with other dogs than he does hanging out with his old Mum! Let us know what you decide x
Re: Doggy Day Care I'm going to use doggy day care for 3 days a week. My place looks ok; they have a detailed registration form; chill out areas for pups, small dogs or dogs who need some space and some very clean kennels. I just want to pop back unannounced again for a double-check. At this one dogs spend part of their day in kennels, with times out exercising in a paddock and/or a specially built inside play area (with TV). How does this compare?
Re: Doggy Day Care Can you book me in Jane ? ;D sounds lovely, yes an unexpected visit is a great idea. The lady who Owns the one that I use is always there, she works shifts on the reception desk side by side with her staff, and from my observations she knows ALL the dogs by name ( I did 4 weeks agility training with dexter... By week 4 the trainer was still calling Dexter , Dextie....it got on my nerves !) I have used my daycare to groom dexter and I've done a few pickup/ drop-offs to help friends out So I was confident you could do Am impromptu call in and things would always be the same ... Blimey can't you tell I'm laid up, I'm writing essays on anything I have an experience with !!! B ;D
Re: Doggy Day Care We put our 10 month in to Doddy Day Club twice a week and he loves it!!!!! He comes home exhausted so we wouldnt want to put him in any more days. We are very lucky as the lady and her son that run that club are fantastic, we were so impressed when we went to first look round the place and they have acres of land in their garden, all secure. They have so many toys and fun stuff for them to do and also a little nursery/sleeping area for when they need time out. They also include "Obedience" training and when we first registered they asked what were our main "problem" areas we wanted to improve which were pulling on lead and jumping up and since he has been going he is like a different dog, both issues cleared up with the help of them and us, fantastic!!! They even have "Bark & Ride" incase we cant drop him off so our little man is picked up from home, amazing! All for £10 per day from 8am until 5pm!!!! For anyone that lives in the South Birmingham area, I would thoroughly reccomend!!!
Re: Doggy Day Care Gosh, what an amazing price! We pay $40 (maybe £28) for a one hour walk and $77 (maybe £50) for a walk plus half day playgroup. This includes pick up and drop off and Facebook photos. Mind you, the staff are amazing and we are happy to pay. Thought of one other thing to look for in a daycare provider - make sure they have taken out public liability insurance.
Re: Doggy Day Care Thanks everyone...great tips and advice and I feel better hearing some of your positive experiences. I'm thinking of visiting a couple places in the next month and see what I find, rather limited options in my very small, very rural area, but we'll see. Lori
Re: Doggy Day Care Tatze goes to doggy day care on Thursdays Fridays if my husband is away - those are the two days I work. She loves it but comes home totally exhausted - so I wouldn't send a young pup unless it's 1-1, rather too much play in my book!
