First of all, thank you everyone for being so patient with all my questions and for wonderful tips, I do not know how I would manage without you all. Being a software engineer , I get to work from home some days of the week , but few days , I will have to go to office/ meet clients. I have taken 1 month work from home for initial days of Rocky so he can get used to our house . Then at 12 weeks , He will go to doggie day care when I work from office. I have visited the day care, they have off leash policy for puppies and look really nice (as expensive as mu daughters day care . I am only concerned that he will like day care better ? Does that happen ? Or do they realise like kids, that day care is just a place to go when parents go work not their home ?
Don't worry - he will love it there, but home will always be home. Dogs live pretty much in the moment and don't do comparisons like we do
Hi there,sounds like you have put some real thought into his needs when you have to resume work at the office. My dog does daycare one day a week,,purely for socialization purposes ....it's been trial and error finding the right one ,but now that we have,he absolutely loves it.He goes in a 'normal' dog...excited to be there,happy,relaxed,waggy and responsive to me .......he comes out like a dolphin on a lead he is so excited to be coming home to me......so much so that now the Summer is over and I can resume his session I will be doing some work on that,he's actually quite dangerous in his strength to get back to me.....so to answer your question,they can love daycare but also absolutely love coming home to you. One thing I would say with a dog so young is to consider that they get rest periods.Daycare is exhausting...my 3 year old is flatlined after 7 hours ( which includes a 2 hour rest period,separate in his own kennel) so I'd check that he has a place that he can have some down / quiet time x
My pup had a real mix of day care solutions when he was young (things are a bit more straightforward these days, I just use dog walkers and my OH and I stagger our office time). Day care is just fine, and it won't alter your relationship with him one little bit - most dogs love going, and love coming home just as much. Make sure that the day care place follows your exercise limits for your pup, and has puppies and larger dogs separated (I'm sure you have already done that, but when I was finding places for my boy I was shocked to discover some places just threw small pups out to run with a large pack of adult dogs all day - obviously, they didn't get my business).
Thank you, sounds like we will be fine. Good point about place to sleep , I saw they have many beds for them but they were open ( no enclosure ) so that might not work if other dogs wake him up? i will see if they allow crates so I can take one . many day cares I saw had puppys in crates and allowed them out frequently but not off leash . This was the only day care which had seperate place for puppies and offleash but now i am thinking , may be it will be too much play?
Chepi started day care at about 12 or 14 weeks. I took her for a visit and stayed with her while each dog was introduced to her, she was really nervous so we were there a few hours. The next visit was for 1 hour only, on her own then she went 3 days a week. It took her a couple of weeks to completely settle but it has been brilliant for her. They don't have crates but they do have a quiet room where newbies or puppies can snooze happily or just be quiet. I would ask what provisions there are for puppies. Chepi enjoys her time their and loves it when I pick her up and I know it's the best I can do for her. There's probably more day care places in your area; it's surprising how many. Your vet may recommend one too.
I started taking mine after 24 weeks but this day care separates puppies from larger dogs and they run loose. They put the puppies in crates to feed them midday and for "siesta"....they are very good at getting them to take naps throughout the day. My dog looooooves day care.....what is there not to love??? they play most of the day! But when I pick him up, he also looooves to see me. He comes home tired but happy. And that makes me happy too. I had to have all his shots in order before they would accept him, plus neutered, plus was interviewed to make sure he got along with all kinds of dogs.....Aside from the fact that it is quite expensive, it's a great place for dogs....they are socialized, exercised and you can have a day or two to yourself to do what needs to be done...be it work or play...
Just spat my tea across the room! That is the funniest description have EVER read and describes it perfectly! Haha
It just depends how they are managed - I found a puppy creche that was perfect. Although the sleeping place was "all puppies together", the pups were actively managed and there was quiet time. It was a small place, just a few puppies in a space off the office of a local dog training place - play time, down time, 121 walk time, settle time, play time..... With a ratio of 3 staff to 6 puppies....easy for them to manage play time, and snooze time.... So I think, really, it's all about how they are managing the puppies, rather then whether they have crates or not.
