Have you considered enrolling your dog in a day care instead of leaving him home alone?
Although day care can be an option, for some dogs it is not always the best available choice.
I asked dog professionals: “In your opinion, what dogs should not go to doggy day care?”
Marni Dlin (Alberta) Dogs who are scared and who would rather be at home in a kennel. I’ve seen dogs at day care who sit in their kennel all day, shaking. I’ve seen dogs who hide under a table all day in fear. Unsocialized, not–dog-friendly dogs shouldn’t come.
Tim Beau (Oregon) When I asked about having Chiquis at doggy day care, they listed a few things [that would not be good for a day care dog]. The one thing they mentioned that had me [decide not to take her] was resource guarding. As for Lalo, when we got him, he was afraid of all strangers, whether human or canine. He’s nine years old now, and I still wouldn’t send him to day care. Maybe if they had a tiny-dog section . . .
Inna Krasnovsky (New York) My dogs! I am terrified of day care and would never send my dogs to one. Jokes aside, I have heard too many horror stories and will not take the risk. Most day cares have too many dogs and not enough staff on the floor to make sure that, if anything goes south, it doesn’t turn into a tragedy.
Evee Linden (Connecticut) Overly social dogs or dogs with those tendencies. [I am] so tired of fixing frustrated greeters due to day care. You know, that dog that pulls on the leash and starts barking every time they see another dog . . . [which is the] beginning of leash frustration.
Photo by Sara Maynard
Stephanie Milbrose (New Hampshire) Dogs who don’t speak dog—I know it when I see it. I would say [these dogs] are relentlessly pushy. They ignore all signals given off by the other dog. These are the types of dogs that are the “Oh, my dog is friendly” dogs. They are great to their people but, put into a situation with other dogs, they will start a fight just because they are clueless. I also find that overly submissive dogs can be a problem at day care. I have used day care for many of my dogs. It is good socialization for them, especially [since my] dogs are going to grow up to be show dogs. But at the same time, finding the right day care with people who are dog savvy is important. I find too many day cares are opened by “pet” people who like dogs but have very little understanding of how dogs operate. Those are just accidents waiting to happen.
Steven Cogswell (Colorado) I’m not a huge fan of doggy day care; too many variables. I took Gerald to a group class, however, that was amazing. It was run by a trainer and limited to five dogs. All of the dogs were pre-screened to ensure they would be a reasonable group, and it was the same dogs each week, more or less. The trainer worked with the dogs on proper socialization. Gerald is a pushy dog whom some dogs read as aggressive. After ten sessions, I really think Gerald is much better with other dogs, but I would still hesitate to drop him off at a more generic day care situation.
Beth Fabel (Washington) Honestly? I am not sure that any dog is a great fit for doggy day care. Most adult dogs prefer to play with dogs they know, for brief intervals between sleeping or other downtime. Spending several hours in the presence of other dogs they may not know might well physically exhaust them, but it also has the potential to create stress. Most day cares have a pretty high dog-to-staff ratio, and staff can’t be expected to observe all signs of stress or anxiety and all potential for harm. Not all bullying behavior is obvious in a group. Maybe a small private day care where it’s the same dogs every day, or alternating spending time at a friend’s home where the humans and other dogs are well known, is a better choice. If your dog is full of energy when you get home from work, he needs you to spend time with him, exercise and train him. I don’t think sending him to play with strange dogs to make him tired is your best option. Then again, I have sensitive and small dogs and I would not trust their care to people I didn’t know well personally.
Lori Leah Monet DVM (Colorado) All of them? My personal feeling is: you got the dog, why do you have to have someone else care for it all day? Didn’t you train it? Also . . . as with kids, increased chance of diseases.
Michel Berner (Wisconsin) Dogs who need a lot of personal space, dogs who don’t respect other dogs’ personal space, dogs not fluent in canine body language, dogs who react like bullies to new dogs (rushing up and trying to tower over), obsessive barkers, dogs who have stress behaviors like obsessive licking, are a few that come to mind. Dog day care should be for happy, well-adjusted social dogs who truly enjoy the company of other dogs and play appropriate doggy games. It’s not for training and socialization. That’s the owner’s job.
Colette Kase (Mexico) It entirely depends on the doggy day care. If it is run by competent and professionally qualified people who treat each dog as an individual, it can be a lifesaver.
Janet Galante (Arizona) I am a dog trainer and have owned and operated a dog day care for 17 years. I was also a member of the American Boarding Kennel Association committee that set the standards still used today.
People fail to ask the critical questions, like why we do things.
▪ How much space we allow per dog
▪ What we mean by evidence-based care
▪ How our staff is trained
▪ How long we keep employees
▪ How we handle barking, humping, or inappropriate play
▪ How we handle transmissible illness
▪ What our philosophy is
▪ What goals we have for our guests
▪ How we use food
▪ If we use aversives
Please do not suggest that a tour is mandatory.
We have cameras. Many of our dog guests have “stranger danger.” We work incredibly hard to provide a low-stress environment that would be impossible to maintain if the many people seeking day care [all] wanted to “see the back.” I have cameras throughout the facility for that purpose. We simply will not put the well-being of our charges at risk so that someone can check their list of what someone who doesn’t own a facility tells them is mandatory. If someone has to see the playrooms, they can visit before classes.
If a facility does not have webcams, they should have windows or other forms of visual access. You should clearly be able to hear and smell what is going on.
When you consider enrolling your dog in a doggy day care, first consider: “Is day care an appropriate option for my dog?” If you decide that your dog would benefit from day care, ask yourself and your family how an ideal day care situation would be structured for your dog.
Make a list of your dog’s “needs” and “wants” in a day care situation, and prioritize that list from most to least important. Read the listings for dog day care businesses in your area, check their reviews, ask friends and neighbors about their experiences, get recommendations from your veterinary clinic, groomer, or training class instructor.
By phone or email, ask each day care the questions suggested in this week’s article. If the answers sound good, make an appointment to visit the day care in person, without your dog.
Finally, decide which day care would be your very best choice and enroll your dog!
