Dog daycares have grown to be a mainstay for pet owners across the United States, growing in attractiveness since they first popped up in the mid-1990s. For most dog owners, dog daycare gives their dog a safe destination to exercise during the day while they’re at work and provides essential mental enrichment and companionship that dogs wouldn’t be getting independently at home.
But how will you know which daycare to choose? With increased popularity, increasing numbers of people are receiving in on the trend, and there are several options and styles available, from the top franchised “brand-name” daycare to your dog daycare your neighbor were only available in their home.
The dog daycare and boarding industry is under-regulated, so it’s important you will find a daycare where your pet will be safe, happy, and well looked after. There are a few facts to consider when interviewing different dog daycares, including the design of daycare, staff to dog ratio, personnel experience and training, cleaning strategies, dog handling and training methods … and much more!
Before exploring different daycare options, first think about whether your dog will in actuality enjoy going to daycare. Have a look at this article to find out more on how in order to if dog will love and prosper in a puppy daycare.
Continue reading to learn what things to look for and what to ask a possible doggy daycare.
The MOST Important Thing to consider in a Doggy Daycare
While there are many best-practices to look for when choosing a daycare, I really believe the main quality is transparency. Which means that daycare personnel is willing to reply to your questions carefully, openly discuss their policies, talk about pack management and training philosophy and methods, and be honest when discussing your dog’s behavior in the daycare environment.
An established dog daycare will be more than happy to discuss that they do things to you, and can also allow you to “tour” their facility and that means you can see it by yourself, whether personally or practically through webcams, videos, or photos. Don’t be surprised when a daycare will not allow in-person tours while daycare dogs can be found – the frequent coming and going of new people can cause unneeded stress in just a pack. Instead they could have you have a tour beyond operating time, have a live webcam to watch, or videos and images of what a typical daycare day appears like because of their doggy clients.
Different Styles of Dog Daycare: Which is most beneficial For YOUR PET?
There are many different types of dog daycare, and you’ll want to find the style that best matches your dog’s temperament, physical and mental stimulation needs.
Dog Park Style
This sort of dog daycare has large open spaces which is often indoor/outdoor or outdoor only. The area provides dynamic dogs the area to perform, play fetch with personnel, meander around and capture through to pee-mail, or watch all the activity from the sidelines.
Since it usually includes yard, if you are in a location with bad weather, be ready for a wet and muddy dog by the end of the day. You’ll also want to be alert to the facility’s programs for scorching or winter.
ashburn reston dog daycare personnel is disseminate throughout the play area to ensure safety and polite behavior between dogs (think “zone defense”). Make certain the ratio of personnel to dogs is held at a safe level in this type of daycare (more on personnel to dog ratio further down in this article).
Which dogs do best in this form of daycare? Social dogs who wish to run prosper in this kind of daycare, as they may have the space to essentially stretch their legs. More cautious dogs, or those who might be overwhelmed while surrounded by high activity would do better in another type of set up. Dogs who prefer to play “capture me when you can” or who are scared to be touched/led by the collar should avoid this kind of set up because of the difficulty of corralling them for grab or in other situations.