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Daycare

Discussion in 'Sheltie Chat' started by corbinam, Jul 14, 2015.

  1. corbinam

    corbinam Moderator

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    Are your dogs in doggie daycare? Would you consider it?

    I admit that I've never considered it before--it seemed kind of like an indoor/day-long dog park kind of thing, and I'm not a fan of dog parks. I think there are too many dogs, not enough supervision, and you never know what you're going to get.

    BUT...I've never been to one and really don't know anything about doggie daycare. One of our local agility clubs apparently has one a few days a week that is run by a behaviorist. I think getting some attention/exercise during the day would be great for Enzo (for the first year of his life we had someone come and play with him for 30 minutes-an hour every day at lunch).

    He has so much energy, and now that it is basically perpetually raining, he isn't getting enough exercise. It seemed like once or twice a week it might be a good solution? But again, there are so many questions that maybe what I'm asking for isn't feasible (are all the dogs friendly, is anyone being bullied, are there any intact dogs--which Enzo is--, is kennel cough vaccine required, etc.)

    It basically had me thinking, what do other owners of crazy busy dogs do for their dogs?
     
  2. Greenepony

    Greenepony Forums Enthusiast

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    We have quite a few around us (Doptopia, Dog's Day out, Dog's Best Friend, Whole Dogz, etc) and we treated them as a last resort for boarding, that's it. However, the dog gym does offer day care and I would consider that. The dogs get some free-ish time in the morning, regular (leashed!) potty breaks outside), and then treadmill and training time in the afternoon. Otherwise, they are crated. We didn't need it since DH works from home but that seemed like the best case scenario for Olive.
     
  3. cmae

    cmae Forums Enthusiast

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    We recently bit the bullet and put Cruz in daycare when I work days (7am-7pm) during the week. Even though DH works 8 hour days, I didn't think it was fair to make such an active dog be sedentary all day. Plus, he drove us bonkers when we got home!

    I did my research and picked the place I thought was best for my dog. He is separated from the big dogs, and there is a 1:5 human to dog ratio (which is better than most places). They were also willing to satisfy my requests for a one hour nap every 2-3 hours. Best of all, there is a live webcam that owners can tune into which gives me the satisfaction of knowing he's okay. He has a blast there and loves all the girls that work there. He and Enzo seem to have similar personalities and I think he will do just fine - you just need to do your research and ask around :)
     
  4. Jess041

    Jess041 Forums Enthusiast

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    Hello, owner of a crazy busy dog here. Missy has been to daycare many times. I would send her more if it wasn't so expensive ($25/day). For the most part, she has a really good time. I take her on days I know I plan on going out at night. That way she's not in her crate all day while I'm at work and then again all evening while I'm gone.

    The daycare she goes to requires an up to date kennel cough vaccine, as well as all the other ones. The kennel cough is the one that is a big pain because it's every 6 months instead of a year or longer. They don't allow dogs under 4 months old, and dogs over 6 months must be spay/neutered. But this is just this particular daycare's rule. You might find one that is more lax on the intact thing. We had to go for an evaluation first. They put her in a separate area from all the other dogs and brought in a dog they knew was very friendly to see what she would do. Once they knew she was okay with that dog, they let her in the area with all the other dogs. They divide them up by size, and Missy is typically with the smaller dogs, which works out best because she tends to get really intimidated by bigger dogs she doesn't know. They evaluated for 3 hours and then let her stay the rest of the day for free once she "passed". Now she can go whenever as long as her kennel cough is UTD.

    We have several doggy daycares in the area, and I picked this one because they have cameras in each play area, inside and outside, so you can watch from your phone/computer to make sure everything is going okay. Missy is usually one of the bigger dogs in her group, and she plays great. There has only been one time where I was peeking in on the video stream at the very beginning of the day right as they let all the dogs in the play area. There was a dog that looked young and rather rambunctious, and seemed to be annoying Missy. I could see her at least barking and what looked like warning snaps. I called them immediately and made sure they kept an eye on her. They said she was fine, just playing. And they were right. Eventually they started looking like they were having a lot of fun. That dog goes there frequently and now when Missy goes, they buddy up and play. During the Summer months, they have "splash days" on Wednesdays where they fill up the pools and let the dogs play in the water in the morning. Missy loves splash days! Unfortunately we are now in an agility class on Wednesdays so I can't send her to daycare all day and expect her to do agility in the evenings. She comes home pretty wiped.

    I really like this daycare. The staff is incredibly friendly and the company must be nice to work for because they don't have a lot of turnover. I see a lot of the same people, and they all know Missy by name. They really enjoy her and think she's fun because she's always trying to rile all the dogs up to play. She's always been a big party girl. Seeing the same faces every time makes it easier to trust them.

    Another reason Missy hasn't been going recently is she's been going to my friend's house once a week or so to play with her dogs. It's mutually beneficial because my friend's dogs get a lot of exercise from playing, and Missy gets to play all day. My friend is a professor and taking the Summer off, so she's been home a lot. During the school year, she doesn't teach every day of the week.
     
  5. RikyR

    RikyR Premium Member

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    Zulu loves doggy day care. All we have to say is "you want to go to camp" and he is jumping up and down. Drags me into the place! We try to send him once or twice a week (it is pricey). He is totally zonked out when he gets home, eats his supper, and crashes on the floor. Never had any issues, the staff is great, the place is always clean, and with the web cams, we can always check on him. We like it!
     
  6. Jess041

    Jess041 Forums Enthusiast

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    It sounds like you take Zulu to the same place I take Missy to! Camp Bow Wow?
     
  7. Calliesmom

    Calliesmom Moderator

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    I'd consider it if there were anyplace close but with 4 dogs it would be very pricey....
     
  8. ghggp

    ghggp Moderator

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    When I was having a backroom remodeled my dogs were in daycare as I did not want them breathing in anything toxic since the room was totally gutted! :ick

    I found a WONDERFUL day care... (for anyone who lives near by)
    http://lildogsresort.com/

    It is for SMALL dogs only. I had to bring my dogs in first for an evaluation. They passed with flying colors. Yes, they needed to prove all their shots and Bordetella was mandatory too.

    I also have a backup with in home visits from a great pet sitter that also gives my senior massage therapy. Have you considered in home care?
     
  9. RikyR

    RikyR Premium Member

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    Yes! We pass right by the place on our way to work, it is very convenient for us. Sometimes we do half days, helps to keep the cost down a bit.
     

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