Dog daycares have grown to be a mainstay for pet owners across the USA, growing in recognition given that they first popped up in the mid-1990s. For many pet owners, dog daycare offers their dog a safe location to exercise throughout the day while they’re at work and supplies much needed mental enrichment and companionship that dogs wouldn’t be getting independently at home.
But how will you know which daycare to choose? With an increase of popularity, more and more people are receiving in on the style, and there are several options and styles available, from the top franchised “brand-name” daycare to your dog daycare your neighbor started in their home.
The dog daycare and boarding industry is under-regulated, so it’s important you see a daycare where your pet will be safe, happy, and well cared for. There are a few facts to consider when interviewing different dog daycares, like the style of daycare, personnel to dog ratio, staff experience and training, cleaning strategies, dog managing and training methods … and more!
Before exploring different daycare options, first think about whether your pet will in actuality enjoy going to daycare. Have a look at this article to find out more on how to tell if dog will love and prosper in your dog daycare.
Continue reading to learn what things to look for and what things to ask a prospective doggy daycare.
The MOST Important Thing to consider in a Doggy Daycare
While there are a few best-practices to look for whenever choosing a daycare, I believe the main quality is transparency. This means that daycare staff is willing to answer your questions thoroughly, openly discuss their guidelines, discuss pack management and training school of thought and methods, and become honest when discussing your dog’s tendencies in the daycare environment.
A reputable dog daycare could be more than happy to discuss how they do things along with you, and will also enable you to “tour” their facility so you can easily see it on your own, whether personally or almost through webcams, videos, or photographs. Avoid being surprised if a daycare will not allow in-person tours while daycare pet dogs are present – the continuous approaching and going of new people can cause unneeded stress in a pack. Instead they could have you have a tour outside of operating hours, have a live webcam to view, or videos and photographs of what a typical daycare day appears like because of their doggy clients.
Want to find out more on your dog’s patterns and get some good training tips? We’ve got 101 more for you here!
Different Styles of Healthy Hound Playground Germantown Dog Daycare: Which is most beneficial For YOUR PET?
There are many different types of dog daycare, and you’ll want to choose the style that best matches your dog’s personality, physical and mental arousal needs.
Dog Playground Style
This sort of dog daycare has large open spaces which is often indoor/outdoor or outdoor only. The space provides energetic pet dogs the room to perform, play fetch with staff, meander around and capture up on pee-mail, or watch all the experience from the sidelines.
Because it usually includes yard, if you are in an area with inclement weather, be prepared for a wet and muddy dog at the end of your day. You’ll also desire to be alert to the facility’s ideas for scorching or winter.
Daycare staff is spread out throughout the play area to ensure safety and polite behavior between dogs (think “zone defense”). Make sure the ratio of staff to dogs is kept at a safe level in this kind of daycare (more on personnel to dog ratio further down in the article).
Which dogs do best in this form of daycare? Social puppies who want to run prosper in this kind of daycare, as they may have the space to essentially stretch out their legs. More cautious pet dogs, or those who might be overwhelmed while surrounded by high activity would do better in a different create. Dogs who like to play “catch 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.
dog-play-daycare-with-staffSeparated play area style
These kinds of daycares are similar to dog park style setups, except they may have smaller, usually either indoor-only or outdoor-only play areas.
Dogs are sectioned off into play groups usually predicated on vitality, play style, or size. Groups in this form of daycare are usually smaller due to space limitation. Typically each group has between 10-20 dogs per area, but this depends upon size of the area and quantity of staff.
Which dogs do best in this style of daycare? Dogs who are somewhat more cautious and scared of high activity might do well in this setup because they could be sectioned off into an appropriately-matched group of dogs.
Home style
A home style daycare is at someone’s home and provides a familiar environment for dogs that could be overwhelmed in your dog daycare yard or room.
These daycares usually have just a few dogs that attend each day due to space available and allowances by local municipalities regarding kennel/boarding facility licensing requirements for residential homes.
Combined with the familiarity comes the everyday dangers of a home, so make sure the home has been properly dog-proofed and is also properly cleaned and sanitized to lessen illness transmission (more on cleaning protocols further down in this specific article).
Which dogs do best in this form of daycare? Dogs who exhibit signs of separation anxiety have a tendency to do best in this style of daycare. Dogs who benefit from the company of only a couple dogs at the same time are also good candidates. High energy pups might be too rambunctious for an inferior band of playmates, but this is determined by the physical exercise routine provided by every individual homestyle daycare.