Doggy Daycare question

[Alex, Chad & Louie]

We have been checking out some doggy daycares in the area for when we are away for a whole day.
Now it could be that I am being a sappy doodle mom, but all of the ones we have looked at are just a square room no bigger than my living room. There are very few (if any) balls/toys to play with and all the other dogs are barking like crazy with nothing better to do.
We were looking at this option to give him something to do in daytime but i'm now thinking he would have more fun at home with the cat!!
are my expectations too high? are they all like this? I just couldn't imagine leaving Louie there all day.

[Pauline Mooney]

I am so glad I read this, just last night we went to check out a "resort" for our Bentley, only to discover that it was like a punishment for dogs. Certainly no happy dogs there. I was mortified! Bentley couldn't wait to get out of there. Neither could we.
I'm still looking, hoping there will be somewhere in Houston that truly love dogs so that I'm able to travel home. If not, I don't know what I'll do.

[Alex, Chad & Louie]

I'm Glad it's not just me being silly. I was so sad for the other dogs when we left the last one. I spotted a little lab puppy max 4 monthes old, cowering in the corner, clearly scared by all the commotion, I wanted to scoop her up and smuggle her out of there. how can people feel comfortable leaving their dog there?????

[Jersey, Jasmine, Jypsy and Diane]

Have you ever thought about leaving your dog at home and having a pet sitter come to walk/play with him during the day? Your pet will be happier to be on their own home and you will know that they are not alone all day. I am retired now, but used to have a pet sitting business with over 300 clients. I worked at a kennel and a veterinary hospital before I had my business. The dogs there, were not happy. I'm sure they thought "what did I do wrong, to deserve this?" There is a bonded and insured petsitter in your area. Good luck!

[Alex, Chad & Louie]

We do have a great sitter but she can only do evenings, the reason we were looking at this option was so could play with other dogs, but there was not much playing going on.
Thanks for the advise, I will look into a walker/player for the day time. we would only need them once in a while.

[1np1tlyyqzo7v]

If you're near a Camp Bow Wow, they're awesome!

[Alex, Chad & Louie]

It does look great just checked out there website, unfortunately the nearest one is very far away. maybe we should move :)

[Adina P]

if you will only be gone for one day, I agree with the suggestion to have a dog sitter or dog walker stop by several times a day. I have never boarded any of my three dogs. First, there are no nice boarding facilities here like some of the fancy doggie daycares. Second, my dogs are very comfortable in their own home so I think it's easier on them.

what I have done is recruit a handful of friends to stop by the house at different times to let them out and/or feed them.
most recently, we've had a good friend of ours just stay with them at the house since it allowed him to be one hour closer to work out.

[Meg (Murphy's Mom)]

I agree with your thinking. We went out of town with Murphy and I thought he would enjoy a day at Doggy Daycare to play with other dogs instead of waiting in the car for us. I tried it for two days but I will never do it again. He really enjoys playing with other dogs and has several dog playmates at home but all the dogs at daycare were just too much for Murphy. I could tell that he felt overwhelmed. I was also very worried that he would pick up bad habits and barking was my biggest concern.

By the way, my Murphy loves playing with his cat brother as well.

[Wendy and Eddie]

The doggie day care I take my dogs to has three separate areas for dogs of different sizes and temperaments. The owners have chosen not to have toys available b/c they discovered that the dogs played with the toys to the exclusion of interacting with the other dogs, which didn't help with the socializing aspect of doggie day care. They do have some climbing kids' structures and a two hour "nap time" midday. There are several humans in each section supervising the play. I would get a headache working there, b/c it is loud, but my dogs love it!! They start whining in anticipation two or three blocks away. There was a 2 hour "introduction exam" (I can't think of the right name) where the new dog off is droped off and is slowly introduced to the new space, but separated, then introduced to a dog at a time. If your place has a program like that set up, you could tell if it would be too overwhelming for your dog without committing to a full day. My dogs go two days a week and a dog walker comes the other days.
Good luck!

[Debbie and Thomas]

I also visited several doggy daycare facilities. No way! They were small rooms and some of them had doggy poo all over the floor!!!! My friend lives north of our city and brings her two labs to a beuatiful farm where the dogs run and frolick in this paradise like setting. I am so jealous but it would be impossible to drive 1 hr to get there and then go back to pick them up. SO- we have a dog walker (our dog trainers husband) pick him up and drop him off 3 days a week. He takes ours and sometimes 7-8 others to a beautiful "off leash" dog park which is in a conservation area and they romp and play for 1 1/2 hrs. Our GD Thomas absolutely LOVES it! He has his own friends now in this group of dogs and sleeps like a log after he returns home. Sometimes I follow in my car just to watch and take pictures of this "pack" frolicking and playing in the woods. I think we found a good alternative to the "depressing doggy day care" places.

[Stella]

We are lucky that our dog trainer also does dog walking and will visit your dog in your home while you are away. We did have to take our doodle to doggy day care when she wasn't available, and found a kennels near Kitchener that offered daycare also. The dogs each had their own room and outdoor run, we paid a little extra for him to be walked and to go swimming in the pool (!!!), and they also were let out, under supervision, with other dogs of a similar energy level for playtime several times during the day. He came home completely exhausted!