First day of doggie day care

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

       I was as nervous as when I dropped off my son for pre-school.  here's hoping.  one thing I am not crazy about is they defecate and pee in the play room.  they clean it right up, but eh.  I spoke to another "mom" and she said her year old has been going ( no pun intended) to the center since 4 months and it never set back his house training.  Quincy has not had an "accident" since he first came home, so here's hoping.  He had his usual walk and went this morning, so maybe it will just be a pee at some point.  

          Will I be able to resist a lunchtime visit?  hard to say!  I stood and watched him for a few minutes- he is in a back play room that was on video.  He was with a slew of labs and one German shepherd and was running around wagging his tail stirring up the crowd. I do foresee one tired pup!  

           Was ordering a $4 peanut butter kong for the lunch break yet another notch on my over indulgent belt?

[Marnie, Stanlee's Mom]

Stanlee just recently started going to daycare as well, can you say nerve-wracking?  We did not have any issue with him going potty in the house afterward - I'm guessing the smell at daycare makes it "okay" to pee and poo in the playroom (?)  We had the option of watching video as well and this is the option I chose instead of a lunchtime visit (which is embraced and smiled upon at the daycare we frequent)  Stan wasn't on camera the whole day as the daycare brings out dogs in shifts.  What I COULD see is when Stanlee was on camera, he was having a BLAST!  There were also photos posted on Facebook so I was able to see upclose who Stanlee was playing and hanging outwith.  I picked him up at the end of the day and he came home, ate dinner, went out for a potty break and slept the rest of the evening.  A first for my ADD "I can't sit still" doodle. 

 

What a great, fun-filled day for Quincy!  And no, the $4.00 Kong is the perfect mid-day snack!

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Thanks Marnie! That is reassuring.  We have been using a dog sitter , but that is only 30-40 minutes in a long day so I am hoping this works at least a one to two days a week.  Minus the $4 Kong- it's only $5 more than the $17 dollar house sitter.  

[Marnie, Stanlee's Mom]

Awesome, and it's for the whole day so you really can't go wrong.  Our last visit I even had the onsite groomer clip Stanlee's nails and clean his ears and they only charged an addiditonal ten dollars.

 

So give, did you watch the streaming video all morning?

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

they don't have streaming, just as well- I would never get anything done.  they have cameras at the front desk for the back play room.  I resisted lunch visit.  They put them in crates , so my guess is he is napping! 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Are you saying that they let them pottying inside or just that they take them outside regularly and there are sometimes accidents?  That would make a huge difference to me.

[Marnie, Stanlee's Mom]

At my daycare there are accidents but as there is artificial turf inside, it's easy clean up.  Also, when they are not in the play area, they are in a kennel that lines the play area so they can watch the other dogs (you'll see them in the photos that flash on the screen.)  Here is the daycare we frequent:

http://www.petparadiseresort.com/locations/tallahassee.aspx

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

jealous! a pool and outdoors.  

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

When I called on the phone last week and ask about elimination, they told me that they had a room that looked like the outdoors.   I just assumed it was a separate room.  This morning they told me they use some type of phenomes that mimics outdoors.  When I was watching another group when we went to check it out over the weekend, a dog did potty and they instantly cleaned it as there is always an attendant.  I am going to make further inquiries tonight.  

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I'm not sure that I'd personally be comfortable with that....it doesn't seem natural for dogs.  At our Daycare they are taken outside to go potty a few at a time every couple of hours. 

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I agree with Jane on this....

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

mine is the same.  of course there are always accidents inside but they are encouraged to potty outside.  We were checking out different boarding facilities in Chicago a few years back and there was one nice on that got eliminated from our list when we were told that they were not taken outside for potty breaks.  I didn't think it would cause a problem with our guys going in the house but didn't like the thought of that doodle fur soaking up pee from the floor (yes, they were quick to clean but dogs are quick to step in spots that you don't want them to step in).

[Marnie, Stanlee's Mom]

Remember, not all doggie daycares have "green space" available.  (Think of all of those NYC dogs!)  I happen to live in a very compact town where BAM, two miles out you're in the middle of the woods.