Another doggie day in the north woods!

[Lynn Antonoplos]

Mr Miller is enjoying a day with his friends at preschool.

It is really a doggie day care, but we just prefer the term preschool!

Bodie goes to preschool once or twice a week depending on my schedule, the weather, and his level of exuberance. Most days someone is home most of the day. As a freelancer I control my own schedule and try not to work out of the house more than 3 days a week or more than 6 hours a day,,,,I am old and lose patience very quickly these days!! About 6 hours into the day I am ready to start screaming at clients so best not to push it. Steve my husband works on a rolling schedule of 3 days on 2 days off through out the month so is home alot actually! At present, dear youngest son is living at home while failing to write his thesis and is around the house an incredible amount of time for someone who is suppose to be living 3 states away finishing his degree at Purdue!!

Bodie goes to preschool simply for the interaction with other canines. Our toy poodle will occasionally give him the time of day, but for the most part barely tolerates him. The cats won't interact with him at all. I don't allow him to play with the horses and the fish provides little stimulation for a fun lovin' pup.  

I never pictured myself as being someone who took their dog to daycare, and actually I think I have made of fun of the people that did!! But we discovered just a few weeks into having Bodie with us that he was becoming fearful of other dogs and forgot how to play. Bo was one of 9 pups, within a week of being born the breeder also had a litter of 8 labrodoodles, so he spent his first 8 weeks playing with 16 other puppies all day!! When we brought him home no one in our household but the humans would have anything to do with him,,,he was growled at, hissed at, snapped at and generally faced constant aggression from the other animals. 

One day we took him on a visit to Petco for a new collar, he met up with a very fun loving standard poodle pup the exact same age who waned to romp and play. Bodie's response to the pup was fearful, hiding behind my legs, trying to get away, not interacting at all. That day Petco had a free puppy play class so we stuck around and put him in the class,,,it wasn't good,,,he spent the entire time trying to hide and get out. So,,, preschool !!!

The preschool he goes to has a passel of pups his size and age! Depending on the day there are up to 6 pups that fit the play buddy bill for him. They have 2 Golden Retriever, 2 Standard Poodle and another Doodle pup between the ages of 6 months to a year that come to school at some point during the week. On the days all 6 of them show up it is quite a show!! The woman who runs his preschool is a saint!! But even days when all the others aren't there, there are 15 to 20 other dogs of all shapes and sizes to play with. 

It has really made the difference in the way he interacts with other dogs, even the cranky little poodle he lives with. He knows how to play again and has a blast at preschool! When I pick him up he is asleep in the truck before we even leave the driveway and is zonked for the rest of the night,,,he is all played out!!

We have a great dog park a few miles away and when spring finally rolls around I think a day or two a week at the dog park will take the place of preschool, and he will know how to interact with all kinds of dogs when that time comes. But while we are in the throes of winter it's preschool for the Bodie!

So we are doggie day care people now,,,argh,,if I wasn't so old I'd be a yuppie!!

[Kirsty Coates]

I'm glad that is working out for Brodie and you. Doodles are such social creatures!

[Miss Ellie]

Glad to hear Bodie is getting the social interaction and play time with other doggy friends:)

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Well-I guess that makes me an old yuppie!  haha...Quincy loves "camp" and goes twice a week in this awful weather to socialize and blow off some energy.  He too is asleep in the car on the way home and gets the best night sleep that night.  Today he will get an "exit bath" at PetSmart so he does not bring home that funky day care doggy smell!  

We shall survive this awful winter here on LI ! Just need some help from PetSmart day camp!