Shopping Around

[Camilla and Darwin]

Doggy Daycare is something that Jacob and I have tried very hard to research. We have tried four or five different places looking for good, safe places to leave Darwin. I know many people are opposed to leaving their dogs at daycare, but it really works for us and I feel that it is beneficial to Darwin. He gets socialization in a supervised environment, gets exercise, and loves it a lot. We both work and I know Darwin would rather play with pups all day, than sit in his crate for a full eight hours. Of course, it's pretty rare that we are both gone all day. That probably only happens once every two or three weeks. It's just good to have a boarding/daycare place you can trust to leave your pups with.

The facility we have used until now is okay... but there are a few things that irk me about it.

First, they never offered me a full tour of the facility. I have seen the daycare area, and the outdoor play area. Those are the only places Darwin has bee thus far. I haven't looked at the actual boarding kennels, because they are always pretty busy and acted like it would be a huge convenience. Plus, we have never boarded him there, so he's never stayed in the boarding area.

Second, he always comes home really thirsty. I asked them if they have water in the play area and they showed me that they have bowls lining the walls. I am not sure why Darwin won't drink while he's there. perhaps the bowls are really dirty?

Third, a couple of the employees, including one of the managers, are really rude. I go in to drop off, and by the time I come out, I feel as though I'm putting them out somehow. They tend to act stressed, annoyed, and snappy. They are a dog daycare! Come on!

I do think they are a clean, safe facility however... so who knows if I really am too picky.

So, we kept looking. I found a place that seems to be very promising. We stumbled upon it by accident, but I'm glad we did. We went in, and a friendly person immediately greeted us and offered us a full tour. yes, a full tour, of the kennels, play areas, everything. Score!

They are pretty selective about who can board, at least this specific location is. They are very strict about the vaccinations your dog has received, and are very careful and responsible about introducing new pups into the pack.

They make the all dogs rest in their kennels at least 30 minutes before meals, and an hour after. Their kennels are spacious, clean, and have those awesome cot/canvas beds in them that dogs seem to love so much.

There is no sharp play equipment that dogs can hurt themselves on, which was a pretty common problem I found in other facilities. They showed me all the precautions they have taken to make sure there is absolutely nothing the dog can get cut on, or have their collars caught on. They were extremely thorough, and took care of things I never even would have thought of.

They have a web cam of the daycare dogs. I loved watching Darwin play in the little kiddie pool all afternoon. one of the employees was playing the hose game with him. You know, when you squirt the hose at your dog and they try to bite and play in the water? (yes, my husband and I were watching the web cam at work...shame on us.)

He didn't come home thirsty! And in addition to all of these great things, the prices were reasonable, and all of the employees were friendly. They didn't make me feel like an inconvenience. I'm a big fan! They included a report about how he did, along with an adorable photo and a lot of information about the day.

Sorry for this long rambling post! I'm not exactly sure what the point of it was... just thought I would get it all out there. :-) Did anyone else go through a long process of selecting a daycare?

It seems to be a large chain, has anyone else used Camp Bow Wow? how was your experience?

[Laura & Chewie]

Ohhhh, excuse the typos on my previous post.

[Laura & Chewie]

We have a Camp Bow Wow literally 2 minutes from my house and we love it there. As I was reading your blog post, I was thinking it sounded like Camp Bow Wow. The love Chewie and he loves them...in fact he was "Camper of the Month" for April. The honor (LOL) came complete with a gift basket including a $25 gift certificate. Chewie generally goes for 2 half days a week to play and socialize and I am always comletely comfortable leaving him there. First class operation!

[Kathy Spyker]

I wish we had one close..It sounds like a great place.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

There is a Camp Bow Wow here in CT that my brother uses all the time. It's a little far for us, but I know he loves it. It sounds exactly like what you described. I'm betting there may be standards that have been established for all locations. I'm happy with my Daycare which I used only occasionally now that we have two Doodles, but it doesn't offer as much as Camp Bow Wow (and it is more expensive).

[Zoe, Benny and Tyler]

Wow, that place sounds really great. I am happy that you found a good doggy day care.
We rarely have professional run day cares over here in Europe, most dogs who are in daycare are staying with private families who have dogs themselves.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I think we have Camp Bow Wow in Cincinnati but I have not checked it out. I hate dog places where the people act like they don't even like dogs. I would think if you are in the business you would love dogs. That is one complaint that I always had about the groomers I tried. Sounds like you made a score here!