Are there any "downsides" to doggie day care?

[Doris]

My spoiled rotten doodle, Bodi, has just been diagnosed with separation anxiety.  He has been licking/chewing his front legs and there is fur missing . . . the vet asked if we had any changes in our routine or household.  No . . . . so he suggested some doggie daycare.  I have a friend who loves the place she takes her dog to, but I am still a bit nervous.  Bodi is more of a people dog - but he will play with other dogs.  I guess since he is my "baby" I have anxiety too!!  Have any of you had problems with doggie daycare??

[Wendy and Eddie]

The only problem I've had is my doodles would like to go every day! That being said, I would check out the places near you, read about what to look for, and ask lots of questions. When I drop off my dogs, there are often new people being given a tour, and the owners are happy to answer all the questions they have, so don't feel silly about your concerns.

[Camilla and Darwin]

No problems here! I love doggie daycare and so does Darwin!

[Linda and Murphy]

Mujrphy loves doggy day care . H e would go everyday! He comes home exhausted and happy

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

Mine love it!! And we were lucky enough to hire one of the workers as a dog/kid sitter too!! They will also always do a temperament test to make sure your dog will do okay.

[Christine Cravens]

Myles loves his doggie daycare. He went yesterday and he is still resting from all his exercise and play time. I wish I could send him more often. It also relieves my guilt since I work during the daytime. Only down side is he comes home smelling a little doggy. A good brushing usually takes care of this odor.

[Michael Gurley]

As long as it's a good daycare, there is no problem! Sunny loves our current daycare but she did not like the one my vet office offers. The current one does not separate the dogs or leave them alone in kennels unless it's night time and the dog is sleeping at the facility. The vet office only took the dogs out of their cages to play for about 20 minutes a day! I did not know this until one of the workers who is also a friend of mine told me, and I haven't taken Sunny back there since! If I wanted her to be in a kennel all day, I would leave her at home.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I have only used 2 and they both had webcams so I got to check in on him during the day. He had separation anxiety also, which is why I took him actually. He mostly stood by the door all day waiting for people to come in. He was still a puppy of around 6 months, but bigger than the normal size puppies so they tried him with the big dogs and he was just a pushover. He spent most of that time running away from them. They said he was timid so they put him in with the small dogs.

When he was with the smaller dogs is when he just stood by the door waiting. It was pathetic. I now know that when he is confronted by any dog or is near a yappy smaller dog his way of dealing with it is to avoid it. So he had no way out of either situation. I think he would be fine now as he is 2 and around other dogs a lot more so his social skills are better. How old is Bodi?

[Doris]

Bodi is 4. We have had him for two years. He spends vacation time with friends that have two dogs a bit bigger than he is. (Bodi is 30 lbs) He loves to play with them. My Mom has a 90 lb vizsla and Bodi does well with her too. I looked at the website for the doggie daycare I would like to try. they have a schedule printed with very minimal time in crates. Sounds like they go in crates for snacks and feedings. I wish they had a webcam, but they don't advertise that!! I'm going tomorrow to check it out.

Thanks everyone for the advice!!!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Doris, I agree with the others especially since he is 4 years old. There really isn't much else to do for separation anxiety except giving him opportunities to be happy and play while you two are separated. I would certainly have continued with the day care situation if it weren't for the fact that we were moving in with our daughter and her doodle so we knew Marley would keep Murphy company while we were away and he'd have fun without us. Which is exactly what happened. He got much better quickly. But he wasnt to the point of paw chewing yet.
He is still hyper viligent when we leave him in the car alone for even a few minutes. He doesn't go as crazy as he used to, but he is still sitting in the front seat with his head pressed against the windows waiting for a sighting of his people. Our new puppy Bella doesn't care one way or the other where we go, but she has always had Murphy and is just a different soul.
Sounds like daycare can help him and worth a try. You will know if he doesn't like it. But chances are he will love it after some adjustment. Keep us posted.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Daisy goes once a week to one and seldom to another. One only has up to 6 dogs, this is where she LOVES going, the owner actually is involved in the day with play. The other allows 15 dogs per person, that one she does only on the days she has to go due to my work needs and only for 4 hours at a time. There she does a lot of what Murphy does, mostly stands around waiting for me to come get her (they have web cams). She is excited to go to this one as well but it seems short lived. They kennel the dogs for an hour nap time everyday from 12 to 1. This facility is cleanly, spacious and works perfectly for most dogs, Daisy just doesn't prefer it.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Guinness and Murphy go to Daycare about once a week, and they love it. They know where they are now when I pull into the parking lot, and their "butts" start wagging. They play hard (with a two hour nap), and come home exhausted. My Daycare does temperament screening on all dogs before they are allowed to attend, and they have a camera set up so you can watch your dogs (but not online...just in the lobby). The only downside that I can see is that they did have kennel cough once and the Vet thought they probably got it from Daycare. I think that's probably right, because that's the only place where they're usually around other dogs.

[Christine & Shelby]

Shelby loves Playcare and so do I. I started taking her because I work all day and her energy level is high. I walk her 3-4 miles a day (2 walks daily) and she is still very playful and energetic. The facility where I have borded Shelby has playcare so I decided to give it a try. We scheduled her temperment test - and she did fine. Shelby is very social - so she loved it. She gets to play all day and comes home tired.... and usually is still tired the next day and naps a lot. I wouldn't say there are many down sides to playcare.... I say it's worth a shot and may really help Bodi.