Doggie Daycare or Doggie Prison?

[Star and Goldie]

I'm sure that searching for daycare for our four legged babies is just like searching for the perfect day care for our children.  What I'm learning though is that I don't know what I'm looking for in a doggie day care.  I thought I did but my search is turning up with only what I think are bad results.

I found a place online that is near my house and would be great location wise. The website didn't raise any red flags to me so I went today to check it out.  My heart broke for those dogs in there and as I was leaving I had to ask myself "is this normal"? It wasn't what I had in mind, but maybe it is what I could expect of doggie daycares.

It just looked like a giant building of kennels. I felt like I was walking through a humane society shelter where each dog was just screaming for someone to take them home. Each dog was closed in a kennel. They had only one toy, if any. It had a doggie door in the back to allow them to go in and out. None of the outside part was grass. It was either cement or rocks. So I thought, how is that going to set back potty training? I don't want her to think it's ok to go on cement and start peeing and pooping all over my patio slab!

Next she took me to the back of the building and pointed to a closed door calling it their 'play room'. She described it nice talking about toys, couches, tv's the works. When I asked to see it guess what it was... a TINY hodge podge room of crates, grooming stations, electrical cords EVERYWHERE, one tiny filthy couch, a small 15" tv on top of a computer desk covered with papers... just a mess. It was like this room was a mixture of an office, a groomers and a place to store dogs. Definitely didn't give off the community play area fun time vibe!

She said there were 'runs' in the back outside where they can play when the weather is nice but when I said "so it looks like they basically just spend all day in a kennel" she looked at me like I was crazy for thinking that was a bad thing.

Here is the website for the place I looked at. Can someone tell me if anything would have stood out as a red flag just from the website so I can be more cautious in continuing my search?

pendletonpens.com

Also, am I being crazy? Am I expecting to much? My thought is if Goldie is going to be crated all day why would I pay$20 a day for her to be crated in a place that is sooooo loud (think walking through a shelter loud) when she could just be crated in the comfort of her own home. She'd probably rather listen to Disney Junior all day then that nonsense.

Is this normal for doggie daycares?

[Katrine]

Hi Star and Goldie,

You should keep looking, I"m sure there has to be other places that you could compare this one to. There has to be other facilities with supervised group play instead of kennels. Good luck with the search!

[Star and Goldie]

Yeah it seems like doggie daycares are not around this area much. That was the closest one that I could find and there seem to only be 2 more that are within reasonable distance to my home and work. One seems very questionable and the other is far more expensive (but maybe worth it) This search is going to be much tougher than I thought but I definitely will not be taking her to that place. I just can't shake that vibe I got there!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This doesn't sound typical of a day care at all, it sounds like a boarding facility, and not a very nice one at that. I don;t use doggie daycares, but I have visited many of them, and they usually have huge rooms (like gymnasiums) filled with toys and dog "playground" equipment, as well as outside areas with more of the same. No kennels or crates that I have seen, except perhaps in the back for dogs who are being boarded. I wouldn't leave my dog at the place you are describing if it was free, lol. I agree that you should keep looking.  

[Star and Goldie]

Thanks Karen. I actually just happened across another place that seems within reasonable distance and what you described sounds a lot like this other place. I think I'm going to do a visit there. They even have a webcams where you can check in to see what's going on.

http://www.dog-dayz.com/home

[Rita and Fazzy]

The dog daycare that we take ours to has kennels for rest time, feeding and that's it.  Outside of that, they are out in the fields with the daycare staff, or playing in the big barn area.  I would not pay to have my dog in a kennel all day and very small play area.  I don't know if you're in a city or country....we're in the country, so there are a few places like this around.  If you're in a city area, you'll probably find more places that are totally indoors and if that's the case, then you'd want to make sure that it smells clean, what kind of staffing (how many per how many dogs), what the typical schedule is for the dogs during the day, how are disagreements between dogs handled, etc.  Good luck on the search...make sure that you visit several before making your choice.

[Star and Goldie]

I'm not in a big city but I'm not really country either. I'm about 30 miles outside of a big city so it seems like the daycares are few and far between around here. I love the questions to keep in mind though. What is a good ratio of staff to dog? That is one thing I'm not sure on.

[Becka]

You are not crazy--that place does indeed sound like doggie prison! And the electrical cords alone would be enough to send me running in the other direction. Sadie's daycare has a separate area for large and small dogs and a large outdoor run for when they have to go potty (so no setting back the training). She loves it there and runs right in without looking back when we go, and she's usually quite worn out when I pick her up. They also keep it spotless.

I looked at the DogDayz website you posted and that seems much more in line with what you should be looking for.

[Star and Goldie]

Thanks for your input on the DogDayz site. I definitely will be paying them a visit soon. When I saw it I thought that had to be more what I was supposed to be looking for but after trusting the last site and then being completely let down I wasn't sure. haha.

[Camilla and Darwin]

That doesn't sound normal. Before we moved, we took Darwin to this daycare. They are only in their kennels for 1 hour after lunch (to rest and prevent bloat) for a "nap time". We've been there multiple times and it's clean, the staff is super friendly and qualified, and the play areas are very large and split into small dogs and big dogs. They also have web cams so you can watch your dog playing during the day. They have an "interview day" and approve or reject your dog based on if they are well behaved, and require up to date vaccinations. They are very strict on this!

http://www.campbowwow.com/us/ut/southsaltlake/

They have many locations too, perhaps there is one near you?

http://www.campbowwow.com/

[Star and Goldie]

Oh that place looks great! There are 2 in my state but both are too far:( One is not as far as the other but it would add nearly 80 miles of driving to my work day which would make it rough.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Well, at least it can serve as a source of comparison right? I'm sure there are more that are better than the place you described that are close :-)

[Sheila & Finnley]

The one Finnley goes to just for a play day, sounds very much like Camilla's. I bring her bed with me to go in the kennel for her nap time. They also snap pictures throughout the day of your dog playing and then send them home with you ! Finnley thinks it's great going there.