Doggie Day Care

[Kelly & Zoe]

Zoe had her first full day of doggie day care yesterday and I am SOLD!  She was completely pooped and happy last night - and so mellow today.  We've been walking her twice a day (us in the AM before work, and a dog walker 3 times a week in the afternoon) and limited (30 min) play time 3 times a week (more on the 2 days I stay home), but boy did she have a lot of energy when I'd get home from work.  She *clearly* needed to have a full romp day with her dog buddies.  It took me a while to find a place that I really liked, and this place is a bit farther than I'd like, but it seems worth it.  This place has segregated small/large dogs area, inside and outside runs and the dogs are fully supervised at all times.  They make a point of placing dogs with like personalities together.

So curious - what's your experience with doggie day care?  How often do you leave your doods?  Any negative experiences or behavior I should watch for?  Since this went so well, I plan to do doggie day care once a week for now - maybe twice a week in a couple of months.

[Jennifer and Luci]

Luci goes to doggie day care same place as she goes for grooming, and LOVES it!  She has a blast and they love her.  She gets walked, played with, etc.. but lemme tell ya she is VERY high energy and nothing tires her out like doggie day care!  Obviously it depends on the place but we have a good one here, she shakes all the way there knowing where we're going!  She goes mostly twice a week and I've found it to be great for her.  She's got many friends there and they allow her to play with the smaller dogs as she's between sizes and that's where her friends are.

[Kelly & Zoe]

Thanks for the info!  Zoe is a standard size, but shy, so they started her with the small dogs.  Half way through the day they texted me and told me they were going to put her with the big dogs and that she did really well in both areas.  Love the fact that she's socializing and expending so much energy!

[Jennifer and Luci]

They tried Luci in the large dog area and she wasn't thrilled.  She's 35lb so small compared to the big guys.  She runs in, lays on her back, legs spread out and all the real little ones jump all over her.  Then up they all go and outside to run themselves ragged!  She's not the biggest in there but pretty close.  Wish I knew about doggie daycare when I had dalmatians years ago..talk about boundless energy!

[Wendy]

Clyde loves doggie day care! I use it several days a week, I hadn't planned on it, but because of some changed work issues, my ability to telework was dramatically reduced. There are two other doodles in the day care, and they all stick together.  I had a several week lapse over the holidays when my parents visited. Clyde loved being at home with them, but clearly missed the expenditure of energy. He practically dragged me up the stairs when we returned to the day care.

[Jen W]

My doggy goes once a week, too (though she went twice a week during January b/c it was soooo cold outside).  She loves it.  The workers there love her and she obviously loves them.  My trainer said she's heard people say their dogs never barked until they started going to doggy daycare and for a while it seemed that Dory was barkier than usual, but I think that has gone away now.

I don't see any down side.  She gets to socialize with other dogs and other humans  and get lots of that puppy energy out and we get to spend time apart (which I think helped alleviate her separation anxiety).  It's $26 a day which seems like a real bargain to me!

[Kelly & Zoe]

Mine is the same price if you buy 12 visits at once, which I too thought was a great deal!  Also, their boarding is 50 bucks a night, but includes 2 full days of doggie day care, which i thought was fantastic.  Other places wanted 50 just for the night as well as the day care price.  So excited to have her socialize -

[April S.]

Luna goes to day care once a week- I do work from home and spend a lot of time with her - but I really want her to be social with other dogs.  They have 2 very large outdoor areas, and 3 indoor areas  - tons of places to run and play.  They also have webcams on each area so you can check up on them.  There is always someone in the areas with the dogs.  Only thing I don't like is that in the summer they fill up plastic pools and let the dogs play in them - Luna's hair gets all icky from not being blow dried - but other than that - its good.  She absolutely LOVES going and if we mention the word day care she goes crazy - so we have a code word "DC" when hubby and I talk about it.    As soon as we put her in the car after daycare she goes to sleep - comes home - eats her food and sleeps all evening and night.  She's sometimes tired the next day as well which is a bonus. :)

Luna is going to Petsmart daycare next week because I am going to be in training in another town - They are only $20 a day for the 4 days - her normal daycare is $28 a day.   

[Kelly & Zoe]

I didn't know Petsmart had day care - good to know in case we're traveling -

[Amanda]

Daycare is the best check I write every month!  Our doodlebug is so high energy and walks weren't cutting it.  Plus, we have had such a cold winter we couldn't walk half the time.  We send him there three days a week and he absolutely loves it.  He gets crazy in the morning when he sees me packing up his food.  This really is a good investment - not only does it tire him out but it is such great socialization with every breed and size you can imagine.  Worth every penny. 

[Kelly & Zoe]

Living in California, I cannot imagine what you guys who live in the polar vortex must experience trying to expend puppy energy!  I'm so lucky!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

My dogs go twice a week in the Winter if I can't give them a good walk each day, and once a week in the Summer on my "errand day".  I've had great experiences with our Daycare.  They are well supervised and I can watch them on a camera in the lobby.  They are always so excited to go....their tails start wagging as we pull into the parking lot. 

[Hua]

Charlie goes to day care at least twice a week. We both love it.  Only down side is I need to make sure he's regularly de-wormed.