Does your doggy go to daycare?

[BethIrish]

Hi ladies!!

I was curious if any of you sent your dogs to daycare? If you do, how many days a week does (s)he go? Our dog trainer and our former dog walker have become partners in a new Doggy Day Care in our town. DH and I have been thinking about sending Neala for one or two days a week. I'm hoping that it would help her become more socialized with other dogs and other people. She isn't the most outgoing dog around, so I guess I'm hoping it might help her come out of her shell. Obviously, in light of my other post today, I will definitely be talking in over with our dog trainer, but I was curious as to what you ladies thought? Does your dog like daycare? What is (s)he like when you pick her/him up? Do you feel it's been a good experience for socializing your dog?

[Vegastrtle]

My dog has gone...not on a regular basis though. She always goes when we're on vacation (they board as well...day care during the day and board at night) and has gone just for the day once. She LOVES it.

[nylons73]

Yes! Yes! Yes! (Can you tell that we love it? lol.)

We have a bulldog and a yorkie. Both have energy up the wazoo. Seriously, on the weekends they just run around the house and cause all kinds of chaos. :) We take them every single day and they run and play with all kinds of 'friends.' They keep my little Yorkie in the 'small dog section' and the bulldog runs with the big dogs.

My best advice would be to check them out completely. Our dogs have been going for 2 and 2.5 years now, but before we started the Yorkie there, we really scrutinized the operation. It is pivotal that all dogs have their updated shots (esp. bordatella) and that the facility is clean, sanitary, and kept up every day.

From what the workers tell us (and what we have observed ourselves) our dogs are very social at doggie daycare and just run and play all day. The best is that when we pick them up in the afternoon, they come home and sleep! (allowing DH and I to get 'house stuff' done or whatever without two dogs chasing each other, and causing havoc under our feet all night!)

[pixiecat]

Our neighbor runs an excellent "dog camp" and my Sully is her only "daycare" participant (most dogs are staying for an extended period of time). He loves it!!

He was obsessed w/ the ball and toys and *tolerated* other dogs, but didn't play too much... now he is a great buddy! He has learned to play with the other dogs and gets so excited when we drive up to her house.

She also works on his commands - although I don't pay her for training specifically. He goes usually 1-2 days/week, when both my DH and I are working. I know that he is being entertained & is safe. I love it!

[jessied1025]

We send our yellow lab (Sugar) to doggy daycare once a week and she loves it (so do we!!). It is great for their socialization skills, plus she is nice and tired when she comes home that night.

I would definately recommend checking it out and making sure it is suitable for your dog. Most places require the dogs to be up to date with shots, including the bordatella shot.

Keep us posted on what you decide! :)

[BethIrish]

Thanks for your input ladies! :D

I'm going to talk to our trainer tonight about it and also visit later in the month. We are going on vacation (and Neala is coming with us) next week and then we will have my parents' dog for 4 weeks (Neala and Bailey are great friends ;) ) So, if we do decide to have Neala go to "school" one or two days a week, it won't be until mid-August!

[IrishMeg]

Oliver goes on occasion. I work from home for the most part and make my own schedule, so he rarely needs to go. I plan my day so that he is never home too long by himself.

The daycare we send him to has a doggie cam, so I can watch him on the computer while I'm in the office. He hates going at first but he loves it after he's been there for a little while and warms up to everyone. I think if I sent him more often, he'd be more comfortable.

[flygirl]

The place where I board Annie has a daycare that she participates in when she's there and she LOVES it. But she's a pretty sociable dog. I wish I could take her there every day because she gets so much out of it.

[Jazz]

We do. For us, it's mostly to give her the exercise she needs (a lot! she's a pointer). So, during the summer, she's not going very often, since she can come biking with us a few times a week. Over the winter, though, it was about 2-3x a week. We board her at the same location, so it's nice that it's a familiar place (though I wonder if she thinks we just forget to pick her up!), and that they know her.

She's usually ready to come home in the evening and waiting by the gate, but the times we've gotten there early (before 4), she's been off playing, and she always goes in without looking back, so that makes me feel good. :)

[zannli]

We do too. We can't afford to send Sasha as often as we'd like but she loves it. So we send her twice a month, and board her there when we go out of town. It is absolutely wonderful for them social wise, and will help cure anxiety (or at least it has with Sash)

[kam]

We used to but both daycares we tried, in our opinion, weren't really sensitive to the needs of small dogs. There are small dogs who will stand up to large dogs, but many in the presence of large dogs are very nervous. There was one that was sensitive to it but it was mainly an outdoor camp (not a great scenerio for chihuahuas who get cold in 75 degree heat). I'd definitely ask to monitor the dogs at play.

[LittleStar]

We loooove doggie daycare! Our dog goes twice a week, every week, plus spends the night sometimes if we're having a night out and feel bad about leaving her at home by herself or if we're out of town. When we drop her off, she just runs right in. There's no "Bye Mom! Have a great day!" But that's OK. It makes me feel that she likes to be there, has friends to see, playing to do. Of course she's super excited to see me at the end of the day so that makes up for it! Plus, she's utterly exhausted when we get her home which is just an added bonus for us. It's hilarious to see her flop down on the floor and let out a huge sigh, like "Boy have I had a fun day!"

[Jazz]

We used to but both daycares we tried, in our opinion, weren't really sensitive to the needs of small dogs. There are small dogs who will stand up to large dogs, but many in the presence of large dogs are very nervous. There was one that was sensitive to it but it was mainly an outdoor camp (not a great scenerio for chihuahuas who get cold in 75 degree heat). I'd definitely ask to monitor the dogs at play.

Yeah, definitely ask what the play area(s) are like and try to talk to a few of the workers. Ours has a separate small dogs area for the dogs that need it.

[BethIrish]

Actually, the group class that we are starting after we get back from vacation in July is held at the daycare center, so I'll get a good feel for it physically and I will definitely check it out with Neala one day after work when other daycare dogs are there.

The center is an old mill building with a huge interior w/play areas broken up by dog size and an 1,500 square foot outdoor play area. Our dog walker and trainer are both associated with the place - we love both of them and I'm confident they wouldn't associate themselves with some place sub-par :) But I will check it out on my own, just to be sure!