Does anyone here send their dog to doggie day care?

[Critters2]

A doggie day care place just opened in town, and I'm seriously considering sending the beagle, maybe two or three days a week. I think it would be good for her, would give her more exercise and stimulation than she gets now, with me at work during the day. She's getting older, and I think more exercise would be good for her.

Do any of you have doggie day care for your pups? How's it working for ya?

[lukasahero]

1. Ooh - thanks for the reminder

We don't yet but we are looking into it for our (ridiculously high energy) pup. I was thinking 2 days a week myself just to burn some energy and give my husband a break from her as he's at home.

I'd be interested in some advice on selecting the right place if anyone reading this thread has any. My pup's afraid of people so that's a nice added bonus to throw in to the 'finding the right place' mix.

Of course, I'll apologize to mycritters2 right now though since I've killed every thread I've posted in for the last 2 weeks. :( Sorry - if it happens, it's my fault.

[Critters2]

2. Not a worry. Most of my threads die a natural death pretty quickly,

without anyone else's help.

Wish I could help about choosing a place. There's only one option here. I know the woman who runs it. She's on the city "green committee" with me. She breeds English mastiffs, so I know she knows dogs.

[lukasahero]

3. That's cool

I have a friend who sends his dog to day care and he raves about it. If you're not home during the day, and can swing the cash, I'd say go for it. If you're unsure of how "the beagle" will respond to it, see if you can secretly watch and see how it goes. You can always bail if he doesn't seem to like it.

[spindrifter]

15. A lot of the doggy day cares "interview" the dog and

check them out for temperament, as they will be in groups with other dogs and they prefer to have dogs that are sort of "like-minded." Check to see how clean the place is (and smells), what toys do they have, what is their discipline philosophy, what activities do they have for the dogs, are there indoor and outdoor activities?

[lukasahero]

17. Thanks for the tips!

I hope the places near me are hosting all the high energy dog types if they want to get 'like-minded' with my little Bella! :)

If you happen to see this again, maybe you have a feel for the answer to this one:

My pup loves other doggies but she is (justifiably) afraid of people. She is not at all aggressive, she tends to just run the other way and bark. Once she "knows" you, she's ok but even my two oldest nephews and my brother-in-law haven't really gotten to pet her yet (my youngest nephew, pre-teen, has and she loves him). She's better with women.

Do you have a feeling for whether or not this would hurt her in the interview? Is there something I can do to 'present' this to the interviewer more positively?

[malta blue]

4. I used to send my beagle mix Luna because

she suffered from separation anxiety and would chew her belly raw if I left her alone.

She loved it! It helped that she was a very social dog, and had no dog aggression whatsoever.

If you have the means, I highly recommend it. :thumbsup:

[Critters2]

14. The beagle isn't dog aggressive at all, either. And one of her dog friends

from Rally Class goes. So, she'd have a friend. I need to check the rates, but I'm thinking of doing it. Thanks for the recommendation!

[seemunkee]

5. We send ours one day every other week

When we have the house cleaned they go nuts and the big dog feels the need to mark things afterwards. Kind of defeats having the house clean. They come back exhausted but seem to have a good time.
It also helps with their doggy socialization.
The one our dogs go to have a web cam and we can check in on them during the day.

[bigwillq]

6. No (nt)

[flvegan]

7. I had a friend that ran one here in Tampa for a while.

He'd let us bring our in every now and then. Best birthday I ever had, he opened the place up for a party for me and my dog, plus my friends and their dogs, as well as a number of the folks that adopted dogs from us. Nice to see so many former rescues in one place.

I think doggie daycare is a great idea, especially for folks with only one dog.

[Critters2]

16. A doggie party! What a great idea! nt

[XemaSab]

8. I suspect that I may live in one

:scared:

[Shardik]

9. I had a friend that did and she loved it!

I have a fenced yard, so opted to get my dog a buddy and that has worked out famously as far as I'm concerned. Now I have double the love.

[3dogday]

10. I know I live in one

We have three dogs and my partner is a pet sitter :fistbump:

[XemaSab]

12. I'm pretty sure all these dogs belong to us

:shrug:

And PS: Welcome to DU!

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

11. My mom sends her 4-month-old German Shepherd puppy there when she has errands to do

Dakota LOVES it, and she doesn't have to spend time sitting in the crate. The place she sends her to also does mini obedience lessons with them. You can pay by the hour or the day.

I'd do it with my dogs sometimes, but it's too expensive for me.

[spindrifter]

13. Okay--I have a dog walker every work day and

lots of people where I work take their pups to doggie day care. I couldn't do without the dog walker. Over the years we've had this service for two different dogs and have been fortunate to have had only 3 walkers + one person who did vacation relief for one of the guys. They have been great, even though one of them "lost" my dog accidentally. Fortunately, we got her back the next day. Long story.

The doggy day care people tend to use that service several days a week rather than daily. I used to pass one of the doggy day cares on the way to work. It was hilarious to peek in and see the pups lounging around.

[driver8]

18. We take our dog to doggy day care once in awhile -- it is awesome!

Our dog Buddy has a blast, there -- and comes home absolutely exhausted!

[spindrifter]

19. I talked to a friend who has a pup in day care and he said the

best thing is the webcam! Yes, he can watch Fido while he's at work!