Fun unleashed.
When you’re at work or away, your dog can be playing and getting the attention he needs instead of chewing on the living room furniture or your shoes. Why leave your pup at home with a pet sitter when he can spend the day playing, getting exercise and attention, and socializing with other dogs and people?
Many dogs are left at home for extended periods of time throughout the day. Busy dog owners often come home tired and are unable to give their dog the attention and exercise they need to stay physically and mentally healthy. Such dogs often develop problems like incessant barking, house training accidents, and destructive behavior. Remember, dogs are pack animals that need and enjoy the interaction of other dogs. Even puppies benefit tremendously in the lessons of socialization learned from other dogs.
Dog Days Daycare is an environment “just like home” with plenty of indoor and outdoor room to play or relax while you’re away or at work. Here the dogs rule! They will have the run of the entire facility, inside and out, to come and go as they please.
Most dog daycares incorporate some form of kenneling during your pet's stay with them. Some even charging an additional fee to play with your pet individually or as a group. "Say what?" you say. You have to pay extra for them to play with your dog?
Fuhgeddaboudit! Not at Dog Days! Our 100% cage-free distinction is what sets us miles apart from the rest. Your pet will never see the inside of a cage for his entire stay with us. Not even for sleepovers!
That's not to say we do not make crates available for dogs who enjoy being in a crate, or feel safer in one. Our philosophy is that if you do not crate your dog at home, then we do not crate him here either.
The benefits of regular dog daycare attendance.
You could think of most dogs today as “unemployed.” Dogs have been traditionally bred for jobs such as hunting, livestock herding, protection or guarding. But their main job today seems to be that of couch potato! Unfortunately, boredom and excess energy are two common reasons for behavior problems in pet dogs.
Some of the benefits your dog can expect to gain from regular daycare attendance are:
Relief from boredom (mental stimulation).
Relief from loneliness and the anxiety that loneliness can cause in dogs left unattended for extended periods of time (including separation anxiety).
Socialization with people.
Socialization with other dogs and learning how to "be a dog" in a healthy pack family.
Exercise.
Prevention of destructive behavior in the house when unsupervised.
Safer than a public dog park as all dogs are carefully screened before being allowed to attend.
Your pet will be supervised by our trained and caring family (staff) during your pet's entire visit with us.
So how does dog daycare actually work? How do I get started?
There is an assessment process we utilize to determine whether or not your dog will be a good fit for daycare.
An assessment appointment is scheduled for you to bring your dog to the daycare. This appointment should be scheduled for early in the morning, on a weekday (we don’t do screenings on weekends) between 7:30 and 8:30 am. We recommend early morning because it will be easier for your dog to meet 10-15 dogs that are already there vs. later in the day when there are 40 or so dogs that have arrived for daycare or boarding.
You should plan to be there with your dog for approximately 30 minutes. We’ll give you and your pup a tour of the facility, give him a chance to get comfortable in the playroom, and then slowly begin to introduce the dogs that are there. This is the most traumatic part for your dog because each and every dog will want to sniff him to find out who he is, what he had for breakfast, male or female, old or young, spayed/neutered or not, etc. After all the dogs have sniffed him they will leave him alone and your dog can then do whatever he wants. Usually the new dog will continue to sniff around the facility, sniff the other dogs when they’re not looking and, hopefully, begin to relax and play!
During this “trial day” we watch your dog closely to see how he does with other dogs. We want him to meet our staff, learn our routines, and be really comfortable with us … like we're his second home. This is especially important for dogs when they’re boarding. When they feel comfortable in their surroundings they eat better, sleep well, and don’t get themselves sick from being overly stressed. When you return to pick up your tired pup several hours later, we’ll let you know if we observed anything troublesome. If he’s done great we’ll let you know that too and will look forward to your dog’s next visit.
The assessment is done for only $20 and you may pick up your pooch about 3 or 4 hours later. We do recommend, however, that your dog get picked up early in the afternoon before most of the dogs start to leave. Your dog may find it stressful to see the other dogs leaving and he's not! Your pup will be tired, but happy, and will need a long nap when he gets home.
Will daycare be good for my dog?
Naturally, daycare isn't for every dog, but for the average sociable (even hesitantly social) dog, it can be the best thing in the world! Dogs are pack animals. Without a pack, they may not have all their social needs met, nor necessarily learn how to behave around other dogs. We help them fulfill their natural doggie drive to play and socialize in groups and, incidentally, burn up a whole bunch of energy. Some dogs are more shy or nervous at first, and many of these dogs eventually come around and really enjoy themselves. Some dogs, of course, are ready to run and play as soon as they enter the yard!
During the assessment process if we see that your dog is really not enjoying our open environment, we will, of course, tell you so. We don't want your dog to be traumatized by the experience or to waste your money if daycare is just not the right fit for your dog.
So? Think your dog would be a great fit for daycare?
Give us a shout and we'll get the tennis ball rollin'!