Anyone use doggie day care?

[andtckrtoo]

I have Jimmy in a day care today that has me a bit worried. They kept him crated from 7:30 'til about 10:30 (had him out for an evaluation, but that was it - and he's so dog friendly its not funny, so I'm sure it was short).

Then when the webcam finally kicked in they had him and the other new dog Bella on leashes. The leash was attached to his collar and was dragging around the room while he played. I called and they removed it (I told them that he will come when called, so that's not a problem), but my goodness, I could see another dog getting a paw caught in the leash, or the leash getting caught on something and something breaking - like his neck. Has anyone else ever heard of that happening? At the other daycare I use and like (but it's a much longer drive), they even remove the collars. Has anyone heard of anything like that?

 

[SRP]

I don't use a doggie day care... but good grief. They crate the dogs? You can do that and keep your dog at home all day. You pay good money to have them take care of him - not lock him up. And yeah, that leash thing would be a problem for me. It's definitely a hazard. I hope you can get these issues resolved!

 

[andtckrtoo]

I just needed a sanity check. I can understand the crating - not for for three hours, but I can understand crating - most of them do, if only to provide the dogs a rest. It's the leash thing that got me the most. Thanks for confirming that something is not right with that. And they did remove the leash when I asked them to.

 

[Katerchen]

I would not put my dogs in a daycare like that. Have you considered a real licensed, insured and bonded petsitter who comes to your house? If you doggie is housetrained and needs to go out three times during the day, it can be arranged that the petsitter comes to your house, takes him/her for a walk and even cleans up the poop. I think petsitters.com has a list of who is licensed all over the U.S.

I just used a petsitter for ten days as our family went to Germany. I had her stop by twice a day to let the out into the main yard and back into the fence. She stayed for thirty minutes each and played with them and the cat, who was in the house.

We had our husky in a doggy daycare/hotel before and she did not like it at all - she was all freaked out and disturbed when we got her back (and it was only for two nights).

The animals prefer to be at home.

 

[Gayle]

Hi Christine,

I use a doggie daycare for Rascal and the first thing they do when he comes in (when all dogs come in) is remove the collar and leash, because it's a major potential hazard in dog play (I'm sure you already knew that).

As for the evaluations, my daycare has several separate fenced areas where they keep new dogs away from the general population at first, and then introduce one of their "good kids" to see how it goes.

For me, leaving the collar/leash on would be a big red flag that these guys don't really know what they're doing. It's such a safety hazard. It takes nothing for two dogs playing to get tangled up, let alone several playing together.

My $.02, hope it helps.

 

[andtckrtoo]

I agree that there are a lot of dogs that are not happy in doggie day care, but Jimmy loves it. He's a 1 year old Aussie who is very social and very very active. Even a nice long walk 3 times a day is not enough exercise for him. On the weekends, I take him on off-leash hikes that vary from 5-11 miles and he comes home ready for more. The only thing that truly wears him out is romping, racing and playing with other dogs for long periods of time.

As for overnight care - he goes to the facility that's further away that we all really like. Jimmy is into everything (he doesn't chew, but he's very curious) and is an accident waiting to happen. I would be afraid to leave him alone all night. :+

 

[andtckrtoo]

Thanks Gayle. That was a major red flag for me, too, but because this place came so highly recommended I second guessed myself.

The other places he has gone have done evals like that. In fact, I had to take him in to be evaluated before he was allowed to come back. This place said they'd evaluate him and then if he passed let him play. Thanks again. He will not be going to this place again.

By the way, Rascal was the name of a dog I used to walk and play with when I was in high school. He was such a great dog. I love that name.

 

[MadnNatsmom]

Timely post - we just put our Kirby at the doggie daycamp at Petsmart and I was very pleased with them.

We sat and watched the interaction between the caregivers and the dogs for about 30 minutes on separate days and then had Kirby assessed (he passed with flying colors, of course!).

All of the collars are removed, the smaller dogs are separated from the larger dogs by plexiglass - "bully" breeds are not allowed (pit bulls, rottweilers, etc. (not my policy - it's theirs), the dogs all must have vaccinations are up-to-date and must be neutered/spayed and at least 5 months old.

The dogs are not crated at all. They do their business on the floor which is cleaned up immediately.

My dog is an indoor dog and although he's great with people, I worried that he wasn't socialized with other dogs, so this is a great arrangement for us. We'll probably put him in once a week or so.