Not sure about dropping off your Dog for Dog Daycare? Follow these tips before taking your four-legged buddy to the local daycare for dogs.
It’s natural to worry about your four-legged friend – you wouldn’t be much of a pet parent if you were ho-hum about his safety – so it’s fair enough to wonder whether or not doggy daycare is safe. By and large, the big dog daycare centers are risk-free and shouldn’t prove a problem for your dog. Of course, there is always a bit of risk involved, no more than in taking him to a dog park or letting him off the leash in some meadow.
What matters is whether the dog daycare you are putting your precious pup into takes all necessary precautions to protect his safety. Don’t be scared to ask questions or research a little so that you know they have good facilities and procedures in place.
Look for a dog daycare with staff trained and capable of multiple breeds and temperaments of dogs. Ensure that the inside environment is clean and has enough space so that dogs can either play to their satisfaction or have their quiet areas for relaxation. Ensure they have provisions regarding health checks, secure fencing, and supervised playgroups.
It’s good, too, to visit in advance and see how the facility is running; see how the staff interacts with the dogs, and how they will respond to questions concerning emergency procedures. A good dog daycare will not have any problem being as transparent and responsive to concerns as possible. A little due diligence can find you a safe, enjoyable daycare that provides fun for your dog and peace of mind for you.
Staff Qualifications and Training
First aid training for pets is also necessary for a daycare’s staff. That way, you’ll know that if there are some slight injuries or mishaps, they will handle it on the spot. Ensure that staff are knowledgeable about different breeds and their specific needs. In this way, an environment created for your dog with a well-trained team can be much safer and more enjoyable. Don’t hesitate to question the daycare for dogs regarding staff training and certifications. A good Dog Daycare is going to want to be very up-front about the qualifications and training their staff have gone through.
Appropriate Groupings
They say too many cooks spoil the broth; likewise, too many dogs can spoil the dog daycare experience. Check with your doggy daycare to ensure that all pups are broken up into smaller groups with appropriate buddies. Not only should dogs be separated by size, but they should also be divided by age and energy level. For instance, a small dog might be the same size as a puppy from a large breed, but those two will have different styles of play and needs; in general, they won’t be compatible for a match. comfortable and reduces the risk of conflicts. Look for a daycare where these are things that come first in their grouping strategy.
Physical Safety
They don’t operate in the same way, so you want to be sure that you view the facilities. Inspect that outdoor areas are securely fenced in with no gaps in the perimeter, that the fencing is tall enough that larger dogs wouldn’t be able to jump over, and that there aren’t any sharp edges or pointy bits on which your dog could hurt himself.
Visiting Hours
Your daycare for dogs must have an open-door policy for all pet parents. Before you enroll your dog in any program, you must be allowed to inspect every area in the daycare facility. When your dog is attending, you should also be able to drop by at any time and pick your dog up early if need be. If a doggy daycare facility doesn’t allow you to do any of these things, that should raise some red flags. If they act as though there is something to hide, chances are they are.
Stranger Danger
Make sure there is some sort of policy in place to prevent a stranger from just coming in and picking up your dog. Now, how they stop this from happening will vary from center to center, but be certain that they’ve thought this through and there’s no chance of a dog-napping. In secure facilities, photo identification, password systems, or another way to verify that it is an authorized individual who picks up your dog could be in place.
Health and Behavioral Checks
The worst case that can happen in dog daycare would be a fight. But if the daycare is discrimination aware of which pooches it lets through its doors, no problems should arise in the first place at all. Before you are allowed to take your dog to his first day of daycare, he will usually have to be assessed by the staff to make sure he is not aggressive or reactive and is generally a good fit for the center. If you’re not asked to have an assessment, that is a bad sign. The dogs coming to daycare should also be healthy, and you should expect all owners to be asked to show the vaccination records of their pets.
Look for Supervised Play and Separate Playgroups
In the interest of its dogs, a good daycare separates dogs by size, age, and temperament to limit the possibility of aggressive encounters. The daycare should supervise all playgroups and discourage any form of rough play. Supervised, well-matched playgroups form a balanced and positive environment in which dogs can have fun with socialization without the stress or risk.
Check the Daycare’s Cleanliness Standards
A clean place is a good dog daycare that will prevent pet illness-causing sicknesses and parasites that plague pets. Upon visit, can you see if the place looks and smells clean? Are the common areas, and play spaces free from waste, cleaned regularly using pet-safe cleaning agents, as is the case with kennels? Clean facilities portray an openness to hygiene and health.
Related: What Dog Breed Is Best For Me?
Observe Dog-to-Dog Interactions and Stress Signals
Observe during your visit how dogs relate to each other and the staff. A good daycare should have dogs that look like they are relaxed and happy, free from the visible stress signs of frantic barking, cowering, or hiding. If everything is calm and control is evident, it will be a sure sign that the daycare successfully controls dog behavior.
Check Out the Outdoor Play Areas
Outdoor play areas must be studied if needed. Outdoor sections must be fenced off, covered, and not dirty. Healthy play with outside safe spaces cannot exist when there are danger or injury concerns. It should not serve as an access route to the outside and a means of escape for their pet in a center utilizing an outside area. Outdoor portions of an area must be protected from the sun.
What Dogs Are NOT Good For Daycare?
On paper, it’s pretty good for all dogs to attend dog daycare, but actually, some just don’t fit in this environment.
Let’s go over a few types of dogs that may not turn out well within a group dog pack setting.
Fearful Adult Dog: Much like the anxious puppy, a dog fearful of other dogs is going to be overwhelmed in a pack setting. They need to be dealt with individually with the right dogs to make sure we are helping and not making matters worse. Walking with other dogs works great.
Very Anxious Puppies: Many dogs are very happy-go-lucky and have no problem being let loose in a group of dogs. If, however, your dog is already viably uncomfortable around other dogs, then we want to proceed slowly or we risk doing negative socialization.
We may need to move a little more carefully and let him meet one dog, have him make a friend, and see how he can handle more. A small amount of anxiety is okay and often improves with regular daycare visits, but if your dog is freaked out, we’re probably doing more harm than good. If you are unsure, try him in on a weekend dog daycare or some other slower time when fewer dogs are there and see how he does. Note: It may take a few visits for him to settle in and then start to loosen up.
Dog Reactive or Aggressive Dog: If your dog is grumpy to some or all dogs, an off-leash environment is not the best place to work on it. Keep them home and find a local trainer who can work with you, and maybe you can improve the situation enough to eventually try it out.