Benefits of Doggie Daycare?
 

We are seriously thinking of enrolling Teddy into a doggie daycare to
further socialize him. He has been attacked twice by bigger dogs and
now seems to have a fear which has lead to him becoming a barking
maniac anytime he sees another dog. Also he seems to have a huge
seperation anxiety when I leave the house. He like goes into a melt
down mode. For anyone that presently has their furbaby in doggie
daycare I am wondering what their experiences have been and if you
feel this has enhanced their social skills making them more well rounded
companions...

I haven't had experience with Daycare but know someone who is thinking of doing it too - poor baby on getting attacked ! I hope he wasn't seriously hurt - Mine had pretty bad seperation anxiety when I leave too - I always say the same thing to them "I'll be right back" ....and tried to make lots of short trips so they know when they hear me say this that I really WILL be back -

Good luck and I hope you find some help while you're deciding on this

Please make sure you tour the facility and ask questions before signing up for daycare. There was a wonderful doggie daycare near us that separated the puppies by size, they had full run with each other and lots of toys, food, water, a kiddie pool and full time attention with naps mid morning and afternoon...it was a very nice place. However, we toured another one and it was awful! It smelled and it was not clean! We called before going in for a tour and everything sounded wonderful. When we were taken into the back area we saw 1 mid sized dog outside by himself in grass up to his belly and the other dogs were caged in the concrete and wire kennels. I asked how much of the day the dogs were caged and she said 'most of the day but they get to go outside (alone) for 10 to 15 minutes 3 to 4 times a day to go potty" and she thought that was fine. That was enough for us and we didn't go any further...we told her thanks but no thanks...we wanted Jo to be socialized and have some fun while we were out for the day but we weren't going to send him to jail! Please be careful...just because a place looks good on the outside don't assume that it is...I'm certainly glad I asked questions and took a tour before just dropping Jo off.

There used to be a member on here Haringer and he took his york to daycare everyday while he was at work. It sounded like his york had vey good social skills. He was very proud of her.

I definately agree with JO-JO. Make sure you check out the place before you drop your baby off. I think I'm going to enroll my Lexy in a doggy daycare one or two days a week at my animal hospital. I LOVE my vet and the animal hospital. Everything is sooo clean and the animals are treated like they are all royalty. They get to play outside a good part of the day and when they're not outside, they are still able to play indoors with other dogs that are closer to their size (so no one accidentally gets hurt). I'm even allowed to stay and observe for as long as I want to. I think it's a great idea.

I've enrolled Sophie & Daisy in doggy daycare one day per week. I want them to be better socialized, and they just aren't getting it right now.

The place is run by folks who show dogs. It's relatively new and really clean and nice. The owner said since my dogs are so small that they will spend a lot of time up front with she and her daughter.

I hope I like this place enough so that when I go to the beach in October, I will feel comfortable boarding them there. :)

I used to take my pom Bailey to DD and she loved it. They seperated the smalls from the bigs and pretty much had the run of the joint. It was an indoor facility. I also took my GSP Ulla to a DD that was outside and when I got her at the end of the day, she was WIPED OUT! They had this HUGE lot of land and they must have had 20 dogs, if not more, at a time. Ulla only cared about the ball, but loved that someone was there to throw it no matter what.

I think both facilities aided my dogs into being social. They weren't so shy when other dogs came around. And I believe their personalities rubbed off on my other dogs.

Both facilities INTERVIEWED me and the dog. I had to bring proof of shots/rabies and the dogs' were given test runs with me observing. No good DD would just let you drop a dog off without some kind of screening process. That's just crazy!

Doggy Daycare
 

I take Maddie to sort of a Doggy Daycare. My best friend's mother watches several dogs in her home. My friend's Yorkie, her sister's Bichon, the mother's mix of everything and two other dogs along with Maddie get to spend the day together. Like others have said - check out where you are bringing you dog. The conditions, cleanliness, treatment and care is the most important thing to look for.

I think the daycare has helped Maddie a lot. She is very well socialized around other dogs and and has mellowed out a bit. She can keep herself occupied and has learned how to act around other dogs and people. I credit my friend's mom who makes sure all the dogs behave properly.

I'm lucky with what I have - good luck

Im always home with Gucci and I notice that she needs to be socialize more. She likes people but gets scare of other dogs of any size. We visited my hubby's friend yesterday and they are babysitting their daugther's Yorkie. The Yorkie is 4 yrs old and she was barking at Gucci and sniffing her. Gucci was scared and jump to my lap. I try to slowly show her the other doggie but she didnt wanted to play at all. Gucci didn't even bark back, she just shake a bit jump to my lap. I guess doggie daycare is something to think about. Like others recommend tour the place. Good luck.

Thanks so much for all of the responses! Since I am a stay at home
Yorkie mom it's hard to determine if something like this would be a
benefit or not? I want a well rounded companion and since he has
had negative interaction in regard to other dogs I think it is important
for him to learn that not all dogs are like that. Plus the fact that he
is so attached to me I don't think is good for either of us. He throws
fits I am told and wimpers and whines by the door until I return and
knowing that makes anything I do way less enjoyable since I am
almost in a rush to get home to him. I love my dog but I still need to
have a life. I have him very well trained but I still want to do obedience
with him and later on agility but he is just too clingy right now for
that to be possible. I feel if I can get him past his phobias now while
he is young later on I will have a much easier and happier dog to work
with. I of course will interview and tour prospective places with a fine
tooth comb. I know what I am trying to accomplish for him I just
need to find the right place to help me obtain that end result. It's
kind of in my eyes like sending your child to pre-school before they
go to kindergarten. It has to be positive as well as fun for him to
give us something to build upon later if that makes any sense?

It makes total sense - That's how I look at it. You're little one will learn how to interact with others and also learn it's ok if you're not there - I think it teaches them some independence. Nothing is better when you go to pick them up - puppy kisses galore!!

By the way - "hi" from another Gilbert person