Why I hate Doggie Daycares...

Did you think I was going to come on here and bash dog daycares? Hahaha maybe another day.

I care more about the mental state of the dog and that's why I'm a dog walker vs a doggie daycare attendant.

Now, don't get me wrong there is a time and place where daycare can have its benefits, and I'll even list the reasons below as to when I would choose a daycare facility over a dogwalker.

1. I have a puppy, one that needs multiple potty breaks throughout the day. Hiring someone to come to my house while I work, around 3/4 times to potty my dog isn't ideal or financially favourable.

2. General socialization for a puppy, not so much an adult dog. A puppy that can grow up around other dogs, fall asleep in a loud room with other dogs, interact with many different breeds, understand different social cues from dogs, and work with different handlers. This exposure is unmatched.

3. I have workers/cleaners/etc coming to the house for one day and my dog doesn't like new guests, nor is it needed for them to like them. If you have friends, or family members coming over for one day, I'd work my dog through that, but for cleaners/workers that can be scared of dogs... is it really necessary to put them both through that?

Now that I listed these reasons, I would also mention that I'd only book doggie daycare like once a week at most. And as my dog gets older, it'd be even more spaced out to once every two weeks, then three and so on.

Certain daycares will just let dogs play all day, now a tired puppy is a good thing especially coming home from work. But a puppy building a tolerance of play all day, where you end up with a demanding athlete barking at you to entertain them like their friends... Now that I would want to avoid.

I would choose a daycare run by a professional dog trainer, where there is dedicated nap time throughout the day, all the other dogs there have been approved, are social and listen well. No need for my puppy to learn bad habits.

And lastly, it's also a huge benefit to send your puppy for overnight boarding in new places before you book that first vacation and now the only home your dog has seen is yours. It can be pretty stressful for your dog if they're not used to that.

Now, to get into the details of why I choose dog walking over doggie daycare.

I find not a lot of dogs these days can deal with boredom. I get more and more requests for doggie daycare than dog walking these days, I like to ask why and the owners say because of how tired they are at the end of the day.

But a dog that needs constant stimulation all day to be a good house guest, isn't fun to live with when you're bed ridden or trying to sleep in on a weekend.

I find dog walking especially proper group dog walking can be even more beneficial to your dog. Now it typically takes me 30 minutes to an hour to pick up the dogs, where they are to remain calm in the car, 1 hour to walk them in a structured fashion, and 30 minutes to an hour to drop off.

Some of my friends like to laugh and say that is daycare Jenny!!

But it's not, there's so much more your dog is experiencing.

First, someone coming into your house, working on greetings, leashing up, door thresholds.

Second, being calm and respectful of other dogs in the car while they watch me grab more dogs.

Third, walking as a group where they learn from other well trained adults how we walk, move together, take breaks, respect space, follow the leader, watch the world, and endure more realistic life events, big busses driving by, yelling teenagers, bicyclists, trucks and trailers.

Lots of good exposure that isn't really seen in daycare environments.

All of this within an hour or two of the day, and now your dog goes home to nap. There is a proper cycle of time of an exciting event being paired with nap time vs constant stimulation. Your dog understands home time means rest and calmness, and building up more of a tolerance for being active for a certain time period and enjoying rest for the remainder.

There are pros and cons to both, dog walking and doggie daycare when thinking about what's right for your dog. My opinion, if you get a puppy, do a mix of both throughout the week and spread them further apart as they get older.