There are many positives to taking your dog to a daycare but there can be negatives to it as well. When thinking about bringing your dog to a dog daycare, it is important to know your dog’s personality and how they are with other dogs. In this post we will discuss the pros and cons of taking your dog to a dog daycare.
Pros
- Exercise
- Your dog is likely to get a lot of exercise at a dog daycare. Most daycares have multiple play times in a day and they usually last a couple of hours. In the play groups, they get a lot of exercise by finding friends to play with and running around.
- Socialization
- Socialization is important to work on with your dog and it’s better to start doing so at a young age. Socialization between dogs helps the dog get used to being around other dogs and being comfortable with them. It also boosts their confidence and makes them more calm and friendly. This is a great thing for your dog to learn and dog daycares will provide this.
- Can help with specific needs
- If you have a dog that likes to tear stuff up when you’re not there or breaks out of their crate, then sending them to daycare is a good option until they no longer do that. Another situation that a daycare could help with is if your dog has to take a medication a couple times throughout the day, they can also provide that service.
- Safety practices
- Taking your dog to a dog daycare is safer than taking them to a dog park. While your dog plays, there are caregivers supervising the play groups. These caregivers go through a lot of training on dog behavior, dog body language, and how to break up dog fights so they are very prepared to supervise groups.
Cons
- Will your dog enjoy it?
- It’s very important to know what your dog’s personality is like. If they are very social with dogs and love playing with other dogs then it might be perfect for them. However, if they are anxious or uncomfortable around certain dogs then it may be more stressful than fun.
- Illness
- Since there are a lot of dogs coming to the daycares, it is a lot easier for dog diseases like kennel cough or parasites. This isn’t a direct reflection on the daycares though because these diseases are hard to prevent from spreading when there is often a lot of dogs in a communal space. Many daycares have strict cleaning practices to help avoid this.
- Fights
- A lot of daycares have behavior assessments to see how dogs respond with other dogs and if they can handle large groups of dogs. Even though they go through these assessments, a dog could all of a sudden start fighting out of nowhere so it really is taking a chance. There are also some daycares that do require any behavior assessments and have a higher risk of fights and incidents.
At the end of the day, it’s important to think about your dog’s personality and how they will feel about being around a lot of other dogs. Thinking about this will help give your dog positive associations with other dogs rather than negative ones because they’re uncomfortable. Dog daycares are very helpful for a lot of dogs and families.
References:
- https://outwardhound.com/furtropolis/dogs/is-doggy-daycare-good-for-dogs
March 22, 2022 at 5:05 pm
Doggy daycares have always fascinated me. I definitely see how their can be good with the bad though. However, it’s good to know that you can bring your dog somewhere where they can enjoy their day rather than being cooped up by themselves. Not to mention how important it is to socialize them as well!
March 27, 2022 at 7:57 pm
I really appreciate this post. We have been going back and forth with sending our dog to daycare once or twice a week to get him out of the house and relieve boredom. We recently had a severe emergency with him at the vet and pushed off the idea of daycare. Now that he has recovered, we are considering it again, but it’s a bit scary because he’s only a 14-lb dog. It was really helpful to read what things to take into consideration before sending him, so thank you!
March 28, 2022 at 4:53 pm
This was an interesting read for sure. I never recognized why it could be harmful to take a dog to a daycare but after reading this article it is much more clear now. It’s important to understand your dog’s personality traits to assess whether it would be a good idea to take your dog there or not. If I have a dog, I would try my hardest to avoid dog daycares due to the chance of diseases coming from other dogs but that may not be the easiest possibility. They seem safe and reliable and could be useful, if needed.
March 29, 2022 at 2:42 pm
I don’t personally have a dog, but I’m not opposed to getting one in the future! Posts like these help me understand more about how to take care of a dog and what steps to take if you’re a busy person like myself.
Great post!
March 31, 2022 at 5:09 pm
I have had positive and negative instances with doggy day cares. The benefit was that my dog would be at home alone or I don’t have to ask a family member to watch him. But the last time I did it my dog did get kennel cough which scared me. In the end he turned out just fine. Keep up the good work!