Choosing a dog day care for your dog can be hard. Sending your child of to school for the first time can be a similar feeling for dog lovers sending their beloved dog to day care. You want the best for your buddy and you want to know your dog is safe, loved and having positive experiences while at day care. So here are our top tips to help you make an informed decision.
Capable Staff
Ensuring your dog is well supervised in a doggy day care is of upmost importance. Simply casually observing dogs play is not enough. At a good doggy day care centre, they will have a low ratio of dogs per handler so that all dogs get the attention they deserve. Well trained staff will be able to understand dog body language and intervene in the right moment, before play escalates.
Screening Process
Does the dog daycare take the time to understand your dog, their likes and dislikes, fears or phobias? To ensure your dog is comfortable before their first day it’s preferable if a staff member meets and builds a bond with your dog before they are thrown straight in the deep end. A dog daycare should be nothing but a positive experience, so your dog needs to be at ease and feel comfortable from the outset, home visits make a massive difference.
Structured Day
Ask questions about what your dog will be doing during their doggy day care. Will they have training or some form of structure? Being left to their own devices and running riot isn’t the best option for developing a dog, so ask what is in place to keep your dog entertained, stimulated and happy.
Facilities
Looking at the facilities available at the doggy daycare centre will help ease your mind. Are the facilities safe and purpose built for dogs or is it simply a yard or garden in someone’s home? Will your dog be well looked after, whatever the weather? Is there shade outdoors and a cool indoor area for summer?
How enriching is the environment, is their lots for your dog to explore and learn? Do you feel it will suit your dog’s needs, for example is there an opportunity for your dog to settle somewhere quiet should they wish to?
Health
Will all your dog’s buddies be health checked before being accepted to the daycare facility? It is important that a dog daycare centre only accepts dogs that are up to date with vaccinations, fleaing and worming to minimise the risk of any health issues developing. You might also check if the staff members are all canine first aid trained.