How Will Your Dog Do At A Daycare/Boarding Facility?
In the 6–7 years I’ve worked in dog daycare/boarding I’ve gotten a pretty good feel for how well a new dogs going to do. Here, I’ll cover the common personality types of dogs and how they generally will do in a daycare/boarding facility.
Dominant– These dogs can be a bit of a wild card. Most of the time they seem to keep to themselves but sometimes like to try to control other dogs playing. Other times they play just fine but need to be monitored so that they don’t get out of hand.
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Aggressive– An aggressive dog should not be allowed to participate in open play with other dogs and will most likely will have to do traditional boarding elsewhere. Though depending on the situation, many facilities are willing to work with certain cases that just need a little TLC in order to adjust to being around other dogs.
Playful– These tend to be perfect daycare candidates that are well rounded and just love to play and be around other dogs. You’ll want to make sure they don’t go to daycare to much, otherwise they tend to lose that spark and it becomes boring for them to go. If you’re gone a lot, maybe pick a couple different facilities or a dog walker to mix it up and keep it interesting.
Overzealous– Dogs with more energy than they know what to deal with can be a concern in a daycare environment because their high energy can have an effect on the whole group and cause complete chaos. This can potentially cause altercations between dogs if the staff can’t tone it down. A good recommendation is to bring a dog like this in as soon as the facility opens for the day so that they can hopefully burn off the majority of that energy while there’s only a few dogs, and before it gets busy. Another alternative is to do something active with your dog prior to taking them to daycare like biking, hiking, fetch, etc.
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Shy/Insecure– Many of these dogs warm up eventually and do just fine in daycare whether they start to play, or just become comfortable enough to coexist with everybody and do their own thing. If you have a dog that’s extremely shy or uncomfortable with other dogs, you may want to find a facility that has smaller groups of dogs or do some ground work by taking your dog to the dog parks and trails to get them more accustomed to being around other dogs.
Mommas Pup– These are dogs that want nothing more than to be with their owners’. Many do well in daycare but don’t generally play a whole lot. They will sometimes pick a member of the staff to bond with as a day buddy and following them around, or they’ll hang out near the exit waiting until their owner comes back. Sometimes a dog walker is a good alternative for these canines as they are more people oriented and don’t care so much for other dogs.
Senior– If you have a senior dog that’s slowing down, I would absolutely recommend finding a facility that caters to older dogs. The ones I’ve seen generally provide couches and T.V.’s for their senior guests. Otherwise, in going to a regular daycare your older dog may be unintentionally pushed around by the younger dogs playing around. If it’s more activity than your senior dog is used to then they can also come home incredibly sore for a couple days afterwards. I you can’t find a daycare that provides a senior area, then request that your dog gets plenty of naps away from the group.
Puppy/Small Dogs– There’s plenty of facilities out there that specifically care for small breed dogs and even have a weight limit on who they’ll accept (usually up to 30 lbs). Other daycare’s provide the whole spectrum and have areas for small, medium, and large dogs. If you have a small dog, or a very young puppy, you’ll want to seek out one of these places. A puppy is still learning about the world and how to interact with other dogs. You’ll want to make sure they have a positive experience and have someone their own size to interact with. I’ve seen many puppies go into daycare with regular sized dogs and they get a distaste for it early on because they were overpowered by dogs larger than them.
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Overall– Ultimately, your dog or the staff with let you know how things are working out. Just learn to read between the lines of what the staff says if you suspect your dog is not fitting in (this is again where web cams come in handy). The facility wants your business and will sometimes color over the facts in order to keep you as a customer.
**Original Post Can Be Found Here.**
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