Does your corgi go to doggie day care?
I am thinking about starting Tucker with doggie day care - maybe once a week. (too expensive for more!)
Do you take your dogs to day care? What have your experiences been like?
My boyfriend is home on Mondays and I get out early from work on Fridays - but Tues-Thurs is a long stretch where Tucker is home 7-9 hrs alone (well with the 2 cats!). He is doing a "trial" at one place today -it is nothing facny but smaller/more personal and the owner is great. I've read rave reviews but I think she is usually the only one watching the dogs and that concerns me a bit. The other place we are going to check out is bigger, has a nicer facility and 3-4 ppl watching the dogs. They also have a doggie cam which is cute :)
I am convinced Tucker sleeps alllll day when I am gone. His toys are always in the same exact spot I left them - and he is all yawny and stretchy when I get in but I am sure he would like to have some exercise and stimulation during the day.
Do you take your dogs to day care? What have your experiences been like?
My boyfriend is home on Mondays and I get out early from work on Fridays - but Tues-Thurs is a long stretch where Tucker is home 7-9 hrs alone (well with the 2 cats!). He is doing a "trial" at one place today -it is nothing facny but smaller/more personal and the owner is great. I've read rave reviews but I think she is usually the only one watching the dogs and that concerns me a bit. The other place we are going to check out is bigger, has a nicer facility and 3-4 ppl watching the dogs. They also have a doggie cam which is cute :)
I am convinced Tucker sleeps alllll day when I am gone. His toys are always in the same exact spot I left them - and he is all yawny and stretchy when I get in but I am sure he would like to have some exercise and stimulation during the day.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Kathryn Graham on
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Madoc has been twice to a great place called Flying Fur. I am thinking I will take him once a week when school starts for socializing and exercise. The two afternoons when I brought him home, he was a limp rag! I observed for a while when I picked him up and they had the dogs nicely divided by size-- they had separate outdoor areas and came inside to the "gym" at different times. There were two other corgis, and Madoc also ran with the beagles. The people who worked there said that he was very social and seemed to enjoy himself. They also go in to crates between noon and two for nap time. It IS pricey, but Flying Fur gives a nice discount if you buy a 10-visit pass instead of paying by the day. Wish they had the doggie cam-- that would keep me entertained during dull moments at the office! I've noticed that since we went, Madoc is much more eager to hop in the car and go some place. I think he hopes we are headed to Flying Fur!
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Permalink Reply by Megan and Penelope on
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Yes, we try to take Penelope once a week and it is awesome. She has such a good time is worn out when we get home, she sleeps almost the whole time. She plays so well with the other dogs we are told and she doesn't stop too often! I love having her go to the place though, it is through our wonderful vet's office.
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Permalink Reply by Amanda & Tuck on
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Thanks for your insight!
I am home after picking Tucker up from his trial at the first place. He is certainly tired - out cold next to me right now. I am not sure I will bring him to this place again though. The woman that owns the place seemed to genuinely care about the dogs but I confirmed that often she is the only one there and there are two sep areas for the dogs so they cannot be properly supervised. The larger area has large garage type doors opened with giant fans running - still it must get really hot in the 90+ degree weather we've been having. Also when I was there to pick him up she used the spray bottle on other dogs 3 times within 5 minutes. I didn't love that.
Hoping I like the other place better - it is a bit more money but I think it will be more organized and better staffed. They also have training, grooming, and doggie sleepovers (cageless supervised boarding). The owner is the head trainer. It is a giant indoor climate controlled facility and the dogs are grouped by size and temperament. This place is $30/day (can get down to $25 if you buy ahead)- sounds so pricey to me but that seems to be the going rate.
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Permalink Reply by Linsey & Grissom on
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I definately understand the concerns about the supervision- and that is a problem. I have worked doggy daycare for a few years now, and I know the ropes pretty well. I've worked at good ones- and I've worked at bad ones that I quit because I would NEVER leave my dogs there. When I'm picking out a daycare, here's what I look for, knowing the behind-the-scenes.
1. The water bottles are a good thing. Trust me. If thy're not using those to distract the dogs from bad behavior, how are they doing it? Every good daycare I've worked at use them because it's a way to correct them without physical action. Three times in five minutes isn't bad at all.
2. What cleaner do they use in the kennels? If it's bleach, run. There's NO way to tell if bleach has been rinsed completley and all it takes is a water bowl to spill and BAM, it's bleach water your dog is licking off the ground or his paws. I love HDQ, and Consume. They're common, and great.
3. What training does the staff have? Are they pet first aid certified? I worked at one daycare that threw me in the yard all day for seven hours, no training, nothing. It was a good thing that I already had a few years of experience under my belt, but they knew nothing abot that... and threw employees back there with no experience whatsoever.
4. Having the ABILITY to separate by size is great, but doing it all the time is not so great. It's important for dogs to interact with dogs of different sizes. It builds confidence.
5. Climate control. It's not that important in places with pretty even temperatures year round, but most of us don't live in places like that. Doors might be open all the time, but a good climate control system will regulate the temperature.
6. It's not important to me to have someone there overnight all the time. In my opinion, I don't know if my dog is ill till I wake up in the morning, and at a good daycare and boarding facility, they'll have employees there long before I'd normally wake up. What IS important is alarm systems. I don't need a camera that i can personally see, but the owner of the facility better be able to check on them after hours. I also want to see alarms on the doors.
7. NO MID DAY NAPS. Unless your dog needs it, and most Corgis do NOT, if I m paying to take my dog to play for six or seven hours, I don't want him stuck in a cage for two hours. I guarantee you, every daycare i've worked at that had "mandatory nap times" have ALL lasted far longer than they tell you. If they tell you he's down for 'a quick two hours' it's closer to three.
8. Smaller play groups. I am NOT impressed by any daycare just because they get 80 dogs a day. mental stimulation is good, but there's a limit. If they're in such an over-populated facility all the time, they can develop anxiety disorders, and they get far less one on one attention.
9. Play yard worker to dog ratio should NEVER be more than 15:1, especially in a play area for larger dogs. The fact of the matter is scuffles happen on a daily basis, no matter what they want to tell you. If there's a scuffle in a yard with big dogs, and only one person is in that yard, there's no way in hell you can break it up before it gets heated without luck. Luck always runs out eventually.
10. temperment testing, a.k.a. "interview days". If my dog doesn't have to go through one, that means neither did any dog in that yard. I want to know details on how they do it, too. I wouldn't take my dog anywhere that isn't done at his own pace, being introduced to one or two dogs at a time. If they throw your dog in an already populated yard, I'd run like a bat out of Hell. (the place I work at now has an area of the yard that can be emptied and a door to shut it off, for "interview" purposes only. We take the dog in and let it get familur with its surroundings first, then introduce one or two dogs at a time, moving at the dog's pace. Some are done in two minutes, some take twenty.)
Please ALWAYS remember that when you are there to pick up or drop off, it excites all the dogs. They are not usually that crazy. I know at the daycare I work at the dogs hardly ever even bark unless a customer walks in. Sure, the occasional bark while playing, but not the full group barking and jumping at the wall barking they do when someone comes in. If a worker has to use the spray ottle five times in the five minutes you're there, they probably use it three times an hour while you're not there. Also consider why they use it. Some dogs that come to daycare are still learning how to play and they are very in-your-face to the other dogs. A lo of adult dogs don't tolerate this kind of excitement, and if you don't distract them with a little spray, the dog they're bugging is going to distract them with a nice bite to the face.
Sorry it's so long, the thread is right up my alley.
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Permalink Reply by Tauna and Kota on
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Thats amazing advice. Thank you so much.
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Wow thank you so much for taking the time to put together such a thorough response and sharing what you've learned over the years! It is extremely helpful.
I'm glad you mentioned midday naps. There is a place hear here - a 'luxury pet resort' - that everyone think is absolutely amazing. They have 2 hour midday naps - and that is the main reason I won't choose that one. The other is that most of the play areas are completely outside with small shade areas so in bad weather i picture Tucker in the cage most of the day. He'd be happier gated in my kitchen than in a room full of caged dogs.
Tucker has an "interview day" scheduled for this Saturday and place #2. I had to fill out 4 pages of personality questions - they will then observe him and introduce him to one or two dogs at a time to monitor his reactions. I really like that they are so thorough. It also make me feel good that there are 3-4 people watching the dogs and most of them are dog trainers there also. The place I saw yesterday has up to 30 dogs- and just one woman watching them. If things got out of hand she couldn't do much.
I guess I will have to get used to the water bottles - I think all the places use them. I just haven't used anything like that at home but I guess it is better for a dog to get sprayed than to start a fight.
Well you gave me a lot to think about - thanks again!
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The water bottles took some getting used to for me working in daycares, too. I haven't used them at home and wasn't entirely on the boat about spraying other people's dogs in the face.
Most dogs really don't mind it. The ones that do are easier to correct anyway because after the first or second time they 'get it'. Honestly, more think it's a game than not.
the purpose isn't to make the dog miserable or for "punnishment". It's more of a distraction. Some run away from it. Some stare at you with that "Oh no you didn't!" glare, and some just open wide and try to eat the spray. Either way, they're distracted from whatever they were doing.
I can only speak for myself, but I'd MUCH rather a daycare employee spray my dog than physically correct him. One I worked at even had a hose in each yard in case of a REAL fight. It looked awful giving people tours, but let me tell you, it WORKED.
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Permalink Reply by Yogi and Abby on
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We haven't gone to our daycare for a while, but we wouldn't trade them for anyone else. They are very personal...they know all the dogs' names, they know the dogs' personalities, and they are very well trained to have a daycare. When we put them to daycare, they take pictures in the afternoon, and they get a report card at the end of the day. They walk the dogs once or twice a day. The daycare only takes small dogs, so yogi and abby are probably the heaviest dogs there, but they love small dogs.
Umm...yes they sleep all day when you're gone...i put a nanny cam in the house, and all they do is bark when they hear something, chase each other for a couple of minutes, then sleep, and on with the same routine again. But when they go to daycare, they hardly sleep...rest, maybe...but not sleep. So when we take them home, yogi usually sleeps on his back on me like a baby until we reach home...the cutest sight ever!! Abby would nod on and off until home, then she goes to her bed and sleeps.
You have to find a daycare he likes...the one that when you park in front of the building, he cant' wait to get out of the car...and the one where he doesn't want to leave. And when we say "daycare" or "smallpaws" to yogi, he wags his tail...we're thinking he knows what daycare or smallpaws mean...playing!! We took yogi to another daycare before this one, he cried when we picked him up, and he wanted to go home so badly. He was angry and he chewed my hand as if he's saying "don't you ever take me there again....ever!" lol.
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Tucker seemed real excited to leave the place we went yesterday- which I didn't like. He goes crazy with excitement when I say dog park and whines when he notices we are getting close because he just wants to be there already!- he is never excited to leave. I want day care to be like that too.
He did sleep more than I've ever seen afterwards though - we got home at 7 and he napped most of the time until bed and slept through the night - I had to wake him up. I actually overslept a bit because normally when my alarm goes off he jumps on the bed thinking it is play time.
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Maybe you can try taking Tucker there one more time...if he seems scared and not wanting to go there, then you should look for a new place. Usually the first day is very overwhelming...but it was weird that with our current daycare, he was happy on his first day. Maybe because the daycare people let us come in to the building to meet the dogs, and get Yogi to say hi and get familiarized before his first day. We love our daycare because i can park the car in front of the building, Yogi would already be wagging his tail. I would open the car door, he doesn't need to be leashed, and he would just dash to the door without sniffing around. That tells us that he's happy in there...good luck looking for a daycare. I know how hard it is...it's like looking for a dentist. =) Btw, there is a daycare near our house that requires an interview before accepting dogs into their daycare. lol..fancy
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Yeah well I guess we have an "interview" this Saturday - haha. I'm guess it is just to observe & learn about Tuck to see if he is a good candidate. On one had I think all these dog services are great but on the other I really have to laugh at how out of control the pet services industry has gotten! They have doggie massages & spa days. I need to come up with some new dog product or service - even in the current economy our pets are spoiled :)
I guess whether he is excited to go in is a better indicator than whether he is excited to leave - because he may always be excited when he sees me come get him - and like you said it was day 1.
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