Doggie Day Care Vs Dog Walking …

Doggie Day Care has been a trend in the last decade and served the purpose of having a mid-day let out in addition to socialization with other dogs by playing with them.  This has the best intentions however, not all dogs do well in a day care setting.  The dogs don’t have any respite from the attentions of other dogs and even if they want to go off to the side to rest, not many facilities are set up with comfy beds so that a dog could just “chill out”.  It can make dogs anxious and unable to settle so rather than having a tired dog, you have a stressed dog.  Some dogs do well in a day care setting but, not all.  In cases where your dog does have quite a bit of energy to work off, it could make them tired so that it works off some of the energy or super-excited so they even have more energy.

How can you tell whether your dog can thrive in a day care setting?  It’s almost impossible unless you take your dog to that type of setting and see how they react.  You also want to consider what you want as a end result. Do you want a dog that is more socialized to you or to other dogs?  If you want a dog more in tune with you, then having walks where the dog, and you, bond together might be a better option.  Usually a daily long walk of about 30 to 40 minutes is enough so that you become “his people” which is a term that I like to use as the dog develops a deep attachment.  The walk should be an easy pace, not fast or slow, and the dog should not be pulling at the leash.

Getting back to day care, if your dog is not interacting with the other dogs, chances are, it doesn’t want to be there.  If your dog is spending more time running away from the other dogs, then it shouldn’t be there as this could become a safety issue for your dog.  If your dog is spending all it’s time running after other dogs then a determination should be made whether your dog is getting in the other “dog’s faces” and that this could result in an altercation.  If on the other hand, your dog is spendng some time resting, some more time running after dogs and, some time being run after, then this might be a healthy mix of interaction.