Back to School: Choosing a Doggie Daycare

The kids are back in school! Whether you’re moping with empty nest syndrome or ecstatic to have a bit more time to yourself, the end of summer can be a difficult time of transition to ensure that everyone starts off the new school year on a good foot. In addition to making sure every composition notebook is packed and each pencil is sharpened, you may be considering a new “school” to keep your family dog occupied during the busy day. Doggie daycares have become increasingly popular in the past few years. Not only are they a convenient way to keep your pooch occupied throughout the day and to ensure your pup gets a mid-day potty break, but they also provide supervision and canine socialization for times when you are away from the home. When choosing a daycare in your area for your dog, ask your trusted friends for recommendations and be sure that the facility adheres to the following guidelines to ensure that your dog remains safe, healthy, and joyful.

12 Tips for Choosing a Safe, Happy Doggie Daycare

1. Vaccines: A good daycare should ensure that each canine attendant is up-to-date on core vaccines (DHPP and Rabies) as well as the kennel cough vaccine (Bordetella). They will ask for your vaccine record and will remind you to send an updated record from your veterinarian’s office when a vaccine booster is due. (For a refresher on canine vaccines, read our post here.)

2. Spay/neuter: Many daycares may reject admittance of an intact (non-spayed or -neutered) dog. When supervising several dogs, it is nearly impossible to prevent intact animals from …ah-hem… acting as nature intended intact animals to act (much to an owner’s chagrin). Furthermore, the urinary marking and sometimes rambunctious behavior commonly displayed by un-castrated male dogs is not often tolerated by daycares. Therefore, your doggie daycare may ask for a spay or neuter certificate from your veterinarian. (Click here to learn about the benefits of spaying or neutering your pets.)

3. Flea, tick, and heartworm prevention: When a big group of dogs is together, doggie playmates can share more than just fun. Fleas and ticks can easily move from one dog to another or infest the environment. And ticks can transmit Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever to humans, including the staff of the daycare center or to you and your loved ones if your pet brings one of these pests home “after school.” Therefore, flea and tick control is especially important if your dog will be around others. Furthermore, heartworm disease can spread between dogs in close proximity if a nearby mosquito transmits the heartworm larvae from one infected dog to another. Thus, heartworm prevention is vital in high-risk areas. Many daycares will require evidence that your doggie is administered consistent year-round flea, tick, and heartworm prevention. (For more information on why flea, tick, and heartworm prevention are important, please read our post here.)

4. Fencing: Part of the attraction of doggie daycares is not having to worry about your canine companion when you are away. Therefore, ensuring that your dog is safe at daycare will remove much of this worry. Safety starts with solid fencing which your dog cannot jump or climb over or dig underneath. Ideally, a double layer of fencing should wrap around the entire perimeter of outdoor play areas. Additionally, double entrance and exit doors are extremely desirable to prevent any mischievous pup from making a quick escape.

5. Cleanliness: The facility should obviously be clean with good ventilation. Staff should be prompt in their doggie poo pick-up, and your dog should not return home reeking of urine odor. Upon your initial visit of the daycare facility (I strongly suggest a tour before applying), sniff around… literally. A bit of doggie odor is to be expected, but the air should overall be clear of strong ammonia or cleaning product smells. Especially if the daycare is an indoor facility, be sure that the dogs receive proper mid-day outdoor potty breaks. Along similar lines, the grounds should be cleared of small toys and other items that could pose a choking hazard to a curious pooch.

6. Staff: Just like appreciating that teacher who goes the extra mile for your child in the classroom, we appreciate the daycare staff members who love our dogs in our absence. Ideally, at least several staff members should be certified in dog training or dog behavior or have a long career of experience working with dogs. Staff should be educated in basic pet health, such as when to seek veterinary attention and how to perform canine CPR. Employees should also know how to redirect bad behavior as well as distinguish between dog play and worrisome fighting behavior that compromises a pet’s safety. Dogs should be under direct supervision, with at least one staff member per 10-15 dogs. Webcams can be useful for large-scale monitoring (and for remotely spying on your playing pup and his friends while you’re at work), but they do not take the place of a staff member on-site playing alongside your dog.

7. Behavior: A smart daycare center will require a trial day before accepting a new dog into the program to ensure that the dog’s temperament will not endanger other dogs nor prevent her from enjoying daycare herself. Personality assessments during the trial day will include observing how the dog interacts with humans as well as other dogs and how shy or active the dog is. The trial day is ideally shorter and more slowly paced than a typical daycare day to prevent the new dog from becoming overwhelmed.

8. Dog size: For safety reasons, small dogs and large dogs should be separated in different play areas. If a daycare has the space, dogs of different energy levels should also be grouped separately. And speaking of space, the facility should be large enough so that each dog has 70-100 square feet of room to play.

9. Cool down: Your dog’s day of playing with other canines is like a loooooooong day at CrossFit, and that much exerting exercise necessitates that adequate cool or shaded areas and plenty of fresh water are available to your dog at all times. Furthermore, the staff should be astute in monitoring signs of overheating, especially in flat-faced (brachycephalic), overweight, dark-furred, and geriatric dogs. (For more information on preventing overheating in your pet, see our previous post here.)

10. Puppies: Puppies require extra attention while at daycare. Since puppies still receive vaccine boosters until they are typically 15-16 weeks old, puppies should not enter daycare prior to 4 months of age to avoid potential disease transmission. However, as discussed, some facilities do not accept intact dogs, so you may need to wait until your puppy is old enough to be spayed or neutered prior to admittance to daycare. Once your puppy is accepted to daycare, be sure she is adequately supervised so that she remains safe as well as does not learn any unwanted behaviors from other dogs. Additionally, some puppies (especially small breeds) may require a small mid-day meal to avoid low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Be sure to alert the staff to the special needs of your puppy.

11. Nap time: Your kids get only a short time at recess during their school day, but recess lasts all day long for your dog when he’s at daycare. All that high-energy activity can be exhausting. Therefore, a mid-day rest break is in order. A properly run daycare center should offer a 1-2 hour nap time for their dogs in which the dogs are typically individually kenneled in a quiet area before afternoon playtime picks up again.

12. Amenities: Transportation service. Webcams. Training classes. Overnight boarding. Nowadays, a doggie daycare center exists to fit both your and your dog’s needs… whether you just need the basic necessities of a loving and safe place for your dog to stay and socialize or want a little extra bling-bling with your dog’s “school.” Whatever the facility, by ensuring that the above bases are covered, the goal is for your “schoolpup” to have a great day until he or she rejoins you for a relaxing evening of “family time.”