Temperament Considerations

This is important because a reputable doggie daycare will take temperament very seriously. When walking your dog, do they enjoy interactions with other dogs, or are they fearful or aggressive? These factors should be considered when deciding whether to put your pet in doggie daycare, not only for their safety but the safety of other dogs in daycare.

Questions to Ask When Looking for a Doggie Daycare

When choosing a doggie daycare, one of the most important things you should look for is transparency. However, if you aren’t offered a guided tour, it may not be a red flag. The controlled environment that a reputable doggie daycare cultivates could be disrupted by visitors during the day. Instead, you may be offered an after-hours tour or a video.

Another question to ask would be health requirements. Do they require that all dogs are vaccinated? If so, which vaccinations are required? Reputable doggie daycares take the health and safety of their animals very seriously and will likely require that all animals are up-to-date on their shots.

Another question to ask would be, “How are the dogs separated?” Is it by temperament, size, activity level? If there are older dogs in the group that don’t want to exercise as much, they may be happier with dogs that have the same activity level versus being with pups with high activity levels.

You will also want to ask how much time the dogs play versus how much time they spend in their kennels. How much time do they spend outdoors? Again, this will differ for each individual dog based on their activity level, age, et cetera.

Dog Training and Behavior Modification in a Daycare Environment

There are certain behaviors and temperaments that do well in daycare and others that do not. Reputable doggy daycares screen their animals carefully to make sure that each dog is going to thrive in the environment, and they will use appropriate training techniques to help everyone stay safe and happy.

A dog that is dog tolerant is a dog that will thrive in the social environment of doggie daycare. These dogs get along well with most other dogs and are calmer around other dogs. Adult dogs that were well-socialized as puppies and have had good canine relationships fall into this category.

Selective dogs may not trust other dogs as quickly. These dogs do well with a few select dogs but may struggle to make new friends. For this type of dog, a smaller daycare with consistent playmates and close supervision would be best.

While each daycare is unique, there are behaviors and training that can be addressed by the staff. However, there are behaviors that cannot be addressed in a daycare environment. Here is a list of behaviors that are not acceptable at doggy daycare:

• Over-exuberant play;
• Aggression;
• Fear;
• Obsessively targeting other dogs;
• Resource guarding; and
• Humping.

These behaviors are difficult to work on in a social environment and may create a stressful environment for everyone involved.