Dog daycares present an alternative to leaving your beloved pet at home alone while you’re at work, on a trip, or enjoying a busy social life.

Do Dogs Even Like Dog Daycare?

Dogs are just as varied and diverse as humans, but it can be hard to tell sometimes since we can’t speak to them in plain English. However, each dog has their own unique needs, personality, interests, and enrichment activities. 

Every dog will have a preference between staying home or going to a dog daycare, and they will even do better in different types of dog daycares. The common types of dog daycares are:

• Overnight dog daycare: This category includes facilities that offer daily care even if your pup does not stay overnight. Most dog daycares that you’ll find will fit in this category unless otherwise specified.
• In-home daycare: These facilities are operated out of someone’s home and focus on individualized care. They are typically extremely selective about the dogs that they will accept.

Off-leash groups: A somewhat new trend is off-leash hikes facilitated by a professional. These aren’t exactly daycares, but they do
keep your dog busy all day. Instead of staying at the facility, these carefully planned groups go hiking or other safe outings to help form strong social bonds and enrich each pet's life.

Each individual dog will have a preference between these three common options, with some pups still preferring relaxing at home instead of any of these options. Even though there are plenty of dog day care benefits available, your dog may not experience any of them if they are simply not enjoying their visit.

Some Dogs Will Thrive

Plenty of dogs will thrive and grow when they regularly attend a dog daycare. It’s pretty easy to tell if your dog is having a good experience based on how they behave after they’re picked up, along with their overall behavior afterwards.

Dogs that typically do well at a dog daycare facility have the following characteristics:

• Dogs with medium or high energy levels
• Dogs who enjoy socializing with other dogs
• Dogs that are confident enough to stand up for themselves during conflicts with other dogs
• Dogs that can tolerate rude behavior from other dogs without becoming aggressive or harmful

Dogs with these characteristics will likely do great at a dog daycare and reap the full host of benefits of dog daycare. These benefits are:

• Physical exercise and mental activity throughout the day
• Helpful for your pets mental health if they act out when left alone at home
• Decreased negative behavior and unwanted barking
• Learn new social skills
• Run out of energy so they’re relaxed when you pick them up
• Excellent way to socialize and potty train puppies

Some Dogs Will Prefer Alternatives

What about all of the dogs that don’t meet the characteristics discussed above? It’s possible that they will still have a good time and enjoy those benefits, but dog daycare may actually become harmful. Some of the drawbacks that dogs may experience are:

• Too exciting and overstimulating to the point of creating new behavioral health issues
• Dogs leave the daycare mentally fatigued because they didn’t have fun, they were stressed the whole time
• Your dog may learn bad behavior from other dogs that emerge from having to be in “survival” mode instead of enjoying pack time. 

There are other drawbacks that may occur from a less-than-ideal facility, such as having staff that aren’t properly trained to address conflicts before they escalate, or simply don’t keep the place clean.

Try a Dog Daycare to See How Your Dog Reacts

If you’re absolutely convinced that your dog will not like a dog daycare, it’s time to make other plans for their care. However, if you aren’t sure how your dog will react, you can simply drop them off for a day. You can tell the staff that it’s their first time and you want to know how they do. You can tell by the dog’s mood and the staff’s report if a second day is worth it. 

Are you looking for a quality dog daycare in Calgary? Barking Good is here to help. 

Our facility was designed with your pet’s health, safety, and enrichment in mind. Plus, our highly trained staff are ready to help you and your dog discover if dog daycare is right for them. 

Get in touch with our team today to explore your options.