Dog Day Care – Exercise & Companionship While You’re at Work
Dog day care is a pet care option
that’s been around for only a few decades but has exploded in popularity. For many pet parents, a day care for their
beloved pet is an answer to their prayers – it provides the special care and
attention that they want their dog to have when they can’t provide it.
Unlike a boarding kennel, a dog day
care is usually used every day while the pet’s owners are at work and the
animal goes home at the end of each day.
Usually, doggy day care is a long-term arrangement with a particular
facility and is a part of a long-term contract.
In many pet day care settings there are no kennel runs or cages during
the day, so pets have much more flexibility to move around and are in a very
playful, interactive environment. Each
place will also have individual bedding or mats as well however, so that your
dog can retreat for a nap or simply to get away from the noise and activity
when he wants to.
Busy Lives and Bored Dogs
The rise in popularity of dog day
care is largely due to the increasingly busy schedules of dog owners. Especially in larger towns or cities, owners
often realize that they simply don’t have the time to come home and check on
their dog during a lunch break every day and their dogs are suffering from too
much time alone cooped up in a house or apartment. A day care provides companionship with both
other dogs and the human day care providers so that pets don’t get lonely.
Lonely dogs often end up being
destructive dogs – they aren’t “acting out” so much as “acting up” simply
because they are bored when they are alone for hours. A day at dog day care, however, usually
includes a few walks each day, play time with other dogs and lots of love and
affection from the caregivers. All of
this will keep your dog happy and mentally stimulated while you are at
work.
When you pick up your dog at the
end of each day, you will be going home with a happy, well-exercised dog that
looks forward to relaxing with you for the evening. That’s another advantage of day care for your
dog – he will get plenty of exercise while you are at work, reducing the amount
of time you have to spend exercising him after a long, hard day at work.
Recognizing a Good Dog Day Care
When you begin searching for a dog
day care for your pet, be sure to visit each facility and let your dog
investigate. Does he interact well with
the day care provider? Is the play area
spacious and attractive? Are large and
small dogs handled properly and with an eye toward every pet’s safety? What are the rules and daily activities that
are available? When and how is feeding
handled? All of these questions and
observations will give you an excellent idea of how the dog day care will suit
your pet, letting you work knowing your baby is in the best of hands when you
can’t be with him.