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Doggie Daycare Yay Or Nay?


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I took Zero for his interview at a good quality doggie daycare...pretty local to me too. My dog walker recommended the place, she is excellent by the way. They tested Zero with al sorts of dogs. They totally seem to know what they’re doing there, a serious organization. The owner spent over an hour with Zero and I. They separate dogs by energy level. She said they’d never let Zero near any smaller furry dogs because the natural prey drive is just too risky. I got a really good feeling about the place, very well run, organized. Customers that stopped in seemed to be very happy. What do you think? I was thinking about going with one day a week.

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Guest kellybrown

The place where I board is doggie daycare all day and then boarding at night. My guys have a great time. I don't use the daycare unless I'm boarding. I don't work outside of the home, so I am home with my guys. But I have used daycare when I was working and my husband couldn't be home with them. I felt much better knowing they were playing and having a good time while I was gone.

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Give it a whirl and if they offer webcam sign up for it so you can see how it goes. Where I worked charges $20 a year for webcam. It might be a bit of an expensive experiment but you'll see how he does.

 

I will say that in my two years at the open play dog day care (where we sorted by size and energy level) I never saw one greyhound enjoy it. It is a great thing for labs, cattle dogs etc. but greys generally just don't want to be in on the play action. They'd rather be in a room alone and sleeping.

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Guest happygrey

Same thing here as Kelly. Tatam and Bentley board at a place that has doggie day care and the boarders must be able go in with the daycare dogs to be accepted as boarders. They were evaluated for about 3 hours (they would have kept them the whole day) and accepted. I was nervous about Tatam because he can be snappy with little dogs. However, he loves the place (and I mean LOVES it -- he literally doesn't want to leave when we pick him up) and so does Bentley. The place we use has fantastic webcams set up so you can spy on them whenever you want. (There's no charge.) The webscams show all the areas the dogs can go. Shockingly (to me! :lol ) Tatam was actually completely indifferent to the small dogs he was around (they are sorted). And I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Bentley becomes another dog and hangs with his lab/retriever pack pals running all over the place. Tatam likes to hang out with the others for a while but mostly follows the workers around trying to get pets and then finds his way to a bed. :lol The woman who owns the place is very good with dogs and she said they are always perfect gentlemen. Since boarding we've used the daycare when we want to go out on daylong trips. It puts our mind at ease knowing they are in a place where they are so well cared for and enjoy so much!

 

It's also made them much better socialized. We've seen this on our walks. The change has been pretty dramatic -- especially with Tatam.

 

:( Sadly, our spot is discontinuing boarding in early Oct...so we'll be on the hunt for another sitter or boarding spot sometime soon. But we'll use this place for daycare when we need it. For us, daycare + greys has been a big yay. :)

Edited by happygrey
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My two guys both loved day care when they were younger and had energy to burn. We had a good set-up similar to above where they also offered boarding, so we did use them to go on vacation a cuple times. They came home happy and exhausted, which was what we wanted!

 

However, as they became older and they got more "potato-y" they enjoyed it less. Also, the place grew in popularity very quickly and it got too noisy and too crowded for the boys. Plus, the staffing levels were too low for real supervision with that many dogs.

 

Bottom-line is you'll have to see how Zero does. He may LOVE it! He may not. Depends.

Chris - Mom to: Felicity (DeLand), and Andi (Braska Pandora)

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I board mine at a place that offers doggy daycare, but they don't like the daycare part. :dunno They don't play like normal dogs.

| Rachel | Dewty, Trigger, and Charlotte | Missing Dazzle, Echo, and Julio |

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Guest ThunderPaws

I understand that some greyhounds do well in a doggie daycare setting.

Here is my experience: When I adopted a greyhound oops puppy, Diesel, I wanted him to grow up like a "normal" dog, not like a "greyhound snob" that only likes greyhounds. He acts like a lab in a greyhound body, so I thought it was good for him.

When he was a little pup they put him in the small dog area, and little Diesel had a wonderful time playing with maltese, doxies, pugs and yorkies.

Once he outgrew the small dogs it was time to run with the big guys. Diesel thought he was a big n bad guy, but when those hyper labs and shepherds tried to play with him and chase him, Diesel got very scared and tried to run away from them, screaming bloody murder. He once fell and scraped his wrist trying to run away from those scary dogs.

We tried to get him to overcome his fear using very close supervision, but once Diesel got scared of big dogs he never liked them again. He is now four years old and still dislikes any other big breed other than sighthounds. I thought I did the right thing, but instead made things even worse... :(

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I'd give it a try and see how he does. My two would probably love it altho I suspect Joseph would flunk his interview because he plays so rough :lol .

Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in Illinois
We miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10.

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When we had to fly to CA for xmas vacation last year we visited all the local kennels and ended up boarding Capri with a doggy daycare place that also does boarding. They also sort the dogs by size and energy level. Capri (of course) passed their interview with flying colors - she's small dog safe and extremely well socialized.

 

Well, on xmas eve we got a call... somebody got a little snappish in the play room and Capri got a bite injury in the side of her chest. Despite the supervision, nobody saw what happened. They heard a yelp but no growls or barks, and when they looked everybody looked normal until they saw some blood on the floor and then had to inspect all the dogs. It turned out to be not a very bad injury, except that to be safe they took her to the e-vet because our vet was closed for the holiday. The e-vet wanted to do xrays to make sure that the puncture wasn't deeper than skin level. So that was all pretty expensive.

 

To the credit of the daycare place, they handled the emergency with utmost professionalism and didn't charge us for all the transportation to and from the vet or the special care after they got Capri back from the vet. After that, they kept her in her kennel and took her out for potty walks instead of letting her back into the play room. When we got home, we found that they'd also taken off the silly e-collar which kept falling off and put a x-large tshirt on her. So their care of her was immaculate.

 

But there are downsides to day care. We will take her there again some time. But we're seriously thinking of putting some kind of jacket on her for the play sessions. Something that won't overheat her, but will protect her skin from bites. Denim is all I can think of, but that still might be too hot.

 

Or, now that we have two dogs, we'll more than likely get an in-home pet sitter. I would still recommend the day care place in a heartbeat, but maybe not so much for thin-skinned greys.

Sharon, Loki, Freyja, Capri (bridge angel and most beloved heart dog), Ajax (bridge angel) and Sweetie Pie (cat)

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I just started our poodle puppy at daycare. I don't need it because of my schedule but he needed more socialization and he needed an outlet to play with other dogs since our greyhound won't play with him. He's only been twice so far - once for the evaluation and once for a half day of daycare. So far I've been really happy. They introduced him slowly to other dogs. He was really shy the first day(Shocked us since he's really bossy and confident normally but he had never been with other older larger dogs but our greyhound before). He was less shy yesterday and they said he did really well. He was really tired the rest of the day yesterday and left the greyhound alone for the most part so I'm hoping this will really help in all kinds of ways. He goes for a full day on Monday. He's going to do one full day and two half days a well but he's young and needs both the physical outlet and the socialization.

 

I'd give it a whirl and see how your dog does. My greyhoudn wouldn't do well at all but he's always been overwhelmed by situations with lots of dogs playing, even as a puppy but it sounds like yours started out OK. I would think one day a week would be great if you're just looking for a chance for him to stretch his legs and get out with other dogs.

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I bring my Rex once a week. It originally started because I have a son who plays sports and I work a 10 hr day, so on game days he was alone all day then half the night. This made me feel bad. A doggy daycare was the only thing that made sense to me. He plays all day and then he's too tired to miss us during a game. Rex LOVES it there. When I pick up his leash in the morning and asks if he wants to come with me, he gets all excited and jumps, does that I'm so excited I can't stop moving my feet dance, and clicks his teeth. It's so cute to watch. This daycare has a big dog and little dog section and the two groups never mix. She gives us parents magnets of our dogs and does a seasonal class picture. The daycare has a FB page, and they post videos of funny things that happen during the day. I'm hoping to get Brooke in after she gets settled in home life, learns some manners, etc... I'd definitely put in a vote to at least try it.

 

Here's the Spring class pic. Sorry it's so blurry. That's my Rex top row 3rd over. He's the only dog with no ears, lol.

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JoAnne, Instagram username mizhunie.

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Guest Spencers_Greyt

I "yay" it. I took Spencer to doggie day care for several years when he was young and healthy. He LOVED it! I mean he really LOVED it! He didn't play with the other dogs but he hung out with the humans and got a lot of attention from them especially him being the only Greyhound. I wish I could take him again but not with his back issues.

 

Edited to add: I took Spencer 2 times a week and they had a webcam so I could check in on him during the day. All in all it was a fabulous experience for Spencer!

Edited by Spencers_Greyt
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Guest iLoveLucie

I say Yay.

 

We found a local place recommended by our adoption group. They keep adoptable hounds there so there is always 2-3 other greyhounds there, so it made me comfortable that they would be familiar with the breed. There is diff rooms for small and large dogs and free web cam, which is awesome because I can keep an eye on our dog using my phone while on the go. At first I spent way too much time watching, she basically she hung with the other hounds, or the people, or would lay down in the corner. Occasionally she would trot along with a group of dogs - never saw any rough housing. If yours doesn't have a web cam, perhaps check and see if they'd let you observe your first session?

 

A good staff is key. I've heard discussions with other owners when we've gone to pick up or drop off, some saying they had to give their dog a "time out" for playing too rough and if it becomes an issue the dog might not be allowed to play, so that made me feel comfortable that they were paying attention and taking action if needed. Sounds like if they took the time to test your dogs with others, so they would be doing that with others, which is a huge plus - would help keep all the dogs safe.

 

We don't go often, only when we have to leave her home alone for a long time. I think it is good for her to socialize with other dogs and when we pick her up she is soooooo tired!

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If I had a choice I would not take my dog to a doggy daycare.

 

My reasons ..

- The greyhound's skin is so thin that any damage that happens is likely to happen to the greyhound and not the other dog.

- Most employees at a doggie daycare are going to be kids working at minimum wage (or slightly better) and are likely to be more interested in talking to their fellow workers than carefully watching the dogs for signs of trouble

- It only takes a second for issues to arise and if there are a bunch (10, 12 ...) of "big dogs" the employees armed with "spritz water bottles" are not going to be able to control the dogs

 

I guess I'm a little jaded but, I cringe at the thought of the "vet bills" from a play date gone bad....

 

editd to add .. and what about if very serious damage is done and the vet cannot fix it (pit bulls go for the neck)

Edited by MaryJane
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A good staff is key. I've heard discussions with other owners when we've gone to pick up or drop off, some saying they had to give their dog a "time out" for playing too rough and if it becomes an issue the dog might not be allowed to play, so that made me feel comfortable that they were paying attention and taking action if needed. Sounds like if they took the time to test your dogs with others, so they would be doing that with others, which is a huge plus - would help keep all the dogs safe.

:lol At my daycare we had dogs, including two bad arse boxers, that spent a good portion of every day in time out. Then they'd go right back in playgroup and you'd just wait for them to cause trouble again.

- Most employees at a doggie daycare are going to be kids working at minimum wage (or slightly better) and are likely to be more interested in talking to their fellow workers than carefully watching the dogs for signs of trouble

- It only takes a second for issues to arise and if there are a bunch (10, 12 ...) of "big dogs" the employees armed with "spritz water bottles" are not going to be able to control the dogs

Yes, most of the help at the daycare I worked the front desk was either young and/or couldn't keep a "real" job. It is a pretty crappy (pun intended) job to clean kennels and scoop oceans of poop all day for $8.50 an hour -- I did it at holiday and spring break to help and it was no fun. I vividly remember one conversation between two of my older back of the house co-workers comparing the food in various jails in the Dallas area where they had done time.

 

Our bunches were way bigger that 10 or 12 OMG -- especially at the holidays there could be 30 or 40 dogs per two crackheads -- err staffers in the pen armed with water bottles. I'll never forget Vivace, a little old man of an IG. He was 13 and came with 3 or 4 sweaters so we couild wash them as he peed on them. One day right in front of Jose a Westie just went for his throat and nearly killed him. As he was my "baby" I grabbed him and pressed a towel to his neck while we sped to the vet. He did live and the daycare picked up the vet bill.

 

One thing you might look for is a Pet Care Services (used to be ABKA) accredited facility. Their standards are really tough as far as staff per dog, level of experience and training of employees and and square ft. per dog. Standards so high very few places can do it and turn a profit. Do not confuse this with Pet Care Services membership, which can be purchased just like a Better Business Bureau Membership.

Edited by Hubcitypam
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Guest IrskasMom

I would give it a try. Ask them if Zero could be a little more seperated and have a Place to crash if it is an all Day thing. My Boy was exausted either from lot of Playing or from all the Dogs barking and noise. His Paws where very sore on the third Day from walking on the Pebbles he is not used to it. :huh

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Maybe because the daycare we're using is out in the suburbs and the housewives need something to do...but all the employees at the daycare we've been using for our puppy are not young crackheads. Most are at least 30 years old. The facility also doesn't allow bully breeds. All dogs are evaluated and tested with different groups of dogs before being accepted as a client. Before we brought our dog for evaluation we were allowed to visit, tour, and observe teh dogs at play for as long as we wanted on a drop-in, no advance notice basis.

 

There's no risk-free activity for a dog unless you want to bubble wrap them and keep them at home. When our greyhound was a puppy I had a church field I could run him at daily and get his exercise so I never had to worry about daycare or dog parks to exercise him. Some people have large enough yards to exercise their dogs. Some have greyhound groups that run greyhound only runs - we used to go to one of these in seattle ourselves. But, if you don't have a good option for running/exercising your dog and it's at an age where it needs it regularly, you need to make some personal choices about the risks you're willing to accept. Here in Phoenix there is no way I'd use the dogs parks based on the few experiences i've had at them over the years. I looked at several daycares before choosing this one. It's hard to generalize - there are good dog parks in teh country and there are good daycares. And some dogs should never be in either situation.

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Guest auforygirl

When I had the ability to PG would go in on Saturdays that I worked they only charged for 1/2 day of day care which is good b/c truthfully she really only played in the morning. By the afternoon she would start laying down and she gets snippy when she is laying down. So they would take her out and she would become the "greeter" which she loved.

Things I asked: Is anyone on staff a vet tech? Are the walls in the play area smooth or wire?

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Guest LindsaySF

I agree with Mary Jane (minus the pit bull comment) and Hubcitypam. I wouldn't risk it. If I had my Greyhounds interacting with a bunch of strange dogs I'd want everyone muzzled.

 

Most Greyhounds get stressed when exposed to high-energy breeds on a prolonged basis. It depends on your dog's personality. If you decide to do it, make sure they have a quiet area your dogs can retreat to, to get away from the chaos. And ask about their supervision policies, staff to dog ratio, etc.

 

 

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Zero had his first day today...thy said he did great!! Sleeping like a baby now :-) Thanks all for your input, as always it's very much appreciated.

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I'd give it a try and see how he does. My two would probably love it altho I suspect Joseph would flunk his interview because he plays so rough :lol .

flunk the interview..too funny :lol

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  • 3 months later...

Hi All,

 

Just an update. No more doggie daycare for Zero. He went one day a week for over a month. Mostly what happened was he wanted to lay down and relax while the other dogs wanted to keep playing. Zero didn't like having his sleep space disturbed by other dogs. They also said that when other dogs ran by him quickly he didn't like that either. He got a little snippy or growely in those situations. Both the doggie day care and I agreed that it wasn't for Zero. We thought he'd be better off chilling out at home. Oh well.

 

Sincerely,

Tony

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Thanks for the update, Tony. Was worth a try. You never know who will do well in that situation and who won't.

Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in Illinois
We miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10.

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