Doggy Day Care is a relatively new phenomenon in Ireland but is becoming increasingly popular for dog owners who work all day. It’s much like a child day care centre where you drop your child off on the way to work and collect them on the way home.
Day Care facilities are opening up in busy locations across Ireland to try and facilitate the ever growing demand for pet care.
Is Doggy Day Care A Good Idea?
The concept of Doggy Day Care is a great idea as it offers dog owners a chance to pay someone to entertain their dog during the day.
Your dog gets to hang out with other dogs in a social environment and play with their dog friends every day while you are at work.
There are however a few downsides for some dogs who may not adapt well to that type of surrounding. Maybe they are shy and don’t mix well with other dogs or maybe they are more dominant and aggressive and aren’t good at sharing their toys or playing with other dogs.
How Will I Know If My Dog Likes Day Care?
As with any new service that you decide to use it is important to assess the suitability of it for your dog. Go along to the centre and check out the facilities, and consider asking some of the following questions.
• What will the routine be like for your dog each day?
• Will they be supervised during the day?
• Are they mixed with dogs their own size or are all dogs in one location together?
• Will they be fed during the day?
• How are snacks distributed and what are they?
• Will they get a walk during the day?
• What happens if they mess – is there a specific area they need to be trained to use?
Once you know the answer to these questions and probably a lot more of your own, you will have a better idea if you think your dog is suited to the environment.
If you decide then to send your dog to Doggie Day Care, it’s important that you monitor their behaviour before and after attending.
• Are they happy to get out of the car when you arrive at day care?
• Are there any incidents while they are there, for example, fights or injuries?
• What does the daily report say about how your dog interacted at day care with the staff and other dogs?
• Is their mood different when they return home?
• Are there any changes to their behavioural pattern in general?
What Activities Are At Doggy Day Care?
The amount of activities will depend on the actual Doggy Day Care facility, but some of the things you can expect your dog to get up to at Doggies Day Care are as follows.
• Agility type climbing frames for them to play on
• Ball Games
• Tug Of War
• Fetch
• Paddling Pools to play in on those warm days
• Sofas and other soft furnishings nap on
• Training games
Doggie Day Care Pros and Cons
Pros Of Doggy Day Care
With your dog at daycare, they are not lonely at home on their own. There are other dogs they can play with and humans they can interact with.
If your dog is very high energy then they will be able to burn a lot of this off at daycare, rather than possibly becoming destructive at home or needing additional long walks when you get home from work.
Cons of Doggy Day
Doggy Day Care does not suit every dog. If you dog doesn’t socialise well with other dogs then it is very unlikely that it will suit them, or that they will even get accepted.
Each day you need to take your dog to daycare before you leave for work and then collect them when you get home. If you are late leaving work, there is often an additional charge for the extra time your dog is there.
Your dog won’t get a walk at daycare, so it is hard to gauge exactly how much exercise they have had each day. They may not have taken part in any of the activities and spent most of them time nappy on the comfy sofas.
When you take your dog out of the home to daycare you are leaving your home empty, without anyone checking on it during the day. This leaves your home potentially exposed to theft.
Doggy Day Care Versus Daily Dog Walking
Doggy Day Care does offer some great benefits which we have already talked about, however as mentioned you don’t always get a dog walk.
If you hire a Dog Walker to come to your home each day and take your dog out, not only are you allowing them to stay at home in their comfortable surroundings but you are also making sure that they get a certain length of walk each day.
In our recent article about how much dogs sleep and how much exercise they need, we talked about making sure that your dog regular exercise. With regular dog walks you are able to manage the amount of exercise your dog gets.
How Much Does Doggy Day Care Cost?
The price varies for Doggy Day Care depending on the frequency of using the service, the number of dogs and where the daycare is located.
Generally speaking they start at 20 euro per day, with discounts available on some packages. There are however additional charges if you are late collecting or want extra services while your dog is there.
Where Can I find The Best Doggie Day Care?
The first place to look for any service is by doing a Google search.
When you find a company that is in the right location for you, then you should consider asking yourself some of the following questions.
• Do they have all their services listed and explained on their website?
• Was their blog recently updated letting you know about their services?
• What does their About Us Section say about them?
• Can you learn about them and their team?
• Do they have an FAQ section where you can learn more about their services?
• Is their Facebook page active? It’s a great way to check out what people are saying about their company.
• Do they post pictures of the dogs they care for on their website? Can you opt out of this if you prefer not to have your dog visible online when you are out of the home?
• Are there any testimonials on their website?
To help you find a Doggy Day Care we looked for some on Google and here are the results of what we found.
Doggy Day Care Dublin
The Dog Den’s Daycare provides a safe, fun, and stimulating social environment for dogs. They have comprehensive information on their site about their processes and procedures and have testimonials on their site. They are also active on their Facebook Page with pictures of the dogs they care for being posted regularly.
The DSPCA also offer Day Care, along with their boarding and grooming facility. They have a structured outline for the dogs each day, with playtime and plenty of rest. They are very active on social media, although I couldn’t find any testimonials on their website.
Doggy Day Care Cork
Creedons Doggie Daycare is based in Cork and offers daycare, boarding and grooming. They have been in business for a long time, although their blog (at the time of writing this article) has not been updated since mid-2015. They are, however, active on social media and have customer reviews on their website.
Doggy Day Care Bray
Happy Irish Dogs is located in Bray and offer Doggy Day Care, Training and Grooming services. The prices are very clear on their website, as are their terms and conditions. They are very centrally located behind Lidl in Bray.
Doggy Day Care Ennis
Doggy Day Care and Training Centre offers training and doggy day care. They also offer boarding and grooming. They clearly outline their prices and have some testimonials on their website. They have not updated their blog since February 2015 (at the time of writing this article)
Doggy Day Care Galway
Doggie Day Care Galway offers daycare, training and grooming. All prices are listed on their website, along with their terms and conditions. Their facebook page is updated regularly and they have reviews on their page.
Doggy Day Care Waterford
In the Dog House offer daycare, grooming and training. They have lots of information on their website about the services they offer and the pricing. At the time of this article, their blog hadn’t been updated since Sept 2013.
How Can Pet Sitters Ireland Help You?
As you are probably aware we offer a Pet Sitting and Dog Walking service all across Ireland. We complete thousands of visits every month all over to Ireland to hundreds and hundreds of pets.
Whether you are at work all day, on holiday or just spending a night out with friends we can come and walk your dog for you.
As mentioned in the article there are lots of benefits to Doggy Day Care, but equally, there are a lot of benefits to leaving your dog at home and having a Dog Walker visit them.
If you have questions about our Dog Walking services then please feel free to get in touch.
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