Thoughts on Doggy Daycare
A Trend That May Not Be Beneficial
It’s not something I typically recommend, for a wide variety of reasons. I don’t think they’re usually run well, I don’t think most dogs benefit, and I don’t think the majority of dogs do well there. I see a lot of nervous, fearful dogs forced to endure daycare day after day, while the owners are frustrated at their dog’s increasing anxiety and reactivity - not realizing they’re making it worse.
I truly don’t understand the fixation some owners have with daycare and dog-dog play. To me it’s bizarre and unnatural. Dogs are not meant to, and should not spend their lives hyper-focused on other dogs. Dogs in the wild or street dogs are not fixated on playing all day, especially in an enclosed space. But let’s talk more about the downsides of daycare.
Not For Every Dog
Daycare, like dog parks, are for dogs who actively enjoy playing and interacting with new dogs and who are able to do so in a polite and appropriate way. Dogs who are anxious or fearful around new dogs, very dog-selective, dog-reactive, bully other dogs, or are aggressive are not good candidates for daycare.
I remember one client who took her dog to daycare. She swore that her dog did great at daycare and that staff loved her reactive dog - he was so calm and well-behaved! I asked to see video, and this dog literally spent 8 hours a day cowering fearfully in a corner, desperately trying to avoid other dogs.
Staff Generally Aren’t Knowledgeable
I get it - everybody thinks they’re a dog expert. Especially people who work with dogs, even with no education or real training, think they’re suddenly expert trainers. The truth is, very few daycare staff is actually knowledgeable about canine body language, appropriate dog-dog play, different types of dog-dog play, or red-flag behaviors in dogs.
And this is really problematic when these employees, with minimal (or no) expertise and education are responsible for the safety of potentially dozens of dogs, including yours. Dog fights can break out very quickly and dogs can be killed within seconds. It’s imperative that staff is adequately trained.
Not Good For Dogs
Spending all day in a highly aroused state isn’t good for our dogs. Dogs will not naturally play nonstop for 8 hours a day - this isn’t a natural canine behavior. Dogs actually need a lot of rest, and spending all day ramped up and wild can and does cause a lot of behavior problems. And that’s assuming your dog actually enjoys the play. Let’s think of the dogs who don’t - who spend all day afraid and on edge. Anyone who has studied street dogs will tell you that those dogs do not spend all day playing, just like dogs who live together don’t spend all day playing. They will play briefly and then have periods of passive interaction, walking around together, sniffing the yard together, and then will have long periods of rest. If dogs are playing together, uninterrupted, for hours and hours a day, I can almost guarantee there is a behavior problem or two in that mix.
Can Cause Behavior Problems
A super common cause of leash reactivity is allowing puppies and dogs to constantly interact with and play with other dogs. These are the owners who walk their new puppy up to every single dog they encounter on walks so they can “say hi.” They go to dog parks and do playdates. When their dog is off leash it will run up to every dog it sees and this will be allowed. They also usually go to daycare, where they continue to learn that other dogs are the most exciting thing on the planet. Oftentimes, these dogs who are supposedly “doing great” at daycare, are actually being bullying assholes at daycare and get to spend the day honing their asshole behavior. They usually are playing in a relentless, intense, rude, and very out of control way that the other dogs often don’t like. But since staff doesn’t understand healthy play versus unhealthy play, they think this looks fine and allow it to happen.
Meanwhile, the poor dogs on the receiving end are learning that other dogs aren’t a whole lotta fun. This can also lead to reactivity and problems in the future with dogs. Dogs at daycare are often allowed to practice or rehearse out of control behavior around other dogs all day long. The owners then come to trainers like me, frustrated that their dogs are screaming and lunging at other dogs and cannot pay attention if there’s another dog around.
Treatment of Dogs
Since you aren’t there, you really have no idea how employees are treating your dog. There are stories galore about daycare staff abusing, even killing, dogs in their care. Even locally we had a Spokane daycare make the news after video was released of an employee hitting a dog. You don’t know if your dog is getting enough water, if they get enough potty breaks, if they’re being roughly grabbed, hit, drug around by their collar, or if staff is using a shock or prong collar on them when you aren’t there. You don’t know how long they’re being crated or if the crates are clean and appropriately sized. I’ve seen firsthand daycares stuffing large dogs into crates so small the dog had to stay curled in a ball. For hours.
Daycare Does Not
teach your dog appropriate social skills
teach your dog to be calm around other dogs
teach your dog good behavior
allow for appropriate rest and calmness
replace owners needing to spend quality time with their dogs
Better Options Than Daycare
There are many better options than daycare, including that owners put forth the effort to exercise their dogs. Take them on a walk or hike or run. Take them to a dog park where you can supervise their play, monitor their behavior, and keep play sessions short and appropriate. It’s also free! Another option is to do play dates with dogs you already know, where you know the dogs are compatible, and again, play can be supervised and kept short. I really think most dogs would prefer to chill on the couch than spend the day in a crowded, noisy, smelly daycare.
Daycare Red Flags
If you still want to do daycare anyway, I recommend only doing 1-2 full or half days a week. Look for a daycare that’s happy to answer questions, requires vaccination records, and does a behavior assessment. Read what behaviorist and former daycare owner, Kathy Sdao, says about daycares.
Red flags in a daycare:
not providing you with video of your dog playing (ideally daycares have livestream video so you can watch your dog the entire time)
if they have cameras, shutting them off at certain times. I did a walkthrough at one daycare where they shut off cameras during quiet time, and I quickly realized why - they weren’t nice to the dogs and put them roughly into crates that were far too small and dirty. Had owners seen this, they wouldn’t have been happy.
not allowing you to see the facilities where your dog will be, including the play area, the potty area, and the quiet area
your dog being stressed or nervous when you pick them up or drop them off
dogs wearing collars or harnesses during play. This is a HUGE safety risk, and no good daycare would ever leave equipment on a dog during play. It is far too easy for a jaw to get twisted in a harness or collar and a fight to break out or an injury to occur. If they say they need to quickly grab the dogs, this is another big red flag and indicates they don’t know how to handle dogs.
not having treats to reward dogs - saying this will cause fights is a red flag and shows they don’t know how to work with a group of dogs or are allowing dogs with aggression issues into the daycare
having inadequate staffing, meaning dogs are left unsupervised if an employee needs to use the restroom, answer the phone, or pick up or drop off a dog. If a fight were to break out in a group of 10+ dogs, one person is not going to fare well. Or if a medical emergency were to happen, there needs to be adequate staffing to provide first aid, transport dogs to the vet, care for the other dogs, etc.
staff dragging dogs around by collars, yelling at dogs, hitting dogs, etc
My Experience With Doggy Daycare
I took Olive and Oak to a daycare marketed to be very positive and kind when they were puppies. This was a legit, licensed daycare, and stupidly, I ignored the many, many red flags, including no staff. Yep, that’s right. The entire operation was run by just one person, the owner, who refused to let me view the facility (she claimed it would “upset the dogs”), did no behavioral assessment of new dogs, had no forms or questionnaires, asked nothing about medical issues or my dogs’ histories, and never shared video of my dogs playing - even when I specifically asked. She somehow always had an excuse as to why she couldn’t get a video. She took her own dogs, who seemed to take up most of her attention. My dogs always came home after half days and drank full bowls of water in one breathless, gasping gulp. When other people reported this same thing to me, I began wondering if the dogs were being provided water. Multiple times I heard her yelling at dogs, leaving the dogs unsupervised for long periods of time, and I suspect I never got video of my dogs playing because they spent the day crated. My dogs started to seem more and more stressed about going, and I stopped taking them after a few months.
As a trainer, I’ve spoken with multiple daycare owners. One told me she will accept dogs she knows to be aggressive if she needs the money. She went on to share stories of hiding dog-fight injuries from owners so she wouldn’t be held responsible and have to pay the vet bills. One daycare owner told me aggressive dogs don’t exist… which is super bizarre, obviously untrue, and very concerning because it tells me that they allow aggressive dogs. I’ve heard from many folks who sent their puppy to daycare with more aversive-minded people and ended up with aggression issues from their puppy or dogs being treated badly by people at daycare.