How to Choose a Dog Day Care Facility

Most dog owners are all too familiar with the sad feeling of leaving their four legged friend locked in their apartment for the day while they head off to work. To cater to the demand for an alternative, dog day care facilities offer pet lovers a fun and safe place for them to leave their dog's during the day. But how do you go about choosing one? In my experience, there are four primary factors that should guide your decision.

Facilities

The standards on offer when it comes to the facilities at dog day care premises varies widely. While I personally consider the quality of the staff to be more important, the facilities are certainly a close second. Most dog day care facilities will allow you visit their premises with your hound to check things out before making your decision. If you are a dog owner, you are likely to be aware that dogs love wide out door spaces and this is even more true when there are a number of dogs together, therefore the size of the garden is a major factor.

Staff

When it comes to the staff, you should be looking for two things. The first is a general love of animals which is something that you can spot pretty immediately. There is then the matter of experience. As you are likely aware, even a single dog can at times be a handful and therefore you can imagine how difficult of a job it is to look after five or more dogs at a time. Minor fights can occur and experience often makes the difference between how quickly said fighting dogs can be split up.

Activities

Always ask exactly what your dog is going to get up to once you leave him at a dog day care facility. If your dog is not going to be played with and is not going to be taken for a walk, then what is the difference between taking him to day care and just leaving him in your apartment? While you may wonder whether you can actually tell if promised activities are indeed taking place, it is actually very easy to spot. If you come to pick up your dog and he is bursting with energy, chances are he has not had a very active day.

Price

While in smaller towns, there may not be many different places offering dog day care, if you are living a larger city, chances are high that there are a host of options open to you. Some places like to charge rates that I consider extortionate so make sure that you do your research. Consider the difference in price between a dog day care facility in your area and college students that offer a dog sitting service. If there is a significant difference in price but no corresponding difference in facilities and promised activities, take your money elsewhere.