Puppy Daycare - I highly recommend!

Got a new, young, furry love in your life? This is the place for you to ask all of your questions-big or small! Just remember that you are receiving advice from other dog owners and lovers... not professionals. If you have a major problem, always seek the advice of a vet or behaviorist! Most important is to remember to have fun with your new fur baby.

Keeva

My name is- Gaelic for- "Gentle"

Barked: Fri Mar 30, '12 6:02pm PST


	As a new puppy owner I have on occasion felt totally overwhelmed but I found a boarding facility nearby my very small town that also does daycare. I have used it three times now when I have had to be gone for longer than a couple hours. It is fabulous! Keeva gets to be socialized with other little dogs and has so much fun. She comes home tired and happy. The woman that owns the place just has the little dogs with her and watches over them as she does her chores. I wish that everyone had access to such a facility. I plan on taking her there at least once a month just for the socialization alone. And, this is a place I would totally trust if I were having to board her. So....just a word....if you have a new puppy and no access for it to meet and play with other dogs you might check and see if you have a daycare near you!

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Huck

GO!!!

Barked: Fri Mar 30, '12 7:31pm PST


	I am glad it worked out for you and Keeva

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Frankie

Cheese? PLEASE!

Barked: Fri Mar 30, '12 8:07pm PST


	So glad for you!! I have long-debated putting Frankie in day care once or twice a month just for the social aspect, as well as to give myself a break! lol But the one doggie daycare near us, I am not sure how well I trust them.. The trainer seemed only interested in making money, which, nowadays, I can totally understand that, however, several of her training methods, in particular for small dogs (a triple crown prong-type collar for a 6-month old toy breed...? really?), well, a lot of her techniques and practices left a lot to be questioned, and even when questioning her about it, she stuck to her guns, so to speak..so it left a bad taste in my mouth.. I have also heard some dogs pick up bad habits from other dogs at day care..such as non-barkers suddently become barkers... But I may check them out again..but, a good day care is hard to find.... Sooo glad you found one near you that works out well!

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Huck

GO!!!

Barked: Fri Mar 30, '12 8:11pm PST


	I have heard horror stories about some of the doggy daycares close to me, so I just meet up with dog friends regularly and we hike and go to the beach and other outings with the dogs.

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Frankie

Cheese? PLEASE!

Barked: Fri Mar 30, '12 8:18pm PST


	Huck, you are very lucky to have friends with dogs to socilaize with..Everyone I know who owns a dog is a large dog, as well as neighbors all owning large dogs, so that is sometimes a concern with a small-breed.. I know most of the large-breed dogs around us and the folks that we know own are very docile and super-friendly-even very submissive--but, when you have a 90-lb dog and a 8 or 9 lb dog it can be a concern..something going wrong during play..even in total innocence, and no harm meaning.. I am all for dog socialization, but I also want to keep my dog safe.. So far we go to Petco and allow Frankie to socialize with dogs there. It may not be the same, but it is something. They also have free doggie play dates, and they have small-breed and large-breed at designated times, so that is nice.. Sometimes ya just have to work around what ya got and know what works best for your situation. As we both are doing... I am very happy Keeva has found a good day care, I am jealous!

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Huck

GO!!!

Barked: Fri Mar 30, '12 8:25pm PST


	Frankie there is a great social network called Meetup.com and they have meetup groups for everything. I know here in San Diego we have several small dog meetups as well as my dog hiking groups. You might check it out and see if you have one close to you and you can join in on their small dog meetups. Fortunately Huck and Callie are not really small little dogs like Frankie, they are in the 20 lb range but Wyatt is 12 lbs and I worry about large dogs at the beach blowing him over, so I understand your concern, trust me. Good luck

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Frankie

Cheese? PLEASE!

Barked: Fri Mar 30, '12 8:29pm PST


	Thanks, Huck..I will have to check that out.. We live in a small town, and the nearest 'city' is a good hour away, but I suppose once, twice or even three times a month in the nicer weather, it would be worth checking it out!! TY!!

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Abner

Basset Hound- with a Flatty- suit on

Barked: Sat Mar 31, '12 3:59am PST


	I'm on the fence about daycare, and I think it's really case by case for the dog and for the daycare. I have a dog who has crummy SA, so he HAS to be somewhere while I work. Currently I have him going to playdates, but he's been in daycare in one of the larger facilities, as well as the smaller ones. You know what drives me the most crazy? Everyone has a different idea of how my dog should be cared for. My first daycare- Kept making comments about his lean weight. Some other stuff that i can't remember as well. Second daycare (facility 1): Nobody watched my dog. Seriously. Second daycare (facility 2): There's this one guy that's taught him how to jump on people. Argh. Otherwise it's fine. Playmate daycare: I dunno, it's mostly good. They keep trying to feed him veggies for treats though, which I find absolutely hilarious given Abner's opinion of vegetables. They did mess up and they gave him apple sauce in his kibble, which he ate and then had the runs for 2 days. Also, it's true. Some dogs pick up bad habits at daycare. I think it's great, you just need to know your dog and so on.

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Keeva

My name is- Gaelic for- "Gentle"

Barked: Sat Mar 31, '12 10:40am PST


	I totally understand all of your concerns and I feel very very lucky to have found this place. She keeps the little dogs together and she watches over them like a mother hen. I would like to say Keeva has learned her voice from this place but I think she just learned to bark on her own and fairly recently. She barks at golfers on TV and other dogs. She barks at shadows etc. but she doesn't keep at it thank goodness. We are working on acknowledging her bark, telling her enough and treating her. Also if we distract her she stops. Only if she keeps it up do we put her in our large-dog kennel (we call it the Big House LOL) and she quiets right down. We live 45 minutes from the nearest Petco so going there with the gas prices the way they are is out of the question for us. At puppy kindergarten the other dogs (larger and smaller than her) are jumpers and she wants to play but doesn't like the jumping. At the daycare she is around older dogs that don't jump and scare her. I wish all of you lived close by and we could let our dogs play! Edited by author Sat Mar 31, '12 10:41am PST