Why not doggy daycare?

We've all seen the short spots on Evening Magazine and articles in your local paper about doggy daycares.  The concept seems to really resonate with pet owners who love their animals.  We think of them as our children, we love them like they are our children.  Who wouldn't want the kind of care we give human children for their dog?  Dogs.

What dogs and children have in common is their need love and affection, mental stimulation, physical exercise, and social interaction. A doggy daycare satisfies the need for social interaction, and leaves the rest up to the dog.  Your dog can and will likely be a couch potato at a doggy daycare.  Your dog can and will likely be bored at a doggy daycare.  Your dog can and will likely be starving for human affection at a doggy daycare, since the staff are busy mopping up urine and feces (see below).  The problem with doggy daycare concept is that while it is enormously profitable for the company, most doggy daycares do not provide a great environment for a pet dog. While we love our dogs just as much, dogs are not human children. They have other distinctly different needs and desires.

Potty training: dogs often un-potty train themselves at doggy daycares, and poor potty training is the number one reason that dogs are surrendered to shelters.  The drive to 'mark' gets stronger with the scent of so many dogs around, and all it takes is one dog in the building without solid potty training, and that dog creates spots that are too tempting to resist adding their own urine.  Now your dog has lost his inhibition to pee inside.  Don't believe me?  Check the craiglist adds for 'dog wranglers' at dog daycares- in the job description "your job will consist of constantly mopping up pee and poop.  If you are squeamish about either, this is not the job for you".  Enough said.

Chaos: putting twenty or thirty, or more 'free roaming' dogs in any contained space is flat out dangerous.  If a fight breaks out it will be a completely unmanageable situation for at least thirty seconds to a minute at best, and by that time it may be too late.  In addition, some dogs are bullies, and they can bully other dogs in ways that are imperceptable to the untrained human eye.  The uncontrolled environment sets up bullies with the opporunity to menace other animals and cause them fear and discomfort all day.  Not exactly in line with the warm-fuzzy idea of a dog daycare is it?

Before I knew better, I thought that Le Pouf should consider creating a doggy daycare to compliment our other services.  Then I toured some daycares and talked to people who have worked in doggy daycares, and my mind was quickly changed.  For awhile we even walked the dog of a doggy daycare owner who felt that her own daycare wasn't safe enough for her dog.  Please know that I am taking an educated position on the issue.  It may be profitable, but it's not doing right by the animal, and Le Pouf will have nothing to do with it.  I should note that I feel there are exceptions; there are a few daycares with extensive outdoor space, who walk the dogs, and who break the group up into small manageable sizes, etc.  These daycares are the minority, but they do exist.

AB