Stop in at The Dog Club of Fort Collins during daycare hours and you’ll see dogs playing, romping and having a fun time. Dog daycare is a great place for your dog to meet new friends and play while you’re at work, or off playing yourself. You can trust that your dog is being cared for and entertained. But much more than that happens in the playrooms.
Research shows that proper socialization at a young age creates a confident, well-adjusted adult dog. Exposure to new dogs, places and people teaches a young dog proper social skills that carry on into adulthood. Adolescent and adult dogs benefit by having routine interaction with dogs they know as well as dogs new to the pack. Interactions between dogs are monitored, proper behavior rewarded, and inappropriate behavior discouraged. Excessive roughness, wild behavior, excessive barking, and aggression are corrected.
All that playtime provides physical exercise that every dog needs. Owners can go about their busy day and enjoy a calm, tired and happy pet at home. If left at home alone, bored dogs can display unwanted behaviors such as barking, digging, and chewing. Generally, a tired, exercised dog is a well behaved dog. While the younger dogs are busy playing most of the day, the older dogs typically will play for awhile, then relax and watch the fun. The older dogs help keep the youngsters in line, letting them know when play is inappropriate.
Jumping up, barking, guarding their toys, and inappropriate play are discouraged through the use of “timeouts”. These are brief 15—30 seconds of time spent in a crate away from the action so the dog can calm down and regroup for another attempt at good behavior. Timeouts are repeated as often as necessary until the dog “gets it” and displays the right behavior. Obedience skills such as coming when called and sitting are practiced and rewarded.
During your dog’s stay they will move from the office to a playroom, one playroom to another, to the outside exercise area, or to kennels for nap time. Any time your dog will pass through a door the dog is asked to sit and wait. Practicing good door manners teaches your dog that calm behavior is rewarded and pushiness will get you nowhere.
All dogs are assessed before they enter the pack to determine if they will be safe around the other dogs as well as the humans. The dog's behaviors and interactions with humans, being handled and touched, and investigating their new surroundings gives us clues as to whether the dog will do well in daycare. Tried and true “greeter” dogs are used for the initial dog-dog contact. The greeter dog is the first dog to meet a new pack member. He is typically a veteran daycare dog who plays well, has great social skills and can make a new dog feel comfortable. If the initial greeting is successful, other dogs are added to the mix until the whole pack has met the new dog and welcomed him to the group.
Dogs are split into play groups based on their size and play style. Some dogs enjoy playing very roughly and loudly. Some dogs can’t handle the fast moving, excited play of younger dogs. Little dogs obviously would not be safe in with the big guys. After our initial assessment we place dogs where we think they will do best. Just as we humans don’t all get along, so too, some dogs just don’t like each other. Upon identifying these situations, dogs that do not get along are kept away from each other in separate playrooms.
Daycare can be a high stimulation, high stress environment. Dogs with high-arousal tendencies can have difficulties in daycare when their prey instincts kick in. Some dogs may re-directed aggression towards an innocent bystander when energy levels reach a high level. Making new friends is fun, but initial meetings can be stressful for the new dog as well as the experienced dog. While precautions are taken to make sure all are safe, accidents do happen. Rough play can result in cuts and scrapes. On rare occasion, fights do break out and sometimes injuries can occur. Dogs who can handle some moments of stress and bounce back quickly are the best candidates for daycare. Those who are nervous, worried or easily shaken may do better in a different setting. Communication with your daycare provider regarding any changes in your dog's behavior is very important in helping to assess whether daycare is right for your dog.
