I'm considering putting my pup in doggy daycare for one or two days a week while I'm at work. There's a place close to my house that was recommended and that I want to check out, but I'm afraid I don't know what to look for.

Does anyone have any thoughts about this and questions I should ask or what I should look for? I can't take Maggie in until she's 16 weeks and has had her Rabies shot, so I have a few weeks to prepare and do things right.

Go and whatch the dogs. Look to see if there is a lot of posturing/dominant/submissive type behavior amongst the dogs. I see a lot of weird stuff come out of dogs that do daycare. The other thing is that it is a popular new business to run and a lot of people don't have a clue what they are doing and just get lucky. Not a big fan.

I just finished watching "Dealing with dominate & aggressive dogs" dvd from leerburg!I think doggy day care is similar to going to a dog park only worse because at the day care your not there to see what is going on with your dog.Watch the video and see what happens to the doberman that scene alone would prevent me from ever putting my dogs together with strange dogs for a whole day.

So far, this is what I know about the place. It is part of an animal hospital, so the people who run it know animals. The dogs stay in kennels (I'm assuming individual kennels) during most of the day, except four times a day, they take them out for a walk and to play with them (fetch and such), and for puppies once a day they bring them out with another puppy of similar size, age, and energy to play with, supervised. They do this last one only with puppies to work on dog socialization.

So far what they've told me sounds good, but perhaps I should go in and observe to see how they work with the dogs, what the area looks like, what the kennels are like, etc.

I think that the majority of the people on this board would probably agree with me when I say it just doesn't seem like a good idea.

The list of reasons that this is a bad idea is really to long to type out. It's very similar to a dog park, which most of us don't approve of to begin with. The main difference is that you (your dog's pack leader) aren't there to protect or discipline your dog. Also, the only supervision is going to be provided by someone who is outnumbered by dogs and not likely to have or enforce the same rules that you do at home.

Unless you're going to be out of the home for a very long time, dogs can do just fine by themselves in a crate at home.

Good strong walks before & after work should expend enough energy, then just crate them. I would never trust someone else with my dog, let alone with other dogs, but then I don't even go on vacation unless I can take the dog...wouldn't be fun for me!!

I wouldn't want to leave a pup of mine in such a place...apart from what has already been mentioned here...I don't want the pup to bond to anyone else but me early on. I also want to be able to shape a pup's foundations as much as I can, that means never leaving them out of my site unless in a crate, so they don't develop unwanted habits or fears. That's just a personal thing though.

My opinion has changed about doggy day care for a variety of reasons. I tend to agree with Kristine V; wanting my Nandi to bond with me. I did bring Sita to doggy day care when she was 6 - 7 months old. My decision was base on, in hindsight, what I thought was best for Sita. I thought she needed the stimulation and play, and it would improve her socialization. Yes she needed these things but I learned that those needs can be met with me and that often we mix-up human needs with dog needs. With Nandi, my newest addition I won't even consider it unless it is my friend's business. She knows my pup and she is a long-time owner of GSDs and she will follow my strict instructions. Putting my dogs with her for the day would only be on a emergent basis. Otherwise there is so much I cannot control and although it may sound rigid, my pets are my responsibility, I have worked very hard for their health, and training,and well-being. I have sent Nandi on overnights to my trainer's( she also kennels them on occasion) house because if I go out of town Nandi knows where he going on who to listen to. And, for "respite" from a hyper puppy <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I had to put effort into networking and being involved with GSD people and training facilities to build up trust and friendship to help me care for my dogs.
You may want to consider having a trusted friend who knows your intention and your dog to take your pup out for potty breaks. But at 16 weeks he should be holding all day. Overall save your money to buy time with your puppy. Good luck with your decision.

I personally would never put my puppy in puppy daycare. I think that daycare is no different than going to a dog park. I am VERY selective in who I let my puppies interact with. I want to make sure that when they meet new dogs it is always a positive experience.

Thanks, everyone, for your responses. I appreciate everyone's advice. I guess I think of doggy daycare like child daycare, and I would be just as picky and selective about who watched my kids (if I had kids and couldn't be home to care for them).

For the most part, Maggie is content to play with her toys in her kennel or to play around my feet (if I let her out of her kennel), but as yet, I haven't left her for a full 8 hour day wihtout a potty/play break.

I certainly don't think it's over-protective to keep dogs away from bad situations. I'm terribly over-protective with my cats. All but one are indoor cats, and the one that gets to go outdoors, I've trained to stay in the backyard where I can keep an eye on her. They're all (including a stray I rescued last October) microchipped, even though they're pretty much indoor cats.

Dogs are just a new thing for me, so I'm uncertain what to do about so many things. I'm considering daycare mostly for socialization but also to give Maggie more exercise and play time than I can give her. I'll have to keep thinking about it and really look into the place, perhaps observing them one day, before I leave Maggie with unknown people.