It’s becoming a popular trend for dog parents to send their dogs to a doggy daycare. One of the main reasons for the trend is to make sure their furry friends aren’t at home all day alone while humans are away at work. At first, it may seem a little extravagant, but pretty soon, your dog will adjust and they will come home tired and happy from a busy day. Instead of destroying your house while you are at work, they will be busy burning off energy and playing with their canine friends. It plays an important role in keeping them healthy.

With doggy daycares becoming more popular and common, it can be hard to find the right one for your pup. Here are a few things for you to look for when choosing a daycare for your dog.

Tips for Choosing Your Dog’s Daycare

A dog daycare is a great option for busy pet parents who don’t like leaving their dogs home alone all day. But it’s important to find the best daycare for your pet. Before you drop your dog off for the day, here are six things to do when choosing a facility.

1.     Take a Tour of the Doggie Daycare Facility

Just because there are a lot of doggie daycares to choose from doesn’t mean all of them are the right choice for your pet. Ask for a tour of the facility so you can assess it before leaving your dog there. Here are three main things to look for during your tour:

• Clean Facility. You don’t need to be able to eat off the floor, but the facility should be overall clean and there shouldn’t be any outstanding odors. There are going to be accidents, but they should be cleaned up quickly. Take a look around to see if the dogs look healthy and happy.
• Proper Ventilation. Dogs should be able to get plenty of fresh air, whether it’s through open doors or windows, or an air change system.
• Safety Features. Fencing and gating should be in place to ensure dogs are safe and not able to escape. Check the fencing to see if it looks sturdy and they should be tall enough that dogs can’t jump over them. See if the facility has wait gates or areas that are double gated. They may also have an area where new dogs can get acclimated before joining the larger play area.

2.     Ask About Insurance

The business should be properly bonded and insured. They should have insurance that can cover costs if something happens to your dog or if your dog caused some sort of damage.

3.     Staff to Dog Ratio

It’s fair to ask who will be in charge of your dog during its stay and how many staff are on duty. Reputable doggy daycares will have enough staff to provide proper supervision, which can also affect dog behaviors. In general, one person can handle about 10 to 15 dogs. The dogs are usually grouped by size or energy levels. Dogs should be supervised at all times, especially when playing together.

4.     Experienced Staff

Ask how long the daycare has been in operation, who is in charge, and what kind of experience they have working with dogs. You may also check out any online reviews to see if they are highly recommended or not.

5.     Offer the Option of Boarding

If you will need your dog to be boarded at some time, it can be helpful if your doggie daycare offers boarding services as well. It’ll be a lot easier on your pup to leave them overnight somewhere that is already familiar. It will not be as stressful for them or for you.

6.     Size of the Facility

The size of the facility really does matter. One of the main benefits of bringing your pup to daycare is so that they will have room to exercise and not be bored and cooped up all day. The facility should have adequate indoor and outdoor spaces for your pup to run around and play. Indoors, the facility should have between 70 and 100 square feet of space for off-leash running. Outdoor areas should be of an adequate size to allow for safe playtime, too.

Let BrilliantK9 help you get your dog to and from doggie daycare safely! Check out our collection of custom harnesses. We’ll make sure the custom harness fits your dog’s size and you have tons of designs and colors to choose from. We also have travel crates!