Although some dogs thrive with daycare, daycare isn’t good for every dog. Dogs who are stressed, anxious, reactive, or otherwise struggle with interactions with other dogs are not good candidates for daycare.
If your dog doesn’t really enjoy playing with other dogs, is a senior, or is just naturally quiet and happy to sleep all day, the loud and busy atmosphere of doggy daycare may be more stressful than beneficial.
Daycare isn’t without risks. A daycare environment can be overwhelming and overstimulating for some dogs.
Depending on how the daycare is structured it’s very easy for dogs to get exhausted which can lead to physical injuries.
Additionally, dogs at daycare can become mentally and emotionally overstimulated, which can lead to conflict between dogs in the space as well. Even if you love the idea of your dog playing with other dogs while you are away at work, it’s important to remember daycare isn’t right for every dog.
“Dropping a dog off at daycare is like stepping into the heart of Disney World. It is an overstimulating, exhausting place to be,” said Amanda Smith, who worked at a doggie daycare before joining Outward Hound as a product line manager.
“There are many new noises, smells, sight, textures, people, and dogs. For some dogs, it is just too much and they are not going to benefit from the experience. ”
Daycare won’t re-socialize a dog who is uncomfortable with other dogs. Similarly, if your dog is social but tends to resource guard, it’s best to avoid sending your dog to daycare as this behavior can easily instigate fights.
Dogs who are comfortable and confident with good social skills around lots of dogs and people make the best candidates for attending daycare.
Bad Habits
Daycare can be a lot of fun for dogs, but it’s more like babysitting than training. If you have a dog with challenging habits like excessive barking, daycare might solve the issue of your dog bothering your neighbors during the day. However, your dog will not automatically learn new behaviors because of attending daycare.
In addition, some dogs will learn challenging behaviors from other dogs at bigger daycare setups