Thinking About Doggie Daycare?…Buyer Be Aware!
We recently learned firsthand that sending our dogs to daycare could yield surprises if you don’t read before signing any contracts, agreements, or waivers.
Picture this:
Your dog goes to daycare for fun, play, or to manage separation anxiety on a long day when you are gone.
You are looking at photos shared by the daycare and notice that your dog is wearing a collar with a box on it.
You have not been told that your dog is behaving in a way that the daycare needs to address.
We don’t know exactly what kind of collar it is, we do know that it is meant to stop a behavior with a spray, vibration or a shock.
You ask the daycare about the use of the equipment without your permission or knowledge.
You are told that the paperwork you signed gave the daycare permission to do this if they deemed it necessary.
You have no other options in this setting; it's either allow the equipment to be used or find a new daycare.
New York City’s rules and regulations for this industry are very minimal and focus on record keeping, disease spread and sanitation, and how to physically handle different sorts of animals. Therefore we can’t expect any minimum standards on equipment use based on regulations.
It is the prerogative of each daycare to set their own rules and policies as to how they will handle what they consider to be behavior problems with the dog in their care.
As a consumer it could be easy to make some of the following assumptions when you send your dog to doggy daycare.
The staff will love my dog and will treat them exactly as I do.
The staff is trained in dog body language.
The staff is trained in science based methods about how to manage and interact with dogs thoughtfully and humanely.
What could equally be true is:
This was a job that is easy to get without much training or experience.
Any training there is, is on-the-job, by observing others who have not had any formal training.
Outdated methods and beliefs may be held by the staff, based on common knowledge and sensationalized television shows, simply because no other information is sought or offered.
The staff most likely love dogs, but that doesn’t mean they understand them.
The day care may be actively aligned with a trainer who ascribes to using punishment in dog training.
For these reasons you need to be a wise consumer and carefully vet any daycare you are considering for your family companion. Seek out recommendations from dog professionals, your veterinarian, your trainer, your dog walker. Then, ask the company the kinds of questions you would ask if you were looking for child care or elder care for a family member.
Here are some questions that will help you find doggy daycare service providers that meet your particular pup's needs for health and emotional safety.
Is there a training philosophy that your daycare adheres to or recommends?
Will I be told immediately if my dog is showing behaviors that are a problem for the other dogs or humans in the daycare setting?
Will I be told if my dog doesn’t seem to want to interact with the other dogs?
How do you manage behavior between dogs that is unsafe or inappropriate in daycare? Could you give me an example?
Do you use penny cans or water spray bottles to interrupt unwanted behavior between the dogs?
Do you use other tools on dogs to keep things under control in your daycare? If yes, what tools?
The bottom line is that we, as always, must be informed consumers and cannot make assumptions that our values are also the values held by the service providers we engage. Don’t be caught by surprise. Equipment and strategies that you would not want used on your dog may feel like fine options to others and therefore are not highlighted or pointed out to you as the consumer. After you’ve asked all your questions, also read the fine print before you sign any sort of terms of service or other paperwork necessary for signing your pup up for daycare.
When it comes to our animals we leave nothing to chance and ask as many curious questions as we can to ensure that our dogs are cared for in ways that we feel comfortable with.
If you have a daycare that you love please let us know! We love to be able to share good information with our community!