Before good old Covid decided to mix things up, these places were seemingly few and far between!
Now in 2023 they are everywhere. I get asked about them at many training session and my thoughts on them. Here are some of my personal thoughts on them from my experience and feedback from many people who use them or used to use them.
Just be mindful that for my entire professional life, virtually every day is consistently talking to people about dogs and everything to do with dogs. Dogs and more dogs. Just dogs. Never office drama corporate chit chat. No worksite banter. No Hospitality gossips. No Retail fake laughs & grins. I just talk to people about dogs.
Dog people are more passionate about dogs than they are humans. They like to talk about their dogs and all of the good things and bad things about their dogs.
Here are my thoughts -
My dogs have never been to a dog park or daycare. Simply because they are well socialised and handle any situation I put them in. I also have 2 dogs who do not suffer from separation anxiety even when they are separated from each other. They do whinge and bark a few times, but basically settle down and relax within a minute or so. Which is perfectly acceptable to me!
My dogs have been trained to be calm and relaxed about life. All behaviours like digging, barking, destruction, anxiety etc. were never an issue because training was strict, fun and consistent from the literal SECOND we got the both of them home at 8 weeks old.
The simple few reasons for my dogs not going to these places
I don't trust other people and their dogs.
The popularity of these places after covid has a direct correlation to the huge spike in my training sessions being postponed due to dogs getting gastro, kennel cough and other yuckys as a result of these places. (This is info direct from my clients when they call to postpone training sessions..)
I've heard enough horror stories of fights, injuries and completely Ignorant dog owners not being in control of their dog.
I also had a friends dog who is an absolute dream of a dog (we dog sit this dog when they go on holidays and he is superb!), get ripped apart requiring loads of stitches to his side and back, both external and internal from a day at a local daycare. The Vet costs were very high and recovery was a long time - the day care's response was along the lines of - "Sorry about that, but if you read the fine print we are not responsible for you dog, we do our best but yeah, your on your own". When asked for footage or what happened they simply said they didn't have it and no one knows how it happened or what dog did it...
These, plus the fact I simply don't feel like our dogs ever need go as they already live a sensational life.
I have also heard of many instances that dogs that have gone to these places had actually gone backwards in behaviour due to unfortunate events.
The positive stuff I've heard -
All that negative stuff said, I have probably heard more stories of good than bad! The bad ones tend to just stand out because bad things are shouted louder.
For every bad story there are probably 20 good stories. But if you know human nature... emotion driven screaming and meltdowns get more attention than a quiet smile. Just go read any 1 star review anywhere... You'd think that individual was violently abused and tortured, when the reality is, their coffee was 62 degrees, not 63 degrees as requested. Dogs are better than people.
Some people absolutely love the dog parks and have met friendly like minded dog owners and developed long lasting friendships.
Or that Doggy Day Care has helped calm their dog and really improved socialisation. I have loads of friends that have dogs go to day care whether it be occasionally, or weekly and love it.
People often tell me their dog absolutely loves the park and day cares. They come home absolutely knackered and act amazing! They also love the photo updates throughout the day so they can immediately add them to their dogs personal Instagram profile, hoping and praying for that offer of becoming a doggy influencer of dog scarfs and poo bag holders.
My only real advice is to make up your own mind from the research you do. Your dog is your responsibility regardless of where you take them or what you choose to do with them.
Go visit these places without your dog first. Get a feel for them, read reviews and meet the people that go to them. Check out social media pages and see what's what. Make an informed decision for both of you. Be a responsible dog owner.
Give your dog a pat for me!
Cheers, Scott
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