r/DogDayCare

I own a dog daycare, and I genuinely want to understand this from the dog owner’s perspective. I’m looking at how we run our program, and before changing anything, I want to understand what people actually need and value.

Think back to what first made you try daycare. What was happening in your life, or with your dog, that made you decide it was worth paying for?

And if you kept going, what made you continue? Was it the same reason, or did you discover a benefit you hadn’t expected?

Maybe it means you can work without worrying about your dog being home alone. Maybe your dog enjoys it, your evenings are easier, or it gives you some breathing room. Those are just examples—I’d love to hear your own reasons.

A few things I’m especially curious about:

• What difference do you notice on daycare days versus days your dog stays home?
• What matters most about the actual experience, and what could you happily do without?
• How do you judge whether your dog had a good day?
• If you’ve reduced visits or stopped going, what drove that decision? What would make you reconsider?

Costs are rising for both families and providers, so I want to understand what makes this service worth keeping in someone’s budget.

You don’t have to answer every question. A story about your dog and what daycare does for both of you would be more helpful than a checklist. Honest criticism is welcome, too.

***Update*** Thank you so much everyone for your insight and advice. I've decided I will call around to independently owned daycares in the area and see if they groups for very small dogs, and how many dogs are in those groups. If I don't find a right fit I'm going to abandon the idea. ***

I'm looking for advice. I have a 4 year old mini doxie, Lana, who we adopted when she was 2. In her previous home she lived with several dogs...I also owned another dog when I adopted her but she passed away 3 months ago. Since my dog passed I feel bad that she has no doggie companion but I'm not yet ready to adopt another. She is overall a pretty reserved dog and it takes her time to warm up to new people and dogs. We've worked to socialize her with humans and she is now much more confident when it comes to human interaction. However we're having issues finding the right environment to introduce her to more dogs.

We live in an apartment and have had some successful on-leash meetings, though I know on-leash is not the recommended way to introduce dogs. If the other dog is too overbearing or jumpy she goes into defense mode and is then afraid of them. She has never attacked another dog or person however. Dog parks are a no go for me because there's too many variables with other dogs. We have some friends with dogs, but it's really hard for us to find the time to get together.

The other option is taking to doggie daycare, but I'm afraid that she'll be way too overwhelmed and be traumatized by it or become defensive with other dogs. In a perfect world we would take her 1-2 days a week so she gets time with other doggies.

People who have experience with a doggy daycare - is it a terrible idea to take her? I don't want to risk her safety or the safety of other dogs. Is there other options I haven't thought of for socializing her? Should I be taking more steps before I even attempt a day care?

For those who take their dog to daycare, roughly how many minutes do you spend actively caring for your dog on a typical day they stay home?

I’m talking about feeding, walking, playing, training, enrichment, and grooming. Don’t count sleeping together, relaxing on the couch, or simply being in the same room.

I own a daycare, and a staffing guideline I’m hearing promoted in the industry is to schedule 0.75 hours, or 45 minutes of staff time, per daycare dog each day. For example, 20 dogs would mean 15 total staff hours. That includes group supervision, cleaning, feeding, and individual care, so it doesn’t mean 45 minutes of individual attention for every dog.

My theory is that many owners spend less than 45 minutes a day on those active care activities, but I want to hear about people’s actual routines rather than assume.

My goal is to design a better daycare program around what dogs and their owners actually need, at a price that allows people to use it more often without breaking the bank. I’m considering a more structured day with scheduled play, enrichment, individual attention, and comfortable rest periods.

How much active care does your dog receive at home, and what would an affordable daycare program need to provide for you to use it more regularly?

Former employee here. Don’t take your dog there. The crazy staff turnover has affected the care given, nobody there is reliable anymore besides one or 2. All of management is incompetent. The owners son was locked up for rape of a minor, which the bond was paid immediately.

People were let go for caring too much about clients as well as other employees more than the business. Whitney was mad at me for standing up for myself, not giving people rides to work which I wasn’t paid for. Then I put PTO in because of a death in the family. This bitch had the nerve to yell at me assuming I was putting it in to get paid and not come back after.

The other lady whose name starts with J who can’t seem to understand what her title or job description is, she’s an embarrassment. Lying to save her “good girl” image. Saying she turned down positions, whole time she was told she wasn’t getting it. Also lied to drive people apart and to get people fired to get herself further…..

The GM runs her mouth to damn much to staff below her repeating stuff the owner said, then gets mad at staff who do it to her which makes no sense. Also lets staff do whatever like roaming the floor on their phones with 100 dogs and won’t address the issue.

I promise you I’m not just bitter, I am annoyed that they think it’s okay to get in the way of people’s lives like we don’t have to make money to live, just because of personal feelings and emotions.

My name keeps getting thrown around there and it’s annoying because I haven’t been there for 3+ months. Hearing stuff from current employees and clients is annoying.

The owner needs to learn to take some accountability and responsibility for her terrible leadership which might explain her son’s actions.

(MENTOR OH)