Choosing the Right Dog Daycare
Not all dog daycare & boarding facilities are created equal — before choosing one, make sure their standards for safety, cleanliness, and care truly measure up. Here are a few things to consider:
Staff-to-dog ratio
One person should not be responsible for watching 20-50 dogs. This is overwhelming for the team member, as well as for the group of dogs. The most amount of dogs a person should be watching alone is 16.
(More ideally, 8-14 dogs)
Who can attend?
Social dog daycares that have open play should have extensive procedures in place to ensure the environment is a good fit for your dog. Things like application processes, trial days, and behavioural assessments are a must! Social environments are NOT a good fit for all dogs.
Staff knowledge & training
Staff should have training in body language, fight prevention, and know how to handle basic injuries. Facilities that have dog trainers, groomers, and team members with veterinary backgrounds are a huge asset.
Cleanliness & health
Facilities should have several cleaning procedures in place & play areas should be visibly tidy at all times. Dogs should also require all core vaccinations or titer testing to ensure everyone’s safety.
Transparency & communication
If a facility tells you that your dog is struggling or not enjoying daycare, this is a huge green flag. This shows that they care about the dog’s well-being and will be open & honest with any future concerns. Again - not all dogs love daycare!
Routine & structure
Dogs should have daily nap time, scheduled outside time, consistent bathroom breaks, and enrichment. The facility should also be enforcing basic manners - things like no jumping up on humans, no charging gates/doors, and no going to the bathroom inside.
Our staff-to-dog ratio at The Dawg House is 1 team member with a group of typically 10-12 dogs in play.
We have an application process with an in-depth questionnaire, followed by a Trial Day of daycare, if it seems like our facility will be a good fit for the dog based on the application answers. In addition, our team is keep a continual close eye on every dog’s behaviour in play, how they are doing in the kennel for rest time, and how they are doing with our other team members during every visit, and any concerns are assessed & monitored by our lead dog trainer & facility manager.
Our team are trained in dog body language & how to handle incidents that arise. We have multiple dog trainers on our team that have completed Advanced Dog Behaviour training certifications, as well as team with veterinary backgrounds as well as 3 full-time dog groomers on staff.
At The Dawg House, our play areas & kennels are cleaned daily. We also require all core vaccinations to be up to date before coming to daycare or boarding.
We strive to be transparent about all our procedures, what our facility looks like, and what you can expect when you bring your dog for daycare / boarding. As it is a social setting, although we have small groups with supervision at all times, dogs still have differing personalities & scuffles can happen. If anything were to occur involving your dog(s), you will be notified and we will work with you to create a plan for what works best for your dog going forward, whether it be they are not in the same group as certain dogs, a break from daycare, additional training & support, or other options.
One of the biggest things that sets The Dawg House apart as a daycare & boarding facility is that we have daily routine & structure. Dogs are in groups that are on rotation, going between play times in the social areas, and nap/rest time in a wood or wire kennel (depending what they do best in). Rotations are anywhere from 30 mins out/30 mins rest, up to an 1 hour out/1 hour rest. During the play/social times, the dogs also have bathroom breaks in our outside areas - we do not allow going to the bathroom inside, as we do not want to promote this habit that will translate into their life at home as well. The dogs at The Dawg House also practice good manners such as no gate rushing, and no jumping up on humans. We believe that daycare should be a place where dogs have a fun, structured time to play and rest, and learn good manners away from home.