Saturday, April 8, 2017

Doggie Day Care

Not having a dog in our lives for quite a number of years, my husband and I now have become owners of the cutest, smartest puppy in the world. Just ask us. We will be happy to share all of the qualities and traits that he exhibits. Davis is quite extraordinary. It is very hard to imagine our lives without him in it. 

We know why we put off having a dog in our lives before now. We had no time to give of ourselves to a dog. Both of us see plenty of dog owners who have taken on the responsibility of a dog and the poor dog suffers from lack of interaction with his owner.

Dogs need exercised, mental stimulation, as well as watered, fed, and groomed. As a dog owner, we knew that the hours that we worked did not allow for what a dog needed. There are some ways around that problem, such as crate training. If we had known someone that we trusted to come in to our home at least twice during the day to walk, talk and water/feed our dog, that would have worked. Another method, which in my own opinion is just cruel to use, is to have one room gated off for a pet room. The floor is okay if there happened to be an accident, however, newspaper training is taught for the potty. The dog has his toys him. All alone! If you are lucky enough to only work eight hours and you live close by then your Fido will only be alone for 9 hours with no interaction. Of course, you could have a companion dog, so at least they would have one another.

Let's remember, that most dogs are highly social and love to please their owners. As puppies, they actually experience separation anxiety. First of all, they were just taken from their mother and siblings. They need all the interaction that you can give them. In order to do this, we had one of two acceptable choices in our opinion. We wait until one of us is working from our home so that our dog has someone with him, or we use Doggie Day Care.

Doggie Day Care has grown by leaps and bounds. Some people sign their dogs up and pay weekly or monthly fees, just as they would for Child Day Care. If it is a good Day Care, then I suppose it works out in that the dog is not alone. However, I would feel left out of our dog's life. We would come home around 6 P.M., pick up our dog, rush to get dinner made, play and talk to our dog, eat our dinner and have perhaps a couple of hours before it is bedtime and the day starts over again. 

This may be acceptable for some people. No judgment calls from me if it works for you. We just knew that this was not the kind of life that we envisioned for ourselves once we became dog owners. I think that for us, we wanted to be more of a part of our dog's every day life.

We feel so lucky to have the opportunity to be the proud owners of Davis, our Goldendoodle, and he keeps us laughing most of the time. The question that comes to my mind is have you ever noticed how easily puppies make humans smile, yet all they do is wag their tails and fall over? It is so true!

Socialization is a big part of raising a dog. Davis has received this on his walks when meeting up with other dogs, as well as at Obedience Class. We now have been lucky enough to actually try Doggie Day Care. It all started with our backyard needing some landscape work done. This meant that Davis could not go out and take care of his business. The Veterinary Clinic where we take him has a Day Care and have been begging me to please sign him up for a day. He is much loved there and can put on a show with his prancing and cuteness. This was the perfect opportunity.

Little did I know that there is paperwork to fill out to be allowed in Doggie Day Care.  I was feeling like registration day for my child to be enrolled in school. Davis did not have to go through the Evaluation day because he had been through all of the Puppy Package at this clinic. The whole staff knew him and of his personality. When I dropped him off the staff went over the curriculum for the day. This is all planned out to keep the dogs busy, active, loved and given lots of attention. He kissed me goodbye and happily went off to play. 

He received a checklist on what he did during his time away from us and whether it was something to work on or something already mastered. Sort of like a doggie report card. This made me smile. Especially since he had good marks on his card.

Most definitely, Davis will not be signed up to attend Doggie Day Care too frequently, but what a great option for when we have an all day events to attend and need to have a safe and fun place for him to go.

Davis has really expanded our world and through him, our experiences with other people and other dogs. He is really quite magical because he has opened our eyes with wonderful new possibilities.

Thanks to a marvelous lover of goldendoodles and someone who takes the breeding of them very seriously, who have such a loving and healthy puppy. Goldendoodles by Kim's Design! 



   





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