Selecting a dog daycare service

Perhaps you have a friendly, active dog, and just don't have the time you would like to devote to his exercise and social exposure.
Developing social skills for dogs at a Borders Daycare Centre.Developing social skills for dogs at a Borders Daycare Centre.
Developing social skills for dogs at a Borders Daycare Centre.

You come home exhausted from a gruelling day at work and he greets you with huge expectation, his wagging tail clearly begging for a long work or fun play session, but you are just too tired, and you have many other family and work responsibilities.

If you don’t exercise him adequately you risk the emergence of inappropriate behaviours such as chewing, depression or other behavioural issues.

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Daycare, even once or twice a week, can be the perfect outlet for his boundless energy, give him the social and dog-play time he really needs and relieve you of the oppressive guilt of not being able to take him for that walk!

Dog daycare services will either offer a pickup service from your home address, or require you to drop your dog off at their premises.

Here are some things you should consider in selecting the right provider.

What are their pre-admittance procedures like? Most good daycare facilities require a dog to be neutered and fully vaccinated, including kennel cough. They will fully assess a dog (and the owners!) prior to admittance to ensure the dog will fit into the ‘pack’ and benefit from the environment.

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Some dogs don’t settle well and it’s important that staff are aware if a dog is stressed or unhappy and advise the owners accordingly.

There are no licensing requirements for daycare in the Scottish Borders at present.

It is still quite a new concept but you should inspect the premises so you can be sure that they are clean, completely safe and that you feel confident in the way the staff handle the dogs.

Typical doggy daycare prices range from around £15 - £22 per day per dog.

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