how to choose a dog daycare aka questions to ask to keep your pet safe and happy

Why is it important to ask these questions?

Because this is your dog, a being that requires you to do your due diligence to ensure they are getting the best quality care possible. A big part of the reason I decided to transition from offering Offleash hikes and in-home boarding to a brick and mortar dog daycare location was because I could not find a single positive reinforcement based daycare within a close distance of my home.  My favourite owners are the ones that ask the hard questions, they always show up prepared and they treat their dogs like family.

What is the owner’s professional experience? (not pet ownership experience)

There is a marked difference between pet ownership and professional dog experience. I think this is a really important and valuable distinction to make.

This question is imperative to have answered before leaving your dog in the care of someone and their staff. The expertise the owner has plays a key role in the quality of care that your pet receives.

At wildWOOF our Head (F)Hounder Kaye has two decades of professional dog experience in a variety of pet related environments. This experience includes managing a 10,000 ft.² dog daycare, grooming, training and boarding facility, training and hands on experience as a veterinary technician, ongoing experience with Offleash hikes and management of pet retail.

How are the staff trained? By who?

Over the last 20 years, I have worked at a number of dog daycare’s of varying sizes. Over and over again it was the same training situation. The new dog handler shadows a fellow handler for a few days and learns things as they go. That was all the training I officially received.

When I chose to open up wildWOOF enriched dog daycare I made an intentional decision to ensure that our staff were trained by industry experts - not just by myself. Our staff are trained by the Dog Handler Academy, which offers a comprehensive and in-depth up to six weeks long dog handler training that covers everything from basic dog wellness, how to safely manage group dynamics, all the way to the appropriate customer care.

What certifications does the facility hold?

Certifications show you what the owner and staff are invested in on an ethics basis.

Did you know that wildWOOF enriched dog daycare is the ONLY dog daycare in the Comox Valley, and on Vancouver Island that has successfully completed the Fear Free certification and taken the Fear Free pledge?

This certification is a strong point of pride for us, and I hope that it shows you, the client that we are committed to a Positive Reinforcement only and Fear Free space for all of our clients.

What services do they offer? How long have they been offering them for?

Before I started wildWOOF I did a significant amount of market research, I ensured that the programming we were offering was unique. I checked local dog daycares Facebook pages and searched keywords like ‘enrichment’, ‘rest’ and ‘small group play’.

There was NO history of our type of enrichment based program being offered.

Since we announced that we were opening, that has begun to change. Ultimately I think it’s great, the dogs deserve better, but I would caution against owners who do this. If someone feels threatened by what we are offering to the point of copying our model it makes me wonder why they are so threatened and insecure about their own offerings.

Have they not been doing their best to date? Why aren’t they confident in their own structure? Why now, and not at any point in the year’s previous? It makes me raise an eyebrow for certain, and also gives me a sense of distrust in their business.

First aid trained? By who? If hikes are offered do they have first aid training specific to the outdoors? Do they carry first aid kits?

Pet First Aid training matters, not every provider offers the same level of training. Some are entirely online with no instructor contact outside of email, others are in person or online with an instructor.

There is a difference in the quality of training received when an instructor is present versus a self guided e-learning course. Having someone live to answer your questions and demo for you is invaluable.

At wildWOOF we have completed our in person training with Walks ‘n’ Wags over the span of two days totalling 10 hours. In addition, we have also taken the OFF THE GRID first aid course which is a supplementary 3 hour course that prepares those certified to respond to emergencies in the outdoors.

We take safety seriously and would not even dream of offering on/off leash trail hikes without this additional training. It’s frankly unsafe, and puts your dog at risk. We carry a backpack with water and a fully stocked pet first aid kit at all times.

How large is the daycare space?

Did you know that the industry best practice is to provide at least 70 to 100 ft.² per dog depending on the dogs size? Anything less is too cramped, and far more likely to spread something like kennel cough very quickly. Can you imagine what would happen if a fight broke out in a space with too many dogs? Eek.

Our facility is just under 4000 ft.² and our play area totals about 3500 ft.² this means that at absolute maximum we will only ever have around 40 dogs at a time.

What is the staff to dog ratio?

The recommended industry best practice is a ratio of 1 person to 8 to 10 dogs. This matters, your dog deserves this level of care and attention.

Who do they partner with locally?

Partnerships can tell you a lot about a business and their ethics and beliefs. It could be as simple as asking who they support locally or what trainer they would refer you to. The answer to that question will give you a lot of information about the business.

We support and endorse a couple of local Positive Reinforcement, and Force Free trainers such as Emily at Wild at Heart, Jasmine at PetSmart and Kristen at FitFido.

I would personally be caught dead endorsing, employing or supporting a ‘balanced’ dog trainer. Balanced dog trainers believe in the application and use of aversive techniques, such as E-collars and prong collars. These items are in direct opposition to the Force Free pledge that we have taken.

How are the dogs introduced to the pack? Is there a focus on confidence building?

Know, this is a very important question to ask. In all my years being employed in dog daycare environments over and over, it was a situation of toss a clearly overwhelmed dog into a room, or on a walk with a large group of other dogs, without paying any attention to their signs of fear, anxiety, or stress.

It was a sink or swim environment. The dog either adapted quickly and was passed or they reacted, understandably and were failed.

You want your dog to be in a daycare environment that takes their confidence and the pace they need into consideration. This is why at wildWOOF we have developed a slow introduction model. New dogs meet one dog first, then two more, then, two more after that. This is non-negotiable for us, we want to see your dog succeed, and therefore set them up for the best possible experience.

Value- how much do they charge? Quality isn’t cheap.

Pricing is another factor that can give you a lot of information about a business and how they value their services.

Do some shopping around to see what different rates are available and recognize that you get what you pay for.