I have the best of intentions as a pet parent, but I am not always the best pet parent.
We did several things right with our giant puppy, Lamborghini (who is literally our last puppy EVER because of how much work she required!).
We crate-trained her so that she views her crate as a place of peace and safety, and never a punishment.
We leash-trained her so that she’s a delight to take on walks as long as she has her prong collar on; without it, she does still pull when she gets excited, and she’s VERY strong.
But alas, I did not take the time to socialize her enough with other dogs. She grew up with two tiny sisters, our little dog, Dani, and our cat, Galaxy. But Lambo can’t really play and rough-house with those two because of the massive size difference. So she never learned all the fun ways dogs her size play – like running, chasing, mouthing each other, pawing at each other, rolling around together, rough-housing, play-fighting, etc.
When we travel and board Lambo, she gets to play with another dog her size and she loves it. Plus, our niece visits us once in a while with her medium-sized dog, and we love to see Lambo and Alfie play together. But I have found myself wishing for her to have more playdates with dogs her size so she can become better socialized and perhaps less awkward in those interactions.
Recently, I got the bright idea to put Lambo in doggie daycare one day a week so she could get more experience playing with big dogs. Surely that would be more enriching and fun than being crated all day while I’m at the office, right?
But the first time we took Lambo to daycare, she was completely overwhelmed by all the dogs. Granted, they had a particularly busy day so it was more chaos than she’s used to. Poor Lambo spent most of the day with her tail tucked low, frantically trying to avoid the other dogs. She was a rather pathetic sight on the doggie daycare webcam every time I checked!
Worse still, after the mandatory lunch break when all the daycare dogs get to rest in crates, Lambo opted not to come out of the crate when they opened the door. She remained self-crated all afternoon – too overwhelmed to venture back out into the playroom with the other dogs. It broke my heart to see it on the webcam.
When I picked her up that day after work, she was very glad to see me and hightailed it back to the car. She seemed a bit stressed and unlike herself during the drive home, but after a little while at home, she bounced back to her normal goofy self. The staff at our doggie daycare said it can take dogs a while to adjust to the new environment, and that this is normal.
I took her Lambo back to daycare again the following week. She was excited to go in the car with me again and I got the feeling she knew where we were going. She started to get very excited and vocalize when we parked downtown next to her daycare!
She walked in with me happily and I got the sense Lambo was excited to try again. Sure enough, when I peeked at the webcam occasionally during my work day, she was out in the play gym walking around with her tail in a normal low position – still not high up and wagging, but certainly better than the first time.
When I picked her up at the end of the day, she was happy to leave but she seemed totally fine. I think we’ll give it one more try before I decide if this is something we want to keep doing every week. Doggie daycare is not cheap, and if she’d be happier at home then that’s fine with me!
It’s possible that the doggie daycare environment is not right for every dog. It’s all indoors, which means they have to pee and poop inside, and that’s something that would feel very strange to Lambo who has only ever gone outdoors.
Plus, that number of unfamiliar dogs interacting together in a relatively small, confined space with just one carer there to look after them – it must all seem very uncomfortable and strange to Lamby, who has literally grown up with her human and critter family members around her almost all the time.
Bottom line, if we feel that Lambo still isn’t totally feeling it at the end of her third day, I’ll cancel our doggie daycare membership and she’ll go back to spending one more day at home in her crate in her favorite room of our home. At least she will have Dani nearby hanging out with her, Galaxy the cat doing occasional drive-bys and the familiar sounds of the household while she waits for me to get home from work.
I’ll admit though – part of me is hoping that she really vibes with the other dogs on day three. I’d love to see her develop some furry friendships and get her normal, joyful personality going at doggie daycare! They truly haven’t met the real Lambo yet. I hope she’ll come out to play next week.
Have you ever taken your dog to doggie daycare, and how did they seem to like it? I’d love to hear your doggie daycare tales in the comments below or over on Facebook or Instagram.
