# Doggie Daycare for an 8 Month Old Puppy?



## Ler0y Jenkins (Apr 24, 2008)

Hi everyone. I got a puppy about six months ago. He's eight months now and driving me completely nuts. My girlfriend and I both work so he's home by himself during the day (Monday through Thursday). We had a dog walker come for an hour during the day but that really became too expensive (almost $400.00 per month). I didn't really notice a difference in him after terminating the dog walker (which as about three months ago), but lately he's been so obnoxious. 

I take him for a walk first thing in the morning and then again as soon as I get home. I usually play with him (frisbee) in the yard until he quits. Most nights, I also play wrestle with him in the living room while watching TV. The problem is that every minute I'm not paying attention to him, he's doing things to intentionally annoy either me or my girlfriend. 

I know the problem is that he's just got too much energy and since we're home, he just wants to play. I think being by himself during the day in his crate is the problem. 

So my idea was to enroll him in doggie day care two days a week. My girlfriend works from home on Fridays so I was thinking maybe Mondays and Wednesdays. 

Has anyone had a dog in daycare this young? How did the dog do? I'm a little worried that he might pick up bad habits from other dogs because, besides intentionally being a annoying, he's actually pretty well behaved. He never (knock on wood) chews on things he's not supposed to, he doesn't (knock on wood) bark constantly, etc. 

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, 

Kevin


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## Sunshyne (Feb 5, 2008)

I've sent Chloe since she was 7 months old. I would suggest researching every one in your area, they are not all created equal!!! Get recommendations from your vet (good & bad). Visit and see how many humans there are in ratio to dogs.

I checked out tons of places before sending my puppy. I had a last minute vacation offer that I couldn't refuse, and no family to watch her so I needed to board her for a week. I sent her to the number one daycare/boarding business on my list for a day (half price and required for temperment testing) and she did great. They separate the big dogs from the small, have some agility set up, an indoor air conditioned space for bad weather, and dogs who misbehave get time outs. They also have webcams so I got to watch her 24/7. 

I only send her one day a week for now, because of the cost and my work has given me some flex time so I am home more. She is exhausted when she comes home!!! She falls asleep in the car and is pretty much out for the rest of the night. 

The facility requires vaccination records, but it is also possible for your dog to come into contact with some nasty stuff so be sure to ask about their cleaning practices, etc. So far, knock on wood, Chloe has not picked up any bad behaviors, and it has actually helped a lot in her socialization. 

Good luck!


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## Purplex15 (May 28, 2007)

8 months is not too young. the thing about doggie daycares is that its really hard to find a good one, sort of like child day cares. in my area alone, there are only 2 out of about 10 that i would recommend to others. so you really have to be careful. i know people who have had dogs die, and it really was only a matter of the owner noticing that the place was not a good place to begin with. 

the first rule to finding a good daycare is asking. a lot of great places do not advertise, and rely on word of mouth for their business. so next time you are out walking and see someone with a dog ask them if they know a good daycare facility. then you want to check out the place. a good kennel WILL actually ask you to come without your dog and visit first. if place books your dog for a stay without knowing more about you or him, that is a place where you shouldnt leave your dog. what you want to see at the kennel: everything is either clean, or being cleaned (seriously if no one in there is cleaning, then the place better look immaculate, b/c that is one thing you always have to be doing when you work there is cleaning), the dogs should be seperated; first by size, then by temperment, there should always be surpervision (staff to dog ratio of 10:10, and you should see every single dog having a good time. thats really how you know if a place is good or bad. when you go to a good daycare, the dogs do not excessively bark, chew, whine, or do anything like that. employees should not be training your dog, but they should not let them engage in behaviors everyone knows to be bad. good places will not allow dogs who are extremely badly behaved, whether that be they bark too much, are aggressive or too excitable, and usually try and work with the owner on training so the dog can come back. 

one thing you HAVE to realize about taking your dog to any doggie day care is that he may get sick. even in a place that is constantly cleaned, viruses can float around. im not saying he could get anything bad, but diseases like bordatella have many strains that are not included in the vaccine. anytime you put a lot of dogs together, just like children, things get spread. im not trying to discourage you, just to let you know this can happen rarely at clean well kept kennels, btu almost certainly happens a lot at horribly run kennels. 

as far as price, it really will depend. i would say for a good place, daycare will run about $25 a day. if you talk to the owners about going every week for 2 days for a long period of time, im sure places will cut you a deal. so you may be looking at about $250/month, which sounds better than the dogwalker you had. 

sorry to go off, i work in these places and know how people veiw them. i always try to encourage people to just find the right place. once you do, you be so happy to know you can take your dog to them in an emergency and know he will be ok. people really overlook that aspect of having a boarding kennel your dog knows.


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## Sunshyne (Feb 5, 2008)

Good post, Purplex!!

I forgot to add, I pay $20/day. Most places have specials if you do a certain amount of days a week or have another dog. The place I go to also allows half days, transportation for drop off & pick up (I don't do that, it's 30 minutes away near my office) and will transport to vet visits. Why anyone would do that, I don't know... I think I would want to take my dog to the vet myself but whatever! They also take the dogs for walks, which I love! 

Just make sure you ask as many people as you can. I visited several from the yellow pages, knowing next to nothing about them and some I could just tell were not right. Other places I asked around about and got pros and cons. I also liked that they temperment tested MY dog, not just said bring her in and here's the bill! When I had to board her, they allowed her blanket, two toys, and gave her a bully stick every night (they also have a small shop). It KILLED me to leave her, but she was ok and the fact that I could watch her on the webcam was awesome.


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## Purplex15 (May 28, 2007)

thanks sunshine!

your posts really prove to me that you will know when you enter the right boarding facility. customers at all the places i worked said the same thing. they just knew their dog would love it. if you have any uncertainties then trust it b/c you are usually going to be right, and why even take the chance. 

it really is the main reason i want to open my own boarding kennel. they really have a lousy reputation as a whole, but that isnt representative of all of them.

also, you were right on to like the place b.c of the temperment testing. any smart, responsible kennel should require this, not only for their sake, but for the owners. how would you like to drop off your dog at a place that doesnt know him, just to have the place not want to keep him, but you are already across the country on your trip. any customer i have had has reported how much better any trip goes knowing their dogs are completely cared for.

forgot to mention a couple things. make sure the fencing is adequate, and in certain areas (especially where i live), ask about rattlesnake fencing. ask if they have a vet on call and how far that vet is. ask what their procedure is for things like a firs or an earthquake. make sure the place has insurance. also, appearances mean everything. if the place looks rundown, then more than likely, the owner is not going to have the funds to cover a vet bill may something happen to your dog. one kennel i worked at, the owner of that kennel paid all vet bills to her emrgency vet before the owners got home, so that he could be paid right away. sometimes these bills were pretty high, and if she wasnt a smart business woman with funds set aside, then those dogs would have had to remain hurt or sick through their entire stay.


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## Ler0y Jenkins (Apr 24, 2008)

Thanks for all the responses. Here's a link to their website: http://www.kriskennelkuts.com/index.htm

I know it's hard to tell anything from just looking at the website but the pictures make it seem pretty well maintained. 

I called yesterday to get some info and the woman was very helpful. She talked for about 20 minutes and explained all the requirements, etc. They do require full vacanations and temperment testing. She said we would have to bring Kodi in one day during the week so they can see how he is with the other dogs and so we can check the place out. They charge $12 for a 5 hour day and $24 for a 12 hour day. They also offer a discount: 5 days for $110 ($10 savings). So I think the prices are pretty reasonable. Even at the regular rate it will be less than $200 per month for two days a week. 

I have off this Monday so my girlfriend and I are going to check it out then. I'm hopeful that this place will work out because it's really the only place that I've found near my house that is somewhat on my way to work. Like I said in my origional post, he's home with my girlfriend on Fridays and we're both home Saturday and Sunday. So I was thinking about doing this Tuesdays and Wednesdays or Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'll keep you all posted. 

By the way, here's some recent pictures of my pup:


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## pugmom (Sep 10, 2008)

I don't have anything to add about the doggie daycare....but your user name is too funny !!


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## Ler0y Jenkins (Apr 24, 2008)

pugmom said:


> I don't have anything to add about the doggie daycare....but your user name is too funny !!


Thanks. Only people familiar with Internet lore understand what it means though. Nice to see some people actually getting it. 

My other username on other forms is Nicholas Papagiorgio (Vegas Vacation).


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## pugmom (Sep 10, 2008)

Ler0y Jenkins said:


> Thanks. Only people familiar with Internet lore understand what it means though. Nice to see some people actually getting it.
> 
> My other username on other forms is Nicholas Papagiorgio (Vegas Vacation).


LOL....Ethan Embry

There is another member on here with the name Leroymydog...and every time I see that name I want to yell....LEROY JENKINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## LeRoymydog (Feb 25, 2007)

I don't have anything to add, but my dogs name is LeRoy Jenkens!!!


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## Ler0y Jenkins (Apr 24, 2008)

LeRoymydog said:


> I don't have anything to add, but my dogs name is LeRoy Jenkens!!!


Nice. Does he play World of Warcraft?


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## Purplex15 (May 28, 2007)

here is what i think after looking at the website.

their yard is really really small. i would be sure to ask how many dogs they allow out there at one time. more than 5-8 dogs in that yard, and they are just asking for a fight.

they are also very close to a main road, so ask if they ever allow the dogs outside the facility b/c some places will take dogs out for walks (dont know how you feel about that, but i never want someone i dont know walking my dog on a busy street)

the pictures are decieving. i would rather see pictures of multiple dogs, than of one dog playing by itself. there were also no people in any pictures, so you need to verify with them how many people are with the dogs all day.

im going to give you the website of a place i used to work. i know you dont live anywhere near them, but ill give it to you as sort of a bases of what you should be looking for, at least from a website: 
http://www.californiadogboardingkennel.com/door/

others can use this too. this place that i worked at was the ultimate in interactive kennels. and we only accepted 35-45 (depending on the size of course) dogs on any given day. i dont work there anymore, so im not trying to advertise, just showing you what, imo, the best boarding/daycare facility should be.


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## Ler0y Jenkins (Apr 24, 2008)

Purplex15 said:


> here is what i think after looking at the website.
> 
> their yard is really really small. i would be sure to ask how many dogs they allow out there at one time. more than 5-8 dogs in that yard, and they are just asking for a fight.
> 
> ...


You raise some good points. The yard did look kind of small but they only accept up to 8 dogs a day and she said most days there only 3-5 dogs. I'll report back once I've had a chance to check it out in person. Thanks again.


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## Ler0y Jenkins (Apr 24, 2008)

UPDATE:

Kodi's been going to the place posted above for about three months now and he loves it. The people are great and they only have between 5-8 dogs on any given day so I think that keeps them manageable. 

Even since beginning doggie daycare, Kodi has been like a new dog. He's calmer and so much better behaved. Every time I pick him up, he's exhausted and usually sleeps in the car on the way home. When he gets home, he eats his dinner and then takes about three steps out of the laundry room into the kitchen and falls asleep. He's usually out for a couple of hours and then wakes up to head over to his bed where he's out for the rest of the night. By 10:00 p.m., I have to wake him up to take him out before bedtime. It's great to have some time to myself now. 

Kodi goes to daycare on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but even when he hasn't been there for a couple of days his demeanor is improved. He still gets hyper and runs around my house at full speed, but overall he is much calmer and better behaved. 

When we have people over, he doesn’t jump up or annoy them. He's great with kids too. We had him at my girlfriend's sister's house for Christmas Eve and he was the hit of the party. Everyone commented on how well behaved he was. 

All and all, I've noticed a dramatic improvement in him since beginning daycare. Some of it may be due to him getting older and just naturally growing out of the puppy phase but he's definitely a social animal and needs interaction with other dogs. I think doggie daycare is a great release for him. Plus, I feel a lot better about having him somewhere I know he loves during the day, rather than cooped up in his crate (which I know he doesn't like).


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## 4paws-up (Jan 6, 2009)

Thanks for this post - I was thinking about it for my new puppy and if I go for it- I will know what to look for!


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