doggie day care

[Chris Smith]

Not sure if this is the right forum to place this in...

My 7 month old just started doggie day care two days a week since I need to leave him alone for many hours on those days. I checked out the facility carefully and believe it is a good place for him to be. He seems very eager to go in and aside from being very tired out when I pick him up, he seems "normal".

He has only been to day care 3 times so far and he has "acted out" 3 times since the day after he started. He peed on the living room rug while I was standing a few feet away from him but not paying attention to him (he has not had an accident since he was 5 months old), he ate part of the couch when I was in the shower, and last night he bit another hole in the couch when I was on the phone for 3 minutes!!

Could this have anything to do with him being in day care? He seems so happy to go and the place says he plays really well with the other dogs.

Could he be stressed out from all of the other dogs? He seems lonely and bored when I need to leave him alone for long periods of time so I thought he would be happier playing with lots of other dogs. I have read that at 7 months he may be starting his teenage "rebellious" time so maybe it's just that and it is coincidental that he just started day care?

[Grace Erick]

I just wanted to mention that your dog should have a bordetella shot to be in doggie day care unless bordetella is not a problem in your area, but I'm not 100% sure, he still may need it. They can get kennel cough from being in daycare.

Who knows what goes on in this daycare if he gets any attention or what his routine is. They can really say anything unless you were there during the day to see what the activities are. I saw a show where the dogs got picked up in a bus with partitions for each dog and then they went to the country for the day in a big fenced area and the dogs looked forward to it.

Maybe you need to try another daycare or maybe not and he is rebelling like you said. Dogs do not like to be left alone.

I've always read that when you leave your dog, just go out. Don't fuss over him before you leave and have plenty of toys for him.

[Justine Archuleta]

Most dogs see how far they can go at this stage of their life. Who knows what he may be able to do at daycare, that he thinks is okay. If you really don't want him to chew on anything get the bitter tasting stuff that is couch okay, and put it on your furniture so that he won't chew it up. Good luck

[Hee Yung Lee]

I know at many daycare places, the dogs are trained to go potty inside but in a special place (like downstairs or something). They say that this doesn't affect the housetraining at home, but maybe your dog is confused by it and that is why he started to pee on your carpet. I'm really not sure-just a thought.

How many hours do you leave him during the day? If you're not entirely comfortable leaving him at a doggy daycare, you could try a petsitter. They take your dog out for a walk, feed them, etc. It's only for 45 minutes, but they get out and get some exercise and if you're not gone for too long it should be plenty (provided you also take him out for a walk before you leave and stuff).

[Eric Vecc]

Chris, I think your dog may be acting out of the usual because of the stress put on him in this daycare. I don't think it is possible to slowly introduce him to daycare. So his stress level is pretty high. Our dog became stressed out over the holidays because many people were coming over. He was very socialized as a puppy and LOVES to meet new people; but when he starting peeing in front of us (he was very much housetrained) we took him to the vet. She told us a dog can build up stress and will do odd things. He peed 3 times in front of us before the holidays were over. He has not done it since. Maybe you could talk to your vet about this?

[Jill Ramsey]

Eric has a good point about stress. I had posted at DD about Finn's whining. It just started at obedience during the last 3-4 weeks. I got to thinking about it, and realized that my husband, who actually takes the classes with Finnegan, has had a very stressful time at work the last 3 weeks or so. I think he may be inadvertently passing some of this stress on to Finn. Also, Thursdays are very hectic and rushed, which is the day class is.
Any change for a dog is stressful, even having your schedule change is a big change for your dog. Excitement is stressful, and you know he's excited to go to doggie day care. I don't really have any ideas on how to alleviate stress from a dogs life. I guess just keep the rest of the time low key and happy. :?

[Chris Smith]

It's funny because you think you are doing a good thing for the dog by having him play with dogs all day and not be left alone for extended hours, but maybe I am causing him extra stress.

I will continue to monitor both the day care and his "acting out" and hopefully he'll settle into or I'll find out what the best set up for him is.

Thanks!

[Krista Winegardener]

Doggie day care induced 'separation anxiety' is something that never occured to me before I had to leave my 12 month old at a friend's house during a period when I was away from home several hours during the day.I had registered my dog with two local daycares but didn't feel good enough about them to actually take her there.I've since found a daycare I really like and think will work for us.For a month,I was going to be away from home more than 7 hours a day four days a week,so when a friend offered to sit my dog during that month,it seemed like the ideal solution.

This is a friend my dog knows and loves.She owns a dog that is my dog's best friend.My friend was very mindful of my dog's need to have a nap at mid-day.When travelling in the car,my dog stays in an airline-approved crate and actually prefers having this den to being simply in the backseat.So,we brought this much-loved crate into my friend's house for Misha to take her nap in.I know that her day at my friend's was divided carefully into playtime and naptime.She was always very happy to see both my friend and her dog when we arrived in the morning.

But-my dog who had never before shown symptoms of separation anxiety suddenly developed them.Like Chris described,she chewed a hole in the sofa when I was in the shower...I had built up to leaving her alone in the previous months and had got to the point where I could leave her free in the house for three or four hours with no problems at all.I just thought that seven hours alone would be lonely for her and didn't want to do that.It seems like actually taking her somewhere else is what produced the separation anxiety.

She had no way of really knowing,on days she wasn't going to my friend's,that we were going to stay together.I could tell she was anxious and needed to know what the day would be like,as soon as we got up in the morning.I don't think this because she didn't like going to my friend's.She just didn't know what was going to happen next and that is why she acted out.

The only way I could let her know that it wasn't a daycare day or to let her know that we were truly home and settled was to do things I didn't do on the days I took her to my friend's.For example,on the days we went to my friend's,I tended to have breakfast and get ready to leave and then we left.We didn't go for a walk first.When we got home,I tended to be tired,so I'd give Misha dinner then we'd both nap on the sofa for an hour.What really helped to reassure her and keep her from eating the sofa was to establish a new 'we're home and together' routine.

On the days she didn't go to my friend's,we went for a walk after waking.That immediately signalled to her that it would not be a daycare day and she relaxed.I bought some new toys to use together only for the evenings after she had been at my friend's.That is,tuggy toys and balls we could play with together.Having a playtime with me with special toys also helped her to know that we were home and together-it became a routine of ok,we're home now,this is what we do when we get home.I didn't bring out those particular toys on the days she didn't go to my friend's.I've found that,as long as I stick to the same routine on daycare days and non daycare days,Misha knows what's what and is much more relaxed and doesn't ask me what's going on by acting out.She knows that if I let her out to pee in the yard and then get ready to leave,it's a daycare day.If we go for a walk instead,it isn't.If we do the same thing every time we come home on daycare days and stay at home afterward,she realizes we're home.Hope that helps a bit with your situation.

I think,overall,she's much happier to have company and playtime when I can't be with her but just needed to know what was going to happen and where we both were going.