24 hour Doggy Daycare

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Permalink Reply by Lindsay on August 17, 2008 at 5:19pm

I used to be a big fan of doggy day care while Heffner was younger, but not so much any more. He definitely picked up some bad habits while there. Some behaviors that were encouraged by the staff, I found out about later. These were dominant behaviors towards other dogs that I was NOT okay with him doing. On the flip side, I do know people who regularly take their dog to daycare and haven't had problems. I think a lot of it has to do with the dog density and the overall size of the dogs there. Some places don't have limits on the number of dogs that they will take in. Others do, but in my opinion, their limit is pretty high for the amount of space that they have. While others seem appropriate.

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Permalink Reply by Jill and Riley on August 17, 2008 at 11:03pm

I work at a doggy daycare and I have to say that I really haven't noticed my dog picking up any bad habits. It's also much more excercise then a walk for not too much more in price. I've been working there since November and I bring him with me every day I work (about 15-25 hours a week). I know that actually both of our locations can deliver dogs to your home and I'm sure if you talked with the staff then they would be willing to figure something out :].

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Permalink Reply by Bridget on August 18, 2008 at 7:55am

I think it depends on the dog and the daycare. Some are alert to issues like behavior and some are way more lax and indifferent. You really need to observe your dog at the daycare to see if it's a fit.
I don't know of any that are open that late, but it makes sense that Portland would have a market that needs that!

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Permalink Reply by JMS on August 24, 2008 at 6:29pm

We've been doing work-hour daycare for the last few months and are quite happy with it. It's not ideal -- sometimes we'll pick her up and she looks a little the worse for wear or smells a bit like pee, but it's better than her staying home alone all day. She definitely gets her exercise while there, too. Some days she's just wiped out from all the play.

We looked into dog-walkers, thinking it might be a less expensive option, but decided to stick with the daycare. $25/day for up to 12 hours of non-stop socialization and attention versus $16/day for 30 minutes of same? Granted, those numbers are rough but you get the idea. Besides, this way we don't have to let anyone in the house.

It may be tough finding some place that's open until 10:00 but most of the facilities we looked at provided over-night services, so there's no harm in asking. They may not be used to 10:00 PM pick-ups, but that doesn't mean it's completely off the table. Also, most of the daycare operators we spoke with prior to settling on one seemed reasonably flexible.

Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Sidney (and her mom Kim) on August 24, 2008 at 6:52pm

Daycare is certainly not for every dog and we have quite a few in Portland that give the rest of us a bad name! I am sorry that you did not have a good experience with daycare, but hope that if you ever find yourself in need again that you will give another daycare a try because it can be a very rewarding and helpful experience for both dog and owner!
Any dominant behavior should NEVER be encouraged by anyone and you should in no way be expected to accept that as a parent and if I were you I would have left that daycare with a bad taste in my mouth as well.
The majority of our staff has been with us for 3-5 years and have established what level of play is allowed. I would guess that 50% of the time the dogs are bringing the naughty play to daycare rather than home from daycare--which can be good or bad-depends on the parent!:)

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