Doggy daycare can accomplish more than just holding onto your furry friend for a bit. There are numerous ways dogs benefit from the experience, but here are five of the more valuable ones.
Making Friends
Dogs are pack animals, and that means socialization is important to them. As much as your dog will love your family for being its pack, a pooch still needs to be around other canines. They can run and play in ways that a dog just can't experience around people.
Especially if you have a puppy or adolescent dog, socialization is important. Dog day camp offers your pet a chance to interact in a structured and supervised environment. This will help your dog develop a better sense of what it means to be a canine in a world with many other dogs.
Stimulation
A dog can easily get bored. This is especially true with breeds that are built for activity. If you have a herding dog, for example, they need stimulation.
Worse, some dogs will find stimulation regardless of whether you provide it. A bored dog may decide that destroying a couch is reasonable entertainment given nothing else to do. Letting the dog get appropriate stimulation in a pooch-friendly environment will let off energy and provide stimulation.
Exercise
Some dogs operate at the opposite end of the energy scale. They need prompting to exercise. Otherwise, they're happy to live a life of treats, the occasional table scrap, and napping. If your dog has gained a lot of weight recently, you may want to enroll them in a doggy daycare program. Trainers will help the dog get active again and learn how to enjoy exercise. Especially if your work schedule keeps you from getting your dog outside at the best time of the day, this can make a big difference in their health.
Stopping Anxiety and Isolation
Many dogs, especially younger ones, don't cope well when their people aren't home. If you raised your dog with your kids from an early age, for example, the pooch may not take it well when the children start going to school. A dog that's feeling down should give day camp a try. The interactions often help dogs become less anxious and feel less isolated.
Professional Care
A dog may need some professional care, especially if it has recently been through a medical procedure. Doggy daycare centers usually have programs for dogs that need a less stressful environment for recuperation. The staff can help the dog resume activity at its pace during the recovery process.
