Apart from getting a sitter, doggy daycare is the other alternative for ensuring that your dog is cared for when you can’t be available. However, is doggy daycare really worth it? Should you consider signing your dog up? Here are some pros and cons to help your decision along.
Pros of Doggy Daycare
Doggy daycare does offer a significant number of benefits, and here are some prominent ones:
- Physical exercise and constant mental stimulation all through the day
- Helps your dog ward off loneliness
- Reduces the chance of destructive behavior
- Reduction in barking
- You get a restful night since your dog would likely come home mentally exhausted and go to sleep
- Helps if you’re unable to walk your dog that day
- Letting your dog out midday would no longer be necessary
- Great way to get your pet socialized
- Provides enough fun activity and exercise in case you’re unable to provide that for the day
Cons of Doggy Daycare
- Might be overly exciting and overwhelming for your dog
- Possible mental exhaustion as a result of stress or fear on the part of you dog
- Your dog could pick up bad behavior from other dogs or while relating with them
- Possible bullying or injury scenario
- Costs eventually rack up (average daycare cost is $25+ per day)
- You don’t have control over the behavior of other dogs or the staff
- Vaccinations are demanded and required by doggy daycares, however, there might be a chance of your dog picking up an illness like kennel cough or getting fleas from other dogs
Conclusion
Doggy daycare has some pretty great advantages as well as some somewhat discouraging downsides. However, overall, most daycares try to avoid the cons that they can on their end, so, you should definitely consider this care option.