At Dogtopia, we are true believers that dogs do better physically and emotionally when they take part in doggie day care. However, there is a lot to consider when making the choice between the two.

First, is your pet elderly or do they have special needs? For those pet parents who have senior pups and does who have very special veterinary needs, they often pick boarding their dog with a veterinarian when they have to go away for a while. But what about when you only need someone to watch your dog during the day? Depending on how your dog enjoys the presence of other dogs (is your pup a social butterfly or more of a loner?), doggie day care might be the best choice. With doggie day care, your pup gets constant supervision, and most special needs for feeding times and medication can be accommodated. You can even check in on your dog throughout the day when you have your pup at a doggie day care with a webcam setup (like Dogtopia!).

doggie day care vs dog sitting services in commerce and novi mi — Walt enjoyed his first day at doggie day care!

Compare the same situation of a senior dog or special needs dog with a pet sitter. If you dog isn’t the social type, pet sitting might be the best option. However, your dog will miss out on the exercise and constant supervision they would get if they were at a doggie day care facility like Dogtopia. What if you pet sitter forgets their medication or the timing? With a professional doggie day care facility, staff have strict protocol in place that allows them to check and recheck that things are done properly. If you have a webcam like Nest or an alternative, you can see your dog at home the same as you could at a Dogtopia facility.

The real defining factor is your dog. Dogtopia staff members are trained to evaluate your dog to see if they’ll enjoy the open-play concept we employ at Dogtopia- not all dogs do, and that’s ok! You can trust that we’ll make sure your dog is actually going to enjoy themselves here before we make a recommendation on purchasing a doggie day care service package.

Dogs who are the perfect fit for doggie day care:

-love playing with other dogs

-love being petted by people

-show no signs of aggression

-are current on vaccinations

-are spayed or neutered

Dogs who are a perfect fit for dog sitting services:

-prefer the company of their owners

-don’t like to play with other dogs

-have shown signs of nervousness or aggression toward people or dogs

-aren’t current on vaccinations

-aren’t altered