Houston – Waugh Drive dog daycare

Discovering ways to promote your dog’s health and wellness is important, but knowing where to start can be difficult. At Dogtopia of Houston - Waugh Drive, our team takes away the guesswork by offering your furry family member a day filled with the perfect balance of activity, learning, playtime, and socialization.

Whether you have a busy schedule and can’t spend enough time with your pup during the day, or you simply want them to experience a new environment where they can boost their confidence and improve their wellbeing, our facility’s doggie daycare offers safe, supervised care for dogs of all breeds and sizes.

Depending on what you have going on that day, you can choose between one of our half or full-day daycare options. Our facility also offers weekly wellness plans that help create a daycare routine for your dog. Adding structure to your pup’s day provides stability, as they can come to know what to expect. By enrolling in one of our plans, they can start anticipating their next visit where they can play, learn, and exercise with their friends.

DOG DAYCARE IN HOUSTON, TEXAS

When your pup arrives at our state-of-the-art facility for their first day of daycare, they will be introduced to the other dogs who will quickly become their BFFFs (Best Furry Friends Forever).

While socializing, they can explore their playroom, which has been specifically chosen for them based on their size, temperament, and play style. Being in a safe space helps them build confidence in new and unfamiliar environments. Our expert team of Canine Coaches will be there to welcome your furry family member and help them “break the ice” so they can start having tail-wagging fun the moment they step their paw into the playroom.

Our Coaches play various games throughout the day to help dogs develop or strengthen skills that can help them in and outside of the playroom, including follow-the-leader, name recall, and door control. We also have brain games, such as snuffle mats and treat puzzles, that help pups boost their problem-solving skills and stimulate their minds to prevent boredom and keep them sharp.

We hold occasional bubble parties in each playroom, allowing pups to chase edible flavored bubbles that are always a fun, tasty treat. Our location also holds occasional themed activity days, including delicious treats, crafts, activities, photoshoots, and more. Check out our Instagram page for our monthly calendars to see what we have in store!

Throughout their day at daycare, your pup will enjoy 8-10 hours of play, averaging up to 60,000 steps. This amount of activity can be great for their overall health, as it incorporates cardio and muscle-strengthening into their day. For comparison, dogs typically reach an average of only 8,000 steps a day at home.

We also incorporate rest breaks for pups to recharge, including at lunchtime, which starts at noon. During this time, pups head to their home-style crate in the same playroom they spent the morning in, enjoy their prepared food, and nap before their next playtime. At 2:00 p.m., our daycare dogs resume playing, exercising, learning, and socializing with their furry friend group.

Our Canine Coaches are expertly trained in managing large groups of dogs. Thanks to our four-part extensive training program, approved for continuing education credits by the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants and the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, they know how to create an environment that encourages safe play, no matter how many dogs are in the playroom.

When it’s time to go home, your furry family member will be happily played out and ready to snooze—something we call the Dogtopia Daze. That means you can skip that evening walk to help expend your pup’s energy before bed, as they’ll already be tuckered out.

WE TREAT PUPS LIKE THEY’RE OUR OWN

Susan, our General Manager, has been with Dogtopia for 14 years and is an expert at all things Dogtopia. Susan, owner Amber Woods, and all our team members are dog lovers and will give your pup the affection, attention, and quality care they deserve so that you can feel comfortable and confident that they’re in good hands.

ADD A TRIP TO OUR DOGGY SPA

Our modern spa is equipped with spacious stations that will help keep your furry friend looking and feeling their best. We offer baths, nail trims, teeth brushing, ear cleaning, and more. These treatments are a great add-on to a day of daycare, especially right before picking them up so they can come home looking and smelling like a million bones.

OUR DOG PLAYROOMS AT DOGTOPIA OF Houston - Waugh Drive

Our facility features four spacious playrooms to provide your dog with a comfortable and secure environment. Starting from the ground up, our floor-to-ceiling, soundproofed walls help eliminate distractions that a flimsy fence or divider can’t prevent, while our floors use compressed rubber material that promotes dogs’ hip, joint, and paw pad health.

We’ve also covered something you can’t see—the air in each playroom. Our advanced HVAC systems circulate fresh, clean air throughout our facility, allowing us to control the climate of each playroom to create a comfortable playing temperature.

Houston weather can be unpredictable. Our indoor play model ensures that your pup gets a full day of play regardless of the heat, cold, or rain. However, on nice days, we incorporate some play outside in our secure outdoor space. Like our indoor playrooms, our daycare dogs stick with their pack, and we never mix playrooms so that you can feel confident your pup remains with like-minded pals.

Each playroom is closely monitored for cleanliness during playtime. Our team can quickly clean up any accidental potty mishaps using our dog-safe bio-enzymatic spot cleaner. We also perform a deep clean of our playrooms twice a day, following the safety standards set by Dogtopia’s very own Environmental Biologist and Veterinary Scientist. All sanitization processes use non-toxic cleaning products, so your pup will never be around harsh chemicals.

DOG PLAYROOM WEBCAM ACCESS

Our live HD webcams are in each playroom and outside play space so that you can tune into all the fun your furry friend has at daycare. The livestream is available through the Dogtopia app or website and is only accessible to pet parents with a pup in daycare. We turn off the stream from 12-2:00 p.m. for nap and lunchtime since we turn down the lights to allow our pups to rest.

DOGGIE DAYCARE REQUIREMENT CHECKLIST

At Dogtopia of Houston - Waugh Drive, we follow the daycare requirements that Dogtopia has implemented across all facilities. While all breeds are welcome, dogs must be:

• At least 12 weeks old
• Spayed/neutered if seven months and older (sooner alteration may be required, depending on development)
• Free of any communicable conditions, including fleas/ticks, and in good health
• Non-aggressive and not food or toy-protective
• Up to date on vaccinations, including Bordetella, Rabies, and DHLPP/DHPP (also known as distemper/parvo), and vet-administered at least 48 hours prior to daycare

Please note the Canine Influenza vaccine is advised, but our staff will inform you whether it’s necessary before your dog attends daycare. If you have any questions about vaccine requirements or any of our other checklist items, please contact us or use our convenient online inquiry form.

Every dog that enters our facility must pass our Meet & Greet assessment. For twenty to thirty minutes, our team of evaluators will get to know your pup and see if they are a good match for our off-leash, open-play space.

We’ll start with a nose-to-tail wellness check to see if we notice any touch sensitivities, as that is something we want our team to know when we’re interacting with them. We will also review their health history to make sure they’re suited for our active environment. We’ll finish things off with a daycare test by creating a mini play space with a couple of like-minded dogs to determine how your pup responds. Since we schedule lunchtime naps, we’ll also test your pup’s comfort level in our home-style crate.

Once complete, we will meet with you and convey our observations. If given the go-ahead, your pup can start daycare immediately. However, we may ask that you come back in the future if we feel it’s not currently a good fit.

Request a Meet & Greet at our location using our online request form to get the process started.

LOCATED AT 1315 WAUGH DRIVE, HOUSTON, TX

Ready for your pup to have the Most Exciting Day Ever? Our team, including Owner Amber Woods, cannot wait to meet you and your furry friend from the Montrose, River Oaks, Allen Parkway, Midtown, and Downtown areas. Our location also has several other sister locations inside the loop, so you know there will always be a place for your pup nearby!

We are located on Waugh Dr between W Grey and Dallas St with several nearby stores, including a Whole Foods Market less than a mile away and a Marshalls & HomeGoods across the street. If you’re looking to drop your pup off at daycare before running errands, we made drop-off and pick-up a breeze thanks to our onsite parking. Are you a student at the University of Houston? We are only a short drive away! Let your pup have fun with their furry friends while you attend classes.

Our facility is close to nearby attractions, such as the Houston Zoo and the Houston Museum of Natural Science, if you want to spend the day out on the town. We’re also on the way to Minute Maid Park if you’re planning on catching a game.

Dogtopia of Houston - Waugh Drive proudly supports the efforts and initiatives of the Dogtopia Foundation. Our facility has sponsored five support dogs for military veterans who return with physical and mental health challenges, and we will continue to support these efforts. 

Do you have questions about daycare or any of our other services? Call us at (713) 522-8144 or use our online general inquiry form, and a member of our team will reach out.