Why should I put my dog into daycare?

That’s a question that we get a lot here at Dogtopia of Jacksonville Beach Blvd. Many people don’t realize that health benefits that your dog receives at daycare, the amount of socialization your dogs gets or the importance of socialization, and the learning/education your dog will get from being in daycare. Please read along to learn more about why daycare will be a great addition to your and your dog’s life.

The first thing I want to talk about when it comes to daycare is the health benefits your dogs will receive. Every dog in daycare, especially at Dogtopia walks at least 30,000 steps, Dogs that do not go to daycare only average about 8,000 steps a day. This is important because with exercise a dog keeps fit and healthy. It also allows them to use extra energy allowing them to be able to focus more on tasks resulting in better behavior because they have used their extra energy that they did not previously have an outlet. Daycare also helps the brain by stimulating the brain to adapt and learn in many different scenarios with different dogs. For example, let’s say Fido went to daycare and is usually around the small dogs but has graduated to the big dog room, at this point Fido now must learn and adapt to the new room and the new dogs around him. These are just some ways that your four-legged friend will receive health benefits from daycare.

The Next thing your dog will get in daycare is socialization. At daycare a dog gets more than half of the socialization they need a day. This allows the dogs to grow and adapt in new situations allowing them to become a more well-rounded dog. This is a great benefit because in an emergency situation your dog will now have the skills to be able to be around new dogs they don’t know when needed, for example let’s say a storm knocked out your power or a tree fell into the house, this is no longer a safe environment for a dog and you may have to board them without warning. Because they have been to daycare, they will be able to easily adapt to new dogs even in a stressful situation. Socialization also gives your dogs the mental stimulation of learning how to be a dog and to be around dogs, which is very important because you never know when your dog may have to use this skill in a situation outside of the house. For example, your neighbor got a new dog and at the same time you are taking Fido out they get taken out causing them to cross paths, A dog who has been in daycare will know how to greet the new dog respectfully as well as the correct way to start play and make a friendship. These are important skills for a dog to have as packed driven animals.

The last thing I’ll talk about your dog gets from Daycare is all the learning. As soon as your dog walks through our doors their brain begins to run, and they begin to learning new smells and their association, and new people that they meet as soon as they come through the door. But the learning doesn’t stop there once they begin their meet and greet they learn their new surroundings and also get to learn the very important part that we are to be trusted. They also learn what our house is like and how to enter and exist. But the most important thing they learn in a meet and greet is how to introduce once self to a dog in a small environment. This is just the beginning of the learning process, once they enter the playroom the learning really begins. As they smell new things and associating them with certain things, they are learning how to introduce themselves to many dogs, the proper way to play and when to take a break. They learn to adjust to new dogs of different sizes and temperament as new dogs enter the room. Learning continues as they also play games to stimulate their mind like follow the leader or agility courses. Some even learn through playing with our canine coaches with things like bubbles, how to share the fun of it and share the time of the Canine Coaches. Dogs at daycare are learning from the time they enter the building until they go home and process everything they learned from the day.

Bringing your Dog to Daycare really is a beneficial, great thing to do for your dog. With daycare you get health benefits, socialization benefits and learning benefits for your dog and these are just some of the amazing things your dog will get out of Daycare.  So, if you are on the fence about daycare remember all the benefits your pup will get out of it, plus what is the harm of trying it out! Your pup will get a free day of daycare with their meet and greet, and you get to see firsthand all the amazing things your dog gets from daycare before you even spend any money.!