Dog Day Care - Revealed!

As we welcome you to another year here at Riverdog, we want to share with you our observations of the past ones, since 2002.

“Doggie daycare” is still a relatively new industry. There is no general blueprint for how to do it right. What few standards have evolved are changing constantly as they are proven inefficient, ineffective, or just plain unhealthy.

We ourselves have changed in many ways, many times. Changed to the point of exhaustion, in some cases. All for the desire to “do it right.” Along the way, we’ve learned many things that surprised us – and may surprise you.

POPULAR THINKING: Dogs need and love to play with other dogs all day long.

WHAT WE'VE LEARNED: Not true. Rest time between play sessions is critical for pets to have a healthy play day. We’ve tried all-play-all-day, and there is a significant increase in scuffles and cranky behavior when the dogs don’t have some low-energy rest time between play time.

THE RIVERDOG WAY: Our system rotates all dogs daily between our High Energy Play Floor, Moderate Energy Social Rooms, and Nap Time Condos.

POPULAR THINKING: Daycare can replace training – a tired dog is a good dog, yes?

WHAT WE'VE LEARNED: Not really. Without basic obedience training, your dog will not learn the fundamentals of how to live in your home when he’s not tired. No amount of daycare can replace a solid foundation in training.

THE RIVERDOG WAY: We help all owners get educated on how to train their dog, through our website, obedience classes, Training C.A.M.P. and private lessons.

POPULAR THINKING: Once my dog loves daycare, he/she will always love it.

WHAT WE'VE LEARNED: Untrue for most dogs. Just as you probably won’t socialize the same way in your 40’s that you did in your 20’s, the same is true for dogs. Five year old dogs socialize differently than, say, eight month old dogs. We routinely see adult dogs grow less and less tolerant of the rowdy social stimulation of daycare and desire a more relaxing environment.

THE RIVERDOG WAY: Our report cards contain information daily and can alert owners when/if behavior changes. For dogs that begin to exhibit signs of stress in daycare, we schedule a complimentary

POPULAR THINKING: All dogs love to play – so all dogs love daycare.

WHAT WE'VE LEARNED: We wish it were true, but it isn’t! Daycare can often be the worst place for some dogs, especially young, rough-playing puppies, dogs with separation issues, resource guarding pets and high arousal breeds. Great dogs who love to play don’t always play safely or well in a high energy, urban daycare.

THE RIVERDOG WAY: We screen every pet with a Trial Day to ensure he/she is a good fit for our environment.

Surprised by some of these lessons? We were! As a result of them, everything about our company is designed to protect all the dogs in our care – from our reservation system, report cards, health requirements, behavior evaluations, and staff.

We will keep learning…… and keep passing our knowledge on to you.