First Day of Doggie Day Care!

Today was your dog’s first day of doggie day care, a time to enjoy meeting and playing with new friends.  We are pleased to report that your dog was happy and enjoyed this first experience in our day care. We have a wonderfully trained and attentive staff ( Paula, Anthony, Jeramie and Lauren) who evaluate and monitor a dog’s first adventure in play at Fondren 5 Star Pet Resort’s Doggie Day Care.

You can be assured your dog did fine meeting other dogs this first day of doggie day care and didn’t hesitate in choosing a variety of playmates for the day. The yard outside was explored, there were name recognition experiences and plenty of time to evaluate positive dog body language. The play group included a group of other active dogs who come on a regular basis such as Duke, Mr. Darcy, Nell, Honi and Keeper. We expect your dog came home happy and tired and hope there will be many more opportunities for off leash play with other dogs!

An important fact to report to you is how each new dog fits in with our existing group of dogs and functions on the first day of doggie day care. There are cases where a dog may have good social skills, but not be a good fit for certain grouping of dogs. Even in our large indoor and outdoor play spaces some dogs have characteristics that may be a source of stress to the other dogs in the group.  Our daycare leaders are trained to recognize stress signals and ensure that all dogs are able to have fun and enjoy themselves while in daycare.

According to Robin Bennett, who wrote Off-leash Dog Play as a guide for dog day care facilities “…our responsibility as dog daycare providers is to ensure all the dogs that attend our centers leave at the end of the day emotionally as well off or better than when they arrive in the morning.”

Managing a multi-dog off leash play-group’s physical safety is an obvious focus. Any one of a number of dog behaviors can be challenging and can affect a dog’s first encounter with a day care group. It is through diligent monitoring of our day care groups and direct communications with pet owners we are able to ensure group play that is fun and safe.  We have proudly offered doggie day care since 2006 and are currently a member of the The Dog Gurus for safe group play.

Our groups are small and well supervised with a very high safety rating. Sessions of vigorous games and outdoor activities are alternately mixed with restful activities in indoor climate controlled areas.  Water is always available and noon time is a rest/nap time for all dogs in Day Care (if you brought treats, we feed them at that time). You may notice your pet drinking more water after Day Care and they may also be really tired.  A tired dog is a good dog!

Thank you for choosing Doggie Day Care for your dog’s socialization and enjoyment and also for choosing to do this at Fondren 5star Pet Resort.  We invite you to schedule your pet’s next play day soon or to choose Day Care PLUS when lodging. For those considering Doggie Day Care on a regular, repeating schedule, we offer savings through our pre-paid Pass Program. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments to share, please contact us at 281-835-4445.