The Downside of All Day Play
The dog daycare and off-leash play industry was created because it was assumed dogs love to play with one another and busy dog owners love having a tired dog at home. Play is, after all, important to the development of both people and dogs. Owners love to have the opportunity to give their dogs the mental and physical options once reserved primarily for kids.
Dog daycare entered the scene as an opportunity to get the dog off the couch for the day. Dog daycare offered owners a chance to drop off their dog for a day of play, with most businesses offering cageless, all-day play. In this model, the emphasis is on playing in a group of dogs all in one group. But there are downsides to this dog daycare format.
Overall, these are the potential issues from “all day play”:
Overly-exhausted dogs
Some dogs uncomfortable in large groups
Over arousal leads to more aggression which leads to more injuries
Stress on staff leading to burn-out and turnover
Poor public perception of dog daycare due to injuries
With careful selection of appropriate dogs and plenty of supervision (industry standard is 1 person in the room for every 10-15 dogs) by well-trained staff, this model works to exhaust dogs to the point of collapse. Often, the dogs are so tired in the evening that they have no real interaction with their families when they get home.
All day play also lacks any real structure. Dogs play in the morning and evening with an occasional nap time during the day. But even with naps, the all- day-play model doesn’t usually offer much opportunity for structured play or individualized interaction.
Another downside of the current dog play model is that it is available only for dogs who feel comfortable in large groups. Some dogs, like some people, find this environment overwhelming and over stimulating. Many dogs prefer the company of just a few close, trusted dog friends. When they are in a larger group they may become stressed and display some aggressive behaviors or they might simply retreat into a corner to get away from the excitement. Neither option is healthy.
-The Dog Gurus
So what did Paw Pals do about it?
Ever since the pandemic hit in 2020, it has become more evident that only about 40% of dogs enjoy being in large groups of dogs. Most of our conversations with parents brining in their pups to join our pack ends in “Fido was great up until about 10 dogs and then he became a bit too anxious.” After having this conversation hundreds of times, we realized that something needed to change. This is why we searched high and low for a new facility that allowed us to implement our Enrichment Center Program. Compare it to learning centers for human children vs your basic child daycare. Teachers are interacting and teaching small groups of children new skills vs simply over seeing a group of children so they stay out of trouble. Dogs will be paired with like minded pups in groups of about 10 dogs. Each group will be led through a daily rotation of off leash play with their best pals, fun 1-1 stimulating enrichment activities including but not limited to outdoor leash walks, snuffle matts, and agility courses and last they will enjoy a much needed rest. Contact us today to learn how your pup can benefit from our canine enrichment center!