Choosing a Dog Day Care

If you are going to enroll your dog or puppy in a day care service, it is recommended that you case out day cares with scrutiny the same way that you might scrutinize out a school for one o your kids. You should take a tour of each individual facility and ask a lot of pertinent questions each step along the way. You will of course only wish to place your dog into the hands of a facility that you trust. Here are a few tips:

1. Apart from searching online, ask other dog owners for referrals of places they have used and check with your local pet store, veternarians and also your grooming parlor for references. You can also call the American Boarding Kennel Association for a list of their members.

2. Dog day cares should be clean with a minimum odors. It is difficult to avoid at least some hint of a doggie smell, but avoid any putrid-smelling place.

3. Dogs should be well supervised. Note the dog-to-staff ratio to be certain that there are enough care givers to provide for proper supervision.

4. Make certain that each individual facility that you visit allows you to see exactly where your animal will be sleeping and eating. Stay clear of places that refuse to let you visit parts of the facility.

5. Get a feel for the staff. Are they knowledgeable, friendly and accommodating?

6. Does the place require proof of vaccinations and spay/neutering? If not, don't send your pet there.

7. All facilities must clean with agents that kill bacteria and virus, rinsing well afterwards.

8. All facilities must have a relationship with a local veterinarian so that if there is a problem, help is surely on the way. Ask the name of the veterinarian and make a phone call to the clinic, just to be sure.

9. Visit places without an appointment.

In addition, it should be noted that many pet spas are now giving parents the option of self-serve as well as full-serve pet grooming.

We all know that getting our pets cleaned and groomed can be expensive and trying to do it yourself at home can get chaotic and messy. With self-serve pet spas, you have the best of both worlds.

To top it all off, at a self-serve pet spa, you can make your mess and leave it all behind ... water and bubbles everywhere! The staff thoroughly cleans and sanitizes the stations after each client.

This article originally appeared in the April 2006 issue of the Healthy Pet Net newsletter.