Fun or Too Fired Up

I heard an interesting question from one our clients. The staff was asked if the dogs were allowed to play here?  While I don't know why exactly this question was asked, I do know that a lot of daycare patrons don't realize, you DON'T want your dog playing ALL day long.

As I overheard this I was watching several dogs wrestling, chasing, and sniffing around in the play area.  However everything was very quiet and the dogs would play a little, go lay down, drink some water, rest and then play again in awhile.  A staffer was slowly playing ball with 2 dogs in the corner of the room, not attracting much attention from the rest of the group. It was normal, relaxed, and appropriate.  When the group settled down, if there was a younger dog still rearing to go, the staff would either give that dog a bone, help him settle on a bed, do some quick trains to take his mind off the other dogs, or give him a segregated nap.  Dogs need to learn how to settle just as much as they need to learn to play.  Fun can quickly become frantic, fired up, or dangerous if a daycare isn't run properly.

When most dog owners go to dog park, their dog runs around meeting the group, does some play sequences, and then they leave when the dog lays down for some rest.  Imagine staying at dog park for 10 hours and encouraging your dog to play the entire day.  That doesn't make much sense.

Recently another daycare advertised their "games" on their social media.  What we saw was about 60 dogs plus 2 staffers throwing balls like baseball pitchers against the walls and getting the dogs sky high.  The videos show dogs nailing each other in frustration over not getting toy that is now bouncing like crazy all over the room.  Dogs are seen mauling the staff for the toy, jumping in the air risking torn ligaments and it quickly became a playgroup out of control.  The dogs can be seen not being able to calm themselves down afterwards and the noise level was intense.  I'm surprised that none of their patrons comment on what a bad idea this is.  There are other daycares that eliminate toys completely which would avoid this issue.  We have developed protocols with our toys to allow them in our daycare.  However, I guarantee you that you will never ever see a crazed staff member chucking toys mindlessly into our playgroups just to put the place into a frenzy.

So getting back to the client's question at hand.  Yes, our dogs do play.  Play styles vary greatly but we do have a few rules.  The 2 Second Pin Rule is one.  If a dog is being pinned during a wrestling match for more than 2 seconds, the play is interrupted with a call of the dog's name.  The dogs in our groups respond to their names really well because of our Quick Train Program.  Dogs are allowed to chase each other here too but if the chase gets wild and involves a group of dogs, then the staff call their names and get them to sit.  Dogs will call off a chase in the daycare because they have learned to do that in Quick Train.   The dogs are then released to go back and play more but in a calmer state of mind.  Play doesn't have to be wild to be fun.  Asking for manners during play, doesn't make play less fun.  Timeouts or distracting the dogs with another more acceptable activity during unsafe play makes a daycare really well run.

We want dogs to go home tired but sane and hopefully a bit better mannered.  If they seem too tired, just tell the staff what you are seeing at home and we are glad to adjust their daycare experience.  Often times a midday morning nap and stuffed kong is just the right call to keep your dog on an even keel throughout the day and evening.