There are so many reasons why Doggie Daycares are springing up around and have become so popular. A fad? A trend? A millennial generation thing? Not in any way, inside our society people are busier and even more overwhelmed than ever, and with technology advancing at exponential rates, it doesn’t appear to be we will slow down anytime soon.
Until about the 1980’s most homes had one adult staying home almost all of the time caring for the family, home and pets. Earlier in the century we had most people homesteading, farming, caring for their own needs for food, clothing and housing. We’d more land and pets were “free range”, caring for mental stimulation and exercise as well as providing “jobs” for our pets. Our cats provided pest control and hunters, our dogs were herding dogs, hunting dogs, watch dogs, babysitters. As society evolved, our land ownership shrunk, we started out to acquire our needs and two income families became the norm. The family pets needed to stay indoors more for safety reasons as well diminishing space and for that reason exercise and stimulation needs were not met all the. Our current society works more time, travels more, has busier families and pet ownership continues to increase.
Healthy Hound Playground is Northern Virginia’s Premier Dog Day Care, Boarding Kennel & Grooming Salon & Spa dedicated to providing your four-legged family member with an exceptional, safe and fun home away from home with regular outdoor potty breaks.
Located directly on the border of Herndon VA and Sterling VA off of Route 28 and the Dulles Toll Road, Healthy Hound Playground is central to Reston Town Center, Ashburn and Dulles Airport. The facility is also a short 10-minute drive from the Chantilly – Centreville VA area.
Just what exactly happens to your pets? An increase in anxiety, behaviour issues, unwanted behaviours, loneliness and health issues. We see separation anxiety, destructive behaviour, excessive vocalization (barking and whining), house soiling (behavioural as well as long hours alone), escape attempts, over excitement, negative attention seeking behaviours as well as reluctance to consume or drink when our pets are alone. So what can we do to separate these behaviours from medical to loneliness/boredom? We are able to seek medical attention (if house soiling seek advice from a veterinarian to eliminate urinary system issues/stones/crystals etc), and we can make an effort to increase our pet’s mental stimulation and exercise to see if that helps curb the unwanted behaviours we could seeing.
Separation anxiety exhibits a number of symptoms, sometimes only 1 symptom presents, sometimes a mixture. Typically, you will see things like destructive chewing (eating walls, couches, shoes etc.), excessive whining, baking, howling if you are away, wanting to escape crates or homes and yards. You can even see urination when you get back (which is normal in puppies and young dogs), and defection inside your home if you are gone. Other signs of stress are insufficient appetite, restlessness, panting or excessive drinking. It’s important to notice that you should check with the advice of your veterinarian to rule out health problems prior to self-diagnosing separation anxiety.
Just what exactly can we do for separation anxiety? Some non-medical things we can do prior to help our beloved dogs are increasing exercise, providing stimulation aware of kongs and puzzle toys, using Adaptil spray, collars and diffusers. Adaptil is a pheromone product that mimics the “feel great” pheromones released with a nursing mother to her pups. “Adaptil can be an innovative, non-drug solution for helping dogs feel more relaxed and secure. By mimicking the natural appeasing pheromones that mother dogs use to comfort and reassure their puppies, Adaptil helps reassure and comfort dogs in their own language.” Often owners just cannot juggle the exercise needs of the stressed pets, their career and home life. Doggie Daycare is a superb option for them, as the dogs get socialization with other dogs, a lot of stimulation, exercise and the comfort of human companionship. Dog walkers, puppy play groups and dog trainers can even be of assistance when dealing with separation anxiety.
Puppies and high energy dogs reap the benefits of doggie daycare, as do most other dogs. A tired dog is a happy dog, and a happy dog is a happy family. Whenever your dog comes home tired and content you have significantly more the perfect time to look after your home, children and even become more productive generally. Dogs benefit from the change of scenery and routine, it can help prevent loneliness and boredom. Usually they are so pleased to get in the entranceway at daycare they don’t even look back at their owners. Dogs receive affection from human playmates, play with other dogs and develop both human and canine relationships plus they have a less strenuous time maintaining a sound body weight and condition. Owners benefit from a decrease in guilt from long hours or demanding family commitments as well as even more a chance to just get things that they have to have finished due to decreased exercise requirements.
Dog daycare can be utilized regularly for many who work long or steady hours, or who have a normal schedule of commitments (ie. Mom works all day long and then has to take Jacob to hockey and Suzie to dance 3 hours on Monday nights). Dog daycare is also an enormous help occasionally for times when you have guests staying and a hyper and excited dog or simply you are selling your home and needs it to remain mostly pet free. Maybe you have a complete day of meetings, or a day trip planned to the zoo taking you out of town for an extended day, or something came up therefore you aren’t in a position to keep your dog’s regular potty or feeding schedule.
Here at Country Tails, our daycare day goes a little like this; morning roughhousing with friends, ball and frisbee play, pool play all day, stuffed kongs or frozen homemade treats daily, nap time with dim lights, relaxing music and cuddles, and then we do it all over again! Keeping your dog busy keeps a bit more peace and happiness for everyone.
