I am frequently asked "What is the benefit of Day Training Program vs. Day Care?"
Canine Academy offers Day Training to all of our clients. During the Day Training Program, your dog will spend the day experiencing closely supervised sessions of appropriate socialization with hand picked playmates based on personality traits and training levels
Your dog will also experience training sessions throughout the day, which will be in conjunction with their current level of training in either our Class Program or through our DVD Instruction Course. These sessions will be conducted by a Trainer that has an intimate understanding of your dog's learning to date. You will be given a written summary of your dog's training each day.
When not in play or a training session, your dog will have his/her own private indoor/outdoor room where he/she can take a nap on their bed, drink from their private water source or step outdoors to relieve themselves in their private space. Having direct access to the outdoors will ensure support of your housebreaking rules to "only potty outdoors". Having their own private space assures uninterrupted rest and eliminates contamination found in shared potty spaces.
I invite you to read the following excepts from Patricia McConnell, PHD and make your own decision of what is in the best interest of your 'GREAT' dog in the making.
Lisa Farlin - Professional Trainer - Canine Academy, Inc.
First and foremost, it is important to remember that dogs did not evolve to play in large groups. Play between dogs is primarily between two individuals. Groups of dogs can play well together, but if you watch carefully, there are always two dogs as the primary “actors,” and other dogs on the periphery, trying to join in. Thus, large groups of dogs aren’t usually “playing together,” they are jockeying for position, or forming smaller play groups. As Sue Sternberg pointed out in an interesting talk about play at APDT last month, play involving more than two individuals who are all participating equally requires rules, and is really only seen in one species–ours–that can write rule books. Once that happens, we call it a sport, and it can only happen because we structure and organize it in a way that most animals can’t.
Keeping that in mind, there are four things to consider when asking if your dog is right for a doggy day care. 1) Your Dog, 2) The Staff, 3) The Environment and 4) The Other Dogs. Although 2), 3) and 4) are related, I’ll take them one at a time. YOUR DOG: The fact is that many dogs are not comfortable walking into, or spending time in a group of 20 or 30 or 50 dogs. However, like all mammals, dogs have different personalities and have had different experiences while growing up. Some dogs, I think of them as the extroverts of the dog world, love being in large groups of dogs and think it is great fun. Others are simply overwhelmed. I’ve seen far too many dogs whose owners are pleased because the dog comes home and is so exhausted it barely moves all night. But there’s happily tired versus being exhausted from being stressed or bullied all day, and it is critical to figure out in which category your dog belongs. - See more at: http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/doggy-day-care-fun-for-fido-or-not#sthash.O82I1RfO.dpuf
THE FACILITY: What’s it like in there? Lots of room? Places for dogs to opt out of interaction? (Cozy corners behind half walls, places for a dog to go off by him or herself and rest?) Clean (within reason–don’t expect a Holiday Inn)? How often are dogs taken out to potty? (Do you really want your dog to learn to pee inside a room?) Is it safe? Outdoors and in? Floor not slippery? Outside have no wire points where a dog could be injured? Are there good places for the dogs to nap? Dogs need to sleep during the day; it’s not good for them to go full bore for nine hours–how does the staff handle balancing play and rest? - See more at: http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/theotherendoftheleash/doggy-day-care-fun-for-fido-or-not#sthash.O82I1RfO.dpuf