Many dog owners feel that taking their dog to a day care or day boarding center is something akin to animal cruelty – they believe that their dog would never enjoy being away from their home base, even for just a day.
Yes, it is true some dogs don’t enjoy being away from home, but sending your dog away for day boarding actually can be a lot of fun for your pet instead of hiring a pet sitter to come to your home once or twice a day when you’re at work. Here are a few reasons why:
Dogs love to explore new places.
You see it all the time, take your dog to a new place or in a new area for a walk and she is head down, sniffing the new smells and exploring the area (as much as she can while on a lead). You may also have noticed that dogs will go hunting to find the source of a new smell: they dig in the ground, they paw at the floor, they scratch at the door.
Dogs love to smell new surroundings.
Dogs are inquisitive creatures. They “actively seek information about their surroundings,” so making sure your pet gets new stimulation as often as possible is a very good thing, indeed.
Dogs are social animals and dog boarding services are full of dogs!
Dog parks exist for a reason: dogs love to interact with other dogs. A day boarding service can be a dog park for the entire day – heaven on earth for your pet.
Some dog boarding services (such as Barney’s Ranch) offer large play areas where dogs may run and interact with each other safely. If your dog is a bit shy around new dogs – or if he’s stressed around highly active, assertive or very friendly dogs – make sure to ask the kennel if there’s a safe place your shy dog can stay should he become stressed during the day.
Dogs are active creatures and need a lot of activity. Many kennels have run areas where your pet can move around as much as she likes – and that’s usually a lot!
In addition to meeting and playing with other dogs, your pet undoubtedly has a lot of pent up energy. A good day boarding service with an expansive dog run can mean the difference between running around for hours on end – for as long as your dog wants – or being cooped up inside until the pet sitter you’ve hired comes in to give your dog a walk.
Your dog may have a chance to play fetch with people during the day.
If you’re at work during the day, the only chance your dog has to play fetch is when you come home. But at day boarding kennels with a good human-to-dog ratio, there may be plenty of people to play with your pet for several hours during his stay. And second to playing fetch with you, playing fetch with anyone also is the definition of a good day for your dog.
If you’ve never day boarded your dog before because you’re worried he will be cooped up in a kennel all day, check out Barney’s Ranch someday soon. We have an 8,000 square foot outdoor yard for your dog to play in, run in and enjoy the company of other dogs.
For more information about our dog day care services, give us a shout out at 469-450-7040 or send us a message at info@BarneysRanch.com.