New doggy playcare

Charlie goes to a new playcare now. It's run by a certified dog trainer at her house with a large backyard. There are usually 5 to 8 dogs, including the trainer's great dane named Tahoe, and they are supervised by the trainer and one of her assistant trainers. Charlie doesn't like the regular daycare near our house for some reason. When we bring him there, he would often refuse to walk away from us despite a lot of cajoling from the staff at the daycare. It isn't that Charlie doesn't like playing with other dogs. In fact, once he is brought into a playroom, he turns into the life of the party. The staff at the daycare showed us videos of Charlie running around and playing with other dogs, and he appeared to be one of the happiest dogs in the room. And yet, he becomes very anxious and clingy when it is time to say good bye to us before walking into the playroom. Charlie initially had the same issue at the new playcare, but now he nicely settles in without much fuss. We've had multiple group lessons, private lessons, and some "board and train" with the trainer, so perhaps the familiarity with the trainer and her house helped him to adjust. 

We like the new playcare a lot because they set a very high standard for doggy manners. People have different opinions about what is appropriate and inappropriate play behavior. For example, some people consider mounting as a natural part of play, whereas others consider it as rude. Some people sit back and watch with a smile on their face while their dogs pin down other dogs on the ground, whereas others consider it as high risk play behavior and intervene immediately. Some people believe that they should let their dogs work things out on their own, whereas others believe that dogs need instruction and intervention to play nicely.

This new doggy playcare has the most stringent standard we've seen so far. First of all, only dogs that are socially appropriate are allowed to participate. This means that dogs that are dog-friendly but play rough or engage in risky play behavior (e.g. mounting, pinning down, neck/throat biting, rude/aggressive posturing, targeting a weak dog, etc) as well as dogs with any behavioral issues (e.g. guarding resources, low tolerance for other dogs or handling) are not allowed to participate. So, they end up with a group of most mild-mannered, gentle dogs. If dogs become too aroused and start barking or growling, they are immediately taken to a kennel for a few minutes of time-out so that they get the chance to calm down. This teaches dogs to play nicely with each other, and it prevents them from learning bad habits from naughty dogs. 

In the past, we saw some play between Charlie and other dogs that made us cringe at the dog park and play dates. Charlie is usually smaller than other dogs he has the opportunity to play with, and he could easily be bullied or overwhelmed by large dogs that play rough. This new doggy playcare is a perfect place for Charlie because everyone plays nicely. In addition, they provide fun activities, such as bubble party, treasure hunt, paw-print, and paw-painting. Charlie sometimes comes home with art work he created at the playcare! 

Paw prints created by the playcare attendees

Dogs can paint with their paws!