No matter their age, size, or breed, almost every dog will reap benefits from socialization and play with other pups. But what if your dog is new to socializing or has a history of being overwhelmed by large groups of other dogs? Just because your pup may have had some less-than-perfect experiences at the dog park or daycare before doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have the opportunity to experience the mental and physical stimulation offered by playtime with furry friends. For the pup who needs a more balanced and managed daycare experience, District Dogs is excited to introduce Structured Daycare at our Park View location starting Tuesday, July 20th.
What is Structured Daycare?
Whether your dog is an older puppy who’s still working to master training skills or a recent rescue in need of a gentle introduction to group socialization, Structured Daycare is a more controlled approach to dog daycare.
Highlights of Structured Daycare:
- Your dog’s daycare visit is built around monitored small group play sessions.
- Limited capacity ensures our professional staff can facilitate social interactions at the right pace and intensity for your dog.
- Small group settings and low staff-to-dog ratio make this a great environment for reinforcing training commands and good canine manners.
- Our attendants make sure shy dogs get the breaks needed to build their comfort and confidence with play and socialization.
- All dogs get designated nap breaks in individual crates—ensuring a necessary cool-down and time away from the excitement of group play.
- A peanut butter Kong or owner-provided snack help make sure your pup has the fuel to get back to playtime.
How Do I Know if Structured Daycare is Right for My Dog?
Structured Daycare’s controlled and managed environment is a great option for dogs who have never been to daycare or who may have struggled to adapt to daycare during a previous visit. This small-group setting can help slowly build your dog’s comfort with group play while offering ample chances to cool down and prevent overstimulation.
Ideal candidates for Structured Daycare include:
- Dogs who’ve had incidents in previous daycare visits, resulting in probation from daycare.
- Dogs who find large group settings overwhelming—i.e., if your dog has spent previous daycare or dog park visits refusing to engage in play.
- Dogs who prefer more one-on-one human interaction; the small group sizes of our Structured Daycare experience make sure your furry friend can get lots of pets, scritches, and attention from our devoted staff.
Structured Daycare can serve as a long-term alternative to regular daycare for your dog, a gentle way to ease them into comfort with larger group daycare, or a helpful break from the stimulation and excitement of larger classes.
Structured Daycare Details and Requirements
- Cost: $65 for a full day. There are no half-day or packages at this time.
- Structured Daycare is only available at our Park View location.
- Program hours are 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, Tuesday through Friday.
- Early drop-off and late pick-up are not available for Structured Daycare attendees.
- As the program grows, we will extend the sessions to include Mondays.
- Dogs attending Structured Daycare must be crate-trained.
- This program uses frequent breaks from play to help manage energy levels and prevent overstimulation.
- When dogs are not in the playroom, they will be resting in a crate.
- All dogs in this program must have mastered name recognition and basic training commands.
As ever, we’re here to help answer any questions you may have about this new offering and whether it might be right for your dog.
