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What Is It Like to Work at a Doggy Daycare?

My personal experience at three different daycare/boarding facilities, and qualities I think you should have while working there! As well as warnings to look out for!

By Nikolas MartinPublished 2 years ago 20 min read
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Splash Pad day outside!

Unfortunately, working at a daycare/boarding facility isn't always just hanging out with pups all day.

Not only are we constantly moving and on our feet, but we're always on high alert watching for signs of play escalation and aggression! The stress of the first few days is real, but it gets easier as time goes on. It's even better if you love seeing and caring for dogs just as much as I do. You come to love these dogs as your own, and get excited for another day of playing with them! You'll go home just as tired as them! If you think you'd be interested in caring for pups in a daycare setting, I'll cover some qualities I think you should definitely have! Of course at your facility you SHOULD be trained properly, but it never hurts to have a little extra something something!

Sadly, not every facility is great. Sometimes it's the company, other times it may just be management or coworkers. The main concern should always be the safety and happiness of the pups AND employees, but that may not always be the case. There are three places I've worked at so far. All had drastically good and bad qualities. But what made them good and bad?

First let's talk about qualities you should have!

I'm a huge believer in dog's ability to feel our moods. I've been taught that quite a few times, and have experienced it as well. If you're someone who can keep an upbeat and happy or exciting mood in the room, you're already on a good path!

A good daycare coach/counselor should be someone who can keep that energy! There will always be chill days or lazy afternoons, but they're at daycare to get that energy out and have fun! Not only that, but with that energy comes the ability to act quick! Once you're familiar with the signs of dog behavior, you'll know when to let them play or when it's time to intervene!

You should also definitely be a dog person (or cat person, or your facility does that too!) Being nervous in a room full of new dogs is normal, but being afraid of dogs in general or just not a fan probably won't work out in your favor. Surprisingly, people like that do apply at places like this. They typically don't last long.

Having the ability to be firm, yet loving is a must! We definitely want to give all of our love to these babies, but it's important to teach them when it's time to behave. And no one gets special treatment or freedom from correction! We're all here to learn and play together!

In the room, your eyes are everywhere. It sounds difficult to manage more than 2 dogs at once, but over time and with proper training you'll have the ability to identify vocals, sounds, and body posture in just a glance!

Next, let's talk about some red flags.

Here are some things to watch our for on a website, interview walkthrough, or first few days on the job. When looking at these things, imagine you're a pet parent wanting to put your dog in daycare/boarding.

On the website or social media page, are there real pictures and videos or only staged/stock photos? Do the pictures highly differ from the actual facility? Do pet parents have access to pet cameras in the daycare room?

Do parents get asked to pay for premium things for their pets that don't actually happen/are they getting scammed?

Is the facility clean? Is there excessive dirt, grime, or dust everywhere? It there a strong stench, worse than your usual pee or poop smell? If comfortable, ask the cleaning process or what they use!

How is the temperature inside? Is it a little too warm for you? Imagine that with fur!

If you happen to walk by or through a playroom/area, is the coach attentive with the dogs, or are they doing other things like playing on their phone? Is there anything you notice that the coach/counselor doesn't seem to notice for a long period of time (aggression, rough play or bullying, excessive fear)? Is the coach too rough with the pups?

Are they kind to the pups in their care?

Is there a clean, safe location where chemicals are stored away from animals, or at least in tightly sealed containers?

If they do boarding, are the rooms/crates clean and comfortable for the pups? If you feel comfortable, ask about potty times, feedings, and giving medication!

If you feel comfortable, inquire about how the training process works!

These are important in insuring the place you're applying for/working at really knows their stuff and goes the extra mile for these dogs!

So far I've worked at three different facilities. They all had different qualities that made them better or worse. After quitting and recapping my time there to see where I went wrong, I've come to terms with the fact that I did the right thing by leaving. Although long, feel free to read my experiences with each facility below and the issues I had! I'm not gonna name them though. Not trying to get sued, hehe.

Hopefully this will give an example of some of the red flags listen above!

At facility number one, I was there for two weeks. Not a good start. At first I thought maybe I wasn't cut out for dog daycare, but looking back now after the experiences I've had, I was right to quit.

I was hired as a Daycare Attendant for $10/hr. Not many hours. There were two different locations. I worked at the first for a while, but they moved me back and forth between. It was a small, sort of "family-owned" place.

Here, I was responsible for overseeing a bunch of dogs outside in a large fenced in play yard with two or three others, depending on the amount of dogs. Shifts were split between 6AM-12AMish, then 1:30Pm to 7PMish. Depending on how fast you get done cleaning. Often, full time people worked a few doubles a week. The three yards were separated by tiny dogs, energetic dogs, and older, slightly more chill dogs. Every day we would grab a slip lead and a headset (for communication to others and the front desk), and head to our assigned areas to set up water bowls, pools, and turn on the fun machines (splash pad, bubble machine, etc.). Since this place also did boarding, dogs who were boarding the night before were brought from their room to the proper play yards. Parents would arrive to drop of dogs up until a certain time. We all got 15 minute breaks during a shift.

Other position areas included: Front Desk, Rover, Bather, Groomer, Boarding (overnight I think) There were at least 30 people working between these locations.

I had no training here. None. I was told tips and tricks here and there but that was it. No training on how to handle a dog fight or how to interact with dogs or correct behavior. Not even how to care for a dog bite should that happen! Instead, I was just immediately thrown in and heavily scolded when I didn't do certain things that I wasn't aware of. This should have been a red flag, but it was my first dog daycare job.

Another warning was the way they interacted with the dogs. When running a room/area/etc. you should always be moving. It keeps the room/yard moving to prevent too many dogs huddled in an area while also reminding the dogs that you're there, since they see you as the person who runs the room (well, they should anyway!). However, it's okay to stop and give some love to a pup! They need it! And stopping to play games or practice commands (if your room is calm enough) is great too! At this place, if we slowed down for even a moment, you would hear the manager over the walkie. She watched the cameras more than the pet parents did. You weren't allowed to play with or excite the dogs in any way, and could not give excess attention to anyone. A simple pet and move on was all that was allowed.

When correcting dogs, they were very harsh. Not in the way they corrected necessarily, but more so what exactly the dogs were being "corrected" on. The process at this place was:

1. Verbal Warning (some dogs respond well to their name being called sternly, or simply saying "no")

2. Leash the dog, walk for 30 second, ask to sit, release (to give the dog a chance to calm down and change their focus to something else)

3. Crate for 15 minutes (to give them a personal break)

4. Crate for 30 minutes (repeat this step if behavior continued)

5. Call home (if due to fight or aggression)

This process can actually be very affective for behavior (the crate time was a bit excessive) if done correctly. However, dogs were given warnings and walks and crate time for anything. Playing with another dog, running back and forth (not chasing/running across the yard), even the slightest barking. Basically the dogs had to just sit down or walk around slowly all day. It wasn't much of a daycare at all. If anything, the dogs had a lot of pent up energy over the time frame they were there, making them act out more because they were BORED! They need stimulation! Plus, it was way too hot for these dogs to be out here for 6 straight hours. The only time we would have daycare inside was if it rained. I hoped for rain every single day.

Finally, it wasn't very clean there. We thoroughly wiped the boarding area, swept and mopped the floors, and sprayed down the play yards and equipment, but everywhere else was just kinda not thoroughly cleaned. And I hated the linoleum flooring. Made it much worse in my opinion.

Other than that, the people I worked in the yards with were quite rude and treated me like an idiot rather than teaching me what to do, especially when it was closing time. I didn't understand the cleaning process because no one would teach it to me, they would simply say "go do this" or "go find something to do." Not helpful!

My quitting point was one weekend evening at the second location when we had 90 dogs in one yard and only 3 people working. Two of us in the yard, one at the front handling dogs leaving for the day. Usually it was 2 to 3 in a yard depending on amount of dogs, one at the front desk, and a rover (someone who brings dogs to and from the play areas/front). Since there was only 3 of us, all dogs were crammed into the big yard. I was only two weeks in at this point. My coworker left me alone in the yard multiple times. I was doing the best I could with what little knowledge I had, when a huge fight broke out. Because I wasn't trained, I wasn't able to spot the signs ahead of time.

One thing about dog fights and dog escalation is that they have different levels to them. Questions to determine these levels are: did either dog actually bite or was it just showing teeth/vocals? How deep was the bite if it did occur? Did either dog go for any fatal arteries(intending to kill)? Did they separate upon a verbal warning or did they have to be pulled apart?

This fight wasn't too bad, looking back on it. It was a quick, heat of the moment argument. No bites, no blood. A lot of times during fights other dogs will join or just instigate because "hey, something is happening and I want to be involved!" Luckily, no one was hurt! I wasn't able to reach for my walkie to call the code ("snowflake," lol) before my coworker rushed back in after hearing the noise.

I cried my eyes out the next day before work. It was hot and I was stressed out thinking about going in. It made me late and they fired me for that, which I accepted. It rained the next day, ironically.

At facility number two, I was there for about 4 months.

I was hired as a Canine Coach for $11/hr, eventually being bumped up to $12/hr as a Shift Lead rather quickly because everyone else before me left except two. Slow hours at first, until I was working almost 56 hours every week because we kept losing people. One coworker never had below 70. Similar to the previous place, I oversaw the dogs in a playroom inside. This place was corporate owned with franchisees. It has quite a lot of locations. There are 5 or 6 in my city alone. Since they were owned by different people, they followed corporate guidelines but were still given freedom to run the business their way.

The shifts were split between 6:30AM to 12:45AMish, or 1:30PM to 7:45PMish, depending on cleaning and whether or not you worked a double. Similar to facility one, there were three rooms: Toybox(tiny dogs, max of 36 dogs allowed in the room), Romper(often young or energetic dogs, max of 30 dogs), and the Gym (older, more chilled out dogs, max of 30). Anyone could be scheduled for any shift, but sometimes that wasn't the case. Some people worked better in a room than others, so it was always about how the dogs were feeling with that person. Sometimes we got 15 minute breaks. Almost never, though.

When I arrived each shift, I would grab a slip lead, walkie, and citronella spray. I would then set up my room for the day by filling water bowls, setting up play equipment, and reading the whiteboard/setting up the whiteboard with the names, gender, breed, collar color, and description of each dog there. I was responsible for watching the room and assuring everyone was playing nicely and having fun. We were allowed to play music/whatever we wanted on the TV, so long as we were focused on our room. The TV was mostly used as a computer that showed all dogs checked in and what room they were in. Throughout the shift the dogs could be taken outside into a shared play area for a little break or some fun water time if we were able to set up the pool or sprinklers. We were also allowed (and encouraged) to use chalk on the rubber flooring. It could be used as an activity for the pups or sometimes it looked cute on the pet parent camera.

In my room I did themes for chalk. This day was a little cafe!

Pup menu!

Other positions here included: Front Desk, Rover, Bather, Boarding. However, boarding (5:30 AM-6:30AM and 8PM to 10PM) and bathing (we didn't do grooming) was done by a canine coach or one of the front desk/rover people. Everybody kind of did everything. There were only 7-10 people there at a time before someone would leave.

Training here was very thorough and I was very happy to do it, even though it took me forever. It was online courses and then hands-on training with someone in the room for 1-2 weeks, depending on when you felt ready. A big thing here was positive reinforcement, which is so helpful to dogs. I was fully explained different signs of dog behavior (both good and bad), all the chemical products used at the facility and what was safe for the dogs vs. what wasn't, emergency situations, and proper and fun ways to interact with the dogs in the room! It was a lot but I still have a lot of it retained in my mind and it has helped me in so many situations to deescalate dog behavior and break up small scuffles, as they were called. At the end of every shift we recapped our day on paper and how the dog's behavior was that day/any concerns for the next coach of that room.

Here's where the red flags come in. The manager was never there. Which was good and bad. She was also really sexist for some reason, (yet she was a lesbian? with a lot of other queer people working there like me?) and refused to give her two longest working female employees a raise or promotion. Even though they were always there, worked the longest hours, and never had breaks. She had a passion for the dogs, but she was also one of those pet parents that think they know better than people who've studied animals all their life. So her being there was always 50/50 of having a good day. She claimed she was always doing online interviews but people were rarely every hired. If they did get hired, they were gone within a week or two. She either fired them because of something small, or they hated it and quit for other reasons.

One of those reasons was that there were a lot of aggressive dogs there. Now to be clear, there's a difference between dogs that misbehave and dogs that are flat out aggressive. Even at the first place I worked I had never encountered as many fights as I had here.

Our coaches were great, strong people that could handle these things but it made working in the rooms unbearable, especially in the Romper. More energy meant a bigger likelihood of scuffles if the room was not ran correctly. I ended up being in that room the most because I was new and no one else wanted it. I mastered it eventually, but there's only so much you can do to prevent aggressive dogs. And I got accidentally bitten twice by the same dog, and my coworker by a different dog.

These dogs should've been dismissed after the second or third time they attacked a dog, or should have never been approved during the evaluation. However, we were instructed to not say anything to parents unless there was an injury or unless they saw it on the camera and asked. With aggressive dogs being allowed in the room, other dogs would feed off of this energy and would join in or start to instigate themselves.

I wasn't sure if she wasn't dismissing them because of the money (these dogs often had unlimited packages and came every day, paying $140+ dollars a week), because we were a new location trying to build clientele, or if she genuinely believed we could help and change them. Some dogs saw improvement. Others not so much. Regardless, lots and people came and went because of that. I loved my babies there but it put so much stress on me to go into work every day knowing that a fight would happen regardless. That, and I had a coworker that was loved by the manager but was actual a pretty horrible person. No one liked him.

Other than that, we cleaned very well and I was taught well. I still use those skills today. They're a great company.

I quit once, went back because I missed my babies, and left again because I realized it wasn't worth it. I've thought about trying out another location, and I still might.

Pupcicles!

At facility number three I was there for about a month, hired as a Lodging Technician for $10/hr. Horrible hours even though I was full time. This place called themselves a ~resort~ and boarded over 100 dogs nightly. It had two locations, and was also somewhat considered a "family-owned" place.

For a Lodging Tech(also called Kennel Tech), shifts were split between 6 AM to anywhere between 11AM-2PM, or anywhere between 1PM-3PM to 9PM. We were responsible for checking dogs and cats in and out for boarding or daycare, cleaning rooms (rather than crates like facility two, they all had suites with glass doors), laundry, dishes, feeding, changing litterboxes, and walking dogs to the potty yards outside. Lots of cleaning. We had the option of taking a 30 or 45 minute break, but you had to ask or say you were going sometimes or you wouldn't get one. They didn't tell you to go.

Other departments here included: Daycare Counselor (i applied for this but sadly didn't get it), Activities (they take certain dogs out and play with them one on one if they can't do daycare, but only for like 15 minutes a day, sometimes they get story time in their room), Front Desk, Grooming

They would not let me finish my online training. A supervisor from the other location was allowing me to do it one day but then got in trouble with the lodging manager because I was supposed to help with feeding, apparently. On my second day!

I never understood how the shifts worked because it's like my coworkers were refusing to teach me. It was weird. I knew that walks started immediately at 6AM then again at 6:30PM (parents had to pay for an extra potty break between those 12 1/2 hours.....ugh) and feeding was at specific times, but other than that I really didn't know what to do. Occasionally a supervisor would give me something to do or a coworker would ask me to do something but other that that I was clueless because I'd never worked there before! How was I supposed to know what needed to be done? They got annoyed if I asked what to do. If I did something on my own without being told I was given weird looks but if I didn't do anything I would overhear me being talked about, and how I "don't do anything." Which is frustrating in itself because I like to stay busy!

Even more funny was during my first evening shift I was told by a coworker that there was nothing to do and I had to just go find something to do and look busy...while they played on their phones and talked. Yikes. I'm all for taking a little break at work but jeez. I could tell a lot of other new people felt this way, too. The only kind person was that supervisor from the other location. She always taught me things and gave me tasks.

Another issue was that this place was really warm and...disgusting. For a cleaning department, we really didn't. I wasn't taught to thoroughly clean the rooms correctly. We never swept or mopped the halls or wiped the walls. The place never smelled good. It's common for a pet place to smell but it was really bad here. And the nasty flooring!!! It was made weird and had so many bumps and creases that the pee and poop were always stuck in the ridges and couldn't come out! Not only was it disgusting, but so dangerous! It's so easy to spread animal diseases like that if you aren't cleaning everything and everywhere the dogs go. Not even the potty yards were cleaned consistently. One evening a dog's nail was bleeding. They moved him from his room to grooming. He bled everywhere. Two days later I came back on my 4th or 5th day there. Dried blood still in the hallway. And walking through the rooms made me sweat. Gross! Also there were NO cameras in any of the 4 large boarding rooms.

I quit after a month. Told them I just felt extremely othered by my coworkers and about the cleanliness of the place, which apparently was supposed to be strictly enforced following the week after. A little too late for that, in my opinion.

This is in no way meant to scare you out of applying for this field.

It's simply for me to highlight my experiences and what I wished was different about the locations I worked at, as well as the red flags I wish I could've seen sooner. Regardless, I'm glad I've gotten experience from these places, and I still plan on working in doggy daycare/boarding in the future! But now I know what to look for moving forward! And hopefully if you've read this far it'll help you too!

Working in a doggy daycare or boarding facility is actually really fun. Seeing the pups daily whether its for a few hours or a few minutes is exciting and makes me happy. If that sounds like something you'd wanna do, go for it! While there's more to it than that, seeing those dogs go home happy is what's important to me.

NOTE: All images are mine from my time working at the facility, and were publicly posted to the facility's social media page.

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About the Creator

Nikolas Martin

I'm not sure what I'm gonna write about, but I hope it'll help someone in need.

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  • Mark Graham2 years ago

    Doggy Day Care is almost the same as Child Day Care. could a human day care worker work in a Doggy Day Care. The rules are basically the same. I would love to do activities with puppies and dogs of all ages.

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