Before I became a dog trainer, I managed a large scale dog daycare facility for around 7 years, and even lived there for 3 years. The daycare facility offered daycare for small and large dogs, overnight boarding, some grooming, and training options, too. So, it’s fair to say that we saw a lot of dogs. Like thousands of dogs a year. Overseeing the care of all of those dogs gave me a uniquely informed perspective on how dog daycare impacts our dog’s development, training and behavior. While many dog trainers may out-right say no to dog-daycare, I feel it's important to lay out the benefits and potential training setbacks dog daycare can cause.

Often the first place that comes to mind when thinking about how to socialize our dogs and puppies is the dog park. Now, in the dog training community, dog parks are a topic that invites a lot of opinions. On one side, we have folks that are adamantly against the dog park. On the other side, we have people who understand that there are limited options for many people looking to let their dogs off-leash in a safe environment where they can interact with other dogs.