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Toy poodle Daycare tips needed

4K views 27 replies 12 participants last post by  kontiki 
#1 ·
I just dropped off my toy poodle puppy (5months old) and I can’t focus on my work 🥲. I work from home and the daycare is only 5minutes away from me. I decided to try out the place because it has great reviews and I wanted her to make new friends (she loves other dogs…)
She’s only 3.2pounds…does anyone have a toy poodle and use a daycare?
should I stay away from a dog park since my dog is so small? I went to a dog park a few weeks ago and she was the smallest..so I couldn’t really put her down. Maybe Im overprotecting her?
 
#2 ·
I have oversized minipoos and I will not take them to dog parks. One of my dogs was chased as prey by a larger dog. That was so scary.

One of our parks has a small dog area separate from the large area off leash and one of the large dogs ran over and jumped the fence and killed a small dog. You are not being over protective. You are keeping your dog safe.

The local humane society used to hold weekly small dog socials where the owners stayed with their dogs but they also had volunteers to supervise. Dogs had to be vaccinated and well behaved. They stopped due to Covid. Maybe you have something like this where you live? Some dog training facilities also have similar play hours for well behaved dogs.
 
#26 ·
I have oversized minipoos and I will not take them to dog parks. One of my dogs was chased as prey by a larger dog. That was so scary.

One of our parks has a small dog area separate from the large area off leash and one of the large dogs ran over and jumped the fence and killed a small dog. You are not being over protective. You are keeping your dog safe.

The local humane society used to hold weekly small dog socials where the owners stayed with their dogs but they also had volunteers to supervise. Dogs had to be vaccinated and well behaved. They stopped due to Covid. Maybe you have something like this where you live? Some dog training facilities also have similar play hours for well behaved dogs.
Two dogs were killed in a local dog park. One in the park, one as the owner carried it to the park. My current mini had a large dog "playfully' nipping its neck. No dog parks for us. Maybe a play group with owners and dogs you now. Actually, my girl tended to sit on the bench with us owners and watch the dogs before we left finally. I later learned of the deaths.
 
#4 ·
Does the daycare separate dogs into size appropriate playgroups? Some also consider age and temperament when grouping dogs. You want to make sure they are supervising the dogs. A lot of people use daycare, I think a well-run daycare is probably safer than the randomness of the dog park especially for a very small dog.
 
#6 ·
just echoing the part about dog parks having a seperate small dog. You usually see chihawas, peakease, papillons, shizu's, pugs, toy poodles + more in there... With their little sweaters on. It's cute.

It's also good because it's not usually as super mega busy.

You don't have to stay there long either, only as long as you feel comfortable.

Our first trip to the dog park we were only there for 3 minutes when Basil (Spoo) was 4 months old before I felt not good. We only started visiting dog parks again now that she's 42#s and 1 yr 6 mo.
 
#7 ·
So the daycare called and said she’s afraid of big dogs so I should go to a daycare that only handles small dogs.
She just passed her star puppy test and she has been great with other big dogs in her class so I didn’t think that she would not pass the evaluation at the daycare. I will look for a daycare that is specialized in small dogs
 
#8 ·
I would look for a place that knows to separate large and small dogs. My toy is grown at 4 lbs and I don't let him play with random large dogs. It only takes one paw coming down hard on a small dog's back to break it. Also, for peace of mind, you might want to find a place that allows access to a puppy cam. Good luck.
 
#9 ·
Our dog goes to a daycare that places dogs in small groups based on size, age, and temperament. So they exist - at least some places. I hope that you can find one.

Our place also helped our dog adjust to the new situation. i.e., they gave us progress reports for the first month or two.

I hope you find what you need.
 
#12 ·
Even a dog that’s considered small could be five times your puppy’s weight. I’m surprised this facility even accepted her in the first place. She’s smaller—and possibly even more fragile—than your average pet bunny!

Honestly, I wouldn’t bring her to a dog park either. And I don’t think that’s being overly cautious. All it takes is one dog who sees her as prey. My full-grown 12 lb girl was picked right up by a husky. Off-leash dogs pose a real threat to toy puppies.

Have you done a puppy class with her? That’s a great place to make connections with other owners and ensure she’s being safely exposed to a variety of dog sights and sounds. You might even be able to find a playmate for her.

We had a similarly tiny pup in Peggy’s puppy class and she built a lot of confidence just watching the other dogs, eating treats, and doing basic obedience in their presence. This is something you can do outside a dog park, too.
 
#14 ·
Even a dog that’s considered small could be five times your puppy’s weight. I’m surprised this facility even accepted her in the first place. She’s smaller—and possibly even more fragile—than your average pet bunny!

Honestly, I wouldn’t bring her to a dog park either. And I don’t think that’s being overly cautious. All it takes is one dog who sees her as prey. My full-grown 12 lb girl was picked right up by a husky! Off-leash dogs pose a real threat to small puppies.

Have you done a puppy class with her? That’s a great place to make connections with other owners and ensure she’s being safely exposed to a variety of dog sights and sounds. You might even be able to find a playmate for her.

We had a similarly tiny pup in Peggy’s puppy class and she built a lot of confidence just watching the other dogs, eating treats, and doing basic obedience in their presence. This is something you can do outside a dog park, too.
Yes she just graduated from her puppy class :) she was fine there but got really scared at a daycare so maybe i will look for another puppy class for her. Thanks!
 
#13 ·
Dog parks really make me nervous. You can't count on keeping your puppy safe even in your arms: big dogs can easily jump to get her. Also, a surprising number of people will let their dogs run loose outside the actual dog park. I took my boys on a hike in a park that happens to have a dog park this summer. The Yelp reviews had a whole bunch of complaints that the rangers would yell at dog owners for letting their dogs loose in the people section of the park. (Entitled much, folks?) Sure enough, while I was there someone let his loose dog run right up to my leashed pair in the parking lot. As one of my friends noted, he was making a very trusting assumption that my pair was safe with strange dogs.
 
#20 ·
I spent a lot of time reading about daycare here and talking to locals. To sum up my gleaned knowledge: There are basically three kinds of daycare.

1) Dogs are placed in packs to play together all day w/o a break. (rating - awful for most dogs)
2) Dogs are kept in kennels for most of the day and then given supervised play periods with similar dogs. (Works well if there is true supervision and the dogs are placed with dogs of similar temperaments.) Best places have live video feeds of playtimes.
3) Dogs are kept apart from other dogs at all times. Some have petting/play periods with staff for an extra cost.

If I had a toy poodle, I'd be inclined to go with #3.
 
#21 ·
I spent a lot of time reading about daycare here and talking to locals. To sum up my gleaned knowledge: There are basically three kinds of daycare.

1) Dogs are placed in packs to play together all day w/o a break. (rating - awful for most dogs)
2) Dogs are kept in kennels for most of the day and then given supervised play periods with similar dogs. (Works well if there is true supervision and the dogs are placed with dogs of similar temperaments.) Best places have live video feeds of playtimes.
3) Dogs are kept apart from other dogs at all times. Some have petting/play periods with staff for an extra cost.

If I had a toy poodle, I'd be inclined to go with #3.
Wow…this is very helpful, thank you.
I always wanna make friends for my toy poodle but its not easy to find another toy poodle or small dogs for her size 😭
 
#24 ·
BTW, I had considered day care for my dog… she would have stayed overnight for a few nights while we went on vacation.

One of my favorite trainers runs a “quality” doggy day care. Even though he knew my dog fro class he still wanted to evaluate her and decide if it was the appropriate place for her.

To evaluate her, my minipoo was in a large space with several small friendly dogs who didn’t play rough. There were trainers in the room with the dogs interacting with them. I could watch but I had to be hidden so my dog didn’t know I was there. My dog didn’t pass the test, she was too stressed and not interested in playing; she stuck close to one of the trainers.

I would expect any day care situation to have this kind of evaluation first before accepting your dog.

In this particular day care dogs spent some time in a large area with exercise equipment and part in smaller rooms so they get rest time. There were always trainers with the dogs and some were CPDT-KA certified. They interacted with the dogs, not just watching. I saw dogs doing sit stay while trainers ran dogs through tunnels and low ramps. They had cameras so you could watch on the internet.
 
#25 ·
I was a groomer at several well run dog daycares and I would absolutely under no circumstances take my young dog to a daycare (I would however consider taking an adult with good social skills and training). Not only are they in danger of getting seriously injured but with no trainer present they are most likely learning poor habits like barking, peeing on the floor, and leash reactivity (trying to get to other dogs and becoming frustrated). Daycare staff are almost never trained in dog body language and even daycares that separate by size always do this stupid thing where they put large dogs that fight other large dogs with the small dogs. Also a typical small dog 10-20lbs is much much larger than your toy and can still seriously hurt them. I would be looking for a private daycare that maybe has 2-3 small dogs at a time max and constant supervision or better yet, no dogs at all. You really want your dog to be learning right now that humans are the bees knees otherwise you’re going to have an adult dog that pulls towards other dogs to play and won’t listen to a word you’re saying when other dogs are present. Your puppy absolutely can pay with other dogs but it should be structured play preferably with a trainer, where they learn to recall from other dogs and good social skills.
 
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