Why take your dog to daycare?
A lot of people think of dog daycare as a simple solution for when you need to leave your dog alone—a place to drop them off before work. In reality, daycare provides essential socialization, as well as physical and mental stimulation, helping your furry friend to develop into a healthy, well-behaved, and happy dog.
For many dogs, energy can quickly build up, leading to boredom and undesirable behaviors at home. Whether it's excessive barking, chewing furniture, or digging, these actions are often the result of a dog's need for stimulation. By offering a safe, interactive environment, daycare allows your dog to release pent-up energy in a productive way. Instead of being left to entertain themselves, dogs can play and interact in a space designed to meet their needs. In addition to curbing boredom-related behavioral problems, frequent exercise is likely to improve joint and muscle strength, help with weight loss, and significantly increase your dog's life expectancy.
But it’s not just about your pup’s day-to-day energy levels or physical health. Mental stimulation is equally important in the long run. Just like people, dogs benefit from variety and new experiences. Interacting with new dogs, people, and environments helps fight off anxiety, depression, and even cognitive decline as they age. Regular mental engagement ensures that your best buddy stays sharp and mentally healthy, helping prevent issues like separation anxiety or even poor sleeping and eating habits.
One of the key benefits of daycare is socialization. Dogs are naturally social creatures, and it's crucial they have opportunities to interact with others. Daycare helps build their confidence around other dogs and teaches appropriate social behaviors. Without regular socialization, dogs can become anxious, fearful, or even aggressive. Daycare can prevent these issues by encouraging positive behaviors and good social skills, allowing you to trust your dog at the park or with your friends’ dogs.
Ultimately, dog daycare isn’t just a place to leave your dog when you’re away. Dakota and Friends is a place where dogs make lifelong friends. They form their own friend groups and cliques; they even have their own drama! Just like sending your kids to school, when your dog comes here, they learn, build a healthy social life, and have fun, growing into a thriving and fulfilled member of your family.
Curbside Pickup/Drop off Available!
Curbside Pickup/Drop off Available!
Set up a temperament evaluation:
At Dakota and Friends, every dog must successfully pass a temperament evaluation before joining our pack. This assessment usually lasts about an hour and is designed to ensure that your dog is friendly with others and will be a good fit.
During the temperament evaluation, we begin by gathering all the dogs into our indoor play area before you drop off your pup. Your dog will then be welcomed into our outdoor area. One by one, we let out each dog to meet your dog in a controlled manner. Unlike many other daycares that introduce new dogs to the entire pack all at once—which can be dangerous—we prioritize a safe introduction, letting your pup greet each new dog one at a time.
Our trained staff closely monitors each interaction, observing for signs of aggression and ensuring that all dogs are respectful of one another. We also pay attention to how our resident dogs welcome the newcomer. Once the evaluation is over, we will give you a call and let you know how it went. If your dog passes the evaluation, they earn a complimentary daycare day! This free day can be used right away, letting them stay for the rest of the day, or it can be saved for a future visit. After that, you can bring your dog in anytime, no need for appointments or calling ahead to see if we have room; we are a walk in daycare!
Your dog's safety and well-being are our top priorities, and we look forward to welcoming them into our pack!
Customer Reviews
“Our Goldendoodle Daphne loves coming here! The staff are amazing! It is very clean and their prices are excellent. Daphne has a food allergy and they are so considerate and caring while tending to her needs.
They have an indoor and outdoor space where the dogs can play and roam around. The outdoor space has turf, so you don’t have to worry about the mud.
They do an excellent job of temperament evaluations so both big and little dogs can play together. Daphne loves playing with smaller dogs, so this is a big plus for us. I also like that they do not kennel the dogs, which fosters a pack like bond between the dogs who come here.
We had been taking Daphne to the former business in this space for a number of years. We always loved the staff, but the owner clearly did not take care of the space or care about improving it. The staff worked through these challenges until the very (abrupt) end. I am delighted with the improvements and investment the new owner has made. It is a fresh start with the same superior staff!
You can keep up with what your pup is doing on their Instagram (Dakotaandfriendsdogservices) I have attached a few of their posts for reference.
Do yourself and your dog a favor and come join Dakota and friends! Your dog will love you even more 😊”
— Sydney Behrends