Daycare FAQs

What is required to participate in daycare?

All dogs must be spayed or neutered, at least 6 months old, current on all vaccines, on a veterinarian approved flea and tick preventative and pass a daycare evaluation.

[Back to Top]

What is the ratio of people to dogs?

Meadowlake follows the PCSA (Pet Care Servicese Association) guidelines which require one counselor for every 15 dogs.

[Back to Top]

Is there someone with the dogs at all times?

Yes.  During Daycare play hours, your pet is never left alone.  The Daycare counselors constantly monitor behavior so that each dog is comfortable and dominating behaviors stopped before they escalate.

[Back to Top]

Is there training involved?  If so, what kind?

Daycare counselors reinforce positive behaviors throughout the day.  While participating in daycare, dogs are encouraged to exhibit appropriate play styles, to respond to their name quickly, and practice basic obedience and manners.

Meadowlake does offer a training program that occurs while dogs are in daycare.  For more information on our many training programs, CLICK HERE.

[Back to Top]

What kinds of techniques are used to encourage positive group play?

• Practicing Recall - Counselors call dog's name during play and ask them to "come"
• Positive Reinforcement - Pets and cuddles to reward appropriate behaviors
• Quick Time-Outs - Counselors use time-outs to demonstrate that certain behaviors are not toletared while playing.   For example: guarding toys, bullying, mounting, excessive mouthing ,excessive barking, etc.  Time outs are also used to provide dogs a quick moment to calm themselves down in order to prevent over-excitement.  During a time-out, dogs are placed inside a crate, on a leash, or in a cottage.

[Back to Top]

How are small dogs protected? Are they supervised separately?

At Meadowlake, we have two seperate daycare groups.  The Tail Waggers group is primarily for smaller, lower energy dogs.  The Jumping Jacks group tends to be larger, higher energy dogs.  Occasionally, we have larger dogs with lower energies or less confident personalities in the Tail Waggers group where they are able to be less active.

[Back to Top]

Is there a nap time?

Yes. All dogs need rest after strenuous play and stimulation. Dogs are provided with a two hour break from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM.  During this time, dogs are placed in private cottages where they can rest and re-energize.

[Back to Top]

Where are the dogs allowed to eliminate?

The groups are taken outside often where they are encouraged to eliminate. However, there may be occasional accidents, which are picked up immediately and cleaned with a disinfectant to prevent the spread of germs or virus.

[Back to Top]

What is done in case of veterinary emergency?

Meadowlake makes every effort to provide a safe, stress-free experience for your pet. However, even in the safest of environments, there is risk in allowing a group of dogs to play together. Should a pet be injured, it will be transported to the appropriate animal clinic immediately and the owner contacted. Costs arising from medical care will be billed to the owner upon check-out.

[Back to Top]

What if my dog is extremely shy with other dogs?

Extremely shy dogs are often not good candidates for Daycare, as being around other dogs causes them too much stress. Any such issues will be evaluated and discussed with the owner.

[Back to Top]

What kind of “report” do I get at the end of the day?

When your dog attends daycare, we will provide you with a daily Daycare Report Card of their performance.  This will let you know how they are playing with his/her friends, what activities he/she enjoys most, and what positive developments we notice as they mature.  The report cards allow us to keep you informed regarding your dog's social skills and negative behaviors that we can work toegether to eliminate

[Back to Top]

What behaviors make a dog incompatible for Daycare?

For the safety of our counselors and other dogs, certain behaviors cannot be tolerated in a daycare environment.  For example: Aggressive behavior toward people or other dogs, extreme fear or shyness, fence climbing and repeated acts of domination (like mounting).  If such behaviors continue after several time-outs and attempts at training, daycare counselors will contact you to discuss whether or not daycare is the best option for your pet.

[Back to Top]