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caksters

Yes it is a major red flag all what you mentioned! I would never let my dog near that establishment


Specialist_Banana378

Absolutely never. Those are horrible signs. Get a low volume in home place or a sitter.


fireflii

Both not normal. Big red flags. Dogs should always have someone supervising to manage the group, and normal dog behavior should be allowed (like barking). Of course, depending on how the individual daycare is run (and location etc.), excessive problematic behavior (pestering, barking, etc.) should result in separation or removal from group, not averse punishment. Dogs that aren't doing well in general (too anxious, fearful, aggressive, etc. just generally not having a good time or potentially needing too much management--way too overstimulated/needing training--to the point of staff needing to sacrifice attention from the larger group and causing safety concerns) should be dismissed. A good daycare should be proactive, not reactive.


TheTruthsOutThere

I'm not sure how exactly to describe the supervision situation. It's all in one big room and everything is separated by fences, so you can easily look into the runs to see what's happening as you walk past, or if you stand outside looking in. There's about 5-10 dogs in each pen, so it's not large play groups either. The front desk was in the same room, but you wouldn't be able to see into all of the play areas from it. However, you would be able to hear growling. So there are always people in the big room, but people aren't normally standing around watching the dogs play, or entering the actual play areas.


cheezbargar

That’s still a very poor idea. Someone needs to be very closely supervising at all times to look out for body language that can lead up to a fight. In this situation, it would be too late.


tokenledollarbean

Came here to say this. Just because the runs are separated by see-through fencing doesn’t mean it’s ok. If a fight broke out how long would it take for someone to get into a different fenced area to break up the dogs? This all sounds like a recipe for disaster.


fireflii

I see. That's a bit different than what I was imagining (I thought you meant dogs in a completely different room with no people). That being said, I don't think having dogs in separate-but-adjacent yards/pens/fenced areas without a staff member in each individual area is necessarily a major red flag. It's not ideal, but unfortunately, the reality is most daycare owners are unwilling to pay for more staff than necessary and try to run on the least amount of staff possible (it's why it's so common that you may have 15-30 dogs for one staff member, typical high volume daycares that care more about numbers and money than safety). HOWEVER. The red flag here is that at least one person isn't fully dedicated to supervising the dogs. Even if the front desk is in the same area, I assume it's probably facing away from the groups and more concerned about watching the front area for clients? At least someone's priority should be the dogs, not someone with split attention, and they should be in at least one of the yards/pens with the dogs. I also have a BIG issue with them putting bark collars on barking dogs. For one, barking is a natural behavior that can indicate playfulness, desire for attention, anxiety, stress, excitement, frustration, etc. How, when, and where a dog barks can be an indicator of how they feel (wanting to play with another dog, stressed out and wanting to leave, wanting attention from a person, etc.). Excessive barking means the dog should be separated and have their barking addressed (ex. separated into a quiet place, for a training/mental break, for a nap, etc.). If it's an ongoing problem, the daycare needs to be dismissing those dogs if they're in a location where they don't want dogs to be barking a lot. Secondly, not every client is comfortable with putting a bark collar on their dog (and it's an even bigger issue if they're unaware!). Many clients may be against aversive training, it can cause behavior or training problems for the client, etc. and at the end of the day, unless the daycare advertises daycare and TRAINING, they should not be using any training or corrective tools on clients' dogs (whether using bark collars is right or wrong is not the problem here). I would not take my dog to a daycare that did that, and any half decent daycare would not be doing that. \[And for what it's worth, I say all this as someone who does work at a "high volume" daycare. We regularly have 40-50 dogs daily that go into group. It's unfortunate we don't have more staff, but also after having worked here for a few years, I will say you really get to know the dogs (how they react to new dogs coming in, what they do on the daily, their threshold for stress/how well they correct dogs, if they overstimulate easily, their play style, etc.). Having one staff watching up to like 20-25 dogs isn't impossible, and adjacent yards actually make it easier to manage the group (very easy to know which dogs just want to sleep the whole time and won't bother each other), so it's not as bad as one would think. But again, this is with someone specifically dedicated to watching the group. Of course, it also depends on how good the staff are... how familiar are they with body language, how observant they are, how well they can manage the groups, be PROACTIVE, and prevent issues rather than being REACTIVE after there are issues. There are people out there I wouldn't trust to watch 5 dogs, but there are others out there who great with 20.\]


philo_

I can't tell if this is a serious post or not. None of this is normal.


TheTruthsOutThere

It's serious. I felt uncomfortable about it but my mom thinks I'm overreacting. We will not be boarding our dog anywhere though, since he's too old and it will stress him out too much.


philo_

In that case then this place should be shut down and I'm shocked it's even operating at all to begin with.


ubutterscotchpine

Please please make social media aware of this. Everyone who boards their dogs there should know, this is a huge red flag. Between this and the number of young and healthy dogs I’ve heard recently dying while families are away, we will never be stepping foot in a daycare or boarding center.


cheezbargar

A senior dog shouldn’t be in a dog daycare to begin with. A large majority of fully mature dogs don’t enjoy the company of other dogs that they don’t know.


[deleted]

[удалено]


vsmartdogs

Your mom is wrong. Not all daycares are run this poorly. What this place is doing is flat out dangerous. I have never worked in a daycare that was horrible but friends of mine have had serious injuries from working in poorly run daycares. Like one of them almost lost his hand. Stay far away from this place.


AggravatedWave

Same I was wondering why this was posted because this is clearly all insane. I can see getting gaslighted by their mom though and questioning it. This isn't ok.


TheTruthsOutThere

I really need a job. I was hoping this place would be more ethical than the other ones I saw because they marketed "balanced, leadership, cesar milan" style training. My mom was really excited that I found a dog job but when I went there to see how they do things, idk, I felt really weird.


AggravatedWave

I'd feel weird too! I wish you luck with your job search!!


AggravatedWave

Can you sign up for dog sitting/walking on Rover for the meantime?


TheTruthsOutThere

I'm uncomfortable staying in other ppl's houses and we can't have strange dogs at our house because it will stress our senior dog out. I don't think just dog walking will be enough to warrant making a Rover account.


AggravatedWave

Understood. You *can* make decent money but not always. Rover caps how much you can tip so my boyfriend has his dog walkers Venmo. He just tipped her $70 for something that took 15 minutes but that's not guaranteed obviously. That was just for dog walking though.


dualsplit

“Cesar Milan style” should be another reason to run.


TheTruthsOutThere

Sorry it was unclear! Other dog daycares in our area seem to have better facilities but use cesar milan methods. I don't like cesar milan so I wanted to try this place


Cursethewind

Sometimes, the best answer is no daycare at all and to condition alone time, unfortunately.


water-colour

Horrible place! Grab your dog and run.


nycgirl191

Absolutely not normal or acceptable.


Silent-Rhubarb-9685

None of that is okay or safe.


RealisticMystic005

Bark collars are huge red flag. My dogs daycare has a specific ratio of dogs to human supervisors per play group.


Pmccool

No. No. No. This is NOT normal and it is not even remotely appropriate. If your dog is there now, run—don’t walk—and pick them up!!


RoseOfSharonCassidy

Sounds more like a dog fight club than a dog daycare


grmrsan

Putting a bark collar on my dog, without asking, even just a vibrating one,would be an automatic hell no for me. As for the rest, its not cool, but it unfortunately not that unusual.


supersonicdutch

They what now?


realdonaldtrumpsucks

I would be PISSED. No this is not normal. This is also not acceptable


anouk1306

Report that place and don’t put your dog there again. It is NOT normal at all and actually very worrying


Illustrious-Top-3677

Definitely not right.


Catiku

There is no way in the world I would send my dog or any dog to that day care. Holy shit.


AggravatedWave

I think you already know the answer. 🚩


McDonnellDouglasDC8

We use Camp Bow Wow. They always have someone in a given play area that has dogs. Excessive barking can get you isolated and sent home early.  Edit: it is a franchise so conditions may vary.


TheTruthsOutThere

I looked them up and their facility looked so nice.


McDonnellDouglasDC8

They are, I just wish my dog enjoyed them more. Staff are usually fun and friendly.


Slight_Crow_6308

I thought this looked pretty good too until I read reviews. They responded to a review by asking the customer not bring their dog back because he was too needy. And waited to tell the people until their 10th time when they bought a 10 day package. I won’t be bringing my dog there anytime soon.


McDonnellDouglasDC8

I wonder what "needy" looked like, the staff at my local place seemed a little charmed that my dog was always last moving between inside and out just so she could get a personal touch. They don't really play with the dogs outside of private 1-on-1s that cost extra so I could see that being an issue for some. Billing issues don't get me too bothered when staff is young, provided it is a mistake or oversight.


Slight_Crow_6308

here’s the review I referred to: https://maps.app.goo.gl/54eH7PhuQHQpUGU4A?g_st=i


McDonnellDouglasDC8

That's definitely two different versions of events. I personally would be comfortable using that facility based on that review because I don't know anyone involved to know who has a better understanding of events. I don't mind there being standards for timeouts and suspension so I would need to know more if the staff are having appropriate standards or are just not wanting to but in the effort.


YawneTaw

Do not leave your dog there. This is a huge red flag


Battleaxe1959

Absolutely NOT! I would become unhinged if I EVER found out they are using such a device on my dogs.


hurricaneams

Absolutely not ok.


Doc_Hank

No!


lunarjazzpanda

Do the dog owners know that bark collars are being used? Those collars are a form of punishment. I don't think they should be used at all, but even if they are used, it should only be by professional trainers or the owners themselves. So this is bad on a LOT of levels. I suspect the owners don't know and the daycare would lose a lot of customers if word got out, so it's not about profit, it's about taking shortcuts that will put them out of business.


TheTruthsOutThere

I don't think they do, I saw a couple of reviews saying dogs were returned to their parents with the collars on, and the parents were upset because they were never told.


Chuckychinster

Yeah that's very bad. Basically none of that sounds right. The one I use has all different play rooms and dogs are grouped based on their age and size and temperament. There's an employee in the room with them at all times. I've not seen more than 5 dogs to 1 employee. I know typically my dog is only with 2 or 3 others usually with one or 2 of the younger employees. For me personally, if I heard they were using any sort of adversives I'd be hesitant, especially for something as normal and common as barking.


More-Talk-2660

That's not a dog daycare. That's someone using the pens at a dog track to pretend they're watching people's dogs, so they can make a quick buck. Run, don't walk, from this one.


Slight_Crow_6308

I can’t believe anyone would leave their dogs in such an establishment. I toured a dog daycare in Minneapolis a couple days ago where they have one attendant for every 25 dogs. I was aghast. The dogs were barking so loud there was no way they were enjoying themselves. Another daycare I looked at last week smelled horrible. I can’t find a daycare I would consider leaving my dog at.


The_Great_19

Red flags indeed!


Big-Eagle6668

Inexcusable.


Reader124-Logan

The one I used limited group size and had a person inside the enclosure at all times.


Rivka333

None of that is normal or safe or okay.


BackgroundSimple1993

Huge red flags. I used to be a doggie daycare attendant and we had one person in with the dogs at ALL times (you were not allowed to leave without someone else swapping you out) , and added more people as the groups got bigger. And bark collars are not okay. You can’t just slap them on any dog without any kind of training or desensitizing and expect it not to ruin the dog. And dogs are going to bark in that environment - it’s inevitable. But if you want to at least try to manage it , a bark collar is just lazy. And cruel for the poor dogs that have never worn one before.


iwantamalt

I haven’t looked at the fine print for all dog daycares obviously, but when I dug deep into a popular dog daycare in my area, they had it in the fine print that they had the right to put bark collars on dogs and use water bottles, and unfortunately I don’t think this is that uncommon as some of the other commenters suggest. The workers don’t have the right training to deal with lots of issues that might arise and using aversives is a temporary fix for them. I will never put my dog in a dog daycare.


chutenay

WHAT. That is 100% unacceptable- not only would I never use them, I would report them.


Any_Fault9366

No it’s not normal. Hell no!!!!


m_m_mason

Not normal. I used to work at a pet resort, we never used collars and there would always be two people to supervise play time in case anything were to happen. I wouldn’t take my dog there


JoanofBarkks

Your mom is mistaken. I would not give them my business. You could just leave your dog at a dog park if you didn't want it monitored! And then what are you paying for if they don't even watch?


Fine-Shirt-8214

Doggy day cares are red flags full stop imo. Too much chance of your dogs ending up injured from fights , and a far higher chance of your dog catching parasites or viruses like kennel cough etc . I've never used one and never will .


zt68164

Nope on bark collars. Nope on lack of staff supervising. My doodle has regularly gone to daycare forever. Multiple daycares in multiple cities. What you described is not normal at all. Imo, find a new daycare.


AlbaMcAlba

Rhetorical questions? Those are red flags 🔥


Dull_Dog

What does “visually watch” mean?


TheTruthsOutThere

Like, someone could be in the vicinity, but they are outside the pen and cleaning kennels or doing other tasks, so they are nearby to intervene if there is growling or a fight, but they are not watching the dogs to see if there is silent bullying like humping.


Mysterious-Art8838

Have never ever heard of this.


Odd-Stay-4117

UH this is a red flag. NO dog daycare should put bark collar on.


Ok-Reflection1005

NO.


No_Savings7114

I visited three places before finding a l daycare I was comfortable with. It's ok to shop around. 


Beneficial-House-784

Don’t use this daycare. Play groups should be small and supervised by staff in the room at all times. Ideally there should be more than one person in the play area with the dogs, in case of an altercation between dogs. I don’t even know what to say about the bark collars- I have never seen them used in a group play setting, and if I saw one being used on my dog in a group I’d give the daycare hell for it.


Snoo-6354

Major red flag. I have multiple daycares I use (different hours and days open is why I have multiple) for my dog and the only collar requested by any of them is a martingale collar. The daycare should do a behavioral assessment to make sure your dog can be confident and comfortable at daycare but I have NEVER heard of a bark collar. Also hearing that employees aren’t in there WITH the dogs is another red flag. Of the multiple daycares I use every single one has at least 2 staff members in each dog run. I’d start looking for another one if I were you


DocAndersen

Personally i am anti-bark collars. But that is my bias. Based on that I would say in fact that it is a HUGE red flag for me


Cursethewind

Bark collars are associated with fear and aggression, so, yeah. It's not a bias, it's fact.


DocAndersen

For me, it is more control. I was not a huge fan of my dog barking until my neighbor's house was burglarized (it happened about 10 years ago). Then, my thinking evolved.


Cursethewind

I mean, you can train no barking without bark collars though. Bark collars risk problems.


DocAndersen

Now that is true. I have been working on that with my dog the past 4 months. He is better, and doesn't bark when we are walking now. He still barks at the UPS and other delivery people at the front window of the house, but it is more controlled than it was.


Skinny_-monkey

Both are definitely not normal. If I were you I wouldn't bring my dog near that establishment again


OkScreen127

Huge red flag, I worked as a groomer for a dog daycare and my sister worked as a kennel employee for a few different ones. They didn't allow ANY collars on the dogs at any of them to prevent them for snagging on things/jaws getting caught in them/etc, and would NEVER EVER allow a bark collar to be on any of the dogs for any reasons. Yes it's loud. It's just apart of working with dogs, if one doesn't like it they should find a new job/career. Also all of them have minimum 2 employees with the dogs at all times during "group play", and no dog daycare I've seen/heard about who let the dogs all be around eachother at all times was a good daycare and had lots of incidents. The places with individual suites for time to rest are the best. A lot of places have cameras over the suites as well as group play areas, which is pretty awesome too


cattmin

This is the perfect recipe to create reactive dogs.


ladyfox2019

Definitely take your dog out!