This week, many parents sent their kids off to school for the new academic year. Some children were returning students, some were going to school for the first time, and some were starting at a brand new school…and from what I can tell, many parents were just as nervous as their kids. I never quite understood what they were so scared of until this week when I dropped Chewy, Buster, and Fudge off at doggie day care for the first time.

I think doggie day cares are great. It gives dogs a chance to socialize and it helps busy pet owners who don’t want to leave their dogs alone all day. I’ve often considered taking my dogs to day care but considering there are three of them and an average cost of about $25 per dog per day, it seemed cost prohibitive.

I recently decided to hire a house cleaner and I thought it would be great if the dogs could be elsewhere when she comes, since they are the curious-slash-demanding type and tend to stay underfoot whenever I try to clean. A few months ago I visited The Doggie’s Wonderland in Coppell for a Featured Review article and absolutely loved the place. I’ve recommended this facility numerous times because of their ‘open play format.’ The dogs have access to a doggie door all day that allows them to go in and out at their discretion. They can play outside in the sun and then come in to cool off whenever they feel like it. I love this idea because at most day cares, dogs can only go outside at certain times and if they have an accident inside, a worker will just come in and clean it up. This can wreak havoc on housetraining and it’s been a concern since it’s taken me SO LONG to get them reliably housebroken.

So on Tuesday, I loaded up an excited Peke and two nervous Chihuahuas into my vehicle and started our adventure. The night before, I packed the truck with their crate and doggie car seat, filled out all the paperwork and located their shot records. It was then that I realized Chewy and Buster were overdue for a few vaccinations so our first stop of the morning would have to be the vet’s office. When we arrived the next morning, we discovered that it was only Chewy who would need a shot but I had already unloaded all three of the munchkins. Bad idea. Never, never make the vet’s office the visit before the day care. The guys seemed pretty mad when we didn’t have a short trip home. Fudge whined the entire way from Richardson to Coppell, with intermittent duets from Buster.

We finally arrived and I spoke with the manager for a few minutes, telling her about Fudge’s backward sneezing and Chewy’s back problems and Buster’s barking. They needed my help to get Buster and Fudge into the play room (Chewy went along very willingly - traitor) and I watched for a few minutes until it became apparent that my presence was making it hard for them to concentrate on making friends. In the limited time that I watched them, Chewy humped a dog named Romo, Buster ran away from everyone and Fudge backed himself into a cubby and was trying hard to look vicious and failing miserably.

I left the dogs, their food, and a few treats with the wonderful and slightly amused staff and went to work and vowed not to call the day care to check on them. At 6 PM on the dot I returned to The Doggie’s Wonderland to three dogs who didn’t seem that interested in going home! Chewy came out pretty willingly but again, I had to go inside to get Buster and Fudge, partly because they don’t like other people to pick them up. The ride home was much smoother…no whining, just silence and an occasional snore from Chewy. We arrived home to an immaculate house, and the boys each found their freshly vacuumed doggie bed and fell asleep. I decided to enjoy the peace and quiet and catch up on my DVR recordings.

Doggie day cares (and house cleaners) ROCK. Until next time!