By Tony Yarbrough

For many of us, our animal companions are more than just pets, they are family members. We trust them, talk to them, prepare special meals for them and provide every aspect of their daily care. We treat them and often love them as though they were our own children.

How many times have you seen or heard someone be anthropomorphous with a pet? It’s the term that describes when a person projects human traits, abilities or characteristics onto an animal. We do this every time we speak in a contrived voice for an animal as though the animal itself spoke, felt or thought what we spoke or when we act on behalf of an animal with human gestures, emotions or actions as if the animal initiated the action. We all do it. You might say that it’s human nature.

It should come as no surprise that we humans will go to most any length to ensure the comfort, safety and happiness of our animal companions. This may explain the current growing popularity of facilities offering daycare for dogs. Popularity typically breeds variety, so if you are evaluating such facilities for your pooch, consider the following points during your research of dog daycare providers:

• Does the facility conform to applicable kennel ordinances required by the city?

• Do dogs play in an un-crated area where they are segregated by size or play-style?
• Are play rooms supervised adequately by thoroughly trained humans?
• Are play areas diligently cleaned when dogs relieve themselves?
• For indoor facilities, are dogs provided with intermittent, supervised outdoor playtime?
• Is fresh drinking water continually available to all dogs?
• Are special dietary needs catered to and medications administered by the facility?
• Are humans allowed to view play areas when visiting the facility?
• Are current vaccinations required and monitored by the facility?
• Is there a staff member who is trained in animal first aid, CPR or emergency care?
• Does the facility have an emergency plan in place and available for review in the event of fire, flood, weather or other natural disaster?
• Does the facility appear and more importantly, smell clean upon entering?
• Are dogs required to pass a temperament evaluation prior to being admitted? (evaluations should be conducted away from the owner and should include being collared, following a lead, being crated and reacting to both individual dogs as well as the “pack” environment of an un-crated daycare play room.)
• Does the facility deny certain breeds with less predictable temperaments, like Pit Bull Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers and Rottweilers? These breeds can often be acceptable playmates, but should be more closely scrutinized by the facility during evaluations.
• Minor injuries while playing are often unavoidable. How does the facility treat such injuries and what is their policy regarding liability toward pet owners?

Many facilities provide cameras that allow owners to view play areas at any time over the Internet. This feature can be very reassuring regarding the treatment your pet receives throughout their visit. Staff members are aware that their every action is being viewed and/or recorded while supervising their canine clientele. While unlikely, anyone prone to abuse would be dissuaded from such unacceptable behavior or caught and removed by the facility’s management if handling a dog inappropriately.

One last thing to keep in mind is that your canine companion will usually act differently when not in your presence. Their behavior may be surprisingly unexpected, in fact. For this reason, temperament evaluations should be conducted out of your presence so that your dog’s actions and reactions are more in line with what can be expected during a typical daycare visit. Dogs that have not been well socialized by exposure to other dogs are probably not well suited for daycare in an un-crated environment. The stress of being without you in an unfamiliar environment may result in aggressive behavior that is unacceptable in a daycare environment. Even the friendliest dogs toward humans can be surprisingly aggressive toward other canines, or even other humans, especially when not accompanied by their owner. Issues if fear, insecurity and dominance are realities for dogs in daycare. Most manage these emotions quickly and acceptably, but some do not. Don’t take it personally when your excessively coddled Chihuahua who is accustomed only to 2-legged friends does not pass his temperament evaluation. Some dogs truly are better suited for human companionship. “Bruno doesn’t like other dogs anyway. He much prefers to be with Daddy.” Even your author cannot resist anthropomorphizing.

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