Doggy Day care Keeps Fort Collins Dogs Sociable
Henry may look like a typical dog to the untrained eye, but in
all actuality, he is socialized.
Around Fort Collins, kids and dogs alike wake up early and head
off to day care. Busy puppy parents are now able to send their
beloved dogs to the doggie-sitter with the same ease as taking a
child to daycare.
“Dogs are like kids; they have little cliques,” said Liz Blasio,
an employee of Progressive School for Dogs, 28464 Hwy 257. “Not all
of the dogs play together.”
Progressive is made up of a 1,200 square foot room where dogs
are free to wrestle and play with toys until noon, when naptime
begins.
Blasio said the dogs are allowed to play with a variety of toys,
from balls to bones, but not chewy toys because “chewies will cause
a fight.”
At many doggy day care locations, dogs are screened before
accepted into the program. Non-neutered males are often rejected
because of their aggressive tendencies.
“They have to pass a sociability test,” said Calida Troxell of
Dapper Dogs Salon, 4417 E. Prospect.
If no chronic aggression is displayed within the first 10
minutes, the dog is generally allowed to enroll. “We can work with
personality quirks,” she said.
Interior design junior Sarah Tarnoff, whose dog Henry attended
It’s a Dog’s World, 1015 S. Taft Hill, under her veterinarian’s
recommendation to socialize the dog, said she was satisfied with
the service, because she did not agree with leaving her dog home
alone all day long.
“It’s run like a day care for children,” she said. “They want to
know if your dogs has had all its shots and who its veterinarian
is.”
Tarnoff said it is very cheap, unless you leave your dog past
closing time. If you leave your dog there for too long, many
companies will put your dog in a kennel, which you have to pay
for.
“It’s like getting your dog towed,” Tarnoff said.
The doggy sitters are not just your average dog lovers off the
street, they are well-trained at respectable obedience schools. The
owner of The Dog Club even has a doctorate in psychology that she
uses to help delinquent dogs.
Denise Prueit, of The Dog Club, 2439 S. College, said that a
variety of people take advantage of their service.
“We have (clients who are) veterinary students, teachers,
construction workers, doctors and a variety of business people, as
well as people who stay home that want their dogs socialized,” she
said.
If your best friend is lonely and in need of socialization,
doggy day cares can be found throughout Fort Collins, some even
equipped with swimming pools.
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