Doggy Day Care

Way back, well before we moved to this house and even before we got Julius, I was looking into doggy day care for Ray.  None of our neighborhood dogs would or could play with him and I wanted to be able to socialize him with more than just shopping trips.  One day on a whim, I stopped at a day care to get some information.  Hinky vibe.  I won't say more than that, but Ray did not go there or anywhere else for daycare.  The thing is, I know daycare isn't for every dog, and for the time, it was not going to be for Ray.

Ray's play date with Colt was great, but it was too hard to get them together.

With Julius's arrival, Ray learned more about being a dog and less about being my baby.  He played more appropriately and greets more appropriately now as well.  No more jumping on other dogs's heads as a "howdy." 

Julius, on the other hand, was good with other dogs but sometimes wasn't given enough of a chance.  Julius gives a whole new meaning to reactive.  When Juli sees a dog being walked in the street, he begins this cry/whine/screech that sounds like he is being tortured.  I did know, however, that it was not because he was trying to tear up anyone, but because he so wanted to play.  I figured he would be a pretty good candidate for daycare.  He has more energy to burn than Ray and since he is crated while we work, it would be a nice break for him.

On another whim, I stopped by Paw's-n-Claw's Pet Care Palace, this time with the hubby in tow.  We were greeted by Misty, the owner, who answered all of our questions and volunteered to take us on a tour and assured us that they do not have breed restrictions.  She also told us about some upcoming events as she sent us out with all of the paperwork we needed.  As we got in the car I starte chuckling, "I really like that place."  The hubby said, "Of course you do, I think she is as crazy as you when it comes to dogs." 

You see, she had just told us that the following week would be a cruise theme.  Each day was a different port of call, the dogs would get a paws-port, souveniers and have fun destination activities.



The first day, typically the new guys are kept separated for evaluation and to make sure they would handle being away from Mommy the new environment well and Julius proved ready to cruise early on, so he got to participate. 

Having fun on the first day! -via

When I picked him up after the first day, he was super happy, but also so wiped out.  My Juli who doesn't ride so well in cars, was sacked out before we had gotten two blocks away and pretty much ate his dinner then fell asleep on the sofa for the remainder of the night.  He's been back several times now, and now he has taken to sitting by the door in the mornings so that he won't be left behind. 

On Friday, he was so determined that he would go to Day Play, that he ate breakfast with his coat on!  This is definitely a great place to take your pooch.  How about if you hop on over to their Facebook page and give them a like?  Click through their pictures and just look at how beautiful the building and rooms are.  There's even a room with a fireplace and a TV for quite time and movies for the dogs.  Tell them Julius sent you and if you decide to have your dog visit, definitely tell them Julius sent you so his mom can get some referral credit.