Meet Bagel, a cutie-patootie who has always been a cautious, anxious dog. He takes a long time to warm up to new people, and sometimes he doesn’t warm up at all. So when his mom, Melanie, brought him in for his first day of dog day care at Central Bark, she was nervous.
“I had no idea what to expect,” she says. “I didn’t want to force him to do anything he’s uncomfortable with, but I wanted him to be able to coexist with other dogs without having to bark or have his hair raised up. I wanted him to know he’s safe.”
Today, Melanie describes the change in Bagel as “night and day.” Here’s how he got there.
Why Melanie chose dog day care for her anxious dog
With everyone in Melanie’s family at work during the day, Bagel had to spend his days home alone. “It just made me sad for him,” she says. Day care seemed like a way to help Bagel in two ways. He would have company instead of spending the day alone. And regular time around other dogs, in a setting where staff kept him safe, might ease his anxiety and teach him to relax and coexist with them. First, though, she had to find the right place.
She did a lot of research first, and she read some day care horror stories that stuck with her. After all, a dog can’t tell you if he had a bad day. She toured a different day care facility in the area and noticed the playgroup had a large number of dogs with just one staff member supervising. That ratio didn’t sit right with her.
“It’s like teaching kids in school,” Melanie says. “You can’t have one teacher for 35 kids. It’s just not gonna work.”
Central Bark’s small playgroups made the decision easy. It didn’t hurt that we were closer to home, too.
From keeping his distance to saying hello
Bagel is still an anxious dog, but his confidence has grown so much since he started coming to Central Bark.
“He goes right up to other dogs now,” she says. “I’m so proud of him.”
Melanie gives much of the credit to Francesca, our trainer, who works with Bagel while he’s in day care. “She’s done wonders with him,” she says. “I tell her that every time I see her. Bagel is so different since he started seeing her.”
Updates that build trust
Communication is important, and Melanie loves that she gets regular report cards and videos of the training sessions with Francesca, so she can see firsthand how Bagel is progressing.
“It makes me feel confident in what you guys are doing,” she says. “The staff can show me exactly how they’re helping my dog.”
Those updates have become one of her favorite parts of the experience. “It’s like a cherry on top of my day,” she says. “He’s like my kid. I get happy that he had a good day.”
A dog who knows when it’s a day care day
In case there was any doubt how Bagel feels about day care, he makes it perfectly clear to Melanie. He loves his routines, and so he knows which days are day care days — and on those days, he wakes up excited and ready to go. “He just loves it so much,” Melanie says. She also loves that Bagel gets plenty of fresh air in our outdoor play yards, which he doesn’t get as much of at home.
When a schedule change at home meant Bagel needed an additional day of day care, adding it was easy. “It wasn’t even a second thought,” she says.
Is dog day care right for your anxious dog?
If you live in Naperville or Aurora and have a dog like Bagel who is cautious around new people or other dogs, you may have the same worries Melanie did. Hopefully Bagel’s story shows you the difference it makes when a nervous dog gets small playgroups, patient people, and time to come out of his shell. We’d love to help your dog find that same confidence, and we’ll send plenty of photos along the way.
Book a free day care evaluation to see if Central Bark is the right fit for your dog.