Danbury
Enrichment Dog Day Care
Dog Day Care. Reimagined.
There’s no bond like the one you share with your furry best friend. But our human lifestyles can make it challenging to fulfill all of our dogs’ needs to stay healthy and happy. This can lead to issues at home, from loneliness and boredom to weight gain, anxiety, and undesirable behaviors.
Central Bark® Danbury Enrichment Dog Day Care gives your dog a place to play and learn in a safe and loving environment. With socialization, mental stimulation, and physical exercise, their minds and bodies need to stay healthy and happy for a lifetime.
Our focus on canine enrichment aims to enhance your dog’s overall quality of life. Through fun and rewarding activities that encourage them to use their senses to problem solve, learn new skills, and gain confidence. You can have peace of mind knowing that your dog is having a great day with all of their friends. Enrichment Dog Day Care is our specialty, and nobody does it quite like us.
Central Bark
Danbury
55 Kenosia Avenue,
Danbury, CT 06810Get Directions
Closed By Appointment Only
Book Now
A Healthy Balanced Day
Enrichment Dog Day Care provides a healthy balance of play, exercise, socialization, learning, rest, and TLC. We tailor each day to your dog’s individual needs and preferences. To nurture their bodies, minds, and senses so that you can enjoy a healthy, happy, calm, and well-rounded dog at home.
- Play, Exercise, and Socialization – Exercise helps your dog maintain a healthy weight and muscle tone. It helps to improve their mood and provide a healthy outlet for their physical and mental energy. This means they can be more relaxed at home. Positive experiences with new humans, new dogs, and new environments help create happy dogs who are well-rounded and well-socialized. We offer both small and large playgroups in indoor and outdoor play areas where your dog can enjoy the social environment that’s right for their age, personality, and comfort level.
- Rest – When dogs play and socialize, the opportunity to rest, relax, and recharge is vital for their physical, mental, and emotional health. Our daily schedule aims to help dogs avoid unhealthy overstimulation and achieve the right balance of rest, play, and learning.
- Learning – Dogs learn from humans and other dogs – along with our guidance, dogs are always teaching each other what is and isn’t appropriate social behavior. Our highly trained staff use positive training techniques to promote safe play and help your dog practice healthy social behaviors while at day care.
- Love – Your dog will become part of our family and get all the love and attention they need while you’re away. We develop a bond with your dog to help them feel comfortable and confident. With regular attendance, we get to know your dog’s personality, needs, and preferences. We are better able to recognize things that might otherwise go unnoticed, like moods, behavioral changes, or even health issues.
Commitment to Safety
Our #1 priority is the safety and well-being of our guests. As dog parents ourselves, we take great pride in treating every dog as our own. And we are committed to providing a healthy and safe environment for everyone that enters our facility.
Central Bark® Enrichment Dog Day Care Features:
Flexible Group Play
Flexible playgroups allow us to match your dog with the social atmosphere and play schedule they can enjoy and benefit from most. This helps give them a healthy balance of play, rest, and learning and creates a safer social environment with a better quality of play. And our lower dog-to-staff ratios offer more individual attention, education, and love.
Group Play Skills
Interactive group activities and positive reinforcement help dogs practice important skills like name recall, and behaviors like group sit and calmly going in and out of doors and gates. These activities are fun and rewarding for your dog and help improve behavior and impulse control, prevent overstimulation, and create a safer social environment.
Rest Period Enrichment
Your dog gets to relax and recharge in their own private space with calming interactive toys and healthy food pairings tailored to their preferences and diet. It promotes physical and mental relaxation which can help them achieve a healthy balance of play, learning, and rest. It can also help them become more comfortable in crates by building positive associations.
One-on-One Enrichment
Personalized One-on-One Enrichment sessions give your dog the extra attention they love and the freedom to use their senses and safely explore their instincts through interactive toys, puzzles, and games. It’s fun and rewarding and exercise their bodies and minds and engage their senses. Add complexity with fitness and agility equipment.
The facility is exceptionally well run, clean, and organized, but what really sets them apart is the way they treat each dog like family. I could tell right away that Lila was not only cared for, but genuinely loved during her stay. She came home happy, healthy, and her sweet personality was just as bright as when I dropped her off.
Knowing she was in such good hands allowed me to relax and enjoy my time away. I am so grateful to the amazing team at Central Bark for going above and beyond. Lila and I are both looking forward to her next visit!
My dog, Athena, absolutely lights up with excitement whenever she knows we’re heading there. That level of enthusiasm says it all. Beyond just the fun, I’ve noticed real improvements in her behavior and socialization after her days at daycare. She comes home calmer, happier, and more balanced, which speaks volumes about the structure, enrichment, and positive environment Central Bark provides.
What really sets them apart as a business is how much pride they take in their work. They don’t just “watch dogs” they create a supportive community for pets and their owners. Their attention to detail, the clean and welcoming facility, and the personalized care truly make them stand out in the pet care industry. Central Bark isn’t just a daycare; it’s a place where you can trust that your dog is in the best possible hands.
Absolutely the Best Doggie Day Care & Boarding Service!
I can’t say enough good things about this place! From the moment we walk in, the staff greets us with warmth and genuine excitement to see my dogs. They clearly love what they do, and it shows in the way they care for every pup.
The facility is spotless, safe, and thoughtfully designed — plenty of play areas, cozy napping spots, and enrichment activities to keep the dogs engaged. I especially appreciate the daily updates and pictures, which give me peace of mind when I’m at work or out of town.
When we board overnight, my dogs comes home happy, well-exercised, and calm — no stress, no anxiety, just a wagging tail. It truly feels like leaving him with family.
If you want a place where your dog will be loved, safe, and treated like a VIP, look no further. Highly recommend!
If you need a place for daycare or boarding for your fur baby and want to feel confident that they are more than well cared for, this is the place!!! Tell all your friends too they will surely appreciate it!! 🐶💜
Frequently Asked Questions
We are happy to accommodate your dog’s feeding schedule as part of their “Rest Period Enrichments.” Simply bring their food in pre-portioned containers with clear instructions. Our trained staff will ensure your dog receives their meal in a private, quiet space. We are also experienced in handling a variety of specific needs, including day care for dogs with allergies and medication administration, though additional fees may apply.
Rest periods can be paired with fun and interactive food toys (like a frozen peanut butter Kong) to create a rest period enrichment activity for your dog.
Not only are rest period enrichments fun and mentally stimulating for your dog, but they also help build positive associations and crating skills. Hence, dogs are calmer, quieter, and more relaxed. For dogs, being comfortable in a crate is a life skill that is incredibly useful for them and their owners.
Did you know? Scientific studies have shown that licking and chewing behaviors (especially those that involve food rewards!) are self-soothing, decrease heart and respiratory rates, and even release dopamine in a dog’s brain.
Selecting the right doggy day care is an important decision for you and your family. You want to make sure you find the right fit for your dog and your family’s needs. Follow these tips to find the perfect place for your pup!
Tour the day care center before leaving your dog there. We recommend visiting several centers in your area before making a final decision.
While you’re there, ask yourself:
- Is the play space clean, odor-free, comfortable, and safe for the center’s stated capacity?
- Pay attention to how the management and staff treat you, your dog, and the dogs in their care. Are they mature, knowledgeable, courteous, professional, and patient at all times?
- Note how the dogs respond to the staff – do they seem happy, relaxed, and excited? How do staff members greet and treat each dog?
- How do other dogs act during your visit – relaxed, happy, stressed, scared, or out of control?
- Is there a great deal of noise?
- Does the facility seem well organized and equipped with essential tools and supplies? Look for access to fresh, clean water, sanitation tools, ready access to treats to reinforce good behavior in playgroups, toys, secure fencing, rubber flooring in the inside play spaces, and access to outdoor play spaces.
- Are there enough crates for every dog on-site in case of an emergency?
- Are the dogs ever left alone together without a staff member present?
- Are the handlers engaged with the dogs in their care and actively working with them? Or are they sitting on the sidelines?
Questions to ask the doggy day care provider:
- Will my dog get individual attention time with staff?
Ask if staff will have time to work individually with your dog on behaviors, play with them, and give them support and love while at day care. - Are there small group play options?
Small playgroup options help ensure your dog will have a social environment that allows them the freedom and comfort to thrive based on their unique needs, preferences, and play styles. - What’s the daily schedule? Is this tailored to my dog’s unique needs and preferences?
Dogs thrive on routine, so the center should have a clear schedule for how things run every day. A consistent program tailored to your dog’s individual needs and style will promote a healthy and happy dog. - Are there regularly scheduled playtimes and nap times throughout the day?
Day care should offer your dog a safe and balanced day of play, learning, rest, and love so you can look forward to a happy, well-balanced dog at the end of every day. - How and where are the dogs’ given downtime to wind down from the day’s activities to help prevent exhaustion and overstimulation?
Maintaining a healthy balance of rest and play is important for the physical, mental, and social health of dogs. Just like human athletes, rest helps dogs avoid bodily injury and provides a space for them to unwind, so they do not become over-stimulated or over-aroused during play. This creates a much safer social environment for dogs. - Are there fenced and secure outdoor play areas?
Safe outdoor areas are important for a healthy, fun playtime. Whether it is romping in the snow or playing in swimming pools, everyone loves recess outside! - How are new dog introductions handled?
The center should clearly outline their procedures around new dog introductions, with effective policies that encourage happy, healthy, and lasting relationships and experiences. - What training does the staff receive?
Doggy day care staff should be professionally trained and educated in animal behavior, socialization, and obedience training to ensure every dog’s well-being. - Are the dogs supervised at all times?
A trained staff member should ALWAYS supervise dogs. - Ask about behavior management tools used at the facility while caring for the dogs. What happens if your dog does something right? What happens if your dog does something wrong?
Staff should use positive reinforcement and reward-based techniques to develop and reinforce behaviors that will enrich dogs’ lives at home and day care. Avoid centers that use punishment or correction to manage dog’s behavior as those techniques can create negative associations and fear. Utilizing reward-based techniques and positive reinforcement, on the other hand, can help build healthy relationships and happy experiences. - What provisions are there for avoiding dog scuffles?
Ask staff how they manage the dogs in their care. What do they look for in dog-dog interactions? How do they deal with emergencies and scuffles? How do they interrupt and redirect dogs? How do they build useful playgroup skills to keep the dogs safe proactively? Pay attention to how staff redirects dogs who need additional support to stay safe and whether they respond promptly and use effective strategies in these situations. - Is there an in-depth interview to determine relevant background, behavioral, and health information including confirmation of spay/neuter, proof of vaccinations, flea and tick prevention, etc.? How is this information kept up to date?
Find out what kind of assessments and evaluations the center uses before they accept a new dog. Also, every dog’s information should be regularly updated and kept on file to prevent illness and injuries. - Do they have safety, cleaning, and disinfecting policies and procedures? What are they?
Our One-on-One Enrichment sessions give your dog the freedom to safely explore their senses with an Enrichment Specialist. They’ll get the personal attention they love, supplemented with interactive toys, puzzles, and games that exercise their bodies and minds. They can also level up their skills with fitness training and agility exercises if they’re ready for more.
Did you know? 15 minutes of mental activity is equal to 30 minutes of physical exercise!
Central Bark® Whole Dog Care
Our whole dog care approach offers a full range of fun and personalized products and services. To promote your dog’s physical, mental, and emotional health and happiness throughout their entire life.
