
Milwaukee Downtown
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® Milwaukee Downtown 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
Milwaukee Downtown
420 S 1st St,
Milwaukee, WI 53204Get Directions
downtownmke@centralbarkusa.com
Open Today 7:00 AM – 6:30 PM
Request Appointment

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.






The staff has always been caring, and thoughtful. Paul loved his time there, and barked enthusiastically with joy each time we arrived. We had complete peace of mind when he was there, as they took care of his as well as if he was their own.
Thanks to all the staff for taking such good care of our Pauly. You all were a very important part of his life!
Frequently Asked Questions
As part of joining the Central Bark® family, our expert staff conducts a thorough behavior assessment at your local Central Bark store. These assessments help ensure that your dog is placed with a playgroup they’re comfortable with so they can play safely every day they’re with us.
This four-day evaluation, while your dog participates in our Enrichment Day Care, assesses your dog’s:
- Comfort and social skills with people
- Social skills and playstyle with other dogs to help determine the playgroup and play schedule they can benefit from the most
- Comfort in both indoor and outdoor play spaces
- Comfort in rest areas and a crate
- Ability to share resources like water and toys in social settings
- Level of comfort taking treats in social settings
This process gives us a chance to get to know you and your dog while your dog gets acquainted with their new favorite place away from home. Through the entire four days, your dog’s comfort and safety is our top priority.
Once your pup passes all the behavior assessment elements, you are welcome to sign up for any of our daycare services or a sleepover!
To schedule a Behavior Assessment for your dog, please contact your local store.
NOTE: Please bring all required signed forms, vaccination proof, and a collar and leash for your behavior assessment.
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!
At Central Bark®, our goal is to provide a balanced day of play, learning, rest, and love. Learning and mental exercise can happen in various ways, including training activities, brain games, scent work, and more. Our playgroups offer several hours of active playtime paired with learning opportunities during Group Play Skills. This way, dogs have plenty of time to socialize and get their energy out, while also exercising their minds through learning.
During one of your dog’s rest periods throughout the day, they are offered a rest period enrichment activity to stimulate their mind while encouraging healthy rest. These licking and chewing activities involve food rewards, such as frozen peanut butter KONG®. These activities engage their minds while helping foster quality rest.
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.
Training Tutor sessions stimulate the dog’s minds and bodies and help them learn important skills, behaviors, and tricks.
One-on-One Enrichment sessions give the extra attention dogs love and the freedom to use their senses and safely explore their instincts through interactive toys, puzzles, and games.
Did you know? 15 minutes of mental activity is equal to 30 minutes of physical exercise!
Central Bark® Enrichment Doggy Day Care combines our industry-leading doggy day care expertise with the latest science-based activities and techniques. We personalize your dog’s day with fun, healthy, and well-balanced activities that appeal to their instincts and enrich their bodies, minds, and senses.
Each day at Central Bark includes exclusive options like:
- Flexible play groups allow us to match your dog each day 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 help dogs practice important behaviors and life skills like name recall, 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 creates a safer social environment.
- Rest Period Enrichments help dogs 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 and can help them become more comfortable in crates by building positive associations.
- One-on-One Enrichment add-on sessions give your dog the personal attention they love, supplemented with interactive toys, puzzles, and games. Sessions are fun and rewarding, exercise their body and mind, and engage their senses. Add complexity with fitness and agility equipment.
- Training sessions during day care visits help your dog develop essential skills and behaviors like name recall, sit, stay, down, wait, leave-it, door and gate control, and loose-leash walking. Excellent for your dog and easy for you! Your dog will come home tired and well-socialized, with the training and skills they need to be a well-behaved member of your family.
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.