Adult Daycare

The purpose of the daycare is to offer safe, fun and stimulating socialization for dogs and to complement the work you are doing at home to make your dog an attentive and reliable pet.

This environment not only provides needed physical exercise for your dog but also enhances the mental and emotional life of the dog. The dog-to-dog play provides time for the dog to BE a dog. The interaction with our trained staff provides the leadership and consistency the dog needs in order to learn to have self-control even in the height of play. We love dogs and have many year of experience and training to understand them, we want both you and your dog to benefit from our professional care.

After receiving your completed daycare application and pet personality profile, we will schedule a time when both you and your dog can come to visit us for an interview. During this interview, we will do a “dog interview” where your dog will be gradually introduced to a selected group of our current daycare participants. This process will help us get to know your dog and their social skills with other dogs. Once we are sure that your dog will enjoy and is appropriate for daycare we will work with you to schedule a regular day or days for attendance to daycare. Contact My Dog's Place today!

About the Daycare

Our daycare is a place where, like a child’s kindergarten, your dog is dropped off in the morning for the day and is provided with a rich environment that strengthens social interaction skills and basic knowledge.

We have play areas where our dogs socialize with each other and play the games dogs play, like wrestling and “chase me.” The play areas are always supervised so that any squabbles or too-rough play is thwarted by the crew member before it can be an issue. Our staff to dog ratio averages 1:15-18

All of our indoor play areas have K9 specific rubber matting for the safety and comfort of the dogs. All of our outdoor play yards have K9 Grass, a specialized doggie artificial turf, designed specifically for dogs with safety, cleanliness and comfort in mind. Only the BEST for our dogs !!!

During playtime, the crew reinforces the dog's ability to respond individually and as a group to commands, especially “come.” This is necessary for control and safety but has the added benefit of being useful to you in many other situations. We use positive reinforcement methods (human attention and the opportunity to go play again).

Once all the dogs scheduled for that day have arrived, ALL dogs MUST arrive before 9 am, then the dogs have free play all day. Around mid-day the dogs are crated for a rest time, all dogs benefit from a short mental and physical rest. The dogs are crated individually and given a small snack (not a meal, not kibble) provided by their owner. The dogs are out socializing again for the afternoon until picked up by their owners, by 6 pm.

Dogs in any play session who are getting too rough, overtired, or not responding to our commands may be given a time out (short rest in a crate) or segregated into smaller play groups by our staff.

All dogs must be interviewed prior to attending. This is not because we are an exclusive club! However, we do have to make sure that your dog is ready and able to socialize and is unlikely to react aggressively to dogs or people. As the dog’s “mouthpiece” and legal guardian, all owners are also interviewed.

Visit our Facebook page to see picture and videos of our daycare dogs.

Policies

Our adult dog daycare is designed to accommodate dogs attending on a regular basis, meaning at least once a week, the same day(s) each week on a long term basis. (No exceptions) Our daycare groups are built on the pack idea, the dogs know each other, have friendships and see each other weekly.

Our daycare is not designed to accommodate adult dogs for drop-in or short-term attendance.

Age : All dogs must be at least 6 months old for our adult daycare.

If your dog is younger than 6 months, please see our information on our Puppy Daycare page. Pups can attend from 10 weeks to 6 months with pre-approval.

Sex: All dogs attending our adult daycare must be spayed or neutered.

(No exceptions for Adult Daycare)

For Puppy Daycare - spay/neuter requirement does not apply.

Vaccinations : Written proof of current Rabies vaccination is required to be submitted with the daycare application, along with proof of either current distemper combo vaccination or current distemper / parvo titer , and your dogs town license.

Either Kennel Cough (Bordetella) vaccination or a signed waiver must be kept on file.

Health : Only healthy dogs can attend daycare.

Owners who observe signs of illness must keep the dog home until the situation is clarified, please call or email us to notify us of illness or otherwise.

This includes (but not limited to) dogs who may be limping or lame, have sutures or staples, be coughing, sneezing, having diarrhea or any other possibly contagious symptoms, or be on antibiotics for any contagious conditions.

If you are unsure if your dog should attend daycare please call to discuss, we want your dog comfortable and enjoying their day.

Owners of dogs who appear ill at daycare will be called and the dog will be sent home. Dogs will be segregated until owners can pick up or taken to the veterinarian if needed.

Behavior: All dogs must be friendly and socially appropriate with both people and other dogs as reviewed by the questions on the application and behavior observed at the in person interview.

All dogs must demonstrate proficiency in attention, recall and basic obedience during the interview and with our daycare staff. This is for the safety of all the dogs at daycare and for the enhancement of the dog-owner bond, as we are promoting and supporting the WHOLE dog.

ALL dogs MUST be able to be comfortably crated to attend daycare.

Application / Interview : All dogs and owners must be interviewed.

Daycare interviews are schedule once all paperwork has been submitted.

Interviews are schedule when we have open spots, by appointment during the weekdays - mid-late morning or early afternoon.

All dogs must have a current application, vaccinations, town license and contract on file. Please contact us directly for a daycare application - amydogsplace@aol.com

Days and Hours: Daycare is open Monday - Friday (NO weekend daycare).

6:30 am - 6:00 pm

We open at 6:30 am for daycare drop offs, all dogs must arrive before 9 am.

All dogs must be pick up before 6:00 pm, but the play floor closes at 5:30 pm.

(this means that dogs may be crated at 5:30 pm so we can prepare the space for evening classes).

Late Pickup Fees : You MUST pick up your dog before 6:00 pm. A $20 late fee will be charged after 6:00 pm, our daycare staff is off duty at 6:00 pm. If we have not received a call, before 6:00 pm, to let us know you will be late, your dog will be crated inside our facility. A contact phone number will be posted to arrange to pick up at a later time.

Reservations are required. Our daycare is designed to accommodate dogs attending only on a regular basis and attending the same regular day(s) each week. Some dogs come just 1 day per week but many enjoy 2-3 days per week. Cancellations are required, at least, by the end of the business day prior to your dog’s regularly scheduled day to have no charge. More notice is appreciated.

An Email or a phone call is the best way to provide us with notice of a day cancellation.

You will be charged full price for regularly scheduled days not canceled 24 hours in advance.

Training Method : We use positive reinforcement methods at our daycare and in training classes. This means we use food, toys, attention, and access to play to control and shape the dog’s behavior. We reward desirable behavior and redirect or manage undesirable behavior. Short crate breaks may be used on the daycare floor to reduce / prevent barking, jumping up, not coming when called and bullying behaviors in some dogs when needed. Access to play, friends and staff attention rewards good behavior.

My Dog’s Place does not use or allow the use of choke or pinch collars in our facility for any reason.

For Your Information:

Accidents and Injuries : When dogs play together things can get rough even though no aggression may be involved; dogs are strong. Even dogs who know each other can have disagreements. While our staff will do everything possible to avoid problems, your dog could experience the following as a result of being here: torn and detached toenails, minor cuts, punctures, scrapes and teeth marks, tooth loss, injured legs, tendons, joints, neck problems etc. Beyond this, it is unlikely, but possible, that your dog could suffer serious injury from a dog fight. There is also a slight possibility that your dog could escape from our care. By signing the daycare application you are indicating that you give staff permission to treat minor injuries and that you understand the inherent risks of your dog attending daycare, accept the possibility of loss or injury to your dog and that you believe that the daycare, its policies, and staff are sufficiently competent enough to entrust your dog to and are not to be held responsible.

Parasites and Viruses: Dogs with an obvious illness or fleas will not be admitted. However, bacteria, viruses, and fleas are not always so obvious. It is possible that your dog could pick up a bacteria, virus, parasite or flea while playing with other dogs at daycare. We will post signs to inform owners if any known viruses, parasites or fleas have been noticed at the daycare so that owners may take precautionary measures. By signing the daycare application, you are indicating that you understand the inherent risks of your dog attending daycare, accept responsibility and hold My Dog’s Place harmless should your dog get a virus, parasite or fleas.

My Dog’s Place follows these protocols to help keep daycare safe:

All staff is trained in dog behavior and the management of a large group of dogs. MDP uses the Knowing Dog 101 & 201 staff training program developed by the Dog Gurus.
All dogs are interviewed and deemed temperamentally suitable for dog-dog play.
There will be at least one staff person on the play floor at all times
Playgroups are supervised and behaviors that look like potential trouble will be redirected, using "dogs name", "come" & "touch".
Dogs may be segregated (crated if needed) for brief periods if their behavior warrants it - not listening to staff directions, getting over excited at drop off or pick up times etc.
Indoor and Outdoor surfaces are cleaned daily using disinfectants and enzyme cleaners regularly used by kennels.
A double-door system is in place at the point of entry.
The outdoor area is entirely and securely enclosed.

Adult daycare fees as follows :

Current fees must paid weekly or pre-buy a package. MDP does not carry accounts.

Daycare Rates as of 5/1/2023

(Sales Tax will be added to invoices)

1 Day per week - $32.50 weekly - 4 Day package $128

2 Days per week - $65.00 weekly - 8 Day Package $252

3 Days per week - $97.50 weekly - 12 Day Package $372

4 Days per week - $130 weekly - 16 Day Package $480

Second Dog Daily Rate - $23.50

2nd Dog from the same owner $23.50 per day - with normal attendance.

(2nd dog rate does not apply to Puppy Daycare)

All fees are due prior to attendance or paid weekly on the first day of attendance.

A late fee of $5.99 per invoice will be added for overdue invoices, those are invoices not paid within the week they are due for weekly payments or by the first day of attendance of a new package.

We cannot carry balances, statements will not be issued.

Please give Marge a call or send an email to amydogsplace@aol.com receive a daycare application.

Get in touch with us today!

Stonington 860.572.7755

East Lyme 860.691.0078