Why our Doggy Day Care doesn’t suit all dogs

We understand that this is a sensitive topic and we wanted to make it very clear that this is in no way an attack on your dog’s breed, instead the factual reasons why, for us, some breeds are not happy in our day care environment.

At Bruce’s one of our values is to never set a dog up to fail and in taking the breeds listed below, this is exactly what we would be doing. 

Our reasoning stems from over 15 years of trials and research and we have found that the natural instincts of some breeds are amplified when in our day care, which in time affects not only your dog whilst in our care but when your dog is at home.

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Overstimulation at day care

In our experience, we have found that some breeds can get over-stimulated when socializing in larger groups, such as in our day care environment, which can lead to an unenjoyable experience for the dog. We have found that these doggies have an increased level of energy within our larger day care group, which as a result they find it hard to switch off, causing them to feel stress and anxious. 

Akita, Alaskan Malamutes, American Bully, Boerboel, Bull Terrier, Chow chow, Doberman, Dogue de Bordeaux, Komondor, Kuvasz, Mexican Hairless Dog, Old Tyme Bulldog, Olde English Bulldog, Puli, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Shar Pei, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Tamaskan and Thai Ridgeback.

Herding Breeds

These breeds are very intelligent and their natural instincts kick in whilst in our larger day care environment. With their instincts to herd we notice even after 4 weeks, they try to get to work on their doggy friends and herd the group. This can cause a stressful environment for all dogs in their fields and we find herding breeds then tend to get frustrated and become stressed.

Anatolian Shepherd, Belgian Shepherd (Malinois), Border Collies, Caucasian Shepherd, German Shepherd, Kelpie, Rottweiler and Swiss Shepherd.

Prey Drive

You may have never seen this form of behaviour from your doggy before but we have noticed that prey drive can be triggered whilst in our larger day care environment and it is then very hard to train and support your dog to decrease the drive once it’s triggered. As their prey drive is high, they find it hard to concentrate and enjoy their time with friends which causes stress.

Greyhounds, Irish Wolfhound and Scottish Deerhound .

Giant Breeds

We really do love all sized dogs but we have found that our playful giant breeds tend to forget their size and large presence when in our day care, especially when it comes to playing with their friends, which can unfortunately escalate and the risk is very high if this happens, to both dogs and our team.

Cane Corso, Great Dane, Leonberger, Mastiffs and Tibetan Mastiff.

We want the best for every dog, and for this reason, we would recommend an alternative smaller group day care option, or alternatively a small group dog walking service for your dog.