Dear Dog n' Suds,

We heard about daycare through friends as well as advertisements. Molly, our Golden Retriever, has been in Dog n' Suds daycare for 1 and 1/2 months. She is only 5 months old and is really too little to stay at home every day while we work. She enjoys spending time with other dogs and people. The benefits of daycare are Molly gets a lot of exercise and comes home calm and relaxed. Even at her puppy - "preteen" stage, the training, exercise, and support she gets mean we are not spending out time disciplining bored or inappropriate puppy behaviours. She is even getting over her car sickness because she loves going to daycare.

I have one interesting story. We got Molly from the SPCA just over 1 year ago. We hired a trainer who worked with us one-on-one and we thought we were doing a good job training our dog. She was quite a dominant dog who was very energetic and did a lot of jumping, scratching and nipping. The trainer was great and at 4 months our dog knew and followed many commands - heel, sit, stay, down, etc. Then I went back to work. We were assured that our dog, who was crate trained, would be fine during the day. Many people told us that it worked fine for them. Unfortunately our dog suddenly refused to go in her crate and would snarl, bare her teeth and bite if we tried to force her.

Eventually she stayed in the kitchen where she chewed the walls and cupboards… then the bathroom where she chewed the linoleum. She even began chewing our chesterfield cushions when we were home! And, Molly was walked from 1 to 1 and a half hours everyday. I didn't know if daycare would help curb some of her aggressive behaviours (more than mentioned here), but we certainly didn't want to have to pay for more repairs. Molly now comes home from daycare loving to be cuddled but lacks the energy to get into trouble. She is a great dog!

Thanks for your help and ideas with Molly's training. We love our dog and are working hard to have a great one!

- Donna Murray, Teacher, and owner of Molly, our Golden Retriever

Dear Dog n' Suds,

I was told by my veterinarian that Belle needed time with other puppies and dogs so he properly socialized. Belle has been going to Dog n' Suds for 2 and a half years, 2-3 times weekly at 2-4 hours per time. I have a lot of things to do in town and Belle has never been left alone, so I take her to daycare so she can occupy herself in a positive way instead of being stuck in the car - particularly in summer.

I have grown to know the people (at Dog n' Suds) and feel very supported by them. If I have questions they usually have suggestions. Belle is always a happy dog when I come for her. I feel you people care about her well being and like her, so I feel good about giving her exposure to other environments and other people and dogs.

Dog n' Suds does fun and interesting things with Belle. Being an only child, Belle is spoiled and Dog n' Suds throwing a Christmas and Halloween Parties are great for her. You guys rock! I am so happy to have you in my and Belle's life.

- Jenni Sharpe, self-employed, owner of Belle the Golden Retriever