What is doggy day care?
Updated By PetymFacts checked against official sources on
Quick answer
Doggy day care is daytime care for your dog while you work: you drop it off in the morning and collect it in the evening, with no overnight stay. The dog gets company, play, walks and rest instead of a long day alone. Good day care screens each dog first and keeps groups small.
Also called dog day care, dog daycare, day boarding for dogs, dog creche.
Key facts
- England's licensing guidance defines dog day care as daytime housing of other people's dogs; keeping dogs overnight is not permitted. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- Each member of staff should look after no more than 10 dogs, and each dog needs 6 square metres of indoor and outdoor space combined. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- Every dog must be screened before admission to check it is not afraid, anxious or stressed around other dogs or people. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- Dogs under one year old are housed separately from older dogs unless the owner gives written consent. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- Primary vaccination courses must be completed at least 2 weeks before a dog is admitted. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
What happens in a day at doggy day care?
A mix of play, walks, meals if needed, and, just as important, rest. A tired dog that has had a calm, structured day is the goal, not an exhausted one.
Most dogs arrive in the morning and leave in the evening. In between, a good day care balances activity with downtime: short play sessions in small, matched groups, a walk in the cooler part of the day, quiet time in a crate or a separate room after lunch, and fresh water throughout. In Indian summers, outdoor play shifts to early morning and indoor games take over in the afternoon heat.
England's statutory guidance for licensed day care, used here as a reference point, shows the structure behind a well-run day: a written policy for introducing a new dog to a group, as many food bowls, water bowls, toys and beds as there are dogs, and a register with each dog's medical and behavioural history, diet and vaccination dates.
Is doggy day care right for your dog?
Day care is a social setting. It helps dogs that enjoy company and can stress dogs that do not.
If your dog is young, sociable and full of energy, and you are out all day
Day care can give it company and exercise instead of hours alone. Doggy day care Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
If your dog is fearful, anxious or reactive around other dogs
Group day care may not suit it; screening exists to spot this. Consider a dog walker, a sitter at home, or one-to-one care. Dog walking Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
If your dog is a puppy under a year
Ask how puppies are kept apart from older dogs; England's rules require it unless you consent in writing. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
If your dog is a senior, unwell or on medicine through the day
A quieter option, such as a sitter at home, may be kinder than a busy group. Special-needs care
What should you ask a doggy day care before the first day?
Questions drawn from what England's licensing guidance requires of day care operators.
- How will my dog be screened, and how is a new dog introduced to the group? Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- How many dogs are there in total, and how many per carer? Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- Which vaccinations do you require, and how recent must they be? Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- Where do dogs rest, and how are puppies and small dogs kept apart from bigger, older dogs? Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- What do you record about my dog, and how will I hear about the day? Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- Which vet do you use in an emergency, and how will you contact me?
How will doggy day care work on Petym?
On Petym, day care is given by a sitter who has passed Petym's checks before listing: identity verified with PAN, pet first-aid training before the first booking and a named 24-hour vet within reach. A sitter who hosts pets dogs in their own home also needs a video walk-through of the home by Petym, the housing society's permission for paid pet sitting, and a set pet limit for the home.
The sitter follows your dog's plan and logs meals, walks and any medicine as they happen, with a daily photo update. Day care is paid by the day, booked and paid through Petym: Rs 1,299 for a full day in Mumbai, Delhi NCR and Bengaluru and Rs 999 in other cities.
Going away soon? Tell us your dates.
A checked local sitter feeds, walks and keeps your pet company at home, follows your care sheet to the letter and sends a photo every day. Petym is opening city by city: send your dates and we will tell you when a sitter can take them.
- Meet your sitter first, free
- PAN-checked, first-aid trained
- A photo every day
- Pay through Petym, never cash
Questions owners ask
Is doggy day care good for dogs?
- For sociable dogs that enjoy company, it can replace a long day alone with play, walks and rest. It does not suit every dog: England's licensing rules require screening before admission precisely because some dogs are frightened or stressed in groups. Watch how your dog behaves at pick-up and over the following days.
How many dogs should one carer look after at day care?
- England's statutory guidance for licensed day care says no more than 10 dogs per member of staff, with a higher standard of one full-time carer per 8 dogs. Smaller groups are easier to supervise and match by size and play style, so ask any day care for its numbers.
What is the difference between day care and boarding?
- Day care is daytime only: your dog comes home every evening. Boarding means your dog stays overnight, in a kennel or in a sitter's home. England's licensing rules treat them as separate activities and do not allow dogs to be kept overnight in day care.
Keep reading
Related terms
More in services and booking
- Background checkA background check is what a pet care service verifies about a sitter before they care for your pet and enter your home. It can cover identity, police verification, references, training and the sitter's home. Services differ widely, so ask what was checked. Petym verifies identity with PAN; police verification is not one of its stated checks.
- Care sheetA care sheet is the written plan you leave for whoever looks after your pet: what and when it eats, walks and toilet routine, medicines and how to give them, habits and fears, and who to call, including your vet. Welfare bodies list these as the essentials. On Petym, the sitter follows your plan as written and logs each task.
- Daily photo updateA daily photo update is a photo of your pet, with a short note, that the sitter sends each day of a booking, so you can see your pet is fed, well and settled. The best updates are specific: food, walks, toilet, medicines and mood. On Petym, a daily photo update is sent every day of every booking.
- Drop-in visitA drop-in visit is when a pet sitter comes to your home, once or more a day, to feed your pet, refresh water, clean the litter tray or take the dog out, give medicines and spend time with it, then leaves. It suits cats and independent pets that are happier at home. On Petym, drop-in visits are paid per visit.
- Group dog walkA group dog walk is when one walker takes several dogs from different homes out together, instead of a solo walk with one dog. It can give sociable dogs company and exercise, but more dogs means less control near traffic and street dogs. As a benchmark, England's licensing guidance caps a day care walker at 6 dogs at once.
- Home boardingHome boarding means your pet stays in a sitter's own home while you are away, living as part of the household rather than in a kennel run. It suits sociable dogs that settle well in new places. Good sitters take few pets, meet each one first and keep its records. On Petym, every sitter's home is checked by video first.
- House sittingHouse sitting means someone lives in your home while you are away, looking after the house and often the pets. The arrangement is built around the home: security, plants, post. Pet sitting is built around the animal: its meals, walks, medicines and company. Many pet owners want both, which is what an overnight pet sitter staying in your home provides.
- Key handoverA key handover is the agreed way a pet sitter gets into your home: a key handed over, one left with a trusted neighbour or the society office, or a digital lock code. In a flat it also means telling the watchman the sitter is expected. Done well, it is planned, written down and reversed when the booking ends.
- Meet and greetA meet and greet is a short visit before any booking where the owner, the pet and the sitter meet. You see how the sitter handles your pet and ask questions; your pet learns the sitter's face and smell. Welfare bodies advise meeting a sitter before hiring. On Petym, the meet and greet is free, before the first booking.
- Overnight pet sittingOvernight pet sitting means a sitter stays in your home, including overnight, while you are away, so your pet keeps its own home, routine and company. It suits dogs that cannot be left alone, senior pets, pets on medicine and anxious animals. It is Petym's main service: the sitter follows your pet's plan and is paid by the day.
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Sources
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