How to Choose a Dog Daycare

There are a lot of dog daycares out there. Franchises, independents, home-based operations, boutique facilities. They all have websites with photos of happy dogs. They all say they’re the best. And most owners pick one based on location and price without knowing what actually matters.

The difference between a good daycare and a bad one isn’t always visible on a website or even on a tour. It’s in the details — how they group dogs, how they manage arousal, what their staff actually know about dog behaviour, and what happens when things go wrong.

Here’s what to evaluate, what to ask, and what should make you walk away.

Staff Expertise — The Single Most Important Factor

Everything else is secondary to this. The people handling your dog for eight hours a day determine whether your dog comes home better or worse than when they left.

What to look for:

Behaviour knowledge, not just “dog experience.” There’s a difference between someone who grew up with dogs and someone who understands canine body language, stress signals, arousal management, and group dynamics. Ask what training the staff have completed. Ask how they handle a dog that’s getting overstimulated. Ask what they do when two dogs don’t get along.

Low staff turnover. If the people caring for your dog change every month, consistency disappears. Your dog can’t build trust with handlers who are never there. High turnover usually signals low pay, which signals low expertise.

Staff-to-dog ratio. The industry standard is 1 staff member per 10-15 dogs. Anything above 1:15 means your dog isn’t being watched — they’re being warehoused. At Academy Daycare, our staff are canine behaviour specialists with 15 years of experience. This isn’t a summer job for our team.

Red flags:

• Staff who can’t explain how they handle reactive or anxious dogs
• Staff who describe their approach as “we just let the dogs work it out”
• High turnover — ask how long the longest-serving staff member has been there

Group Management — How Dogs Are Organized

This is where most franchise daycares fail. The cheapest, easiest model is one large room with all the dogs mixed together. It’s also the worst model for your dog.

What to look for:

Temperament-matched groups. Dogs should be grouped by energy level, play style, and social confidence — not just size. A calm 80-pound Bernese Mountain Dog doesn’t belong in the same group as a frantic 80-pound adolescent Lab.

Play-and-rest cycles. Dogs don’t self-regulate. Without enforced rest periods, they play until they’re overstimulated, then conflicts start. Good daycares structure the day with alternating periods of active play and downtime.

Separate spaces. There should be distinct areas — not just one big room. Indoor and outdoor space. Quiet areas for dogs that need a break. The ability to separate groups that aren’t compatible.

Red flags:

• All dogs in one room regardless of size, energy, or temperament
• No structured rest periods — dogs are “free to play all day”
• The facility is a single open room with no separation options

Safety Record and Protocols

Dog fights happen. Injuries happen. What matters is how the facility prevents them and how they respond when they occur.

What to ask:

• “What’s your incident history?” A facility that claims zero incidents ever is either lying or hasn’t been open long enough to have data. What you want is a facility with a low incident rate and clear protocols for when something happens.
• “How do you handle a fight?” The answer should involve immediate separation techniques, incident documentation, and owner notification. If the answer is vague, that’s a problem.
• “What are your emergency vet procedures?” There should be a clear plan for injuries — a vet on call, transportation arrangements, and a policy about owner notification.

Red flags:

• No clear answer about how fights are handled
• No relationship with a veterinary clinic
• Dogs wearing harnesses or collars that could get caught during play (a strangulation risk)

Vaccination and Health Requirements

Every reputable daycare requires proof of current vaccinations. The standard set is rabies, bordetella (kennel cough), and DHPP (distemper, hepatitis, parainfluenza, parvovirus).

What to look for:

• Strict enforcement — no exceptions, no “we’ll accept a titer test instead” unless there’s a documented medical exemption from a vet
• A minimum age requirement (typically 16 weeks, when the vaccination series is complete)
• A policy on sick dogs — they should be sent home, not kept in the group

Red flags:

• Lax vaccination requirements (“just bring whatever you have”)
• Accepting dogs without proof of vaccination
• No minimum age policy

The Facility Itself

The physical space matters, but not in the way most owners think. Instagram-worthy decor doesn’t make a good daycare. Functional design does.

What to look for:

Ventilation. 20+ dogs in a room generate heat, moisture, and odour. Proper HVAC prevents respiratory issues and kennel cough transmission.

Flooring. Should be non-slip and easy to sanitize. Concrete is common. Rubber matting is better for joints. Carpet is a biohazard in a daycare setting.

Outdoor space. Dogs need fresh air and sunlight. Indoor-only facilities are a compromise — they work, but outdoor access is significantly better for your dog’s wellbeing.

Cleanliness. The facility should smell clean, not like bleach masking something worse. Surfaces should be sanitized regularly throughout the day, not just at closing.

Red flags:

• Strong odour (either urine/feces or overwhelming chemical cleaners)
• No outdoor space at all
• Cramped, overcrowded rooms
• Damaged fencing or gates that a determined dog could breach

Communication and Transparency

You’re leaving your dog with strangers for eight hours. You should know what happened during those eight hours.

What to look for:

Regular updates. Daily photos, weekly report cards, or at minimum, verbal feedback at pickup. You should know how your dog’s day went — who they played with, how their energy was, whether anything notable happened.

Honesty about fit. A good daycare will tell you if your dog isn’t a good fit for their program. A bad daycare will take your money regardless and call you when it falls apart.

Incident reporting. If your dog gets scratched, nipped, or has a conflict, you should hear about it at pickup — not discover it at home.

At Academy, we provide weekly report cards for Day & Train dogs and honest feedback for every dog at pickup. If your dog isn’t thriving in their current group, we move them. If a different program would serve them better, we tell you.

Red flags:

• No communication system — you drop off and pick up with no information in between
• Defensive responses when you ask questions about your dog’s day
• Reluctance to discuss incidents or conflicts

Pricing and What It Signals

Price alone doesn’t determine quality, but unusually low prices should raise questions. Running a proper daycare is expensive — staff, facility, insurance, cleaning, equipment. If a daycare is charging $25/day, they’re cutting costs somewhere. Usually it’s staff expertise or staff-to-dog ratios.

Typical pricing in the GTA:

• Budget franchise daycares: $25-35/day
• Mid-range independents: $40-55/day
• Behaviour-focused facilities: $55-95/day

At Academy Daycare:

• Standard Daycare: $55/day (packs available: 5 for $265, 10 for $500, 15 for $705, Unlimited $649/month including bath and nail trim)
• Behavioural Daycare: $95/day
• Day & Train: $95/day (packs: 5 for $465, 10 for $900, 15 for $1,305, Unlimited $1,395/month including bath and nail trim)

The unlimited packs bring the effective daily cost down significantly and include grooming — which makes the comparison to budget daycares closer than the sticker price suggests.

The Tour Question

Most daycare guides tell you to tour the facility before enrolling. That’s reasonable advice for most places. At Academy, we don’t offer tours — and here’s why.

Tours are disruptive to the dogs in our care. Opening doors, bringing unfamiliar people through active play areas, and changing the energy of the room affects every dog in the building. Our priority during operating hours is the dogs, not hosting visitors.

We’re happy to answer every question on the phone. We’ll tell you exactly how we run our programs, how we group dogs, what our staff’s qualifications are, and what a typical day looks like. We’ll be honest about whether your dog is a fit. And after your dog’s first day, you’ll have a clear picture of how we operate based on how your dog comes home.

The Bottom Line

The daycare you choose matters more than most owners realize. A good daycare makes your dog calmer, more confident, and better socialized. A bad daycare makes them anxious, overstimulated, or worse — injured.

Ask the hard questions. Look past the website photos. Care about staff expertise more than facility aesthetics. And if a daycare can’t clearly explain how they handle the dogs in their care, find one that can.

Academy Daycare is at 22 Cardico Drive in Gormley. Drop-off 7-10 AM, pickup 3-8 PM, Monday through Friday. Dogs must be 16 weeks or older with current rabies, bordetella, and DHPP vaccinations.

Call 437-776-9563. Ask us every question on this list. We’ll answer all of them.