LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Dogs have always been a man’s best friend, but according to some studies, some pet owners even love their dog more than they do other humans.
It’s no surprise that dog services, such as day care, are becoming more readily available. In the past five years dog daycare facilities have nearly doubled in Little Rock.
Gone are the days that dogs were viewed as pets, from man’s best friend, Fido has made the transition to fur baby.
“Neither one of us have children. We now fit into that American mold that our pets aren’t pets anymore,” said Justin Harris, owner of Hounds Lounge. “Dogs are part of the family. They sleep in our beds and we wanted to treat them as if they were part of our family.”
A survey conducted by TD AmeriTrade estimates that millennials spend on average around $1,300 on their pets, per year.
It’s estimated that collectively, pet owners in the U.S. spent more than $72 billion on their fur babies in 2018.
With fur parents shelling out all this cash, just like children attend school, it’s only fitting that pups attends doggie day care.
“We went from a lot of parents who thought, OK let’s just put our dogs outside, they’ll be fine, to where they want to take their dogs or kids to where they can be happy,” said Charles Luong, a manager at the Canine Country Club of Arkansas. “You take your kids to day care, they want to take their dogs to daycare now.”
Charles Luong has been working at the Canine Country Club of Arkansas for the past six years. The facility offers an outdoor dog daycare where pups can fulfill their canine instincts, but still come home clean.
“With us being an outdoor facility, mud is definitely in the picture and we don’t want to send home a muddy dog. We want them to go home in the same condition they come to us in,” said Luong.
Justin Harris and his business partner started Hounds Lounge a little over four years ago. That facility not only offers an indoor dog daycare, but a luxury pet hotel and spa, too.
“Dogs get to be dogs all day,” said Harris. “We are truly a cage free environment from when your doge gets dropped off here first thing in the morning, we do integrate that dog into our social play groups in the back that are all overseen by our pack leaders back there and all dogs get to be fun and go home happy and tired to a pet parent.”
Harris said, the shift in pet ownership standards and trends, allowed Hounds Lounge to grow from one location to three, soon to be four.
“Just the generations are putting more stock in their parents than having children,” said Harris. “We see a lot for young kids that are below the age of 30 that aren’t necessarily married or ready to settle down, but they are looking for that companion and there is nothing more loyal than a fluffy four-legged dog that brings all the happiness in the world.”
But does your dog really need to attend day care? Or is it just an over-the-top way to pamper your fur baby?
“Some dogs are fine staying at home and many dogs as they get older don’t want to leave the house very much buy other dogs especially when you get younger really do benefit from spending time out getting socialization, getting to go out and getting exercise during the day,” said Doctor Julie Pate.
Doctor Julie Pate has been working at the Bellevue Animal Clinic for over two years. She said there are some cons to taking your fur baby to day care.
“The first that comes to mind would be infectious disease,” said Pate. “Of course, anywhere you have multiple pets together and sharing space, you have an increase in transmission of disease.”
Harris said, the protocol at Hounds Lounge prevents that from happening.
“We do require the Bordetella, the rabies, the HPPV and we are now requiring the canine influenza vaccination which is relatively new,” said Harris.
“On the rare occasion there can be little scraps and little fights sometimes between dogs,” said Pate.
Luong said, dog day cares are one of the safest places to socialize.
“Everything here is controlled,” said Luong. “We assess every dog that comes in and they are all placed in specific dog groups as opposed to when you go to the dog park you get a mish-mash of active dogs, lazy dogs. All of our dogs are separated into dog groups, so they can be completely safe while they are here.”
The average cost of sending your four-legged friend to day care is $20 a day and with no right or wrong answer, it’s up to fur parents to decide if your four-legged friend is worth spending that extra cash.