Doggie Play Date / Doggie Daycare

[Anonymous]

We have 6 month old Labrador puppy. I've been taking him to free play "puppy parties" at the dog training center we go to since he was 3 months old, but he is getting too big for it now. Seems most people bring their very young puppies like 3-4 months old. My guy is pushing 50 lbs and is a rough player (energetic Lab who likes to wrestle and is mouthy).

This is my first dog. I'm not totally comfortable taking him to a dog park since he is still young and plays rough. I would not consider myself an expert in monitoring dog play! I was wondering if anyone knows of a local place where there is professional supervised dog play where you can drop in and bring your dog for like 45 minutes or an hour just for exercise. It looks like the doggie daycares only charge by the day plus I've heard some good and bad things about daycare.

I appreciate any suggestions or recommendations.

[Anonymous]

We have a 7 month old lab mix who is a bundle of energy and absolutely loves other dogs. She will literally whine if she sees one walk past our house.

We were also at a loss for what to do after the puppy classes ended, so we have been using a daycare. We just sign her up for a half day and only leave her there for 2 hours or so. She seems to really enjoy it and she is absolutely exhausted for the next day or so. She literally drags us from the car to the entrance because she can't wait to get in there and play.

[Anonymous]

A dogs day out has several locations and I believe it is $15 for up to 3 hours.

[Anonymous]

Just want to second the recommendation for using a doggie daycare for the half day option. We've done that in the past when our dogs need a good play session.

We used to go to dog parks all the time but it's just so hard managing all the different play styles and the occasional jerk who brought their aggressive dog and wouldn't do anything when they would go after other dogs. I much prefer the daycares where dogs are "interviewed" ahead of time to make sure they can play appropriately and are monitored by staff.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the feedback. Those of you using doggie daycare- what are the names of the places you take your dog? How do you like them?

[Anonymous]

OP, are you looking in DC, md, or Va?

[Anonymous]

OP here. Looking for Maryland - Montgomery County.

[Anonymous]

Put something up on your neighborhood listserve. One of my neighbors did this about 7 or 8 months ago and we have once or twice a week doggy playdates. They roll around and play for an hour in the backayrd and its uses way more energy than a walk

[Anonymous]

In kensington, Blue Dog daycare has half days. They are really good and nice. We have also used clever dog in silver spring which we like, but doesn't do half says