Dog doesn't like doggie daycare

[ExConstance]

We adopted a lovely friendly Staffie cross just before Christmas last year, she is 10 but you would never guess it. She has settled in very well, her only real problem area being she does not like other dogs and can be snappy with them. She is long legged and clearly has some sight hound blood, not the typical short nosed short legged type. We discovered that unlike our previous dogs she needs to be let out quite often, although she is happy to be left alone in the house, she seems to quite like it actually.
There are two days a week that my semi-retired husband works and I work full time Monday to Friday. We booked her into the local dog charity kennels for day care on two days a week and once she had settled she has been very content for the last 8 months. Last week on one day when I collected her they told me she had not eaten her lunch, which was strange. Yesterday they told me she had been "struggling" when she went back to her kennel after exercise, it transpired she hadn't wanted to go back into the kennel, so they let her sit on the sofa somewhere else for the rest of the day. They say that this indicates she is unhappy and I should look for some other arrangement for her at home.
Obviously we love her very much and I want to make her happy but I really feel this is a bit of cunning behaviour on her part. She has been pushing boundaries a bit recently, going upstairs and getting on the beds for example, when this has always been forbidden. She has also decided t get under the blankets on the sofa if she can, rather than sit on top of them. She is very clever and knows how to get her own way.
I really wish they had just offered her a treat and got her back into her kennel because now I know she will give them grief every day until the last few days I've paid for have run out and then I'll be stuck.
I think she needs to go out more than once when we are both at work and I'm worried about letting a stranger come into our house during the day when we are out. The kennels said they cannot recommend any dog sitters or walkers which makes it harder.
There is another Kennels that offers day care, it is just a short drive away, not so convenient but I'm tempted to move her there to see if a firmer stance about this will be more effective.
She has a great time when she is at home with us, lots of walks and charging about, what she likes best is "helping" DH when he is doing gardening or painting, I'm sure she is trying to engineer a life where she does that every day - I wish I could explain it only happens 5 days a week and we are not at home on the other two. Any suggestions? I can't take her to work or come home myself in the day, DH is in the same situation.

I think the level of foresight and planning you are ascribing you her would be pretty phenomenal for a dog 🤣
I feel it’s more likely that the more settled she has become with you, the more she feels safe to express the more “ bullish” side of her personality with you.
It seems an odd reason for the daycare to suggest she stops going and I suspect she either got a bit snappy with the staff when they tried to kennel her or has been a bit snappy with the other dogs and they were being polite.
I think you need to be firmer with boundaries at home, but in a kind way.
Maybe daycare isn’t her thing and she would be happier being let out or walked once a day, there are plenty of dog walkers with full cbs checks and references out there.
As an older, maybe slightly cranky ( in a nice way ) girl, she just doesn’t appreciate the hurly burly of all the other dogs,

Perhaps she just doesn’t like being shut in a kennel after exercise at daycare. I can see some dogs not being keen on that. The one we used had a ‘free flow’ system with a couple of chill out rooms (complete with low sofas) for dogs that needed to get away from the hustle and bustle.
I’d google daycare set ups like that in your area, or ask on a local FB group. They might suit her better.

Has she been checked out for any arthritic pain as it maybe why she is less tolerant & being snappy?

Also perhaps why she wants comfortable places go sleep, some kennels aren't very generous with bedding either and bit of vet bed isn't enough for my lurcher ( staffy x greyhound) for longer periods other mutt dog has fatty cushioning so will often chose to sleep on floor.

A home boarder with just a few dogs rather than daycare maybe better for her. Alternatively a dog walker doing couple of quick visits to let out into garden rather than a walk can be more affordable. There was a thread about 'how to trust a Dogwalker' other day. My own is so handy to have on call.

My dog would be terrified of being in a kennel at daycare and has been upset at large commercial daycares that are in office/farm type buildings.

Instead I use dog walkers who do daycare in their own house as it's a home from home. And yes he sleeps in their sofa bed

Could you look for something similar and trial that out to see if she is ok in that environment with a few dogs?

She is not able to plan the cunning you are suggesting. I would get her a vet check due to change in her behaviour.

Then look into alternative care - does she need to be supervised all day. Could a dog walker come and let her out a couple of times a day . I do not know how long you are leaving her for.

If the staff at the dog creche are recognising that they are not the right care for her I would listen.

Thank you for all the replies. She is never snappy with people, just an other dogs that get in her face. She shows no sign of being arthritic and bounces in and out of the car, up on the sofa and runs up and down stairs at home, so I don't think it is physical. She is quite a favourite with the kennels staff, and very affectionate with them too.
I think I'll have a longer talk with the kennels people to see if they think extra bedding, toys etc. might help, or if it might be the layout of the kennels that she doesn't like. She is our fifth dog ( all lived to ripe old ages) and with one possible exception the cleverest. She knows lots of words, can do some tricks and tries very hard to get her own way about things like going upstairs. Unfortunately she does not seem to have a large bladder capacity so although she is happy to be left she would need more than one break. I'll look around for something else, but hard to know where to look for a dog walker, and she would have to be walked on her own.

What you need is someone who does home boarding/daycare. There are several in my area that I heard about by word of mouth, through my dogwalkers (and one of them does this too). My dog can never be kennelled as she was so unhappy in the (very nice) rescue kennels and Battersea impressed upon me that kennels were never for her. Honestly, if I were a dog I would much prefer being in someone's home. Try other dogwalkers around you to see if they know anyone local/ask in the vet's/find out if there is a facebook group for dogowners in your area and hopefully you can find something like this. When I go abroad for a holiday, my dog goes to a wonderful man a few roads away who is clearly adored by all his dog guests and she is delighted to see him when we meet by chance on dogwalks. He also takes dogs just for the day. (She is a staffie cross too - she will snap in dog's faces if she doesn't fancy them too near her but she has got on with other dogs in these circumstances - I think it is down to the person running the home boarding to a large extent and how they deal with things).

Might be worth asking locally ( try local Facebook , next door , local shop , local vet etc ) to find someone who would like a part time dog , maybe happy to daycare an individual on a regular basis possibly someone who has lost there own DD and misses having one but doesn't for many reasons want to take the responsibility of another full time , vet them yourself carefully though