AIBU- returning filthy from doggy daycare?

[callinggloriaaa]

First time owner here and would love to get your opinions on the condition you expect dog to be returned from daycare in?

Mine returned absolutely caked in mud (in eyes, nose etc.), wet and probably cold, and in need of an immediate bath.

Very happy for him to get filthy playing all day but would expect him to be showered off and towel dried before return- is that normal?!

My dog walkers have always given a towel dry

My opinion would differ enormously though depending on whether I was (reliably) in when the dog was brought back or if he was let loose onto my sola and carpet.

On winters days there is, inevitably, a good deal of mud involved in giving dogs a happy time outside.

I'd be upset if he hadn't had a rudimentary towelling off, but would not expect a clean/dry dog back. I wouldn't expect a shower, no.

No, I would expect a wash to be an extra service.

Mine gets filthy. They give them a once over with a towel and it works fine for smooth coats like labs but my golden is never too golden looking.
I pop her in her crate with a towel for a nap as she's knackered. She comes out fairly clean after that - the mud brushes off. I shut the door to my living room until she's had her nap so I'm not too bothered - it's hard floors everywhere else.
She only goes once a week for a play - maybe if she went more I'd be annoyed but right now it's manageable.

Does a nursery bath shower children?

It's an extra job

Seams to be fairly standard, especially in winter. My dog gets wet and dirty every day, whether with me or at daycare. I used to use one that had a large area of plastic grass over a concrete farm yard (so not draining) and he used to come home STINKING of the pee of 20 other dogs mixed with some sort of industrial cleaner. I'd rather have mud.

Maybe try a lightweight/waterproof coat depending on breed? Funny Fuzzy do some really good quality ones.

Sounds like your dog had an ace time

Is it daycare where you drop off and pick up, or more of a dog walker who drops back to you at home?

I wouldn’t expect sopping wet or muddy face in either scenario, really, but people do have different acceptable standards and dogs get mucky in winter mud, which is unavoidable.

Get an Equafleece or similar?

I wouldn't expect more than a towel rub and depending on the dogs coat this could still leave a lot of mud.

A wash would be beyond anything I would expect. If you think about it a wash and dry is something a groomer does whereas a walker/daycare is different.

Washing is an extra £10 here.

It's like kids- you expect them back disgusting to show they've had a good time!

Of course washing the dog is your job. Some dogs (mine) need special products etc, or special care. It's daycare, not a groomer.

Mine comes back with his dry robe on but that's it. Paws will get a quick rub down but he is still muddy.

Coming back muddy is the least of your problems. It's when they come back having rolled in fox poo or a dead corpse 😂

When mine went to a commercial larger daycare they used to shower them off to get the worst mud clean, but they were never dried off. She often arrived home soaking and cold. I would have preferred the mud to be honest.

She now goes to a small home based daycare. If they go on a long muddy walk they'll be showered off and properly dried, if just a bit muddy it will be a paw wash and dry. She's never spotless (and I wouldn't expect her to be) but I can let her on the sofa straightaway.

Thanks all, that's really helpful to know. I definitely wasn't expecting him to be showered and properly dried, more of just a quick hose down and rub with a towel to get the worst of it off before he's dropped back (as generally I wouldn't be in)!

I have to say though, it is lovely that he conks out for the evening after a day of daycare!

When my dog went to daycare he enjoyed lying in a paddling pool party full of dog wee, it wasn’t pleasant

I was by a lake yesterday watching my own and two other dogs playing. Mine and one of the others were wet to their middles and pretty clean; the other, a collie-type bitch, was saturated to her eyeballs and then rolled in sand and mud so there's that individual variability in chaos levels to consider too!

If they're safe and happy then I don't worry about the mud. I just factor in that he'll need a wash when he gets home - and will then sleep soundly for hours.

They ought to be washing his paws because if you're not there and he's licking them and there's antifreeze or oil etc it will be very bad for him.

I would expect them to at very least towel the dog off and get the worst of the muck off - that's what I do as a dog walker.

I don't have time to give all the dogs a shower and a dry off - it would add way too much unpaid work to my day. The only way I'd be able to offer it is to cut down the number of dogs I walk and up my prices.

I tell people that they need to expect mud and wet dogs - it's England after all. Even if you stick to pavements they still get mucky. If they won't be home when I get back, I ask them to close doors or I put the dogs in crates etc.

Our dog walker recommends using equifleece all in ones if we don’t want them coming back muddy
They get a towel dry but that’s it’s

There was a thread on this a few weeks ago regarding dog walkers and I was surprised at how many dogs came back from walks dirty..

I have a dog walking business and doggy day care.

In both instances the dogs are cleaned before being put in the vehicle to be transported home. Dog vans are equipped with washers like Mud Daddy and dogs are washed and put into drying coats.

Our doggy day care has a shower and wet room where dogs are cleaned dried or put in drying coats before they go home.

To us this is an important part of our job.

Basic hygiene is important to us working with the dogs and also the dogs. That means mud and dirt will be cleaned off.

Do you let the doggy day know that this is what you want? I always ask what our clients need and try to accommodate what they need.

Same for my dog. We’ve had a lot of rain here (virtually every bloody day since September apart from brief cold snap) everywhere is soaking all our fields are flooded. When I pick my dog up he’s often damp and muddy but he is the same whoever I I walk him. He has a double coat and seems perfectly happy. I don’t think dogs feel the cold like we do. Let’s face I could jump repeatedly into a river after a ball and still look cheerful.
I hate bathing mine so the £10 bath before picking them up is very tempting.