Choosing the Right Pet Grooming Supplies

When grooming pets at home, it’s important to make sure you have the right kinds of supplies. Use the following information when you’re choosing pet grooming supplies for your dog.

Dog Brushes

Your dog’s coat determines the kind of brush you’ll need to get:

• Smooth, short coat: For this type of coat, choose a bristle brush that has short, soft or medium bristles.
• Wiry, short coat: If your dog has this kind of coat, look for a slicker brush. You can also use a bristle brush that has firm bristles.
• Thin coat: For dogs with a thin coat, look for a wire-pin brush. You can also use a slicker brush to get rid of mats.
• Flowing coat: If your dog has a medium or long coat with flowing hair, choose a wire-pin brush. You can also use a bristle brush that has soft or medium bristles. For removing mats, use a slicker brush.
• Double coat: Choose a wire-pin brush for this type of coat. You can also use a bristle brush that has firm bristles. To remove mats or tangles, use a slicker brush.

Nail Clippers

When choosing pet grooming supplies, you’ll need one of the following nail clippers:

• Scissor clippers: These work best for bigger dogs with thicker nails, since they apply more pressure when trimming nails.
• Guillotine clippers: These clippers, which go over each nail and slice the tip off, are suitable for small or medium dogs.
• Grinder tool: This tool can be used for bigger dogs with thick nails or dogs who don’t like nail clippers.

Dental Care

When it comes to dental care, choose toothbrushes and toothpaste that are specifically made for dogs. Toothpaste made for people isn’t good for dogs, since it can irritate their stomach. Remember to replace your dog's toothbrush when it starts to wear out.

Bathing Supplies

For bathing dogs, you’ll need shampoo that’s safe to use on dogs. Don’t use shampoo made for people, since these products can bother their skin. You can also choose dog shampoo with oatmeal for sensitive skin or shampoo that helps brighten white coats.

Comparing Costs for Pet Boarding, Pet Sitting and On-site Daycare

When you need to travel without your pets, you have a few options to consider for pet care. You can have your pets stay at a boarding facility, hire a pet sitter, or sign them up for pet daycare. These different options vary in price based on certain factors. Here’s what to expect when you compare pet boarding cost, pet sitting cost and daycare cost.

Pet Boarding Cost

The cost for pet boarding is usually higher than costs for a pet sitter. This is mainly due to the fact that your pets will be staying in a facility that provides cozy kennels, play areas and staff members to keep an eye on them. You don’t have to worry about arranging for a sitter to come by each day or stay at your home, which means you don’t have to worry that they won’t show up. Boarding provides you with peace of mind while you’re away from your pets. Keep in mind that pet boarding facilities also offer grooming, training and other services, which also accounts for higher costs.

Pet Sitting Cost

The cost of a pet sitter is typically lower than pet boarding or daycare. The least expensive option is having a pet sitter stop by your home a couple times a day to walk your pets, feed them and play with them. If you want someone there at all times, you’ll usually have to pay more for an overnight pet sitter.

On-site Daycare

If you only need someone to watch your pets during the day, on-site daycare is a great option. This usually costs about as much as pet boarding, although you can typically find discounts to take advantage of, such as signing your pets up for more days or weeks at a reduced rate. On-site daycare provides pets with a safe and exciting place to spend the day, and you can also arrange for grooming services or training for additional costs.

How to Find the Best Boarding Facility for Your Pet

Boarding facilities offer a place for your pets to stay when you won’t be home, but how do you know which one to pick? When you’re comparing different facilities, keep the following tips in mind. This will help ensure that you find the best boarding facility for your pets.

Check Vaccination Requirements

When you find pet boarding facilities in your area, one of the first things to check is the vaccination requirements. Facilities should require all pets to have certain vaccinations in order to stay there. This helps lower your pets’ chances of getting sick while they’re boarding. Without strict vaccination requirements, pets are at risk of getting kennel cough and other contagious diseases.

Look for a Clean Facility

Any boarding facility you consider for your pets should be kept clean on a regular basis. You should visit the facility to take a tour of it, so you can see what kind of condition it’s in. Any messes from pets should be picked up right away instead of being left on the floor. Pets should also have bowls of clean water available. If the facility you visit seems dirty, don’t board your pets there. They’re more at risk of getting sick if they stay in an unclean boarding facility.

Talk to the Staff

Before choosing a boarding place, talk to staff members. This lets you find out how knowledgeable they are about pets and pet care. Don’t hesitate to ask any questions you have about the place and how certain situations are handled, such as how staff members deal with emergencies. Talking to staff also helps you to determine if they’re friendly, courteous and good with animals.

Ask About Supervised Play

If your pets will be taking part in play groups, make sure these are supervised by staff members. Find pet boarding facilities that require pets to go through assessments. This ensures that they don’t have behavioral problems that could make them a danger to other pets. Supervised play also reduces the risk of having pets get loose and run off.

What to Expect from Overnight Pet Boarding

When your pets stay overnight at DoGone Fun, you can rest assured that they’ll have a great time. If you’re wondering what to expect from overnight pet boarding, this is what pets typically go through during their stay.

Check-In

When you bring your pets in for boarding, we’ll give you time to say goodbye before taking them back to the kennels or play area. Please have your check-in form filled out for us, so we’ll have all of the information we need for your pets’ stay.

Playtime

If you drop your pets off in the morning or afternoon, they can play with other dogs in the play area. We provide pets with time to rest during the day, so they don’t get overexcited.

Training

We offer training for pets that are boarding. If your pets could use some obedience training or if they need to learn specific commands, we can work with them while they’re at our boarding facility. We offer training classes and one-on-one instruction.

Meals

Our overnight pet boarding facility serves meals at regular times each day. We’ll feed your pets their regular food, or you can indicate that you want them to eat the food we provide at our facility. If your pets have special diets, please let us know, so we can accommodate them.

Elimination

Your pets will have plenty of opportunities to eliminate during their overnight stay. They can do so while playing outside or going for a walk. Our staff members clean up after your pets right away in order to keep our facility clean.

Bedtime

When it’s time for bed, your pets will stay in a comfortable kennel with a polar fleece blanket. For an extra fee, you can arrange one-on-one cuddle time for them, a biscuit, or a Kong filled with goodies. You can also arrange for an extra comfortable bed for them for an extra fee.

Grooming

Our staff members can give your pets a bath, trim their nails and provide other grooming services if you want. Just let us know which grooming services you would like for your pets.

What to Expect from Day Care for Dogs

Dropping your pets off at day care for dogs for the first time can make you feel a bit anxious when you don’t know what to expect. When you have a better idea of how your dogs’ day will go, you can feel more at ease about having them spend time away from you. When you bring your pups to DoGone Fun, you can expect them to go through the following routine each day.

Arrival

When you get to DoGone Fun after 7 am, one of our play lot attendants will be there to greet you. Our play lot attendant will make sure that your dogs are comfortable while also giving you a chance to say goodbye to them until later on.

Morning

Some day care dogs have breakfast at 8 am, along with our boarding dogs. Once they’re done with their breakfast, they head out to the play area to burn off some energy until lunchtime.

Afternoon

If your dogs are having lunch with us, they’ll be eating it around noon. That’s also when our boarding dogs have lunch. After lunchtime is done, we provide dogs with a chance to rest and take a nap. This gives them time to relax and build up more energy to burn off while playing in the afternoon. It also gives them a break from noise and excitement, so they won’t become overstimulated.

Evening

If your dogs are staying into the evening, they can have dinner between 5 pm and 6 pm, along with our boarding dogs. After dinner is done, your dogs will be ready for you to pick them up.

Other Services

At DoGone Fun, we offer more than day care for dogs. If you sign your dogs up for training, you can expect them to have several shorter training sessions throughout the day instead of one long class. If you sign your dogs up for grooming, they’ll get a bath in the afternoon, which means they’ll be clean and shiny when you arrive to pick them up and bring them home.

What to Know About Dog Day Care Costs in Chicago

Bringing your dogs to day care means they’ll have a chance to meet other pups and stay busy while you’re at work. When you’re looking into dog day care facilities, it’s important to keep in mind that you shouldn’t just choose the option with the lowest rates. Instead, you should focus on finding a facility that fits your budget while also providing your dogs with a safe and stimulating environment. Keep the following information on dog day care costs in Chicago in mind during your search.

General Rates in Chicago

The average rates in Chicago vary based on the quality of different dog day care facilities and the kinds of amenities they offer. You’ll find that places with higher rates tend to offer a variety of amenities and services that go beyond simple day care, such as obedience training classes and spa services. These places also usually have staff members who are highly skilled and trained, as well as facilities that offer a clean and safe environment for dogs.

DoGone Fun Day Care Costs

When it comes to dog day care costs in Chicago, DoGone Fun offers prices that fit many budgets. While these prices are slightly above the average costs, there are also several perks that are available. These daily indulgences, which are available for an added cost, include a cup of house food, regular or gourmet biscuits at naptime, frozen yogurt treats, a Kong stuffed with goodies for naptime, 15-minute walk outside during day care hours and a freshen-up service with dry shampoo.

At DoGone Fun, introductory rates for day care are $95 for up to 12 hours on three full days, $70 for three half days up to six hours and $40 for a full day up to 12 hours. Long-term costs are also available, such as 10 full days for $370 and 20 full days for $700. Day care between the hours of 7 pm and 10 pm is also available at $5 per hour per dog. For more information on dog day care costs in Chicago, please contact DoGone Fun.

Pros and Cons of Dog Day Care

Having a safe place for your dog to spend time and socialize while you’re gone during the day helps relieve boredom, but is doggy day camp right for you? While there are important advantages associated with dog day care, there are also some disadvantages all dog owners should consider before making this decision. Keep the following pros and cons in mind when you look into dog day care for your pet.

Advantages of Doggy Day Camp

Day care for dogs provides a number of benefits, as long as it offers a high-quality environment and skilled staff members. These benefits include:

• Flexible schedules: Depending on your work schedule, you can sign your dog up for full days of daycare or half days. You can also arrange for evening day care if that works better with your schedule.
• Exercise: Dog day care facilities with play areas give dogs a chance to run around for hours at a time, which provides them with good exercise.
• Supervision: Dog day care facilities have trained staff available to keep an eye on dogs while they’re playing. This helps prevent behavioral problems from occurring, such as aggression.
• Socialization: Dogs have regular opportunities to spend time with other dogs at day care, which helps them stay mentally stimulated.

Disadvantages of Doggy Day Camp

Dog day care facilities are not ideal for some types of dogs. For example, those who are fearful, those who are hyper and those with certain medical conditions might have trouble adjusting to this type of setting. Other disadvantages of doggy day camp include the following:

• Behavioral problems: Existing behavioral issues, such as jumping on people, might get worse when you send your dog to day care. Keep in mind that some facilities do offer one-on-one training for behavioral problems.
• Injuries and illness: Dogs have a higher risk of getting hurt or becoming sick from being around other dogs.
• Too much excitement: Some dogs become overstimulated when they’re in a dog day care setting. Skilled staff can detect when this happens and prevent dogs from getting too excited.