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Dogs have a field day at canine crèches

Day care spaces emerge as ideal solutions for pet owners to leave behind their furry friends while they are at work

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Pet day care give an opportunity to canines to interact with other dogs. Besides customised meals, crèches also offer training programmes — Pet Stepin
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“It used to be a task to feed Kian...,” says Vivek Singhal of the time when he and his wife Suraksha would have to goad their dog to eat. “That changed since his first month at the day care. Now he is always excited about meal times and gobbles his food within minutes.”

The Singhals credit Pet Stepin, a half-acre retreat for dogs, cats, guinea pigs, birds and other pets, in the heart of Bengaluru, for this change in Kian. It was here that the rescued mongrel observed and learned from other dogs, who eat their meals with no fuss and perfect manners.

Day care centres — places where pet owners can keep their dog for a few hours — as opposed to a kennel, are becoming a prefered choice for urban pet owners, who don’t have a dependable ward to help. A good doggie crèche also helps with behavioural issues, such as Kian’s fussy eating.

The working couple, who became pet parents this August to the rescued pup with a missing paw, started dropping off Kian at Dr Nezhat Belgamvala’s facility for a few hours every day about two months ago. Given that Kian, now five months old, was still very young, they didn’t want to leave him alone but what really clinched the deal for Pet Stepin was the space and it’s friendly staff. “They also take care not to admit a dog, who may not be good for the rest of the dogs. “This bode well for Kian... since he was rescued, he’d get stressed with other dogs around,” says 29-year-old Singhal.

Offering a space for urban pets to engage with others, is a the primary reason why Dr Belgamvala started Pet Stepin in 2009. “It is important for dogs to socialise with other dogs, humans and children,” says Dr Belgamvala, a practising vet. “When a dog first comes to us, he or she is gradually initiated into socialising, starting first with only half-an-hour interactions, before they are taken in for day care or boarding.”

Modern-day crèches continue training programmes, and organise supervised play sessions that burn off excess energy. So instead of coming home to a bored dog, who has shredded the furniture and chewed on the shoes, the dog leaves for his/her day care with the parents and joins them after hours. Such attention has been a boon for Champ, who has been a regular day boarder at Pet Stepin for three years. “Champ was the first pet in our apartment complex when we brought him home four years ago. He had no one to mingle with,” says Sharath Keshava, one half of another working couple, with jobs that involve a lot of travel. After trying a few centres, the Keshavas felt Pet Stepin was a second home. “We’ve never had Champ throw a tantrum to not go there,” he says.

Passion for pooch

The convenience of day care also puts pressure on pet parents to raise well-behaved dogs. At Tail Magic in Gurugram, Pravin Kora runs parents and their wards through stringent assessment standards for attitude and behaviour to enter this 'home stay/boarding for pooches'. Kora tries to retain the rules the pet has at home, though they have the run of his ground-plus-two-storied residence and backyard. “I try to replicate the experience the dog has at home,” he says. “If it is used to sleeping in bed at home, then s/he is allowed to come into the bed at my place, too.”

The 39-year-old takes charge of everything — cooking the food, taking them for a walk, playing with them and engaging in what he calls “dawg talk”. “I don’t intervene when they play or are communicating among themselves” says Kora. One of his regulars is Cookie, who has been spend seven to eight hours at Tail Magic every day. “We first took him to Pravin when he was a pup, and we can see the difference,” says Antra Tyagi, who brought home the golden retriever two years ago. “He is well-balanced and friendly with other dogs and people, too. Unlike other dogs at the park, he doesn’t growl or have anxiety issues. He’s the kind of kid all the dog parents are fond of!”

What to look for in a day care

Surveillance
Nearly all centers send pictures and videos of dogs engaged in games and activities via Whatsapp or Facebook to their parents. Some like Pet Stepin, and Shyamax Presswalla's The Bark Club also share CCTV cameras feeds.

Dietary Plan
Look into their attention to dietary specifications. Dorothy Ghosh's Chhaya Dog House in Chhatarpur, Delhi; Meera Thosar's Happytails Boarding in Pune, and the about-to-open The Bark Club at Byculla in Mumbai, consider pet food preferences due to age or health conditions, and allgeries

Vet-on-call
An on-call vet or a dedicated vehicle to take pets to veterinarians if needed

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