# Daycare



## Laztastic (Nov 21, 2013)

I have a 5 month old boy. Very typical vizsla -- boundless energy. I take him to daycare for nearly 10 hours a day 5 days a week. Facility is super nice and reputable. However I'm starting to worry that it's too much activity. He does have about 90 mins. of downtime, which he hates. He's a little Houdini escaping his kennel every chance he gets. 

At night he eats a huge dinner and falls asleep by 730. I wake him at 630 in the morning. He never wants to get up. But by the time we are driving back to daycare he's super happy. 

He's been on this routine for a month. Recently he's starting to toss and turn during sleep. I think he might be in pain from too much exercise or maybe it's because he's growing and teething. Or maybe he isn't in pain at all! He's still gaining weight. He weighs 31lbs now. And he wants to keep up the pace in the weekend. We play in the yard for hours on Saturday and Sunday. 

So am I worrying too much? Or is this a problem? He's going to the vet next week but I wanted some feedback for other vizsla owners. Thanks!


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## Canadian Expy (Feb 27, 2013)

Our guy has been going to daycare 2-3 times per week since around the same age and he loves it. I watch him on their web camera throughout the day and he is the only dog there that NEVER stops moving - I now understand why he comes home and passes out for the night! It sounds like your guy is the same  

I wouldn't worry about the tossing and turning at night. If he was in pain you would likely see evidence of it throughout his daily activities. It sounds like he loves the activity and interaction. If your concerned, speak to the daycare attendants and ask them keep an eye on him and if they feel it is necessary, give him some additional rest time throughout the day.


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## marathonman (Jan 15, 2013)

He may settle down a little as he gets older and look forward to his quiet time. Our boy (17mo) is in day care ~4 days a week. They currently have him on a routine where he rotates through each of the 3 play areas for an hour (he used to be able to jump the fences before they raised them), he gets a walk, and then takes a nap. I'm not sure how your daycare place is set up (individual runs or big group play areas), but hopefully they have a separate quiet area for naps. Another thing they could try is give him a middle of the day snack that corresponds with a nap time. Our daycare lets us bring in a bag of his kibble for them to feed if we want.


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## Laztastic (Nov 21, 2013)

Thanks for you comments. I added a photo of him chilling at daycare.


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## BirdWatcher (Jun 12, 2012)

Hi Laztastic. It sounds as if your boy is having a wonderful life. I think you are wise though to consider whether he might be over-exercising. I also used to let my puppy have as much social play as possible. It is so great to see them very very happy. But I did find that, at 5 months, they just have no off switch and, as long as there is another dog who wants to play she was (and still is) up for it. I would have to force her to stop sometimes, have a drink, stabilise her breathing etc.

Now my v is 22 months old the vet says that her limp maybe due too much rough play as a puppy. 

I guess it's important to be absolutely clear with your care provider that he does need to be restrained and rested periodically. He is only a baby - very poor at judging his limits or anticipating the behaviour of other dogs. And the staff must be very careful that he is not playing too rough or running too madly with older or stronger dogs.

I don't know what other owners would advise - or how it goes if you have more than one puppy at home where play time is probably full on there as well. But these dogs are athletes and they need as much attention to be paid to their joint/ ligament health as to their active play and socialising I think.


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

I think it's great your boy gets so much attention and stimulation. 

We used daycare as well for our two boys, but as Chase has reached a certain age not being neutered, he's been kicked out until we fix him which is not for another 8 months or so. Have you checked your daycare policies? Our boys will have a transition time from daycare to doggie walker.


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## mlwindc (Feb 8, 2013)

For the first five months we had Wilson, he had 30 minute walks. When he turned five months, we had him do doggie playdates with our walker. He gets about 2-3 hours of doggie playtime a day. The biggest problem we have noticed is that he gets overtired and has a hard time settling down... until he totally passes out for the night that is. He also thinks that every dog he sees is a potential playmate. We have to be very strict with him on leash when we walk him, because he thinks that every dog he meets is a playmate. 

As for the twitching... dogs do dream at night (or so I think). Wilson will make funny noises and twitch too and I haven't noticed that it is correlated to any particular activity or event. When he has been out hunting, he will get sore, so we do try to keep him out of his kennel and let him stretch and walk afterwards. It may also be muscle spasms from growing.

As for it being harmful to your pup. We never really limited Wilson's activity when he was a puppy (he is now almost 18 months). We didn't start running with him until he was almost one and it was carefully monitored. Before that, he could play off leash with other dogs as much as he wanted. Wilson was like the energizer bunny and would go and go and go. At 18 months, I have not noticed any harmful effects from that. We have a neighbor with a Bernie (mountain dog) and they started running her when she was young. She is three and she definitely has a limp and bad hip that acts up some times and she also has some leg soreness. They didn't know they weren't supposed to run her that young (they do now), so they try to be watchful and mindful of her leg when she shows signs of tenderness.


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