Niki Blasina
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Like many parents, on our way into the office, we first stop to drop off our six-year-old, Monty. I give him a kiss, a pat on the head and wish him a good day. “I’ll see you later!”, I say with a wave, as he bounces through the doorway, excited to join his friends.
We don’t have a child. We have a dachshund. When my husband and I are at work, Monty attends a doggy daycare – essentially, a kindergarten for canines – where he plays and socialises, and is fed, walked and entertained.
Dog daycares have proliferated in the world’s major cities, and as pet ownership and expenditure has increased in recent years – according to the latest figures from the UK Office for National Statistics, spending on pets has more than doubled over the past decade, reaching nearly £10bn in 2022 – they’ve become more luxurious, exclusive and expensive than ever before. Some daycares are billed as private members clubs, others as day schools, with amenities that include obstacle courses, scent trails and swimming pools, while in-house veterinary and wellness staff provide regular check-ups, flea and worming treatments, grooming and training.
You can drop him off in the morning a grubby mess, and he comes out having had his health check, a wash and his vaccinations
Ollie Hudd-Williams is the co-founder of WagWorks, a members-only dog daycare centre in Fulham, which opened in 2022 with the aim to be “the ultimate holistic daycare”. Membership at WagWorks costs from £210 to £840 a month. Care includes unlimited daycare sessions, training workshops, grooming services, and routine healthcare, such as monthly parasite treatments, quarterly check-ups and annual vaccinations. Potential member dogs and owners participate in an initial assessment and onboarding process, in which WagWorks gauges the suitability of each dog to the environment and learns about their likes, dislikes, fears, and what brings out the best in them.
When I visit on a weekday morning WagWorks is already busy with dogs, each with their own labelled school locker where they’ll receive a report card at the end of the day with health notes or remarks about positive behaviours. I peer into the “scent den”, a quiet enrichment space largely dedicated to sniffing, where one of the assistants is sitting on the floor, reading a storybook to a pair of dogs each snuggled under her arms.
WagWorks in Fulham, London: a wellness-focused members-only dog daycare that also offers training, healthcare and grooming services. Three membership tiers at £210, £390 or £840 a month. Extra daycare sessions cost from £48 a day.
Happy Tails in Tribeca, New York: billed as NYC’s ultimate dog social club, offering daycare, boarding, training, vet care and events for owners. $1,350 a month for membership (including unlimited daycare, and other complimentary and discounted services), plus “a la carte” options priced at $85 for a full day.
South Park Doggieland in Los Angeles: a premium “pawcademy” and theme park for dogs, with four dog size-dependent membership tiers that range from $240 (four visits per month for a small dog) to $1,100 (unlimited visits per month for a large dog).
Camp Canine in Santa Barbara: a dog resort and spa with a “day camp” that has been operating since 1984 ($55 per day, $900 for unlimited daycare).
The architects of the stylish 560sq m facility worked closely with Winkie Spiers, the in-house dog behaviourist (and a bit of a celebrity in the London dog world), while designing the space. “Everything is built for dogs,” Hudd-Williams says. Walkways are curved (dogs can be intimidated when approached head-on); surfaces are non-slip; indoor loos – patches of “canine grass” that sit on shower trays – are washed regularly and deep-cleaned each night, while fresh air is cycled through the site up to 12 times per hour. “More than a spin studio does,” Hudd-Williams says.
A day at WagWorks is regimented like a kindergarten, with a schedule built around mental enrichment, socialisation and rest. “Kids’ clubs are very good at setting out the structure of the day, and that’s what we brought in here,” Hudd-Williams says. There is a scheduled nap time each day, in designated snoozing areas with flat and raised dog beds, sofas and stables, so the animals can select their preferred spot. “Dogs like choice,” he says.
WagWorks is like the Eton of doggie daycare centres – pets emerge confident and finely tuned. Says Christopher Gibbons, 39, whose two-and-a-half-year-old Irish terrier, McIlroy (named after the golfer), is a member: “It’s all very convenient. You can drop him off in the morning a grubby mess, and he comes out having had his health check, a wash and his vaccinations.”
“There is a high price, but you want to give the best care you can for your pet,” says Sara Rose, 49. Her three-year-old papillon, Tim, recently started attending WagWorks when she was called back to the office five days a week. “I’d never want a dog to spend time alone – it’s inevitable that it will happen – but they love socialisation with dogs and people so much.”
Our decision to send Monty to the Holland Bark Club, a small-scale daycare for little dogs in west London, was also about socialisation. Dachshunds, along with their elongated shape, comical waddle and Teutonic stubbornness, often have separation anxiety – a common trait among dogs that were originally bred to hunt in packs.
But some elite doggy daycares are extending socialisation to humans too. In New York’s Tribeca neighbourhood, Happy Tails, a social club for dogs and their minders, was founded by Teddy Tawil and Irving Fallas in 2022. At the 275sq m space, four-legged members can enjoy a jungle room, obstacle course, and an enormous playground with a slide, tunnel and playhouse. There’s a bathing station, couches for quiet time, and a dog cafe, with bespoke doggy cakes.
“We wanted to focus on a lifestyle club, where parents could get to know each other and bring their dogs to an elevated experience,” says Tawil. Membership costs $1,350 a month (more than Soho House).
“People can come with their dog, have a drink, mingle with each other, let their dogs play,” Tawil says. Happy Tails has plans to start hosting singles’ events – a clever addition to a calendar that already includes dog yoga, movie nights and sessions with a pet psychic, Shira. “It’s definitely a little quacky,” Tawil says of the latter. “But people absolutely love her.”
For the ultimate in canine daycare, however, look to California, unsurprisingly, and Camp Canine, a dog resort, spa and “doggy day camp” in Santa Barbara that has been operating since 1984. Here, for $900 per month, dogs can enjoy unlimited access to a facility that could double for an Indiana Jones set, with boulders, waterfalls, huts and swimming holes. (Play is supervised by human camp counsellors.)
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South Park Doggieland in Los Angeles, a playcare, staycare and “pawcademy”, bills itself as the world’s first “Pre-K” programme for dogs, with a curriculum covering physical, social, and mental development with activities like swimming, agility training, and creative arts, including painting and sculpting (somehow). Twelve visits a month costs $600 for large dogs.
I ask Tawil if part of him thinks that we as dog people have collectively gone a bit insane. “Insane is an understatement,” he says. “It’s only going to get crazier.”
