Oakington Dog Day Care Centre's Facilities For Your Dog

Here at Oakington Dog Day Care Centre we feel that it is vitally important to provide a range of facilities for our canine visitors. Dogs benefit from routine, rest and stimulation both mental and physical.

As a 5* rated dog day care facility by South Cambs Council it is one of our duties and responsibilities to provide such facilities for the dogs in our care.

Dogs need mental as well as physical stimulation to keep them happy and entertained. If a child did the same thing every day they would become bored and unhappy very quickly. And just like us dogs need to rest too to prevent them becoming over tired, and for our puppies this is especially important.

Details of the facilities we have available at Oakington Dog Day Care

Outside spaces

We have a large secure field with a separate paddock and a puppy pen.Within these we have tyres and play equipment for the dogs to sniff, play on, explore and rest by, in or under.Our dogs mainly mix and socialise as a group, but there are times when we split the group depending on whether we have puppies or youngsters in.Or when because of the mix of dogs, their energy levels and/or interests, it is appropriate to split them accordingly for the enjoyment of the group as a whole.

Indoor Play Area

Our indoor play area is split into 2 areas. We have just created an indoor lounge area. This enables us to split the indoor play area as we do with our outside spaces. The new indoor lounge is nice and comfy for the dogs. It has sofas, ball pools, beds and play equipment for the dogs to enjoy.

Rest Time​

Rest is an important part of our daily routine and we have a quiet area dedicated to this. We bring the dogs in to rest mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and at lunchtime.The dogs are so excited when they come in to see us, that by mid-morning they are ready to come in and rest up for an hour. When the dogs come in they generally go to the place they like to rest best, be that a crate, bed, sofa or pen.

At lunchtime we rest the dogs in complete quiet for 2 hours.1 hour before those that have lunch have lunch and then we rest the dogs for another hour before we go out again in the afternoon. It is important that the dogs have had a proper rest both before and after their lunch.

We go out again in the afternoon and by mid-afternoon they are ready again for an afternoon siesta, before we go out for the last part of the day.

Toys

We have a large range of toys and will bring out a selection depending on the mix of dogs we have in at any one time. The brands we favour the most are Kong and ChuckIT. We also have a selection of other toys and a choice of rope toys.

Agility equipment

We have a selection of agility equipment that we use both inside and outside.The dogs love the variety when we bring pieces outside for them to play on.

​Play equipment & tyres

We have play equipment in all of our spaces.This gives our dogs the chance to play in and around the equipment and it gives them different levels to play at too.

Sand pits & paddling pools

In the finer weather we bring out padding pools for the dogs to play in and cool off in. Some of our dogs are true water babies and others are simply happy to watch. We also have sand pits for our diggers to enjoy, rather than encouraging them to dig it helps them display their natural behaviours.

Ball pools

The ball pools are a great joy and the dogs love them.Once they have got used to going in we can’t keep some of them out of there!

New sensory garden – coming soon

Sights, smells, sounds and textures all in one garden to provide both physical and mental stimulation. The sensory garden is there to help grow confidence and provide a calm space. See my previous blog for more details.

A typical day at Oakington Doggy Daycare

Dogs arrive throughout the morning and go outside for their morning toileting and to say hello to the group. There is enough going on with the group coming together for the day that by mid-morning the dogs are ready to come in for our morning rest. After an hour’s rest we go out again for the rest of the morning.

At noon we come in for our quiet lunchtime rest period. We close the doors so that the dogs are not disturbed during this time. We rest for an hour before those that have lunch have lunch and then we rest again for an hour before we get ready for the afternoon dogs to arrive.

Our afternoon dogs arrive at 2pm and we all go outside for toileting and playtime. Again, by mid-afternoon our dogs are ready for their afternoon siesta and we come into our quiet area so that the dogs can rest for an hour before we go out to enjoy the rest of the afternoon.

For puppies their routine is slightly different, we need to make sure that they don’t over exercise, they have longer rest periods and that they have timeout during playtime so that they don’t get over excited.

The toys we choose to get out are relevant to the dogs we have in and what their interests are. It may be that we get balls and ball launchers out or it could be kong sticks and rope toys or maybe a selection of the ChuckIT toys, there are many combinations. The dogs love it when we bring pieces of equipment outside from our indoor play area, they love to see things being put in different areas. If it’s a hot day the paddling pools will be deployed, which is always an exciting activity. Sometimes sitting on the ground is the best thing for a snuggle and a cuddle, or a belly rub or tummy tickle.

Benefits of Doggy Daycare

Doggie Daycare makes your life easier by providing safe, fun, structured and stimulating care for your dog whilst you’re at work, or out for the day. It enables you to go to work guilt free knowing your dog is having a great time too. They can’t wait to get inside when you arrive so you can leave your dog happy in the knowledge that they really want to be with us and then when you come to collect them they greet you with a happy waggy tail ready to tell you all about their day.

We promote good manners as your dog socialises with other dogs. Other benefits include socialisation with humans, relief from boredom, prevention of destructive behaviour and a chance for your dog to have fun.

Doggie Day Care offers you the chance to leave your dog in an environment that means he will be able to socialise and play with other dogs in the most natural environment possible.

If you would like more information about us please visit our website

If you would like to come and see our facilities for yourself, we would be delighted to show you and your dog around on a pre-arranged visit. Please note however that we are unable to show people around while we have dogs in daycare. Please contact us to arrange an appointment and we can answer any questions you may have.