We are a good fit for many dogs, but not ALL dogs. Please read through the extensive information on our website — especially Is Dog’s Day the Right Fit? and Our Approach. We will then discuss by email (or phone) after you fill out the contact form. If moving forward, we will schedule a meet & greet where you will bring your dog out for a visit so that we can evaluate your dog’s compatibility with our services.

Please note: It is important that anyone who will be making decisions for your dog be present at the meet & greet. We go over a lot of information and want to make sure everyone is on the same page.

While we are sure that there are some responsible pet lovers who host pets in their homes that you can find through an app like Rover.com, there are a few differences between them and Dog’s Day.

Dog’s Day is legally licensed/permitted to care for dogs, while Rover hosts are operating illegally, especially in Montgomery County, MD. They may be “bonded and insured”, but that has nothing to do with operating legally. We’ve done all the difficult, but necessary work to operate a safe and legal dog care business. To be clear: we’re not here to shame anyone. We started out without a license, but staying unlicensed just isn’t fair to anyone including your dogs.

The licensing process in this county is complex, expensive, and at times, incredibly frustrating. We know because we’ve been through it. Licensing isn’t just red tape. It’s about creating safe, accountable, and professional environments for the dogs we all love.

Being licensed means we are:

• Approved and inspected regularly by the county
• Following strict health, safety, and sanitation standards for all of the dogs and staff
• Fully insured and properly zoned for what we do
• Compliant with payroll, workers comp, tax, minimum wage guidelines, tax and labor laws
• Investing in extensively trained, fairly paid staff who are protected on the job
• Required to document, track, and uphold these standards year-round
• Requiring necessary vaccines
• Accountable

These things are costly — and they should be. They protect our team, your pets, and you. But here’s the hard part: unlicensed businesses aren’t held to those same standards. They don’t carry the same expenses, and often, they can charge far less — not because their care is better or more efficient, but because they aren’t playing by the same rules.

We are Montgomery County’s ONLY licensed cage-free facility with large outdoor space for dogs to be dogs. We’re proud of the invisible work that goes into running Dog’s Day, even when no one sees it. If you ever have questions about our licensing or operations, we’re always happy to share more about what goes on behind the scenes.

Dog’s Day is 100% kennel and crate-free, and all of our dog guests have human (and dog) companionship 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We have a staff of 25+ dog lovers, all of whom must complete a very extensive training course on safely caring for and managing dogs in groups. If you do decide to inquire with a home-boarding host, ask important questions like: “What experience do you have with dog behavior and body language?”, “What happens if you are sick or have an emergency but are alone with my dog and other dogs?”, “Who will be watching my dog when you need to leave the home for errands?”, “Will you put my dog in a crate or kennel?”, “Who sleeps with my dog?”, “Is the yard fully fenced and secure?” and “Are there children in the home?” (sometimes children can leave doors open allowing for a dog to escape and/or leave dangerous toys/foods available for dogs to get into).

While our facility has all the comforts of home (beds, couches, television, climate controlled comfort etc.), we have lots of outdoor space on our farm for dogs to run and play together (or separately). We have custom built play equipment, grass/gravel/turf areas, a few wading pools and even a trampoline for dogs. And for when weather isn’t cooperating, we have close to 6,000 square feet of indoor space that is designed and reserved for the dogs. In case of a power outage, we have a large back-up solar and battery system that can provide perpetual power (heating/cooling and water) for uninterrupted care.

Absolutely, and we’d require you to bring your pup for a visit anyway. We will schedule a “Meet & Greet” so that you can come see our farm and how we do things, and so your dog(s) can meet us and some dogs in a controlled, safe environment. We will also evaluate your dog’s suitability for our environment (and vice versa). We are not always the right fit for all dogs.

• Meet & Greets/Evaluations are $60
• Please bring all family members that are interested in seeing our facility to the initial Meet & Greet
• Evaluations take place outdoors, but we are able to take you inside to see one of our indoor areas during your visit

Boarding and daycare dogs go in and out many times throughout the day. To a certain extent, we let the dogs choose how much time they would like to spend outdoors. Dogs that are enjoying the outdoors and would rather not come inside during parts of the day are usually allowed to stay outside, provided they are playing well, are not barking excessively and temperatures/weather are not extreme. We do limit time outdoors in extreme temperatures (for example: if it’s 95 degrees outside, we will only be outdoors for a max of 10 minutes at a time, but we will go out frequently throughout the day).

Our daycare and boarding facility is on a 25 acre farm, so the answer is “yes” 🙂

By default, we do not use crates and we do not have kennels like most boarding facilities. To be clear, though, we do not see any issue with the use of crates or kennels and we see great value in them especially when properly used for training puppies and providing a safe space for dogs. However, for our purposes, we do not use crates unless you’d like to bring one for your puppy that is in the process of being “house-broken”, needs frequent rest periods, breaks, etc. As long as the puppy/dog is comfortable in their crate and not creating an anxious environment for others with excessive whining and barking, we will continue to use the crate for them.

Our number one goal is to provide a comfortable and anxiety-free environment for dogs and humans alike!

Being a cage-free environment means that we are limited in our ability to separate the dogs. This is often why we are not the best fit for every dog (either from the start or over time). Some dogs may need more frequent breaks away from the other dogs that we are just not equipped to provide.

Fights and injuries are rare, but they do happen. Our number one goal is to provide an environment in which dogs are happy and comfortable. To us, this means allowing dogs the necessary space and freedom to interact and play with other dogs, and to rest where they are comfortable. But this relative freedom comes with some risk, including injury from a bite by another dog as well as other injuries that may occur from rambunctious play or even just stepping wrong on an uneven grassy surface. We do our best to minimize risks, but we cannot eliminate them. Keep in mind, happy, anxiety-free dogs tend not to bite, and we take many steps to ensure happy, anxiety-free dogs. These steps include:

• Prohibiting dogs that are overly-anxious/fearful around other dogs, or are otherwise aggressive towards dogs
• Providing an awesome farm where dogs can really run and play outdoors
• Providing attention, friendship, love, and of course fresh water and food (and medication if needed/provided)
• Proactively managing/monitoring group play to ensure safe and fun interactions
• Reducing situations where “resource guarding” can happen (e.g., feeding dogs separately, limiting toys to certain groups)
• Actively interpreting body language to ensure dogs are happy and/or relaxed

That being said, just like human friends can quarrel, dogs can quarrel too. But, dogs can quarrel with their teeth and sometimes a bite can happen before we can intervene. There are many reasons for fights and bites, and they can happen independent of each other — a bite doesn’t have to involve a fight, and a fight often doesn’t result in a bite. We strive to eliminate and mitigate most of those reasons and we are proud of how seldom these incidents occur.

In addition, dogs will occasionally come home with scratches or minor cuts/scrapes. This is completely normal and not a sign that your dog was “in a fight”. Dogs do play with their teeth and nails…

Once you visit, you will better understand how dogs can live in relative harmony with each other given the right setting.

This is a difficult question to answer in short form, but the short answer is… we do not accept “aggressive dogs”.

Any dogs showing clear signs of aggressive (reactive) behavior during an evaluation will not be accepted into Dog’s Day. However, there are many levels and types of aggression and very specific circumstances in which aggression can present itself. A dog can be very friendly with 99% of other dogs, 99% of the time and neither we nor the dog’s owner may ever see that 1% situation that brings out aggression. An initial evaluation with a dog may not turn up any aggressive/reactive tendencies. But subsequent daycare and boarding stays may foster a level of comfort that will allow latent reactivity/aggression to present itself. Additionally, maturing dogs can also develop “aggressive” reactions that were not present during puppyhood.

Our goal is to offer an environment that allows dogs to be comfortable and happy. However, just like in human relationships, where individuals can be on their best behavior during the “honeymoon” phase, bad habits (instincts) can emerge when a certain level of comfort is reached. Conversely, dogs that are initially fearful or shy due to inexperience/bad experiences with other dogs, and therefore might have a tendency to warn approaching dogs through a growl, snap or bark, might shed these “aggressive” behaviors through measured, positive experiences with other dogs. We do our best to try to understand innate and learned behaviors in each of the dogs, and work with them if possible. If at any time we feel like a dog is a danger to other dogs or himself, we will not allow that dog to return.

While many kennels and boarding facilities keep as many as hundreds of dogs at a time (generally warehoused in crates, cages/kennels), we have a maximum capacity of 60 dogs, but usually don’t come close to this number. On a square-foot basis, we have the fewest number of dogs in Montgomery County. With 5 large separate outdoor yards, and multiple indoor accommodations, we are able to keep our play groups under 15 dogs per human. Also keep in mind that we are also a family home, so our grown children and other family will be doting on your pups.

Injuries and illnesses that require vet visits are pretty rare, but do happen occasionally. If your dog needs veterinary care, we will first contact you to see if you would like us to reach out to your emergency contact to pick up your dog and take them to the vet.

In an emergency situation, we would go to the nearest Veterinary Emergency Clinic (VRA, Blue Pearl, Metropolitan), but also try local vet offices when possible.

Since we have a small staff and get to know each individual dog very well, we can recognize when something is wrong with your dog and they begin to display subtle changes in their behavior. When we see these changes, we assess the situation quickly and act on our instincts and the knowledge/training we have. Through the years, we have had experience with cases of Bloat, Pulmonary Thromboembolism, and Ruptured Spleens (all situations in which death can/will occur quickly if untreated) and much more. We have been lucky enough that our swift actions have saved quite a few dogs’ lives, but we are not veterinarians and just like with humans, the risk is always there that an underlying internal medical emergency may go unnoticed.

If a serious situation occurs, we may need to act quickly prior to being able to reach you. For example: We had a dog showing very subtle symptoms of bloat and had to trust our instincts to get him to the vet asap, since time is of the essence in cases of bloat. Within a matter of 30 minutes from the start of the first warning sign, the dog was at the vet, prepped and ready for emergency surgery. We were unable to immediately reach mom and dad, but if we had waited, the dog would not have survived.

Prior to attending daycare or boarding services, we require that females over the age of 6 months be spayed, and males over the age of 8 months be neutered. While we understand that many owners elect to keep their dog intact for health or other reasons, it can often make for an unsafe or disruptive environment when mature, intact dogs participate in a cage-free setting like we have here at Dog’s Day. If you would like more information, please reach out to us via the contact form on this website.

While dogs will be dogs, we actively try to manage situations to prevent excessive barking or humping. Unfortunately, dogs that display these behaviors in an excessive manner will not be allowed to participate in our daycare or boarding services. These behaviors become too difficult for our staff to manage, and make for a stressful and potentially unsafe environment.

We are unable to limit your dog’s activity or keep them inside at all times. It is unnatural and stressful for dogs to “potty” indoors and we feel that it is important to provide them with many opportunities to relieve themselves outdoors as well as have the opportunity for fresh air and outdoor space.

Being a cage-free facility, we are limited in our abilities to separate dogs. Dogs want to be with their friends and if others in their group are all outside playing, the one left behind will be stressed and unhappy.

If your dog has an injury and requires their activity to be limited, we unfortunately cannot accommodate your pup. We could certainly do our best, but even our smallest yards and rooms are very large with lots of room to run and wrestle. In this situation, it may be best to find a pet sitter to stay with your dog in your own home or perhaps board at the vet with 24 hour accessible medical care.

All we need from you is a happy pup and food (packaged per meal), if you are not taking advantage of our food offerings (see our pricing page). If your pup is on any medication, please provide those packaged with each meal or in daily pill boxes.

In addition, please ensure that your dog has a properly fitted quick release (breakaway) collar that will not slip off easily.

For more information on how to package your pup’s meals, please visit our Rules & Policies page.

Outside of the initial meet and greet/evaluation, for drop-offs and pick-ups, it is important that you follow the drop-off/pick-up procedures that were explained to you. We understand that you may want to see your pup off at “camp” and see how he or she does with the other dogs, but during our regular operations, this is very disruptive to the dogs and may foster a potentially dangerous environment. Excitement is contagious with dogs, and having human visitors, especially with their dog, can spread a significant amount of disorder and fear amongst the group as a whole. Excitement and fear are both closely correlated with aggression, fights and bites.

When we have our meet and greets/evaluations, we carefully plan a slow introduction of dogs in specific orders, and we will usually plan on having an extra staff member on-site to help ensure a safe and calm atmosphere. If you would like to come observe your dog with others outside of the initial meet and greet, this needs to be planned in advance so that we can ensure a safe and calm environment for dogs and humans alike.

Peak rates are during busy times like holiday weekends, Spring Break, Summertime, Winter Break, Thanksgiving week etc. — generally when school is out. We do also charge an additional fee on each major holiday. You can find more information on our pricing page.

Boarding rates are based on a 24-hour time period. There is an extra $43 “daycare” charge for up to 4 hours after the 24-hour period on the last day and $54 for anything over 4 hours.

• If you are not yet a client of Dog’s Day, please fill out the contact form HERE
• If you are already a client (you’ve already had a successful evaluation), the best way to schedule service is HERE
• General questions can be emailed to info@dogsdayfarm.com
• If you are already a client and you need last minute service, text or call us at 301-263-5887

It depends on how serious the allergy is. We do use kibble (Purina Pro Plan Salmon Sensitive Stomach Formula) as treats throughout the day for enrichment activities, training and to quickly encourage dogs to transition to yards and rooms where we need them to be. Generally though, this is a very small amount (a few pieces of kibble per day) and we’ve never had a dog get an upset stomach from too much kibble/treats here.

Due to our limitations on separating dogs, we are unable to guarantee that your dog will not have some pieces of kibble throughout the day and we are unable to use a separate kibble for your dog in the above mentioned scenarios.

Our environment is very unique. We have much more space than any other daycare in the area and being cage-free, are limited in our ability to separate dogs. This can often come with challenges. Your dog may have done great in a facility with limited outdoor space and/or space to run, but at Dog’s Day, there are often certain personality and/or breed traits that come out when given the space to run free (i.e., herding instincts, predatory drive, bullying behaviors, etc.) that you may not have ever seen in your dog or may never see outside of our environment.

If these behaviors are too difficult to manage, we will let you know that we just aren’t the right fit for your dog. However, this does NOT mean that your dog is not a good fit for daycare or group play in general — he/she can be very happy and thrive in a smaller facility with limited outdoor space.

We designed our half-day option for pups who don’t need to stay the whole day but still want all the benefits — safe play, socialization, and enrichment with our team. Because the same level of staffing, supervision, and care goes into every visit (whether it’s 4 hours or 11), the half-day is priced a little less than a full day, but not exactly half. It’s really about giving you flexibility while making sure your dog still gets the full Dog’s Day experience.