All dogs need exercise, mental stimulation, and socialization to make them well-balanced. It’s up to the owner to provide daily mental stimulation for their dog, usually in short obedience training sessions.
Many dogs require 2-3 hours of exercise daily to keep them calm and prevent them from developing behavior problems. Dog walks are fine, but allowing the dog to run and play off-leash with other dogs will provide a much-needed higher level of exercise and socialization.
I have 12 years of experience bringing my dogs to various dog parks and doggie daycares year-round in South Florida. In this article, I will list the pros and cons of each.
One more thing to mention about doggie daycare is to be conscious of them overstimulating your dog. I have seen some doggie daycares encourage the dogs to play too rough with other dogs. In my experience of working with hundreds of dogs, most do not need more stimulation; they need more calmness and the ability to play with other dogs naturally without pushing them.
DOG PARK
Pros:
Free or affordable for most
Usually separation of a small, medium, and large dogs
A lot of space for dogs to run off-leash
Socialize with other dogs and humans
Outdoors - many dogs love this
Exercise for your dog - they can run with other dogs
Cons:
Unsupervised by any kind of dog professionals or staff
Very dirty with a lot of contaminated dog poop, parasites, etc
Allows unsocialized or aggressive dogs
Dog fights happen often
Human arguments and fights happen often
Outdoors - very hot during the summer
DOGGIE DAYCARE
Pros:
Supervised play with other dogs by trained staff
Dogs that enter have to be temperament tested first
Separation of small and large dogs
Inside - Air condition plus some have an outdoor area
Socialize with other dogs and humans
Dogs usually love daycare
Most doggie daycares have webcams to watch your dog
Cons:
Can be expensive for some
Locations may not be convenient for drop off
Some places over stimulate the dogs