A Selection of Doggie Daycares in Ireland

Happy Tails Daycare in Ballinacurra, Co. Cork​

• What are your rates? - Our daycare daily rate is €24 per day. We also offer packages for customers who are attending regularly at discounted rates. 

• What are your opening hours? - We are open Monday to Friday, 7:30 am to 6 pm. 

• Do you offer any additional services? - We provide dog training classes and have a small shop on site. 

• Can you describe your location? - We are an all indoor daycare spread over two floors. We have different areas for different groups. Our dogs are grouped together based on size, age, and play style. 

• What does a day in the life of a dog look like at your doggie daycare? - We are a cage-free, open-plan daycare. This means that we don't kennel or crate the dogs while in our care (other than for lunches). The dogs are usually very busy in the morning with lots of hours of playing and chasing. We do nap time between 12 pm and 2 pm, which is a really important part of the day as overtired and overstimulated dogs are not what you want in a daycare environment. We turn down the lights, put on the heater, take out the blankets and cushions, and put on a relaxing playlist. The dogs all go find their comfy spot and settle down for a snooze. We often share videos of this on social media as our customers find group nap time so cute. The dogs usually spend the rest of the afternoon pottering about and playing until it's time to go home. 

• Have your regular customers been in touch with you, and have you had an increase of new dog owners reaching out to you? - Yes, the majority of our customers have been in touch and are planning to be back once things start reopening. We have also seen an increase in numbers for new applications, particularly puppies in comparison to other years.

• Will you be looking for new clients or are you already full? - We are still taking new clients for our small to medium groups, however, our medium to large group is currently full with a waiting list.

• How many dogs can you accommodate? - We can take a maximum of 35 dogs a day. 

• Do you and your staff have any special training and/or certifications? - Yes all of our staff is required to have professional qualifications and undertake continued CPD while working here. Our current team's training and education include; BSc Zoology- UCC, Health Safety and Welfare in the workplace certificate UCC. Introduction to Professional Dog Care -Creedons College, Professional Dog Training Instructor- Creedons College, Dog Trainer Foundations-Karen Pryor Academy, Career as a Dog Trainer-IMDT, Nutrition, and Behaviour- School of Canine Science. 

• Do you allow restricted breeds? - Yes, we accept all breeds and there is no breed or size restriction. Daycare membership is determined by a two-day assessment that all dogs must complete in order to ensure they will enjoy their time in daycare. 

Dotey Pets in Douglas, Co. Cork 

• What are your rates? - We charge €25 for a full day and €20 for a half-day.

• What are your opening hours? - We are open Monday – Friday from 7.30 am – 6 pm.

• Do you offer any additional services? Yes, we also offer dog grooming and Reiki.

• Can you describe your location? Our Doggy Day Care is divided into different areas for larger dogs, smaller dogs, and puppies with spaces inside and outside. 

• What does a day in the life of a dog look like at your doggie daycare? Drop off happens between 7:30 - 9:30 am and then we have play, fun, and games time until 12:00 noon. From 12:00 - 1:00 pm, we have nap time, with the lights off, music on, and beds (create free) out for their all import sleep and rest time. We then play games from 1:00 - 3:00 pm followed by another hour of nap time. From 4:00 - 5:00 pm, we have one last hour of playtime, making sure they have reached their daily exercise goals, and then we wind down and have a nap time while waiting t be collected. 

• Have your regular customers been in touch with you, and have you had an increase of new dog owners reaching out to you? - Yes and yes. 

• Will you be looking for new clients or are you already full? - We still have spaces available for when things reopen. 

• How many dogs can you accommodate? - We can accommodate up to 40 dogs per day. 

• Do you and your staff have any special training and/or certification? - Yes we have training in daycare, animal welfare, animal behavior, grooming, and dog reiki.

• Do you allow restricted breeds? Is there a size limit or a minimum age? - We do not have any prejudices against any breeds. Once a dog has had all of their relevant vaccines and passes our assessment we are happy for them to join our daycare.

• Is there anything else you would like to share? - We have designated mornings for new puppies to ensure that they get the relevant amount of socialization and hours in daycare.

The Dog Lounge Lusk in Lusk, Co. Dublin

• What are your rates? We charge €20 for full-day boarding. 

• What are your opening hours? - We are open Monday to Friday with morning drop-off between 7.30 am - 9.30 am and collection from 4.30 pm - 5.30 pm.

• Do you offer any additional services? - We also offer luxury boarding and a wash-and-go spa treatment for boarders which includes a blueberry facial, pampering wash, and blow-dry. 

• Can you describe your location? - We are located in the beautiful countryside of Lusk, north county Dublin. We have a large grass area and concrete games areas, both of which are fully enclosed. 

• What does a day in the life of a dog look like at your doggie daycare? - We offer fulfilled adventures throughout the day, hours of play, and also make sure to have plenty of resting time too. We hold treasure hunts and hide rewards around the fully enclosed surrounding areas, ball games, scent play, we have playground equipment including digging boxes, water pools, climbing frames, and mini slides. 

• How many dogs can you accommodate? - We group dogs according to age, size, dog behavior, and abilities. The average number of dogs per group is 10, so groups are nice and small, with good care and a personal touch.

• Do you and your staff have any special training and/or certification? - Both Antoinette and Paul have diplomas in business management and various canine behavior and management courses including canine first aid.

• Do you allow restricted breeds? Is there a size limit or a minimum age? Yes, we take restricted breeds and group them according to their needs. We also offer one-to-one play for special needs pets. 

• Is there anything else you would like to share? - All dogs must be neutered with up-to-date vaccination records including kennel cough. We can take puppies up to 6 months un neutered. 

Muddy Paws Dog Training in Killarney, Co. Kerry 

• What are your rates? - Our rates range from €15 for a half-day of care, to €20 for a whole day's care.

• What are your opening hours? - Opening hours typically from 8.30 am to 6.30 pm, but since I work from my home I can be flexible with times with prior organization.

• Do you offer any additional services? -  Yes, I run a Luxury Home Boarding service.

• Can you describe your location? - I have a large outdoor space and I like to refer to it as my 'dog playground'. I also have a sensory garden for the dogs. Inside my home, I have a special sitting room made up for the dogs.

• What does a day in the life of a dog look like at your doggie daycare? - Our day wouldn't be that of a typical daycare. When the weather is nice we are playing and relaxing outside, when it is rainy we will mostly be inside the house with the fire on and all the home comforts available. I also bake a lot of homemade goodies for the dogs and always like to do different sensory and enrichment games for them.

• Have your regular customers been in touch with you, and have you had an increase of new dog owners reaching out to you? - Yes, I have some great regular customers and I have had a lot of inquiries about daycare throughout the lockdown.
• Will you be looking for new clients or are you already full? - I am open to new customers but I am currently filling in a waiting list. 

• How many dogs can you accommodate? - Since I am based from home, I like to maintain a homely, relaxed, stress-free environment so we limit the number of dogs to between 6 - 8. 

• Do you and your staff have any special training and/or certification? - Yes, I am trained in first aid for dogs, have a behavioral and dog training qualification, and an animal welfare diploma. I also am doing a dog communication course as I like to try and keep myself up to date with canine education. 

• Do you allow restricted breeds? Is there a size limit or a minimum age? - When we reopen, we will be taking only small - medium dogs. 

Tall Tail Doggy Daycare in Leixlip, Co. Kildare

• What are your rates? - Our one-day booking rate is €25, with discounts applied for longer bookings (i.e. week or month).

• What are your opening hours? - We are opening Monday - Friday from 7:00am - 7:00pm. 

• Do you offer any additional services? - Yes, we also have overnight boarding. 

• Can you describe your location? - We are a Home-Away-from-Home environment, fully run out of a proper house with outside, fully enclosed garden space. Dogs in our care get to spend their day in a home environment, like they would if they were in their own house, with all the comforts and privileges of being a home dog!

• What does a day in the life of a dog look like at your doggie daycare? - A normal day would include 2 walks to St. Catherines Park, lots of socializing and play with other dogs and humans, and plenty of comfy areas for rest. There are also lots of toys to play with and access to food and water. We offer a kennel-free experience. 

• Have your regular customers been in touch with you, and have you had an increase of new dog owners reaching out to you? - Yes, my regular customers have kept in touch with me through the pandemic and I have gotten a steady stream of enquiries by potential new customers.

• Will you be looking for new clients or are you already full? - We are currently accepting new customers!

• How many dogs can you accommodate? - We take in a maximum of 4 dogs per day. This is so that all dogs can be paid attention, keep the dog ratio low, and make sure nobody gets themselves into trouble! Busy daycare environments can be stressful, and we strive to make their day and their stay as comfortable and stress-free as possible.

• Do you and your staff have any special training and/or certification? - I am a certified veterinary technician with a degree in animal science and animal behavior. 

• Do you allow restricted breeds? Is there a size limit or a minimum age? - Dogs coming to our care for the first time are subject to assessment to make everyone is a good fit. This is a meeting between us, the owner, and the dog with the purpose of getting to know them and their behavior, as well as getting all of our required documents filled out. With this process in place, we are able to accommodate dogs of any breed, as long as the assessment is completed without incident! As for age: we accept dogs of any age as long as they are fully vaccinated and have passed their assessment.

Dog Holiday Retreat in Tara, Co. Meath

• What are your rates? - We have a few different packages to choose from but our daily rates start at €10 per day.

• What are your opening hours? - We are opening from Monday - Friday from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm, Saturday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, and Sunday from 8:00 to 2:00 pm 

• Do you offer any additional services? - Yes, we offer dog pick-up up to 30kms and we also do overnight boarding and longer stays. 

• Can you describe your location? - We have indoor and outdoor play areas and a large fenced garden.

• What does a day in the life of a dog look like at your doggie daycare? - We provide playtime, nap time, a walk by the river, and feeding time. 

• Have your regular customers been in touch with you, and have you had an increase of new dog owners reaching out to you? - Yes, we are constantly in touch with our clients. Due to the given situation, we have a lot of talks and new clients who are waiting for the changes of restrictions related to Covid-19.

• Will you be looking for new clients or are you already full? - Yes, we still have room available for new clients.

• How many dogs can you accommodate? - We can accommodate 10 dogs.

• Do you and your staff have any special training and/or certification? Yes, we have dog care certificates.

• Do you allow restricted breeds? Is there a size limit or a minimum age? - Yes, we allow restricted breeds and we do not have any limits for size and age.

• Is there anything else you would like to share? - We have many years of experience in care and socialization.