Why Staffing Matters at Dog Daycare

When you choose a daycare for your dog, you’re trusting someone else to keep them safe, comfortable, and cared for throughout the day. One of the most important questions you can ask is also one that is often overlooked:

How many dogs is each staff member responsible for?

At Bark Avenue Pet House, we believe that appropriate staffing isn't a luxury—it is an essential part of responsible pet care. Our standard staffing ratio is one staff member for every 10 dogs or fewer.

However, we recognize that every group of dogs is different. Energy levels, personalities, play styles, size, and compatibility can change from day to day. When a group requires additional supervision, we reduce our ratio to as little as one staff member for every five dogs.

You will never see a play group at Bark Avenue exceed 15 dogs without additional staff being added.

On a typical day, our larger-dog play group has two staff members actively monitoring the group, while our small-dog group has its own dedicated staff member. We also have a floating handler who can move wherever additional support is needed, along with an office staff member who is available to assist with dog supervision when necessary.

Why does this matter?

Imagine being alone at a dog park with 20 or 30 unfamiliar dogs. Even if every dog is friendly, that's a lot of animals, personalities, and interactions for one person to monitor simultaneously. Now imagine being responsible for noticing subtle changes in body language, stepping in when play becomes inappropriate, responding to an injury, and keeping the entire group calm and safe.

More staff means more eyes, more awareness, and faster response when something changes.

Our team members are trained in animal behavior and body language, as well as pet first aid and CPR. Previous animal-care experience is also a requirement for employment at Bark Avenue. Our staff aren't simply counting dogs—they are actively observing them.

Their responsibilities include monitoring group play and interactions, recognizing behavioral changes, maintaining a clean and sanitized environment, feeding and administering medications, and responding to the individual needs of the dogs in our care.

We also believe that responsible staffing means knowing when not to take more dogs.

If staffing unexpectedly changes, we take steps to maintain safe supervision. That may mean reducing our capacity for the day—or even temporarily closing daycare rather than operating with fewer staff than we believe is appropriate.

That is an important part of our philosophy:

We will always prioritize the safety of the animals in our care. Even if that means turning dogs away to keep the ones currently in our care safe.

When you're evaluating a dog daycare, don't just ask how many dogs they accept. Ask how many dogs are assigned to each actively supervising staff member. Ask what happens when staffing changes. Ask how play groups are managed and whether additional staff are added when groups become larger or more energetic.

Your dog can't tell you whether they felt safe that day.

It's our responsibility to create an environment where they are.

At Bark Avenue Pet House, we believe dogs deserve more than supervision. They deserve attentive, knowledgeable, appropriately staffed care.