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A few months ago I got an Alaskan Husky puppy with my girlfriend, which we were planning to raise in part as a test of our ability to have a child together.

Unfortunately, things didn't pan out the way we planned. We broke up, and while the ex-girlfriend initially took the puppy with her, after several weeks she determined that she can't keep up with the puppy's energy and the puppy and I get along together way better than she did with it anyway.

I love the puppy to death and there'd be no problem, except that:

  1. I work from 8am - 6pm every weekday
  2. My home is small and I do not have a fenced in yard

This is only an issue in terms of daycare -- meaning I have no problem getting her the exercise she needs and whenever I'm not at work I greatly enjoy watching her. However, daycare seems to be an impossible-to-solve issue.

I've been asking around at the dog park and is seems that the major dog daycare facility in my area (which is Baltimore, MD and Columbia, MD) is called "Stay Pet Resort". They open early enough and close late enough that it work work for me, and I could get over the extra hour a day I'd spend commuting, however the cost of a monthly pass is $550/mo. The other smaller/closer places I've found charge $25-30/day and some expect tips.

I have a well-paying job, but with student loans and credit card debit, I can't possibly afford $6,996 a year ($550 + 6% sales tax * 12 months) out of my post-tax income to go to daycare.

So, my questions are:

  1. Are there more affordable daycare solutions I'm not thinking of, given that I have no family or friends in the area who could help out?
  2. Is this a normal/reasonable cost of daycare per month?
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  • What specific problems are you trying to counter with daycare? Is the problem that the puppy needs to be able to eliminate more frequently, or is there a behavioral issue, or what? The solution might depend on the issue, e.g. someone popping in for half an hour mid-day versus the dog being with people all day.
    – Monica Cellio
    Commented May 3, 2015 at 18:00
  • @MonicaCellio It's just that she would be way too cooped up by herself in my small living area all day (and also the issue of her needing to go to the bathroom). She's a Husky and they just can't be cooped up. Even if I take her running before and after work, she'll lose her mind (and destroy the house) if she can't burn energy during the day.
    – Hack-R
    Commented May 4, 2015 at 1:05

1 Answer 1

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Have you looked into getting a dog walker? You can hire someone to come to your house each day to take her out to the bathroom and spend a little time with her so she's not alone. If she's getting enough exercise with you while your home then this might be a cheaper option but $18 / day doesn't sound too outrageous.

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  • That's actually a really, really good idea. I didn't realize they could come to my house while I'm at work. That could be perfect.
    – Hack-R
    Commented May 4, 2015 at 1:01

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