We get asked this almost every single day at the front desk, usually by someone who feels a little guilty either way. Once a week, is that enough? Or am I a monster for sending my dog five days while I'm at the office? Here's the honest answer up front. There's no magic number that works for every dog, and anyone who hands you one without meeting your dog is guessing. The right rhythm comes down to three things: your dog's energy level, their age, and your real life. So let's build the right week for your dog instead of pulling a number out of thin air.
Start with energy, because a Border Collie is not a basset hound
The single biggest factor is how much fuel your dog wakes up with. The American Kennel Club puts it simply: high-energy breeds need a lot more exercise than lower-energy ones, and what satisfies one dog will leave another climbing the walls. A mellow adult who's happy with a good walk and a window to watch the world go by might thrive on daycare once a week, purely for the social side. A young working dog is a completely different animal.
Working breeds are the ones who really change the math. The AKC is blunt that working dogs are not happy just sitting around, and when they don't get an outlet for their mental and physical energy, they invent their own jobs (excessive barking, digging, chewing, escaping). Herding dogs are the same story with extra brains. Border Collies, Aussies and German Shepherds need daily physical exercise plus mental stimulation, and the AKC notes that physical exhaustion alone often isn't enough for these dogs without something to think about. A tired body and a bored brain still adds up to a dog who repaints your couch.
For dogs like that, one day a week barely takes the edge off. Three to five days, where each day mixes real play with rest and a bit of enrichment, lands much closer to what their nervous system is asking for. This is exactly why the energy read matters more than the breed label on paper.
Then factor in age, at both ends
Age bends the answer in opposite directions depending on which end of life your dog is at.
For puppies, frequency is less about burning energy and more about a closing window. The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association states that the critical period for socialization happens before three to four months of age, and that a puppy needs positive exposure to as many dogs, people and environments as possible during that stretch to avoid growing into a fearful adult. Once it closes, learning continues but true socialization is no longer possible. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior goes a step further and notes that behavioural problems, not infectious diseases, are the number one cause of death for dogs under three. So even a low-frequency, once-a-week social touch matters enormously for a puppy. It's not a luxury. It's brain wiring on a deadline.
There's a Montreal-specific wrinkle, too. The CVMA cautions against using dog parks for puppy socialization because of contamination risk and unscreened dogs, which makes a vaccine-screened daycare the safer structured way to bank good experiences while the window's open. The AKC also reminds us that puppies do best with exercise in short bursts (several little play sessions through the day rather than one marathon), which a daycare day naturally delivers.
Senior dogs swing the other way. They still need proper exercise, and the AKC is clear they can't simply be parked on the couch, but they can't run as far or recover as fast as they used to. For a lot of older dogs, two gentle days a week of low-key socializing and movement is the sweet spot. Enough to keep joints loose and spirits up without wearing them out. We watch the seniors closely and pull them into quieter groups.
Now the part that's really about you
Your schedule isn't a footnote here. It's half the equation. If you work long days away from home, the question stops being only about exercise and becomes about what your dog is doing with eight or nine empty hours.
This is where the boredom math gets real. The Merck Veterinary Manual notes that destructive behaviours (chewing furniture, digging, shredding things) are commonly the result of a dog not getting enough exercise and mental stimulation, and that a well-exercised dog is far less likely to develop those habits or aggression. For a dog left alone through a long workday, more frequent daycare isn't pampering. It directly targets the boredom that wrecks your apartment and frays your dog's nerves. And the stakes climb higher than a chewed shoe. Research summarized in the veterinary literature found undesirable behaviour is the leading reason dogs get surrendered to shelters, with roughly 40 percent of dogs in one 12-shelter study reported to have a behaviour problem. A good routine genuinely helps keep dogs in their homes.
There's even a legal frame for it here. Quebec's Animal Welfare and Safety Act requires owners to provide care consistent with a dog's biological needs and to keep them free from distress, and adequate exercise and stimulation fall squarely under that duty. Montreal's animal by-law, as the Montreal SPCA lays out, even bans permanent chaining of dogs, the whole spirit being that dogs need movement and humane handling. Daycare is one straightforward way working-parent households meet that, with nobody feeling guilty about the commute.
So how many days, really?
Here's the rough framework we actually use on the floor, knowing every dog gets the final vote.
- 1x a week: the social maintenance dose. Great for calm adults, seniors who need it gentle, or puppies whose families handle most enrichment at home and just want safe, screened dog time.
- 2-3x a week: the sweet spot for a lot of dogs. Enough rhythm to keep them socially fluent and pleasantly tired, with rest days in between.
- 3-5x a week: for high-energy and working breeds, and for dogs home alone through long workdays. This is where the destructive-boredom problem actually gets solved.
- Every weekday: our unlimited families, usually working parents with a busy young dog who simply does better with a job to go to each morning.
The way our packages are built mirrors this on purpose. A half-day is perfect for a puppy doing short bursts, an older dog, or a quick midweek top-up, while a full day suits the dog who needs to truly empty the tank. For the three-to-five-day crowd and the every-day working dogs, a monthly unlimited package almost always works out better per visit than booking one day at a time, and it makes building a consistent weekly habit easy.
One thing to sort before any of this: vaccines
Before you book a single half-day, your dog's shots need to be current. Quebec vets note that rabies vaccination is strongly recommended and legally required in many municipalities, and that daycares and boarding facilities also typically require DHPP/DAPP and Bordetella (the kennel-cough vaccine) before group play. That's not red tape for its own sake. It's how a room full of dogs stays healthy. While you're squaring things away, your Montreal paperwork should be in order too. The city requires an annual dog licence at $31.80, plus microchipping and sterilization, with the ID tag worn at all times. If you're already a Montreal dog owner, you've likely handled most of this already.
Let's figure out your dog's number together
The truth is, the right frequency reveals itself once we meet your dog and watch how they play, rest and recover. A bouncy two-year-old might tell us five days, loudly. A dignified senior might tell us two is plenty. Every new daycare dog starts with a $25 evaluation so we can read their energy and slot them into the right group, and we run a tiny-dog program for the under-10-pound crew so the little ones aren't lost in a sea of labs. Daycare runs Monday to Friday, 7:30 AM to 7 PM, which fits around basically any work schedule. Book online, call us at (514) 778-CLUB, or come find us in the Village at 1800 Sainte-Catherine St E. Maïka, our three-legged Chief Dog Officer, will help us pick your dog's perfect week.