Not necessarily!

Dog parks and daycare environments offer very different dynamics. While our daycare includes both indoor and outdoor spaces, it doesn’t mimic the natural setting of a dog park. At daycare, dogs form deeper bonds with familiar friends, leading to a different style of play. In contrast, dog parks are filled with unfamiliar dogs, creating a more unpredictable environment. Think about how you might act with your close group of friends versus a room full of strangers—it’s not quite the same, right?

Additionally, we maintain higher standards for acceptable play behavior compared to most daycares. Think of us as the “private school” of puppy care, where the focus is on safe, positive, and enriching interactions!

Welcome to San Antonio’s premier doggy daycare with a difference – Pup Pup & Away! As the city’s first and only training-based, enrichment-focused facility, we take playtime to a whole new level. While traditional daycares offer free-form play, we believe in adding a touch of learning to your pup’s day.

Led by the expertise of certified dog trainer and behaviorist, Stephanie Garza, CPDT-KA, CBCC-KA, our program is designed to provide consistency and growth for your Sidekick. We know you’ve put in the effort to teach them manners, and our daycare follows the same rules, reinforcing good choices and gently redirecting or ignoring naughty ones.

Our enrichment-focused approach means your furry friend will enjoy both group and individual activities, stimulating them mentally and leaving them extra tired (in the best way possible) when they return home.

At Pup Pup & Away, we blend play and learning to create a fulfilling and joyful experience for your furry companion. Join us and discover a daycare that goes beyond the ordinary, leaving tails wagging and hearts happy!

For safety reasons, memberships allow us to control our person:dog ratio a little easier.  

For training purposes, consistency is key to keeping good behaviors. We would like to eliminate (as much as possible) chunks of time your pup doesn’t visit. Long-term absences may lead your dog to “forget” some of the training and behaviors of daycare. 

Plus, it saves you money!!

Group activities are done with all dogs in the group and is included in any daycare reservation. Group activities might be basic manner focused and include tasks like group sits or down, place, stay, keeping back from gates and more. They can also be more fun-forward and engaging. Examples include mastering agility equipment or playing with bubbles. 

Individual enrichments are done as an add-on service and requires an additional fee. Dogs will be pulled from group play individually or as small groups (depending on the activity). We may do a Search-and-Seek treat game, work a puzzle toy, teach/walk on a treadmill, teach simple manners, and more! We are constantly coming up with new activities! We can’t promise your dog will go home knowing brand new behaviors and tricks, we just want to work their brain. Each training session can be up to 20 minutes. Remember to request the add on when making your daycare reservation! Pay $9/day or consider an Enrichment Package for a discounted rate of $7/day.

Make sure you subscribe to our monthly newsletter to keep up with what we are currently working on and videos on how you can continue training at home.  

YES, reservations are mandatory! We are very strict with our person:dog ratio. We don’t want more than 12 dogs per person. Reserving ahead of time can allow us to staff appropriately. Walk-in’s will not be accommodated. 

We offer daycare Monday-Friday. Drop off is 7am-9am and pick-up must be completed by 6:00pm. A $40 late pick-up fee will be charge after 6:10pm.

Pets dropped off after 9am will rest in a kennel until the afternoon sessions starts back up at 1pm. This allows the morning group to find it’s desired energy level and maintain that level for the rest of the morning. 

7am-11am: Group play with group activities

11am-1pm: All pets rest with an optional owner-provided lunch to decompress and recharge

1pm-5pm: Group play with 1 enrichment

For a couple of reasons!  

First, dogs are crepuscular animals, meaning they are naturally most active early in the morning and again in the evening. Left on their own, dogs will sleep much of the day. We don’t want daycare to mess with this natural circadian rhythm.  

Second, dogs SHOULD get used to being home alone. We don’t want to develop a co-dependency to needing attention all the time. 

Third, while physical and mental stimulation is a good thing, too much can lead to burn out or a compromised immune system. We want all of our Sidekicks healthy and well-adjusted!