Frenchies, Pugs and Bulldogs in Summer Daycare on Long Island
Lillian Ruff Pet Spa
A French bulldog, a pug and a border collie can all have a great time in daycare — but not on the same hot July afternoon, and not on the same schedule. Flat-faced dogs run out of cooling capacity long before the rest of the room does, and that changes what a good summer day should look like for them.
This is the question we hear most often from Frenchie, pug and bulldog owners around East Northport and the wider Huntington area: is a group day safe for my dog in the heat? The honest answer is that it depends on the dog, on the day, and on how the day is planned — and that the time to tell us about your dog's breathing is before you book, not at pickup.
Daycare and boarding are at our Ronkonkoma location, open seven days a week, 7am to 7pm. In summer, take the earliest drop-off you can manage, and bring up any breathing history at the 30-minute meet and greet.
Why flat-faced dogs overheat faster than the rest of the room
Dogs do not sweat themselves cool. They move heat by panting — pulling air across wet tissue in the nose, mouth and throat so evaporation carries the heat away. It works well when the airway is roomy.
Brachycephalic breeds — French bulldogs, English and American bulldogs, pugs, Boston terriers, boxers, shih tzus, Pekingese — carry roughly the same soft tissue as a longer-nosed dog, packed into a much shorter face. Narrow nostrils, a long soft palate and a narrowed windpipe all make air harder to move, so the same cooling job takes more effort.
That last one matters more than the anatomy. A flat-faced dog in a happy group will usually not self-regulate. Somebody has to do it for them.
With a Frenchie, the job is not tiring the dog out. It is stopping the dog before it tires itself out.
How to shape a summer daycare day
None of this is exotic, and most of it is scheduling — which means most of it is yours to decide before you ever hand over the leash. A hot day is not automatically a no. A hot day badly timed usually is.
Drop early
The doors open at 7am. Morning is the coolest, calmest stretch of the day and the easiest time for a short-nosed dog to settle in. An 11am drop in August is a different proposition entirely.
Buy the half day first
Under four hours is $30, a full day is $35. The five dollars is not the point — the shorter day is the one to test with a flat-faced dog in a hot week. You can always move up to full days once you know how he handles it.
Ask the questions out loud at the meet and greet
The 30-minute first-visit evaluation is the moment to say your dog snores, snorts when excited, has had airway surgery or has had a heat scare — and to ask how hot days are handled, what rest looks like, and what would make somebody call you. Ask that of us, and ask it anywhere else you leave your dog.
Pick up before the day gets long
Pickup runs to 7pm; after that it is $5 per 15 minutes. An early drop paired with an early pickup is usually the right shape of day for these breeds anyway.
Multi-day passes exist if daycare becomes a routine — 5 days for $162.50, 10 for $300, 20 for $550. They do not expire, and they are non-refundable. Sales tax of 8.75% applies. If you would rather not pack food, we can provide it at $5 per day.
Wrinkle and tail-pocket care between grooms
Heat and skin folds are a bad combination. A face fold, a nose rope or a tail pocket is a warm, closed, poorly ventilated space, and in summer it holds on to moisture from everything the dog gets into — hose and kiddie-pool water, rain, drool, humid air, dust off the yard. The single most useful thing you can do at home is dry, not clean.
Helps
- Wipe folds with a plain damp cloth, then dry them properly — a dry cloth or a cool dryer setting, right down into the crease
- Check the tail pocket on bulldogs and screw-tailed Frenchies as a habit, not as a reaction
- Dry thoroughly after any water — hose, kiddie pool, bath, rain
- Keep the coat clear of dead undercoat so air reaches the skin
Does not help
- Leaving a fold damp after a wipe — that is the actual cause of most fold trouble
- Scented wipes or human products on already-irritated skin
- Digging into a sore fold to get it clean
- Waiting it out. Red, raw, smelly or weeping skin is a vet visit, not a grooming appointment
A regular bath and brush is where the folds get cleaned and then dried down into the crease, which is the part most people skip at home. Bath and brush is priced by weight, from $35 to $120, and a Frenchie or pug sits at the light end of that scale. A full groom with a haircut runs $70 to $155 and is not usually what these breeds need — there is no haircut to give a pug.
Signs that mean keep your dog home today
Some days the right call is a quiet day indoors. Keep your dog home, and call your vet, if any of this is going on:
- Noisy or labored breathing at rest, before any exercise has happened
- Gums or tongue that look pale, grey, blue or unusually dark red
- A recent collapse, fainting episode or heat episode, however brief
- Post-operative recovery from airway surgery, unless your vet has cleared group play
- An active skin or fold infection, or any raw, weeping patch
- Vomiting, diarrhea, or a dog who is simply not himself that morning
Frantic panting that will not settle, wobbliness, vomiting, drooling, collapse or unresponsiveness in a hot dog needs a veterinarian immediately. Groomers and daycare staff spot problems and refer — we do not diagnose or treat. Get the dog somewhere cool and call your vet or the nearest emergency practice on the way.
Telling us about your dog's breathing before you book
The meet and greet is a 30-minute first-visit evaluation, and for a flat-faced dog it is the most valuable half hour you will spend with us. Tell us plainly: does he snore, does he snort when excited, has he had airway surgery, has he ever had a heat scare, does he get worked up around other dogs. None of that is disqualifying on its own. All of it is information the people handling him should have before the day starts rather than after something happens.
For boarding, the eligibility standard is the same for every breed — quoting the salon's own wording, a pet must be "non-aggressive, comfortable in a kennel, able to socialize, and free from bite history." Boarding is $60 a night in a 4x4 private kennel or $75 in the larger 4x6, and every stay includes full-day daycare at no extra charge. Medications that need timing outside 7am to 10pm are a limitation worth raising early.
Two local things catch flat-faced dogs out in summer. The Town of Huntington's off-leash dog run at the Animal Shelter, 106 Deposit Road, East Northport, opens 8am to 6pm weekdays and 9am to 4pm weekends — the weekday hours run straight through the hottest part of the afternoon, so pick your slot. And Town code keeps dogs off all town beaches except paved areas and boardwalks, which means the shadeless boardwalk is often the only place you are allowed to be. Leashes must be six feet or shorter.
Booking a summer bath that helps rather than stresses
A bath should lower your dog's load for the next few weeks, not spike it for an afternoon. Take the earliest appointment you can get, and say up front if your dog struggles with the dryer, panics on the table or has a breathing history — that is the kind of thing worth knowing before the appointment starts rather than halfway through it. If your vet has restrictions, say those too.
| What you want | Where | When it makes sense |
|---|---|---|
| Daycare | Ronkonkoma, 835 Portion Rd | Seven days, 7am–7pm. Half days often suit brachycephalic dogs better in summer. |
| Boarding | Ronkonkoma | Check-in 2–7pm, check-out 7–11am. Daycare included in every night. |
| Bath, brush, fold care | Ronkonkoma or East Northport | Ronkonkoma seven days, 9–5. East Northport (16 Laurel Rd) Tuesday–Saturday, 9–5, grooming only. |
If you are in East Northport, Northport, Commack or Greenlawn, the grooming side is on Laurel Road and is open Tuesday through Saturday. Daycare and boarding only happen at Ronkonkoma — worth knowing before you plan a workday around it.
Questions people actually ask
Is daycare a bad idea for a French bulldog, full stop?
No — but it is a dog-by-dog call, and in summer it is also a day-by-day call. Plenty of Frenchies do well with an early drop and a half day. A dog with a known airway problem or a past heat episode should have your vet's opinion first. And if the honest answer for your dog is a quiet day at home, that is a perfectly good answer.
Should I shave my pug or bulldog for summer?
No. On a short double coat the coat is insulation in both directions and sun protection as well. What actually helps is getting the dead undercoat out so air reaches the skin — that is brushing work, and it is the brush half of a bath and brush.
How often should the wrinkles be done?
At home, a quick check and dry every few days is enough for most dogs, more often in humid weather or after swimming. A professional bath every four to six weeks keeps the folds and tail pocket cleaned and properly dried. If a fold is already red or sore, see your vet before booking a bath.
Do I need to worry about ticks after a day out?
Check regardless of breed. New York State health surveillance splits deer-tick seasons into nymphs from May to September and adults from October to December. In Suffolk County in 2025, nymph density measured 61.04 ticks per 1,000 square meters with 26.6% carrying the Lyme bacterium. Prevention products are a vet conversation; grooming is a good time to find what is already attached.
What do I need for boarding paperwork?
Suffolk County Code §302-13 requires a current health certificate from a licensed veterinarian before a boarding kennel can accept a dog — rabies, distemper, hepatitis, parainfluenza, parvovirus and coronavirus within the past year unless the vet certifies an approved three-year vaccine, and bordetella within the past six months. The six-month bordetella clock is the one owners most often let lapse. Confirm current requirements with your vet and with us before you travel.
Can my dog do daycare at East Northport?
No. East Northport, at 16 Laurel Rd, is grooming only, Tuesday through Saturday, 9 to 5. Daycare and boarding run out of Ronkonkoma, which is open seven days. If you want both in one day, Ronkonkoma is the location to book.
Tell us about your dog's breathing first.
Book the 30-minute meet and greet, bring the history, and ask us anything you want to know about hot days.
See pricing & book ›835 Portion Rd, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779 · Open 7 days, 9–5
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