When I thought of taking a shift at Central Bark’s Doggy Day Care, I pictured running around and playing with a room full of friendly pups. Luckily for Central Bark employees, that’s a big part of the job.

Well, it’s more like running around and playing while monitoring behavior, maintaining a daily schedule, feeding, cleaning and caring for about 35 dogs a day. And that’s at one of the smaller Central Bark locations. 

For the sake of the "Shift Switch" series, I switched shifts and took on the job of handler at the first of Central Bark’s 10 Milwaukee locations, 5780 W. Hemlock St.

I was deemed to be on a "working interview." More or less, I’d do what the handlers do, while they put up with my barrage of questions and filled me in on the job.

I bombarded poor Katie, my guide and supervisor, with all the questions that likely surface each time she mentions her job. Do you ever have to break up dog fights? Do you have favorites? What’s the best way to train a dog? Do you ever get tired of cleaning up poop? She graciously answered each and every question.

As I walked in, Katie told me to just keep walking around at a slow pace, letting the dogs get used to me. Don’t bend down, don’t squat, just stay upright and let them get over the inherent attention to something -- anything -- new. It didn’t take long before they’d had all the sniffs they needed and went back to playing, wrestling and roaming with one another.

The day at Central Bark is all about routine. The dogs go out twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon, lunch time is followed by midday nap time and everything in between is play time. These dogs -- often called kids by staff  -- are treated just as that, kids.

Staff members know each dog by name, know its behavior, its likes and dislikes. There are indoor Little Tikes toys in the winter and swimming pools in the summer. When dogs go outside, they’re called one by one like kids called up to the chalkboard in the classroom. There are rules and rewards, schedules and routines.

Katie told me "parents" aren’t usually allowed back into the warehouse because of the ensuing disruption of barking, pacing and sprinting caused by overexcitement. I thought to myself, "Am I that disruption today?" Realistically yes. But, Katie reassured me it helps that none of the dogs belong to me.

As guest "handler," my responsibility level was low, my enjoyment level high. Had I been a real employee, a large part of my job would have included monitoring puppy behavior.

Handlers are taught to watch for and record everything from overexcitability and barking to sluggishness and eating foreign objects. Any quirks or tendencies are then made public with a secondary collar; the collar's color indicating a specific behavior. 

At lunch time, the dogs go into their crates, where "parent"-prepared meals are doled out in steel bowls and hand delivered to each awaiting dog. Lunch is followed by treats and treats are followed by naps.

And while it runs amazingly smoothly, these handlers have to put a pup in time-out here and there. Throughout the day -- usually for simple, minor offenses like bullying or barking -- a few dogs spent a few minutes in their crates.

Overall, I was amazed at how quiet and calm 35 dogs in a room can be together. As much as the job is to enforce a consistent routine, it’s obvious there’s an element of playful fun and affection, too.