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Amy Dvorak plays ball with a few of the smaller dogs as the rest watch the action April 4 at Lucky Pawz in Iowa City. Press-Citizen / Jason A. Cook

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Twice a week, Nellie goes to daycare. That's where she chases tennis balls, takes naps and scurries up and down a plastic slide with her other playmates.

"They play ball with her, and they interact with her so much," said Nellie's "mom," Tracy Goetz of Iowa City. "She used to shake when I first took her there ... and now I take her in and set her down on the floor and she takes off. She gets so excited when she's there."

Nellie, a 1½-year-old Chihuahua, miniature pinscher mix, is one of about 40 dogs enrolled in doggie daycare at Lucky Pawz, 130 Stevens Drive. Dog daycare services are becoming more popular as the pet industry continues to boom, said Lucky Pawz co-owner Jim Kelly.

And for dog owners such as Goetz, it's about more than simply pampering her pooch.

"It's so she isn't home alone all the time," Goetz said. "Otherwise, she was there all the time by herself, and I wasn't giving her enough attention, and I wanted her to have some sort of socialization."

Lucky Pawz opened almost three years ago and is one of a handful of businesses in the area that offers dog daycare services. The concept of dog daycare is similar to that of children's daycare. Dog owners, commonly referred to as "parents" by dog daycare owners, drop off their pooches before going to work and pick them up after.

It costs about $20 for one day of doggie daycare.

"It's a new concept in general. It's been around the country for at least 10 years in some bigger areas, but it's gaining popularity throughout the country," Kelly said, adding that dog daycare is one service people are starting to look for when moving to a new town. "It's becoming more and more accepted. It's taken up very well here, and people see the benefits of it."

Ami Moore, listed as a "Dog Whisperer" on her Web site http://www.doggiedoright911.com/, is a dog trainer from Highland Park, Ill. If done right, Moore said doggie daycares are good because they give dogs exercise and help with their socialization skills.

"Because the way the dog's brain is made, if it's not socialized appropriately before it reaches a certain age, it will always react aggressively toward new people, places and things," Moore said. "If you keep your dog locked up in the back yard for the first year or two of its life ... your dog is going to react very fearfully or aggressively."

Just Dogs Play Care, 709 E. Second Ave. in Coralville, opened three years ago and is thought to have been the third doggie daycare to open in Iowa, owner Carol Besler-Gray said. She said she expects to expand the business to a bigger location in July to keep up with demand.

"As people learn more about what dog daycare is, it's something that they're willing and anxious to pay for," Besler-Gray said. "I think it's just a shift we're experiencing in our society where people love their dogs just like a part of their family."

Jazmin, a 3-year-old chocolate Labrador, goes to Lucky Pawz five days a week and for half a day on Saturdays. Between work and a newborn baby, it's hard to juggle Jazmin and the infant, owner Jarod Wittrock of Iowa City said.

"I think it's great," Wittrock said. "We'll take her there as long as she's alive. She likes it so much, I have no intentions of not taking her there."

Reach Mike McWilliams at 339-7360 or mmcwilliams@press-citizen.com.