Review: 41691 Doggy Day Care

Getting dogs to take baths can be tricky ... it seems Emma and Roxy are experts in suggestive rewards!  Welcome to Doggy Day Care!

The tiny star of this set is the new-for-2021 Puppy!  It's mold is in dark nougat with a heart fur marking above one eye and freckles.  Plus, the cutest tail ever!  The play agility tunnel is built first using a section of straight light blue transparent tube that came out last year.

A notable newish part that also debuted last year is the "corner" 2x2x1 1/3 brick with bow that is re-colored in Aqua for this set; otherwise it comes only in white and brown.  It's a great asset to awning building!

Bag 1 parts build the vast majority of the daycare shop -- with only accessories and a sign from bag 2 to add.  The box of dog food sets on the counter.  Below it is a white 1x1x2 with front knobs; I was a bit confused at first -- since nothing goes on the front.  Yet, am happy to get that part -- which I find very useful.  (You can see it through the window in the first image, below the paw print sticker.)

We get a nice spare parts offering, and you can see the new pup is barely bigger than a jewel.  The 1x2x5 brick in medium Lavender (flanking the door) is only otherwise in Trolls Vibe City Concert.

Roxy and Emma are the mini-dolls in this set.  Last year, Roxy wore this outfit in Andrea's Car and Stage, and Emma in Heartlake Hospital.  Both are lovely and use unique colors and designs -- so I imagine there will be happy mini-doll collectors who missed the previous sets.  We are getting back detail on a regular basis.  I think vibrant coral looks better as print than some parts, and I still love the vines!  Emma's paper origami bird print is just so succinct for her.

Bag 2 gives us more newish and re-colors.  The reddish brown triangle tiles are 2x2 with 45-degree cut and in only 3 other sets.  The jumper is newish in Bright Green and in only 2 other sets.  The bright purple Voodoo Ball is only in 2 other sets.

First we build a dog bath tub with bag 2 parts.  It's a solid side build and I couldn't resist putting the new puppy into it to show how he's barely as big as the "bubbles" here.  This same new mold is used in Emma's Dalmatian Cube, with different printing -- and colors, of course.

Now we know this new Puppy is named Elliot as we build the dog beds as a separate section.  Zoe is a poodle with a Teal collar.  All the past seven poodles since 2012 have had pink collars and the eyes were angled -- not as round.  Only the one from Poodle's Palace had a purple sash.

We get to create art of a dog's face using tiles onto plates.  It's has a nice DOTS vibe and I really enjoyed making it.  I'm not too certain the dog bone really needs a sticker -- I kinda like it just white.  Now you can see how the triangle tiles lend to the droopy ears aspect.

The tan curved plates give the sign's upper parts reinforcement; it attaches to the grey plates.

Inside we put lots of things:  Brush, Shampoo bottle, hair bow and stool in front of a mirror, dog bone and biscuit treats, ball and stick; then shovel for poop and a water bucket.  We install the dog beds in their spot and a sticker of treats on a tile.

The side doggy door gets a matching rainbow awning -- which is very sweet.  I like the side grassy area, although not sure of white as a good "rug" tile color for dogs ;-)

The way the dark lilac top/roof section is connected is a bit awkward, since the 1x2 tile sticks out and isn't curvy.  Yet, there needs to be a part connecting the two wall sections, so I don't know a better solution.  I would have like the larger curvy tiles in dark purple.  At least the brick with bow gives a smooth area where a person reaches into the inside.

All of bag 2 parts have been added to give a very lively front with planted flowers.  The light pink ones flanking the doorway are on 2 white corner bricks and even though it's a minor detail -- I like it because they are less likely to get bumped than just 1x1 bricks.

We get a nice selection of spares from bag 2 -- including prints.

We'd had a dog daycare before in Friends from 2016.  Although we still have flanged/curvy corners on the small boxes, instead of purple -- or purple with sub-themed graphics, like we've seen the past recent years -- now the front image of the built set extends as somewhat a wrap-around.

The previous set had roughly 60 more pieces and the box was taller, yet 41691's box was packed tighter with parts bags.  That's good for less cardboard usage -- although rough on instruction books and stickers (mine were quite curled).

The box has graphics on the side instead of a scene slice, as past years.  The BBF heart is still there in the upper right, yet transposed.

As you can see in the photo above this one, the box still has the curved flange panels; they don't present in the product images.

Back of the box shows fun stuff to do with the set -- including shoveling poop!  The graphics of the 2 mini-dolls on the left bottom corner are CGI instead of animation graphics of the entire 5 Friends, as in the past.  In the box we get 2 numbered bags of parts, an 8x16 tan plate, instructions, and stickers.  For a graphic list of all parts in the set, you can visit LEGO's instructions page.

My sticker sheet was quite curled -- which is no biggy for applying them -- except to photograph the sheet, I had to enlist the 8x16 tan plate that came in the set, and instructions book to hold it flat.

One more look at the Doggy Day Care building itself.

 

Also, something I noticed in the instructions on page 74 (step 80) for the brown tiles placement on the Dog Sign, they have added white outlines to some tiles to make it easier to distinguish between them.  It's helpful, and I believe a result of fan feedback about darker colors needing to be illustrated better.

Summary:

This is very evocative of early Friends sets that are shops.  We get an easy to access interior with varying play features.  As with all Friends shops -- the front offers fun, colors, and usually clever techniques.  There are lots of colors here -- as is evident by the rainbow awning for the front door and side doggy door.

Getting a few newish and re-colored parts leads me to recommend this set to other MOCers.  For Friends animal fans, the new Puppy is perfect and suitably adorable in person!  The tiled sign is super and I really enjoyed building it.  More of these and less stickers for signage is a direction I'd like to see for this theme, and all themes, really.

No doubt this set will be a big hit with Friends core audience.  Even though it's not a super challenging build, it gives good exercise in thinking of placement during the build -- and tiling to create art.  After all, a sign is art.

Disclaimer:
This set was provided by The LEGO Group for the purpose of sharing set details with fans.
Opinions provided here solely reflect those of our reviewer.
Photographs are property of Friends Bricks and are not directed by TLG in any fashion.

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