Sometimes, doggy daycare isn't the best place for doggies...and I'll tell you why -

This past week, we held an interview for a gorgeous, stunning, adorable, fresh face, mixed breed, named Taylor. She's 4.  Lived on a farm in Jersey all her life. Then her family moved to the suburbs in NY.

Her mom, who had the purest of intentions, stopped by without Taylor to check us out.  She asked many questions, I answered all of them, happily.

She disclosed one red flag....that Taylor had killed a barn cat, on her property. Ok - strike one against Taylor, but, since there are no kitties in doggie daycare, I was willing to meet her.

I told the mom to bring Taylor in for her interview first thing in the morning - like - 7 a.m. - this way, she'd start out with just a few dogs, and as the others streamed in, she'd be the one greeting them, instead of the other way around.

The mom didn't show up w/ Taylor until 10 a.m. - bad move, Mom.

Taylor came in, wagging her tail, looking as cute as could be.  My staff and I all oooo'd and aaaah'd at her, she really was adorable.  A husky, golden, and something else, mix.

We brought out our two awesome interview dogs.  Bear, a big black lab who is a big mush.  And Riley, another lab, he's yellow - and also, a mush.

Taylor went to bite both of them.  And both times, wagging her tail while doing so.

Luckily, she didn't break skin, but I called her mom, told her what happened, and said she needed to be picked up.

Mom picked her up - upset - confused (?) and kind of angry with us.

FOUR hours later. Yes - FOUR hours later - the Mom returned, DEMANDING to meet the dogs Taylor went after.

Well, we were happy to oblige - after all, these delicious dogs Taylor tried to get a taste of were super friendly, and came out wagging their tails, happy as clams.

She pointed to Bear.  And said....."Oh, I can see that Taylor may have been intimidated by that FAT one" as she looked at Bear with disgust. WRONG MOVE LADY...... Jen, who works at Buddy's Barking Lot, was with me. Jen is madly in love with Bear.  Jen does not let anyone call Bear "fat".  Jen says that Bear has big bones and lots of muscle, and he's not fat.  Jen went on to tell this woman that Bear is the kindest dog and would never hurt a fly.  I was biting my cheeks from laughing - but also, biting my toungue from chiming in with Jen.

Then she sees Riley boy.  She said "oh, I don't know why Taylor would go after him....."

Me neither lady.

VERY KINDLY, and calmly, I explained to her that sometimes doggie daycare isn't for all dogs.  They must be social.  They must be willing to meet other dogs.  Shy is fine.  Insecure is fine too.  Our pack will make every dog feel at ease, literally, in minutes.  They are the most non threatening pack on the planet. 

She kept pushing........well, how about this idea......how about if you chooose one dog to go up to your dog park and play with Taylor?  I said "well, that process of elimination could be quite a blood bath...." She says "how so?" I say "how many dogs does she need to bite, in order to find the dog she will tolerate?"  It isn't worth it.  It really isn't.

For all the dog daycare owners, or soon to be owners - do not allow a dog who bites to come to daycare.  Its not worth the liability.  Dogs like that should be walked and walked and walked by dog walkers, or their owners.  There's no room for aggression like that, in a cage, crate free doggie daycare.

For all dog owners - don't go away mad when your dog fails the interview.  Its for the good of all involved.  Don't put your dog in a position where it will want to bite other dogs. Its just not fair.

Peace!

Eileen Fleming
xo

Be Nice or Leave!

Hello world! Sometimes the cat's just got my toungue - or fingers - and I'm just not motivated to go to the computer and type out my thoughts.  Maybe its been because this summer has been a whirlwind! Maybe its because my mind is going 1,000 mph and I can't sit still... Whatever the reasons/excuses - I'm back.

So as you know, I have a doggie daycare.  Yesterday, I was challenged in a way that I haven't let myself been in a long time! 

A lady comes in with her adorable 4 mo old JRT. For the interview. Dog interview.

I broke my rule and allowed her to come in while we had a packed house.  I just thought, maybe if she saw the fun, the calm, the cozy inside, she wouldn't look like a deer caught in headlights. 

Bad move.

She immediatly looks at Champ - our priceless, gentle giant - pit bull.  "THAT'S A PITBULL...." she says.

Yes, that's also the sweetest love bug on the planet - I say back.  I'm holding her pup at this time.  She says, no, no, no my dog isn't going back there with all those other dogs.... So I instantly hand her back her dog. "No problem" I said - and was ready to open the door and shoo her away. 

I'm not like that with potential customers. Really I'm not.  But I took offense (and shouldn't have) to her snide remarks about any of our dogs. She had no idea, that if her Jack Russell went in the back room, and played with the big boys, he'd be running circles around all of them - and have the time of his life. 

Ugh.  After twenty tortuous minutes, she finally left to go run errands, and allowed her pup to stay with us "on one condition" - that he not go in the back to play with the big boys.

Ok fine. So he stays in the smaller room, with the couch potato dogs, who just want to nap.  And being that he's a puppy, soooo thrilled to be in doggie daycare - he starts scratching on the door to go back to play with the other dogs.  In the big room, we have 3 lb dogs hanging out with 180 lb dogs. No cages. No crates. No fights. Its calm and managable chaos. My staff are pro's. We've been doing this a long time. So I found this lady so darn annoying.

She called to check on him, and I said listen, maybe you should pick him up, bring him back when he is older and you are more secure of his safety. She says ok sure. She comes back, much sweeter this time.  She said her husband told her that she was neurotic.  She said can her dog come back next week? Or his he banned from daycare?

(we never fail 4 month old puppies from daycare interviews, btw)

I'm hoping that when she really knows the feistiness of a JRT, she'll trust this process more.  We don't put dogs in danger in our facility, ever.  We don't cage the dogs - they're all happy wonderful creatures.  And I love them all.

So don't dis our pits - don't dis our dogs - and Be Nice - or Leave!