Doggie Daycare

K

Kjs

Guest
Ok. My 1 year old dog has SO much energy. Seperation anxiety is what the vet calls it. She must be touching you every minute you are home.
Checked into the Doggie Daycare. Friend brings her dog there. Thought I would try this one day a week, maybe it will help her "seperate".

As the day was coming (a non work day) I was feeling guilty about bringing and leaving her there. Was thinking maybe 1/2 day for the first day. THEN...I had a pound of hamburger frozen, thawing out on the counter. Brought difficult child to school and when I got home I saw the tin foil, the shredded saran wrap...and the entire pound of hamburger gone!

She has gotten other things like a sandwich, even a steak that was on the counter. This was it. I was GLAD she was going the next day.
We didn't quite know how she was getting these things, thought she was jumping up and knocking it down. (she is a jumper. All four paws right off the ground like she is on a trampoline)

Then, that very same night I brought easy child to work. difficult child heard a noise in the kitchen and SHE...Kenzie...was ON the counter. All four paws.

Took her to daycare the following morning. Hung around and viewed her on the "doggie Cam" Went home and viewed her one time on the "doggie cam".

When we went back to get her we noticed she was in an isolated area, the kennel area and all other dogs were out. They told me she was "rude" so she was given a time out. I asked how long she had been in there. They said they rotated throughout the day. I asked what it was she did. They said she was nipping at the legs of the other dogs. Not viciously (sp?) playfully. I see her do that at home with Chloe. When she is playing. They both do it.

When we got home I opened the car door and she ran to the door of the house scratching the door. (usually tries to visit the neighbor dog). Opened the door and she went and drank about 1/2 bowl of water!! I am wondering if they gave her any water??

She did not eat her dinner that night, she did not eat her breakfast the next day. That food sat a good 24 hours.

Do you think she should continue? Did she deserve the isolation? Does she need to learn?

I am really hesitant about returning. And, yes, I called the vet about the pound of frozen hamburger. I was told to watch both dogs for vomiting and poops. I would WANT to see that happen. If it did not happen then I need to bring them a stool sample from each dog in 5 days to check for parasites. Friend said not to do that. Would you?
 

WhymeMom?

No real answers to life..
I'm no dog authority, but would think putting the dog in isolation doesn't teach the dog NOT to nip. Putting a leash on the dog and having someone gently remind him/her that nipping is not allowed would be a better choice. Putting the dog in isolation pretty much defeats the purpose of anxiety seperation doesn't it? I mean isn't the purpose of daycare partially to socialize? Think I would find a different place or ask for specific training changes. Sounds like she needs a "job"....train to fetch a frisbee to work off the energy...... good luck and find a new place to thaw food----that's YOUR training.....hah!
 

hearts and roses

Mind Reader
Hi kjs~

Re: the lb of chopmeat. I would just let 'nature' takes it course. The enxymes in a dog's stomach are SO much more powerful than humans so it's highly unlikely your dog(s) would pick up and keep any bugs. And especially since she didn't eat any dry commercial there was nothing to stop her up (IOW, keep the raw meat from digesting and being expelled). My dogs only eat raw food and because they do, they are not allowed to eat any commercial or dry foods with it - one or the other).

It sounds like she has trouble socializing and hasn't learned her manners. A couple of sessions with a trainer ought to help since she's only a year old. If she were older, then I'd say don't waste your time, but she's still relatively young and you can still reign in her puppy-ness a bit.

Time outs are fine. Many dogs do not eat or drink water when they are in a new/strange place, especially if they are being reprimanded all day. I don't think the facility was out of line by putting her in a time out and she probably was offered water throughout the day, but her nerves were holding her back. When I would pick up my old pup from doggy daycare, he'd rip through at least 2 cups of water in about 10 minutes. The provider said he wouldn't even eat treats at her home and never drank water though it was offered. Also, when he was put outside to do his business, he would just go sit in a corner and pee constantly. He was a strange dog, but she said that many new dogs behaved that way and it just took them a while to get to normal. Of course, our little guy was a rescue dog and was already 7 by then so there wasn't much we could do with him. And, incidentally, separation anxiety was the same reason we put him in doggy daycare.

Using a crate at home or tethering your dog to something sturdy whenever - every time - she does something wrong will eventualy help her to see that certain behaviors are not okay (with a verbal reminder of course). But you have to be consistent. Our old vet said that leaving water available all day is not a good thing for certain dogs and that offering it to them only at certain times of the day can help them make the connection to drink it when it's offered because it won't always be available. I am not sure how true that is because we never tried it, but maybe that will help with your girl.

We have a little dog who will be 6 this year and she always needs to be touched or have your attention. She's a cuddler and love everyone. However, she's never been truly socialized with other dogs so when she and our other dog get into a spat or play, she ends up biting so hard it draws blood. This is Sophie. Sophie and Nala recently fought over a piece of carrot and Sophie ended up biting Nala's ear - again. It happened when she first came to live with us (nala is older). They started to play and Sophie bit Nala's ear. She just doesn't 'get it', Know what I mean?? She's just a puppy at heart in other ways as well. They get along as long as they are not playing, which breaks my heart because Nala used to play great with our old little guy.

Anyway, back to you-lol. Can you perhaps get her a few discipline sessions or buy do some research on those troubles you're experiencing. Also a book on your breed may help. I really think consistency at home is important. And most breeders will tell you that you shouldn't give your dog too much attention (though I've never believed that!) so by lavishing too much attention when you ARE home may make it difficult for her when you AREN'T home, Know what I mean??

Good luck~
 

crazymama30

Active Member
We make sure we do not leave tempting things our while we are gone, and nothing gets eaten. As for the separation anxiety, I believe she will get over it. I would not spend the money to take her to doggie daycare, especially if they think a time out is a training tool. I don't see how that will work.
 

KTMom91

Well-Known Member
My 8 yo Jack Russell was a "pound puppy" (we got him at 9 months) and did not like being left at home alone. I started leaving the TV on for him, on HGTV because I watch it a lot and I thought the voices would be familiar. It calmed him down, and stopped the stress chewing and general demolition efforts. We still leave the TV on for him. Might be silly but it works.
 

Fran

Former desparate mom
I'm a big fan of training classes and crate training. My 2 rather large pups are contained when I'm not at home. Usually the kitchen is their world. I also have a gated off area if they are annoying us at dinner. No begging allowed or table scraps from the table.

As far as water. My dogs always look thirsty when they have been somewhere away from home. I'm sure they would not drink or eat much.

The best thing you can do is work with a trainer and watch the dog whisperer on Animal planet. If they have doggy manners they are much more enjoyable to have around.
Doggy daycare is a good way to start to socialize them. You know if he nips at some dogs, he is going to find himself in a world of hurt. You owe it to him to make sure he knows good doggy behavior.
I even stopped my dog from play biting with me. It would be too hard for a dog to not take it a little farther and then I would have to punish him. I can't have dogs that bite people. For their own safety they have to have clear rules.
 
in my humble opinion, I don't believe your dog is learning not to nip by being kept in isolation for extended periods of time. I really liked the trainer my "favorite sanity saver" had in puppy kindergarten. He said that in order to teach a dog right from wrong, you have to actually catch the dog in the act of doing something wrong in order to teach him/her anything at all. If you try and reprimand or give the dog consequences for something after the fact, the dog won't understand why you're upset with him/her.

in my humble opinion, I think that a good dog daycare facility would have your dog come in for an "interview" prior to being allowed to attend dog daycare. One of the staff members would observe your dog, under supervision, while he/she was with the other dogs. The staff person would be ready to intervene if a problem regarding safety should occur. In this way, the staff member would be able to learn alot about your dog's personality and whether your dog would be a good "fit" with the other dogs in a social sense. The staff person would also take the time to get to know your dog a bit individually too.

If your dog nips while playing, the staff member should have suggested some training before your dog would have been allowed to socialize with the others. I would NEVER send my dog to a daycare facility that didn't get to know the personalities of each and every dog in the group first and how they get along with eachother. in my humble opinion, this is extremely important for the safety of all of the dogs in the group.

However, after saying this, I think that if your dog was nipping while playing, the staff had to separate him/her from the others. Otherwise, the "play" could result in another dog getting angry and ultimately one of them could have been hurt.

As far as your dog being extremely thirsty when coming home, I think this is a normal occurrence because your dog may have been too excited/over stimulated to think about drinking.

So, in a nutshell, my best advice is to find a decent trainer and take your dog for some lessons. Once your dog understands that nipping isn't allowed, then I would find a different dog daycare facility and try again. I truly believe it is important to make sure dogs get enough chances to socialize when they are young. I think it gets harder to do this the older they get. However, I still believe it can be done. You just need to have more patience and need to spend more time socializing the dog.

I totally just lost my train of thought - difficult child 2 has been throwing a fit for almost an hour - got to go!!! Hope this helps a bit. WFEN
 

Shari

IsItFridayYet?
I can't speak for time outs for a dog, but I can speak for water...my dog doesn't eat or drink much when she's away from home. Heck, when I took my horse to the trainer, he didn't drink for 2 solid days because of the different water. The trainer is amish and the water is from a well. He said its common, and after the 3rd day, the horse drank fine the rest of the time.
 
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