Yeah, in a way in London, I'm overwhelmed by choices of everything - everything I need, dog walkers, puppy sitters, daycare, puppy creche, billions of vets, several vet schools within easy reach, training classes, ipad classes for dogs , fab rehabilitation centres, behaviourists at every turn... but, you know, once you sift through and discard all the cr*p, I'm not sure there are more choices of good services (apart from vets, and vet schools, and rehabilitation, those are really good in London).
Well, everybody has already said it but I'll add my agreement! Just sounds like it was too much for Pongo - too many dogs, too much crazy activity, not enough room etc etc. I think that Pongo was behaving as a normal dog would in a stressful and overwhelming situation. Our dog Obi initially went to a similar daycare which over time took more and more dogs and in the end Obi found it too much. He didn't want to go through the gate. The dogs there were also on the boisterous end of the spectrum. We moved to a different daycare (have been going for a couple of years) and it's controlled and structured and the staff are immediately onto any behaviour that's a bit full-on. There is a bit emphasis on calmness and self-control. The dogs still have fun and there is alot of interesting activity and outings, but it's definitely not a pack of dogs tearing round a field or room all day.
If he's only doing this kind of stuff at CM daycare I wouldn't send him again. I'd have him in a minute if you lived near me he's a nice boy. They clearly don't see the difference between stressed out and aggresive
Ella says not to worry Pongo, she'd still be friends with you (well maybe not after the, ahem, mounting ) but it's not your fault, it's the silly CM impersonators
Thank you Ella, I'm glad you don't think I'm a naughty boy. Well, maybe I'm a naughty boy sometimes but I'm not a Bad Dog. And I wouldn't dream of playing the jump-on-top game with YOU, you are a lady!!! Love Pongo xxx
What I can't understand from this daycare is, if Pongo was being aggressive all day, why did they not contact you to come and get him? I think they need to get their priorities right and start working towards a structured daycare with less dogs. Unfortunately some think more about profit than the dogs welfare. I hope you find a better solution for lovely Pongo.
Hey Rosie, I changed Daycare after realising Dexter was stressed by it,the groups were definitely too large and the arrival procedure was harrowing....although they did humour me and adapt this a little for me.I was glad to read later in your post that the members have made you feel better....and lovely Ternaya offering to dog sit the Pongster x
This forum is just fantastic. And Ternaya is without doubt one of the loveliest people on it! (And Pongo adores Harley's tail.)
So did I - the bloke looked after 3 pugs and 3 Labs (lovely dogs which Tatze adored playing with) but he didn't regulate their play at all and Tatze was only 6 months old - she came home exhausted, the wrong kind of exhausted imo. .
I noticed Rorys behaviour always deteriorates when he get over stimulated by too much young dog OTT play. I carefully regulate how much and with whom he plays and he seems less stressed. People think I'm weird (the don't feed collar has also helped with the general Idea I nuts) and over cautious but I really don't care I don't like him getting to that silly stage its not nice for him. You'd expect people who run doggy day care would understand this connection though?
I have decided also that we are changing Erics daycare arrangements. We have been using the same lady since he was tiny and I'm quite sure he is safe however he is totally exhausted after going. And not in a good way I don't think. I know he gets to go for a lovely walk but then once back at the house I think the dogs pretty much do as they please. I have recently learnt that daycare lady also runs another business from home whilst looking after our doggies :/ a few months ago I posted about Eric being grumpy to the point of growling or moving his head toward our hands if he was fed up. I'm starting to think daycare is playing a part in this. We have all just been off for the Easter break. We had a brilliant fortnight. Up early, walk, breakfast. training, doze morning walk sleep tea time walk, dinner training, chill, sleep He was a totally different dog. more cuddly, lots of interaction. We miss that on daycare days. he's so shattered he pretty much sleeps from 2pm till next day. Its no good We have interviewed another dog walker and are having a practice run next week. they are a couple who always walk together and take no more than 6 dogs. I like the fact there are 2 of them so 3 dogs each. Also if there are any problems on the walk there is always another adult. Eric will still get a walk with other dogs for an hour then home to chill. we all just want whats best for them don't we?
So true! If we are out for (say) 6 hours, then my options have been: A: Doggy DayCare; or B: Pongo is three hours alone in the house, then dog walker comes and walks him for about 30 minutes, then he's alone again for 2 and a half hours. I have always assumed that DayCare is a much, much better option. But I'm beginning to realise that he might actually be better off with the second option. It really is hard to judge.
It is hard to judge! I'm hoping, all being well, that the days we need help will be something like this...... 8am last person leaves house and Eric settles in crate 10am dog walker collects Eric, then collects other dogs, then they set off. Dogs are given a full hours walk (excluding travel time) and they expect that he will be home for 12 12pm back in crate 1pm Dad home, Eric out of crate, garden, chill 2pm back in crate 3.30pm Me home, out of crate till 10.30pm ish This does mean more time alone but hopefully, more importantly, it means more quality time and better soent time...... I hope! It is a hard decision though xx
My dogs are alone for 6 hours sometimes due to my work commitments. I think the key is the frequency with which that happens. If it were 5 days a week, every week I would want some kind of structured care and company for them. In my case it's probably once a fortnight so I have a very sensible, retired neighbour who we often meet out walking our respective dogs and she is happy to pop in and spend some time with my dogs, letting them in the garden for a romp and lie in the sun (yeah right!).
I really hate the idea of daycare - and I disliked the daycare places I visited when I was considering sending Charlie. I'm sure there are good ones, but I didn't see any. Charlie doesn't often spend 6 hours alone, but if he has to I make sure he has a good walk before I leave him, and an hour out in the middle of home alone time with a dog walker. I honestly see nothing wrong with an adult dog that has been accustomed to spending time alone to do 6 hours at home alone with a break for a walk in the middle of that. And if the dog gets a walk beforehand, and the rest of the time is packed with activity and company, I even think it would be fine 5 days a week. A pile of kongs lasts him an hour or more, then he sleeps, then out for a hour's walk, another pile of kongs and another sleep then his humans are home. That's just not all that bad.
Harley goes to daycare occasionally. They have a max of 6 dogs as have 2 of their own. Their dogs are in the living room and the rest are in the kitchen, conservatory and garden. Their dogs are elderly so sleep a lot. All the fogs get time out to relax in the living room, get a min of 1 hour walk in 3's and at least half hour 1-2-1 training each day. They have a mini agility course in their garden which they now let Harley use. She's always tired when she comes home, but not over tired and is always happy. It took me a long time to find them (they also walk her twice a week). It is worth looking around and being happy with the situation.
I see no problem at all with leaving a dog for 3-4 hours at a stretch. That's nothing. Especially when they are getting company, exercise, training etc during the day. My dog is left alone 8 hours at a time, for two to three days a week (not when he was younger, but that's what he's had since he was 2.5 years old). I'm sure that a walker in the middle of those days would be better, but we don't do that. We leave him with treats and Kongs and then he sleeps. Sometimes I do come home during the day and he is asleep, or he might wake up when I come in and will wag a hello but not bother to get off our bed. As far as daycare goes, there are daycares and there are daycares. Our daycare is very good and typically owners report that their dog has become calmer and more self-controlled since starting there (which is because the daycare staff are active in training for this). They don't wear out the dogs physically, they give them stuff to do with their brains. That means a lot of staff, and $$ for the owners, but it is worth it for a good daycare.
I only know of one day care that sounds like Obi's @Oberon - it's in the city, and I would use it time to time only it's not in a convenient place for me where I work right now (it might be later in the year though), plus I want all of Charlie's exercise completely to my detailed instructions, so paying for individual walks is a better option for me, and this is also expensive, but agree - you get what you pay for. All the rest of the major daycares around me are dogs picked up, chained in a van (god knows what would happen in the event of an accident!) and then left to run riot in a field all day. No way Charlie is going to a place like that. There are some that are a small number of dogs in a home, and I'd definitely look at those if I were really stuck.
Oh dear just reading through and I just can't visualise gentle Pongo being aggressive. Not at all. I can though imagine a young dog finding daycare a bit overwhelming at times. I wonder if Pongo might just like a dog walker taking him for a stroll...he always seems such a laid back sort of guy. Sometimes I think what suited a young pup changes slightly as they get older, maybe this is the case with Pongo, I can see why you felt upset though! Sounds like the doggy day care were feeling a bit defensive.
This is definitely true for Snowie. When he was a pup up till about 3 years old, his favourite place in the whole world was the local park where a lot of dogs ran around. At 4 years old he still wants to go there, but only to sniff every inch of it and mark his spots, kick some dirt, sniff all the dogs, and then he's ready to leave for a walk around the neighbourhood. He is very tolerant of the new wave of wild young pups frequenting the park (it's a great place for socialising), but I can see he's not enjoying himself, and when I say, Let's go, he trots to the gate. This would never have happened when he was younger -- then, it was a case of having to pull out all the treats to coax him to leave the park. He went to doggy daycare until he was 6 months. It was a controlled environment (as much as I could see). The owner's dog, a 6-year-old GSD, had free range but she was never to be seen. The owner said her GSD had her safe place at the back where she can escape to. Then -- being inexperienced -- I thought: how unsociable! Now I know better! Snowie is hardly ever left alone during the day -- there's usually someone at home. And I am sure he likes it that way: he's always to be found sleeping where someone is sitting. But now that he's older we can leave him during the day for 5 or 6 hours (we walk him first), and when we come home it appears he has been sleeping all that time. I must admit I don't like leaving him for long, I just feel too bad! I suppose it would be interesting to set up a webcam. I must add that we eased him into being left alone. Up till 6 months, never alone for a minute. From 6 months, only left alone after supper for a couple of hours. From about a year, left alone for an hour during the day, building up more and more over time. He is always left inside with the doors locked and the alarm on, and if it's really hot, with the aircon on. We went away with friends and their dogs for a long weekend, and I've never seen Snowie so happy, to have company 24/7. It wasn't wild play; he and a 12-year-old female simply walked around the entire time, glued at the shoulder, tails wagging non-stop. @Rosie b have you considered getting a companion for Pongo? I wonder if we should for Snowie... but another puppy -- exhausting! And Snowie has cost us so much in healthcare, so I'm worried we would have another with massive expenses.
