FAQ's for BDDP
So people ask us a lot of questions. It ranges from food, training, behaviors, or "what does this mean"? Some of the questions seem so trivial to an owner and we see some pretty normal issues that can seem huge to the owner. So I thought I could answer a handful here. So here are some of the most Frequently Asked Questions we have encountered:
If they pee in here, will the pee in the house?
The short answer is NO. I always add unless you have 40 dogs peeing in there now...Potty training isn't a generalized behavior. In other words, I pee in here but not in here is actually how they think. Puppies are a different issue, you may have to remind them after a lengthy stay anywhere!
Can my small dog come in with these HUGE dogs?
So, we do not separate dogs by size, unless there is an issue. Small dogs like big dogs and big dogs like small dogs. Occasionally you will get a big dog who wants to pick on someone, a small dog may be easier. They run and hop, like a bunny, so chasing them is fun. But we don't want the catching them to be too exciting, so we slow them down a bit. We may separate a dog if he seems to be obsessing on another dog, but that happens no matter the size.
I try to make them sit at the door and they just won't. Why not?
Well, that's an easy one. They are excited to come here! Sometimes in our excitement we lose our manners (I usually refer to kids at an amusement park for this question). Don't be alarmed.
Why do they seem scared sometimes to come in?
The barking, the excitement in the air and the fact that you are still there make them sometimes act like they don't want to come in. We try extremely hard to calm the room when you come in so that your dog gets the calm entry. It's not an easy task. So we are working on making it better! But rest assured that if your dog continued to be scared after a few minutes, we have let you know or we have take different avenues to comfort them!
Why don't they eat when they board with you?
Sometimes there is just too much going on for them to eat. Some may wait a day or two and then eat every meal like a pro and some will have a 5 day stay with a meal or two eaten. Much like kids, they will eat if they get hungry. We always offer them their meal and will occasionally add some broth to it or a treat to make it seem more appetizing. And sometimes, they hate their food and want everyone else's! They hold out in hope of getting different food, and sometimes 6 pieces of another dogs food makes it AWESOME!
What do they do ALL day?
Days are different depending on what dogs are here. Some want to run and race and chase and some want to be lazy and hang out. We do change our day up by changing where things are in the room. Some days we blow bubbles, some days we bring out a ton of tennis balls, or maybe the ropes are popular today. There are days that the dogs are lazy and want to be petted and snuggled, we do that too. You may notice that lights are out sometimes, we have lamps in the kennel rooms to make it cozier, but its a change of scenery that makes it different. We do work on behaviors with the dogs, like a group sit or a simple command chain. It really is driven by the dogs that are in that day!
Okay - the biggest question! WHY is my dog in a kennel when I pick them up? Was he BAD?
No! Your dog was not "bad". We time out dogs like we time out kids. Some dogs need a nap or a forced calming period (as a hipster mom once said). We give them a short time out when they are tired or trying to sleep in a barky dog environment and they can't. We will also time out a dog for having an obsessive behavior, like jumping, striking or barking. If a dog is in for Full Day Daycare, they deserve a break to relax and the best place to do that is in a quiet, cool kennel room. Puppies need more breaks to teach them to calm themselves. So it's a life lesson as well. IF your dog was in time out for a bad behavior, we usually tell you. We may even suggest some training or ask if you are having the same issues we had at home - and then we may give you some tips. SO the short answer is no, your dog was not bad, just a dog!
