Barney not asked back to daycare
Well, I called to check on him a few days ago expecting the usual 'We love Barney!' but this time she hesitated and said everything's 'fine.' So I asked and she said that Well, Barney's been guarding the water bowl from the other dogs, not letting them near, and he was also guarding the people from the other dogs. So that was a little unusual and troubling. He just got picked up and they sent a note home with a suggestion for a different boarding facility. (not that we go away often). I think he's allowed to come back for the day, but I'm not sure (I didn't pick him up). They said that he was guarding the water bowl and had taken tufts of hair off of the other dogs who tried to get near to the water, and growled at the workers when they tried to take him away from the water. So they had to keep him in time out for much of his stay. I don't know what to make of this, though, since he's usually the joy of the place and they always said how much they love Barney. And they said he started this right away, so it's not like he was there for too long and got cranky or anything...I'm so bummed right now  |
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| That sucks... did they notice anything different that could be medically related?
If he is due for a check up soon it might be wise to check his thyroid? |
 that would make me feel terrible. poor barney. yuki sends some wet kisses and told me to tell barney that it's not his fault he's being a normal sheepdog.  yuki would want everyone to stand in a straight line for the water bowl.  |
| I wouldn't like the fact that they sent a note home with him, rather than talking to you face to face. I would want more answers, more explanations.
Will you bring him back there for day care if they still want him? I don't know if I would, just knowing how cowardly they've handled the long-term stay. JMHO |
| Have they had a change in personel? Sounds like they don't know how to diffuse this early.....as much a problem in education for them and Barney needing a refresher course in dog manners. I'd get his butt right back into obedience and work him around other dogs.....letting other humans also work with him.
Where's Cesar when we need him?? |
| That's what I was thinking too, was there different staff there then what he normally sees when he goes to day care or to be groomed?
It would be very upsetting especially as you have never had problems like that with barney before being there. I would go personally and see them and sit down and have a talk with them about the situation and find out exactly what happened. I would also ask if there was different staff there that barney has not met before etc and who was the one caring for him, something just sounds a bit strange there for barney to all of a sudden change like that, especially as he has been a regular there for day care etc. I am wondering if someone was a bit on the rough side with him or something happened there maybe with another dog for barney to all of a sudden put his guard up. Just a thought there.  |
I agree with Lisa. I would go talk to them and try to find out what happened. Were there any new dogs there that he did not know? Something just doesn't sound right.  |
| Hi, As a former owner of a dog daycare, I can understand the daycare not asking Barney to return. My first concern though would be with Barney. It is peculiar for a happy, fun loving dog to turn into a growling guarder for no reason. As has been suggested before I would take Barney in for a checkup to see if anything is physically wrong with him which would account for his strange behavior. I would also call back to the daycare and ask to speak with the owner to get the complete story, any events which may have lead up to the situation. And if there is no physical reason for his behaviour, I would also consider taking him back to obedience class for some refresher work. From a daycare point of view, it is their responsibility to make sure all of the guest are safe as well as the workers there. I know I would not appreciated being told that my dog had some tufts of hair pulled out of him by another dog who wouldn't let him get a drink of water. And as a business owner I definitely was not looking for lawsuits for me being irresponsible. Good luck to you. Take good care. Jack |
| Thanks for your support and suggestions!
I guess I wasn't clear...the daycare included the note, but they also talked face to face with my husband about it. I think the note mostly was for the information about the other facility that they were recommending, but they did speak to him about Barns. Barney has had water issues before (mostly just drinking til he puked, not guarding, so we know he loves water), and for a little while he would growl at us if we went to take a bone or something away from him, but we had worked with him on that and we have been able to take things from him without a problem for a year now. I definitely understand the daycare not wanting him back (it just hurts when it's your own kid!). I think we'll just wait a few weeks and then take him back for the day to see how he does. At that point I'll ask if there are any new employees or dogs there. Barney is definitely more of a people person than a dog person, but he's never been aggressive toward dogs, just prefers to be pet. And the groomer yesterday said he was just great. He seems fine physically to me and was his happy, but tired self last night. And the one good thing was they said they had to give him very little of his pain medication for his hips (last time we went away for the weekend and he was there for 2 1/2 days he had trouble standing up b/c his hips hurt so much) but this time they said they didn't see very much pain at all from him, so that's something, I guess. |
| This is so much much an "obedience" issue as it is a behaviorial issue.
I had a girl that was extremely well trained in obedience, and was my demo dog when I ran classes. She was a "people" guarder and did not want to share people with any other dog...She would show teeth and go after any dog that came close to us when she was getting her lovins. Other than that she was great with other dogs. Please refer to this article. It is well written and easy to understand. At the very end it refers to relapses in the behavior, that can be overcome. http://ahimsadogtraining.com/handouts/r ... rding.html Good luck and let us know how it goes. |
| It really feels awful to have your own dog acting or seen as the bad guy. I remember how shocked and upset I was about the place that rejected Maggie. Of course, now I see that it is better for her not to be there because they did not handle handle the introduction well and Maggie was extra tense.
barney1 wrote: And the one good thing was they said they had to give him very little of his pain medication for his hips (last time we went away for the weekend and he was there for 2 1/2 days he had trouble standing up b/c his hips hurt so much) but this time they said they didn't see very much pain at all from him, so that's something, I guess.
This is interesting. My sweet Chummie is always way more growly when she does not get enough pain medecine. It is like she is afraid of being knocked into or bumpled over and she is particularly fierce in a scary crowded situation. Is it possible that Barney's increased pain (from reduced medication) was actually causing him to act more defensively? |
Valerie wrote: It really feels awful to have your own dog acting or seen as the bad guy. I remember how shocked and upset I was about the place that rejected Maggie. Of course, now I see that it is better for her not to be there because they did not handle handle the introduction well and Maggie was extra tense.
barney1 wrote: And the one good thing was they said they had to give him very little of his pain medication for his hips (last time we went away for the weekend and he was there for 2 1/2 days he had trouble standing up b/c his hips hurt so much) but this time they said they didn't see very much pain at all from him, so that's something, I guess. This is interesting. My sweet Chummie is always way more growly when she does not get enough pain medecine. It is like she is afraid of being knocked into or bumpled over and she is particularly fierce in a scary crowded situation. Is it possible that Barney's increased pain (from reduced medication) was actually causing him to act more defensively? That's an interesting thought. We only give him glucosamine on a daily basis--the pain medication is on an as-needed basis, which isn't very often. I wonder if maybe he wasn't showing signs of being in pain but was still hurting. hmmm. I did notice that last night his hip was clicking louder than normal when we were going upstairs for bed. |
| I just have a comment - i know this post is old but I ran across it recently. Ok, so maybe a lot of people know my experience with daycares and the mauling I had on my dog.
The daycare situation so complicated - I feel bad for both the owners and the dog owners. What I see happening is a situation where dogs are being 'turfed' off to other daycares. The behavior needs to be addressed and not dumped on another daycare. And the daycare doing the dumping really needs to reassess its actions and not obsess just about "lawsuits." They have to realize the situation they may be creating inadvertently (unknowingly). My normal daycare which could not board my dog over Christmas, has a habit of doing this - The new daycare I selected (that could take my dog for a few days after the interview process) told me that she (my original daycare) is super picky and he takes the dogs that she rejects for bad behavior and then he rehabilitates them and has had no issues. Well, guess what, my dog on his 2nd visit after 3 hours was mauled by 13 dogs. His injuries are extensive and his story can be found in the medical area of the forum. Point being that I would be really leery about going to a new place that is where this daycare turfs other dogs too. That is NOT a solution. It doesn't sound like there is anything wrong with your dog health-wise. I found that my dog is guarded about raw hides. Not toys, not food, but the raw hides. I avoid them at all costs now. Anyway, the first few times he had one it was ok, then he figured out how wonderful they were and bang - he's guarding them with his life. I would really work with your dog on the behavior as you certainly can't take water away. Good luck and hope things worked out for you eventually. Jane |
| I guess I never thought about them suggesting other facilities as meaning the other facilities would have all the problem reject dogs! That's interesting.
We never took Barney back to this place. Besides the fact that I was upset with what happened (and who knows what happened, really...if it WAS Barney being bad or if there were other new dogs he didn't like, or didn't like him, or new employess, etc), I called them later on to try and get more info and they didn't really have much to say about it (I was asking more specifics, like what was he doing, blah blah blah) and they also said they would not take him, even for day care. They said they would for grooming. Yeah right, Like I'd take him back there to be groomed. It made me really paranoid about my own dog for quite a while. Like every time I was at a dog park I would get really nervous when other dogs came in contact with Barns, especially if water was nearby. Nothing ever happened, though. And I would get nervous at home too, thinking that maybe he was a bad dog and it would come out at some point. Then, over Christmas, I said to my hubby, Barney isn't a bad dog; he's actually turned into a good dog! But, that took from April to December to come to that realization. Oh, and I was out walking Barney this summer and met a man and we started chatting and he mentioned that he would NEVER take him dog to this daycare ever again. He went there once and didn't like it at all. So that made me feel better. I take him to PetSmart to be groomed now and they LOVE him. I even watched him being groomed once and he was the best compared to all the other dogs there (just sat there and let the groomer do whatever he wanted to do to him). |
| My dog was also booted out of daycare, and I also never really got a straight answer as to what he did exactly!! He was around nine months when he was asked to leave. He is the most friendly, fun dog around! I think maybe he just didn't fit in with the other dogs. Anyway, he's three years now and is much more mellow, but still just the same fun boy. I don't take him to daycare anymore, but I do take him to our local outdoor dog park, and his behavior is always impeccable!! I felt really bad, too, when he was kicked out! I watched him even more close than ever, but he's never agressive with other dogs or people. So it's a mystery to me :?
Sharon |
personss wrote: My dog was also booted out of daycare, and I also never really got a straight answer as to what he did exactly!! He was around nine months when he was asked to leave. He is the most friendly, fun dog around! I think maybe he just didn't fit in with the other dogs. Anyway, he's three years now and is much more mellow, but still just the same fun boy. I don't take him to daycare anymore, but I do take him to our local outdoor dog park, and his behavior is always impeccable!! I felt really bad, too, when he was kicked out! I watched him even more close than ever, but he's never agressive with other dogs or people. So it's a mystery to me
 Sharon Two things come to mind: (1) OES tend to easily annoy other dogs. Whether it's their bouncy, exhuberant, in your face personality (most of the young ones are RUDE by dog standards, frankly) or that (especially when they have hair) their body language is harder to read than a normal dog (think about it: no tail to read, harder to see their eyes) some dogs just don't like them - instinctively and on sight. Doing agility, I've lost track of how many Border Collies and even Shelties flipped out at the mere sight of my dogs in coat, though, frankly, as they are being bred to be more and more "high drive" - the BCs especially - a lot of them are just a wee bit short of unhinged. More typically, it's your (male) working breeds that can detest our breed. (2) when I first moved to Wisconsin I learned that OES are not beloved here. I discovered this by virtue of the many trainers, groomer and vets who were surprised (nay, shocked) that my dogs are so sweet. They've seen a lot of really bad-tempered OES and that has flavored their outlook on the breed. Perhaps the daycare had had similar experiences. I know when my girls breeder first moved to Minnesota some 20 years ago, give or take, her new vet almost refused to accept OES as patients. Breeder persisted, vet and staff were shocked at how well-behaved her dogs were. We're seeing better temperaments now among the BYB dogs in the area, but that hasn't always been the case and the distrust of the breed lingers. You know your dog is fine. That's what matters. Kristine |
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