If I send my dog off to daycare, and someone there steps on her foot, I'll never know it happened.

But all of the sudden, I'm going to see a change in her work with the decoy. I may see hesitance on the approach, especially during a fleeing attack.
I may see her rebiting, or developing a chewy bite.

Because I was unaware of her foot being stepped on, my dog could become foot shy, without me ever knowing it. Every aspect of her bite work could potentially be impacted, and because I was nowhere around and had no idea that her foot was stepped on, it's pretty hard for me to address the cause of the problem.

I could work on the symptoms, but I'd never figure out what the root cause was.

If I stepped on my own dog's foot, it would likely have little effect, since I'm her handler, not a potential foe. If it did have an effect, I'd know it happened, and be able to address it.

But if it happened while she was off at doggy daycare...

Ahh, ok. I see the specific point of your question now.

Thank you for explaining, Alyssa.

Hopefully, Michael can take something from it.

The problem is...you have to give a da** about this affecting someone else's dog. If you don't care then its no big deal.

There are tons of reason for not going to doggy day care. Most stem from owners that train dogs for a specific purpose, and the rest are from good owners in general.

I can tell you that our local DDC has on average from 20-60 dogs a day at that facility. The dogs use an extra home on site to stay in at night and during feeding times. No crates on site, and a kennel for dogs put in the penalty box until picked up or by request from an owner.

They have pond parties where the dogs are all loose and allowed to swim and chase toys and frolic. The extra boarding home has FURNITURE where the dogs can sleep. Now, I see potential for a lot of problems but so far there have been only a few that I'm aware of. I don't visit often but I hear things.

The dogs are often mixed into "mini packs" which can change hourly. Another potential problem which I think has been remedied since my conversation with them to prevent rank issues.

I've worked with quite a few dog from there that started fights, and with dogs that were denied access because the screening process prevented them from entering. ALL bull breeds are now banned..a choice I questioned but hey, its not my place.

The owners are good people. The business has become huge in the last couple years. They protect the smaller dogs by separating them. Their staff is well trained and their main guy has educated himself quite a bit on dog behavour in the last year or so. They did recently hire a kid about 20 years old who had one of those master trainer certs. He proudly confided in me that he has been bitten dozens of times. That alone told me he is clueless. But again, its not my place.

These owners were introduced to the DD collar and its use by me. They think it is wonderful..so good in fact that they require their OB students to purchase one for the classes they attend there. The DD collar isn't designed for that but the results were so dramatic that the owners felt it was just the ticket to get out of control dogs in check. I hope dogs dont get injured because of it's use from inexperienced hands.

I can tell you. Dogs do get injured...either by accident, or by fighting. For the amount of dogs that go through their doors it's not excessive, but it happens.

Howard

hey howard, i have to agree with you, you hit the nail on the head. most, if not all the dogs that come to my daycare are house pets period. i dont think any of the daycare clients do any ring work or compitition work, we do have a women who gets her dog groomed but does not bring her for that reason.

How'd the protection work go?

What issue were you having with your agitation work?

went well, just us trainers tonite, i think it was too hot for the others. sweat your ass off in the scratch suit. im working on bringing out a new dog. 1 year old GSD, needs more confidence. the issues im having is making sure im doing it right. i work close with the trainers there, and they coach me on what im doing. its great working with a good PP dog, even though I may make a mistake he keeps goin for the sleeve, one of my favorits. practice practice practice

 Quote: michael hubert

hey howard, i have to agree with you, you hit the nail on the head.

Hi Mike,

Don't know if you realize it or not but, you just agreed with me on a lot of negative aspects of doggy day care. Even though you house mainly just "pet" dogs, they are still dogs and are capable of exhibiting aggressive behavior at any time.

Anyway...it' your business and I'm sure you've looked at all the risks from every angle. All I have left to add is; I wish you continued good luck.

I get a lot of sideways looks and "you're crazy!" responses from people when I tell them that I love to work with all sorts of aggressive dogs. We all choose our path and make the decisions neccesary to get there. All we can hope for is that they are good ones.

Howard

i dont think we run it like alot of other DDC, i think thats why we are so popular. its a ,you have to see it to believe it, kind of thing, something i cant explain. and thanks