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#1
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Doing well, doing Well?
Just this second I turned down a potential boarding client for
my daycare. There are two dogs - a Lab mix and a BC mix. Both are outside dogs. The owner said that they chew the drywall even while they're asleep in the basement at night. She insisted that they do this. So, I hang my daycare shingle out with the presumption that I deal well with such dogs - I start doing well with such dogs and get great feedback, yet now turn down potential clients with dogs with issues because I'm getting plenty of easier dogs. -- --Matt. Rocky's a Dog. |
#2
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Doing well, doing Well?
Rocky wrote in
: So, I hang my daycare shingle out with the presumption that I deal well with such dogs - I start doing well with such dogs and get great feedback, yet now turn down potential clients with dogs with issues because I'm getting plenty of easier dogs. Are you feeling angst about this? I know you've talked about some of your regulars who have some pretty big issues -- my secret crush Petey comes to mind -- maybe you just don't want to be dealing with issues all day AND all night? That seems pretty reasonable to me. You're doing a lot for dogs, and I think it's important to set whatever limits you need in order to continue doing what you love. Also, the fact that they are outdoor dogs -- maybe you prefer *owners* who have a bit more buy-in at the outset? If I've misread you, my apologies. You just sounded like you were questioning your decision. -- Catherine & Zoe the cockerchow & Queenie the black gold retriever & Rosalie the calico |
#3
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Doing well, doing Well?
ceb said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:
Also, the fact that they are outdoor dogs -- maybe you prefer *owners* who have a bit more buy-in at the outset? Yup. But I also like to give such dogs a chance and prove to the owners that their dogs aren't untrainable. If I've misread you, my apologies. You just sounded like you were questioning your decision. You read me right. It's probably a good thing that their number didn't show up on my call display - I'd likely be changing my decision. Oh well, my dogs come first, and it's not a good thing to have too many difficult dogs in at one time, especially for overnight. -- --Matt. Rocky's a Dog. |
#4
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Doing well, doing Well?
"ceb" wrote in message
... Also, the fact that they are outdoor dogs -- maybe you prefer *owners* who have a bit more buy-in at the outset? I think an owner who is looking to get their outside dogs into daycare scores alot of points for that decision. If they just didn't care or didn't have much investment in the dogs then they wouldn't be bothering with daycare IMO. -- Tara |
#5
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Doing well, doing Well?
"Tee" said in
rec.pets.dogs.behavior: I think an owner who is looking to get their outside dogs into daycare scores alot of points for that decision. Yes, they do. In this case though, it was longer term boarding. -- --Matt. Rocky's a Dog. |
#6
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Doing well, doing Well?
"Rocky" wrote in message
... "Tee" said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior: I think an owner who is looking to get their outside dogs into daycare scores alot of points for that decision. Yes, they do. In this case though, it was longer term boarding. Have I been mistaken about you running a daycare all this time or are you doing both daycare & boarding? -- Tara |
#7
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Doing well, doing Well?
"Tee" said in
rec.pets.dogs.behavior: In this case though, it was longer term boarding. Have I been mistaken about you running a daycare all this time or are you doing both daycare & boarding? To get over typical business start-up problems, I took in boarding clients last Christmas ("hooking" them for future daycare) and still do it for regular daycare clients and friends. It's not something I encourage, though (my dogs need their own time), but this one struck me differently as dogs perhaps needing a bit of a "vacation." In retrospect, it's probably a good thing that I didn't take them in - from my conversation with the owner, this would have been a one-time deal with little chance for owner/dog education/training. -- --Matt. Rocky's a Dog. |
#8
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Doing well, doing Well?
On 31 Oct 2005 17:48:12 GMT, Rocky wrote:
"Tee" said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior: In this case though, it was longer term boarding. Have I been mistaken about you running a daycare all this time or are you doing both daycare & boarding? To get over typical business start-up problems, I took in boarding clients last Christmas ("hooking" them for future daycare) and still do it for regular daycare clients and friends. It's not something I encourage, though (my dogs need their own time), but this one struck me differently as dogs perhaps needing a bit of a "vacation." In retrospect, it's probably a good thing that I didn't take them in - from my conversation with the owner, this would have been a one-time deal with little chance for owner/dog education/training. It would have frustrated you to just be a place to dump the dogs because even the backyard won't work when the owners are on vacation. When I am working with kids, there are never enough hours in the day to help all the kids in a particular school who could use help. I am pretty rigid about not wasting time with kids who want to complain but not to do what they can to fix the problem. If I can't help them because they aren't willing to do their part, then I have to use that time for someone who can use my help. I don't think your own dogs or the limited space at your place is best used on owners who will not get a clue regardless and dogs who can't be "turned around" magically when no one backs anything up once they leave your house. -- Paula "Anyway, other people are weird, but sometimes they have candy, so it's best to try to get along with them." Joe Bay |
#9
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Doing well, doing Well?
Paula said in
rec.pets.dogs.behavior: I don't think your own dogs or the limited space at your place is best used on owners who will not get a clue regardless and dogs who can't be "turned around" magically when no one backs anything up once they leave your house. Aye, but there's my conundrum. I believe in such magic - though it's not going to be at the expense of my relationship with my dogs. Dogs, as opposed to the kids you deal with, are way more forgiving, I think. A tired and happy dog after a good day, going home to an untenable situation, is perhaps much more forgiving than a human equivalent (of which I know little about). I've seen dogs turned around without a whole lot of effort on the part of their owners. Sometimes, all it takes is shift in perception by the owner - like "Hey, this dog isn't always destructive.", or "Hey, this dog gives me 5! Wait'll I show my friends." I can do that. -- --Matt. Rocky's a Dog. |
#10
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Doing well, doing Well?
On 1 Nov 2005 04:23:27 GMT, Rocky wrote:
Paula said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior: I don't think your own dogs or the limited space at your place is best used on owners who will not get a clue regardless and dogs who can't be "turned around" magically when no one backs anything up once they leave your house. Aye, but there's my conundrum. I believe in such magic - though it's not going to be at the expense of my relationship with my dogs. Dogs, as opposed to the kids you deal with, are way more forgiving, I think. A tired and happy dog after a good day, going home to an untenable situation, is perhaps much more forgiving than a human equivalent (of which I know little about). I've seen dogs turned around without a whole lot of effort on the part of their owners. Sometimes, all it takes is shift in perception by the owner - like "Hey, this dog isn't always destructive.", or "Hey, this dog gives me 5! Wait'll I show my friends." I can do that. A woman I have talked to often in the past because our daughters have dance classes at the same time showed up to class last week with a little bulldog type dog. I'm not sure of the exact breed. The dog had a prong collar on that was the huge thick links and was hanging fairly loose on the dog. It was one like I use on Molly that has the martingale type chain arrangement to give you some slack but she had way too much. At various points, the dog lunged and then basically hung up on the collar and yelped and returned to where he belonged. I finally couldn't take it any more and asked her if someone had fitted the collar for her because it appeared to be too loose, allowing the dog to lunge before any correction occurred so he was badly hurt with the momentum by the time he was corrected by the prongs. She said he had been to "doggie boot camp" and they had fitted the collar, though she had added links because it seemed to tight and she was afraid it would hurt him. I showed her where it should hit and why it hurt him more to have it too loose than to have it fitted snugly. And she is a caring dog owner. When it comes to totally neglected dogs, I see more of the type where whatever they learn at a training place, it makes no difference once they get home because there is no follow up and it returns to business as usual. It's like going off to bootcamp and behaving for them but then realizing you are back at slack off city when you get home. That's great that you see more people get benefit out of little helps with their dogs. I think the main place I see that is with housetraining. Dogs that pee on the carpet are thrown outside or to the shelter. Teach them not to and suddenly they can be a part of the family. Paula -- Paula "Anyway, other people are weird, but sometimes they have candy, so it's best to try to get along with them." Joe Bay |
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