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Help... boredom may cause us to find Gracie a new home

I think all that sounds like an excellent approach. I think at least three half days would be very beneficial. I work closely with several certified trainers as well as vets, and this kind of approach is exactly what they would advise. I think the best place for a dog to be if people cannot give active attention is in daycare as they have a blast and you end up with a fantastically socialised dog.

Believe me one of the biggest difficulties owners have and biggest management issues as they get older (including why they end up in rescue) comes from poorly socialised dogs and Gracie is in a critical period for active socialisation with both dogs and people. Being a solo dog alone at home is not a great situation for a dog and quite lonely -- she would even without your other questions and issues, benefit from three days a week with other dog pals (half days would be a minimum; this really is very little time overall so I'd say go for it and the advice is excellent).

For many dogs especially those with some social issues or lots of energy, I consider the single best fostering situations for my rescues to be with some of the trainers I know, who then bring them to daycare with them to mix with other dogs and learn great doggie and people manners, or with my friends who homeboard and thus the dogs get lots of socialisation and playtime with other dogs.
 
We do already use a doggy care but...

I do think sometimes the groups are too big and no consideration of the temperaments....just size. The good thing is that a half-day is really 6 hours, not 4. I have left her a couple of times for as long as 8 hours and she was sooooooo tired. She was like a limp noodle. But she gets along great with other dogs and she was just named "sweetest camper" for February.

However, I think the new day care facility I just heard about, I would feel better leaving her longer since she would not be thrown in with loghyperactive dogs too. I do have an application already filled out and planning to drop it off tomorrow to set up a time for her to be evaluated by them later this week.
 
This is a good point: quality of daycare centres can vary enormously. There should be a good ratio of staff to dogs (more staff the better) -- in that case it really doesn't matter if a larger group is out playing together as the staff then keep the really active dogs from hassling the less interactive or shy new dogs. Small dogs also shouldn't all be out with really large dogs. Puppies are generally socialised with primarily smaller dogs. There's no issues for dogs mixing with more playful dogs as long as they aren;t being overwhelmed by them (and sometimes the hyper ones are actually poorly socialised dogs who do not read other dogs' signals well and don't lay off when they get too pushy. It is good for them to be carefully mixed in with groups that will teach them better manners). But you want good personality matches so every dog is having fun.

But it is good for dogs of all sizes to mix sometimes, because otherwise you end up with dogs tat are scared or aggressive to dogs of other sizes out of fear. Most big dogs are gentler with small dogs that smallies are with each other!!

A daycare centre should be insured as well.

This for example is what Dog Training Ireland does:

http://www.dogtrainingireland.ie/daycare/

All daycare is supervised at all times with dogs matched by personality, age, size.
All care staff are trained and certified in canine first aid.
All training staff are certified CCPDT, APDT and only reward and positive training methods are used.
All toys and equipment are safe.
We have full planning permission for our safe and suitable newly built premises.
We are fully insured.
Click to expand...
 
I posted earlier in the thread in favour of daycare and I feel the more the better, depending on what you can afford. To me, what Karlin says just makes sense and I think you AND Gracie will be much happier especially now in her puppy days when she has so much energy. Once she is a bit older and has settled down you could always re-evaluate the length of time spent in daycare and you may find she is happy just to lie beside you while you work. My two are quite content now, at the age of two to lie and chew their kongs beside me. I am so happy you seem to be going in the right direction and that you are giving the situation a chance...Gracie is one of the nicest looking Blenheim puppies I have seen :lotsaluv:
 
Well the new day care sounds better for sure

Gracie would get to be with some slightly larger dogs, instead of all tiny dogs...but not too big.... no more than 25 lb, but would be grouped more based on temperament. She does get to play with two larger dogs in my neighborhood regularly... one of them is submissive to Gracie! HA!

What I like most is that they have a record of not letting any dog become a bully in the group and have suspended dogs from daycare until they address issues. Gracie is very good now with pretty large dogs, but the really hyper dogs are more of the problem for her after an hour or two. All doggie day cares here but be insured but what I like about this one is that it is locally owned place (not a chain) that has been around a long time and is highly recommended by local Cavalier owners and two trainers that we all like. They have wonderful outdoor and indoor play areas with lots of interesting items to play with and on. The people who work there also do alot of ball throwing, ring tossing, and various games with them.

It is no more costly than the place I had been taking her to....and it also is a vet hospital so if anything happens, they have someone onsite to address it.
 
Sounds great, shes going to have a ball!! You are very lucky to have the option of daycare. There isn't a single dog daycare in our entire country that I am aware of!
 
I am so glad you found a place that looks also at temperament. I strongly believe in socialization. My cousin has a weimrheme r that she takes to day care everyday so she is very close to the owner and I knew them before I got Ella. The day care owners former partner owns the dog bar.

Long story try short, at the dog bar Ella will sit next to a great Dane. They are calm but she will also play with mia (weimrheiner) even tonight. At day care (doesn't go now) they are not in same group. So like karlin said, good to get used to bigger dogs but have ella around a bunch of hyper active big dogs for a period of time it doesn't work.

They KNOW the dogs and know who is "friends" with who or not. In NC they have to have a certain # of staff per dog but it is the level of interaction. So its not just small dogs, big dogs (sure they break them up) but even to personalities.

When ella first was diagnosed, they limited her play time or they kept an eye out. they wanted information on SM b/c they have some other cavaliers that they have seen scratch to give information to. If I take her, she can be up front with them. It is somewhere that you have to find the right one, which it sounds like you have, and let them know and get feedback.

They told me cavaliers do not need 5 full days of day care. Other highly active dogs might. Its good for them to play and get tired especially a puppy. I am sure gracie runs to go back.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk
 
Karlin said:
:bang::bang::bang:

I am sorry but this is just a ridiculous set of statements and cannot be left unchallenged and ties in with a growing issue with some of your posts. If I recall Coco is your first dog you have owned as an adult -- plus she is only a puppy still with which you have had numerous issues yourself-- so please, how can you make a statement like this as if you are speaking with knowledge and experience?

Zumie I have spent a long time saying nothing but feel as admin that I have to ask you please not to give advice in areas where you have no knowledge and are just making things up -- this for example is very serious difficult decision for a dog owner (where you, please recall, are not noting the one area in which you DO have experience -- you yourself returned several pups and thus you actually did the exact opposite of what you advise). For about a year, you kept getting puppies and then dropping off the board when you returned them to the breeders for various reasons even though at one point you accepted this was not a good time to get a puppy at all (which I guess must have changed within months). Anyone can see your past posts over time on this. Eventually you returned here with yet another puppy and this time have begun to post on nearly every single thread where someone asks for advice. People are always encouraged to participate, don't get me wrong, but half the time your advice comes from way out in left field and reflects no experience at all of actually owning a dog. Please be more cautious in advising people what to do if you are not speaking with any personal knowledge!

As to the points made here:

Have you ever put a dog through daycare? I don't think so. If you have ever put a dog into daycare you will know they do not get 'spoiled' :sl*p: -- they have fun and exhaust themselves. Do you truly believe allowing dogs to enjoy themselves with other dogs 'spoils' them? Dogs *need* to get intense interaction and activity *every day*. Daycare is a great way for dogs to get playtime and learn self control and self discipline (that owners often fail to give them).

What do you mean in saying that a dog should avoid all the fun of play and critical socialisation -- ask any trainer and they will say, the more dogs the better!! -- because of fear of 'disease'? What 'disease'? Vaccinated dogs are not going to encounter any problem issues in socialising with other dogs and to deprive them of play is silly and cruel. Would you argue that children should stay inside all day and have no friends and avoid school because they might get colds? :bang: If you are aware of diseases that dogs could get that might pose a risk, please let us know what those are and why we should all refrain from having our dogs mix with others.

This owner is facing some serious decisions. If you wish to share the area where you have advice -- making a decision to actually return puppies in such a situation as the owner faces -- that is a legitimate contribution, but this is damaging advice that comes from no personal knowledge or experience at all.
Click to expand...

Sorry. So let me back up here then. Parvo, distemper, parinfluenza, and kennel cough are diseases dogs can get. Immunization against these pretty much eliminates the risk. Kennel cough however is still possible to contract regardless of vaccinations or not, because it mutates like the flu does. So a flu shot doesnt necessarily make you immune. Plus there is always a possibility of getting giardia or parasites from other dogs.

Spoiled is the wrong word to use I suppose. The doggy day care may simply just be giving the pup so much exercise that she is building up endurance, therefore needing more and more. Just like athletes. People who are not as active cannot sustain high levels of activity for long. People who have trained need to be active for longer and longer periods of time to get an adequate work out. I am just putting two and two together here and giving an opinion, and not looking to be excused from doing so.

I understand this is a serious matter for the owner which is why I wanted to give my own two cents. It is up to the OP how to take what is said, not for others to make that decision for her.

I have put a dog through day care before. My last dog was a Rottweiler. We took him once a week and found that it was better for us to exercise him, as it saved us money and got just as much energy out of him. Also, visiting dog parks worked good as well, but one can never be too careful about diseases. Dogs can get sick just like people. Please point out where I said that Gracie should not go to doggy day care. I simply said she might be building up endurance and that exposure to lots of other dogs increases risk of catching something. Doggy day care and dog parks are great ways for dogs to have fun, socialize, and let out energy. I never said that people should not do this.

I was a dog trainer for 4 years, and feel pretty confident about advice that I do give. But, I am not a god and do not know everything. Part of the reason I joined this forum was to learn more.

I am sorry if I have lead the OP in the wrong direction, but I do not feel it is fair for you to ask me to not participate in places I have no experience. I am the one to judge my level of experience, and appreciate constructive criticism, as I appreciate learning more. I am however offended to be asked not not participate.
 
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This is still ridiculous and I stand by my response. What in the world do you mean that a dog is 'building up endurance' in a negative way simply by getting a positive level of attention. interaction and play? This is simply bizarre.

And how is daycare a greater risk for 'disease' then going to a park? Dogs are generally required to have kennel cough vaccines for daycare. I cannot imagine a daycare that would not require basic vaccines at registration --people are far more likely to encounter distemper or parvo walking in a park with a dog than in daycare. Giardia?! That is pretty unlikely in daycare too.

You were a *dog trainer* for four years? Really? Yet you are asking when dogs start to pant? How to housetrain? Running a puppy to try and exhaust it? Were all these things never dealt with in four YEARS of dog training? :confused::confused:

My issue is that you keep popping up giving advice on threads on questions where often you yourself have made repeated posts with similar problems. You also seem to have a pattern of getting dogs and then returning them or rehoming yourself so it seemed odd that this point of actual experience was not even mentioned in a thread like this yet someone was being told that getting a dog some appropriate activity and interaction would "build up endurance" and "spoil" the dog.

It is just ridiculous "advice" much less to come from someone claiming four years of experience training dogs. On a site that is very concerned with dog welfare, and caring dog ownership as well as making responsible decisions about ownership, I just cannot leave such posts as they don't even reflect an alternative point of view, they are just utter nonsense that could lead many people to stop doing activities that are extremely beneficial and productive for their dogs. I am sorry for being that blunt but please perhaps stick to posting videos and pictures and asking questions rather than advising others.
 
Again as I said I am not a god and do not know everything. As a dog trainer, yes I helped people potty train. I ask questions like that for more ideas to see if I can add onto what I already know. Coco is potty trained now, hasn't had an accident in almost 4 weeks, so I would say I have done a good job on that.

Panting? That is not covered in training. I simply was curious. Running a puppy until exhaustion? Please....why do you all get the idea I am trying to cause my puppy to collapse? Now days she runs herself until panting. The panting question was in comparison to other dogs which I had noticed; many dogs begin to pant almost immediately when excited and during play, and as a very young puppy Coco never did which triggered the question "I wonder if they don't pant until a certain age?" And I did not run her to collapse simply for a picture. I could have done so when she was 10 weeks old, and didn't. I know that puppy bodies are sensitive and should not be worked too hard, since they are still growing.

Rehoming dogs; well those dogs I was on a trial run with and the breeder understood there was a chance I was not going to keep them. She knew the first dog was very shy and timid and when I brought him back said she was not surprised because he did not seem like a match for us, but wanted us to try him out to be sure. The second dog was the same deal, except we did like her and wanted to keep her. My Grandmother had aquired the first dog because of her more laid back lifestyle, and things worked out great for both of us and I was very excited how things were working out. Later it was discovered that first dog had some health issues, which I notified the breeder about and mentioned that the cost of his health would be appreciated in a reduced purchase price. She was offended and immediately made me surrender BOTH her dogs. I was in tears over this, it was not my choice.

I have fostered dogs and cats alike and volunteer at my local pet shelter. So I do have experience. Just because of that should not keep me from asking questions about potty training, panting, and nutrition because as I said earlier I am here to ad on to what I already know.

And, once again, please point out where I said it is a bad idea to take a dog to doggy day care. I did not recommend that to the OP. The whole endurance things makes sense to me. A trained racing greyhound will need much more exercise to relieve the excess energy than a pet raised greyhound. But if that doesn't make sense to you, so be it.

*Sorry for hijackig the thread. I had no idea my little tidbit would cause an uproar like this. I won't try to give you anymore advice due to Karlin's request.*
 
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Positive update

So far, the new plan is working soooooo well. And we have not had a chance to try the new doggy day care yet but still using the original one. I did file an application with the recommended one yesterday. They then want me to bring in Gracie for evaluation next week... which will happen on Monday or Tuesday. YAY!

The new toys that require Gracie to think, doing a combo of training/walking and having a place for her to play with her stuff that is near me has worked really well. She prefers to play on carpet/rug, so got a new rug near my computer area that is just for her. She loves it.

Also, doggy day care is tiring her out but the next day she wants to rest up. She has spurts of excess energy but we can deal with that.

She is such a joy in my life.... so happy this is working out so far. I can't imagine my life without her. Sometimes I just cry happy tears because she is such a blessing.
 
That's great and so glad you are finding some workable approaches. Dogs really respond to structure so if she knows after her morning time with you that she goes to her special area and has some busy toys -- just like making sure kids have a few toys to play with to keep them occupied and busy -- until a lunchtime break or a potty break midday, she will soon learn and enjoy the new routine.

Daycare is great for giving her social, active time with other dogs and as you say -- pooping her out!

So many dog issues are not training but management problems -- or can be solved much more swiftly and easily by some simple management. But that isn;t always obvious and it can be hard to realise sometimes, when it seems like the dog has to be trained specifically to do this or that. Of course, you actually are indirectly training her -- to have more self control because she can expect that she will have something fun to do whenever you aren't around and won't have to make up her own entertainment -- doing the things which tend to frustrate owners.

A good way to think about solving any unwanted behaviour -- which almost always is something normal for the dog -- is not to respond 'stop that now!' but to think, 'if I don't want her to do this, what else am I going to give her to do; what would I like her to do that she will also enjoy?'. Or as I call it, toddler thinking. With a small child, we would never expect them to just sit quietly all day because making noise interrupts us -- we come up with alternative things for them to do and a structured routine of food, rest, play, busywork. :D
 
Anniemac...thank you for the calendar and little "Cav"

It made our week to get the Rupert Calendar and little stuffed Rupert, which looks like a baby Gracie. I cherish them both and thank all of the doggies that posed for pictures. They are all priceless!
 
My Churchill is a Coach Potato as well

Churchill is 3 1/2 years old and has just been diagnosed with Syngromelia. He has a tendancy to get very lazy and I have to force myself to take to different places for his walks rather than just around the neighborhood. If their are dog parks or walks in your area which there are where I live and it is just a few minutes from my house it helps so much. Some times he just looks bored. But if I get him out someplace different he is alot better dog and sleeps better as well. Good Luck
 
So far doggy daycare working well

We started the new doggy daycare yesterday and very well run. I liked it! Gracie did too
 
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