Ruby’s been going to dog daycare once or twice a week since she was 12 weeks old. She doesn’t have separation anxiety and she’s not destructive when she’s home alone, but she does like playing with other dogs and we like having her tired out a couple times a week. Our city has a lot of daycare and dog-walker options and the one we chose has been voted best by readers of our local paper for the past several years. It’s bright and clean, the staff is friendly, and Ruby clearly loves going there.
Despite all that, for the past couple of months I’ve been considering putting her in a different daycare. There’s recently been a lot of staff turnover, which made me wonder what other changes are happening in the business, and the location isn’t as convenient with my new work schedule and commute. I wavered and procrastinated and, because I felt some loyalty to them and there are some other BTs that go there who are the same age as Ruby and it feels wrong to separate her from her life-long friends, wondered if I should just drop the idea.
But yesterday I received the daycare’s June newsletter and some of the news wasn’t the kind I like; they now have a ‘master dog trainer’ on staff. There were phrases like ‘effective pack leader’ and ‘balanced discipline’ sprinkled throughout the copy. These words make me nervous. I visited the trainer’s website and found more references to pack theory, dominance, balance, and other ‘whisperer’ catchphrases. So thanks for helping us decide, daycare owner–we’re shopping for a new daycare.
We have an interview with a new place tomorrow afternoon. Based on the website (which I know can be misleading), it looks promising. It’s big, has indoor and outdoor space, offers some nice perks like pick-up and drop-offs, baths and nail trims for a small charge, better hours, and it’s much closer to home. If the interview and tour go well, and their training and discipline philosophy matches ours (i.e., R+), then we’ll try a couple days next week and see how it goes.
Daycare makes me sleepy
Phrases like ‘effective pack leader’ and ‘balanced discipline’ would make me nervous too. The new daycare sounds interesting! I think Ruby will be just fine adjusting to a new daycare. She is such a sweetheart :)
Thanks! She’s been to the new daycare a few times now and we like the staff and facilities a lot. It’s a better situation for all of us.