doggy daycare

[anaruadh]

so luna and I went to the doggy daycare today to be assessed to see if its right for her. right now she is 5 months has all her shots etc. so i thought it would be good, once a week, to get her interacting with strangers and other dogs while i'm at school/work. we went to the assessment and well, it didn't go very well. they took her into the area without me to see how she would react apparently she was shaking and nervous. she then calmed down and they released some dogs, one at a time, very nice well behaved calm dogs and she was not interested in playing or even interacting with them. she would run/scoot away, the one dog wouldn't leave her alone so she gave a little warning snap to say hey thats enough please back off, and after they came and got me she stuck right close even though i try real hard not to have her sit directly beside me/or behind me. usually when we go to a new location she is very timid/shy/hiding and then as shes there she'll warm up maybe not necessarily be all over the people but at least approaching them cautiously and finally she will just sleep sometimes play but not generally. the daycare people are nervous that it will instill fear in her if we force it too much on her. shes going to go next week for a half day to see how that goes, if she will warm up after a length of being there. i'm not sure how to proceed i know shes not going to be a social butterfly, and if when we go to the dog park she rather run then play with dogs i'm okay with that. I just don't want a dog thats immediately terrified to the point that she is shaking in a new situation. that can't be good for her health and mental capacity. she is only 5 months. i have only had her 3 months. like is this a puppy thing and confidence comes with age? is it because i'm not there? i want doggy daycare to be able to be a place that she can see that new humans aren't terrifying and dogs can be tolerable even when they are crazy. i feel like i did something wrong. like we did puppy training. there were other dogs there, and each week she got more comfortable being around them and getting close to them, even the people that were there. and i am hoping that the same can be done with the daycare that each time will be more comforting.

i'm confused. and disheartened by having people tell me that my puppy can't handle what the other puppies can handle.

 

[Tracy]

My little guy was initially frightened about doggy day care too. He acted exactly the same way....it's a sheltie thing. Now that he has beengoing for a year, he just loves. He still plays only with selected dogs, but he gets very excited when we pull up. You are on the right path to introduce it slowly. Your doggy day care people should know how to handle a sensitive dog. Slow introductions and area for a time out for her if she is overly stimulated are a must. The doggy day care should make her time there fun. Ours play with the dogs and are constantly interacting with them....also a must.

Keep at it in little steps. She will come around. She is young...our day care won't take puppies under 6 months and they have a puppy only area. You might want to check out other facilities in your area as well.

 

[dmeyer123]

First off...she's very young.

Neither of my two like other dogs much. Pyper will play, but only one on one and only with dogs who are smaller or close to her size. Lexi loves people, but would rather only play with Pyper and Kenzie. If we ever go to dog parks, she hangs with me or greets the other people, but doesn't engage with other dogs (except to tell them to back off).

Luna might get used to day care, but she probably needs to be with small dogs. The place where my daughter takes her dogs divides the dogs into groups by energy levels...Lounge Lizards, (I can't remember the mid range title) and The Body Slammers. Her dog is in the body slammers.

It might be better for Luna if you can find a dog walker to come get her from your home and walk her to a nearby park. Then she can meet other dogs without so much pressure.

Have you taken her to any obedience classes? That might be good to learn to deal with other dogs in a more controlled setting.

 

[corbinam]

I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but my Lexi sounds very similar to Luna. She doesn't shake or cry when left behind, but she does not care too much for other dogs. I have socialized her extensively, she met tons of dogs, never had a particularly scarring experience...just doesn't want to interact with others.

She absolutely adores Bentley, but when it comes to meeting other dogs, she just isn't as comfortable. She likes some dogs that play chase (I can count the dogs on one hand that she played with off leash), but as soon as they get in her space, or she feels cornered (more often than she actually *IS* cornered) her teeth come out or she yelps. In strange situations (usually where there are a lot of other dogs...and it's not agility) she asks to sit on my lap or be held.

I assume that if exposed to a certain dog often enough that she would overcome that fear, but I don't know. Just the other day we were at my sister's house and she kept lifting her lip at my sister's golden puppy. Yes, the puppy was exuberant, but the other dog would just try to chase her and Lexi was not happy about it.