1)
It's
not just what you say, it's how you say it. Body language, tone, and
intonation are all very important when communicating with dogs.
2)
Dogs
act differently when their owners are not around. A calm, submissive dog
may become rambunctious and defiant when their owner is not present. On
the other hand, a perceived "alpha" or an aggressive dog may become
more relaxed and solicitous sans owner, especially if the dog’s domineering
behavior is the result of a perceived or real need to protect or guard the owner.
3)
A dog’s
behavior will change around different dogs, and especially different groups of
dogs. A dog may be copacetic around one
or two other dogs but become very uncomfortable among a large pack. The reverse may also be true.
4)
Dogs
are unpredictable. They are animals, and although humans are as well, our
canine companions do not have the same capacity for reason and logic as we do.
Sometimes dogs will behave in a way that will leave us scratching our
heads. Just as with humans, we can’t always
explain every thing they do. And because
we lack an adequate means of thorough or complex communication between species,
their behavior may have to be chalked up to the great unknown/unknowable. We can try to unravel and understand them –
but we may never know all the answers. That’s okay.
5)
As a
very general rule of thumb, male dogs tend to get along best with female dogs,
and females tend to gravitate towards males.
6)
Some
dogs will get along with 99.99% of other dogs, but keep in mind, there's always
that .001%. Always be diligent when
introducing your dog to a new dog.
7)
Dogs
that are perfectly housebroken at home can come to daycare and revert back to
puppyhood. Some may "leak", some will pee when excited, others
will “mark”, still more will pee to get your attention, and finally, there's a
few who will decide that there’s just no good reason to hold it inside at
daycare because all those smells and other dogs must mean its an appropriate
area to eliminate.
8)
Dogs
value human attention above almost all else. Even negative attention is
better to them then no attention at all.
9)
Dogs
are much more likely to listen to you if you have a treat (especially a high
value treat) in your hand.
10)Quite a large number of dogs could be
diagnosed with having pica. Before I owned a daycare I had only heard
anecdotal stories of dogs eating things that they shouldn't. These days
I'm confronted with it on a daily basis.
Dogs, like toddlers, explore their world through their mouths. Some become stuck in this “oral phase” and
will ingest anything and everything they can get their stinky mouths on. They will eat poop (their own and others),
toys, rocks, sticks, and anything else you may inadvertently leave out. Just another reason to never leave a dog unattended
around anything that is not safe to ingest.
Owning a daycare is not for the faint of heart. You must have a passion for hard work, a love
of dogs, and a blasé attitude towards poop, pee, and puke. It’s a lot of work, but probably the most
rewarding thing I have ever done in my life.
I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.
Wag more. Bark less!
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