My DOG didn't pass his Interview

[carrie1626]

My husband and I just got back from an interview for our dog at a no cage facilty. It ended in less than 2 minutes.

We witnessed some of it on the TV viewing screen but actually could not see our dog at all.
He was on a leash and behind a 6 foot fence and was too aggressive. I think I'm still in shock.

Looks like its back to our local vet for boarding during an upcoming trip. That means alot of time in a cage, which I wanted to avoid. I'm bummed.

 

[Jennasis]

Maybe he just needs to polish his resume? Instead of "aggressive", maybe you could call him "exuberant"?

 

[nephthys43]

Did they take him off the leash at all? Some dogs can be the biggest sweethearts in the world, but be leash aggressive. Mine is. She will bark her fool head off and and jump, but once she's off the leash she's fine.

 

[carrie1626]

Thanks, and YES he is exuberant.
Colby loves other dogs and playing is his #1 thing, after food.

Oh well, just as well because we wouldn't have been able to do anything had they called us and we're 1000 miles away.

 

[carrie1626]

Did they take him off the leash at all? Some dogs can be the biggest sweethearts in the world, but be leash aggressive. Mine is. She will bark her fool head off and and jump, but once she's off the leash she's fine.

We don't know. We didn't even talk in the car on the way home because we werein shock. It was over before it even started, it happened so fast. We just didn't forsee this happening at all. If anything, he couldn't get inside fast enough to play.

I'm just glad we didn't leave him there and then have them call and say they can't keep him and we're too far away to do anything.

 

[PizzieDuster]

We don't know. We didn't even talk in the car on the way home because we werein shock. It was over before it even started, it happened so fast. We just didn't forsee this happening at all. If anything, he couldn't get inside fast enough to play.

I'm just glad we didn't leave him there and then have them call and say they can't keep him and we're too far away to do anything.

I had this happen to one of my girlfriend's lab. She actually said they "kicked him out". We still joke about it. Her dog got kicked out of day care/boarding. She found another place, I think at her vet's office, caged.

Is it like that? Where they play during the day then are boarded in a cage at night? Ours does that. Having them play all day poops them out.

I would have started day care months earlier, if it is a day care/boarding type of place. Let him get use to it. But I think that's kind of mean that he was brought in and then told you no in less than an HOUR! The only thing ours won't tolerate is biting, humping (duh) aggressiveness, including to the staff. Is he fixed? Sometimes after they are fixed they calm down.

This same friend saw me walking our lab down the street off the leash, he always stays 10 feet away and will stop until I catch up. He ignores all other dogs and never goes off the sidewalk. She called me and said "do you shock him?" I was ***? No. We still laugh about that. Some dogs may need a bit of training. I know that if someone paid a bunch of $$ for training, I'm sure they'd take their dog for boarding...go figure huh? My hubby trained him.

Oh, and, after we boarded our lab when we went on a 7 day cruise....I found out that they would use OUR dog to take over to the training room! The class for small dogs to get them use to larger dogs because ours was so calm and easy. I was like ***? So all these small dogs were yipping at him, and he would sit and take it. I should get free boarding for that!!!! And they didn't even ask me if they could!!!! It just came out in a compliment a trainer gave me. I was stunned. I made a comment and now he gets free baths. And they loved him very much.

You are lucky though. You found out now before you left.

 

[kacaju]

Why don't you see if someone at the Vet's office will housesit for you? This way your dog could stay in his own home and get walked/played with.
OR, can you look around and see if you can find a boarding place that offers *runs* vs cages?
I know of a place that boards and each dog is in an indoor/outdoor run so the dog had plenty of room to stretch their legs, but they are housed by themselves so no worries about them getting in a fight

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We use a boarding facility where they have a dog run. Not the best thing for them however it is what works for them.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Maybe he just needs to polish his resume? Instead of "aggressive", maybe you could call him "exuberant"?

Or maybe proactive?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I know of a place that boards and each dog is in an indoor/outdoor run so the dog had plenty of room to stretch their legs, but they are housed by themselves so no worries about them getting in a fight

This would be my preference anyway.

Does anyone remember the poster here whose Weimeraner was killed by a group of dogs at this type of facility? It was heartbreaking.

OP, it might have been for the best. Look for a regular kennel instead of the vet's office.

 

[mamamary]

Why don't you see if someone at the Vet's office will housesit for you? This way your dog could stay in his own home and get walked/played with.
OR, can you look around and see if you can find a boarding place that offers *runs* vs cages?
I know of a place that boards and each dog is in an indoor/outdoor run so the dog had plenty of room to stretch their legs, but they are housed by themselves so no worries about them getting in a fight

This is what we use also - a place with an indoor/outdoor run. He is not kept in a cage and he is not in any danger of other dogs bothering him. I'd feel bad keeping my dog in a cage while we were away. Have you looked into finding any other places? Where we go it is a good 1/2 hour trip by car to get there. Maybe try expanding to the next few towns over in your search?

 

[Christine]

This would be my preference anyway.

Does anyone remember the poster here whose Weimeraner was killed by a group of dogs at this type of facility? It was heartbreaking.

OP, it might have been for the best. Look for a regular kennel instead of the vet's office.

Yes, I remember.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

I think a place with individual dog runs and one on one playtime every day is best. More than one dog has been attacked at the doggie daycares and kennels where they are all together in a room all day. All it takes is for one dog to have a bad day, even if they are normally the sweetest dog in the world with no history of aggression....

 

[Coonhound]

Hey I copied and pasted most of this, its from a post I made like a year ago or so. It is about how even though we love our coonhound, he is impossible to deal with, and we have never, ever been able to train him to behave properly, and we have gone through countless professionals and thousands of dollars and he is now 13 and still acts like a puppy, because he cannot be trained. It can't be done. We tried everything. And yes, we are very consistant. I shudder to think how much worse it would be if we weren't consistant!

Anyway, I am sure your dog is not as bad as mine!! But I thought it might cheer you up to hear about how many times my dog has failed interviews. lol

We could not go on vacation because NO ONE would watch him.
Boarding facilities said he's not welcome. His own vet said he couldn't stay at their boarding area
We would hire dog sitters (professional dog sitters) who would agree to watch him, then meet him, and be like "um, never mind, I am going to be busy that week".


We took him to dog school, where the instructor told us that our dog was distracting the other dogs with his antics, and wreaking havoc on his business.

We took him to a dog school, further away, where the instructor very politely told us, "maybe he just isn't ready to learn yet"

At that point we thought we need more individualized special help. We hired a dog psychologist who told us that he had "all of the extremes of the breed" and "does not make a good pet". Um, we've noticed.

We had private lessons from a dog trainer. She quit with no explanation. Not that we needed one.

We had another dog trainer.
She began making excuses to not come, and finally she just blurted out, "I am so sorry for you, I just don't know how you can live with him twenty four hours a day!!"

 

[horseshowmom]

Hey I copied and pasted most of this, its from a post I made like a year ago or so. It is about how even though we love our coonhound, he is impossible to deal with, and we have never, ever been able to train him to behave properly, and we have gone through countless professionals and thousands of dollars and he is now 13 and still acts like a puppy, because he cannot be trained. It can't be done. We tried everything. And yes, we are very consistant. I shudder to think how much worse it would be if we weren't consistant!

Anyway, I am sure your dog is not as bad as mine!! But I thought it might cheer you up to hear about how many times my dog has failed interviews. lol

We could not go on vacation because NO ONE would watch him.
Boarding facilities said he's not welcome. His own vet said he couldn't stay at their boarding area
We would hire dog sitters (professional dog sitters) who would agree to watch him, then meet him, and be like "um, never mind, I am going to be busy that week".


We took him to dog school, where the instructor told us that our dog was distracting the other dogs with his antics, and wreaking havoc on his business.

We took him to a dog school, further away, where the instructor very politely told us, "maybe he just isn't ready to learn yet"

At that point we thought we need more individualized special help. We hired a dog psychologist who told us that he had "all of the extremes of the breed" and "does not make a good pet". Um, we've noticed.

We had private lessons from a dog trainer. She quit with no explanation. Not that we needed one.

We had another dog trainer.
She began making excuses to not come, and finally she just blurted out, "I am so sorry for you, I just don't know how you can live with him twenty four hours a day!!"

Oh my goodness! If this is all for real then I commend you for making it through the 13 years, but I have to admit that I laughed out loud!

 

[Nature Mom]

My oldest husky is not accepted at the boarder's either. He is super sweet, until other dogs come around our youngest husky and then Jack freaks out like he has to 'protect' his little brother. I don't like the cages at the vet, so now I always hire a house-sitter. We have a lot of college age people in our life and they are always looking for some extra money. They also love having a house to themselves, it is like a vacation for them, too. Once we used a lady from church, who was very nice and had no problems with her, but the college kids are the ones that usually work out the best (plus, our dogs know them since they are all friends with DS). Maybe you could check with your neighbors, co-workers, etc. and see if anyone has a recommended house-sitter. Our vacations are so much more relaxed knowing everything at home is being watched and cared for (dogs, fish tank, cat, mail and papers brought in, etc).

 

[MrsDuck]

I'm very worried about this. We're going to visit DH's parents over the summer and will be gone 5 nights. My parents can't watch our dog and I was hoping to take him to one of the facilities the OP is talking about.

He is SUPER high energy, hasn't had much socialization with other dogs, and is part American Staffordshire which few places will accept.

 

[JessicaR]

How about a petsitter? So your dog can stay home. We have 3 Mastiffs and no way I could board them anywhere - they would be miserable. Just another option.

 

[carrie1626]

WE decided against the vet boarding ( the worst option ) and called another place we used before but further away.

I'm paying for the Large, Themed room and we can bring his bed and toys from home. I hope treat filled bones are "toys" because he will chew and destroy anything else if left alone. It's 8 x 10 room so not a "cage".

The last time he was there was last summer and his report card was " next time, I'll ty to do better". Apparently, he wasn't the most social, active dog.

This has been a wake-up for me! I'll be looking into training classes for him ( maybe at this boarding kennel) because my wish if for him to go to a no cage facilty in the future.

 

[christineann]

I use a house sitter or pet sitter instead of boarding my dogs. A family friend has stayed at my house when I've been out of town, and this past weekend, my next door neighbor and her dad came over several times a day to let them out, feed them, etc. It was great peace of mind for me, and this sweet 12 year old girl got to earn some money.