Share with your Pet Care Professionals
I read an article recently about a family whose dog escaped from a Dog Day Care Facility. The family was a new customer to this Day Care and when they returned to pick up their dogno dog. The article didn't share if the dog was later found, but what it did share was that after the escape, the owners told the day care the dog was a fence climber.
The moral of the storyshare information about your pet's habits and behaviors with pet care professionals. I used to own a kennel and training facility in Louisville, KY. One time - over the Christmas and New Years holiday - a new family brought me two Cocker Spaniels to board for two weeks during their vacation. The wife dropped the dogs off and shared with me that both dogs needed to have their ears cleaned every day (Cockers - with those heavy ears are prone to ear infections and tend to need extra care). Since I was not familiar with the dogs - I questioned the owner about how easily the dogs would allow a stranger to clean their ears (things are better these days - but back then many Cockers were very 'bite' prone to strangers - add an ear cleaning to the mix and now you know why I asked that question). The owner assured me this gets done everyday and that both dogs were fine with it. They seemed friendly enough, soday one I get the dogs out and play with them a bit to relax them. With my ear cleaner and cotton balls at hand, I went to one of the dogs to begin the cleaning. I promptly received the worst bite (still the record holder) of my entire career working with thousands and thousands of dogs. I thought the dog crushed my finger actually. And he wouldn't let go. It was one of those moments (probably would have been comical had it not hurt so bad) where while one hand was locked between the jaws of this dog - the other hand had to pry open it's mouth to get my hand back. He made a very strong point he didn't want his ears cleaned!
Fast forward two weeks to when the owners were to pick up the dogsthis time it was the husband who picked them up (wife dropped them off). As soon as he came in the door I informed him that the dogs never got their ears cleaned and that the male bit me badly on my first attempt. His reply"oh yeah, I'm sorry, they bite us all the time when we do that too!"
The point to sharing these stories is to encourage you share information about your pet's behavior and personality with pet care providers. If the Day Care had known the dog was a escape artist, they could have taken precautions to make sure he did not escape. If I had known the cockers would bite with ear cleanings, I could have taken precautions and kept their ears in better health and my hand in better health. I could share a million more stories like these - my only guess as to why they happen so often is that sometimes pet owners might be a little ashamed of their pet's behaviors. My advice to you is to forget about the embarrassment and share with your pet care professionals what they need to know to help keep your pet safe.
Unfortunately, there are pet care providers that just don't care enough. I cringe when I think about the heartbreak reckless or careless behavior could cause. I can't tell you exactly how to avoid these types of pet professionals, but I can give you some suggestions from someone who took care of pets for a living.
1. The pet business should be clean. I firmly believe that if a pet business owner doesn't care enough about the cleanliness of the facility, what else don't they care about? The pet business does not have to be 'state of the art' in design - but it does need to be clean.
2. Meet the staff. Meet as many of the staff as possible. This is difficult for the business owner because employees have other pets to take care of possibly when you'd like to meet them. Be patient and understanding with the business, but try to meet as many of the care providers as possible.
3. Get references and call them. The most important information can be learned from other customers of the business.
4. Depending on your state - some pet care businesses are guided by local Animal Control licensing. If that is the case in your state, call the licensing agency and ask about any reports of abuse or misconduct with this business. At the very least, check with the BBB.
Article Source: http://www.search-raven.com
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by: SusanThixton
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