DEPOSITS, PAYMENTS & HOLIDAYS

Owner agrees to pay a non refundable deposit of 50% of board fee which is applied to the boarding for holiday reservations. Those holidays are Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break and the dates between Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. ***All reservations are subject to a non refundable $25 processing fee.
The non refundable deposit is to ensure people being serious about the reservation I am holding for them as these are the busiest times of the year and I don’t want to turn someone away if the space could have been available.
Please note that payment is due upon pick up of your pet. I do not extend credit.

If you are scheduled for after hours pick up, you will find your invoice on the front of your dog’s holding kennel or your cat’s condo on a clip board. Please leave your payment in the payment box next to the front door for dogs or on your clip board for cats. I only accept cash or check. You need to put cash only in an envelope provided you by the payment box. Make sure it is filled out so I know who has paid. All checks can be dropped in the box with the pet’s name in the memo portion if your name does not coincide with what name we have on file (on top of your invoice) as the pet’s owner.

You may be charged a cancellation fee as well as a processing fee if you cancel for any other reason than medical 7 days prior to your drop off day. I keep a small business to insure quality care, so it is important for the facility to be as full as possible. You are responsible to pay for what you reserve. I only accept cash or check. I do not take credit cards.

Thanksgiving I am closed on Wednesday through Friday. I will reopen on Saturday. Christmas I am closed on the 24th and 25th and any Saturday on either side of those 2 days. I am also closed New Years Day. This is to aid in keeping introductions and departures to a minimum thus helping to maintain pack stability. I also do not close at any other time of the year and do feel it is important to maintain my family time as well for my mental health. All my guests are cared for in the same manor as any other day, I just have no 2-legged traffic and can completely focus on meeting the needs of my guests with no interruptions just as I do for Saturdays.

All my guests enjoy holiday meals as we do with our families. This is their menu:

Holiday Menu

Appetizer
Turkey Liver & Hearts Pate
Salad
Lettuce, Broccoli, Spinach, Kelp & Alfalfa Sprouts
Dressing
Salmon & Olive Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar, Parsley, Honey, Grapefruit Seed Extract & Inulin
First Course
Quail, Pheasant, Duck, & Chicken Eggs
Main Course
Chicken, Ground Chicken Bone & Turkey Medallions prepared raw with a mixed herb relish consisting of Rosemary Extract, Sage & Clove
Vegetable Medley
Carrots, Butternut Squash & Ground Flaxseeds
Dessert
Persimmons, Blueberries & Apples in a light sauce of Montmorillonite Clay, Mixed Tocopherols & Citric Acid

*Leftovers available upon request*

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BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

Doggie Daycare & Motel is a home based business. I ask that you let me know when you are coming before you come out. If I do not know you are coming, I may not be here to help you. I do not keep traditional 9-5 hrs as dogs require more than that and I work the business sporadically 8-12 hours a day. The dogs are outside for a minimum of 8 hrs/day everyday from and between 6am – 9pm. I have a key pad entry system on the facility doors and it requires you having a code to get in. Without this code you will not be able to pick up or drop off your pet during the times we have agreed are most convenient to you but when I am not available. This may mean you will need to come the next day. If you come outside of your scheduled time there may be an additional charge. Please respect our scheduled times and my need for notification of schedule changes. I do work very hard at trying to accommodate everyone’s needs and understand flight delays and that life just does not always go as planned. The cat room is a bit different and you are able to help yourself pretty much whenever you need to as long as I know ahead of time and have things ready for you. There is a code on that door as well so you will need to have that before coming out to drop off or pick up if again it is a time more convenient for your needs but when I may not be available. Please see Pick up/ Drop off Room for details.

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HOUSE RULES AND HOW I APPLY THEM

General Rules of the House:

There is NO:

• Barking
• Humping
• Jumping on people, fences or doors
• Rough Playing
• Running toward a human and slamming them
• Digging
• Eating poop
• Loud or aggressive growling
• Rushing or pushing through doors
• Fence fighting

During play there is NO:

• Body slamming
• Body stiffening or freezing
• Biting hard – making other dogs squeak
• Pinning
• Cheap shots from behind or the side
• Standing on top of another dog for prolonged moments
• Staring in another dog’s eyes with intent
• Chest fighting
• Humping, mounting or molesting

Barking:

A Bark-free environment means a lot to me, the dogs, clients and neighbors. Would you want to spend your vacation or day at the office with someone continually screaming due to stress?

Although dogs will bark at times, ALL barking here is discouraged. A bark here or there can be OK, but anything more than that is not. Most dogs will bark when someone new comes into the facility. This is just the nature of a dog. New dogs will have to learn this as they might think it’s OK to bark. To stop barking, I use a negative marker: “Shush!” “Auk!” “Quiet!” or “No Bark!” Praise the dog when they stop. If that doesn’t work, then a squirt of water towards the muzzle usually does the trick. If this doesn’t work, then using a muzzle as a consequence can be effective. My timing needs to be impeccable. Use a negative marker, then immediately put on the muzzle using the cue word “muzzle.” Keep it on for a few minutes. Once the dog connects the dots you can just show the squirt bottle or the muzzle to them and they will be quiet.

Fine tuning your ability to learn and observe dog behaviors takes time and willingness to be objective in your observation skills. A good book for this is “Wolf Ethogram,” which can be purchased through Wolfpack.org. A good video is “Canine Behavior,” by Suzanna Hetts and Daniel Estep. It can be purchased through Dogwise.com.

Rough-housing

There is inherent rough-housing in play. All dogs are screened for aggression, but fights can and will still occur. It is also possible for a puncture wound to happen during play sessions. In the event of a fight or injury, if needed, I will contact your vet and transport the pet there. Or to the closest vet of my choosing if it is too severe to travel too far. You will be responsible for any and all bills occurred.

I always attempt to contact the owner or emergency contact before providing any medical attention.

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These are some of my philosophies that I have incorporated from various seminars and readings.

Arousal into Aggression

The chemical release threshold varies for different dogs and breeds (e.g., it’s shorter for terriers, herding breeds or any breed that has a strong prey drive). Learning your breeds and accompanying instincts and predisposition will be an asset every step of the way. When a dog is aggressive its brain is flooded with addictive chemicals such as adrenaline, cortisol and endorphins. To learn more about this there are several books on dogs and aggression. Suggested reading is “The Canine Aggression Workbook,” by James O’Heare, B.Sc. (Dogwise.com).

Predator Drift

Predator (or prey) drift is often described as the state of mind, which a canine can flip into – driven by its instincts. This is when the dog leaves his cognitive brain and goes into his limbic brain, the fight or flight part. This is most likely to occur when there is a large dog chasing a small dog, or when many dogs pounce on one dog, or panic reaction occurs due to a yelping or struggling dog. In dog daycare, this situation can be created due to the sheer number of dogs. It occurs very rapidly when one dog feels threatened and starts to yelp or when a dogfight breaks out and every dog instinctively gets involved. Or when a dog gets hurt for any reason and starts to scream. Even the sweetest little fur-ball will drift into cell-tissue memory when the whole pack is needed to go in for the kill. Pack aggression is a fixed-action response, meaning there is no thought process (limbic brain). Dogs will run towards the commotion, not away from it.

Interrupters to Redirecting Behaviors

Interrupters are used to interrupt a behavior so that you can redirect it. If you ever use a treat to interrupt, make sure you never give it to the dog or else they could learn to misbehave in order to get the treat. Redirecting the behavior into a desired behavior, or just a different behavior, is very effective to immediately calm a pack or a dog. You have several options:

• Practice recalling the new dogs for a treat. If you give treats you will also need to be thoughtful that the treat giving is not creating issues with any other dogs. Your voice is a powerful tool to stop a dog fast as long as you only raise your voice when the situation requires you to. In a pack situation, you will need to use their names to identify the dog you are addressing. Most often, the dog knows that it is misbehaving once they have been to Doggie Daycare for a while and they understand the ground rules. Usually just saying their name gets their attention and they stop the behavior. You must also use their name with a positive voice and practice getting their attention by saying their name, smiling and giving them a treat.
• To immediately calm a dog, put him on a leash and walk around. You can immediately calm the whole pack by identifying the one dog that is riling everyone up, putting him on a leash and walking around a bit.
• Squirt bottles with water can be used sparingly in times of high arousal like morning for barking or hard play.
• Direct Stop™ is used for behavior that is a precursor to a fight or when a fight just begins. All Doggie Daycare personnel are required to carry Direct Stop™ on their belt at all times.
• Time-outs are very effective and can be in the small pens outside or the dog’s kennel inside. The beginning of the day time-out is the most important of the day. Setting the behavior standards from the beginning of the day is very important. Dogs are usually in time-out for less then five minutes unless it’s because of a fight. Any dogs involved in a fight need a time-out immediately to settle down and reabsorb the chemicals that have been released in their body. This could take up to half an hour or longer, depending on if they have fully settled. Just like how you feel after a confrontation with someone. You need time to get the adrenaline reabsorbed into the body.

Give Time-outs:

Time-out sequence:

Marking Behavior with a Verbal Negative Marker

Marking a behavior by yelling “No” “Auk” “Shush” “Hey” or “Stop that” with a harsh tone of voice will usually get the attention of a dog that you are trying to change or redirect a behavior on. Your timing needs to be within two seconds of the behavior or you need to bridge your marker by continuing the verbal until you can get to the dog to remove it or physically change the behavior or give them a time-out.

Adversaries include throwing cans and chains in cans (for the noise effect), and buckets of water to change behavior.

Fights/All Dogs Bite. Yes even your dog : )

When breaking up a fight the most important issue is not to grab the dog’s collar, as it is possible for the dog to redirect aggression on staff. Direct Stop™ is an effective interrupter, but only works in the initial stage before a full chemical release. Chairs placed between the dogs or a blanket thrown over them can help. Water can also help. You will also need to prepare your staff for pack aggression as once two dogs start to fight, all dogs will go in for a kill. Direct Stop™ can be very effective in keeping the other dogs away. Spray it in all directions, as the dogs will be coming from all sides.

Dogs bite for several reasons and any dog will bite if there’s too much stress at one time (dog is cornered), there is a pack chemical release, or accumulated stress reaches a saturation point. The basics are stress, fear, frustration, defense and prey response.

• Stress, emotions, environmental, accumulated chemical and lack of basic needs.
• Fearful dogs tuck their tail, keep their ears down; body position is small and trying to back up.
• Frustration, accumulative stress, including any of the above factors.
• Angry or aggressive dogs stare at you, ears are forward, bare their teeth, tails up, body position forward.
• Prey response is when something is moving quickly or erratically and the dog feels compelled to chase it.

Fight Protocol

As soon as you realize a fight is in progress, all available staff joins to help. At a minimum: one staff for the fight, the other to keep other dogs away.

Your safety is the priority! Do not put your hands or feet in between fighting dogs!

• Use Direct Stop™ and yelling
• Be watching for gang up from other dogs.
• Dogs still fighting –grab a chair, blanket or a hose.
• Do not put your hand in between the dogs to break them up. Use the chair and blanket or the hose as an interrupter.
• Immediately put dogs in time-out for 20-30 minutes.

 

Emergency tie out plan

Doggie Daycare has an emergency tie out plan in case of a fire or anything that will require the animals to have to leave the facility in a hurry. This is one reason why it is imperative your dog come with a quick release buckle collar that fits properly. If it is too loose, what’s the point?

Outside the facility I have post in the ground that a long chain with tie-outs can be attached to. It is about 30 feet from the facility.

All cats need to come in carriers for this same reason. If they do not have a carrier, we have canvas bags with pull ties to load each cat into and move to the garage or a vehicle. Obviously the carrier is a better option as your cat has been in it before. The less stress the better.

 

In case your pet passes away while at our facility

No one wants to think about it much less talk about it. But it is a cold hard fact that our loved ones will pass on someday. Something that will help is to be prepared.

I use At Home on the Range Pet Cemetery. Their number is 406-282-REST and their web site is www.athomeontherange.net. I suggest you make plans in advance with a company such as this and make your wishes known to me as well as your family and emergency contact on your contract.

It is already horrible enough when this happens, being prepared will help all concerned to deal with it as decently as possible. You do not want to be on a trip and have to decide what to do at that point, or worse yet, let someone else decide for you.

 

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