
Is Privacy Right For Your Dog?
As pet owners, choosing a boarding kennel for our fur-family is important. Just as we sift through the list of hotels to get the best one we can afford, it takes time to get the kennel that fits our needs. Though privacy isn’t top of mind when we’re exploring our options, it is something to keep in mind. In the meantime, we think of:
- Comfort
- Safety
- Socialization
For many, the first two are of primary interest, but for others, socialization is the most important, though not for why most would think. Socialization, the art of introducing and maintaining animals to new things won’t always work.
It’s for this reason why we created the concept of privacy. Of course, some kennels choose only privacy, keeping all the guests on their own. There are two complications to this concept. The first is that dogs are for the most part pack animals. Most dogs want to play with others. That’s why it’s been our policy to socialize our guests. The second issue is cost. Socialized, dogs permit us to work with more than one family at a time so we can keep costs low.
For those who aren’t comfortable, we have privacy. It isn’t for everyone, and then for some we must make the choice for you.
Five reasons to opt for privacy.
Aggression
Whether they have a history of being attacked or over time they haven’t been able to socialize with others, there are many reasons why some dogs just aren’t good with others. Rather than try to force them to play nice, we offer them the comfort of playing by themselves or in the case of some families, playing with their own family instead of trying to introduce them to new friends.
Fear
Sometimes it isn’t you, but what you perceive in others. Fear and stress can manifest in health issues. Fear can be debilitating for some and if a dog is nervous about how others will play then privacy can alleviate that stress.
Poor recall
Lucy.
Lucy.
Come Lucy.
Come on Lucy.
We’ve all heard it. Calling the dog incessantly as they ignore their name. We know they know their names. They just choose to ignore the call. While many of these guests can easily play with others, when it comes time for them to return to the kennel, they refuse and we end up playing the “you can’t catch me” game. This might be dealt with when things are slow in the kennel, but as more people start to travel, it becomes a safety issue when we need to put others out who are not sociable.
Humping
I don’t know about you, but having someone hump me non-stop doesn’t sound appealing. Unfortunately, there are some dogs, regardless of whether they are male or female, neutered or not, who hump everything they see which can start fights as other dogs aren’t happy with the situation.
Unneutered Males
It doesn’t always happen, but there are times when unneutered males don’t play nice with others. We all recognize that it is because of the hormones raging through their bodies like young teenagers. Unfortunately, it could be because they’re trying to hump every guest they see and sometimes it’s because they puff out their chest too much and other guests just don’t like it. The point is, though we don’t penalize a dog for not being neutered, there are some rules we have to put on those guests which is if they don’t play well with other four-legged guests then they will end up playing with the two-legged staff-members.
Privacy as an option
Privacy is no punishment. Our service guarantee is for our guests to enjoy the same care and supervision as though they were socialized. Because of this guarantee however, we may be forced to put some guests on privacy for their safety or for the safety of others.
In truth, we would prefer not to need privacy, but we recognize that some guests require service without socialization. Not sure whether your dog needs privacy? Let us know when you check in. We are careful with the introductions, but our success increases with the more knowledge we have.
Here is an article on how we work with dogs so fights don’t start.
LOYALIST BARKWAY
Where your dog gets the loyal treatment
9675 HWY 33, BATH, ON K0H 1G0
info@dogboardingkennels.ca
613-777-5024