Safety for your dogs at Daycare.
The responsibility of managing the care and well being of your dogs is one we take extremely seriously. I feel the number of incidents when compared to the number of dogs we manage is excellent. However I have noticed that with the increasing numbers we are seeing – there have been a few recent minor incidents, which I won’t accept as the ‘norm’ when looking after people’s dogs.
We have had overall great success in rehabilitating many dogs through a combination of techniques – which vary depending on the temperament and reasons why dogs may have developed some form of aggression towards other dogs. We do, however, also have to balance these efforts with ensuring our compounds are safe for all of our canine clients.
We have a policy of finding a way at Paradise Pet Parks to accommodate ALL breeds and personalities when we board dogs. This will likely mean a different approach is taken to managing that dog’s stay, but we also like the challenge of addressing the issues in front of us where possible. This gives the dog not only a stress free stay, but also to identify more long term approaches to helping the dog integrate into normal activities.
We have also adopted a similar approach with Day Care in that we will attempt to integrate dogs into various, suitable running groups where possible. There are some risks to such an approach, which are managed through increased staffing, close supervision by training staff and other control measures such as appropriate leads and equipment, compound filtering and of course, segregation when needed.
Risk assessments are being continually conducted on all dogs in our program for the safety of ALL dogs and of course the staff. The main factors I consider are as follows:
• Physical size and power of the dog – this does not mean large dogs are a higher risk, but risk is heightened through potential consequence if the dog doesn’t satisfy other risk factors such as ‘history of aggression’.
• History of aggression towards other dogs or people – This is not an automatic disqualification as past aggression can be for a number of reasons, many of which we may be able to manage well.
• Continual demonstration of aggressive behaviour and/or involvement in aggression related incidents with other dogs.
• Breed is not an issue I consider when it comes to likelihood of aggression, but may be a consideration when it comes to the first point – being the consideration of the consequence of that aggression.
• What are the ‘triggers’ of dogs and can/how may these triggers be avoided?
If we deem a dog not suitable for daycare based on these ongoing assessments – we want to also be able to offer an alternative – rather than take the easy road and simply ban the dog from coming to our Park.
We will now commence a program which ensures these dogs get the enrichment and exercise under close supervision, even if it is being exercised and played with solo. The cost of this daily program will be $40 per day. We will ensure you are still treated to regular updates via Facebook of your dog on a creek walk, long lead run around the property and where possible, playtime with some of our own suitable working dogs.
If your dog fits these criteria we will discuss this with you individually and explain the reasons why we feel it’s a safer path to take. We hope you all understand this approach.
Regards,
Dave Wright
