When I walk my Hound Dog Hotel guests I meet lots of dog owners who know about my boutique Dog Hotel and we always talk ‘dog’ - our favourite subject. However, I should add, I always walk and talk rather than stand still as it is important to keep dogs occupied during their exercise sessions. Bored dogs standing around waiting on their leader to do something invariably either run off or get into trouble. Keeping moving avoids that.
Not just the owners but their doggies know me too as they associate me with tasty Treats I always carry. One such local is a gorgeous blue roan Cocker Spaniel, Charlie.
Now Charlie’s owner has had real difficulty leaving Charlie with anyone as he apparently gets stressed and when she comes home she will find Charlie with an upset tummy which can take days to get right.
Recently Charlie’s usual minder was unable to look after her beloved boy so she asked me if I thought Charlie would be OK with me.
Charlie would fly up to me whenever he saw me out, (he’s very food focussed and I give him treats) so he already had good personal associations with me. The next stage was to get Veronique to bring Charlie to the Hound Dog Hotel to let him have a sniff around to become familiar with the place.
They brought him over, and in he came with his nose to the ground and he went flying around the premises and garden having a great experience.
Reassured – although still a little worried about how he would be – Veronique booked Charlie in with me for 4 days.
I found Charlie to be a happy little boy with a constantly wagging tail. He settled in like one of my regulars. It really was as if he’d been here many times before.
I did notice when it came to random noises that Charlie was a little nervy, he was ready to bark at the slightest noise. Whilst he was with me I worked on that.
When Veronique collected him she was thrilled to know his tummy had been fine with no upsets. I also took the time to have a chat about his barking and how she might deal with that – as I had found he responded exceptionally well to the feedback I gave him and he learned to stop barking very quickly.
So here is an email I received a few days later from Veronique.
“Hi Maralyn,
The proof is in the poo and Charlie's has been perfect the past 2 days! We followed your instructions about his barking and I cannot believe it but he has stopped. At the moment there are three work guys in the house and Charlie is remaining calm. He is hanging around me for treats but he's not bothered at all by the 3 guys running up and down the stairs continuously. He came home very relaxed and has stayed that way. Thank you, you're a gem! Veronique”
The proof is in the poo and Charlie's has been perfect the past 2 days! We followed your instructions about his barking and I cannot believe it but he has stopped. At the moment there are three work guys in the house and Charlie is remaining calm. He is hanging around me for treats but he's not bothered at all by the 3 guys running up and down the stairs continuously. He came home very relaxed and has stayed that way. Thank you, you're a gem! Veronique”
What this shows is it is always worth spending time getting your dog to know their minder and be familiar with the surroundings they are going to stay in before their first time at a new venue. Your dog will settle and be happy and as we all know, a happy dog = a happy (and in Veronique's case relieved) owner!!
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