Favorite and least favorite boarding/daycare breeds

[Stillwater]

I dog sit for breeder friends.

I hate Bernese Mountain Dogs. They are dumb as a box of rocks, they jump all over you. They are way too friendly and happy. But never want to go in their kennels so you have to push them in. Last thing I want is a dog with wet legs climbing all over me that weighs over 100lbs. I also know several breeders of these and they all kind of act like that. I hate it.

I love the Standard Schnauzers. They are immediate in responding when you tell them to go into their runs. The only thing they do is if they know I am there to trim nails they will not come into the inside run and they will stay outside. So I have to trick them and lock them in when I dump the feed.

The Siberians are surprisingly easy to take care of. But their breeder also demands that they behave. They do run their mouths. But immediate on going back into their runs after exercise as well. Even the shy ones are fairly easy to work with.

 

[JessLough]

Oh, they are well aware of her behavior and we have told them that staying with us is probably not the best fit for her. They just don't care, for whatever reason. :/

One thing I *love* about the kennel facility is not only does the manager try to keep things as low stress for her boarders as possible (including encouraging short stays and supplementing with an herbal calming blend if neccessary), she is quick to let owners know when their dog would probably be better off in a different environment. Most people she talks with take steps to help their dog. Others just don't care.

Did they specifically say "I don't care"?

In a lot of cases like that, there is no other option. Their friends all know how they behave, so they want nothing to do with watching them.

 

[Kat09Tails]

We have a Basenji that boards semi-frequently. She is HORRIBLE. Will escape out of any run so we have to keep her in a steel kennel. She screams at other dogs, chews on the bars of the cage, flips her dishes over at any opportunity, and then poops and pees all over her kennel and paints in it. (She's also an asshole for her vetwork and has to be muzzled to do anything to her or she'll scream and bite.) She boards with us because two other places turned her away due to her escapee habits (or so they say).

Most of our basenjis came from the same family who was a retirement home for a show breeder. They had about 8 of them and they were all very social and stable. Funny how that works.

 

[pinkspore]

I love Bernese Mountain Dogs. All the ones we get are so perfectly chill, even as puppies. They're universally cuddly too, nothing seems to make them happier than getting a big hug. Nobody ever has one though, they always come in pairs. This means we occasionally have six of them boarding at time. The owners all know each other and the dogs lounge around in a giant pile of black hair.

All the Vizla people seem to know each other too. I can't think of any other breeds like that, either.

 

[pinkspore]

I don't I've ever even seen a standard schnauzer in person. We get one giant schnauzer in daycare and a handful of minis and that's it

 

[Maxy24]

We get two standards in regularly that make me kind of want one. They are very sweet with people and both listen well. They don't seem to have a temper. They are however movement control freaks. One was recently kicked out because she would grab dogs heels when we would try to get them out of the playroom. As they went out of the door she'd grab them. At first we would take her out of group early in the afternoon so she wouldn't be in there when most of the dogs were going home. But after she sent the second dog to the vet for stitches we just didn't feel she was safe.

The second standard schnauzer was my least favorite puppy/adolescent ever. Literally my least favorite dog in the place. Now I love him. He's one of the only dogs we've had that made drastic positive changes in his behavior from puppy to adult. He is still a pain because when one of his friends is playing with someone else he will follow them around and bark and bark and bark at them. It's annoying but generally harmless. He's also turned into a very good listener so stops most of the time I call him.