Anti-Mischief Monday: How to Exhaust a Puppy

Posted by Kolchak on October 1, 2012.

Just over a week ago, Aunty Ris dropped off a running, jumping, barking, rowdy whirling dervish at Casa de Kolchak.
 
(c) Paws to Play 2012
Little Lu is cute as woof, but man! That boy was full of mischief! Aunty Ris dropped him off at 9:30 at night: bed time and he was still cuckoo bananas! He ran around the house three times fast, pounced on the Daddy then settled down for 30 minutes of intense mischief: chewing Kleenex, overturning Mama’s purse, knocking over Daddy’s drink, and jumping on the Felix (then getting growled at) 87 bajillion times. That kid was bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S.
Our week with Lu got off to a shaky start. That boy has so much energy.
Luey, you better check yo’self before you wreck yo’self!

Since Luey wasn’t very good at controlling his impulses, the Mama knew that leaving him at home with us all week was simply out of the question. He’d have to be crated for 8 or 9 hours, while we sat outside his crate taunting him. Plus, Felix actually knows how to open the kennel. She was really worried that we’d let Lu loose, he’d start a Smackdown and then we’d finish it.

 
(c) Paws to Play 2012
 
She sat down at the craptop (this was before I maimed the thing) and started looking for doggy daycare for our favourite little monster.
Picking a Doggy Daycare
The Mama searched long and hard, reading lots of reviews. She wasn’t going to leave our Lu with just anydoggy! She knew she was looking for a few things:
 
  • Great customer feedback
  • Supervision from qualified staff. Do they know first aid? Is there a certified trainer on staff? Are they dog lovers?
  • Clean & Sanitary
  • Indoor/Outdoor areas & Separated play spaces
 

It was easier than Mama thought to pick a place. Two places we called did not have doggy first aid. That was an absolute must in Mama’s eyes. Another looked ideal, but when Mama went for the interview she realized it was in someone’s backyard! Turns out, there was a great doggy daycare right in our neighborhood. She scheduled a time for her and Luey to go visit the folks at Paws to Play Day Centre for Dogs for an interview. Paws to Play is owned by a Certified Pet Dog Trainer, all the staff is certified in first aid and their philosophy on what doggy daycare should be like really sold us. The Mama was determined that Lu would learn some basic recall and “four on the floor” rules while he stayed here and she loved that Paws to Play could help support that. They also had some cool stuff the Mama had never even considered, like dog treadmills to help burn off some of Lu’s crazy energy.


Excited and a little nervous, Mama dropped Luey off for his first day.
(c) Paws to Play 2012
She was sure Lu was going to have a great time. He loves to play. She was actually worried he’d want to play too much. For two days at home he had terrorized the dogs at Casa de Kolchak with non-stop wrasslin’. He can be a bit much to take, to be perfectly honest. What if the dogs at daycare found him as obnoxious as we did?! Mama and Lu had a heart to heart on the walk to daycare: “Luey,” she said. “Don’t get kicked out, OK?”

Off to a humpy start.

Normally boisterous Lu was a little nervous his first day too. The staff at Paws to Play was great, letting Lu come in at his own pace and give the place a good sniff. They made the Mama feel much better too, promising her that he’d warm up in no time. He might have warmed up too much!
Lu is a bit of a Don Juan, apparently and he gotten a little fresh with one of the lovely lady dogs, but the staff was really great about it. They worked with Lu all week, until he started keeping his naughty dancing (mostly) to himself. That’s a gift that will keep on giving.
(c) Paws to Play 2012
That’s not all he learned though.
There are some definite benefits to having a dog go to daycare.  After five days at daycare, Lu was not only less humpy, had also learned a lot more ‘dog on dog’ manners. He’s a lot more fun to play with when he’s not pouncing on your head every 30 seconds. He no longer rushes up to dogs on our walks; instead he approaches with a bit of dignity & decorum. We haven’t completely broken his jumping habit, but he’s well on his way. With a bit of consistency (I’m looking at you Aunty Ris), he should have mastered this “four on the floor” thing in no time.

As if all that confidence, manners & social skills wasn’t enough, Paws to Play also gave us one other very special gift:
An exhausted puppy
 
(c) kolchakpuggle.com 2012
 
Totally worth every penny.

 


Kol’s Note: We want to send a BIG thank you to Christina, Nicole and Kevin from Paws to Play who not only took excellent care of Lu, but who also took bunches of pictures of Lu for me to use in this post! Paws to Play is a wonderful place for dogs and we are so glad Lu got a chance to stay with you. 

Want to learn more about Paws to Play (and find some really cute pictures of our Luey)? Head over to their Facebook page and woof hello!