I was the lucky Pack Leader scheduled to work this 3 day holiday weekend shift at the Doggy Daycare.
We were close to capacity with approximately 35-45 dogs (+3 cats) in during our peak (I say approximately because it is hard to say exactly how many dogs are in at any one time when a few dogs are not counted on the roll call, daycare dogs are present, and hotel dogs are arriving/departing). Whether it was 35 or 45 dogs-- that's still a lot of dogs for one person to deal with! Add to that 95 degree weather with ridiculous humidity and you get one miserable weekend of work! Thankfully the inside is well air conditioned, the only real downside to the heat is many of the dogs go outside and just lull around because they are hot, instead of going potty- which increases messes inside.
Saturday started off with what may quite possibly have been the worst altercation between dogs I've had to break up in my 4 & a half years working there. While letting the "large" dogs outside to potty in the morning, the largest boxer I have ever seen (and had not previously cared for) attacked a 1st time stay-golden retriever that had come to us from a very distant state. This happened within a foot of where I stood and was completely unprovoked. The golden was quite frightened and did it's best to be submissive during the ordeal- it took considerable force on my part to break the boxer away from the poor golden. Miraculously (and to my great surprise and relief!) neither dog was injured at the end of the attack- not so much as a scratch, considering I was half expecting to have a mortally wounded Golden on my hands... Needless to say the boxer will not be welcome back again.
It is always incredibly unnerving and frustrating when something like this happens as we take every precaution to avoid such problems- especially as since I take great comfort in my ability to judge a dog's behavior and anticipate potential behavioral issues having worked with dogs for many years between the doggy daycare and a local no-kill shelter. It is times like this that I have to remind myself that these occasional mishaps are bound to happen in a social boarding facility because animals are unpredictable and some things just can't be avoided. And although I have not personally cared for this boxer before, the notes left by my coworker that evaluated the dog said there were no signs of aggression and the only problem was that he was overbearing with small dogs and shouldn't be left unattended with any. It serves as a good reminder that even though we do a thorough temperament evaluation with every dog before it is allowed to use the daycare/hotel facilities- the only true indicator of a dog's fit in the environment is time.
The rest of the weekend was fairly uneventful- very busy between dogs and customers on Saturday & Sunday-- and thankfully we are closed to the public on holidays so I could spend today focusing on cleaning and playing with the doggies. It's a pretty typical holiday weekend except for one difficulty particular to this holiday-- fireworks.
Fireworks are sold and legal to shoot off in city limits here. This causes quite the disturbance to the dogs staying with us, especially those from out of state that are not used to the sound of fireworks and those that are new or just particularly anxious in the hotel. A few dogs always come in with things such as benadryl or prescription sedatives for us to administer before leaving for the night-- I wish all of the dogs would come in with such things during this holiday! Every morning when I open, not only are there 40-some dogs to be let out, and breakfast/meds to be given to some of them-- but quite a few dogs have made a terrible mess of their suite because they have been woken &/or startled by the fireworks. This leaves me with extra cleaning and a terrible terrible odor to try and dissipate from the air (thank God for Lysol spray & an air-exchanger!).
I only drink socially, but after a long weekend like this I'll make an exception! I'm ready to end it with a glass of wine - and some sleep (assuming my own dog that is terrified of fireworks will let me!)
I hope you have all had a safe and happy Independence Day!
Ohhhh my gosh. Holiday weekend + the usual chaotic environment of dog daycares = tired and over-worked dog handlers! That is a lot of dogs for one person to handle and it sounds like you did a good job. I remember hating holiday weekends because the dogs are under more stress than usual and there are more first-timers than usual. It's just asking for trouble. And like you said, no amount of temperament testing will tell if it will work out or not. Oh boy, do I have sympathy for ya lol! Get some well-deserved rest.
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