Amber's story

This is a very personal story, nothing Kennels related I'm afraid. I make no apologies though. My main reason for wanting to write it is so that I have something to remember. I don't want the memories to fade.

I hope that any one interested in the Kennels might be able to get some idea of the type of people we are through reading it. Our passion and our love for our own dog means that we understand the feelings you have for yours.

In November 2006, myself and Lee decided that finally, we could afford to get a dog. We were so excited, we'd waited for so long! We agreed that we would like a medium (coffee table) sized dog, a Collie or Collie cross. This was the breed of my childhood dog and of course, they always tend to be your favourite.

So, we booked 2 weeks off work, and off to the Dog's home we went. It wasn't a nice place, noisy and damp and horribly cold. All the dogs had obvious signs of kennel cough with streaming eyes and noses, and their manic barking was deafening. The first dog we asked to meet was a beautiful Staffordshire Bull Terrier bitch. However, we got her out of the kennel and she proceeded to run up Lee's body and sit on his shoulders! She then jumped off and ragged on the lead with ferocity. Thinking of our poor Poppy cat at home, we said sorry to her and put her back as we knew she wasn't for us.

We carried on walking up and down the kennels, past all shapes, sizes and ages, all barking like their life depended on it. We walked up and down a few times before we noticed her. Sitting quietly by the bars, a little Collie cross, about a year old, with bright ginger fur, googly eyes, bat ears and a foxy brush of a tail. We asked to take her for a walk around the grounds and as we strolled along me and Lee looked at each other and smiled, she was the one. Her name we decided, was Amber.

The staff at the Dog's home were, to be honest, uncaring and negligent. They did not rush to give us a house check at all. We made the 30 minute journey every day to visit her and give her a walk and a pigs ear, and after a week, when still no progress had been made with the rehoming, we complained and they just told us to take her home.

Amber when he first got her, lying on top of Freddie, my Mum's dog

Of course being a rescue dog (no history but 'stray') she came with a little baggage. Kennel cough that lasted 4 months until she was better. She was terrified of the car, didn't have a clue about house training, and liked nothing more than to rummage through the bins for food (which she'd then hide around the house - digging a pretend hole and covering it over with pretend dirt - yes very cute but she'd do this until her nose bled!). If you let her off the lead she'd sprint for the hills, oh yeah and she chewed a few massive holes in the carpet of our rented house too!

But over the first year all these things disappeared, not with any special training or anything, just by getting on with it. That's the special thing about Collies, their capacity for learning is so very natural. Not only did all her quirks and problems disappear, but she learned commands with an ease that I've not seen before. I often wonder what we could have taught her if we'd just taken more time.

She learned all the basic commands sit/stay/down etc within minutes. We also taught her some novelty tricks, spinning round, standing up on her hind legs etc. She even learned how to play a guessing game using cups and a ping pong ball, we'd hide the ball under a cup, switch them round, and she'd tap the one the ball was under with her paw for a treat.

 

 

She also learned an awful lot of words and cues on her own. She knew what 'walk' meant - of course most dogs do, but she also know all the words connected with that special word. Eventually you run out of 'secret' words for walk - she was just too clever. She also knew words like 'bath' (not a favourite), squirrel (look out the window... burst through the dog door.... fly down the garden like a bat out of hell... look up tree and bark), and 'where's that mole?!' (sprint to nearest molehill and dig frantically). Along with knowing things like, when Lee takes his glasses off, it's time for bed (and for some strange reason she found this exciting).  In fact, if I were to list all the things she learned it would take me a considerable time. She was one of the cleverest dogs I've known.

 

'Bath' - not her favourite word!

 

 

Lee and I fell in love with her of course. She was almost like a child to us. We'd play silly games with her, like hide and seek - she'd look for Lee all on edge, barking as if to say ''come out!''. He'd jump out on her and chase her away - she loved that.  Sometimes we'd cover her over with a blanket so she couldn't see - she'd walk around tail wagging bumping into things. She had a great sense of humour and was always happy to make us laugh. We also made up a 'voice' for her. I don't know if anyone else does this with their pets. Maybe we're just a bit weird! but her 'voice' was her sort of persona, which was always a bit of a smart arse. We would annotate things that she did to make us laugh ......  you probably had to be there!. 

During her first couple of years I worked as a veterinary nurse, working shifts meant she never spent too long alone, however I eventually decided that veterinary nursing wasn't for me (although I would never go back and not do it - I learned an awful lot during those 2 years) and I became self-employed as a dog walker. This meant that from then on, we spent most of our days together.

What a life for a dog that is! To be a dog walker's dog. She'd jump in the back of my van and off we'd go. I wasn't the sort of walker who took loads of dogs at a time (I think its a little irresponsible) but Amber was always there as a companion for my doggie customers, and more importantly, she would always come back to me, which meant so did they.

She loved them to chase her, she was so fast and nimble. She would toy with Ted the cocker spaniel (who we took walking most days). He'd run as fast as his legs would take him, ears madly flapping up and down with the sheer effort, but he would never catch her. Sometimes she'd let him catch up and at the last second, dart in another direction (Ted had some near misses almost crashing into trees - I'm sure she did this on purpose!). When it was her turn to do the chasing, she'd catch Ted with ease and nip at his bottom.

One particular time Ted was chasing her, Amber suddenly decided she needed to have a wee, she squatted, and Ted (not slowing down any) collided into her at 100mph. Her body was like a ramp. He flew over her head and through the air, ears still flapping, crashing into the mud. We were creased double with laughter at such a funny sight.

 

So fast and nimble!

We'd walk for miles each day, in all weathers. In the summer when it was too hot, we'd stroll down to the lake and I'd sit on one of the big flat rocks, and throw a ball for them to fetch. She loved to swim, and would dive in getting a 10ft head start on the other dogs. Once she was swimming back with a stick and poked Ted up the bum, making him leap out of the water and yelp - poor Ted! But so funny!

Leaping in to the cool water on a hot day

In 2010, Lee and I finally (after 10 years) got married, and Amber even came with us on our little honeymoon. There was no question about whether we were taking her or not - of course we were!

This was also the year that we got asked, by Teds owner's in fact, to run Woodland View Kennels. A new venture for us which meant that Lee and I would be working together every day.

Looking for pheasants outside our honeymoon cottage

Amber also played a big part in the running of the kennels. We like to let the friendly boarders play together, and Amber was an important part of our 'temperament assessments'. She had a great ability to interact in the correct way with other dogs. She would be quiet and gentle with nervous or old dogs, tolerant of puppies, and stern with over boisterous sorts (she was very good at teaching manners). Quite a dominant character, all the other dogs seemed to know that she was the boss, but she was always friendly and fair.

In 2011 I became pregnant with our first baby. It was a terrible pregnancy fraught with complications and worry. Amber was there all the way through. She wasn't sure why I was so stressed out, but she'd put her little head in between my legs (she liked to do this for some reason - always used to make non-doggie people so uncomfortable!) and I'd smooth her silky ears flat. We'd go walking together (or rather, she'd run and I'd waddle) and in her own way, she helped make a difficult time more bearable.

Two months before our baby was due, we found a lump under Amber's teats. I immediately worried that it could be a mammary tumour, a common cancer in bitches (and we had her spayed late). So we went to the vets as soon as we could and a biopsy was done.

I heard the phone go as I was wallowing in the bath, and Lee came up and told me the bad news. Amber had cancer, worse still, she had lymphoma. Lymphoma is a very aggressive cancer, and not something that can just be removed as the lymphatic system goes all around the body. The vet said without treatment (chemotherapy) that Amber would die within 2 months. Well, I sat in the bath and I cried and cried and cried. She was only 7 years old. It was a death sentence.

But it wasn't over for Amber yet. The vet, Richard, said that chemotherapy could possible give her another year or so, and apparently, the chemotherapy was different than the sort us humans have when we suffer from cancer. It would be wrong to give a dog the same aggressive chemotherapy as humans, they can't consent to being put through such discomfort and pain. Therefore chemotherapy for dogs is a much gentler version, not aiming to cure the cancer but simply to extend the dog's life as long as possible whilst keeping the 'quality' of life as high as possible. We were insured so, we decided to try it an see how it went.

The stress of the diagnosis was the straw that broke the camel's back for me. I was admitted to hospital with high blood pressure (which turned out to be pre-eclampsia) and I gave birth to baby George was born 5 weeks early. Amber had her first dose of chemotherapy whilst we were in hospital.

The chemotherapy went much better than we imagined. Yes there were a few days when she was a little ill, the odd day of nausea or perhaps a urine infection that we'd have to nip in the bud. But once the right dose of drugs had been chosen, the months ticked along and we almost forgot that she even had cancer. We'd drop her off at the vets for a day every 3 weeks. She'd have her drugs and settle down in her kennel, have some dinner there, and then I'd pick her up and off we'd go for another 3 weeks. She was such a well behaved dog, going to the vets was no stress at all for her. I'd hand over the lead and off she'd trot for her drugs and dinner. Richard said she was a pleasure to treat.

You think a year is a long time, but the days, weeks and months tick by quickly. Especially when you have a demanding little boy to take care of.

Amber didn't think much of George when we first brought him home. George suffered from silent reflux (essentially - acid reflux) and because of this he screamed... a lot! She'd hide under her chair and peep out, probably wondering why on earth we had brought this little banshee home to disrupt our lives.

Eventually, George grew out of his reflux, the crying lessened and then weaning began - and so did a beautiful friendship. Amber suddenly discovered that 'the Brat' (that's what her 'voice' called him) dropped an awful lot of food.

The start of a beautiful friendship

The love between Amber and George grew. She would come and sit in his playroom with me and try to pinch his toys while I wasn't looking. She'd let him climb all over her (I always permitted her an escape route from his rough little hands, but she never seemed to want to get away) and she'd keep trying to lick his nose if it was runny (I know - gross!). She'd sit and watch George play and join in with a gentle tug of war or bringing the ball back when he threw it. This was such a bitter sweet thing to watch, as I knew George would never remember Amber, but I hoped that Amber felt her life had been enriched by him.

Our two kids

 

 

 George's canine walking frame

 

''Come here Brat and let me lick your nose clean''

 

 

Time went by too quickly. We never forgot that our time was limited with her, and loved her like each week was her last (well we never knew!). Eventually, as expected, the cancer returned. We found a new lump on her neck. This meant that the drugs needed to be changed as she had become resistant.

So we tried some different drugs. The first drugs had no ill effects but also, no effect on the cancer. We tried another drug, which made her feel quite ill and nauseous. We tried again, with worse effects. She was so poorly with the last chemotherapy treatment, that we decided, with heavy hearts, to call it a day. We stopped all treatment and let the cancer run it's course.

We decided that we were going to end it all at the first sign of discomfort. We wanted to have control of how and when she went, no emergency put to sleep because she'd gone down hill quickly, with her feeling terrible or in awful pain. I wanted her to die peacefully before that happened. To us the length of time she had wasn't important, only that she felt happy.

We walked together every day without fail, and we never missed an opportunity to fuss her and give her attention. The lumps grew every day, which was worrying, but I got into a routine of walking her each morning, and if she looked bright and happy and energetic, then I would say 'today she's ok' and not worry about her. Until the next day of course.

A selection of pictures taken during her final days...

 

 

We had 3 more wonderful and happy weeks. On the last weekend when I noticed the way she was moving looked a little strange, tucked up. She also started to sleep a lot, the sort of deep sleep that you usually only see in a truly exhausted dog. On the Sunday I looked at her and noticed how she was sitting, with her hanging down. We also noticed her shaking a little. She was still eating, happy to go on walks and interested in life but, we knew this was the beginning of the end. We wanted her life to end on a happy note so we agreed tomorrow, Monday 25th March 2013, 15 months after her diagnosis, was the day we were going to put her to sleep.

That morning Lee booked her appointment, 11.15am. We took her for a lovely walk through the woods. I made sure I took everything in. She ran around, sniffing smells and picking up sticks, eating the snow and jumping over puddles, looking back every now and again to check we were still coming. Once the walk ended she hopped into the boot of the car, and we drove to the vets. I could barely hold myself together but was determined not to break down and upset her.

We were shown into the vet's room, and Richard took Amber out of the room to put her cannula in (something she was well used to after all this time). I thought to myself  'this is taking a long time' and then she came trotting happily through the door back to us. Richard said it had taken a while because she had been running around the back,  having a fuss from all the staff who had grown fond of her. We asked her to lie down on the mat, and always obedient she did just that. I nodded to Richard to go ahead, and stoked her silky ears the way she liked as she quickly and quietly passed away.

Its a strange thing, stroking a dog whilst it dies. I've done lots of anaesthesia's and it's not the same. When a dog is put under anaesthetic, they go limp in your arms but you can feel still the life in them. Their bodies still feel warm and supple. With euthanasia, you can, without doubt, feel the life disappear from their body. They almost turn to stone under your hand. The sparkle in their eyes just disappears all of a sudden. Like turning off a light.

Just like that she was gone.

We don't feel guilty though. In fact I think Amber's death went as well as anyone could ask for, she was surrounded by love and happiness and it was timed perfectly. We did what we wanted, and that was to keep her life wonderful right to the end. No pain and no suffering. That was our final gift to her.

The days after are hard. After all for seven years she's always been... there.

In her basket by the door, looking out of the window (for that goddamn squirrel), in the rear view mirror of the car (chin on the back seat, wondering where we're off to), in with the kennel dogs during exercise (usually hogging all the balls), at my feet in the kitchen watching the floor for crumbs. You miss the little things.

No I'm not driving - but felt like I needed to take a picture. I knew I'd miss this. and I do

 

Share? No way!

 

Of course we will do it all again. After all I can't have my little boy growing up without a dog. My Mum had some wise words for me. She said to me not to wait too long. She said you'll wait and wait for the pain to go and it just won't. You will always miss them. And when you do get another dog, eventually, (hopefully after a long time), they will die too, and then you will miss that dog just as much. I think Lee and I have got another 3 dogs in us yet. This means we'll have to go through all this pain 3 more times. It's no wonder some people say ''never again!''.

 

We're not one of those people though. She was worth it.

We miss you Baba



Vaccinations - What you need to know before boarding

Now, this may seem rather a boring topic, but if you are at all unclear about vaccinations and wish to kennel your dog any time soon then I'd urge you to read on.

It doesn't happen often but there has been times where we have to turn dogs away because their vaccinations are not up to date. We're not being awkward we promise - It's a legal requirement and the most important part of our licence conditions, not to mention a requirement of our insurance. We simply cannot take un-vaccinated dogs.

The poor owner will have their holiday all planned and arranged, and all of a sudden they will have to beg a friend or relative to take care of the dog, and they can't just go to another kennels either. In the UK all boarding kennels can only board vaccinated dogs - any kennels who takes in an unvaccinated dog is breaking their Kennel Licence conditions, not to mention putting the health of the dog and their other boarders at risk.

As part of our Boarding Kennel Licence conditions it is a requirement that all dogs staying here are vaccinated against Canine Distemper, Infectious Canine Hepatitis, Leptospirosis and Canine Parvovirus and other relevant diseases. These are covered by the normal vaccination injections your vet usually recommends.

Most dogs are vaccinated as puppies. The primary vaccination consists of 2 injections given 2 weeks apart. The dog is then covered for a year (starting from the 2nd vaccination) and will simply need a booster injection once a year to keep up the protection.

It is important that, when kenneling your dog, these vaccinations do not overrun whilst the dog is in kennels. For example, if your dog was last vaccinated on the 1st May 2014, and you have a stay booked from 30th April to 2nd May 2015, this means the dog must be taken for the booster vaccinations before they come in for boarding. In reality, your vet would not consider the dog to have truly 'missed' their vaccinations for up to a couple of weeks after the date, but with regards to boarding kennels, our records must show all dogs to be vaccinated, so even a day overrun is not acceptable.

If your dog has missed a booster vaccination (ie they were due in May and you didn't remember until July) they will need to start from the beginning again with the primary vaccination and they won't be able to stay in kennels until they have had the 2nd vaccination of the set. This means it will be a couple of weeks before they can board, so don't leave it until last minute before checking!

At Woodland View Kennels we also require all dogs to be vaccinated for Kennel Cough (I personally dislike the name 'kennel cough'. The truth is, your dog can catch kennel cough from anywhere, training classes, doggie daycare, or the local park). Now, be careful, because some owners presume kennel cough is covered in the normal vaccines mentioned above - it isn't! It is something you have to ask your vet to do in addition to their yearly booster vaccines.

The kennel cough vaccine is given via a little squirt up the nostril. It covers them for a year and so we always recommend doing both the normal vaccines and the kennel cough together at the same time. Not only do you only have to remember one date when you do this, but often vets give a discount for both done together.

When your dog has been vaccinated, your vet should give you a small record booklet. In which he/she will record the type of vaccine given, and the date it was given. When your dog comes to kennels we will ask to see this card as proof that your dog is up to date with their vaccines, and we will photocopy it for our records. Make sure your vet remembers to update the card with every vaccination given.

If you ever lose your vaccine card, don't panic! Your vet will have all your dog's medical history saved on their computer system and will be able to check on there that they are up to date, and can give you a new card and sign it confirming the date they were vaccinated last.

I hope that this has covered the basics of what can be a confusing subject. Please ring us or your own vet if you have any other questions about vaccinations.

Meet the team!

It occured to me that if I wanted to take my dog to a kennels, one of the most important things that I would like to know is 'who will be looking after my dog?'. After all you wouldn't leave your child with a person you didn't know anything about.

So, I thought I'd write a little about the Woodland View Kennel team so you can get to know us a little better!

Lee

 Lee used to work as a Chemistry teacher before taking on Woodland View Kennels. The plan when he and Zoe moved to the kennels was for Lee to continue teaching whilst Zoe ran the kennels, however, he decided to get out of his stressful teaching career and that they would both run the kennels as a husband and wife team.
Although it is Zoe who has the qualifications, Lee has a natural talent for working with dogs and can often bring the best out of any dogs with behavioural issues (nervousness etc).

Zoe

Zoe is the Manager here at Woodland View Kennel. She has a BSc in Animal Behaviour and Welfare, and has worked with animals all her life, including horses, working as a veterinary nurse, and running her own dog walking and pet sitting business. 

Having never run a kennels before, Zoe and Lee run the kennels from a dog owner's point of view, by thinking 'what would we want from a kennels?', hense the luxury accomodation, friendly and personal sevice, and by most of all, making sure the dogs are not only clean and well fed, but that they have had plenty of exercise, mental stimulation and affection. 

Pete

Pete joined our team earlier this year in order to supervise the daycare for us. He is very experienced with dogs and is a keen Gundog Trainer, and trains and competes his dogs in trials. His experience in dog handling means he is a fab additon to the team and very capable when it comes to supervising the group play and assessing temperaments when dogs start the Doggie daycare. 

Work Experience Students

We also have regular Work Experience students come and help us out at the kennels. This is nice because it is helping young people in our local community, and also it is an extra person to play with the dogs and give them attention. We always monitor work experience students very closely to ensure that they and the dogs they work with are safe. 

 

 

Doggie Daycare Opening 10th September!

Well the day is nearly upon us. As usual the building took much longer than planned to build, but at last we have an opening day - 10th September!

Here are some pictures for you:

All shiny and new...

  

  

The 'chillaxing' area...

Fun and games!...

  Some Information for you  (may be subject to change)

• Charges - £15.00 per day (discounts available for full weeks and additional dogs coming together).

• Opening hours -  7.30am - 6.30pm

• Male dogs must be neutered, and we'd prefer female dogs to be spayed (they must stay at home during their seasons).

• The daycare will be supervised at all times to ensure that dogs are safe and enjoying themselves.

• All dogs must undergo a 'temperament assessment' which will take place on their first day with us. This is to ensure that they are of a suitable temperament for daycare (share toys nicely, able to get on with a variety of breeds and characters etc). 

• We're fully insured for your peace of mind.

• All dogs must be fully vaccinated and also have their kennel cough vaccine (please be aware that this is separate from their yearly boosters, please check with your vet). 

Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments section below! 

Woodland View Kennels is building a Doggie Daycare!

This is an exciting week for Woodland View Kennels, as finally our Doggie Daycare builing is being built! We have spent the last few weeks demolishing the old cattery and laying new concrete in preperation and tomorrow is the big day when the building is actually being erected. We are also having a nice new reception too!

Doggie Daycare is perfect for busy owners who work long hours want to make sure that their precious pooch isn't left alone for too long during the day. Dog's can come here and spend the day with us and some canine friends, leaving owners to get on with their busy day guilt free.

The building will be insulated and have heating in the colder months, and suitable flooring so that the dogs can play and rough and tumble without getting injured. We will also have a chill out area, and of course lots of toys to play with! It will be supervised at all times by experienced staff and all dogs will undergo a thorough temperament assessment to ensure that they have no aggressive tendencies.

Our Doggie Daycare will be quite exclusive. We only have avalilability for 10 -15 dogs. This means they will recieve much more attention than some of the bigger daycares around, and it also means that young puppies, elderly dogs, and your shy, retiring types (which perhaps would be overwhelmed surrounded by lots of dogs) will feel much more comfortable.

So if you think you might be interested - contact us asap and book your dog in for a free temperament assessment day, as I think spaces will fill up fast once we're open.

Watch this space for pictures and updates!

Puppies and Children ..... Just the same, right?

Apologies for not writing in a while, but those of you who visited recently may have noticed me looking a little 'rotund' (think beach ball stuck up the jumper and you're half way there), and on the 19th Feburary 2012, our first child, George Saunders was born. He's keeping me quite busy as babies do.

Our newest recruit, Baby George.

Before his arrival me and Lee would often joke about how little we knew about babies, and how George would be brought up in the only way we know how - like a puppy! 

Of course I'm joking! (you can get away with alot more with a puppy!) - but it has given us a laugh to think about the similarities...

1.) Sleeping through:

Both puppies and babies will cry at night. Your cot/basket is a very lonely and scary place when you're so small and helpless. Apparently both babies and puppies are comforted by bedding which smells of their mum/owner. George was in special care for a few weeks before we brought him home and after reading this I did actually spend most days with a blanket stuck up my jumper so that when we visited him in the evening I could wrap him up in the hope that it would be some comfort when I wasn't there. In both cases with patience sleeping through will eventually happen - and you need to stick to your guns - you're just making life harder in the long run if you let puppy/baby into your bed on a regular basis!

Getting puppies and babies to sleep through the night is no easy task!

2.) Teething:

 You give the puppy a rubber bone, or a pigs ear, and you give the baby a teething ring. The only difference is, that a baby won't chew up your favourite shoes if you neglect to give them a suitable teether!

3.) Potty training:

The day your puppy/baby becomes toilet trained is a happy one indeed. No more nappies or accidents on the kitchen floor, and the end result of lots of hard work and patience in both cases!

4.) wrecking the place:

George is only 8 weeks old at the moment, so I still have the toddler phase to look forward to (lets just say Im enjoying him while he stays where I put him!). But I have seen the havoc that toddlers bring and it's just as bad as having a puppy. Chewed carpet (puppy), scribbles on walls (toddler), bins emptied all over the floor (both!). Lets just say that until they are adults, your house will never be tidy again!

5.) Sick and Poo!

Puppies and babies both have less mature immune systems than adults. Couple this with a tendency to put every new object they find in their mouths (and in both cases - sometimes swallow them!) and the result is they are going to get sick quite often! When I used to be a dog walker I walked a Spaniel pup called Jasper and every day I would enter the house to be greeted by a new object he had sicked up. Socks, paper, plastic bags, he even poo'd a whole wristwatch once!

6.) Manners

As a responsible parent/owner, it is up to you to turn this tiny and adorable thug into a well rounded and polite individual.  You need to nip in the bud any nervousness, over excitedness, and aggression in order that they can grow up and fit into society.

Joking aside, I don't think puppies and children are really that dissimilar. They are both hard work and oh so cute - the only thing is that if I'd owned a pup for 8 weeks I'd probably have it half trained by now! 

Preparing your dog for a stay in kennels

Most dog owners want their dog's stay in boarding kennels to be a stressless and enjoyable experience. Here at Woodland View Kennels we do our part, by giving the dogs lots of care, attention and playtime, on top of making sure the dogs are eating well, and looking and feeling healthy. But is there anything owners can do which can help make their dog's stay in kennels a happier one?

Alone time

Although here at Woodland View Kennels we spend lots of time playing with the dogs, but of course there are times when they will be left alone (well we can't have twenty dogs sleeping on our bed!).  Now, if your dog sleeps downstairs at night, and you go out to work in the day, it is likely that they will be quite confident being left on their own. These dogs seem to settle into the kennel routine much faster and rarely cry or bark when left alone. 

It breaks our hearts when a dog cries when we close up the kennels at night. Of course we always use DAP spray which helps to comfort them, but we think it would be helpful if owners worked on any obvious separation anxiety issues at home before the dog's stay in kennels. This can be done by building up your dog's 'alone' time slowly. Perhaps give them a chew or special toy to help entertain them. There are some great boredom breaker toys on the market, such as Kongs or treat balls. Don't worry if they cry at first, they will soon get used to being on their own, and will be more confident dogs in the long run.

Can your dog be left alone? It may be useful to work on building up your dog's confidence before a stay in kennels.

Social skills - with other dogs

We find that social dogs are very happy staying at kennels. They just love meeting and playing with new friends, and its a joy to watch them do so, my favourite part of the job! Any puppies that stay in the kennels I make a real effort to socialise, not only with other pups and playful types, but if they need a little discipline (ie they are a bit nippy or boisterous) my own dogs Freddie and Amber are good at teaching them a valuable lesson or two. I can trust them to tell the pups off but they'd never bite or hurt them. Hopefully the lessons they learn will help keep them safe from any grumpy dogs they may meet during their usual walks. Knowing when to leave someone alone could potentially save them from being hurt at some point.

 Our own dog, Amber (Collie on the right) is very good at teaching puppies 'doggie manners' 

Puppies are easy to socialize, what is difficult for us is when older dogs come in and haven't been able to spend time with other dogs. Of course, we don't mind having these dogs in to board with us. Often, we can still put these dogs in with our own so they still get a valuable opportunity to socialise, but sometimes daren't risk mixing them with other boarders. Sometimes they just have to be played with alone. This is fine, and sometimes, can't be helped, and they still have fun. 

 

(Above) Social dogs have a great time in kennels and love meeting new friends.

 (Above) Don't worry if you think your dog might be a bit scared of other dogs, there is always someone there to supervise and reassure, and they soon become confident!

and if your dog isn't social - not to worry - they will still have lots of fun! 

I suppose what I am saying is, IF you are lucky enough to have the opportunity to socialise your dog, then it is well worth the effort it takes to do so. You could join a training class or agility club, arrange to meet with other dog owners down the park every so often, or if you are short on time then it may be worth taking them to a 'doggy daycare' every once in a while.

Social skills - with new people

It is much harder for us to care for a dog who is wary of strangers, than if it with a happy go lucky type who loves everyone. If possible, try to get your dog used to seeing different people and accepting them. Again, this is best done at a young age.

It usually doesn't take us more than a couple of days to bond with even the most nervous/aggressive dog, and often, once you have bonded with a dog of this character, he is your best friend for life! But of course, kennels are less stressful for dogs who are 'stranger friendly' than those who aren't.

Is your dog 'people friendly'? Patch certainly was!

Basic Training

This seems fairly obvious (and of course we don't expect small puppies to have learned everything!) but it is much easier for us, and the dog, when they know a few basic commands. Their name, Recall, Sit, and good lead manners are always nice ones to know, and if there's anything you want us to work on during your dog's stay- let us know! We find some dogs love to learn new commands and its a great way to provide mental stimulation.  

 Training is a fun way to bond with the dogs and provide mental stimulation. 

This article was a challenge to write - mainly because I didn't want to come across as lecturing people! Of course we realise that sometimes it is not possible to turn back time and make your dog a puppy again in order to do all of these things. I have a rescue dog myself, so I realise that they often come with their own baggage and experiences - and often have not had the best start it life, and also, sometimes our circumstances mean that its just not possible to do all these things, even when we have had our dog's from puppies. But all I'm saying is that, if you can, then these things are well worth working on, as your dog's life will be much easier with these skills.

Here at Woodland View we welcome any dog, regardless of how well trained or friendly they are. Infact, we like the challenge some dogs give us, and there is nothing more rewarding than seeing a nervous dog's confidence grow. Often this new found confidence and improved behaviour stays with them when they return home, we have had many a grateful owner report back to us with improved behaviour and confidence, and it's lovely to hear.