Dog Behavior Problems

[elletr13]

This is a bit of an XP from the Tuesday randoms post on ML.


We found a stray dog in July and have had no luck finding his owners or a new home...while we are definitely attached to him, we're not 100% sure we want to keep him (disclaimer: we would use our vet or a rescue to help find a home, not take him to a shelter). He's a young (probably no more than 2), gigantic black lab. Very sweet dog.



We needed to board him while we went on vacation earlier this month (my in-laws will watch our dog, but not him). He did an interview at a new daycare/kennel close to our house and passed. We boarded him a few days later. Looking back, this was not a good decision, boarding him for the first time for almost a full week, but we didn't really have any other options. He did fine the first few days, but apparently had some issues with some dogs the last couple of days. The camp manager said it could have been a mix of him being tired & cranky, and that he did not care for these super-active dogs jumping all over him (he's pretty chill most of the time). They asked us to do another interview, which we did today.



He lasted an hour. They said he did fine with the medium-sized dogs, but they were mostly female and they got a overwhelmed by him. They moved him to the bigger dogs and they said when a dog bigger than him tried to play, he wasn't having it. My husband is headed to pick him up now.



I just don't know what to do. We were hoping to board him when we go to GA for Christmas...my parents have a dog (that our own dog hasn't even met) and 3 cats and we know that would be a lot to handle. I hate the idea of boarding him at a vet because I know he cries when he's in the kennel alone. I'm really at a loss. I'm also confused because I'm sure there were bigger dogs at day camp his first few days of boarding.



We know he is in need of training (he rushes the door, barks/begs for food), but would training help this? Clearly since he is a stray, we know nothing of his history.

[mmp]

Check dogvacay.com. It's a network of people who dogsit in your home or there's. Much less stressful for the dog and you.

[elletr13]

Thanks. I've looked on Rover.com and found some good options. I also found a new training facility that offers boarding. I can board him for the week before for $300 and he'll learn all the basic commands, and the week of for $175 and they'll reinforce what he learned during boarding. They also only have a few dogs at each time, and it is a home (vs. kennel) environment.