Behavior Management

Revised 1.2.22

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We operate transparently and encourage you to ask questions and discuss any concerns so that we have the opportunity to address them. You will find us open to reasonable and mature dialogue.

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Although we are maniacal about health and safety, anywhere dogs play in groups there is the potential for fights, injuries, and even death. Our handlers cannot have eyes on every dog every second; however, they have been trained to keep an active lookout, to observe body language, and to intervene at the first sign of a problem. 

 

Problem behaviors, to list just a few, include jumping on people, playing too aggressively, showing domineering body language, barking, nipping/biting, etc. The same behaviors a responsible dog owner would correct at home.

 

Because we’re focusing here on negative behaviors, we point out that our main focus isn’t on correcting negative behavior but on rewarding positive. We don’t use treats because with dogs in a group they can cause disagreements and altercations. Instead, we use lots of verbal praise and physical affection.​

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Striking or Kicking

We never use physical violence—striking, punching, kicking, etc. If an employee is observed abusing an animal physically, he or she will be fired on the spot.

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Often we have to use our bodies--arms, legs, knees, elbows, hands--to protect our personal space and keep us from being knocked down, scratched, bruised, etc. or to intercede on behalf of a dog. We might push a dog back with our foot, bump him with our knee to keep him from jumping on us, or clear him away from a dog. We may use our hands or fingers to bump a dog firmly and stop it from digging or posturing aggressively toward another dog. We often use a walking stick or similar object that extends the reach of our arm and allows us to tap or poke a dog or, say, place a barrier between it and another dog. Never violent striking, kicking, or punching intended to hurt or harm.

 

The exception: If, for example, two dogs are fighting or are showing aggressive body language and are at risk of fighting which could lead to injury to a dog or staff member. If no other methods have worked to prevent or stop the altercation, we have no choice to do whatever we must to prevent or minimize the risk of injury or death. This type of situation is extremely rare.

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Voices, Energies, and Bodies

Our voices, energy, and bodies are our main tools we use to correct inappropriate behavior. We will loudly say, “No!,” clap our hands, stomp our feet, perhaps use a finger or thumb to give a poke to redirect his or her attention to us and away from the behavior. We might slap a rolled-up newspaper on a counter, rap on a wall or door, etc.

 

Water Bottles

We use water bottles as a benign but effective method of correction. This works especially well when dog is several feet away and able to otherwise ignore us. Spraying a stream of water is a way, without causing stress or physical harm, to redirect a dog’s attention and stop bad behavior.

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Bark Collars

A big contributor to health and safety is a quiet, relaxed environment. If a dog continues barking and ignores all appeasement and other methods of correction, we use a bark collar. Our is a specific model that gives an audible warning and then, if the dog keeps barking, the collar emits a slight static electricity akin to someone dragging his or her feet on the carpet and touching another. If the dog continues to bark, the correction level increases slightly until the barking stops. If it doesn’t stop, the collar no longer escalates. It resets and starts over from the beginning with the audible warning. If the barking continues, having exhausted all methods, we remove the collar, grin and bear the barking, and then politely decline to host the dog again.

 

Training Collars

When other methods are not working to manage a particular dog’s behavior and keep it safe, or when s/he is too far away for other methods to work, we will put on a training colllar. Training collars, like any collar or leash, can be used abusively. We’ve seen people, even professional trainers, shock dogs and make them scream. This is hard to watch. Our purpose is not to “shock” or hurt dogs. We use training collars because our outdoor play yard is so large that dogs are often too far away for other discipline measures (water bottle, voice, physical touch) to work. Our purpose with a training collar is to keep all the dogs playing safely by redirecting attention from negative behavior to positive behavior we can reward. We begin with a vibrate identical to a restaurant pager and then, if that doesn’t work, we use a slight stimulation of static electricity that is barely discernable. If that doesn’t work, we’ll increase the stimulation level to what feels exactly like someone dragging his feet on the carpet and touching another person. In this way, without causing harm or hurt, we can get the dog’s attention by distracting it from what it was thinking about doing. This prevents altercations, fights, and injuries.

 

Is there ever a time when we will truly shock a dog? Yes. If he or she is on the verge of causing physical harm to a person or dog or is attacking a dog or person, and we will use whatever stimulation level we must to stop that behavior. Of course, if other means are available (water bottle, waterhose, etc.), we will use them. For example, if the dog is on a leash, we have control and do not need a training collar, but we will use one if necessary to avoid serious injury or death to staff or dog.

 

Our select use of training collars is one reason our safety record is so strong. Since 2008, out of thousands of dogs we’ve served, only five, the worst of which needed five stitches, have had to have veterinary treatment for a dog-on-dog injury.

 

If you have questions about any of our behavior management methods, please ask. We are transparent about them and happy to discuss.

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