Pete.the.dog

Boom booom said

yes you did expect to much for the time of year

What utter rubbish .We run kennels & are standards are the same all year.

I wonder if the owners of the kennels now about the posts here??

Well a girl just joined DOL tonight saying she was from the kennels, then tried to promote them in another board! She sent me emails which barely made sense and didn't add up to things she had previously said, and then she said Pete was an unusual colour for his breed. I didn't know mutts came in unusual colours. This is all very strange.

I'm glad someone else saw the rubbishness in boomboom's post

ADD: This is all quite odd. I think I'm going to have to give the kennels a call tomorrow morning

Oh she is absolutely gorgeous!

I love that feeling of having a new furbaby at home, the excitement of it all!

To be honest you generally hear the negative about a business, rather than positives that is human nature. I am glad that you enjoy your job and that you are happy, I will not go into what I have heard as that is not appropriate for this forum. As long as you care for the dogs, theirs and their owners needs are met and that you maintain hygeinic conditions that is what is important. I personally will only recommend places that I or those close to me have had positive experiences with.

I have read your posts on the other thread, I do have one question though. That dog was obviously sent with his own food but you fed it your own, had you checked with the records or asked the owner if that dog had special dietary requirements? Please do not think I am being harsh but things like that are very important in my opinion. I hope that you continue your passion and make the dogs in your care as healthy and happy as you possibly can

Interesting they say they fed him his food, because the same amount came back as what I gave - give or take half a cup. and given the recommendations state 3-4 cups a day for this size, that seems a little odd.

If anyone is curious, none of my concerns have been attended to by the person who works there who has become a DOL member in the last 24 hours. I'm not doubting her love for animals and that she gives her best efforts to her job, I'm just saying none of my concerns have been addressed.

I posted earlier the kennel's policy on grooming, their website says all dogs will be hyrdobathed before pick up. I quoted it.

Quote from Beds from tails website

Prior to checkout our guests receive a complimentary hydrotherapy session then "fluff" dryed leaving them look and feel absolutely pampered.

Hi PandaGirl thanks for your reply but sorry I couldn't find that on their webpage?

you have left your dog at a kennel at the most bussiest time of year it is hard for them to remember everytime your dog farted to relay back to you, your dog was treated fine he was given lots of love and extra care then what a normal owner would give thier dog so if the receptionist dose not mention that your dog was the best dog there dont worry about it.

takes a great dog lover to do it, maybe next time if your so worried about your dog dont go on a holiday unless you can take him with you.

yes you did expect to much for the time of year, and another thing different staff work at different time so the dinner staff and the cleaning walking staff notice different things also the kennels are divided into sections on who walks who so that walker can form bonds and relationships with the dogs maybe your walker was not in the office at the time, i have not said good bye to many dogs i walked and i realy missed while gone ut thats ok coz i had fun playing with them for a short time. get off your high horse.

Wow. WTF?

Firstly. How the hell do you know if my dog was treated fine and/or given lots of love?

Secondly. I'm not on a high horse, I was asking opinions.

I don't even know how to respond to you?

Hi ashley i Remember Pete I work at hedgegrove. I Did give him his food he sorta grazed on it most days and i also tried him with a bit of our food didn't really eat it at first but in the end he did. He was only fed 1 meal a day any dog can loose weight within a week because of stress and being a bit nervous. I have some dogs up their that can be a bit full on sometimes

Oh well thanks for that kennel hand. I'm a bit confused about your last sentence, are you saying that Pete was full on?

Feel free to respond to my PM's instead of on here, but so long as you are replying this way - may I ask what the brushing protocol at Hedgegrove in? Because when I got Pete back his fur was quite badly knotted in parts, and I think anyone patting him would have noticed?

Note: he had no knotts when I dropped him off

Hi all Try Hedgegrove Boarding kennels they have a 2 story cattery bran new, 3 dogs kennel blocks The place is really nice my animals love it their i have 2 cats, and a dog. my animals are so excited when we pull up at hedgegrove and they make lots of friends too.

Sorry Kennel Hand, I have to disagree. I was very unsatisfied with this place. I believe you work there also?

may i ask where did you board your dog

PM'd you

Oh wow that had me crying 30 seconds in.

Makes me want to run to the nearest shelter and bring them all home.

Got Roxy home today

Got home around noon and so far she is settling in well. very calmly met the family then was quite content to follow me around the house while I did my thing (she has worked out early that I'm the one with the treats ).

I'll take photos a little later on, I'd love for you to all see her

Ok here's my question and my opinion on this subject re my dog Lady! Lady is? well could be maltese x silky terrier, now she doesn't quite get a coat like a maltese more the silky terrier coat but a bit thicker and she does feel the heat so I have always clipped her in the hot weather. I was abused by a lady at a pet shop the other week who told me that she didn't need clipping and that in her opinion most dogs don't need clipping that their fur acts as an insulator against the heat and if my dog was inside with air con on on hot days then why do I clip her.

My answer to that was because she gets distressed in the hot weather and I can tell when I clip her that it does make her feel cooler/more comfortable in the hot weather.

My dog is a cross too and he does have some wirey "protective" fur on the top layer - about 5 hairs He doesn't enjoy the Adelaide summer while wearing his thick wool coat, and I don't blame him. I tried getting it thinned out but didn't do much. And how do I know this? Because I, like you, are the ones who observe our pets behaviour in the heat!

What an annoying b%t%h!

Mumsy it sounds like you have good intentions and the fact that you are on here asking opinions is really great. Obviously the decision is yours but I worry that in your trying to be nice and taking one of these pups it will end up biting you in the a%$@ (not literally of couse )

From the sounds of things your neighbours are nice people who simply have no idea, but you mentioned financially they are not too well off, so if something does go wrong with the pup they aren't going to be in a position to help you out (probably wouldn't any way) and having a pup fall ill on you can be a pretty sad thing for a family and especially kids. There is always a risk something will go wrong, but - as others have said - without the support of a breeder it could be that much harder.

As I said, I have a mutt and hes lovely and hasn't had any serious health issues so far, mostly likely nothing will go wrong, but the chances are higher than if you get a well bred purebred (and you'd probably end up spending more than the cost of a purebred in the extra vet fees of the free dog if something were to happen)

Good work on doing your homework and all the best

Hi everyone, we have gone to see a neighbour who has puppies. The mother is probably a lab cross pointer. The father lives across the road and is a golden retriever cross lab. I haven't met the father of the pups, but the mother seemed to have a lovely nature. There are a mix of nine puppies who are now 5 weeks old.

I know there is alot of debate about mixed breeds etc. We would welcome any advice about possible adoption. Our good friends across the street are also looking for a dog. We thought that perhaps getting litter mates, they could socialize alot without always living together as both of us would prefer to adopt only one dog.

Is there any way at this age to tell whether they will have a long or short coat?

Thanks in advance.

Unfortunately the thing with crosses is you can't tell anything about them at their age: full size, coat, potential health issues etc

That said I have a rescue cross breed and he is absolutely gorgeous! (IMO)

I'm sure people will post much more detailed responses, just take it all into consideration and good luck

You implied because they were Asian, so they knew no better.

How do you know they were not just practicing recall?

You had your chance to correct them instead you did nothing, you decided to whinge here instead.

I saw that as nasty, sorry I see from your last post you meant it in a helpful way.

It just really upsets me how some people on here are so quick are to be negative to others, sorry if I misinterpreted

What annoyed me is she was telling a young group of Asians, who wouldn't have known better.

Yes she was in the wrong, but so are you.

how so?

Because they are Asian they would not have known any better, How do you not see that as wrong?

because they would call there dog away from mine as if say oh that dog is dangerous, listening to what the lady was saying. So they were judging my dog on what some lady said. Sorry but they didn't know better

You implied because they were Asian, so they knew no better.

How do you know they were not just practicing recall?

You had your chance to correct them instead you did nothing, you decided to whinge here instead.

No need to get nasty! I get that what 'Miss BeRidgierent' said could be interpreted as an offensive remark, but she explained she didn't mean it like that.

If people aren't allowed to have the occassional whinge on DOL there wouldn't be many members left

http://poopatrol.com.au

Anyone taken the "Which Poo Are You?" quiz?

New levels of procrastination..

EDIT: Not a quiz, just a group of poo pictures. disappointing

When you walk past someone on a footpath, there is so little space that it is very tempting for your dog to lean out to sniff (even the air) or look at the passer-by (and that is not lacking "effective control" in my books - or the councils). Someone like this could hit the dog for this benign and tiny movement; I think this is what is being talked about.

Yes that's exactly what I was talking about.

In the first instance I described in the OP, Daisy was not attempting to sniff the woman but moved in front of me (still on a loose leash) to sniff something on the ground. It was a very small movement. Even though she wasn't trying to sniff the woman she freaked out and raised the pole like she was going to hit Daisy. I pulled her back instantly - I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't.

Anyone who has met Daisy knows she's not that people orientated and has very little interest in people when we are out and about (unless you have food) - she is not one of those super friendly dogs who wants a pat from everyone we come across.

When I run with Pete he is on the lead but I let him run ahead of me - if people are approaching on the footpath, at about 5m away I will stop and call pete to heel and then hold him on a very short lead on my left side and pass them on my right - I think that seeing that he is obedient and willing to be on my side assures people. Thankfully I've never had to deal with horrible dangerous psychos though, you poor thing Huski!

Although one women in her thirtys shoved her hand right in petes face to pat him without asking or warning while he was sitting at the side of the road on a leash - some people are so clueless

I just don't go anymore. Too many idiots, and I'm not good enough at getting pete to avoid the morons - is there a training page for that?

The last time I went to a dog park, people were having a picnic on the ground

I really want to get Pete done, cause he's an unusual looking pound rescue and I'm a curious person. But from what I've read I'll probably just end up with a $140 peice of paper saying "true mutt"

What did you want them to say? That he was cute? They might not have thought so, a lot of dogs are cute only to their owners. That he was well behaved? They might not have noticed. Poorly behaved dogs tend to stand out, quiet well behaved ones don't.

That he ate, didn't eat, pooped, didn't poop, barked, didn't bark? That's what you pay them to worry about while you're away, now you're back they can hand the dog over and they don't have to worry about him anymore. If he had medical issues he was there, then yes they should say something (and I think most would) but general behaviour? They don't know what his normal behaviour is like so don't have a yardstick by which to measure.

Fair enough. I guess as much as I pay someone to look after my dog while I'm away, I still worry about him, that's the kind of person I am. I guess I would have liked to know about his general behaviour, e.g. his barking and eating, so that I could assess whether or not this was normal for myself, and consider that in the context of whether I would leave him there again.

I was not interested in hearing my dog was cute

It's xmas and they are operating at full capacity - the busiest time of the year. Maybe cut the poor worker some slack and realize she was most likely run off her feet.

If he had never been boarded before and you were so concerned then maybe next time consider a trial run of one night in a less busy period

Good idea thanks

She probably was run off her feet, however part of running a good kennel service in my opinion, and the opinion of kennel owners who have already posted, is to make their customers feel like they are leaving their animals with people who care for them and pay them some individual attention, and that was not the impression I got from "yeah he's fine"

Mine just does the good ol' sit

There's probably (hopefully, at least) a kennel girl that looked after your guy each day and knows him really well - knows his funny little ways, how he likes his food presented, which hand he has to shake before he's allowed to eat, how he likes his rug laid on his bed etc

Well I hope so but I think the kennel girl was the one who I got passed over to on the phone who gave me a blunt "yeah he's fine" with a stop-wasting-my-time tone of voice

if you picked up between 10am-10.30am you were not charged for that day, any time after you were charged for that day.

The thing was that they didn't offer a morning pick up on sunday - if they did I would have been there then, they only let you pick up between 2 and 5

well i think they can't charge you for that then. what does their sunday policy say?

It says that "customers are charged for the day of pickup unless they collect before 10am (except Sundays)" - I took this to mean that sundays they weren't charged because the option didn't exist. Just a bit unclear to me.

--

I am sure, daily rate was $24.95 and invoice states "7 days"

It seems everyone has different ideas about grooming. This wasn't the most expensive of kennels yes, but it wasn't the cheapest either! I made sure that Pete had no knots when he went in - his coat is such a nightmare in the condition they gave him back because he (understandably) isn't patient with me brushing out the knots - and I have to do it in bits and peices over a few days or he just gets too grouchy about it.

Unless you actually paid for a grooming session I would not expect the dog to have been brushed.

I would because kennels are paid to care for your dog. Part of the care of a long-haired dog is to brush it regularly.

some kennels offer a daily brush at an extra cost, espeically for the breeds that are more prone to matting, you cant expect a long coat dog to be given more attention than a short coated dog for the same price imo, if your dog needs daily brushing or grooming unfortunatly in some establishments you will have to pay extra for it

Smooth or long should make no difference.

If the dog comes in knot free it should leave in the same condition.

If the dog is in a monster coat & the kennel isnt good at coat work then they should say no.

The problem is most kennels hose whilst the dogs are still in the runs & they get wet & matt easy.

They offered a hydrobath at extra cost, but I just assumed brushing would be included. I agree showdog I think they should give the dog back in the condition he came, he has a long woolly coat and I just sort of feel like anyone who knows about dogs should know it would be very uncomfortable to leave his type of fur unbrushed for a week! Especially if hosing the dogs down (which they said they did do, which ALSO made me a bit uncomfortable because I know Pete hates being hosed down and is scared of hoses generally)

I might say in the letter that they should say on their website or at least on arrival that brushing is extra, because I would have paid it if I had known - that's assuming they offer it as an extra.

I'm glad to hear the weight loss isn't unusual though

When people ring to enquire how their dogs are going, it is really reassuring for them if you can say something about the dog's individual ways, because they then know that you are actually communicating with and caring for their dog. Sometimes an issue in a big establishment. I have kennels because I love dogs - I wouldn't be happy just sitting in the office handing out invoices, operating the eftpos machine and working out staff pay and rosters. I like being with the dogs, poo and all

Sylvia

Should have brought him to you!

The policy is the same where I work and I think its fair enough.

As for the phone call, it may have been someone answering the phone who in training or doesnt normally answer the phone, I make a point of trying to know all the dog names, but when I first started I used to get very confused very easy!

Did you ask questions about how he went? If you did and they didnt answer then thats just rude! If you didnt ask then you should have

The weight loss thing I think is hard, kennels can be stressful on a dog no matter how well they are cared for and 7 days isnt very long for the dog to settle in. I have found most dogs that come in take 2-3 days to settle in (sometimes longer) and in that time they may choose not to eat. If he was in where I work and was there for say 2+ weeks once we noticed that he had started to loose weight his food intake would have been upped but when they are only in for a week it can be hard. There are a few dogs that come in that are a breed that is known to loose weight in kennels so they automatically get fed two or three times a day and then their are owners who request thier dog gets feed more often because they know their dog needs it.

As for the grooming he probably should have had abit of a brush being a coated dog and being in a week. But alot opf kennels will only do it if requested!

Thanks for that sammy, it sounds like the 7 days was pretty standard practice. I "should have asked more questions but after getting nothing from asking "how did he go?" I just thought it was pointless.

I guess I know for the next place I go to to specify about brushing and other things

Hmmm, sounds a bit lax to me. I would be inclined to write them a nice letter saying that you were disappointed and cite the reasons. Just be straight forward, unemotional and businesslike.

Good idea, I think I will

if you picked up between 10am-10.30am you were not charged for that day, any time after you were charged for that day.

The thing was that they didn't offer a morning pick up on sunday - if they did I would have been there then, they only let you pick up between 2 and 5