When does the Lab in Suite 6 go home?” You’ve asked that question every day since the dog arrived. Who knew it was possible for a dog to bark nonstop – 24/7 for 14 days – and not lose its voice?! What are those little pieces of fabric in the hallway? The Jack Russell just proved the chew-proof resting pad was, in reality, not chew proof. How long can a dog not go poop before we need to make a trip to the vet? Didn’t take long for that little Min Pin to make you let go of his food bowl – and just think, in three more days, you get your sutures removed.

Any of those scenarios sound familiar? If you’ve been in business longer than a week, you’ve been there, done that, and no doubt have the T-shirt. How can you avoid those dogs that bark nonstop, are dog or food aggressive, destructive, and don’t like to potty away from home?

Years ago, if someone called and wanted to board their dog or cat at my kennel, we simply took the reservation. It took me a few years to figure out it just wasn’t working for me. Who could guess that cute little cat would want to slash your face to shreds after three days of confinement? How was I to know that the little terrier mix could climb a gate in 60 seconds or less? We’ve all learned lessons the hard and often expensive way.

I once booked a cute-as-a-button little Beagle that, in the span of less than two hours, managed to destroy a chain gate and proceeded to pee and poo multiple times in the hallway. Then there was that Great Pyrenees that was such a sweet boy when he checked in, wanting nothing but his ears and head petted. About two hours later, I approached his run only to be greeted by 120 pounds of fury. He had turned into Cujo! The boy meant business. That was one very long weekend. Very slowly, the light dawned. I didn’t have to board a dog or cat just because the phone rang.

How did I handle this tricky little problem? Pretty simple, really. I put a new policy in place that, while not foolproof, has almost eliminated most problem dogs. When a new client calls to make a reservation, we carefully explain that we’re a lodging facility and different from a kennel. I then explain our policy: before a dog can stay with us overnight, they must come in for an evaluation. This day-long process includes a personality profile, temperament test, test for separation anxiety, test for aggression, and to make sure they eat, drink, and potty for us.

Does that always work? No, but about 95% of the time, we can weed out the problem dogs: the vocal ones (we never say barkers), those that are territorial (aggressive over food, toys, or hate other dogs), the ones who only want to potty inside, and the timid ones (basket cases). Well, you get the picture. By having the dogs with us for the day, we can observe the dog. By the time the testing is complete, we have a pretty good idea if the dog will fit with our “family.”

I can only speak for our team members, but barking dogs can make for a long, stressful day. Barking briefly when it’s time to go play or a new “kid” comes in is expected. Nonstop barking serves only to upset other guests, themselves, and us, not necessarily in that order. A loud facility isn’t very welcoming to a prospective client, either.

Accidents happen – no problem. However, if they really aren’t house broken, now that’s a problem. Why add to your workload? Our guests are taken outside about every two hours with the last walk and tuck-in around 9 p.m. I return at 5:30 a.m. to begin the day, so there’s no reason for frequent accidents. Why do folks say, “Oh my goodness yes, of course they’re housebroken”? Did they think that little lie would not be found out? Well, I digress.

What do you say to those clients whose “fur babies” weren’t accepted into your lodging program? “At this time, little Squeaky isn’t ready to join our family. He’s a little too vocal and needs to work on potty training.” Doesn’t that sound better than “He barked nonstop and only likes to go potty inside and walk through it – several times”?

This procedure also gives us a chance to get a feel for the pet parent when we fill out the questionnaire. If the owner is, let’s say, slightly over the top, we can then decide whether or not to accept the pet. One client stated, “I love this cat more than I love my kids.” The sad part? Her children were standing beside her. I declined that kitty on the spot. Then there was the man who called literally every 30 minutes to check on his dog during the evaluation. By the fourth or fifth call, we as a team decided that while the dog was great, the owner would drive us nuts. Declined!

Remember the statement, “It’s not totally fool-proof.” Every once in a great while, you have the precious little bundle of joy that did great during the evaluation. Actually, he did fine the first two nights – and then got destructive. We have an aversion to dogs that destroy all manner of bedding. We had a little Min Pin that was quiet as a church mouse for his evaluation but then decided he wanted to bark at everything that moved during his stay. We very kindly explained to the owners that for the comfort and safety of the pet, they would be better served by having a pet sitter.

Yes, we can and do divorce clients when it doesn’t work out. We also require our grooming clients to do an evaluation before their pet can lodge overnight, and yes, we charge a fee for the evaluation. Despite the naysayers, this has worked very well for us. We’ve eliminated the troublesome dogs, and clients love to brag about the fact their babies get to stay at our lodging facility. A win-win situation.

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