All dogs have a unique pattern when greeting other dogs. Some dogs run up fast and immediately start smelling the important parts, others do the stop and stare, sniffing from a distance of a few feet while walking in to greet slowly, some begin a chase sequence, while a wonderful few have a nice ballet of flowing curvy rotation where sniffing seems to be in perfect balance.

However, there is another category of visiting canine kids; the skittish dog. These are the dogs who display a range of behaviors to show their anxiety; immediately roll over on their back, letting out a little bit of pee while looking away and nervously wagging their tails low. These dogs are in the same category as the dogs who run to the farthest corner of the yard and glue themselves to it, jump and scratch the daycare attendants nervously in a “pick me up” gesture, or immediately find the benches, chairs, and play equipment to squeeze underneath and use as their personal hide out.

Sometimes you’ll see a snapping turtle type behavior, where they jump out and snap at the passing dogs and dart back into their safe zone again, but most of the time you’ll just see a lot of desperation and confusion. While the snapping turtle dogs likely need a bit of one-on-one training outside of the play yard—squirrely nervous dogs are in what we call “The Conflicted Zone.” Dogs in The Conflicted Zone show many signs that they desire to play such as wagging tails, excited whining, and wiggling towards the other dogs; yet they quickly become overly submissive, jumpy or growly when the play sequences begin. Even though they dragged their owners into the building, they suddenly turn into a nervous wreck once released to play.

While we all hope each dog that visits a daycare and boarding facility will have an easy adjustment into a shared space, some dogs need more management and training to feel safe.

There are a few common types of nervous personalities that visit daycare facilities:

• The dog who seems fine and then suddenly and without warning snaps at their playmate to back off. When this behavior is found in a Yorkshire Terrier, it is usually seen as not that big of a deal. When the behavior is seen in a Pit Bull Terrier, it is always seen as a big deal.
  It’s important to remind owners that the emotion the dog is going through when the behavior is occurring is not dependent on the size of the dog. In other words, just because the behavior isn’t bothering the owner doesn’t mean it is an acceptable behavior for group play.
  Daycare allows the unique situation of seeing the dogs often, and therefore what happens during daycare can change the behaviors the dog will display at home and in public. The client is bound to notice if the dog is growing into worse behavior with other dogs as they age, no matter what the size.
• The “please play with me, wait, no stop” dog. This dog eagerly initiates play and then quickly stops play by offering overly submissive behavior, such as rolling over, peeing, screaming, or fleeing.
• The overly obnoxious, yet overly defensive dog. These dogs run in fast and forcefully, running into other dogs without regard. They sniff them in all the sensitive places with velocity. However, whenever they meet their doppelgangers, they act irritated and put off. Posturing, body stiffness, hackles raised and moving quickly so their parts can’t be sniffed are common.
  Play usually occurs but is always intense and happening while the dogs are overly aroused. This is almost always an early adolescent with a poor history of puppy socialization. Dogs who do this at the age of 2+ will have quite a bit of practice in this bad habit. I would recommend management more than training for them, which would look a lot like mandatory breaks every 10-15 minutes or longer play only with specific mates.
• The sit-in-the-corner-and-avoid-the-entire-situation dog. They aren’t shutting down, but they’ve disengaged with the idea of playing in a group. They wiggle and happily engage with the attendants. They sniff the other dogs when they come over. They just don’t initiate or engage.
• The scared straight, won’t let the humans or other dogs engage them dog. Looking around, darting, heavy panting, and wide eyes are the norm with these guys. They think the entire idea of daycare is terrifying and want to know why their owners ever thought to bring them.

For dogs 1-3, training the dogs to come when attendants call them is an important preliminary skill as well. Whenever we let them into the open yard with their newly chosen specific mates, a 30-50 foot lead is kept on them. We step on the end of it and offer chunks of hot dogs whenever the dog comes back naturally. If they don’t, we make a big fuss over the hot dogs in our hands until curiosity and scent bring them in. Repeating this about 10 times over the course of 2-3 visits and once a visit after that is usually all it takes for the dogs to begin to regularly check in with the daycare attendants.

This regular check-in behavior is the first step to a dog that starts to give themselves breaks from play, which is the first step towards a dog that understands how to lower their own arousal, avoid conflicts, and displace aggression. Dogs who can do these few things have a terrific time in daycare, while maintaining a safe environment for the other dogs and employees. Employees who feel they can properly use management tools have the confidence to calmly work through issues that arise between dogs.

It needs to be decided between staff and owner if the dog’s temperament qualifies it for training, with the end goal being group daycare, or if the end goal is specialized playmates for all future visits. It’s vital that this is worded in a way that defines both end goals as success. Dogs are the same as people in the way that some of them love new dogs and crowds and some of them enjoy only the dogs they’ve known and built a history with. Some people love to be in crowded bars, engaging with new people, while other people enjoy a weekend at the lake with only their closest friends. There is no “less successful” situation here, it’s just a question of knowing the dog well enough to see which situation they prefer.

The other information to find out is why the owner is bringing their dog. Most owners are looking for a worn out, happy dog at the end of the day. It’s important to adjust the dog’s day to fit the dog’s needs.

A nervous dog would easily go home worn out just from being in a new place all day. The greatest chance of happiness for that dog would come with no other interactions. The dog’s day would consist of observing other dogs, adjusting to a new place and lots of sniffing.

Some owners are trying to fix a behavioral problem, while others are simply trying to get their dog out of the house for a bit so they can do other things. Knowing the motivation of the owner is important.

There have been times when I assumed the dog’s owner wanted to work through an issue, only to find out they just wanted to play golf every week and wouldn’t be home. Knowing the owners motivation for bringing the dog can take a lot of pressure off!

In my opinion, dogs who qualify for training with a goal of group daycare will show no signs of aggression, are eagerly willing to take food, will solo play with toys, seek out the affection of the caretakers and show a curious, friendly interest in the other dogs. These dogs show signs of nervous behavior through non-approaching and/or retreating in a quick manner, but maintain a curious and friendly demeanor from afar. They may bark but they do not do it repeatedly or aggressively.

Dogs who qualify for long-term specific playmates show slight signs of aggression in the context of feeling overwhelmed or defensive, accept treats or affection for only a portion of the visit, show some interest in toys and offer overly submissive postures to caretakers and other dogs, or dart off and play the “catch me if you can” game with the daycare attendants.

Dogs who act offensively aggressive, refuse treats, and frantically shy away from the caretakers are not appropriate for training or long-term specific playmates without private training first.

The process will vary on the setup of the room and resources available but I will describe the outline as an example of a safe and thoughtful approach to moving the first two categories of dogs forward in a group setting.

The materials you will need are heavy-duty x-pens for big dogs, regular x-pens for smaller dogs, heavy canvas from the hardware store, bricks or cinderblocks to keep the x-pens from moving, and a soft sided pop-up or airliner type kennel with a dog mat inside.

In the play area, set up the kennel and put the x-pen around it. Ideally, the x-pen should be large enough for 2 dogs to comfortably greet, sniff in a circle, and take a few romps in. X-pens should be set up against a wall or in a corner if available so the dog has the most possible space to back up to. A dog should never be put into an x-pen that is in the middle of the yard, where dogs can sniff and access the nervous dog from all sides. If no walls or corners are available, you will need a temporary “wall” behind the kennel, such as a barrier or second x-pen with a heavy canvas resting over it from top to bottom.

On their first visit, I make sure the dog can arrive early, so we can give the new dog a 10-15 minute head-start to have the yard or play area to themselves. Allowing dogs to sniff and explore solo can make a world of difference to any dog but is critical for a nervous dog. We put them in their safe space (The x-pen set up with the kennel inside) for at least another 10 minutes before we resume regular daycare. We don’t make a big fuss or give treats. The space should be managing the dogs fear by giving them a safe place to retreat to and is already designed to do that. Treats are not necessary in this situation and could accidently cause the dog to guard the area as a resource for food.

With the x-pen securely set up, the daycare attendant is free to focus on the other dogs if need be, while still being able to keep an easy eye on the nervous dog. The set up does a lot of the management work and takes pressure and stress off the daycare attendant. In a large space, it’s also possible to set up multiple x-pens.

If there is time, ideally the attendant should stand near the x-pen and talk to, coo at and comfort the nervous dog a few times during the group play session. Doing this will also bring the other daycare dogs over, giving the nervous dog an opportunity to sniff them, if they choose. It will depend on the dog, but eventually you will begin to see a play sequence start to initiate between the x-pen dog and one or two of the repeat daycare dogs through the x-pen bars.

Some dogs may take weeks for this to happen, while others will begin the same day. Some dogs will play through the bars and then retreat into their kennel. Others will observe happily until the other dogs begin playing heavily and then retreat. It is vital that this part of the process go at the dog’s pace.

Socialization is not just interaction; it is also exposure. I’ve found it helps clients immensely to understand the entire definition of socialization so they are able to recognize the success in the dog’s progress, instead of waiting to see the final outcome. Each time the dog is choosing to be at the edge of the x-pen, watching curiously and happily while the other dogs jump and wrestle, they are learning those situations are safe. Going at the dog’s pace also ensures a happy and worn out dog at the end of the day.

Until the dog seems extremely eager to move out of the x-pen and into the group, do not move forward. Once an already nervous dog has a bad experience at your facility, it can be hard to undo. Getting it right the first time will make all the difference in long-term success. Do not rush the process.

Once a nice friendship seems to be in the making between x-pen dog and another group dog, I open the x-pen and allow the non-nervous dog to share the space with the shy dog. After repeating this sequence with a few dogs, the formerly nervous dog should be attempting to exit the X-pen with their new friend and play with the group. If at any time the nervous dog runs back into their safe kennel area; that is okay.

Depending on the level of anxiety in the dog, they may not always be ready for the interaction they are asking for! Though as long as they are allowed to retreat, take a break and reset, they will understand within 1-2 repetitions that their eagerness will make you open the x-pen. The dog’s understanding of this will begin to change their behavior.

All of these situations give the dog choices. Having choice is one of the most important aspects of overcoming fear. While some dogs seem to bypass the need for systematic training through a technique called flooding; the possibility for trauma, adverse effects, and fallout that flooding can have on the dogs temperament make it an unethical choice in the field of positive reinforcement daycares.

Always choose the least harmful way to train. Since daycare allows time to find long term success there is no need to rush. Rushing could result in injury, unsettled or overly anxious dogs at home, and unhappy clients. Going at the pace of the dog, explaining proper socialization to the owner and giving employees experience using management protocols will create a low stress, low injury, happy environment for everyone.

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