Alicia returned to college last week (the surgery and recovery that had her home last semester went well), and I decided that Tau might enjoy some time to play with other pups besides Galen. The two boys spend so much time together on my work days, I wanted Tau to experience playing with...normal?...dogs.
Tau loves this daycare. First he was given a temperament test with the director, who was initially hesitant (Tau weighs over 80 pounds at 5 months old), but wound up bragging on him to the rest of the staff as they introduced new dogs to him. Tau now has permission to play with the small dogs too, since he plays so well and behaves, responding easily to verbal commands.
They introduce the dogs one at a time, and I watched to make sure Tau wasn't overwhelmed with the large adult males (several dogs, a GSD, a Boxer and a Labradoodle, who tended to want to be dominant). Tau just looked bored with their posturing, and played with the friendlier dogs.
Tau left after the first visit tired, happy, and pleased with the experience. The staff raved about how mellow Tau is, without being a couch potato. They said in the vet center next door, there is a flat screen showing the daycare, and several staff saw him on the screen, and came over to meet Tau and ask about him. He's a cutie! He was happy to meet the new people, and showed good social skills. Shilohs are so confident!
Today I had meetings all afternoon, so left Tau there 6 hours. When I went to pick him up, he looked exhausted! He kept waiting for the girl to figure out the time machine, so I could pay and take him. There was a wall, with Tau on the office side and me on the waiting room side.
Tau finally had had enough of patiently waiting. He walked back through the length of the daycare, and disappeared into the employee bathroom. Then he was gone.
Turns out he opened an adjoining door (remember me saying he needed to spend less time with Galen?
) into a long hallway the daycare shares with the veterinary center. He walked down the dark hallway in the vet center, which was closed, walking the entire length of the building. He then pushed open a door into the daycare bathroom, then another into the waiting room, walked over to me, and fell hard on my feet, tired and wanting to cuddle.
The staff freaked out! They have had the facility 5 years, and have never had a dog "break out". They seemed upset that Tau had even opened the first door, let alone figured out the building floor plan on just his second visit. There were lots of other doors he could have gone through, leaving him in the large facility next door.
I reassured them I doubted he would have tried to leave if I hadn't been there. He just wanted to be back with me! Tau probably had heard staff go down the hallway, and didn't understand the path wasn't for him. The staff was so surprised, we didn't really even tell him he had broken the rules.
The staff said my "Houdini" could still come back, but they will now note on his chart to lock all the shared doors when he is there. Why is this not surprising to me?
They asked if Shilohs were all this intelligent. I thought of Galen and had to laugh. Yes, as far as I can tell, yes they are.
Tau loves this daycare. First he was given a temperament test with the director, who was initially hesitant (Tau weighs over 80 pounds at 5 months old), but wound up bragging on him to the rest of the staff as they introduced new dogs to him. Tau now has permission to play with the small dogs too, since he plays so well and behaves, responding easily to verbal commands.
They introduce the dogs one at a time, and I watched to make sure Tau wasn't overwhelmed with the large adult males (several dogs, a GSD, a Boxer and a Labradoodle, who tended to want to be dominant). Tau just looked bored with their posturing, and played with the friendlier dogs.
Tau left after the first visit tired, happy, and pleased with the experience. The staff raved about how mellow Tau is, without being a couch potato. They said in the vet center next door, there is a flat screen showing the daycare, and several staff saw him on the screen, and came over to meet Tau and ask about him. He's a cutie! He was happy to meet the new people, and showed good social skills. Shilohs are so confident!
Today I had meetings all afternoon, so left Tau there 6 hours. When I went to pick him up, he looked exhausted! He kept waiting for the girl to figure out the time machine, so I could pay and take him. There was a wall, with Tau on the office side and me on the waiting room side.
Tau finally had had enough of patiently waiting. He walked back through the length of the daycare, and disappeared into the employee bathroom. Then he was gone.
Turns out he opened an adjoining door (remember me saying he needed to spend less time with Galen?
) into a long hallway the daycare shares with the veterinary center. He walked down the dark hallway in the vet center, which was closed, walking the entire length of the building. He then pushed open a door into the daycare bathroom, then another into the waiting room, walked over to me, and fell hard on my feet, tired and wanting to cuddle.The staff freaked out! They have had the facility 5 years, and have never had a dog "break out". They seemed upset that Tau had even opened the first door, let alone figured out the building floor plan on just his second visit. There were lots of other doors he could have gone through, leaving him in the large facility next door.
I reassured them I doubted he would have tried to leave if I hadn't been there. He just wanted to be back with me! Tau probably had heard staff go down the hallway, and didn't understand the path wasn't for him. The staff was so surprised, we didn't really even tell him he had broken the rules.
The staff said my "Houdini" could still come back, but they will now note on his chart to lock all the shared doors when he is there. Why is this not surprising to me?
They asked if Shilohs were all this intelligent. I thought of Galen and had to laugh. Yes, as far as I can tell, yes they are.
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