Catia
Well-Known Member
So last night was Tessa's 1st time ever being away from home, I am doing a 1 night trial overnight to prepare her for a 2-3 week boarding that is coming up.
I will pick her up this afternoon.
I'm in Pa & didn't find much I could stand, in good conscience, but I managed to find an absolutely wonderful place in West Virginia, which is about an hour or so drive.
I am praying (and am not religious) that this works out.
Tessa, being 1/2 golden retriever, will be boarded with a seriously beautiful lot of goldens. She's got a soft side & I want to keep it that way. I worked really hard with her socialization, so we shall see. Plus, Tessa mimicks what other dogs do-she only needs to SEE it once--so I want to not have her boarded with dogs with 'off behavior' LOL.
I am so impressed with this woman's property, & her dogs, & she boards the pups she sells if the owners go away.
I can't say enough good things about how she runs things, the place is so clean & the dogs healthy/happy.
She also has recently started up an actual boarding facility that is not on the farm, & that is really nice too, but if Tessa makes it through her 'trials', she'll get to stay on this lovely farm with a bunch of well bred/well trained/well behaved dogs, & will hopefully be more of a vacation for her than boarding.
The trails are my idea, to monitor how stressed she gets about the situation.
Tessa, as a pup was so so stoic, but has become so much more expressive. Her temperament is unshakable. Never saw a dog so consistant.
Since she's gotten older--she's slightly over 1 1/2 now, & I see all of this expression, I was SUPRISED that the breeder saw her as stoic!!!!
On Tessa's 1st visit, she walked right in like she'd always been there & just joined in with the crowd, which was at times 30 dogs--since it was a 'socialization Saturday' that the woman holds for pups she breeds.
Breeder commented on how surprised she was at how she was just taking it all in like she belonged there. She said "she's got to be stressed with all of these dogs, but her temperament & behavior is just wonderful. She's really not showing any of it, not even the salivation, & just jumps right in"
I commented on her other 1/2 being livestock guardian, & she commented "yes, she's really very stoic" & I just laughed & said--"you should've seen her as a pup-she's incredibly expressive now".
She said Tessa is hiding her stress, but I explained I don't feel she is that stressed, if she's stressed she shows a little hyper-ness & Tessa was just happy go lucky, not high strung.
Tessa isn't near as stoic as her pure bred gr pyr buddy up the street, whom it took a year to show signs of "happy to see you Tessa" in the form of happy tail wags when he sees her--
This happen ONLY IF it's only his owner & I...if there's others around, it's all hidden lol.
All of the kennels on this farm are so clean, & dogs can go in/out when they want to & get fresh air & sun.
Due to a miscommunication, owner didn't know I was arriving, & she's filled to the max, but though Tessa would do just fine sharing a kennel with a very mellow & sweet female, & she moved some pooches around to accommodate her.
This was the ONLY part I was worried about--being boarded in the same kennel with a female. There has been issue in the past with other females confronting Tessa.
It's never been Tessa starting anything EVER, but she did correct the last female...& it was a bit scary to see her flip & pin a pooch as big as her with little effort. The owner wasn't pleased, but he let his dog off leash & it ran right towards me & it was late dusk.
Anyway, we let the girls hand out & run around & get to know each others for a hour or two to get familiar & to see if there was any issue while owner was feeding/watering & cleaning up.
We followed her around a bit & checked out other kennels while she did her nigh cleaning. All are so much better than anything I've seen, & I went to a LOT of places. No poop/pee smells, no chemical/bleach over pee smells--she custom built these small buildings with inside/outside access & really is meticulous about how she keeps them.
Hardest part was leaving Tessa. I worry that she will freak out & try to get loose. I worry that she won't be OK with the other dog. I worry when she lets them all out that Tessa will escape through the fence & UGH--it's an awful feeling.
Only thing I could do was to allow a leap of faith. This woman knows what she is doing, & at the end of the day, I need to know Tessa can be boarded for a couple of weeks & so, I had to put on my big girl pants & leave... AT about 10pm lol.
I got a text a couple of hours later--my phone went off & I panicked--Text said "Tessa is doing just fine--don't worry"--so with that, I went to bed!
This afternoon I will go get her & get full report Let's hope it is a success.
I will pick her up this afternoon.
I'm in Pa & didn't find much I could stand, in good conscience, but I managed to find an absolutely wonderful place in West Virginia, which is about an hour or so drive.
I am praying (and am not religious) that this works out.
Tessa, being 1/2 golden retriever, will be boarded with a seriously beautiful lot of goldens. She's got a soft side & I want to keep it that way. I worked really hard with her socialization, so we shall see. Plus, Tessa mimicks what other dogs do-she only needs to SEE it once--so I want to not have her boarded with dogs with 'off behavior' LOL.
I am so impressed with this woman's property, & her dogs, & she boards the pups she sells if the owners go away.
I can't say enough good things about how she runs things, the place is so clean & the dogs healthy/happy.
She also has recently started up an actual boarding facility that is not on the farm, & that is really nice too, but if Tessa makes it through her 'trials', she'll get to stay on this lovely farm with a bunch of well bred/well trained/well behaved dogs, & will hopefully be more of a vacation for her than boarding.
The trails are my idea, to monitor how stressed she gets about the situation.
Tessa, as a pup was so so stoic, but has become so much more expressive. Her temperament is unshakable. Never saw a dog so consistant.
Since she's gotten older--she's slightly over 1 1/2 now, & I see all of this expression, I was SUPRISED that the breeder saw her as stoic!!!!
On Tessa's 1st visit, she walked right in like she'd always been there & just joined in with the crowd, which was at times 30 dogs--since it was a 'socialization Saturday' that the woman holds for pups she breeds.
Breeder commented on how surprised she was at how she was just taking it all in like she belonged there. She said "she's got to be stressed with all of these dogs, but her temperament & behavior is just wonderful. She's really not showing any of it, not even the salivation, & just jumps right in"
I commented on her other 1/2 being livestock guardian, & she commented "yes, she's really very stoic" & I just laughed & said--"you should've seen her as a pup-she's incredibly expressive now".
She said Tessa is hiding her stress, but I explained I don't feel she is that stressed, if she's stressed she shows a little hyper-ness & Tessa was just happy go lucky, not high strung.
Tessa isn't near as stoic as her pure bred gr pyr buddy up the street, whom it took a year to show signs of "happy to see you Tessa" in the form of happy tail wags when he sees her--
This happen ONLY IF it's only his owner & I...if there's others around, it's all hidden lol.
All of the kennels on this farm are so clean, & dogs can go in/out when they want to & get fresh air & sun.
Due to a miscommunication, owner didn't know I was arriving, & she's filled to the max, but though Tessa would do just fine sharing a kennel with a very mellow & sweet female, & she moved some pooches around to accommodate her.
This was the ONLY part I was worried about--being boarded in the same kennel with a female. There has been issue in the past with other females confronting Tessa.
It's never been Tessa starting anything EVER, but she did correct the last female...& it was a bit scary to see her flip & pin a pooch as big as her with little effort. The owner wasn't pleased, but he let his dog off leash & it ran right towards me & it was late dusk.
Anyway, we let the girls hand out & run around & get to know each others for a hour or two to get familiar & to see if there was any issue while owner was feeding/watering & cleaning up.
We followed her around a bit & checked out other kennels while she did her nigh cleaning. All are so much better than anything I've seen, & I went to a LOT of places. No poop/pee smells, no chemical/bleach over pee smells--she custom built these small buildings with inside/outside access & really is meticulous about how she keeps them.
Hardest part was leaving Tessa. I worry that she will freak out & try to get loose. I worry that she won't be OK with the other dog. I worry when she lets them all out that Tessa will escape through the fence & UGH--it's an awful feeling.
Only thing I could do was to allow a leap of faith. This woman knows what she is doing, & at the end of the day, I need to know Tessa can be boarded for a couple of weeks & so, I had to put on my big girl pants & leave... AT about 10pm lol.
I got a text a couple of hours later--my phone went off & I panicked--Text said "Tessa is doing just fine--don't worry"--so with that, I went to bed!
This afternoon I will go get her & get full report Let's hope it is a success.