BEHAVIOR POLICIES

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Barking

As a commercial kennel, we have to adhere to county regulations regarding noise. Specifically, we cannot have a "repetitive barker" during county specified quiet hours (nighttime hours). The county defines a repetitive barker as a dog who barks continuously for 10 minutes of any 30 minute time frame. Please understand that repetitive barking is not an ordinary occurrence even for puppies and dogs that are being boarded for their first time (which we have had a lot of).

If your dog is a repetitive barker during quiet hours, or is too disruptive to the other guests during the day, we have several methods to help settle him/her down. First and foremost, we will run your dog so they are nice and tired. We will also give them love and treats in their kennel so they see it as a safe, happy place. If the problem is that two adjacent dogs are not getting along, we will move them to new kennels. We may also give the dog a "time out" by closing the doggie door until he or she calms down. If none of the above methods are effective, we will use a citronella collar that sprays a quick burst of citronella spray near the dog's nose when he/she barks. The dog will not like the smell and will eventually figure out that it only happens when he/she is barking. We have found that this method works very quickly and the dogs that have used these collars have continued to have a great time while at the Ranch.

In the rarest of circumstances, we might have to send your dog elsewhere if he/she doesn't stop barking. As a result, we ask that you list a local emergency contact on your paperwork that would be able to take care of your dog if needed. That contact might also need to take care of your pup if he/she becomes ill, or in case of emergency.