Hi {{first_name}} ,

Dogs have died in board & train facilities. In kennels. Under trainers who seemed fine on paper and came recommended by people who meant well. This is not a rare thing. It happens regularly and it happens because owners did not know what questions to ask before they handed over the leash.

If you are ever going to board your dog or send him somewhere for training, this is what you need to know first.

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Not just names on a website. Real people who have used this facility with this trainer. Call them and ask specific questions. How was your dog when he came home? Did anything concern you during the stay? Did the trainer personally handle your dog the entire time, or did he hand him off to someone else?

That last question matters more than most people realize. Trainers who take in more dogs than they can handle will farm them out to assistants or friends to manage the overflow. The dog you dropped off with one person ends up in someone else's hands entirely. That is a disaster waiting to happen and most clients never find out until something goes wrong.

In person. Before anything is signed or paid. Ask to see where your dog will sleep, where he will exercise, whether the yard is properly fenced and secure. A good facility has nothing to hide and will show you everything without hesitation.  Even if it is in someone’s home..  You want to know!

If they say no to a tour, that is your answer. Walk away and find someone else.

Ask how many dogs are there right now. Two, three, four is manageable. The moment you hear seven, eight, ten, you know your dog will not get the individual attention he needs. Ask how many hours each dog gets outside every day. Ask who is physically on the property overnight. Ask what happens if there is an emergency at 2am.

The answers to those questions, not the website, not the photos, not the testimonials posted by the facility itself, will tell you what you need to know.

A Fi collar, a Halo, an Apple AirTag. Anything that shows you movement throughout the day. Tell the facility upfront that the collar stays on whenever the dog is outside the crate. Then watch the movement.

If the trainer says he cannot allow a tracker for safety reasons, that is understandable when the dog is crated. But the moment the dog is out and moving, that tracker should be on. If you are seeing the collar in one location all day with no movement, you now have real information about what is actually happening with your dog.

And if a trainer refuses to allow a tracker at all, that is a red flag. You have a right to know where your dog is.

There should be a 24-hour veterinary emergency clinic within a few miles of where your dog is staying. The facility / trainer should know exactly where it is and how to get there. Find out which clinic they use and then call that clinic yourself. Give them your credit card in advance and authorize emergency treatment. Tell them your dog will be boarding nearby and that if he comes in, they have authorization to treat him.

Do all of this before you get on the plane, before you leave your dog. When you are sitting in a hotel three time zones away is not when you want to be sorting out vet authorization while someone is telling you your dog is not doing well.

Also, give the facility two contact numbers. Janet and I both give our numbers to anyone who is watching our dogs. If they cannot reach one of us, they go immediately to the other. And I make clear that I want to hear about anything, not eating, diarrhea, acting off, anything. A trainer who says calling for small things is too much is a trainer who will decide on your behalf what you need to know.

A trainer or kennel that carries liability insurance is not more trustworthy because of the policy itself. They are more trustworthy because they were organized and serious enough to get it. Ask to see the declarations page. If they carry it, they will have no problem showing you.

I have carried insurance in my training business for over 20 years. Never filed a claim. Never needed to. I carry it because it is the responsible thing to do. A seat belt costs nothing to put on.

That is your right. At any point, for any reason. If you have a bad feeling, go to the facility, knock on the door, and take your dog home. If you need to bring someone with you, do that. If you paid for a month and you are three days in and something feels wrong, the money is not the priority.

People who waited too long to act on a bad feeling have had to bury dogs because of it. 

Do the homework before you drop him off. Tour multiple facilities so you have a backup. Leave a trusted person in the area who can go get your dog if you cannot. And if at any point something feels off, act on it.

Your dog depends on you to be the one who asks the hard questions.

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Until next Tuesday,

- Robert