Update - Aggressive behavior at day camp! oh dear...

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Soo- many of you know my sweet boy neutered doodle - Quincy -  who at the worst liberated some lobsters on a NY eve....

He has been going to day care at PetSmart for quite some time, always getting "good report cards" - eg. plays well with others.   

the last report stated that he was having some "humpty" trouble and not listening.   I thought it was "kinda" funny, but as it turns out NOT!

tonight I appeared to pick him up and asked my usual: "Was he a good boy?" and was stunned when she got all flustered...he has been aggressively humping to the point where the staff had to put him in time out.....MY SWEET QUINCY!!!....the last thing I want is for him intimidate and hurt another dog, but apparently he mounted another and grabbed ( I assume it was a her) so tight that he "almost drew blood" in scratching her (not sure what that means, either).  Apparently Quincy is on the verge of being banned for misbehavior...not sure about that either....I am at a loss.  

I had a long talk wtih Quincy on the way home...hahah...wish that would do any good.  

any suggestions?  no more day care?  tough when there is still a foot of snow out there...help!!!! 

[Sara]

A dirty dog magazine and some alone time? ;)
Kidding, of course.

I would assume it's a dominance thing more than a "mating" thing since he's neutered? I don't really have any advice...besides I think I'd ask the attendants if they are correcting him when it happens so he learns its a no-no? I mean, I can't imagine what they'd expect you to do about it hours after the incident?!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think you need more information. Is it only one particular dog that Quincy is "dominating"? If so, what is the other dog doing in terms of body language or triggers that might be setting Quincy off? Is this a dog who is new to the daycare pack?  Anything happening with the excitement level of the group or the timing  that seems to trigger the behavior?  It's hard to know how to respond without knowing the circumstances, and it doesn't sound like you are being given much information, since they didn;t even tell you which dog it was or even the sex. (It could have been a male, this is a dominance behavior, not a sexual one.)  

[Julie and Max]

I don't know about Quincy's situation but I know I had a bad experience with dog daycare. A lot of stuff was going on with the number of dogs to people and other things, and I agree with Karen, what exactly is going on, if he didn't do it previously then there is some reason why he started doing it.


One thing I know about Max though is he is great and not aggressive at all, but if another dog starts doing the humpty on him he will try it out on another dog (and he never humps except when this happens)

[Julie, Eloise & Beasley]

I agree, the day care needs to give you more specific info (especially if they're considering banning him!)  If they can't provide it, do you have other reliable places you could try?  Something is triggering him now or he's feeling more "assertive" than maybe he did in the past.  Either way, they should be able to tell you what it is.

I'll never forget the call from my dogsitter (Nov 2013 - it's seared into my brain, lol!!) when she told me that my dear, uber-submissive Eloise tried her hand at dominating a couple dogs there.  The sitter is very experienced, and she was laughing - told me all about what happened and said she was so surprised that Eloise even tried it.  She was watching them, but said she let but let the dogs work it out; Eloise backed off and all was fine.  Since then, I notice whenever she tries it now, it's a total crime of opportunity - always with a smaller dog.  She's so blatantly obvious when it's about to happen (she actually looks around like, am I gonna get away with this? and her face already looks guilty) that I can usually head her off with an "ah ah ah!"

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Thanks, everyone.  I will try to call and ask more questions, now that I know even what to ask!  They told me it has happened in the past, but he is more aggressive now and won't stop with them verbally trying or even with a squirt bottle.  they had to put him in time out yesterday.  they said he was "more aggressive" than he has been.  they are very sweet young women, but not the sharpest knives in the drawer, either.  

Our groomer will also take him for the day and let him run around and they usually have other dogs there to play.  the problem is the hours are inconvenient- I have to leave work way earlier and even more expensive!  I know he is safer there though, since it is only a few dogs.  

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I personally think that Daycare can be a great thing for lots of dogs if the "pack" is managed correctly.  At the Daycare where my guys go, the staff is well trained by the owner who is also an Obedience Trainer.  I've watched on the video and they constantly walk the room looking for any signs of over-excited or dominant/aggressive behavior...and they stop it immediately before it has a chance to escalate.  What Quincy is doing is not at all "bad" or even that unusual.  My Guinness went through a stage where he tried it, primarily with Murph.  If they are appropriately corrected and diverted they do learn.  Does your Daycare have a way for you to observe without being seen?  I would want to watch Quincy in this setting to see what might be triggering this behavior.  You should be able to observe that the staff is in control of what's going on and the dogs are respecting that.  If that isn't the case, I would not want to send my dog there.  Putting lots of dogs together in that setting without a strong well-trained staff is IMO dangerous.

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Yes, Jane- they do have a video.  It's kind of hard to see who is who, but I imagine I could figure it out.  That's a great idea, too.  These girls and occasional guy are very nice, caring kids, but I doubt if their training is at all extensive.  They do walk the room and intervene.  Funny that this is only the second time I am hearing of this.  We always got glowing reports  LOL!  They all love him, too.  I def having some investigation to do before he goes back.  

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Lori, I really don't have any great advice, but I will say at some point Fudge just stopped liking daycare. She went from eagerly going in to shaking when we walked in the door. I don't know if something happened, but I could see her on the video just sitting in the middle of the room looking miserable and I just stopped taking her. I loved the idea of daycare and was so sad when it was over. It was such a huge help to me, but it seems Fudge did not care to go. I really think Fudge is just happier being home. I hope it all works out for Quincy.

[Gracie, Jade, & Barkley]

Awe. Poor Quincy!
When we went to go look at doggy daycare on the adult side was a labradoodle humping another male (dominance issues). The guy was apologizing, but I was like that's what dogs do, right? Hehehe. When Bristow (our beagle mix) was still here, Barkley (our schnoodle) would always sneak over to hump him while he was sleeping. Grrrr.
Btw, Barkley got in trouble at petsmart for being too excited when people came up to the window to watch dogs get groomed. It was suggested that we only bring him in during the week. At first when the lady was telling me, I was all smiles. But, when I realized what she was actually saying I got upset. I'm like he's a happy dog who loves people - maybe you need a different job. Only in my mind - not out loud. Hehehe. I had been taking him there for a few years with no reports like that and I had never seen her before.

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

UPDATE- I never took him back to PetSmart daycare.  The winter here was awful and I worked from home frequently.  I have started to take him to his groomer for the day once in awhile and they love having him.  There are usually several other dogs either being groomed and hanging out or in their daycare.  It's not a big gym space, but he seems to have fun, and I feel like they are better equipped to keep control of the pack.  Plus they take the dogs outside to potty.  I was never comfortable with the inside trough!  I think that may have contributed to his pooping at Agility...who knows...

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Sounds like you found a good solution, Lori.

[Joani, Skadi & Elli]

Good for you to keep a watch on Quincy's care.  I agree, daycare charges enough that "educated" people need to be watching the dogs.  As for "humping", Skadi is my "humper" and it doesn't matter, girl, boy, ... I have read and been told my trainers that this is also a form of "let's play"...not only dominance...so that's how I view my sweet little humper...she just wants to play.  Skadi is constantly trying to "hump" her new sister Elli, but Elli turns on a dime and they continue their play.  Here's a picture of Skadi "sneaking" up on Elli...I had to x-rate what happened next LOL