Dog doesn't want to go to daycare any more

[quartertone]

Hello, Positively forum!

I'm a new dog parent of a 1.5+ year old german shepherd/husky/retriever mix. I adopted him from a shelter a few months ago (July) and we've been having more fun every day. He was initially very skittish and fearful; he was clearly not well treated in his previous environment. I'm sure he was caged for long periods at a time because his canine teeth (all 4 of them) have marks of significant erosion. The points are flattened, and there are deep grooves on the back side of the teeth as if he had been chewing on a cage or wire fence for most of his life. He was also very skinny/bony at first, but has since bulked up to a good looking healthy 50 lb dog.

He was also extremely quiet when I first got him. Most of the dogs at the shelter would bark and get really excited if they were being taken out to meet humans, or if any other dog was being taken out of their cage/crate. My dog (Temba) did not make a sound at the shelter, or at home for about the first week I had him, and I was almost afraid he was mute and/or deaf. But he clearly responded to sounds so he wasn't deaf. And after a week he became comfortable at home and finally barked at a suspicious noise at the door!

I've been working with him gently and slowly but he has opened up a lot and and seems to enjoy most things now. Luckily, he loves to play fetch and tug, so they have been our main distractions.

I am in need of some advice, however.

I have a rather busy job - I start work from 7-7:30am, and get home around 4-5pm. Some days I am away for a full 24 hours, 7am - 7am. Because of this I've been taking him to day care for most days for the past couple months with the occasional overnight boarding arrangement on my 24hr days. Initially he did ok. He seemed to have some separation anxiety but according to the daycare humans, he plays well with the dogs, humans, and toys. Of course, he is super-excited when I return to pick him up. Recently he has been resisting going to daycare. At first he would sit and look at me until I was out of sight. Then he started trying to pull away as I was handing him off to the daycare people. The last few times I took him he would not even get out of the car; he lies curled up his seat, looking at me with eyes that say "I dont wanna go!". It's gotten to the point where he has started to recognize the daycare locations and curl up even before we've parked. I have had to literally drag him out of the car when he does this.

I've tried various tricks to get him excited but nothing works. Treats never work; even the really stinky ones that he usually goes crazy for. I almost got him excited about a toy but even the promise of fetch doesn't get him out of the car. I've tried parking some distance away from the building so it looked less familiar but that got me only a mediocre response; I still had to *really* coax him out of the car.

I think my next plan is to change up his morning routine so he is not expecting the trip to daycare. I usually feed him, walk, play fetch, and then off to daycare. I think that maybe if I walk/play with him after arriving at the daycare area, this might get him less anxious about leaving me?

I want to create a positive association with daycare for him, but I'm out of ideas. Help!

[Nettle]

You don't want to 'trick' your dog, because they are smart and not so easy to trick, and because he will then stress every day in case he is going to daycare. He is a very stressy breed mix.

You could try some herbal calmers, under the direction of your vet if s/he is open to the suggestion. There are many available, but do your research thoroughly - you don't want a chemical cosh, just a calmer. You could try another daycare. You could try a dog-sitter, either at your home or theirs.

The teeth damage may be innocent - a lot of dogs damage their teeth this way from carrying stones or other hard objects, or playing tug too much.

[JudyN]

I would also ask the staff at daycare how he is when he's there. Also consider the environment - are the dogs allowed a free-for-all, regardless of how well they get on, would the staff be able to recognise a stressed dog? (Surprisingly many can't.) Could you stay for a while and observe? He may be better in a much smaller group in a home environment.