Olive goes to daycare

A bit apprehensive about leaving Olive in a kennel for a week, even though Candlewick is spotless and seems very well run, I decided to give her some experience with their doggy daycare program. I had a meeting to attend last Wednesday, so I left her at Candlewick for some four hours.

Candlewick conducts an evaluation for each candidate for the daycare program. Dogs that don't quite fit in are not allowed into the daycare program, though they may come back for grooming services or overnight. I am happy to report that Olive passed with flying colors. They even provided a "report card" and posted a photo of her on their facebook page!

 

 

"My dog is an honor student at Candlewick Kennels"

 

 

Olive's first day at daycare

 

 

To give her a bit more experience and attempt to establish with her that Candlewick is a good place, I left her there again yesterday while I went north to Amherst for a fiddle lesson. Since I would be at my Tuesday supper group until around 9:00 p.m. I arranged to have my sister pick her up around 5:00. Olive was dropped off at my home and left inside with food and water. She seemed perfectly fine when I got home, while my sister reported that, according to the staff, Olive was exemplary. Perhaps they should provide bumper stickers proclaiming "My dog is an honor student at Candlewick Kennels". I might also keep an eye out for one that says "My border collie is smarter than your honor student".

 

I am still apprehensive about leaving her for a week, but I do feel better knowing that her experiences at Candlewick so far have been positive.

 

 

*********************************************************************

 

At the dog park last Monday I ran into another dog person with a border collie. Her dog "Tess" got along well with Olive. This person told me about an operation in a nearby town that trains dogs as herders, including a program to train goose dogs. The operation is run by someone who travels around the world training herding dogs. As soon as I got home I found "Nutmeg Farms of Portland CT" on the internet and called them, leaving a message. I got a call back within a few hours. An introductory class will be offered in September. I asked to be signed up. Yes, Olive already has a good idea about how to herd sheep, but I don't have any sheep for her to herd. Nutmeg Farms does. That is something to look forward to.

 

I mentioned that I am interested in training Olive as a goose dog. That may be doable, but I was told that to use Olive in that manner I would have to be licensed as a wildlife officer in Connecticut. The penalties for not being licensed are stiff. That is something I will have to look into further.