I'm sipping tea and watching James Harriot's "All Creatures Great and Small," and I began thinking about this little dilemma we have, Farrah and I. Firstly, when I was growing up, I totally wanted the James Harriot experience. This involved living in a little stone cottage in the country with my family and animals, doing my best to help them while being self sufficient in the old country style. I feel very lucky, looking back, to find myself basically there, but there are still quite a few things that I haven't been able to work out on my own.
Farrah is enrolled in puppy classes at a nearby training center that is affiliated with the Tacoma HS. I really, really like this center and their training philosophy. I have taken 4 classes there so far with Grym and Farrah, and I can honestly say that this puppy training experience has been wonderful. I mean, I am learning new things every week, where-as at our old dominance/alpha facility, I felt like I was taking steps backwards.
Farrah has been approved for daycare, but she is required to have a bordetella vaccine in order to attend. I don't routinely give this to my dogs, as I like to keep vaccines as minimal as possible (and as required by law). I also don't think it's worth giving, I don't think she needs it, and I don't want to over-vaccinate my breeding bitch. Part of my issue is also safety. I trust the staff, but it would be horrible if a strange dog mauled her and that prevented her from being shown and bred.
The dilemma is, do I give on these points in favor of socializing and exercise? I'm home all day as it is, and she does socialize at the classes we attend about 2-3 times a week. Lest we forget, she does have a pack of 4 other dogs at home to learn from, in addition to the play dates she gets with her Shiba friends Penny and Eli, and outings to the pet friendly stores. She does get plenty of exercise each day playing with the other dogs here and zooming around the acre. This was pretty much why I wanted a pack and some land, so I wouldn't have to rely on dog walkers and daycare. Is it worth it to give her the vaccine so she can get 1 extra day a week at a daycare?
For your viewing pleasure, a photo album of a day in the life of my Shibas, and their Shiba friends on a playcare day:
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| Penny and Farrah |
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| Eli, Farrah and Beebe |
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| Eli |
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| Grym and some curly tails |
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| Checking out fences |
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| Beautiful sunny day in the back 40 by the shop |
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| Penny |
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| Farrah checks out the new chicken coop |
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| My gardner |
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| Ike and his favorite Auntie Pam |
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| Butt sniff chain |
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| Ike likes laying in the grass and taking in the view |
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| Penny and Eli drool over the chickens |
What do you think or what would you do? Are there benefits or cons that I am overlooking? Fun question: what would one of James Harriot's clients say about dog daycare?
