Sookie the camp reject...

Sookie has always had a tendency to gravitate more towards people then other dogs. She is a precocious 2 year old who loves to sniff people and give them kisses when the opportunity arises. This usually works out fine but every so often I have heart palpitations as she goes to kiss a child who barely stands at her level. Luckily as of yet we have not been kicked out of Petsmart for knocking down little kids, but who knows there is always next time.

Working my previous job meant long hours that Sookie was alone at home. After several incidents of excessive couch chewing the vet suggested maybe Sookie just wasn't ready to be left out. She said that we should consider going back to crated her while we were out or enrolling her in daycare. The vet suggested this as my anxiety ridden dog paced the exam room in an obsessive manner. The vet also made a comment with a soft laugh "I can see lack of exercise isn't the problem." So with that suggestion I tried to enroll Sookie at Camp Bow Wow. The brochure looked awesome and I figured for a hyper dog she would love to run around with other dogs.

Camp Bow Wow's brochure states there is a trial day for the dog. You get to drop the dog off free of charge while they observe how the dog does with the other dogs and then lets you know at the end of the day whether he/she passes the test.

I woke up one day for my appointment and brought Sookie down. The first sign this was going bad should have been when the dog refused to get out of the car and I had to drag her. I finally coerced the dog into the lobby of the camp and she found her way to the staff who was to judge my dogs suitability and manners. My dog apparently from the start seemed submissive and the staffer was concerned. She asked me not to leave yet as she was going to do a short test run in the back to see how she did with a puppy.

Well 10 minutes later she came back and informed me that this wasn't going to work as Sookie cowered in fear of a puppy who barely came up to her knees. Oh great! She suggested behavior therapy and I suggested we never come back.