Spotswood aqis pens and exercise yards. And whether to visit or not.

[Archies owner]

Recently I have received several enquiries and potential client statements about quarantine, and thought it might be useful sharing some of the information here. DISCLAIMER: Yes I visit dogs at spotswood, and NO I am not employed or anyway connected with them.

 

I have visited quite a few dogs in quarantine and have found that they range from completely unaffected by the flight and travel and removal from the owner's to those that seem to assume 'normal' behaviour by about the two week mark. Very few dogs remain overly anxious the entire time, unless that is their 'regular' state.

 

By normal behaviour I mean that they change from anxious or doing repetitive almost OCD things (when they arrive) to running, sniffing and taking an interest in the walker and other dogs in the area. Basically being social.

 

People ask me about whether they should visit their dogs in quarantine. And I know a few people who have travelled weekly from past Adelaide to be with their dogs, but these have mostly been very dedicated breeders.

 

The answer about visiting will be contentious, since I provide a service and have self interest, but I am willing to be a target. Just please don't send any BS about how I dont care or don't have the dog's best interest at heart. What my view is, is that the dogs should be visited as often as possible (only two times a week by public members) if it is going to make the dog happier. Some staff have told me, and it is obvious that with the number of dogs in the stations, that some dogs may only get 1 or 2, 15-20 minute yard visits per week to the yards. These visits have to be supervised and their are limited staff, to keep costs down.

 

The only issue about owner's themselves visiting, which I have had stated by themselves to me over and over, is if the owner is overly emotionally invested in their dogs and cant fully be with them in the moment in the yards, or cant detach emotionally when they leave - thus reducing separation anxiety. A lot of owner's feel that they will be upset themselves when leaving and their pets will easily pick up on this, and this is true. That will probably make the overall value of the visit negative for the dog as it waits days for the next visit.

 

I would personally visit my dog in quarantine, but then again being a dog walker, I have had experience with many types of dogs and how to place that mask over emotion and reduce separation anxiety. Some clients will use me because they live interstate, some because they are working and earning 4 times what they are paying me per hour. There are many reasons.

 

So to recap, yes getting a dog as many external visits as possible by someone who cares, family member or external agency is ideal for getting your dog freedom on the grass in the yards because they are so much bigger than their cement pen. But please consider how the visitor is going to leave the pets too. I see whole families visit, and their dogs seem ok at the end of the visit, because these are social stable dogs that dont seem to show any separation anxiety, so at the end of the day, you need to work out your own situations of course.

 

May pets and owners be happy during this difficult time. Bruce.

[Archies owner]

Just to allay people's fears more.

 

They are so safety conscious at spotswood that in the recent high wind days, they have closed the yards for the last few days to keep the dogs safe (from falling tree branches and debris etc).

 

And one of the dogs I visit has been moved from her pen because the other little dogs are too loud for her nervous disposition. Where they moved her to actually has thermostat controlled heating. Wouldn't think you would need it in the middle of spring, but Melbourne weather can be unpredictable.