Advice dog injured at day care

[ChestyNut]

Just a what would you do really?

Had personal recommendations and researched a company who do supervised dog play/exercise. Excellent reviews all seemed good.

ChestyDog attended for trial session, good reports from them but noticed day after more submissive, ears back, tail tucked, quiet.
Put it down to new situation/ change to routine.

Yesterday returned after 2hours and noticed after dropped off poor ChestyDog has wounds to all 4 elbows

They deny all knowledge, said she snapped at a dog after 5 mins so put back in van in a cage so couldn’t have happened with them.

She did not have any injuries when she left us.

Obviously she is never leaving my side again and we’re caring for wounds and will seek vet care if needed.

Would you do anything else?

Friends are outraged but if dog company say nothing happened and I’d like to think they wouldn’t knowingly let injuries happen what else is there to do?

It appears I am submissive when it comes to these things just like ChestyDog

I don’t think there’s much else you can do. Leave a bad review ? Keep it factual in that the injuries are unexplained but Chestydog was clearly unhappy.
Nothing they can sue you for, just stick to the facts you know.

:( I don't think there is much you can do either.. but I'd avoid any care setting that has multiple, not previously introduced dogs for a play session.. there is just too great a possibility that some dogs won't get on.
I'm a bit of a coward so I'd probably just concentrate on building up chestydog's confidence again and find dog care that suits. I started my girl with a dog walker and she was introduced to just one dog at first, then a second to see how they got on on walks, and the dog walker keeps to a group of three max that are ok together.

What sort of wounds? A wound to all 4 elbows sounds very atypical? Send them pictures and demand to know how the dog got them? Take to a vet to get documented as well.

Dragged along on a lead not standing up? Trying to picture a scenario...

@MsKeats they just say they don’t know and didn’t happen with them I sent them photos.

Her front elbows are almost like bad grazes or pressure sores.
Poor girl

Wound to all elbows sounds odd. Could he have skidded on a surface? Really can't think how that could have happened. I would go to the vets as they might shed more light.

My dog has been injured at daycare (no other dogs involved). I am off the mind that these things happen but I have a good relationship with my daycare and his injuries could have happened on my watch (and they do) just as much there.

@Sunnydaysstillhere I really can’t picture how they happened. She’s a SBT so not a little thing. All I can think is if they’ve left her in the van cage and they didn’t have padding down and she’s been distressed.

I feel so guilty that I sent her

And this happened after just 2 hours?!

I would be really upset!

So they caged her alone all day because she snapped?

They sound like idiots. Report them to your local council - they'll need to be licensed

What have dog company said they will do? Were they apologetic? If the sores are that bad, I cannot believe the dog would not have complained about it at the time, the poor thing

@BiteyShark yep injuries happen it’s more that they didn’t mention it, have no idea how it happened and are saying didn’t happen in their care. She didn’t have wounds when she left us as I’d checked her.

My own fault for sending her I guess, won’t happen again

How many settling in sessions did you have, where you stayed with her?

So initially they said all was great then said they created her for the full time after five mins? They changed their story after you retired injuries? I would write reviews, write a letter of complaint, complain to anyone they are registered with etc.

I wouldn’t be bothered about an injury happening - they do - but the lying and the inconsistency and the oddness of the injury don’t sound good.

@RadioActiveBrain yes she was gone 2 hours.
They haven’t said they’ll do anything.

Our ddog was injured at the kennels while we were on holiday - it was from our own other ddog - they couldn't apologise enough and it wasn't their fault! One of the staff took her for stitches at her own vet as the one the kennels used was expensive! Great service and detail to animal welfare (and my pocket!)
Leave an honest review op. And contact the authorities to get it checked out. Maybe rspca if they are flouting rules and having too many ddogs together (?).

Utterly disgusting that "care" is leaving a dog alone in a cage in a van.

Thankyou all for advice

She seems better this morning, have bathed the wounds and she’s had a walk in the park.
Enjoying a peanut mutter kong.

Lesson learned she won’t be going anywhere else apart from our trusted holiday sitter if needed.

Can you put a picture of the wound on here so we can get a better idea?I would be absolutely furious to be honest. Are they apologetic at all?

They changed their story after you retired injuries?

This rings alarm bells too

What a horrible experience.

If it helps; I thought my dog wasn’t a day care kind of dog (ran away from one, was not himself at all, hated it) until we found one that he absolutely loves: he cries at the door to be let in! If you gave him a choice between the beach, the park and doggy day care I’m pretty sure he’d choose doggy day care!

But it is a home setting, only four dogs (two of them are her own) and it’s for his specific breed only. She’s wonderful with them. Also I didn’t just drop him off at first, I had to go along with him and hang out for cups of tea etc while he got used to it. Well worth it for how happy and safe he feels.

So maybe don’t give up on day care completely.

Pets at home do a fab lotion for a fiver op.. Purple bottle.
Glad your ddog is a bit better.

Your poor dog. I can only think being dragged along on lead as another poster said or no padding in crate. Either scenario is unacceptable.Don’t blame yourself as you did the right thing with recommendation first.

I have had dogwalkers that did not suit my (then) dog. I quickly noticed because that dog was not her usual self/subdued and rather miserable. As soon as I stopped the arrangement and found a (kinder) person who suited her, her demeanour completely changed. It made me realise how miserable she had been for a couple of weeks. That dog died a good few years ago but I still feel guilty about that.

With yours being an SBT (like my current dog), it is possible they did not know about the wounds as SBT tend to not show pain or make a fuss. However, I am alarmed that your dog was submissive in body language and quiet with tail tucked away on the first trial, before she had the crating and wounds. It does sound as if she had some less than kind treatment and was upset.

I agree with Handsoffisback