When a Client Enters the Wrong Door, a Scuffle Between Two Dogs Ensues. How Could the Facility Have Prevented It?

BAYROO DOG CARE & TRAINING CENTER is a successful dog day care, boarding and training facility located outside of Houston, TX. Well-established in the community and in business for a decade, it has been voted the best facility many times over by its local paper and it is the pride and joy of owners Miguel and Sienna Garcia. They have always gone above and beyond at their establishment to make sure each dog in their care is treated as if it was their own.

At their facility they have a unique entry and exit area for dog training clients only. This way fearful, reactive or aggressive dogs can come into the facility for their one-on-one training and exit after a session without the stress of entering the busy main entrance of the doggie day care.

After hours one evening, a new client was there with his dog Cooper for private training. Cooper was on the dog aggressive side but was making great strides. As Cooper and his dad were in the lobby of the training area waiting, another owner came bursting in with her dog, Theo. Cooper reacted and they got into a minor scuffle. Theo’s mom was impatient while waiting to drop Theo off for boarding and went in the wrong entrance, even though she was instructed to ring the bell at the main entrance and wait.

“Miguel, for the next round of pet first aid and CPR classes, I want to make sure that every one of our employees is present and taking the class,” Sienna said to him during their monthly planning meeting.

“Hon, yes, but most of our employees just took the class last year,” Miguel said. “They don’t need to be re-certified for another year.”

“Yes I know, but I don’t care,” she said. “I want them all in the class. It is always good to have a refresher, and after last week —”

“OK, I get it,” Miguel said. “But you know, we need to put that into the budget for this month. That is an extra seven people to take the class at $85 a pop for 20 people. That’s $1,700 total.”

“You know it is important and well worth it,” Sienna said. “Safety is our top priority, I can’t —”

“I know,” Miguel said with a look of concern, “I get it was a scary situation, but really Theo was not badly injured considering Cooper’s aggression history.”

“Theo handled it amazingly well. The situation could have been so much worse,” Sienna said. “No matter how many times we told Theo’s mom to buzz the main entrance after hours, we can’t control their human error. That door should have been locked.”

“Listen, our track record for safety for dogs here is amazing,” Miguel said. “This incident, along with one or two minor scuffles in the day care over the years is nothing compared to other places. And if Cooper and his dad were not coming here for training, he probably wouldn’t know what to do in that situation.”

The buzz of the office phone interrupted their conversation. Tara, the receptionist, said Theo’s mom was on the line. Sienna looked at Miguel, terrified.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

She nodded, and Miguel hit the speaker button.

Real Deal Responses

Eric M.
Columbus, NC

Why should the business be responsible for more? I’d be willing to bet the customer wasn’t paying attention or didn’t care about going in the wrong door. I see it all the time. I’m just not sure why we continue to blame the business or the organization for things that people do or cause by not paying attention or respecting signage that’s visible.

Debbie F.
Howell, MI

There should always be some procedure in place for handling an injured client or pet. I would have a keyless entry that training clients can punch in to enter to prevent others from entering the wrong door. When clients are registered to come in for day care/boarding or training, they have a checklist that staff will explain, and both will initial.

Stacy T.
Richfield, OH

The door should definitely be kept locked, and an employee should physically meet clients at the door to ensure safety. People tend not to read signs or warnings when in a hurry and only think about themselves. It sounds like the employees are well trained, and recertification before necessary would be a waste of money, but a meeting addressing this situation and the new protocol of a locked door should be planned. They should apologize to the client and gently remind her of the previous system and the new steps that are being taken to improve upon the safety of all.

Angela P.
Stratford, CT

Plans and procedures should include having a designated place to move the owner and dog away from the rest of the lobby where other owners are coming in. Assess the injuries, and call your facility veterinarian. It is good practice to be aligned with a veterinarian. This can help on costs and credibility. Liability paperwork written along with your attorney should be signed by all participants of your facility. At Wag Central we meet with any potential dog client prior to having them be part of our pack. The meeting, which we call a Personality Profile, really does bring to light what can happen in a social environment of dogs. Perhaps this would make the client who chose not to follow the entry protocol with her dog see how this could adversely affect staff and dogs in the facility. In dog training, the goal is to set up pups for success, and by not following protocol it brought about another pup’s failure.

Stacy B.
Cape Girardeau, MO

We have signs all over our day care that designate employee-only areas or that remind customers (gently) to keep their hands to themselves. You can find funny, unconventional ways to word them, but they need to be there. We also have a release/waiver form that we have every customer sign before a dog comes for day care or training. That reminds customers that we take safety very seriously, but we are not responsible for accidents. I look at it this way, if I took my child to day care and he skinned his knee, I wouldn’t sue the day care. All of our employees are trained in pet CPR/first aid, and we also work with each of them in behavior signs and signals. Being prepared with the trained staff is important.

Elaine R.
San Diego, CA

There should be a lock on the door, so people have to ring a bell for entry. Upon entry there should be a “catch cage.” This prevents animals from running in or out open doors. If a dog is injured, there should be a vet recommendation. The facility should offer to pay for bills associated with injury due to their facility. Follow-up calls should be made to the vet and owner next morning. Do not wait for the customer to call you. Comp all services on their bill. Apologize, apologize, apologize.