I had been working at different doggie daycares for 5 years, but recently found myself in the position of opening my own and both the game and the rules were different. All of a sudden, it was all me. The preliminary steps taken to achieve doggie harmony had always been done by someone else and I got to do the fun parts (show up, play with dogs for a few hours and then go home). For the first time I was doing the temperament tests, controlling the dogs'  environment and finding the right mix of dogs. I decided that I needed some help in understanding dog behavior and language, so both my mother (who works with me) and I took Nikki's Daycare seminar. We got so much out of it that we enlisted her help on a one on one basis at Bark-O-Lounge. Now we understand calming signals, warnings, acceptable humping, splitting and much more. It has made a huge difference in, not only our interactions with the dogs, but their interactions with each other. For example, on the second day of opening we had a large lab, Harrison, that was being aggressive to the other dogs. We followed Nikki's step by step rules for handling the situation and was amazed at how quickly the situation turned around. Within hours Harrison not only kept his aggression in check, but for the rest of the day when the play of the other dogs got too rough he would separate the dogs and look to us for approval. We had 2 small puppies that day and Harrison also became their protector from unwanted attention from the other dogs and again looked to us for approval each time he intercepted. Nikki is a great teacher, but  also a great friend. She made a point to go out of her way and attend The Bark-O-Lounge Yappy Hour meet and greet and stopped by opening day, as well - above and beyond. Nikki's instruction is invaluable and highly recommended.
 
Bark-O-Lounge family
Nashville!