Baltimore City Paper
Best Dog Day Care 2007
If you’ve gotta leave your beloved beagle in someone else’s care for the day, you don’t want to drop him off at just any old storefront advertising that it’s a “doggy day care.” You want to be sure that what goes on in the canine romper room is clean and comfortable and, most importantly, that it’s safely supervised by competent staff who understand canine behavior. You want to find a place like Charm City Dogs. We love that this place is sanitary, water is always available, and that it’s decorated with whimsical murals of urban-park scenes. We love that it offers behavioral advice and training classes, so you can learn how to make your dog a better canine citizen. We are thrilled that CCD offers live web cams so you can keep tabs on what your dog and his buddies are up to during the day. But even more than that, we love that it’s staffed with dedicated dog lovers and trainers who know what it takes to keep the canines in their care safe and sound till you come to pick them up at the end of the day.
Baltimore Magazine
Best of Baltimore, 2007
Why not treat Rover to a day full of mingling at Charm City Dogs, 401 N. Gay Street, 410-637-3647, while you’re toiling at the office? Not only will he make friends in the 3,700-square-foot facility, but he can take obedience classes and even get groomed while he’s there. The canine-loving Charm City team will treat your favorite heavy-breather like a member of the family, and he’ll never be bullied (all Charm City dogs must pass a temperament screening). When you pick him up, he’ll be happy and ready for some one-on-one time with his real best friend: you.
The Ultimate Pet Guide
Charm City Dogs operates more like a preschool than a pet day care center. There are two cage-free playground areas filled with brightly colored Little Tykes toys, a time-out area for those in need of a little downtime, and a dry erase board with every dog’s name to help keep all the details (medicine, snacks, bathroom times) straight. Owner David Crowther greets his furry charges by name, and thanks to a focus on socializing, your canine will be as dog-tired as you are at the end of each day. Don’t expect to receive that annual goofy preschool picture, though. Instead, three webcams enable you to get your Fluffy fix in real time as you procrastinate over that pile of paperwork.
Baltimore Examiner
Teach your old dog new tricks
If you’ve ever said, “I love my dog, but I wish he would…” then Charm City Dogs’ workshop might be the place for you. The Creative Dog Workshop teaches owners how to inspire creativity in their dogs.
Using operant conditioning, in which rewards are used instead of punishment, the workshop consists of theory-based activities and introductions to new objects.
“This seminar shows owners how clever and intelligent their dogs are, and how much fun it can be to have the dog be a part of the learning and training process,” said Carolyn Stromer, the daycare manager for Charm City Dogs. “It also opens up the possibilities of the behaviors you can train. Once the dog learns the way of being creative, there’s a whole new world of what you can do with them.”
Stromer said that the workshop has attracted plenty of out-of-town owners. “It’s exciting to us, because we get a chance to take them out and really explore Baltimore, and see what sort of a dog-friendly city this is.”
The two-day workshop is an opportunity to participate in a roundtable-training atmosphere.
“Any sort of operant conditioning builds confidence, both for the dog as an individual and for the training team of the dog and owner,” trainer Lauren Bond said. “It also keeps things really fresh. Doing ‘sit’ over and over again gets boring, but this way, the dog tries new things and meets new challenges.”
Emily Kinnaird, a small-animal veterinarian in Charlottesville, is bringing her 30-pound mixed breed dog, Martini, to the workshop to soothe the dog’s anxiety around new things.
“This gives her a chance to go to a hotel and experience elevators and an urban environment,” she said. “My ideal result for Martini is to see her relax in a fun environment. Learning new tricks isn’t as important to me as helping her to interact in a new situation and help her be comfortable in learning new skills.”
Richmond resident and dog trainer Leann Harris hopes to learn more about shaping and clicker training for her 6-year-old rat terrier, Tide. “In traditional dog training, you have the dog on a leash, and you pull the leash to give the dogs cues about what you want him to do. In clicker training, you are trying to let the dog think, to be creative, to become operant,” she said. “It allows the dog to sit and figure out what you want him to do, instead of jerking him around.”
