Feeling The Love!

What an incredible time this is for all of us. The feeling of love that comes from achieving a dream is unlike any other feeling. We are just finishing spring break. The RSM facility was packed with vacationers. Our staff have been battling the human flu that is going around so many staffers have been doing double shifts and coming in on off days. I always worry about the strain on our employees but they all say they love coming in and seeing their favorite dogs. It makes it all worth it for them. Many of them even stop by on their regular days off or come by to visit the Tustin location. Our website states we are all a family affair at Wags & Wiggles. I never felt this statement was more true than in the last couple weeks.

I personally keep a love file. This is a collection of all our wonderful client emails that remind us why we do this and work the long hours. I just took some time to read the most recent ones and it made me so happy we decided to open the Tustin location. The RSM facility set the example and now Tustin is following in it's footsteps like a small puppy. It means we can reach out to even more people and dogs to help improve the quality of everyone's lives.

The Tustin facility just ended it's second week. We finished up with 20 dogs boarding and 35 dogs overall on Friday. We've already hired and started training more staff. It's so wonderful to see how dedicated the new staff already is to the well being of every dog here. They are constantly asking me and Lysa questions about behavior, activities, health and more. They want everything to be perfect. We are putting the last finishing touches on the facility. The last of the scenic painting is being done, touch ups on the floor, central vac and watering systems, and finally our training center. We have had 100s of calls on when our agility, puppy, and obedience classes will be starting. We are finally getting closer. Classes should start end of May. We are also interviewing for additional trainers to our facility. We are pretty choosy. They must be fluent in the art of positive attitude and reinforcement for our human clients as well as clicker training for our doggie clients. For now, Lysa and I will be teaching the classes but we look forwad to our apprentices getting their wings and starting to teach soon as well. Julia, Ranaye, Jenny, and Lisa are still teaching at RSM and doing a fantastic job! Thank you to everyone!

Obedience Class Superstars

We have all kinds of classes that you can take with your dog here at Wags, and I just wanted to take a moment to talk about my recent class graduates. A few weeks ago my Wednesday night class graduated from Level 1 obedience. Everyone in that class worked really hard throughout the 5 weeks and it showed on graduation day. We had a few dogs living with kids, and the kids came in to be a part of class and learn how to work with the dog too.

Then, just yesterday, I had two great classes graduate, one Level 1 and one Level 2. In Level 2, the class was very advanced and the owners skilled with their dogs. On graduation night we were "leapfroggin" through the parking lot, weaving around one another, and every dog was able to come back to their owner from across the room, even while being tempted with treats or a ball. The graduates were Dash the chocolate lab, Bosley the bearded collie, Ember the aussie, Corby the standard poodle, Kirby the golden doodle, Apollo the chow mix, and even little Chloe the aussie mix, who is only 4 months old. Her mom really got lucky with that dog.

Right after that class our Level 1 class graduated. We had two cavalier brothers who couldn't get enough of each other, Freddy and Albert, and their wonderful owners who are good friends. We also had our training apprentice, Paige, with her border collie Soda, and a recent rescue from the Irvine Animal Shelter, Louie the pit mix and his incredible parents. The great thing about those two is that Paige also works at the shelter and was the one who adopted Louie to his owners. Louie's owners are the model of what a good dog owner should be like. They took notes in class, asked great questions, and did a ton of homework. Louie was a totally different dog on night 5 than when he started. Paige and I are so proud of their efforts and are really happy that Louie got such a wonderful home.

We have a lot more classes available all the time, so if you're looking for a way to connect with your dog and gain some mutual understanding of each other, check out our class schedule.

OPEN FOR BUSINESS

It was our 4th day of business today! Our numbers of dogs has been wonderful. Wednesday, we had 21 dogs. Not bad! Our new staff is doing a great job. They are doing tons of cross training. At some points they are tugging with dogs in the back, interviewing new clients, or building the new play equipment. Everyone is being so supportive and working great as a team. Lysa and I have been working a lot of hours trying to balance a million tasks at once but it sure is easier the second time around. Lysa's parents have been great. They became master dog bed builders, window washing experts, and fed us good lunch each day. Al, my dad, has been busy building the rest of the kitchen items we need (like bins to feed all our guests during boarding) and organzing the construction crew to finish our gates. We will have our first boarding dogs this weekend and we are excited! Chris, my mom, has set up all the books and banking needs....what a relief!!! Wags RSM Staff have been incredible to keep our spirits alive there during the Spring Break. We are constantly asking to borrow or use this or that and need client's info faxed over. I sure miss the RSM STaff and can't wait to come back in a week. Thanks for helping us make this journey so wonderful!