WebCam Update

We are so excited to have found a new webcam contractor and provider. Onlinedoggy.com will now be running our webcam. They are sending us the new equipment and we should receive it mid week next week (around August 8th). This new system is top of the line and the customer service is also top of the line. You will still be able to access all the cameras and the log in process will be much simpler. We will still allow for up to 100 people to log in at once so you will never get an error message. Yes, all activities will still be recorded. Once the system is up and running, we may switch out our cameras as well. We purchased them 5 years ago and the technology has improved greatly since then. The new system itself may clear up some of the quality issue so we will wait and see on that. The best part of onlinedoggy.com is that they provide all the customer service to our clients. If you encounter any problem using our webcams, you can call them direct and talk to live computer support to get it working on any computer. We will post more once the system is live....hopefully next week.

Wags & Wiggles, Part Deux

Yes, the rumors are true. We are starting Wags & Wiggles, Part Deux in the Irvine Area. There isn't too much news to post yet on the project. We just started drawing up the plans and submitting the appropriate paperwork to the city. This is going to be quite the project. The building and lot are huge. We've already had a huge response of people wanting to attend the grand opening which will probably happen sometime late fall. Don't worry all your favorite people will still be at the original Wags. We are only stealing Lysa away who will be co-owner and running the new facility. There are many things to prepare for this new venture so that is why I have been slow to blog and get new pics up on the website. For all you recent class grads, the pics will be up by the end of the week.

Today at daycare, the dogs had so much fun. With the recent heat and rain, we had quite a few attendees today who took the opportunity to run and play. We had the misters going full steam so everyone stayed cool and active. In the small dog room, Slinky, Teddy and Coconut came in ready to rock and roll. Boots the BC pup and Chuck did major zoomies chasing each other around. Cali the Golden Pup held her status as the smartest pup of the day. Sadie the sheltie loved playing in the water bucket. MJ, Bailey the ShihTzu, and Charlie the cutest cocker pup were always in a wrestling pile. Oliver & Tiki the chihuahuas reigned king and queen on top of the jungle gym. Sookie and Rascal the papillons became fast friends and followed each other constantly.

In the big dog room, Rachel, Jillian, and Tim had all the good gossip on the dogs today. They couldn't wait to share for the blog. It was definitely husky day today with Paris, Zoe, Brody, Grayson, Kodiak, Bonita, and the new one ....Tara. Wow, it must be a record. Max the Aussie the Buck the Airedale were tumbling and wrestling from one end of the yard to the other. Rootbeer and Dollie were so happy to be here on the same day today. They really play well together. Opah and Cali were in heaven, wrestling right under a mister in the yard. They layed in the sun to dry off and rest up for Round 2. Tessie and Jojo were best friends today. Tessie started to flirt and Jojo obliged. Lily the wheaten and Padme the doodle played hide and go seek. Kelly's mom reported that all she has to do is say my name and Kelly starts to run around looking for me....that's so awesome! She followed me everywhere today. Sadie the B. Lab and Harley the JRT were totally in love and were up in the air bumping chests and wrestling. Jackson the ShepX (one of Dave's favorite dogs) and Wrigley the y. Lab were best friends. Rascal the Hound who is so super sweet gave us tons of kisses. Lucky the Golden the Jane had a love affair today. Ashland, a new employee, has fit in great and gave tons of butt scratches today to Sammy Jo and Frankie. Jake the Shep had quite a lot to say to Melissa today and he kept us entertained.

Thanks for coming by to visit us today. We love all your kids...every single one.

First I have to tell what great fun we all had at the Del Mar Wags for Wishes Event. It's the largest dog event in the US. There is agility competition, lure coursing, obedience, conformation, flyball, frisbee, dock dogs, the works. A lot of our agility students were debuting for the first time. Our agility clients become great friends as we take the journey together to train our dogs to compete in a team sport between man (or woman) and dog. It's quite the undertaking. Neither member of the team speak the same language and are from totally different species. The human member of the team must be patient, have a really good sense of humor, and above all get excited about their dog's training. My own dogs did very well this weekend. We didn't get tons of q's (qualifying runs) this weekend but we ran fast and had fun. That is ultimate goal. My students on the other hand rocked the house. Lysa with Guiness got 1st place in jumpers. Julia with Parker also got 1st place in jumpers. This was only her 2nd trial. Ian and Misty also got a 1st place with a blazing front cross the finish their course on top. Ian let me run Brandy his other sheltie in Novice. Her and I love each other. Lisa and Benson the lab came back after a haitis. He didn't qualify but he tried really hard to please his mom. Donna and Jezebelle were extremely impressive. They got 2nd place, their first run of their very first trial ever! She blazed her other courses as well. Diane with Buster the Brittany had great fun. Buster did his weaves ...yeah! He even conquered his fear of the chute and panel jump. Ranaye let me run Claudia the great dane in her first trial. She was a little worried and looked for mom but finished off strong. Bryce (son of Ranaye who is only 12) got to run my dog Easy in a masters level course. It was a great thrill for him and he almost qualified! He's a cool kid. Our cheerleaders consisted of Roxy the Cockapoo, Tchotkes the chihuahua, Tango & Lizzie the border collies, Max the Basenji, and Chezzy the Irish Setter. These guys are up and coming teams to watch for. Seeing all my students & friends running an agility course and having fun gives me such great happiness. Another great moment was when my puppy Gator got to try lure coursing for the first time. His natural instinct kicked in immediately and he chased that thing with a vengeance. By the third day of lure coursing, he was barking and screaming while chasing that darn bunny (not really folks....not a real bunny...it's a plastic bag on a line that goes really fast around a field). Gator will talk about his lure coursing adventure in our next email newsletter. You can sign up on the website if you don't get it already.

It's All About The Dog

The music starts, the crowd cheers, and through the curtains arrive the first set of contenders for the WWF (Wags Wrestling Federation). The referees are Annie the Basset, Buckwheat the Golden, and Betsy the Border Collie. They stop the action whenever a foul is committed. Versace and Ziggy start off the event with some major wrestling moves. It was an even match. Corby the poodle waited for his wrestling partner Jerry Bear the poodle to arrive. They couldn't wait for their official starting time and their match started with a good game of chase to get the blood pumping before the wrestling started. Bailey the black lab pup and Rex the puggle were up next. Rex was called for excessive barking and the match was suspended. Padme the doodle and Sadie the collie had the best moves with the old dodge and weave. Digby and Diamond the lab like it rough! There were teeth flying and it was all in fun. Betsy took a break from her judging assignment to flirt with Caine. Guiness who was just a spectator at this point got belly rubs from Jillian. Blue the dobie pup and Roxy the aussie were a little too flirtatious and got a foul call from the judges. Walter got the crowd back on their feet as he showed off his Kong toy. Sage and Sedona created quite the controversy as their wrestling match ended up in kisses. Jackie O and Harry the Jack Russells chose some old school wrestling moves which involved a big red ball and catch me if you can. Gracie the Black Lab (sister to Jackie O) started off the match by selecting her partner in an unusual way. She stalked Lincoln the cattle dog until he gave in and wrestled. Chance the Jack Russell who hadn't visited us in two years saw his long lost friend Nick and they wrestled quietly and happily for over an hour. And finally, Molson and Jack the Weimie crash out in the sun to discuss the days events and take a quick nap.

A Day In The Life of a DDC Owner

I'm sorry it has been so long since we posted. You guys are keeping us sooooo busy! So to make up for it I am going to post twice today. First, I thought I would give you a day in the life of dog daycare owner. So the day starts at 6am since I have 6 furry kids of my own to care for...oh ah the elderly cat that needs special food, attention, meds the works. She's more work than the dogs. I arrive at Wags at 7am to help with the non-socialites. That is our code name for the dogs that are here for the Ruff Love Program that need extra time and care to be incorporated into the play group. These are not aggressive dogs just undersocialized/fearful and need a smaller play group in the morning to get adjusted. Katie is organizing the 30 or so food bowls for breakfast for the boarders. Oliver helps at the back door usher each dog into their kennel to be fed separate. Kyle arrives to clean each kennel and helps hand feed if necessary. Every kennel is cleaned top to bottom every day even if the dogs were perfectly clean. Wouldn't you want a freshly laundered bed each night in your doggie suite? Amy & Tracy are taking dogs back to the play area as they arrive (usually at least 65 of them in the first hour....whew!) so we all jump in to help if a crowd arrives.

Julia and Ranaye arrive to organize the dayschools and other training dogs. Today will be hectic. With 9 board/trains dogs and 11 dayschool lessons it takes a lot of planning to make sure each dog gets its appropriate lesson and time. We list each dogs, what skill is to be worked and which trainer is in charge of that dog for the day. Jenny arrives to start the transports for the day. She gets the van ready and jets off to local homes to pickup eager daycare dogs. She arrives back just in time to help Lysa with her Wed classes. About this time I finish my yard duties and arrive to help "test" the board/train dogs. They get weekly tests to ensure they are on the right track. I start with Bonnie & Clyde whose jumping problem was night and day better from the previous week, Molly the hound now actually comes when called, and Princess the rat terrier is barking much less at new people. Test day was a success. Then Julia loads up some dogs and the training apprentices (Cradele & Lisa M) and heads off to RSM lake to meet with some training clients and get go home videos taped. Each board/train dogs gets a training dvd of their time with us.

Back in the front office, Amy & Tracy are doing the 100 or so daycare charts marking daily notes from clients and relaying the information to the floor supervisors in back. (Didgery has epilespy now, Molly is recovering from a torn ligament, Bailey had an upset tummy this morning from eating too much grass at home, and Sydney has small boo boo on her nose that we are supposed to keep an eye on.) Tracy gets ready for her 3 new dog interviews this morning while Amy heads to the play area for her daily meeting with the Floor Supervisors. Rachel and Tim discuss the two new daycare dogs and how well they are doing. Jillian heads off to start the daily baths (Connor gets an extra bath since she decided to roll in something icky). At noon, more employees arrive to start the afternoon shift. Lori gets the incoming boarders setup and checked in. We have a couple new staffers as we added some shifts and I get some pics of them as they walk in the door to update the website. I then give Chris my order for some new daycare toys and answer some training questions at the front counter.

So I head to my office realizing that almost half the day is gone. I check my voicemail (5 messages) and my email (38 emails since last night). I return all the inquires and questions as I wolf down some lunch my hubby brought me. I do some bday updates on the website and get my notes together to do my blog. I take a few minutes to do some agility training with my own dogs and then it is back next door to process some class registrations. My hubby then helps me get setup up for my night classes (Mondays and Tuesdays are incredibly long with working 7am-5pm at the daycare and then teaching from 5-8 at night). However it's all worth it when I hear every day how I make the lives of my human and doggie clients better.

Rockin' Wed

I think everyone who lives in the area came to Wags & Wiggles today. We had another record day. We set a record for how many cavaliers we had in one day: Jayden, Ben, Charlie (2 of them), Riley, Maggie, Rhett, Lola, & Avery. They kept the room very busy with kisses and cuddles. Tanner the bassett pup introduced Choc the beagle and Lexie the Corgi. She got the two new kids to get down and boogie. Timber the new shep pup never stopped until he crashed fast asleep at the end of the day. Bella the brittany pup is a staff favorite and is totally adorable. It was nice to see Buddy the cockapoo back in action. Rosie the silky terrier and Kiddo the min pin were best pals. Lola the coton and Odie O were very cute laying side by side. Breezy the poodle got preferential treatment and got to hang with small kids.

In the big dog room, it was a record for golden retrievers: Ranger, Buckwheat, Loke, Casey, Molson, Cody, Annie (Amy's baby), Buddy, Stanley, Savanna, & Elway! Molly the cocker helped Kyle and Dave fix a water spout. She kept taking off with their tools....lol! Tahiti the border collie helped introduce Minnie & Dottie the two new bc mixes. Sedona had a great day while mom recovers from a broken foot. Ziggy & Maddie the spaniel became best friends today. They played great and then slept on top of each other. Sage & Virgil developed a torid love affair. Sage would not stop flirting until Virgil finally gave in. Nacho & Jazz the beagles and Bailey the Basset are best friends forever. They were inseparable.

The trainers were very busy today too! Jayden, Angel, Calais, Cali, Molly, Bonnie & Clyde were all board/train dogs. Jayden gets a visit from the parents today. Angel got incorporated in the daycare and learned how to play for the first time. Molly learned how to bring back her toy and Cali finally got her go to the mat command. Then we had the dayschoolers. Meesha and Raffi got their sit/stay. Boomer & Sydney worked on come when called and Sydney worked on getting introduced to strange people. Carly worked on her quiet command. Mochi worked on leave it with other dogs around. Jackie O, Gracie, & GAbby all walked together learning not to pull and focus in public. Our wonderful 4 chocolate labs (Asia, Sydney, Capri, & Sicily) impressed all the clients with their rock solid stay in the lobby. Talk to you soon!

Weekend Warriors

Saturday we had an open enrollment. Often times when people call for an interview to get their dog setup for daycare there is a 1-2 week wait for appointments. So we hold an open enrollment when anyone can come down during certain hours. This was our most successful one ever with 15 new dogs starting daycare and 23 interviews total. We had 7 front office staffers to interview, give tours, the works. Chuy the Cavalier, Mia the Yellow Lab, and Easy the Aussie were the interview dogs for the day. They always love to greet the new kids and be office helpers for a short time. The cookies afterwards aren't too bad either. Sr. Bailey the Golden Retriever was the first newbie of the day. Bailey & Tanner the puggles were adorable. Honey's parents brought down Harley their new dog. He thought Wags was the coolest ever! DJ the eskimo revisited us, he hadn't been to daycare in 4 years. Jack & Harvey the bichons who were recent grads from Level 1 obedience used their grad present (free day of daycare) to try it out. Their parents are so great. They adopted these kids and are really working through their socialization issues. Coco Pierre was the most playful poodle ever in the small kids room and Evy the handsome chocolate standard poodle raced around the big kid room. Rocky the boston terrier who first visited us as a tiny puppy came in for some fun. Boots the white and black mixed breed sat quietly at first observing the action and then came alive by leading a game of chase. Catch & Hanna's dad brought in his new pup Jazz. He's gonna be huge! Sneekerz, Ozzie, & Kalley were all new too! They all had a lot to say about their adventures. Molly the Shep X and Annie the Terrier X were both really happy to get off the leash and get into the action. Last but not least, Bonnie & Clyde's parents stopped by to sign up for Ruff Love Program (30 day board/train). They are twin 5 month old golden retrievers. We can't wait to train them!

Some of the dogs who visited us for daycare this Saturday were Raffi & Meesha the aussies. They were playing so hard it was like crash em up derby. Spencer the cocker got into a chase game with Woody & Blue the aussies. Georgie the yellow lab pup and Molly the wheaten were inseparable. Oliver the Terrier and Jack the Shep X pup played hide and go seek. Jeter the black lab and Harley the Husky wrestled for almost 2 hours under the misters. Boomer the yellow lab was wondering what the heck was going on as Lysa followed him around with a camcorder. Mom had ordered a daycare dvd of his antics at daycare. The small dog room had some of my favorite dogs including Buddy & Tallulah. I love them! Greta a new doxie pup got so much attention I don't think her feet ever hit the ground. Archie & Jet and Frankie & Rebel were next door neighbors overnight and continued their fun in the play area. Whew! I'm exhausted. I want to thank all the great staffers who are our weekend warriers and care of all the dogs on Sat & Sun.