Dear Scampers People –

We hope everyone enjoyed their Valentine’s Week – after all, why limit all that chocolate to just one day?! We Scampers wranglers are grateful for all the running fun your pooches are providing us – it’s great exercise and lots of fun!

Presidents’ Day
Scampers will be open on Presidents’ Day, Monday, February 20th.

Pooch Needs a Spruce-Up? Chris Sugarbaker of Cut-’N-Run – Next Visit is this coming Tuesday, February 21st
Chris will be at Scampers for his bi-weekly grooming visit on Tuesday, February 21st. If your dog needs some sprucing up, be sure to claim your dog’s spot with him right away – his schedule has filled up completely on more than one occasion.

Reminder: Pick Ups and Drop Offs – The Doggy Do Si Do
You are all aware of our “airlock” safety gate at our front door – it limits the possibility of even the most agile of Scampers Campers scrambling out the door.

There are other safety issues associated with pick-ups and drop-offs that you should be aware of. While all of our dogs possess wonderful personalities, we recognize that: first, some pairings are less ideal and unplanned meetings could escalate into aggression; second, some dogs enjoy jumping up on people; third, confusion increases the possibility of a frantic dog finding his way through the airlock.

If you have been in the reception area at the same time as another family, you may also have seen Leash Aggression or Barrier Frustration. These are two common behavior issues where normally lovely pooches become very agitated at being prevented from reaching the object of their curiosity or concern – and it’s best if we keep it that way, as dogs who are very good play pals during the course of their Scampers day can become quite aggressive toward each other under this circumstance.

To avoid these kinds of issues, we try to choreograph the exchange such that there is only one dog or family of dogs in the reception area at a time while we work through our pick-ups and drop-offs. Please forgive us if there are busy times when you’ll need to wait a moment or two, and know that it is best for the safety of every dog and their humans.

Pooch Health – a Cooperative Effort
Please remember your role in protecting the health of your own dog as well as all the Scampers Campers. If your dog is displaying symptoms that warrant veterinary care, please ask your veterinarian if or when return to a daycare environment is appropriate. Also, as a reminder, we maintain a policy that all Scampers campers must have current vaccinations. Please keep your dog’s vaccinations current, and ask your veterinarian to forward a copy of any updated vaccination records to Scampers via fax. Finally, please ask your vet to place your dog on a 6-month reminder cycle for bordetella (kennel cough), letting them know that your dog participates in daycare.

Pawlogic’s One-on-One Private Training
Pawlogic is offering a great deal to Scampers Campers – Cathy is offering one-on-one private training for your dogs during their day at Scampers, in half hour time slots, and customized to your requirements. Your dog will come home with an itemized report card and maybe even some homework for you! You’ll also get a complimentary pass to drop in on one of the Pawlogic group classes. For more information on Pawlogic one-on-one training or the group classes, call Cathy at 425-443-5280.

Photos and Video
We are posting videos on YouTube as well as Facebook, Flickr and the Scampers Blog. Take a tour from time to time to see if there are any new shots of your pooch in action.

Stina Hughes and
Linda Olsen, Partners