Dear Scampers People –
We’re growing by leaps and bounds… again! We are so pleased to see new pooches arrive each week – each one is a new delight, and all the wranglers and campers are excited to welcome them to the community.
Reminder: Reservations Highly Recommended
With new dogs joining the roster, our attendance numbers continue to climb too. We’re very happy to see all your wonderful pooches, but it becomes increasingly important that we have advance notice of your plans to bring your pooches. We keep a few drop in slots available for emergencies, but as we are limited by our current staffing and physical build out, we have reached our current maximum number twice this week. If at all possible, please try to let us know when you’ll be coming. A “Reply” to this email works very well, as does a quick phone call.
Don’t Forget Flea Prevention!
In our households, flea prevention meds are administered on the first day of each month, so this is top of mind for us and we thought we’d share the reminder. All Scampers Campers are required to be on a flea prevention program – we definitely do not want to have those nasty beasties around!
Pooch of the Month, March 2012 – Voting Now Open!
We’ve been taking shots! Lots and lots of shots! Voting for March’s Pooch of the Month is now open. Visit our Facebook page to vote for your favorites.
Pooch Needs a Spruce-Up? Chris Sugarbaker of Cut-’N-Run – Next Visit is Tuesday, March 6th
Chris will be at Scampers for his bi-weekly grooming visit on Tuesday, March 6th. 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.
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.
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.
Stina Hughes and
Linda Olsen, Partners