Scampers Weekly Recap – April 1, 2016

Scampers Weekly Recap - April 1, 2016

In This Issue

Pooch of the Month - April 2016 - Voting Now Open

PupPod's Scampers Launch

Did You Know?

Friday Funny

Heard 'round the water bowl

Scampers Boarding Facility

Pooch need a spruce up?

Your Pix

Recurring Appointments

Scampers Daycare Hours

Dear --Valued Customer--

Spring is here, and giving us a preview of what summer may look like.

We're taking full advantage of it, and having a grand time. The pooch pools have been deployed and all the pool-pooches are having a grand splash party.

Pool pooch people, It's a good idea to have an extra towel in the car - your pooches may be a little damp at pickup time.

Happy April Fools Day!

Pooch of the Month - April 2016 -
Voting Now Open

It's that time again, folks! We've created an album on our Facebook page loaded up with photos of your pooches taken by our staff. To vote for your favorites, open the photos and click on "Like". The winner gets to grace our reception area for the next month. This handsome fellow is the famous Jax R, our March 2016 Pooch of the Month.

Scampers Facebook Bulldog Faceoff

We'll be adding another album with our Bulldog Faceoff. Our Scampers families always get such a charge out of our bulldog photos that we thought we'd give them a category of their own.

This is a preview of our Bulldog Faceoff:
Maximus doing his yoga stretches.

Did you know....

Not all pet trainers or behaviorists are created equal, and what works for one dog may not work for another. In addition to variation among individual dogs and owners, certifications and education among trainers varies greatly. There are very few officially recognized programs to certify trainers and behaviorists, and there are huge jumps between certification levels. So how can you know you’re getting the best training for your beloved pooch?

Science only started to really explore positive psychology (and positive animal behavior modification techniques) in the past 10 years or so. Many trainers still rely on compulsion training, where the owner is encouraged to use force and intimidation to maintain absolute control of the animal at all times. This method comes from a treatise written by a Prussian military general in the early 1900s, and was largely based on studies of man-made wolf packs in captivity.

As the field of positive psychology expanded during the past decade, it fueled research into comparative and evolutionary psychology, leading to a more comprehensive model of animal social interactions and positive behavioral modification techniques.

If you are looking for behavioral modification for your pooch, first consult your vet to rule out any medical conditions which could be affecting behavior. The American Society for Veterinary Behavorists (akin to psychiatrists) can be found at http://avsabonline.org/. Certified Applied Animal Behaviorists hold a Masters or Doctoral degree in Animal Behavior. There are currently fewer than 50 CAABs in the U.S. (http://corecaab.org/faq/).

For routine obedience training (and sometimes behavioral modification), a Certified Pet Dog Trainer program provides minimal assurance of basic behavioral knowledge, although it does not necessarily reflect experience or guarantee positive training techniques.

Regardless of who you choose to train your dog, make sure that the trainer works with you in your home environment (or the problem environment) and provides you with the tools to continue working with your dog yourself.

If you are interested in further information on training techniques or animal behavior education, contact your veterinary behaviorist or email elise@thefoxandthehound.org. Best of luck finding a trainer!

Thanks to Elise Poston for this submission. Look for more Did You Know tidbits from Elise in future editions of Scampers Weekly Recap.

Scampers Online Reservations and Account Management

Our online management system , otherwise known as GingrApp, is cooking along nicely now. If you wish, you are able to create your own login to make your reservations online for boarding and for daycare, upload photos and set up a credit card on file (encrypted to a fare-thee-well!) if you feel so inclined.

By the way, for users who have set up a credit card on file, you may use another card at any time, but please let us know before we run the transaction for you so that we can de-select that account.

Pooch need a spruce up?

Chris Sugarbaker of Cut-N-Run, mobile groomer extraordinaire will make his next bi-weekly visit to Scampers on Tuesday, April 12th. His schedule fills up quickly, though, so make sure to get your reservations in early.

Feel free to give us a call to schedule an appointment for your pooch, or ...

If you've created your GingrApp identity, you can set up your reservations now on GingrApp. When you make your daycare reservation, you'll notice the option to select "Additional Services". Choose the service you'd like to add, then confirm by clicking the blue bar on the right, then choose the date (again), and choose from one of the times available.

Weekly Features

Have a Cuppa Joe in support of pet rescue

Hey all -- look for our coffee service each morning when you are dropping off. We're donating the coffee and trimmings to the cause. Any funds we take in for cups of coffee will be forwarded to Homeward Pet.

We hope you'll opt for a quick Cuppa Joe from right here at Scampers so we can all help support canine rescue efforts.

Weekly Report - We are delighted to report that this week we collected $16.00 for Homeward Pet through our coffee fund. Thank you very much. We hope you enjoyed your coffee!

Friday Funny

Every once in a while we come across a dog-oriented joke.

This one's today's:

Watch for the updates of our framed Friday Funny in our reception area.

We'll also make sure they're posted on our Facebook page so you can share them with your friends.

Heard 'round the water bowl

We're a pretty close knit group of pooches - we form strong friendships, and we get to know each other very well. When we new pooches join us, we love to introduce them around and get them started in their Scampering adventures - that's why they call us the "Welcome Waggin".

Penny S and Auggie joined us on Monday and while Auggie was a bit shy at first, he found his stride pretty quickly. Penny found all the wranglers first, and found her new canine friends a little later on.

Tuesday brought Luna Bella, the gorgeous American White Shepherd pup. She was very comfortable discovering the other puppies in her play group, and enjoyed the fun environment.

Bella P the Boxer spent Wednesday with us, and was a model first-timer. She's an "exuberant" player, but she tempers her energy very nicely.

We're all waving goodbye and wishing Happy Tails to Jacs Doodle, who is trundling off to Denver with her folks. Jacs has been a regular Scampers camper for a couple of years, while we know she's going to be very happy in Denver, we're going to miss her, and we wish her the very best in her new home.

Hey, Peeps, don't forget, if you're curious about how we spend our days and you're not quite sure what those report cards really mean, you can watch the adventures in the photos and videos our wranglers are posting on the Scampers Facebook page.

There's also a ScampersDogs channel on YouTube where you'll find all kinds of fun videos, and we update that selection periodically.

Fun With PupPod at Scampers!

Have you set up a profile on PupPod for your dog?

It's fun, it's easy, and wouldn't it be fun to see how they play?
(Click to see video of Madi's Jax, hard at work with our PupPod.)

PupPod is the new fun and training game for your dog that everyone is talking about.

We've launched the pilot PupPod program at Scampers, and have set up a PupPod in our boarding area for interested pooches to exercise their minds.

We're learning that some dogs are very receptive to the PupPod, and find it a great distraction, especially for a couple of the dogs who are more prone to separation anxiety. And with all that brain work, they get good and tired!

We are finding that the dogs who are quickest to pick up the trick of the PupPod tend to be relatively independent, have some familiarity with Kongs, and are treat-driven. (Who knew that there are some dogs who really aren't all that interested in treats?!)

Reservations, please!

We're filling up these days! Often!

Please make sure you get your reservations into our system, whether via the GingrApp Portal, or by phone or email. We are also very happy to set up recurring appointments for our customers who have predictable schedules.

(This picture is a little bit exaggerated, by the way. They all gathered around because they wanted to know what Amanda had in her hand.)

Scampers Boarding Facility

Our boarding facility has very been busy this year, especially over the holidays and long weekends. Remember to get your boarding requests in early to make sure there's room enough for your pooches.

Samson is a frequent Scampers boarder. Here he is greeting the morning staff with his great big grin!

Send us your pix

Every once in a while we receive a photo from one of our customers showing us what their beloveds are doing after their day at Scampers.

We're always looking for new material but we have some classics to share:

Tired Dog Series...

Apparently, young English Setter Leica is getting lots of exercise when she comes to Scampers. Here's what she looks like at home.

Here's Tillie H giving us her impression
of a tired poodle. Too pooped to notice
her lovely rawhide chewy.

We loved this shot of Sadie - the look on her face says that she's not pleased that her belly rub got interrupted for the sake of a camera.

Like many pooches, Swiffer enjoys the world through an open car window, even if he so tired after his Scampers day that he sleeps through it!

Bliss is a place to rest my head, a hand to stroke my neck.

It's a dog's life

This category of owner-contributed pics features dogs enjoying their extracurricular fun.

This is where we'll post the pics we've received of your pooches enjoying summer vacations, beach roaming, ball games, and any other such general exploring.

Congratulations to McKinley, Blue Ribbon Pooch

McKinley took home the Blue Ribbon (Novice) at last month's Seattle Kennel Club Dog Show. McKinley's a lovely girl, and her mom is so proud of her, and so excited to show us that McKinley really can be a good dog.

Nurse Odie is
taking good care of Mom.

Little Miss Chomchom is all dressed up and ready for her tromp around Whistler.

These boots are made for walking!

Murphy C surveys his domain!

Luna Blue Pit is learning to enjoy her kid sister's attention. Emily is learning that Luna's a great big sister.

The real reason

We have also received some great shots documenting "The Real Reason" you bring your furkids to Scampers.

Fenris finds his Scampers time not only a great time to bond with his good friends of the canine variety, but also as a much needed escape from his new friend of the feline variety.

The famous Odie is at it again.
Mr. Champion Counter Surfer has his eye on the beautiful beignet!

Pretty Abby G is a very helpful pooch indeed. This lovely picture shows her effort at helping to unpack mysterious things at the office.

Canine Nosework Classes at Scampers

Dogs have an incredible sense of smell and an inborn desire to hunt. The sport of K9 Nose Work is designed to develop the natural scenting abilities of your dog by using their passion for hunting and their love of toys, food and exercise.

It's a great class for your dog to have fun, build confidence, and burn lots of mental and physical energy and you get to find out just how good your dog's nose is.

Vicki Francks, owner of Cascade Canines continues offering K9 Nose Work Classes using Scampers facility. If you'd like some information on the next round of classes, give Vicki a call at 206-849-7643. More information is also available as Scampers front desk.