Scampers Weekly Recap - August 26, 2016
Dear --Valued Customer--
What a gorgeous week we've had. We're enjoying summer with some indoor time and some outdoor time.
The hotter the afternoons, the earlier we move inside, but it's always a good idea to have a towel in the car in case your pooch is a fan of playing in or around the pool and the misters.
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.
We'll also make sure they're posted on our Facebook page so you can share them with your friends.
Charles Darwin was the first author to compare human and animal emotions. At that time, animals were largely perceived as automatons, merely supplying robotic responses to environmental stimuli. That notion has been perpetuated in one form or another all the up to the time of famous behaviorist B.F. Skinner.
Fortunately for dog lovers everywhere, there has been a slow but steady movement in the animal behavior sciences to design more rigorous, less biased experiments to detect and measure animal emotions. Today, most researchers agree that domestic dogs are roughly equivalent in emotional development to a human toddler (age 2-2 ½ years old). Dogs (and cats) exhibit all six of the “primary” emotions – happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, and surprise (yes, many psychologists consider surprise to be an emotion, even though it wasn’t depicted with the “big five” in the recent blockbuster animation Inside Out).
Researchers haven’t confirmed that dogs experience more complex emotions. For example, many owners think that dogs show guilt or shame when they are caught being naughty (such as rummaging through the trash bin). In one illustrative study, innocent dogs displayed the same “guilty” behavior as did guilty ones, even when the human was the one to upend the bin and throw trash all over the floor! The behaviors displayed by “guilty” dogs are triggered by either an environmental cue (like garbage strewn across the floor from an overturned bin) or by the body language or tone of the human walking in on the transgression.
Some researchers argue strongly for the presence of more complex emotions in dogs, but to date, the data simply doesn’t support their claims. Then again, twenty years ago, a scientist could lose their status and funding if they claimed that animals had any emotions at all. With new research into neurobiology and anthrozoology, perhaps someday we will be able to identify all of our pets’ emotions.
Thanks to Elise Poston for this submission. Look for more Did You Know tidbits from Elise in future editions of Scampers Weekly Recap. Learn more at www.thefoxandthehound.org.
We're a pretty close knit group of pooches - we form strong friendships, and we get to know each other very well. When 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".
Our Welcome Waggin team has been super busy this week.
Monday brought us Dixie the Aussie, and we made sure she found her the best new BFFs early to make sure she had a very fun day with us.
Tuesday was a super busy day for our Welcome Waggin' crew. We welcomed Golden Retriever Stella, and she just stepped in like she's been doing this forever. She'll be a fun addition to the Active Big Dog group.
Meanwhile, Chinook, the baby Bernese Mountain Dog, made a great impression on everyone. He's a social butterfly and found plenty of friends to romp with.
The Littles were happy to welcome Riley the Silky Terrier and show her all the fun spots to rove and play. Tiny Yorkie Mimi was also a big hit with her Littles crew - and as you can see, Dylan sure took a shine to her.
Dylan is entranced with Mimi.
Wednesday was Lilly the MinPin's first day, and she did so well she came right back for more yesterday, and again today. We're happy she's enjoying her new party place.
Bud and Lizzie are daycare veterans who have recently moved into the area. The pair fit very nicely into the Littles and settled very well with their new In-Crowd.
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.
Kaiya and Toby share a snoozy moment on a hot afternoon.
There's also a ScampersDogs channel on YouTube where you'll find all kinds of fun videos, and we update that selection periodically.
We've added Instagram to our assortment of Social Media tools. Tag or search #scampersdogs and join in the fun.
We call this one "Drinking Buddies".
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. Your boarding requests can be submitted via GingrApp, or you can call us.
Samson is a frequent Scampers boarder. Here he is greeting the morning staff with his great big grin!
Boarding Drop Off Times
We ask that boarders be dropped off before noon, although exceptions can be made in case of an emergency.
Arriving at Scampers is very stimulating for your pooches - even after a busy day of adventuring elsewhere - and it takes several hours for the incomers to settle down.
And one stimulated pooch means a whole houseful of stimulated pooches.
One of the reasons that Scampers boarding facilities works well for most of our guests is that the guests are good and tired after a day of playing, roving and sniffing. Of course, a tired dog is a good dog!
Our online management system, GingrApp, is cooking along nicely now. All our customers are able to create private and secure logins to make reservations online for boarding and for daycare - whether full day or half day - as well as upload photos and documents, and, for speed and convenience, set up a completely secure credit card on file.
Chris Sugarbaker of Cut-N-Run, mobile groomer extraordinaire will make his next bi-weekly visit to Scampers on Tuesday, August 30th, but his schedule for that visit is already fully booked. We'd be happy to set up a reservation for Chris' next visit on September 13th.
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.
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've seen many of our Scampers families expand recently, and we're looking for pics of our campers tending to their new humans. We hope we'll see lots more baby and pooch pictures! Click here to send your pics in via email.
Karsen was introduced to new baby brother, Hayden,
a couple of weeks ago. He's doing a great job
of keeping his tiny new buddy company.
a couple of weeks ago. He's doing a great job
of keeping his tiny new buddy company.
Maggie O as Big Sister - she takes her job very seriously.
Abbey S is helping Leo as he starts his athletic career.
He's almost walking!
He's almost walking!
It looks like Pliny's baby brother is
learning to walk too - fun times ahead!
learning to walk too - fun times ahead!
Here's Aussie Ozzie O
looking after his new baby, Tali.
What a beautiful pair!
looking after his new baby, Tali.
What a beautiful pair!
Apres Scampers Hooch
is one very contented pooch.
is one very contented pooch.
Sera is pretty much wiped out after her day at Scampers.
Odie just needs a place to put his snout
while he takes a little nap.
Apparently, young English Setter Leica is getting lots of exercise when she comes to Scampers. Here's what she looks like at home.
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.
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.
We wonder why Odie's climbing trees to pick limes.
Perhaps he was planning on Gin & Tonics this afternoon.
Perhaps he was planning on Gin & Tonics this afternoon.
Little Miss Chomchom is all dressed up and ready for her tromp around Whistler.
Murphy C surveys his domain!
We have also received some great shots documenting "The Real Reason" you bring your furkids to Scampers.
Ripley S' mom doesn't usually maintain
an open-door policy for her home office.
And this would be the reason.
an open-door policy for her home office.
And this would be the reason.
Pretty Abby G is a very helpful pooch indeed. This lovely picture shows her effort at helping to unpack mysterious things at the office.
A gentle reminder that Scampers daycare hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday, and our weekend and holiday daycare hours are by appointment only, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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.
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.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend.
Very best regards,
Linda Olsen and Stina Hughes
Scampers Daycamp for Dogs
Scampers Daycamp for Dogs
Play all day - go home happy.
12532 124th Street NE Kirkland, WA 98034
T 425-821-9100 | F 425-821-4685
T 425-821-9100 | F 425-821-4685
