Scampers Weekly Recap – June 16, 2017

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Scampers Weekly Recap - June 16, 2017
 
 
 
 
 
Dear --Valued Customer--
We hope you have all had a great week. We love Fridays, because they make us all feel like the weekend party has already begun.

Your pooches are out and about, roving around our yards and enjoying every bit of sunshine they may find, and between the rays, they're getting lots of exercise and social sniff time with each other.
 
 
 
 
Scampers Staff Trainer and former Scampers Wrangler, Elise Poston, will be presenting a free seminar on
Applied Animal Behavior
Monday, June 26th, 2017
at 6:30 pm at
Eastside Veterinarians'
New Newcastle Office

When it comes to your precious furbabies, have you ever wondered:
  • why...
  • how...
  • what the heck...
When it comes to understanding the way dogs think, the scientists are making inroads. Elise is sharing what she's learned, and it's fascinating.

RSVP or inquire at
elise@thefoxandthehound.org
 
 
 
 
 
 

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.
 
 
 
 
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 busy welcoming lots of newbies at both our locations again this week.
 
 
 
On Monday, our Kirkland Littles got to welcome newbies Sammie the Schnauzer and Newton the Cocker Spaniel. We made sure that they both enjoyed their time with us and look forward to seeing lots of them. Meanwhile, in Bellevue, it was the Big Dogs welcoming a pair of pooches - Dalton, a 4 month old Boxer-Shepherd, and big sister Luna, a 3 year old Husky Shepherd mix, while the Bellevue Littles made sure Bear, a 13 year old Pomeranian felt comfortable and welcomed.

Wednesday was Dari's day at Bellevue. She's a very recent rescue pooch, a Beagle mix. We think she's learning the ropes and will make a great camper. Stella Blue, a tiny little terrier mix, is happily making herself at home with the Kirkland Littles.

 
 
 
Today, our Kirkland pooches are busy welcoming three newbies. Unfortunately, poor Cooper Boxer pup broke a nail early on, but he had a blast up until that point, and we're taking good care of him.

Otis is a young Portuguese Water Dog - he's having such a fun day learning all about the way Scampers campers play. And Kota, a little Japanese Chin is having a lovely day with the Littles.

Meanwhile, in Bellevue, we welcomed baby Bulldog, Lefty. He's going to be so tired tonight, after a very big day with a whole lot of Bellevue Littles.
 
 
 
Welcome all. We're delighted to share our days with you!
 
 
 
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.






Cassie and Sophie at Bellevue
 
 
 
We've added Instagram to our assortment of Social Media tools. Tag or search #scampersdogs and join in the fun.






Lexi and Sammie cha-cha-cha
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 sister, Hayden.
He's doing a great job of being a girl's best friend.
 
 
 
 


Maggie O as Big Sister - she takes her job very seriously.
 
 
 
 




Here's Aussie Ozzie O
looking after his new baby, Tali.
What a beautiful pair!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Apparently, young English Setter Leica is getting lots of exercise when she comes to Scampers. Here's what she looks like at home.
 
 
 




Sophie the Bernedoodle must have been
just too tired to pull her tongue all the way back in
after collecting her kisses.
 
 


Hank's mom tells us he always has
more energy when he gets home.
Apparently, not this time!
 
 



George loves his chickens.
They make great pillows.
 
 


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. 
 
 
 
 
Amara Shepherd is turning into quite the mariner. Here she is enjoying a paddle with her mom.
 
 
 




Who's that in the middle of all those tulips?
Lucky Buddy got to go to the
Tulip Festival last month.
 
 


Buddy's mom's works at a school, and once in a while he gets to go to work with her, and absorb all that kid-love. What a life, huh?
 
 
 
We have also received some great shots documenting "The Real Reason" you bring your furkids to Scampers.
 
 
 


Pretty Abby G is a very helpful pooch indeed. This lovely picture shows her effort at helping to unpack mysterious things at the office.
 
 
 
While our Bellevue shop is nowhere near full - yet - our Kirkland shop is often at capacity. For either shop, whether full or not, it is very important that we know who's coming and when so we can make sure we have enough staff on hand to keep the play safe and fun.
 
 
 
 
Chris Sugarbaker of Cut-N-Run, mobile groomer extraordinaire has been serving our Kirkland clients every second Tuesday since we opened in 2010.

Chris will make his next bi-weekly visit to serve our Kirkland clients on Tuesday, June 20th.

For our Bellevue clients, Chris will be visiting our Bellevue shop on Monday, June 28th. We plan to have him visit Bellevue every couple of weeks, although the days will vary until we can find a set schedule. Looking forward to the month of July, Chris has advised us that he will be at our Bellevue shop Tuesday, July 11th and Monday, July 24th.

Keep in mind that Chris' grooming schedule often fills up, so it's important to get your reservations in early.
 
 
 
 
Our boarding facilities at both locations have been busy this year. Remember to get your boarding requests in early, especially over the holidays and long weekends, to make sure there's room enough for your pooches.

Your boarding requests can be submitted via GingrApp, or you can give us a call to check and see if there's space available. Remember, if our boarding facility at Kirkland is full, there may be space available at our Bellevue shop.
 
 
 




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.
 
 
 
 
We have been using our web-based kennel management system for just over a year, and many of our customers have signed on to use the system as well. While its name is GingrApp, it's not actually an "app" that can be downloaded; it is a web portal where you can log in, create a password protected door to the customer side of your account, and participate in managing your pooches' care at Scampers.

(One important caveat for Internet Explorer users - please use a different browser for using Gingr. We have been told the site does not work at all (it breaks!) on Internet Explorer. We are not sure if that issue has been resolved, so better safe than frustrated!)

You can access the Gingr URL through the email message you received when you enrolled your dog or through the link at the top of Scampers' website:
 
 
 
 



Use the email address or cell phone number that you registered with us at the time of enrollment.


 
 
 
 







The first time you log in to the portal you'll receive a confirmation email which will invite you to create your password.
 
 
 
 
From here, you can upload files and photos, request reservations for daycare, boarding and grooming, and make changes to those reservations as plans change.

We think the interface is clean and tidy and easy to use, but if you have any difficulties at all, please let us know and we'll do our best to help you. And we welcome your feedback.
 
 
 
 
You can also very easily set up recurring reservations. And, as your schedule changes, you can easily change your recurring reservation - it's a simple edit.

If you have a reservation for daycare, whether it's set up as recurring or a one-off, if you find you won't need it, please do give us a call, drop us a line, or go online to cancel it.
 
 
 
 
The Convenience Factor - Credit Card on File
We have learned that processing payment transactions is significantly faster for those of our clients who have set up a credit card on file. The speed of the swiping component slows the process down just a little.

We have also learned that the credit card swiping component is not able to read the data stripe on some branded credit cards, for example REI or Nordstroms branded cards, although we are able to manually enter the card number.

For our clients using those cards, setting up the credit card on file is a perfect solution. (Don't worry - the Gingr people have made sure those card numbers are thoroughly encrypted!)
 
 
 
 
Your link to Gingr is at the top right of all pages ("My Account"), as well as under the About tab.

You can reach us through the web form on the Contact tab.

Our Gallery is populated by our Instagram activity.

And you'll find the link to our Weekly Recaps under News Nibbles, with any special announcements, and access to all the archived newsletters.
 
 
 
 
Dogs on Leashes, Pretty Please!
Some dogs jump up on people to greet them, whether the jumpees want to be greeted or not. Others feel the need to protect their owners. Some are just too darned excited to contain themselves and bolt, sometimes in some very surprising directions.

There are so many things that could go awry, and we worry.

For safety's sake, please be sure to have your dogs on leashes and well under control while moving them between your car and our reception area.

If you need to borrow a leash, we always have a loaner leash available in  our reception area.
 
 
 
 
Please Navigate our Parking Lots with Caution!
Remember, there are dogs crossing. And people.

And, in our Bellevue lot, which is shared with a car dealership,  we've noticed there are many non-Scampers drivers (some of them have obviously never walked a dog) and, from what we've observed, they're all frustrated Formula 1 drivers.

PLEASE take care when navigating our parking lots, whether you're doing the walking or the driving. We sure don't want any nasty accidents!
 
 
 
 
Give em a quick stroll first, please!
Remember, arriving at daycare is extra-stimulating. We often have pooches empty out in the lobby because they just can't contain themselves any longer!

If you're bringing you pooch into Scampers after a long car ride, please give them a quick toodle around the bushes or pillars before bringing them inside.

Any poops can be delivered to the green garbage cans - if you need a poop bag, just pop in and ask for one!
 
 
 
 
We know how much you love your furbabies - that's why you bring them to Scampers, after all. But please remember that very few dogs require more than two meals per day, and for many, one is enough.

We happily provide meal service for very young puppies who really do need a mid-day meal to support their growing bodies, and for dogs whose veterinarians prescribe a mid-day meal, e.g., dogs on certain medications or who have metabolic, gastric, or intestinal conditions; otherwise, however, if your pooch is over 6 months old, please do not bring snacks and meals for them.

Frankly, we're having a tough time staffing for the demand lately, and because so many  on our lunch list don't really need a meal, they're reluctant to eat, and our staffers are hand feeding them, coaxing them, singing to them... They really don't need it, honest!

 
 
 
 
 
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.
In the case of an emergency, we are able to make the accommodation for extended stay. Please call us, though, to advise.
 
 
 
 
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.
 
 
 
 
Wishing you a wonderful weekend.
 
Very best regards,
 
 
 
 
Linda Olsen and Stina Hughes 
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