Scampers Weekly Recap – May 20, 2016

Scampers Weekly Recap - May 20, 2016

In This Issue

Memorial Day Holiday

Did You Know?

Friday Funny

Heard 'round the water bowl

Pooch need a spruce up?

Your Pix

Scampers Daycare Hours

Dogs on Leashes Pretty Please

Dear --Valued Customer--

Yay! We're finishing off a busy week with a bright and sunny Friday.

The pooches are happy, and partying in the back forty, sharing time in the pools and on the playground equipment, and investigating puddle reflections. Today, we've created a waterfall by combining one of our sprinklers with the tent and the cascade terminates in either the pool or a pooch's mouth!

Yes, your pooches find all kinds of entertainment to keep them busy all day long.

Memorial Day Holiday - Daycare by Appointment Only

While we will be hosting a big crowd of boarders on this upcoming Memorial Day holiday, Monday, May 30th, we will be taking daycare dogs by appointment only.

If you need daycare for your pooch on Memorial Day, please be sure to make your reservation in advance so we can be sure to have adequate staffing levels.

Fun With PupPod at Scampers!

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.)

Did you know....

Just like people, dogs have different personality types. Some are very strongly motivated, some are more laissez-faire. Some are very outgoing, and some are shy. Some are very energetic, and some are naturally calm. Some are sensitive and react quickly, and some are very nearly Zen masters.
Genetics, early experience, and training can certainly shape canine behavior and emphasize certain desirable personality traits in your furry friend. Despite our best efforts, sometimes it’s hard to understand or anticipate our dog’s reaction to a situation or environment. In these cases, we can inadvertently exaggerate less desirable traits, increasing stress on both ourselves and our pets.

Often, pet owners turn to a doggy daycare such as Scampers for assistance. Sometimes, we meet a dog who is simply not comfortable with the heightened social dynamics of a doggy daycare. They may be introverted, anxious, very breed-standard (in the case of working dogs), or particularly dominant or submissive, which can make daycare more challenging than fun. We are implementing new training and education standards based on the latest scientific research, but we are not (always) miracle workers.

To ensure your pooch’s happiness in a daycare setting, make sure to offer plenty of exercise and mental stimulation at home. Dogs certainly go home tired after a long day of play and social exercise at daycare, but they also need one-on-one work with their family to build confidence and learn to deal with frustration or challenges. Even a few minutes a day can help them gain skills necessary to successfully navigate the excitement of a doggy daycare playdate.

If your pooch is acting out at home or at pick-up time, speak with Linda, Stina, or myself about positive reinforcement behavioral modifications, or ask about finding a trusted trainer or consulting with a veterinary behaviorist.

For a quick and very insightful read, check out trainers Victoria Stillwell and Pat Miller at http://positively.com/contributors/doggy-daycare-a-how-to-guide/ and http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/13_11/features/Doggie-Daycare-For-Canine-Socialization_20127-1.html, respectively. Your pet’s wellbeing is our first priority.

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

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, May 10th. His schedule fills up quickly, though, so make sure to get your reservations in early. If our current schedule does fill up, we recommend setting up a reservation for Chris' next visit, then, on May 24th.

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 $15.52 for Homeward Pet through our coffee fund. Thank you very much. We hope you enjoyed your coffee!

You are all Homeward Heroes!!

...Thank you so much for helping make our animals' futures bright!

- Alora Knapp
Development Coordinator,
Homeward Pet

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 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".

Little German Shepherd Pup Angel joined us on Monday morning, and found plenty of other fun puppies to keep her busy. She romped with the Littles for a while, and then tried on the bigger dogs and found they fit equally well.

We welcomed Lucy Pit to our Big Active Dog group on Tuesday, and she played and played all morning until she was completely tired out. After a little rest on a sunny pet cot, she made her way back into the party, but took things a little easier for the remainder of the day.

We wish Maeby farewell and good luck as she settles into her new home in Seattle. We sure enjoyed watching her grow from a funny little pup into a sleek and pretty pooch, and we're proud to be sending off into the big world...

Meanwhile, this week we welcome back long-lost friends and rare visitors Jasper, Black Moose, Viktor, Sharpie, Teddy & Melly. Hooray! It's a reunion!

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.

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.

Scampers pooches and their new human babies

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.

It looks like Pliny's baby brother is
learning to walk - fun times ahead!

Here's Aussie Ozzie O looking after his new baby, Tali. What a beautiful pair!

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

Gentle Golden Kenny is
taking very good care of
brand new baby Advay.

Tired Dog Series...

Buddy T stretches out
at his mom's feet at day's end.

Little Jemma seems to remember that her bed is for sleeping, but it looks like she missed her mark.

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.

Here's London giving us her impression
of a tired poodle. She's 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

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

Murphy C surveys his domain!

The real reason

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.

Buddy T decided to do a little remodeling
as a surprise for his mom.

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.