Recently I have been taking my dogs swimming at Whole Dog Wellness in West Chicago and they LOVE it. The facility primarily focuses on rehabilitation for dogs through swimming. However, as you may know, I am constantly looking for ways to “entertain” my dogs and to stimulate their bodies and their brains, and this facility is ideal.

I love the facility so much that I would like to make it available to you and your dog while they are here playing. So, on Tuesday of each week from 12PM -1PM, I am going to shuttle the first eight dogs who sign up over to the facility for swimming time. Once there, the Whole Dog Wellness staff is going to swim two dogs per pool per half hour which is why we can ONLY take eight.

]]> http://www.pawsintime.net/blog/?feed=rss2&p=71 0 http://www.pawsintime.net/blog/?p=68 http://www.pawsintime.net/blog/?p=68#comments Wed, 14 Jul 2010 20:51:11 +0000 admin http://www.pawsintime.net/blog/?p=68 Puppy/Beginner Class: 1/6/2011—2/10/2011

Intermediate Class: 4/28/2011—6/2/2011

Advanced Class: 7/7/2011—8/25/2011

Puppy/Beginner Class: 9/1/2011—10/6/2011

Intermediate Class: 10/27/2011—12/8/2011 (no class 11/24/2011)

Class Descriptions
- All classes are $200 per dog
- All classes are Thursday evening from 6:30-7:30 pm

Puppy Class—minimum age 16 weeks—no max age, skill level beginner, will learn basic commands of sit, down, stay, come and heel. Class is 6 weeks long. Each night will consist of 15 minutes of play, 30 minutes of class and end with 15 minutes of play. Class max = 7.

Intermediate Class –minimum age 6 months, must have basic understanding of 5 basic commands, will add in 1 minute sit/down and distance commands. Each task will be taught to be done on one command with treat reward. This class will begin each night w/15 minutes of play and 45 minutes of class. Class max = 7

Advanced/Adult Class—minimum age 12 months, dog must possess proficient understanding of all basic commands and must be stable enough to proceed to reward training with no treats. All tasks to be done on one command, no training collars, loose leash heel, 3 minute sit/down stay. Class culminates in AKC Canine Good Citizen certification. Max class = 8, minimum class size = 4

Q: My dog does not eat when I put his food out in the morning. So I leave it out and he never over eats but he only tends to eat in the evening. Why does he do that?

A: When dogs are young puppies they need to eat three to four times per day because they are growing. As reach sexual maturity, which is around 7-8 months old, they do not need as much food. This is generally about the time they start not eating when you put food out in the morning. My recommendation to you is that if your dog has reached this point and is no longer eating breakfast, stop putting breakfast out. If you have to give your dog something, give him or her a treat or two in the morning. Then in the evening, give your dog their normal serving of whatever you would have given them in the morning. Do not give them the morning serving plus more for dinner. Be honest with yourself. You dog really only needs to be served the amount that he can eat in about ten minutes. If some is left after that time, pick it up and start fresh tomorrow night. When you begin to take control of this element of their life, you will be much happier and so will your dog.

Recall should be thought of as the single most exciting thing your dog will ever do for you. So how do you get to a reliable recall?

To start training this put yourself and your dog inside your home where outside variables and distractions can be controlled. Now with small treats in your left hand and away from the dog, take your right hand down at nose level to the dog with your palm facing him. Point to your right palm with your left pointer finger and as soon as the dog touches your hand with his nose, put a small treat in his mouth and be VERY effusive with your praise. Repeat this several times while standing right in front of him/her. Next take a few steps back and repeat this process. Remember to ALWAYS give a treat and be HUGELY positive with your praise.

After you get the dog doing this you can make a game of it with other family members. I would suggest you each only take three treats and call your dog back and forth only three times. After about the first time the dog will figure out the process and will start running back and forth on his own so mix it up and make a fun game out of it. This is for initial training, so don’t play this game all the time but you can put the game in periodically throughout the day. Always remember to be very happy and give a treat.

There are a couple things that will undermine your recall training. If you call the dog to you and always come in the house right away and stop playing or paying attention to him/her, they figure out that coming back to you is not a good idea. Also if you call him to you and then immediately put him/her in the crate, the dog figures out coming to you is not a good idea.

Now I know you want to ask, “well then how do I ever get the dog to come in the house or go in the crate?” To come in the house, I recommend you go out in the yard, call the dog using the technique you have trained, give your treat, clip the leash on and come in the house. Check out next month’s newsletter for a fun game you can teach your dog to get them to go easily into the crate with no pushing or shoving and no biting. If fact, your dog will be running into the crate. It’s a fun game to teach.

This behavior has its root in territorial based aggression. When your dog is free to encounter other dogs without the encumbrance of a leash or fence, they are free to say to the other dog how they truly feel. There are a couple of things that happen to make the on-leash greeting bad.

First, when we have a puppy, often we think it is good to allow the puppy to go gallivanting up to other dogs on leash because we think it promotes socialization. As your puppy gets a little older, other dogs will become less and less tolerant of this offensive behavior and will he begin to experience corrections from the other dogs. None of this is good. The stage is set for the bad behavior to really turn ugly now.

Now each time you take your dog for a walk and you encounter another dog, you will tense up and will be sending a message of fear down the leash and your dog is going to think something is seriously wrong so will likely move into a defensive body posture. You will not remember your part in creating this bad behavior and will start to think of your dog as “aggressive” when, in fact, they think they are doing what they need to do to protect you. Then you will make things worse when you tell your dog it’s OK or even worse when you reach down to pet the dog thinking you are reassuring him.

In fact, both of these behaviors on your part are actually teaching the dog TO react in such a manner. If your dog is displaying such on leash behavior, please give us a call so we can schedule training to help reverse these thought processes for you and your dog so your walks can be fun and relaxing once again.

We are pleased to also offer the services of Tammy Koch who is a licensed, professional groomer as well. She has been working on the team for several months and has gained a very steady following. She is happy to welcome new clients as well. Tammy grooms on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 9:15—6pm.

When making your holiday boarding reservations, remember to also schedule your grooming as the openings fill up quickly. Grooming will be closed On December 26, 2009 so our groomers can enjoy the holiday with their families. We wish you all a happy and safe holiday season.

Basic Class Descriptions
___________________________________________________
All classes are $200
All classes Thursday evening 6:30-7:30 pm

Puppy Class—minimum age 16 weeks—no max age, skill level beginner, will learn basic commands of sit, down, stay, come and heel. Class is 6 weeks long. Each night will consist of 15 minutes of play, 30 minutes of class and end with 15 minutes of play. Class max = 7

Intermediate Class—minimum age 6 months, must have basic understanding of 5 basic commands, will add in 1 minute sit/down and distance commands. Each task will be taught to be done on one command with treat reward. This class will begin each night w/15 minutes of play and 45 minutes of class. Class max = 7

Advanced/Adult Class—minimum age 12 months, dog must possess proficient understanding of all basic commands and be must be stable enough to proceed to reward training with no treats. All tasks to be done on one command, no training collars, loose leash heel, 3 minute sit/down stay. Class culminates in AKC Canine Good Citizen certification. Max class = 8, minimum class size = 4

Can I split my full day into two half days?

Unfortunately we cannot split full days into half days.  A full day of play is $27.00 A half day of play is $18.00.  If we split a full day into two half days we would actually have to charge you $36.00.  If you think there would be days when your dog would only play half days and other days would play full days it may be in your best interest to purchase a full and a half day package.  The days never expire and the computer would then take the appropriate day off your account when your dog is here to play.

Do you offer daycare on Sundays?

Our daycare hours of operation are Monday through Saturday from 7:00 am until 6:00 pm.  Only boarding dogs are offered play on Sundays.

Do I tip the groomer?

Although tips are customary in this situation they are not required.  The majority of our clients do tip the groomer.

Why do you require a Bordatella vaccine every 6 months when my vet says it’s only needed once a year?

The state of Illinois requires Bordatella vaccinations every 6 months for daycare/boarding facilities.  Your vet is correct that normal dogs only need this once a year if they are not attending a daycare.

Do my dogs have to be in daycare if they are boarding?

Yes.  Our client base has grown to the point where we cannot offer boarding without daycare any longer.  If you choose to board your dog in a suite you will have the option of half day or full daycare while kennels will still require full daycare.

Why do I need to check my dog in for boarding by 2:20?

The afternoon gets very busy.  Dogs are being picked up from daycare as well as boarding dogs getting put away to be fed.  We want your dog to be as comfortable as possible while boarding with us.  The 2:00 boarding time allows your dog to go back and play before being put away for the night.  It allows your dog to burn off some energy before being tucked in for the night.

Can I pay my bill on-line?

No, but you can pay your bill over the phone.  If you would like to keep your credit card on account with us let us know and we can charge your card with your authorization.  We now accept Visa, Mastercard, and Discover for your convenience.

Do you board cats?
No.  The cats you see in our lobby are cats that live here at our facility.  We do not have plans at this time  to board cats.

What is happening with the plans for expansion?

We have put all plans for expansion on hold at this time due to the current economic climate.  We hope to expand in the future and will keep everyone up to date as to when that time is.

A full day of play consists of anytime over 5 hours of play. Once your dog is here he/she can stay and play the rest of the day. You don’t need to worry about the clock.

A fact that many of you may not be aware is that the computer keeps track of the time your dog spends here. We check your dog into the computer when you drop him/her off and we check your dog out when you come back to pick up. The computer starts the clock at check in and stops it at check out. It is at this time that the appropriate day (half or full) is taken off your account–all done by the computer. Therefore, it is very important that you watch the time if you are a half day customer as the computer will charge you for a full day if you are over your 5 hour time limit. Even if you are at 5 hours and 1 minute the computer will be charging for a full day of play.

Can you believe it is already October? The time is flying by. Please remember to book your holiday reservations now. We are currently on a waiting list for Thanksgiving and part of the Christmas break. Spring Break is filling quickly!