Before and After...

Hi All!

Romi here over at the Tustin Wags & Wiggles! For my first blog post, I decided to make it a cute, short one! I compiled some pictures of Wags client dogs and staff dogs that have been coming to us since wee bitty puppies and have grown into beautiful adults! I thought it would be fun to compare the before and after pictures! One of the perks of the job is watching our puppies grow! Enjoy the photos! :)

Gem the Border Collie

Cobalt the Mini Aussie

Ninja the Shiba Inu

Ruby the Cavalier

Portia the Boxer

Wink the Norrbottenspets

Mogul the Mini Aussie

Muggie the Bullmation

Stanley the GoldenDoodle

Leloo the Husky

Nala the GoldenDoodle

Kaia the Shepherd Mix

-Romi

Team Zurborg Expands: Sir Punk Rodent

Sir Punk Rodent is really his full name. Rodie for short. He just joined the pack of Team Agility Zurborg. He's a 4 1/2 mos old Chihuahua who is full of evil thoughts. He loves to bite, chase, harass, and be a total punk. He has no thoughts of self preservation and will climb any mountain, jump off any building, and wear his superman cape all day long.

I realize he's the wrong color but we will soon rectify that with a special blue merle shirt. Gator loves him which of course was a mandatory requirement.

Rodie was a client surrender. He originally was adopted from the OC Shelter at a mere 8 weeks of age. The problem is Rodie is a resource guarder and will snarl when handled. He will guard his food and toys. Sounds like he will fit in just fine at my house! That's my specialty.

If Rodie continues on to compete in agility, that means I will have run in every single jump height in my career. I'm proud of that, big or small, rescue or purchase, they can all be trained to a high level of competition. He's been to several agility trials now and agility peeps are great about socializing him. He's already started learning about turning around posts, standing on planks (even ones that move), rear end awareness, recall, stay and more.

Stay turned for updates from Sir Punk Rodent.

~Laurie Zurborg, Founder

What A Tortoise Can Teach You

The first thing you have to know about Tortoises is that they can go on a "tortoise rampage".  You never know what prompts it.  They just get angry about something.  I just spent 3 hours battling my tortoise.  Bump is a 15 year old sulcata tortoise we rescued from the LA Shelter.  He now weighs 67 pounds.

Gator as a Puppy and Bump as a
younger smaller tortoise. 
He's huge now.

Today Bump decided that he HAD to fit inside the smaller  hut for our other tortoise.  Bump can't fit through the opening, designed just so he couldn't bully the other tortoise.  He got his front half in and got stuck.  His very loud grunts got our attention from inside the house. 

We pull him out requiring a good 20 minutes of heaving.   I figured he wouldn't think it was worth a second try.  Wrong!  So I went out trying to distract him.  Gave him a treasure hunt of luscious organic carrots and zucchini.  He hunted for 45 minutes, devoured them and returned to bashing his head against the hut.  I tried rose petals in his hut, butternut squash on a stick, and a second treasure hunt.  Why is this tortoise not tired already?

I'm beginning to get battle weary.  So I move the other tortoise who is pinned to the back of the hut to another part of the yard.  An empty hut surely wouldn't be worth head trauma?  Wrong again.  I hear some more horrible grunts and Bump has now got half of his body into the hut.  This time is takes two humans to pull him out.

I'm desperate now to resolve this and getting cranky.  I pull out the hose.  You can't pick him up and move him so sometimes a little water can change his mind about a location.  Not this time!  I give him a little bonk on his nose as he approaches the hut.  I swear he has steam coming out of his ears, he's on a mission. 

Finally, I just dismantle and move the hut that is now pretty much destroyed.  Why did I not think of this 2 hours ago?  What this angry pig headed monster of a tortoise just taught me was sometimes it's just easier to remove the temptation than teach an animal not to do something.

Agility Teaches Humility

The crazy summer months at Wags is finally over and it's time to take a little vacation.  We all worked super hard taking care of everyone's dogs while all our clients jet setted from the beach to the desert.  I chose the coast in central california to play agility with great weather, great friends, and great life lessons.  My dogs were so happy, loving, and made my life complete. I even had a stow away named Rudy, a chihuahua, nicknamed the Punk Rodent who may just become the next agility star.  More on Rudy later.

Apparently, this trip was going to include an agility lesson on Humility.  There is nothing like a good fall on your ass to put any ego you had on hold.  Of course it was caught on video, hope you enjoy it. I love how Gem really wanted to make sure "I" was okay after I took a spectacular feet sliding dump on my butt on one of the most important agility runs of the weekend. 

Laurie Zurborg ~ Founder, Wags & Wiggles

Calming Ovals: A Technique Any Human Can Master

No matter what style of training you use, teaching a dog to walk nicely on a leash is often a source of frustration for the human.  When do I click?  When do I feed?  What hand do I feed from?  When do I stop?  Do I turn around?  What if the dog won't walk?  When do I yank the leash?  Well, hopefully you are coming to our class so you aren't yanking the leash.

Calming ovals is the better introduction to leash walking for the novice dog trainer.  This technique was introduced to me by Kay Laurence.  She's from England and doesn't come here often but when she does, you should run not walk to sign up.  I have used the calming oval technique in our control unleashed classes for a few months now.  It's a great warmup exercise to get the human end of the leash started with relaxing their dog.

My interpretation of calming ovals is for the dog to match the human's energy level that is holding the leash.  No, this isn't some spiritual journey I want you to go on.  If you walk slowly, and I mean slow, in the same pattern over and over, your dog will just match your energy level.  At first they may bounce all over the place, trying to pull here or there.  But then they just start to flow with you.

SIDE BAR:  There is an assumption here that your dog has had enough leash training to not be fearful of the leash.  Do not start this with young puppies, they should have lots of click/treats for wearing their leash loosely before you start this exercise.

You hold the leash firmly with two hands and clasp them to your waist.  Your hands never move.  You may have to shift your weight to stay upright but you keep your pattern going no matter what.  If they try to cut in front of you, you use big marching band feet to keep them from cutting you off.  If they lag behind, just keep walking the same pace and don't look back at them.  Check out our tutorial video.

Click Picture to Play Video

Picking Your Next Puppy/Breeder

We often find ourselves looking for a puppy when the time just feels right or we have recently lost a much-loved member of our pack and are ready for the next "one" to join our family. Buying a puppy from a breeder can be a great experience, provided you do your homework ahead of time. Once you have thoroughly researched the breeds you are considering and are ready to take the leap, as one of our favorite dog writers says; "Stop looking for a puppy; look for a BREEDER."


Well the time has come for me.  I'm looking for my next agility dog.  I'm actually not too certain what breed I want yet but I am certain about what kind of breeder I'm looking for.  Most of the dogs in my life have been rescues so I had to go through some serious education when I started looking to purchase my last dog.  Just because I was going to spend a certain sum of money didn't necessarily mean I had higher expectations in my dog, I just want to support the RIGHT kind of breeders.  Since my dog will be doing agility, I do need to make sure my puppy is as physically sound as possible so I don't risk injury or lessen their quality of life.


Good breeders don't make a ton of money.  Breeding the right way is expensive.  Of course any breeder that was unknown to me and not local enough to check out is out of the question.  You probably want to avoid any breeders that have multiple litters going at once.  Puppies need Early Neonatal Stimulation to be ready to handle the human world.  This takes daily care on part of the breeder.  When old enough, puppies need to moved from their whelping area to other safe places to experience grass, water, dirt, tables, things to climb over and through and most importantly for agility dogs; climbing on things that move.  Good breeders will invite adults and children over to handle the puppies as well, hopefully even with some early toy tug and chase sessions.


Here are some other basic guidelines:

• A good breeder always has a clause about taking the puppy/dog back if there is any question about the new family being able to continue care.
• A good breeder will welcome you to their facility and allow you to meet the parents (at least the mother), as well as the puppies.
• Ask about breed-specific health certifications like hips, eyes, knees (for small dogs), don't just accept a general "health certification".
• What early socialization has the breeder done? Has the breeder exposed them to toys, people, strange things to walk on, etc?  If the breeder lives out in farmlands, has the puppy been exposed to the noises a suburban life will bring? 
• Rule of thumb: Don't buy a singleton (one puppy born alone in the litter), don't buy in pairs (siblings)!
• Puppies should have had at least one deworming and their first set of vaccines before coming homes with you.
• Never, ever purchase a puppy based on price. Buying a dog from an online ad or at a pet store because the price is right is ultimately a poor decision.
• Good breeders choose buyers carefully.  They should be as careful about you as you are about them.
• Ask lots of questions.  Tell the breeder what temperament type you are looking for.  Mellow, active, etc.  If you are looking at a working stock aussie breeder or field lab breeder, you won't be getting mellow.  Perhaps they can refer you to a breeder that has more appropriate dogs for you.
• Find out the average life span of the grandparents, great grandparents, etc
• Has there been a specific toilet area in the puppy area? Is it dirty or clean? This is not just a cleanliness issue but you don't want your puppy practicing eating feces at a young age. It may be difficult to curb later on.
• Good breeders NEVER sell to pet stores.  They strive to better their breed and educate pet owners. 
• Don't buy an older puppy from a breeder that the breeder was supposedly going to keep to show and then changed their minds.  This is a red flag.

A few other factors I look at are the demeanor of the momma and pappa dog.  Do they bark aggressively at me when I arrive?  Do they mindlessly bark for more than a few seconds during my visit?  Can you tell I don't like barkers?  Do they guard their bones or toys?  These are heritable traits that you may or may not want.  I personally don't mind a dog that guards a little but if I had kids in the home, that would not be the right dog.  I'm not too concerned about getting proven repeat breedings.  First time breedings are okay with me. 

Once I get a look at the litter, there are many things I look for in choosing my puppy.  If you trust the breeder and you are not used to evaluating puppies, it's fine to let the breeder choose the puppy for you.  For me, I want to choose.

• Active, playful and well-socialized; puppy should not appear fearful
• Bright eyes, with no discharge of any sort.  No nasal discharge.
• Clean ears and skin, obviously no fleas
• Pink gums and correctly aligned teeth
• Good eyesight and hearing.  Check this by jingling your keys and seeing if the dog responds.  However remember good breeders will have these things checked by professionals before you purchase and supply you with documentation.
• With breeder permission, I always bring a soft clicker with me.  I get some kibble from the breeder and I will do a simple behavior like a hand touch with the puppy.  How eagerly do they want to learn this new game?
• Will the puppy engage with a toy?
• If you hold the puppy and they start to fuss, how long does it take for them to relax and give up the struggle?
• Does the puppy play area look like a toy box exploded?  It should.
• Does the puppy know how to sit?  They should by 8 weeks.  Don't be fooled by breeders that claim show dogs should not sit, this is a myth.
• Does the puppy want to bite me?  They should to some extent, that's normal.  It's less normal for a puppy to sit in your lap without fussing or biting.  They may be shy and need considerable training later on (which is fine if that is what you are able to do). 
• Most average pet owners should be looking for the "middleman" in the litter.  Every litter will have the shy kid, the boss, the one who wants to be boss, and ones in between.  Keep away from extremes.

If you are still unsure what type of puppy or what breed you may want.  Call a Wags Trainer to make a visit to the daycare.  We are happy to show you different types of dogs and discuss what options would be fit your household.  I hope to find my puppy in the next few months and then we can start talking puppy training!


~ Laurie Zurborg, CPDT-KA, Founder

Wags & Wiggles New Blog!

With the help of one of our newer RSM Trainers, Liz Randall, the W&W Blog is back up and running. We are going to explore this new media realm in conjunction with our facebook page & newsletter.  We will be posting stories, daycare musings, training ideas, and news on our blog.  We will post shorter links on our Facebook Page and Newsletter so you can pick and choose what you would like to read more about.  We hope you enjoy our newest adventure!