The trip to Kentucky for the USDAA 2011 Nationals was a good trip but not a great trip. We didn't come back with any wins or trophies this year. While I was proud of what we did, we just had an off trial. Gumbo, my steady Catahoula, and I were just not in sync. After close examination of video, there wasn't anything obvious I did most of the time, we were just off. He was paying attention and trying hard. It just figures we won almost every event all year long and then not do well at nationals. Luckily, my long time agility partner and friend Shelley Permann won Performance Grand Prix and Performance Speed Jumping with her 10 yr old Cardigan Corgi, so at least I got to celebrate with her. Gem, my 2 yr old border collie, was just fabulous for her age. And Gator, my Pyrenean Shepherd, actually was the most consistent of all my dogs which is quite the shocker considering we joke that "he's got issues".
We had other lessons to learn apparently and the one thing I took away from my trip is that training your dog to handle the real world, come when called, and be social makes traveling much more enjoyable. The best time we had was finding a river for the dogs to swim. Then other agility competitors showed up with their pack and it was game on.
Gumbo's most memorable moment was at the river. Gumbo disappeared for awhile unnoticed. He dug up a mole, tossed it around and about to swallow! Shelley yells "he's eating something, laurie". I yell "well stop him". She yells "no way he's growling at me" and I get into a muddy wrestling match to save the mole. Guess who won, yes Gumbo got the prize.
Rodent, my new agility chihuahua, was adored by all at the event. He learned to be handled by strangers, get measured, sit in the stands, and beg for food. He also was a frequent visitor of the FitPaws booth where he wobbled, jumped, tumbled, and learned about his body. He even kept his anger management in check and made some new doggie friends. That's not easy for him.
USDAA did a really great job this year and really listened to the competitor complaints from last year. The running surface was much better, the competitor result area was much better, and the dust was virtually non-existent. I applaud USDAA for their efforts. Not to mention the courses were perfectly tough yet fun. The best news is that next year the event will be in Colorado. So excited not to drive to Kentucky again. Lastly, the IFCS 2012 World Team was announced at nationals. Sadly, Gem will not be on the team but it wasn't expected since she was the youngest dog to try out. It was a great learning experience for us all and we hope to be selected for a future world team. Rachel Sanders, the World Team Coach, will be coming to Wags & Wiggles to share her expertise with us in December.
Having a young dog can be the most fun and the most frustrating experience. I’ve had my fair share of puppies, and being the “crazy Lab lady” most of them have been high energy verging on psychosis. I love it though and get puppy fever more often than is normal.
My most recent Puppy, Mayhem, was born in February and recently it was time for her to get spayed. One of the hardest parts of having a dog, on top of the crazy puppy stages, is the part where they need to undergo a major surgery. They cannot speak to tell you that the doctors and nurses treated them well, they cannot tell you how much it hurts, or how much the medications affect them. Because of that, I am always a nervous wreck with my furry children’s medical care and am always looking for the least invasive way to treat them.
With what I do I am lucky enough to know many different people in the animal business and talk about and explore options for the care of the dogs, both my own and the client dogs. Enter Veterinary Surgical Specialists (VSS) in Tustin. I was able to discuss with them the option of the Laparoscopic Ovariectomy. With this procedure, the surgeon goes in Laparoscopically and removes the ovaries versus the traditional method of cutting the dog open and removing the ovaries and uterus. I was told there is practically no down time for the dog after and much less painful. I was sold!
Dr. Cambridge and his staff at VSS were amazing with my questions and general anxiety about my baby. I really am a lunatic when it comes to this stuff. Mayhem came out and was sleepy that first night from the anesthetic, but was back in action the next day as if nothing happened!! I have had dogs spayed in the past in the traditional way and they were down for a week with some pretty significant pain. My husband and I were both thrilled at the difference and I am certain I won’t ever have a dog spayed or neutered any other way.
I was so impressed with VSS, of course, but over the moon about how great it was for Mayhem I had to share the information.
I was told too that for dogs that are prone to bloat/Gastric Dilatation Volvulus or "GDV" (large breed, or deep chested dogs are most prone, but are not the only breeds) the surgeon can tack the stomach internally (Gastropexy) while performing this surgery laparoscopically so to minimize the likelihood of the dogs bloating. (If you are unfamiliar with dog bloat and have a large breed dog, please do look it up) They can also do a laparoscopic Gastropexy for prevention on dogs that have already been spayed/neutered with a fast recovery and tiny incision. Pretty amazing stuff.
Mayhem still continues to show off her puppyness and gives me a run for my money…I look forward to many years to come.
Have you recently received this flyer from your Wags & Wiggles Facility? If not, Wags & Wiggles is now REQUIRING yearly fecal & parasite testing. As of November 1st, all current and new clients will need to show proof of a Negative fecal testing done within 90 days.
As of September 2011 we have decided to add fecal (poop) and parasite testing to our daycare requirements. We have not had a big issue with the spread of parasites at our facilities due to our extensive cleaning and supervision, however we feel this new policy will only make our daycares and the community better. Some parasites can go undetected in dogs without symptoms of illness. There may always be a chance that your dog can get sick being around other dogs despite current vaccinations and fecal tests, but we want you to know that we love your dogs and want to implement everything possible to keep them happy and healthy.
This is what you need to know about this policy:
We recommend two tests: Ova/Parasite Test and Giardia Elisa Test. The Ova/Parasite test is MANDATORY. The Giardia Test is optional but is strongly suggested especially for Giardia prone areas like Irvine. Giardia is notoriously hard to detect in a standard flotation fecal test. This is why we suggest the Elisa Test. The Ova/Parasite test will check for all other parasites such as Roundworms, Tapeworms, Hookworms, Pinworms, Coccidia & other parasites. We anticipate that if you have current status with your veterinarian there will be no office charge. Contact your own veterinarian regarding their own policies.
If you are a new client, you must present confirmation from your veterinarian that your dog had a fecal and the results came back Negative. The test must have been done within 90 days prior to starting daycare or puppy class.
If you are an existing client, you will have until November 1st to present verification of a clean fecal. The fecal must have been done in the last 90 days.
All clients will be required to present proof of a clean fecal on a yearly basis. Hopefully you can tie this into your vaccination schedule. We will keep track of your fecal status in our computer and will remind you when your yearly due date comes around.
If your dogs fecal shows a parasite, you must seek treatment, and present a clean fecal result to us at the end of the treatment.
We know that asking you to get this test done may be difficult for your busy schedule. However, we are confident that our clients will respond positively to keeping their dogs in the safest daycare possible. We recommend that you get this fecal testing done through your own veterinarian. However, in the case of immediate need (such as emergency boarding), we have made arrangements with a local veterinarian to be able to do the fecal testing through W&W. Please contact either the RSM or the Tustin Facility for details.
Any dog that shows up for boarding or daycare after November 1st without proof of a clean fecal will not be allowed in the play area until this testing is done.
Here is some additional information on Giardia and Parasites: Giardia is an organism that lives in the small intestine of dogs and cats. If your dog shows symptoms, it's usually very watery diarrhea. Some dogs will lose weight (but still eat fine), have bad smelling poop with an abnormal pale color. Giardia transmits through feces. Your dog does not have to eat poop to get Giardia. They can drink infected water on walks or at dog parks, they can get Giardia on their feet and then lick their feet, and through normal nose to butt greetings with other dogs. Treatment is usually a 10-14 day long treatment of antibiotics.
If you have any questions regarding this new policy - Please contact your Wags & Wiggles Facility today and we will be happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have. Tustin: 714-368-7077 RSM: 949-635-9655
Here is a schedule of our upcoming Classes at both Wags & Wiggles locations for October & November! You can also Click Here to view our class schedule on our website.
PUPPY CLASSES
Tustin
Every Monday 4:30pm - 5:30pm (Instructors: Gretchen & Nicole)
Every Saturday 8:30am-9:30am (Instructors: Gretchen & Amanda)
RSM
Every Wednesday 12pm-1pm (Instructor: Ranaye)
Every Saturday 10am-11am (Instructor: Jenny)
Puppy Class Prices: $40 per class, $130 for a pack of 4 classes, $199 for a pack of 4 class + 1 private lessons, Train for Life Prgram applies.
Rally Obedience Class Price: $75 for 3 weeks, Train for Life Program DOES NOT apply.
To sign up for any classes or to get more information, please feel free to contact either facility: Tustin - 714-368-7077 RSM - 949-635-9655. You can also sign up for classes online through our online-pay. Click Here to Sign Up through Online Pay
Our famous DOGTOBERFEST is back for the month of OCTOBER!!! If you aren't familiar with our October Dogtoberfest Special - We offer 1 day in October to specific breeds or mixes. On your dogs day, they will receive daycare for only $20! (rolling back our prices back to 1999!) If you don't see your dogs breed or mix, the Mixed Breed day is October 26th and for any breed we missed, that day is October 31st.
(Limit 1 per dog. If your dog could be considered multiple breeds, please pick one day to come for this special. If you are on a pass, day must be paid separate. Ok for boarding use. $20 fee may not be discounted further. No coupons or additional discounts.)
Any questions about Dogtoberfest, feel free to call our RSM facility at 949-635-9655 and Tustin at 714-368-7077 and our staff will be happy to answer any questions!
Most clients would like to know how to stop their dog from chasing squirrels or how not to pull on the leash. Those questions are somewhat easy to answer with a well laid training plan. A few days ago, I was asked a different sort of question that I found much more difficult to answer.
This client's agility dog struggled with several issues: separation anxiety, counter surfing, start line problems, bar knocking, and a few other things. The underlying comment I made to her was that her dog lacked self control. Of course then she asked how to develop self control. As I thought about an answer, I realized how huge the answer would be. I couldn't answer that without a lot more thought.
In general my dogs have great self control. They weren't born with it, it has been instilled in every fabric of their life. Learning cues like leave it help but my dogs also know that just because they see something they want, it doesn't mean it's there for the taking. Games like It's Your Choice by Susan Garrett and Nothing In Life in Free are also great self control ideas.
So thanks to this smart student, I will be doing a series on implementing self control. I will be using Rodie, my recent puppy addition, for this series since self control is what we work on day after day.
Our first lesson will be about Waiting For the Cue. It's often the case that when we teach dogs a new behavior, that's all they want to do. If you teach them to High Five, soon they can't respond to sit or down without doing the High Five. Then grandma comes to visit, reaches down to pet your dog, and she gets slapped in the face with High Five.
In our classes, this is how learning new behaviors goes:
1) Shape behavior with click/treats (lure only if needed)
2) Add Cue once dog can offer the full behavior
3) Teach Dog to Wait for the Cue (no longer rewarding offered behavior)
As you will see in this video, Rodie, struggles with many concepts. Rodie has three behaviors on cue pretty reliably: Sit, Down, & Kennel. Now the challenge is to get him to wait, listen, and respond to the correct cue given. The problem is he likes Down WAY better than anything else and thinks everything should be down. He also thinks he should throw me a Down at any given moment.
Getting dogs to understand the concept of Waiting For The Cue will create a thoughtful dog who listens to their human and has the beginnings of self control. Take it slow, be patient, and have a sense of humor.
For those of you who haven't met me, my name is Liz and I am one of the staff trainers at Wags. I recently was able to assist my first foundation agility class with one of our longtime instructors Lisa McFarland and it was a really eye-opening learning experience for me.
One of the most interesting things I learned via assisting was how important it is for us as instructors to help our students learn the real value of rewards. The concept that is number one here at Wags is that we focus on learning to identify and reward your dog for appropriate behavior, and stop focusing on and being distracted by unwanted behavior. Reinforcing the right things over and over makes them become automatic over time, and letting go of the things we feel our dog shouldn't be doing will allow the "less-desirables" to fade away. Also, we need to remember that our dog determines what is valuable! We may think crunchy biscuits are the greatest, but our dog may really prefer a soft liver treat. Or, he may prefer to tug on a toy or pounce on a furry squeaky thing! Ultimately it doesn't matter what reward our dog will work for as long as we can identify ones that motivate him. We as trainers and owners need to be open to finding what excites our dog, and then once we do, be prepared to run with it!
One student in particular really stood out to me over the session. She joined us coming from a more traditional background, using corrections to train and not all that thrilled about giving her dog food rewards. But over the 6 week agility session, she has not only come to understand the "why" of positive reinforcement training, but she has began to see its awesome effects on her dog. She was fortunate that her dog was already a willing participant, but now her dog is blossoming into an enthusiastic, eager-to-please partner which is so exciting to see!
The staff trainers at Wags train dogs not only because we like to hang out with them all day, but because learning to communicate with a dog is such an amazing experience. When we can share that experience with students and open up entirely new avenues for them, it makes it twice as rewarding for us as well!
Last night is the last class of this session for Level. I hope to see you in a RSM agility or obedience class soon!
