Daycare May 15th

Hello Again!

Sorry for the delay...technical issues... but we are back up and running again. And of course by running I also mean jumping, barking, chewing, wrestling, peeing, and everything else involved in a doggy daycare.
There have been a few updates since we spoke last and the first of which is the happy graduation of our darling Domino and ruthless Rocco into the big dog room.
They have grown out of needing the safety and comfort of the lounge and are on to bigger and better things... or dogs that is. They are totally in love with their new positions in life and have each integrated themselves by adapting some fresh techniques. For Domino this is letting herself in and out of a kennel so that she can still get her naps in... now that the couch is gone, and for Rocco this is diving and hiding under the kennels whenever he is 1. spooked by one of the Great Danes, 2. playing "chase me" with Tucker, or 3. hiding from Maritza cuz he just stole her water bottle.


Also new is Shadow's toy. Not just any toy, but the best toy known to both man and dog(according to her). We arent talking about one of those fancy brain toys from the Humane Society nor one of those lame-oh tug ropes ooh no... we are talking about the amazing, the endlessly enjoyable... football! Shadow has discovered Love in her play times with this toy and takes no time at all bragging about it when you enter her private suite (the daycare small room). In you come and off she goes, grabbing the football and saying "Look at my toy! Isnt it amazing?! I mean, I can chew it over here, I can carry it over there, I can chew it while on my back, I can omigosh! omigosh!..." (I just took her toy and threw it so now she is scrambling to pick it back up as fast as possible... LOL soooo funny! and also her favorite game so dont feel too bad for her) Witness her infatuation in each of the attached photos which, by the way, were the result of a photo shoot Shadow requested of her and Falcon (yup, Falcon the Football...she named it.. or him I guess... what a nut!)






Lastly, an update from today, we have a new Puggle to celebrate!. Meet T-Bone :) He is six months old and adorable. Puggles are so great in so many ways and T-Bone is no different . They are unbelievably friendly, very loving, and pure comedy at times. They play like maniacs and sleep like angels. T-Bone is also the smallest Puggle I have seen yet. He looks almost like a duplicate of Rocco when he was a puppy but he is actually gonna stay pocket sized! Too cute for words.



PS Meagan let me use her camera (usually I use my cell phone). I got a little carried away but I hope you enjoyed it anyway!

Herbie Comes to Doggy Boot Camp!

This week, we at Metropawlitan Dog and The Collared Scholar were going about our daily routine when a call came in. The caller was very upset. She was calling regarding training for her 5 year old English Bulldog, Herbie. We scheduled her in for a consultation and into the Met she came.


When I pulled up, she was waiting for me, obviously desperate for some reprieve. Sitting next to her was the biggest ball of love I have seen in a while. She proceeded to tell me Herbie's story. He had been to several trainers, each claiming they could help. In then end, she was left with a dog with aggression issues. She told me that Herbie was human and dog aggressive and had attacked her and her husband on multiple occaisions. As dogs passed on the street, I could see her tense up, nervous as to what Herbie's reaction would be. This was a very serious case and I could tell she was distraught - she loved her dog very much and all of his life, she only did what she thought was best for him. But after being bitten, she no longer felt safe with him. She decided to enroll him in our in kennel doggy boot camp.

While she filled out the necessary paperwork, we took Herbie back to his own doggy suite. He was obviously nervous so I decided he would come home with me for a little TLC. His first night he was a bundle of nerves. Poor guy. He just kept to himself mostly - I gave him his own private kennel run so he could relax and get used to his new surroundings. The next day, I spent quite a bit of time with the little man - I wanted him to get comfortable with me and I didn't want to push it. I sat with him in the kennel run, letting him approach me on his terms. In the beginning, he was growling at me but it didn't take long before he was sitting in my lap, begging for pets!

Herbie has been with me for only four days and has since come completely out of his shell. Yesterday, trainer Katie Earle and I took him out to a populated area and let him meet people of all ages. He did great! No aggression whatsoever! He has been running the yard with my dogs as well with no incidents and has had several controlled interactions with other dogs on the street without incident. We have given Herbie boundaries and structure and a little TLC and he is already starting to turn his behavior around! We still have quite a bit of work to do but stay tuned and we will update the blog regularly with Herbie's progress, pictures and video!