Daycare May 22

We're back! and we are no longer that lazy dazy Monday. This group has been playing all week and have become true professionals. They enter the Paw with their heads high, run into the daycare room like they live there and frantically catch up with their friends with a series of jumps, punches, sniffs, yelps, and slobbery kisses.


The diamond in the rough this morning is the lovely Shaak Ti. This gorgeous dame is a cross between JRT and Dalmation, has the most stunningly light blue eyes I have ever seen, and is totally deaf. Fox had the pleasure of meeting this lil princess for the first time today and he fell instantly in love. Cant say I blame him...look at that mug! Every picture I took of the new couple looked like a glamor shot of Shaak Ti (and for some reason, a protection shot of Fox... maniac!). She even manages to body slam Fox with grace and style.

Currently, apart from Fox and back in the lounge with the other rascals, Shaak Ti is staring longingly at Katie (her past foster mom). She seems to know exactly how to use her looks to her advantage. Right now she is saying "Hello Katie... I would like to please come out of here and go to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory... I promise if you take me I will never misbehave again, hey! dont roll your eyes, look into my eyes... would these beautiful eyes lie to you?" (Insert song here -- "Trust In Me" from Disney's the Jungle Book, sung by Python Kaa to hypnotize Moglie) Click here to see excerpt.


Also at the Paw today is an old favorite, Izzy! From the moment she entered the lounge she has been giving the other dogs a run for their money. She is a non-stop ball of energy and couldn't be a more perfect match for Roxy the Schnauzer. For Roxy, every day is Halloween and she always goes as the same thing... the energizer bunny complete with cymbals (which she mimics with her voice) And, if Roxy is a bunny, then Izzy is definitely a fox, chasing incessantly and always keeping Roxy on her toes.

Thats it for today! and I finally got my own camera so count on tons of pics from now on!

Rupert found his forever home!

For those of you who have been following the BLOG, you have read about Rupert. We rescued Rupert, a young basset hound, from the San Diego Animal Shelter where he faced near certain death.

A while back, we brought Rupert to Woofstock, an event at Balboa Park that Metropawlitan Dog and The Collared Scholar helped sponsor. We wanted to get Rupert out of the daycare for a bit and show him off to the general public so they could see just how wonderful he is! At Woofstock, we met a wonderful couple with a young basset hound of their own. We talked at length about Rupert. They seemed interested and said they would be in touch. We were excited at the opportunity - we thought this would be the perfect fit!

Following the event, I received several emails from the couple. Kacy, the woman I spoke with, emailed me on multiple occaisions and asked to come meet Rupert. I gave her directions to our facility, informed the staff they might be coming, and then....we waited. We didn't see them for weeks and we started feeling a little dejected.

Yesterday, we received a phone call from Kacy's husband asking us if he could stop in to see Rupert. The excitement returned and we invited him down to the shop. He brought his basset hound and he and Rupert played incessantly. He told me that his wife wanted Rupert SOOOOO badly. He played it down, acting like he wasn't sure, and then, just when his wife didn't expect it, he came down to get Rupert and surprise her. What a surprise!

Rupert went to his new home yesterday! He has a new little brother named Cowboy, who I know will make the perfect playmate. His new owners are interested in getting involved in Basset Hound Rescue so we are looking forward to keeping in touch. We are going to miss Rupert but we are thrilled that he found such a wonderful new home!

Thank you once again to all of our wonderful clients and friends who helped support Rupert through his illness. Your generosity will not be forgotten.

Daycare May 19th

"YAAAAAWWWWNNN"... ... ...


Pretty quiet at the Paw today... that happens sometimes when the pups party too much over the weekend (ie beach days, play dates, visits from family and friends, new toys, and a lot of quality time with their parents). In fact, even the dogs that are here today seem pooped. Only Rupert and Seymour are keeping their heads up in the Big Room and the Lounge is zzzzzZZZZZZ.

Behind the desk is another story. Today being Monday, our groomer Tina is in, and in with her is Shonti. She is a mix between a MU and a TT and is sweet sweet SWEET. The minute she walks past the door in the morning, Fox (my dog and the usual office manager) goes ballistic. Before Tina even announces her presence Fox is crying and waving his arms around like a maniac screeching, "Shonti!? Shonti's here mom! Lift me! PLEASE MOM! Lift me, I cant see her! Shonti!!"

Eventually, Shonti will saunter in from the spa and resignedly give Fox the time of day. "Hey sport... yeah yeah yeah, I know I know, your excited to see me, you love me, you cant get enough of me... I get it all the time kid..." But Fox doesnt even hear her. He has his own agenda and he wont give up till he gets a reaction he can be satisfied with. He jumps up to his hind legs and begins the tip toe, raised roof dance he is famous for. His arms come down landing around Shontis neck and whether she likes it or not they are off on a romantic waltz around the office floor. He nibbles her ear, licks her nose and playfully bats at her face until he she couldnt possibly ignore him. When he is sure he has made is admiration of her greatness good and known, the real show starts. The time has come to play and Fox pulls out all the stops to make Shonti an offer she cant refuse. He starts by twirling around, displaying his ability to provide fun by chasing his own tail and shaking to death an imaginary morsel. "Come on! lets pretend we're chasing rabbits! I would be so good at chasing rabbits! I would chase it round like this (chasing tail) and then I would grab it and I would rrrrrrrr (head shaking)... it wold be soooo awesome!"

Then he invites Shonti to play with a neck hug, a few ankle bites, and the occasional butt sniff (dogs...sheesh!). Shonti, too dainty to give in to rough housing tries her best to look the other way. She bows when Fox hugs, she turns when Fox bites and she sits when Fox tries to ...well...violate her personal space, shall we say. Little did she know this avoidance was Fox's plan all along. He keeps up his routine but lights a fire under it, moving around Shonti faster and faster. Before she knows it, in an attempt to put a stop to this childish behavior, she has become a part of it! Twirling , bending and shaking to keep Fox off and loving every minute of it! If Fox is lucky, which he usually is, he can keep the party going for a good 5 -10minutes.. before Shonti comes to her senses:)

Its a lovely relationship for the both of them. Fox gets the play time while Shonti gets to keep pretending she "would never...!" Its adorable to watch (and obviously hilarious to narrate). Feel free to come in any Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday to witness it yourself.



Shonti, not caring... wink wink ;)




Have a nice one everyone!

Maya, Pumpkin and Domino's In Kennel Training

Today, we are proud to announce the graduation of papillons, Maya and Domino and Chihuahua, Pumpkin from The Collared Scholar's In Kennel Program. You may have read about the trio earlier in the blog. They joined us for in kennel training because they were having issues with housebreaking and basic manners.

The trio stayed at Metropawlitan Dog where they played in daycare all day long with training sessions in between. For the housebreaking portion, they came home with me. All in all, they were amazing guests! They loved their training sessions and did phenomenally well on the housebreaking!

Prior to joining us for in kennel training, the trio ran the house. When someone came to the door, they would bark and jump on them. Because of this, we decided to really imprint a place command. We taught the dogs to go to their "place" and stay there when told. This is particularly useful when people come to the door or when you are eating dinner and don't want dogs begging at your feet! There are a ton of uses for the place command so we thought this would be a great solution to the problem. We also taught the dogs to lie down, heel and come to their names. They were taught house manners such as not jumping on the furniture, not begging, and most importantly, they were taught to use the bathroom outside.

Check out this video of them showing off just a little of the obedience they learned while they were with us!