Last Block Week and Sunshine and Success at Blackpool

I had my last block week at college last week, My Mum, Matt, Jayne and Stewart looked after WaggaWuffins for me. Thanks Guys!
We had some lectures at college and also got to spend time in the lab analysing dog food! It was really interesting and a bit scary, we had to break down the food and find the ash, protein, fat, fibre contents and calorific value. Then compare to what it said on the packet. I had Hills T/D.
The weather was lovely and most of us were staying at Robeanne, so we had a good laugh in the evening together, it was more like a holiday than college. We had to do a presentation on the Thursday for the Psycho Pharmacology module and we all passed that, it was the last practical assessment to do! I have 2 assignments to complete and then I have finished. We get our results in September and Graduate at Beverley Minster in November. I have received provisional offer of a place on the Bsc in Canine Behaviour and Training 2 year top up too.

Sunday was Blackpool Champ Show and it was very hot, I took Snoopy and Dinky. It was Dinky's first show in 3 years and Matt had a go at handling her something he has never done before, Matt did a great job but Dinky didn’t get placed.

Snoopy however won a strong Open Dog Class and took the Dog Challenge Certificate. We were very pleased and I think I got my showing bug back!! Snoopy has 2 Reserve CC's but this is first CC, two more and he gets the title of Champion, I will certainly be chasing those now!

Jayne entered Jed her Swedish Vallhund in post graduate dog and he got a 2nd place which means he has qualified to compete at Crufts 2011.

Well done Jayne and Jed!

We should have more show results from our friday ringcraft class dogs as two of them have their first shows in August and September.

Happy First Birthday WaggaWuffins

We are coming up to our 12 months anniversary soon and I will also have finished my degree about the same time!

It’s been a chaotic year, stressful, exciting, tiring, educational and scary. Lots of people have been supportive and helpful. I have met some lovely people and their dogs and made many new friends.

It’s nice to see how the WaggaWuffins has grown out of Elton Dog Club. It’s not been easy, but I wouldn’t change it for the world! I’m one of those few people who love change and moving forwards so I know Wagga-Wuffins will never get stuck in a rut and I love the challenges it brings me.

We now have 18 classes a week and struggle to accommodate everyone. The daycare started only 3 months ago and is picking up nicely and we have some wonderful dogs, it is certainly the best job in the world.

We also are becoming an educational base for other instructors who come to us to develop their skills and knowledge and pick up some tips. We’ve had dog trainers attend courses at Wagga-Wuffins from Bolton, Rossendale, Swinton and even as far as East Yorkshire.

It is also nice to see my own trainers continually develop and improve themselves, they have all achieved great things over the last year and I’m very proud of them.

My Plans for the next 12 months are starting a 2 year top up BSc in Canine Behaviour and Training and a new Puppy. Plans for the centre are more events and instructor courses along with the continual improvement and development of our current courses.

Distinctions all Round!

It’s been a busy week! Jayne finished her COAPE ‘DogWise’ course and her results came through and she passed with distinction. Well done Jayne.

On Saturday we got together for a bit of a training session and an injured homing pigeon found it way into the centre! Brave thing when there were two spaniels and labradoodle there!!!
We put it in a dog cage in the daycare room with some water and bird seed and reported it online as it had a ring on its leg.

Sunday was the final CAP1 workshop and assessment day. Everyone did exceptionally well and we all passed CAP1 with distinction. A massive well done to everyone, Stewart, Jayne, Matt, Anne-Marie, Jackie, Cas and Sue.

Matthew got the Teachers Award off Helen, Helen got her Kentucky and Sue’s husband happens to keep pigeons so she got to take the pigeon home!

We start CAP2 next in August and Helen got us started with ideas of what behaviours we are going to do. We have definitely 1 space available and maybe another on the CAP2 which is 4 workshops run over 4 months. If you are interested email me jane@waggawuffins.com

We had our first Heelwork to Music Training class on Wednesday which was great fun and it’s our first Friday of classes this week, Mixed Activities, Puppy Socialisation and Ringcraft.
We are all off to Blackpool Champ Show in a couple of weeks so we will be practicing for that on Fridays!

Finding Suitable Care for Your Pet While on Holiday

With the sunny season approaching several of our customers have been asking advise on boarding and suitable care for their pets when they go away.
There are now lots of options as to what you can do with your pets while you are away on holiday.
• Boarding Kennels
• Pet Sitting
• Home Boarding
• Dogs stays with family and attends a crèche during the day
• Or take them with you!

People are always weary and concerned about leaving their pets and quite rightly so.

It is important when choosing that you consider the following:

• Always go and have a look round first make sure you are happy with the facility and also the staff, as these are the people who will be looking after your pet.
• Check they have a valid boarding license (Kennels, home boarding and crèches require then)
• Check they are fully insured
• Make sure they are conforming to the license and insurance conditions as if they are not they may be putting your pets as risk and their insurance may not be valid if conditions are breached
• Make sure anyone coming to sit at your home is CRB checked
• Home boarding should not have kennels or crates as you are paying for the luxury of your dog being in the comfort of a home environment.
• The number of dogs allowed on the license is not being exceeded.
• If you are leaving your pet in a boarding establishment of any kind you will need to make sure vaccinations are up to date and also your dog has been vaccinated against kennel cough.

Licenses are there to protect the safety and welfare of your pet. You can check your local council’s license conditions by contacting the council.

Happy Holidays