I truly hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas celebration with family and friends.  For me, it was very low key this year.  At least I didn’t have to cook (not that anyone likes my cooking).  If you didn’t read about the dogs that are boarding with me in the last two installments, you can go to Christmas at Waggy’s part 1 and Christmas at Waggy’s Part 2.

On with the story, Libby the Lab left on Christmas Eve and Julie the Lab came to stay on December 26th.

Julie the Lab came to visit

It’s been so fantastic to have such a good group of dogs staying with us.  Overall, they have been very mellow and well behaved.  However, we did have a very “humping” group.  Cooper the Cocker wouldn’t leave Lucy the Labradoodle alone!  He wasn’t the only one.

We went to the Dog Park everyday to get all their energy out.  With a large group of dogs, it’s crucial that they get a change of scenery and plenty of exercise.  Thank Goodness, my son’s were home on vacation to help me walk the dogs.   We look like “Dogs on Parade” walking down the street as people look at us like we’re crazy to have so many dogs.  I politely let them know that they’re not mine.

Thank you for letting me show you a glimpse of what it’s like to board dogs in your home.  I will be blogging about the details in future posts.  For now, please enjoy the rest of the pictures and I wish you a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

That was fun ripping up all the paper! Daisy

Simon Says, "Act like a dog"

And to all a good night. Simon and Lucy

Having fun at the local Dog Park

Chris and her entourage lounging on a cold night

Cooper relaxing after opening presents

It's good to be with friends when opening presents! Simon, Daisy and Cooper

Hey, where's my present? Lucy and Ella

The gang's all here!

Chris L Wagner

From One Pet Lover to Another

Waggy’s Pet Sitting Service

Waggy’s Pet Products Online Store

Waggy’s Pet Tips and Tales Blog

Hello and happy holidays from Chris at Waggy’s Pet Sitting.  The whole gang is almost here.  Today (12/22) Angel the lab left, but Simon and Daisy arrived.  Simon and Daisy first met a couple of years ago when they both boarded with me and it was love at first sight.  They were inseparable and played together the whole time they were here.

Dogs playing in the backyard!

Simon & Daisy Holding Hands when they first met

They also were very mischievous together.  I was marinating a whole pan of chicken wings in Teriyaki sauce and went out of the house for a bit.  When I got home there wasn’t a trace of the chicken, the bones or the sauce.  It was like I just put a clean pan on the counter!  In addition, Simon also ate a whole stick of butter.  Needless to say, I am on to his tricks and know how to hide food from him.  With all that, we love him very much and he’s a great dog!

Daisy and Simon in 2009 Reunited again with my son Clayton

All the dogs are getting along great except for one incident from the two most unlikely culprits.  Libby the Lab and Cooper the Cocker, had a scuffle.  I was playing with another dog and Cooper was barking.  I guess Libby didn’t like it and let him know.  It was over quickly and all has been forgiven.

The Wagners on a walk with Lucy, Libby and Cooper

My family and I just love our doggie house guests and are so thankful that we get to care for them throughout the holidays!

If you missed the other dogs in part 1 of this Christmas series, go to Christmas At Waggy’s – Part 1.

Chris L Wagner

From One Pet Lover to Another

Waggy’s Pet Sitting

Waggy’s Eco Pet Products

Waggy’s Pet Tips and Tales Blog

In addition to writing this blog and having an online pet products store, I’m also a pet sitter.  90% of my business is privately boarding dogs in my home and Christmas time is crazy around here, but it can be a real blast with the right combination of dogs and temperaments.

I’ve been in the dog boarding business for over 4 1/2 years now and have the luxury of only taking my regular clients.  This makes it so much easier because I know the dogs very well and they know me and my family.  Some of the dogs even have their own place on the couch that they love to sit in.

Now that I have my blog, I thought I’d chronicle the comings and goings of my furry friends over Christmas and New Years in pictures.  So far only about 3 ornaments have broken and one bowl of dog food has been taken off the kitchen counter and consumed.  At least this year no dog has urinated on the tree YET!

The pictures started on Friday December 18th.  I hope you enjoy them and I’ll be updating everyday.  If you would like to send me your Holiday pictures, I’d love to put them on my website.  Please email them to chris@waggyspetsitting.com.

On Friday came Cooper the Cocker and Goldie a Lab Mix

On Saturday came Lucy the Labradoole and Libby the Lab with Goldie and Cooper

Monday, this is my son Dylan with Angel the Lab, Goldie went home, and Cooper, Libby and Lucy are still here to join in the fun

Happy Holidays to you and your family!

Chris L Wagner

From One Pet Lover to Another

Waggy’s Eco Pet Products

Waggy’s Pet Sitting

Waggy’s Pet Tips and Tales

Ever wonder if the chemical exposure in the textiles for  your pet’s beds and toys are harmful to them?  The Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification takes the guess work out and eliminates harmful substances for the consumer and the environment.

Organic Bumper Bed with Oeko-Tex Certification

I remember the 70’s very well with polyester being all the rage.  It made clothes easy to clean and was practically indestructible.  Gotta love those high waisted pants with big bell bottoms!  (My kelly green pants come to mind)

However, the outcry from consumers that the chemical exposure in certain materials were harmful elicited the need for a standardized test for chemicals.   In fact, the people were crying,  ”Poison in Textiles”.   So in 1992, The Austrian Textile Research Institute (ÖTI) and the German Research Institute Hohenstein created the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 which created the first uniformed  safety standard tests for the textile and clothing industries.  The motto “Confidence in Textiles – Tested for Harmful Substances” was born.

Eco Bones with Oeko-Tex Certification

How does this relate to pets?  Well, these same standards can be found in products for your pets with no harmful substances whatsoever.

Okeo-Tex accomplishes this by using a 4 step Textile Ecology certification process:

• Production Ecology involves the production processes on man and the environment.  Which means everything from operational safety, water and energy use, to dust and noise generation.
• Human Ecology deals with the effects of the textiles and the chemicals in the textiles on the well being of the consumer.
• Performance Ecology looks into the effects of washing, dry cleaning and care on the environment.
• Disposal Ecology involves at all aspects of disposing the material from recycling to dumping.

As you can see, they have looked at all angles to bring you the very best .  Today here are currently over 9,000 textile and clothing manufacturers in more than 80 countries that use the Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification label for no harmful substances and is the most well known test label in the world.

That’s why we are so proud that Waggy’s Pet Products is able to offer products with the Okeo-Tex Standard 100 label for your pets.  We know that you love your pets and want the very best for them.

I hope this was helpful in arming you with the knowledge you need to give your pets the best.

Chris L Wagner

Reflections of a Pet Sitter and Mompreneur

Waggy’s Pet Products

Waggy’s Pet Sitting

Waggy’s Pet Tips and Tales Blog

If you’re considering becoming a pet sitter, one of the first (of many) things you need to decide is what kind of pet services you want to offer your clients.

That's Me with some of my boarding dogs

There are many possibilities such as:

1.  Dog Boarding – the pet stay’s in the sitters home

2.  In Home Pet Sitting – the sitter visits the pet in their own home

3.  Overnight Pet Sitting – the sitter spends the night at the pet’s home

4.  Dog Walking – Sometimes called daily’s – the sitter walks the dogs on an on-going basis

5.  Dog Day Care – the sitter watches the pet for the day in their own home

6.  Pet Taxi – the sitter escorts the pet to the Vet, groomers, etc.

7.  Pooper Scooper – self explanatory!

8.  Barnyard Pet Sitting – the sitter visits local ranches or farms

9.  or, create your own combination or niche.

It’s a good idea to check out your competition and what would work in your area.  For instance, you wouldn’t say that your specialize in horses when you live in Manhattan.  I  don’t think you’d last very long.

You need to be honest with yourself just how much time you want to spend pet sitting and what kind of pet sitting services you want to offer.  Not all pet sitters offer the same thing.  Some do it all and some only offer the services that they enjoy the most.  In doing the services you enjoy, it will make for a more pleasant experience and one that you’ll want to do for years to come.

Finding a unique niche where the competition is not as fierce is another consideration.  For instance, my pet sitting business – Waggy’s Pet Sitting, specializes in Cage Free Dog Boarding.  There aren’t a lot of pet sitter that are brave or crazy enough to offer this service.  I will go into detail about dog boarding in another post.

If you are completely new to pet sitting, I would recommend offering many different kinds of services not only to bring in more revenue, but to decide for yourself which ones to keep and which ones to throw out.  I have done them all (except barnyard animals) and have weeded out the services I didn’t care for.  Make pet sitting fit into your lifestyle, not the other way around.  This is your business and you decide what you want to do.

If you are serious about becoming a pet sitter, you need to treat it as a business and not just a hobby.  There is so much that goes into running a successful pet sitting business and it’s not just about playing and loving the animals, however, that is the best part!

Next in this series, we will examine the Pros and Cons of Dog Boarding.  To view Part 1 of this series, please go to my blog post “Do I have what it takes to work with animals?”

Now go out and hug your dog!

Chris L Wagner

From One Pet Lover To Another

http://www.waggysecopetproducts.com

Http://www.waggyspetsitting.com

http://www.waggyspettipsandtales.com