Stephanie of Ascension Kennels

I’m always eager to help and get to know other pet sitters, so we set a date for me to come up and see her property.  Pilot Hill is almost an hour from Folsom in the hills, nestled in the Oak trees with panoramic views.

I was a little nervous about driving up there, but was comforted by my trusty travel companions, Dutch and Kaylee, and we all set out for a day in the country.

As I started down Salmon Falls Road, I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was.  It was a perfect spring day, the hills were a bright green with sprawling ranches scattered throughout the countryside, and I was groovin’ to the tunes in my car.  (Do people still say groovin’?).  I was going into that state of gratitude for being able to enjoy this wonderful adventure.

Everything was going great, but of course, being (which I now can’t deny) “direction challenged” took a wrong turn and knew that I was not going in the direction that I needed to.  The road was getting narrower and narrower and paving was hit and miss.

Me chilling on a hammock. Do I have to leave??!!

I remembered that I just got one of those new Android phones with GPS  and thought I’d give it a try.  You guessed it, there wasn’t any reception.  So I started down the road to start all over from the main highway.  I finally got reception and called Stephanie.

Two of the Doxies

She eventually had to come find me and bring me to her house as I was getting low on gas!  I’m glad she did because the dirt road to her house would have been too much for my bucket of bolts car.  BTW, Stephanie provides transportation to her house if you don’t want to brave the dirt road.

Just so you know, MapQuest was off by 4 miles which was why I couldn’t find her road.  Just thought I’d mention that.

Once we got there, we were greeted by her adorable 13 week old dachshund puppies that are for sale.  They had never seen another dog before, so Dutch and Kaylee caused quite of stir.  They soon settled down and we were able to look over the place.

My trusted travel companions - Kayee and Dutch

Stephanie, who is a licensed Vet Tech and groomer, envisions her boarding facility to be more of a rustic, back to nature environment for the dogs.  They have tons of room to run and play with plenty of shade from the big Oak trees.  She plans weekend events such as scavenger hunts, Easter egg hunts and pie eating contests!  She also provides nature walks through her wooded property.  Stephanie would like this it to be a fun, safe place for your dogs.

Where the dogs can play

Eventually, she would like to be able to board 20 dogs at a time where they will sleep in climate controlled housing and expand the amount of acreage the dogs can play in.  Since she is a Vet Tech, she can care for any medical need or physical therapy your pet may need.  She’ll even cook for your pets!!  How great is that.  In addition, she can come to your home to care for your pets provided you live in Pilot Hill, Cool, Georgetown, Auburn and the surrounding areas.   I could see that Stephanie is a loving, caring person that genuinely cares for all animals.

This is the view from Stephanie's front yard!

If you have friends in her area, please give her a call at (530)906-4334 and help her build her vision of her “dog haven in the hills”.

So, it was time to bring me to my car which was on the side of the road to start my journey back home.  She told me I could get gas in Cool which was in the opposite way back home.  I got my gas and stopped at Subway to eat and was on my way.

With my tank full , my belly full and Dutch and Kaylee chillin’ in the back seat, I was reflecting on all the emails I will need to answer when I got home and all the work that wasn’t done today.  But the way I see it, making a new friend and being able to experience a new place and beautiful scenery is good for the soul and gave me a short break to fuel my spirit.  The work will always be there!

To view all the photos, please go to my facebook page. Friend me!!

Meet Raider, an 8 year old Lab/Border Collie Mix with Stage 4 Lymphoma . He was only expected to live for 6-8 weeks when diagnosed and it’s been 2 1/2 months.  The owners consider this a miracle and are showering him with love until he passes.

Raider

Due to his Lymph nodes being swollen, his eyes and back side are very red and bulgy and he’s lost 50 pounds in the last 2 months.  He lives on 5 acres and is used to controlling the wildlife on his property.  He can still do all that, but at a much slower pace.

Barring his appearance, you’d never know that he has a terminal illness.  He has a big appetite, still wags his tail all the time and follows me around the house.  He was even trying to get “frisky” with Libby when she came to stay with us.

Raider getting "frisky" with Libby

What really impresses me are the owners two young children and how they accept his illness with grace and love him unconditionally.

Fortunately for Raider, he doesn’t know that the end is near.  Some people may debate that dogs know when their time is coming and I do believe that, but at this stage, I don’t think he’s there yet.

Humans are a very different story.  If we find ourselves in the unfortunate situation to be diagnosed with a terminal illness, we are face with having to deal with that reality and what it would mean to our lives and how we conduct ourselves.

SHOWTIME has a new series called, “The Big C” starring Laura Linney and Oliver Platt in which she is a school teacher diagnosed with terminal Melanoma.  She’s healthy now, but knows that she doesn’t have long on this Earth.  So, she decides not to tell her family and lives life completely on her terms and does whatever she wants.  She kicks her needy husband out of the house and lives life to the fullest.  She does some crazy stuff, but it’s the subtleties of her life that take on new meaning such as the flowers in her garden and spending time with her cranky teenage son. She is joyous and willing to try new things that she dared not do before.  Wouldn’t it be great if we can live that all the time?

Why do we wait until something like a terminal illness wakes us up to live our lives the way we want to?  It’s like the Kris Allen’s song, “Live like you’re dying”. “We only got 86,400 seconds in a day to turn it all around or we throw it all away”.

Raider Relaxing

I believe that we are here to live our truth and to achieve pure joy and love and live in alignment with that truth.  There are many paths to reach this place, but they all are going to the same destination – Spirit, God, Source, Nirvana, Infinite Intelligence, The Universe and for you Star Wars fans, The Force.  Whatever you call it, to reach this destination you must live in accordance with your true and higher self – your divine self.

Think about it, are you living in alignment with your true self??

Are you with the person you truly want to be with?

Are you in the profession or job that you can’t wait to get up for everyday?

Do you treat people with kindness and can you forgive them?

Do you sweat the small stuff?

Do you argue when it just doesn’t matter?

Do you love your friends and family deeply and openly?

Have you put off someone or something waiting for the perfect time that never comes?

I’m still working on all this, but I know that the choices in front of me are limitless – we only have to make the decision to create our amazing life!

What’s the first thing you would do if you knew your time was limited??

This is how I find Ty everytime. He can't hear me come in poor little guy!

Of all the many miles I’ve journeyed with dogs, there is one in particular that I look forward to.  It’s just on the outskirts of El Dorado Hills, CA, but it might as well be miles away in the mountains.  I walk this path with Ty, a 14 year old Queensland Healer/Border Collie mix that looks and acts like he’s 5!  He recently went deaf and I have to wake him up when I get there, but he’s always so happy to see me and ready for our walk.

Here's Ty when he's awake!

The path we walk is scattered with houses.  One has goats, horses and two very protective Bouvier des Flandres.

These are some of the horses from the house across the street

The scenery is set in the foothills with oak trees everywhere.  I relish the solitude and peaceful surroundings.  Not only is it a beautiful walk, but the path has steep inclines which gives me a good glute workout!

This is the begining of the path

After walking over a wooden bridge, there is a beautiful pond – a home sits on top of the hill overlooking the pond.

The Pond

At the end of this journey, we climb to the top of the hill where there is a spectacular vista that spans all the way to Folsom Lake and even Sacramento’s skyline in the background.  One of the homes has a vineyard and a tennis court with a large deck that faces the view.  I can only image what it must be like sitting on top of that deck looking over the magnificent view and knowing how blessed you are to have this little piece of Heaven.

Right next to the tennis courts is the lookout deck

The major glute workout is worth it to see this wonderful, peaceful, thought provoking view.

This is just part of the awesome view

Isn’t that the same with life.  There may be steep hills, rocks, bugs and whatever comes your way, but to reach for something that is your life’s desire makes it all worth it.  As they say, there can be no joy without the pain.

Another look at the view

As a woman my age, I have learned that life is too short to compromise on what brings me joy.  What else are we here for, but to experience happiness – the kind of happiness that comes from deep inside your soul.  The awareness that without this joy, you’re life is less than what it could be.

This is Ty saying good bye and ready to make the trip back home!

We all know what it is, now are you going to spend the rest of your life wishing or doing something about finding your bliss?  It’s all up to you.

Zoey, the Beautiful Springer

At 2:30, I decided to go for a walk with Zoey the beautiful Springer Spaniel, Stella, the cute and feisty Beagle and Roxie the sweet, loving German Shepherd.  After I “saddled” them all up and put in my ear buds, I set out the door for a nice leisurely walk.

Stella, the very protective (of me) Beagle

I was in a peaceful mood and all the dogs were easy walkers.  Believe me, that’s a wonderful thing!  The music that was playing mirrored my mood.  Have you ever noticed  that music has a way of doing that.

A few minutes into our walk, the sun bursts through the clouds and I could feel it beating down on my skin.

Folsom is very well known for its beautiful trails throughout the city, and my home backs up to one of the trails that winds this way through the wetlands.  I decided to cut through the Elementary School field to get to the shadier areas of our walk.

Besides Zoey sniffing at every bush, blade of grass and tree, everything was going great.  All of a sudden the batteries in my radio pooped out and I had to take off my ear buds.  Thank God because there was a gentle breeze blowing through the leaves of the trees which is my absolute favorite sound in the world.  Something about that sound gives me a sense of peace and all is well with the world.

Roxy the Sweet and humanlike Shepherd

About that time, Roxie decides that she wants to stop and rest.  She lays down and I wait for her.  After a while, I join her and sit down on the trail.  Zoey sat down snuggled right beside me and Stella, having to be center of attention, tried to climb on my lap.  So, there we sat – all four of us, in the shade in the middle of the trail just quietly resting and listening to the wind blowing through the trees.  What a site we must have been.

I closed my eyes and said a grateful thank you to the powers that be.

If it wasn’t for my batteries going out, I would have missed this awesome moment.

Zen comes at the most unexpected times.

Have you had a perfect moment of Zen with your best furry buddy?

Cocoa Bean the American Bulldog

Guess which one was the aggressor?  The Yellow Lab.  Bailey was an otherwise sweet,  obedient lab that according to her owner has never showed aggression before.  For some reason, she didn’t like Cocoa Bean.

Needless to say, this incident was very traumatic for me and my family and of course the owners of both dogs.  It’s not easy to learn that your dog attacked a dog and it’s difficult to see your dog with puncture wounds and abrasions.  Don’t worry, I took her to the vet and she is doing just fine.

This incident drives home the point that it isn’t the breed, but how the dogs relate to each other.   Who knows why Cocoa Bean brought out this behavior in Bailey.  We all love our dogs like they were part of the family, but we must always remember that they are animals with animal instincts.

Usually when there’s a scuffle between two dogs, I can break it up with vocal commands or squirting water in their face, but this time was different.  I tried everything to get the dog off, but nothing helped, so I have to admit, I was at a loss.

So, I thought I’d do some research and find out what I could have done in this situation and pass that information along to you.

How to break up a dog fight

Of course it’s always best to avoid them getting into a fight in the first place.  Their body language plays a big part in deciphering their behavior.

According to Cherie Langlois, here’s some clues to know when a fight might break out:

“A hard, unwavering, targeted stare.
Dominance posturing, such as mounting.
Stiff body movements.
Extreme body language: the tail held stiffly up or down, lips pulled tight against the teeth”.

I can say from experience that Bailey did exhibit this kind of behavior.  I’ve seen this behavior before and nothing ever came from it.  One piece of advice –  please don’t antagonize the dogs – STAY CALM and try to diffuse the situation calmly.  They’re already on a trigger hair at this point and you don’t want to make it worse.  If a fight does break out, please do not try to pull them apart by their collars.  Don’t put your hands anywhere near their mouths.  You will most likely get bit yourself!

If they are already fighting, you can try:

Bailey the Yellow Lab

Spraying water in their faces

Some has said that Citronella Spray helps.  It’s a safer alternative to Pepper Spray.

Cattle Prods and Shock Collars, however this can put them in more of a fight mode and try to attack the prod or think that the other dog is hurting them and want to fight more.  You can condition them to the collars and prods, but not in the middle of a fight.  Work with them beforehand.

The most effective and safe way to stop a fight requires  two people:  Leerburg Training explains it this way,  “Each person grabs the back feet of one of the dogs. The dogs back feet are then picked up like a wheelbarrow. With the legs up, both dogs are then pulled apart.

Once the dog fight is broken up and the dogs pulled apart , it is critical that the people do not release the dogs or the dog fight will begin again. The two people need to start turning in a circle, or slowly swinging the dogs in a circle while they back away from the other dog. This stops the dog from curling and coming back and biting the person holding their legs.

By circling the dog has to sidestep with its front feet or it will fall on its chin. As long as you slowly continue to back and circle, the dog cannot do any damage to you. To insure that the fight will not begin all over again when you release the dogs, one of the dogs needs to be dragged into an enclosure (i.e. a kennel, the garage, another room) before the dog is released. If you do not do this, the dogs will often charge back and start fighting again or if you release the dog to quickly the dog will turn and attack the person who had his feet.”

Do you have effective ways of breaking up a dog fight?  I’d love to hear your stories.

Yesterday when I was taking care of Dakota a sweet Golden Retriever, it dawned on me just how therapeutic visits are – actually they’re Zen like.  It forces me to focus on the here and now and just enjoy being in the presence of this beautiful creature.  The business side of pet sitting can make you forget the reason you started sitting in the first place. 

I decided to make my first video for my blog with me in it.  I had to get over seeing myself on camera with my scrunched face and the sun in my eyes.  I looked like Popeye!  As Social Media Maven Ann Evanston says – you have to get over what you look like and just do it!  Ann’s this one’s for you.

I hope you enjoy this fun video and see how great my job is.

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We need your help!

You know that saying by St. Francis of Assisi, “For it is in the giving that we receive”.  Of course I know what that means on the surface, but I never really felt it in my heart until I saw an episode of “Undercover Boss”.  The premise of the show is the CEO of a big corporation goes undercover and takes a job with the everyday people working in the trenches.  While doing this, he gets to know them and what their dreams are and their ideas to make the company and their jobs better.

In the end, he reveals himself to the employees.  There was one man that had always wanted to go to a certain school (I can’t exactly remember the school), but was too financially strapped to ever imagine this could come true.  The CEO surprised him with a leave of absence and a full ride to that school.  Not only that, his job would be waiting for him when he returned.  The look of pure gratitude, happiness and relief brought me to tears in a wonderful, happy way.  It was as if he was drowning and was thrown a lifesaver.

In that moment, I really grasped what St. Francis was saying to us.  That awesome feeling of bringing so much joy to another human being felt so good that it’s almost like a selfish act.

Why am I telling you this story?  Because I want to encourage you to pay it forward to our animals in need.  Helping those that have no voice,  the beaten, the battered and the neglected.

My own dream for the future is to create a foundation to raise funds for animal shelters and rescues.  Right now a portion of the proceeds from Waggy’s online store will go to this effort.

If you feel deeply about animals, here’s how you can help:

Volunteer your time to an animal organization that you feel strongly about.  Get involved and help with fundraising efforts, walk dogs, clean out kennels – anything that helps out their cause.

Connect on Facebook and other social media outlets.  There are thousands of people working night and day to help out rescue animals.  Google for media sites that are specifically geared toward animals.

Get involved in animal advocacy or legislation. Get people to sign petitions offline and online, campaign for causes, make phone calls.  If you pick a cause that you really feel strong about, it will be easy to explain your side to people and get them to join your cause.

Start your own non-profit.  2 Hands 4 Paws (her website was hacked, so this URL is from Volunteer Match) was started by Maureen Gendron in Rhode Island to give temporary housing to pets that have been affected by the housing crisis.  She is looking for families to house these pets while their owners get back on their feet and find a permanent home.  In my pet sitting business, I get many calls asking for this very thing, but we’re not set up to do that and it would cost the owner too much.  However, I’d love to start something like 2 Hands 4 Paws.

Donate your money.  If times doesn’t allow you to volunteer for the organization of your choice or cause, I’m sure they will gladly accept your money.

Become a pet sitter.  Of course this isn’t like volunteering for a shelter, but you are helping pets feel safe, secure and loved while their owners are away.  You can’t imagine how much unconditional love you get sitting dogs and cats.  Basically, that’s my selfish pleasure.

If you’re looking for something more globally, check out Charity Navigator to find just the right cause that’s dear to your heart.

You’ll never get more as when you give of your heart.

Chris L Wagner

From One Pet Lover to Another

At this point you have 3 options to ponder over:

Get a neighbor to come over a few times a day or have them keep them at their house.  If you don’t know that many people or don’t want to impose on your friends, this may be an undesirable option.

Put them in a kennel at the dog hotel or veterinarian’s office.  However, thinking about your pet in a cage or kennel while you’re whiling away the hours on a beach may cause stress and ruin your vacation due to excessive worrying about their well being.

Find a professional pet sitter to come watch them at your house or board them at the sitter’s home.  Personally, this is the best option for your pet.  Not only are they looked after by a professional that knows how to care for pets, but you can relax and have a great time!

However, not all pet sitters are equal.  So, how do you evaluate and choose a pet sitter?

I’m assuming that you want to hire a professional pet sitter and not a neighbors child or teenager.  This can spell disaster and not worth your peace of mind.

Start by going to the Pet Sitter’s International (PSI) or NAPPS websites and find a pet sitter in your area in their directory.  PSI and NAPPS are probably the best known pet sitter associations and offer education about pets, marketing and business practices.  They are dedicated to providing the best the industry has to offer.  I’m a member of PSI and we have to abide by a Code of Conduct for Pet Sitters.  Most pet sitters that belong to these kinds of organizations, are professional and conduct themselves as such, but there are always a few bad apples.

Make sure they are licensed, insured and bonded. In my city, there really isn’t a “pet sitting license”, but I do have a business license to run my pet sitting business.  Insurance is a must.  If anything happens to your pets or home while you’re away and it’s the sitters fault, they can file a claim with their insurance company and reimburse you.  Bonding is really more for peace of mind to the client.  The bonding protects the pet sitter and you from loss as a result of theft committed by the sitter, it’s employees or independent contractors.

Do they have a website that you can look at to read testimonials, check out their services and prices and generally get a feel for what they’re like.

Once you’ve chosen a sitter, give them a call.  If you have to leave a message, how long did it take to call you back? They should return your call within 24 hours or less.  If they don’t, move on.  This could be a red flag for disorganization and things can fall through the cracks.

Are they upbeat and positive when you connect on the phone?  Don’t use them if you even sense that they are, what I call, “drama people”.  They should be willing and happy to help you with your pet’s care. 

Do they have established service fees and length of time for the pet care?

If the sitter is a sole proprietor, what is their back up plan if they get sick or can’t get to your home?

How much experience does the sitters have with your type of pet?  I was talking to a potential client about watching her horses.  I’m sure I could have done the job, but I referred her to another sitter that I know does farm animals.  The reason I turned it down was in case the horse had a medical problem that I wasn’t able to detect because I’m not familiar with equine medical issues.

Do they have proper contracts and forms to get all the information they need to care for your pets properly?  They should have forms for Client Information, Pet Information, Vet Release Forms (discuss what happens if your pet has a medical emergency), Contracts spelling out what is and is not expected, and Emergency Contact Information in case the sitter cannot get a hold of you for guidance in making medical or emergency decisions.  They should also leave a report card to let you know how things went.

Most sitters insist on a consultation before the service to meet you and your pets.  To me this is crucial.  This is the point when you can evaluate how the potential sitter interacts with your pets.  If they come in and barely acknowledge your pets, don’t use them.  Sitters are true animal lovers and they should be paying a lot of attention to them.  This also establishes a rapport with your pets so that they feel comfortable with the sitter as well.

They should be willing to give you references. Check them!  Don’t just assume because they give you a few names that they are legit.

Just remember that until you actually hire the sitter, you are under no obligation to use them.  If after meeting them you feel even the least bit unsure, don’t hire them.  This is where you really need to use your gut.  It’s usually right and your pets are relying on you to find a caring sitter to take care of them.

Chris L Wagner

From One Pet Lover to Another

Waggy’s Eco Smart Pet Products

Waggy’s Pet Sitting Service

Overnight pet services are also included in this category.  Overnight pet services are when the sitter goes to a clients home in the evening and spends the night with their pets. Usually, the owner will let you sleep in a guest bedroom or their own.  If you feel uncomfortable about sleeping in someone’s bed, you can always bring a sleeping bag and sleep on top of the bed.

Phantom lounging on his mommy's bed

For my pet sitting business, I choose to board dogs in my home and do very few in home pet visits.  I prefer to stay at home and not drive all around town.  The only pet visits I do now are ones that I’ve been doing for years as it’s very hard to say no and not to mention that you get attached to the animals.

When I first started out, I tried everything and weeded out what I didn’t like to do.  However, if you decide you don’t want to do a specific service, it’s hard to say no to a client you’ve been servicing for a while.  Getting yourself clear at the beginning will alleviate a lot of stress later.

So, if your still on the fence, here’s the pros and cons of Pet Services and Overnight Pet Visits in the clients home:

Pro’s:

• You get to play with animals all day!  Each home you go to has different animals with all new adventures.

• In home pet visits can be very profitable.  Depending on your rates, you can make hundreds of dollars a day.  For instances, if you charge $20 a visit and have 12 visits a day, that’s $240 a day.  Of course it take years to have a regular clientele that can afford you this many visits.

• You will get plenty of exercising walking dogs and being outdoors is a plus.  9 times out of 10, they will want their dogs walked and that could be a lot of walking!  Of course cats don’t need to be walked.  If you are unable to walk this much, then pet sitting is not for you.

• You can make your own hours.  You establish how early and how late you are willing to perform your duties.

• Variety.  In addition to sitting dogs and cats, there are a number of other animals – Rabbits, birds, hamsters and the other rodent varieties.  Let not forget those reptiles!  If you’re lucky enough to live in a rural area, you can visit farm animals. Of course if you’re afraid of reptiles, you don’t have to do the job.  They are so few and far between, that it won’t affect your bottom.

That's me with a Boa!!

• For Overnight visits you can think of them as mini-vacations.  There’s no laundry or errands to do – Just keep their pets happy.

Con’s:

• Pet Sitting is not for late morning risers.  Depending on the dog’s access to the outside to go potty, you may need to be at your clients home, usually no later than 7:00 am, and let them out at night for a last potty break in the evening around 8:00 or 9:00 pm.  These times will be worked out with the owner at the initial consultation.

• However, many dogs have access to the back yard and cats can be visited at any designated time during the day.  The most common times that people need pet visits is in the morning, sometimes mid day and evening.  Depending on how many visits you have, you’ll have free time in between

• If getting up early in the morning doesn’t appeal to you, you can always specialize in cats or mid day walks, but keep in mind this will limit the amount of your income.

• You will have to do a lot of driving around town.  Know how far you will be willing to drive before you market yourself to a certain area.  You don’t want to drive 20-30 minutes for a 30 minute visit.  That just doesn’t make sense unless you charge a service fee for out of area clients.  This may not apply if you live in rural areas and the homes are spread out.

Whitey the super predator cat!

• Pet sitters work 24/7.  People go on vacation all the time and will need their pets to be looked after on the weekends too.  I have been at social functions and had to leave for ½ hour to do a visit.  It’s only for a short time and people may not even miss that you’re gone, but it’s hard to leave. Once you are with the animals, however, all is well with the world.  They’ll put a smile on your face every time and you won’t miss being somewhere else.  But, if you go away for the weekend a lot, or your children need to travel for sports, this may not work for you.

• If you have an infant or toddler children, you will not be able to take them to the clients homes.  The likely hood for injury is just too great and it would be very unprofessional.  You are there for the clients animals and small children are just too distracting.  You should be the only person entering the clients home.  It’s a business just like any other.

• Exhaustion.  If you’re that busy, hire an employee or Independent Contractor to take up the slack or learn to say NO!  Remember, you got into this because you love animals.  If you’re exhausted, you won’t be able to enjoy yourself.  Pet Sitting has a high burn out rate, so you need to construct your business to your life.  Believe me, it can take over your life in an instant!

• Overnights can be hard if you have children or choose to board dogs in your home.  Seriously talk this over with your significant other to decide if this is something you can live with.  Some overnight assignments can be a week or more.  An overnight here or there may be all you’re willing to do.

I realize that pet sitting sounds like the most fun, awesome job in the world, but it is a business with pros and cons.  Think very carefully before you dive in.  Do you have the time it takes to market yourself?  Do you want to work weekends and holidays?  Talk to other pet sitters (out of your area) and get the real scoop from them.  I’ve had a few calls from people thinking about getting into the business.  We love to help other animal lovers!

Chris L Wagner

From One Pet Lover to Another

Waggy’s Eco Pet Products

Waggy’s Pet Sitting Service

Waggy’s Pet Tips and Tales Blog

Holistic Pet Food

7 Downsides to Private Dog Boarding in your home

A typical night at my sitter's Franks House

Garden can get destroyed.  If you like to garden and have a lush green lawn and want to keep it that way, this is not for you!  I love to garden and have had to put barriers around certain garden beds to keep them from trampling the plants.  Let’s face it, when you get a bunch of dogs together, they will rough house and run around.  That’s want you want them to do.  You want them to have a great time!  As you can see from this Waggy’s video of Murphy the Dane and Norman the Bulldog that I have barriers around my plants. They’ve been there a while now and need to be replaced.  Also, my son needs to mow the lawn!

As for your lawn, Forget about it!  Unless you have artificial grass, you will have urine burns and patches where the lawn just doesn’t grow anymore.  Oh yea, don’t forget to buy a big pooper scooper for the backyard!  For tips on how to have a more pet friendly back yard, please read my interview with Elizabeth Bublitz of PawFriendly Landscapes.

Going potty in your home.   No matter how old or potty trained they are, some will relieve themselves in your home.  There are just too many smells and they can’t help it.  I always have them go out in the back yard when they first arrive to get that out of the way.  It would be best if you had tile or wood flooring on most of the areas that the dogs will be in.  9 times out of 10, if they go, they will go on my area rugs and not my tile.  Same goes for poop and vomit!

Dog fights.  Screen carefully for aggressive behavior in dogs.  If you have a dog that doesn’t get along with other dogs, you will be looking for trouble.  Even with non aggressive dogs, the rough housing can get heated and you have to watch it very carefully.

Wendy with her dog Honey and friends

Can’t be spontaneous about vacations.  Once you build up a regular clientele, it’s likely that you could have boarders everyday especially during summer vacations and holidays.  It’s OK to have your vacations and time away, you just have to put it on your calendar far in advance and don’t book clients during that time.  If you’re the spontaneous type that likes to go away at a drop of a hat, boarding is not for you.

Clean up. There is a lot of cleaning you have to do.  From the dog hair, to accidents to dribble across the room from drinking out of the dog bowl.  Get a good vacuum and mop and make friends with your broom.  I have a wonderful steam cleaner for hard surfaces that sterilizes with water.  It great for tile floors.

To my surprise there hasn’t been a lot of damage done to my house (except my carpets!) as you would expect.  However, I’ve had pillows chewed up and some scratches on my furniture.  If you have a house full of antique figurines and white furniture, put the figurines away and get slip covers for your couches because they will go on your furniture.  I have a leather couch and one that has a slip cover on it.  I just pop it into the washer to clean it.  99.9% of my clients have inside dogs, so, if you’re reading this and thinking, I’ll just keep them outside, think again.  Your clients want them to be in the house – that’s the point.  Here’s another video by Murphy and Norman rough housing on the “dogs” furniture.

You must put a fence around your pool.  As they’re running around the backyard, sometimes they can fall into the pool, and they’ll try to get out where they fell in. It’s a struggle for them to get out and if you’re not there, they could drown.  That would be devastating for you and of course for your clients.  It’s just unthinkable.  If you’re out there every time they are playing, it’s OK, but just like a child, you can’t take that chance.  This is definitely a time when it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Forget about sleeping in.   Dogs don’t care what day of the week it is and they usually wake up with the sun.  If you’re a night owl and like to sleep in, private dog boarding is not for you.

Private boarding is a lot like day care for kids.  You treat them as if they are children because to their owners, these dogs are the light of their life and you can never forget that.   We have a lot of fun boarding dogs as long as you keep the number to a reasonable amount.

Now go out and mop your floor.

Chris L. Wagner

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