Hear Me Bark

It's a hit!

Rilo Kiley's popular song, "It's a Hit," is a pretty accurate description of my half day at day care yesterday. Seriously, I don't think it could have gone better. I bet you can guess who's still breathing a big sigh of relief even after more than 24 hours. (Tall!)

Speaking of Tall, she chauffeured me to the day care facility so I'd arrive promptly at 7:00 a.m. I remained calm until entering the building, but showed a bit of excitement when the caregiver human approached me. I was trying to play it cool, but I really couldn't help myself; I like her a lot. She took my leash from Tall and sent her on her way. Calm and collected spoo that I am, I didn't even glance back to see her leave.

The caregiver human told Tall she should feel free to call and check on me, which she did. Around 9:45, Tall called and one of the caregiver humans told her, and I quote, "Dixie is doing great; what a gem she is!" OMG. Can you even believe it?

In addition to playing with other dogs -- and playing well I might add -- I got a TTouch massage from one of the caregiver humans. It was delightful and very relaxing.

I had such a busy morning that I didn't realize how quickly time flew. Before I knew it, a caregiver human was ushering me through the playroom gates to Tall. That was okay though. I was exhausted and slept the entire afternoon away. Now that we know I can be good and not get expelled (at least not right away, anyway), I can't wait to go back to Pride and Pedigree!

Day Care Assessment Complete

Tall took me to my day care assessment at Pride & Pedigree and I pretty much passed with flying colors. However, Tall isn't getting her hopes up despite reassurance from Short Human. She is concerned that I'll get expelled like last time. I'm going to try to be on my best behavior though.

Pride & Pedigree is pretty cool. It's in an old warehouse-type building with lots of exposed beams an an exposed ceiling. They have separate areas where dogs are grouped by temperament rather than size. I hope I get put in a group with lots of labs and pit bulls. And maybe there will be another standard poodle! I didn't get to go in the rooms and observe things very closely, but I did see a large red barn that I'll get to play in. It looked way cool.

Tall scheduled my first day tomorrow just to test the waters. I'm going for a half day, so I'll be home by noon and will tell you all about it.

In Search of Day Care

Since we moved to Oakland, the humans have been searching for a boarding/day care facility that can somewhat live up to our experience with Wag Hotels in West Sacramento. Although I know nothing could be better, I'm looking forward to spending time in a different environment and meeting new friends.

There are several facilities that offer boarding and day care in the Oakland area, but the humans have narrowed the list down to three:

1. Pride & Pedigree
2. Citizen Canine
3. Happy Hound

I've ranked the facilities according to the humans' preference. For example, they like Pride & Pedigree best out of the three because they:

• Offer agility course activities, obedience exercises, and trick training during day care.
• Require dogs to be crate trained for periodic naps.
• Sirius Dog Training classes.
• Employ a full-time groomer who specializes in many breeds.
• Are located less than a mile from our apartment.

Each of these facilities require an assessment before allowing dogs to join day care. And, I have an appointment at Pride & Pedigree for an assessment today. Tall, who will be taking me, is nervous, but I'm not. I'm just going to be myself; Pride & Pedigree can take or leave me.

Tall isn't a fan of my devil-may-care attitude, especially considering that I got kicked out of a Sacramento day care after passing the assessment with flying colors. I wish she wasn't such a fretter!

You can bet I'll keep you updated about the assessments. Wish me luck (for Tall's sake).

Dog Days of Summer

Earlier this evening, the humans and I attended Wag's inaugural "Dog Days of Summer" social and swim event at their West Sacramento location.

I was excited when we arrived and stood on the "red carpet" waiting to be ushered to the play area.

I began to be suspicious when one of the Wag humans escorted me and the humans to the play area. The humans typically drop me off at the front desk and leave. Suddenly, I felt every ounce of my teenage attitude rush to the surface; I just knew they were going to embarrass me in front of my friends.

I soon forgot about the humans for a few minutes as I checked out the dogs already playing. There were so many different breeds; it was quite exciting!

While some of us played, other dogs went for a swim or a splash in Wag's pool. I decided not to sign up for a swimming slot, but one of my friends, Annabelle, took a dip with her sister.

The humans were still hanging around, watching and photographing me. I felt a bit intruded upon, so I wasn't playing as freely as I normally do. Every time I saw the humans, I barked my displeasure at them.

After an hour and a half, the humans collected me and took me over to the treat table with an assortment of human and canine treats. I tried a carob chip cookie and peanut butter oatmeal bar before leaving. Mmmm.

After eating our treats, it was time to head home. I was sad to say good-bye to my Wag humans and friends, but dinner was late and I was famished. I hope Wag hosts another social event soon; maybe I'll even swim next time!

Unleashed!

I recently read an interesting article about a new kind of dog park — an indoor dog park. That's right; lucky dogs in the Dallas, Texas area have the luxury of playing in a state-of-the-art, air conditioned 50,000-square-foot facility with multiple play parks. I am so effing jealous.

This place of my dreams is called Unleashed Indoor Dog Parks, but the name is slightly misleading. In addition to indoor dog parks, Unleashed also offers outdoor dog parks, a supply center (read: toys and treats!), a grooming salon, lounges, for the humans, and a café, which features "wait crates" right outside its entrance. My humans and I could seriously hang out at a place like this all day long.

After learning about this place, my burning question is: "Do I live anywhere near Dallas? If not, what do I have to do to get there?"

Photo credit: Unleashed Indoor Dog Park

Get Your Own Personal Petcast

Just in time for hot summer days and stormy summer nights, Weather.com has launched a special weather forecast for pets and their humans: Personal Petcast.

When you first visit the site, you are presented with options to personalize your furry pal's forecast. The site lets you choose dog or cat, size, hair length, age, and whether your per is overweight. You can even add your pet's name if you like. This information, combined with your zip code (or city/town and state) takes you to a page that gives you:

• The high and low temperatures for day and night.
  
• Chance of precipitation.
  
• Pet comfort index (ranked by one to five paws).
  
• The best day and evening time to walk your dog.
  
• Mosquito activity.

The site also includes fun stuff like a user-submitted daily dog picture and links to pet videos. There's also a section called "Dog Care Clinic" that gives helpful tips like inside car temperatures (ouch!). Oh, and you can even see a chart that shows flea activity in your area. Here's my personalized petcast for today:

I think this is a really helpful tool for pet owner's. I plan to check the site regularly, paying special attention to the best times for a walk. Then I'll bug my humans when it's safe to go out.

Itchy and Scratchy

Over the past few days, I've been quite itchy. Tall Human is concerned that I might be host to a few fleas, but she hasn't been able to find any. Luckily, I get Frontline Plus applied every month, which should kill any fleas that dare nibble on my precious skin.

In the meantime, I got to go to Splash Hound USA tonight to visit my friend (the owner), Tony. Catching up with him was worth being subjected to a bath. Tony had some flea and tick shampoo, so Tall washed me with that. As usual, I left Splash Hound clean and smelling good.

Tall has read that some foods, like garlic, are natural parasite repellants. I imagine she will do some research to see what things she can add to my diet, etc. to complement my parasite prevention routine. I'd be curious to hear how your humans keep you parasite flea.

Currently, Tall is washing all of my bedding just to make sure no fleas are hiding out in there. Keep your paws crossed that my itching goes away soon!

First-class Air Travel for Pets

I was delighted to read about a new airline that caters only to pets. That's right — pets. Beginning in July, PetAirways will be making their inaugural flights to and from several major cities across the United States.

According to the PetAirways Web site, your pet's check-in, boarding, and flight will be painless for you and pleasant for your pet. You drop off your pet two hours before their flight at the Pet Lounge located in the airport. Pets get a finally potty break before boarding and are then escorted to the plane by a pet attendant who secures their travel carrier and makes sure they're comfortable. During the flight, the pet attendant checks on the pets every 15 minutes. Once the plane lands, pets are escorted off the plane, given a potty break, and relocated to the Pet Lounge where their owners can pick them up.

Thanks to PetAirways, dogs that are too big to fit under the seat will no longer be considered cargo. This is fantastic news for dogs involved in competitions or dog shows. It's also a great alternative to leaving fido at home.

If you end up travelling on PetAirways, let me know how it goes. Hopefully they will expand service to Sacramento so I can give flying a shot.

My Wonderful Wag Weekend

The humans travelled to Portland during the weekend and I stayed behind to enjoy myself at Wag. I spent my days playing my little heart out in all-day play and rested at night in my comfortable mini-suite. Life really doesn't get much better than that.

Wag was packed, so I played with several old friends like Sir Percy Ward, a golden retriever, and I made lots of new friends like Jack, a Dalmatian. I'm also pleased to report that I was a good girl and behaved myself. My report cards are proof that I minded my manners! This pleased both of my humans to no end.

In addition to letting me stay at Wag, the humans brought me several gifts from Portland. Although they haven't presented me with anything yet, a sniff of their luggage has confirmed my suspicions. More on the gifts later. It's nap time!

Overnight Boarding: My First Experience

I spent all day yesterday and last night at a place called Wag Hotel. Although I've spent a few nights away from the humans before, this was my first night being boarded. I had a blast at Wag and am so glad the humans took me there while they and my Aunt Becky Human went to San Francisco.

Wag is nothing short of amazing. The humans who work there were so kind to me (and my humans). During my stay, I played in three one-hour play groups with dogs who had the same disposition and play style that I do. I even had a chance to swim in Wag's refreshing indoor pool, but I traded that for some "buddy time" and a game of fetch instead. I also took a relaxing evening stroll with a Wag human who later gave me a peanut butter-stuffed Kong. Delicious!

The activities at Wag weren't the only cool part of my experience either. My accommodations were quite spiffy. I stayed in a mini suite where I lounged and slept on a premium bed, listened to classical music (better than smooth jazz any day), and was fed twice a day. The mini suite has a cool Plexiglas wall instead of a wire cage wall, so I found this to be less noisy and more homey. In fact, when the humans dropped me off, I heard Tall comment that Wag was nicer than some of the hotels she had stayed in. Nothing but the best for Dixie the Dog!

Wag sent a report card home with me, which you can to the right. I think we all were pleased by my "grades."