DogBoy's Dog BlogDog boarding, training, daycare and wellness in the Austin area

Noodle is fired up and ready for 2012!

Noodle and I would like to welcome you to 2012!  What an exciting year it is going to be!  Let’s see if I can catch you up on all the news:

First of all, if you haven’t already heard, DogBoy’s has been invited to try out for a reality TV show called Doggy Day Care!  We are sending our video submission today, and can’t wait to hear back to see if we get chosen.  We spent the Christmas holiday capturing video of puppies, staff, customers and doing our best to capture all the wonderful people and parts that make up DogBoy’s.  Whether we get picked to do the show or not, making this video has reinforced what a special place this is, and how much we have to teach and share with all of you.  Thank you to our clients and staff who were able to participate, and we promise to keep you posted on this exciting adventure!

Next up, our new Spring Classes have been posted on the website, and there are 30 to choose from!  You will never find a better way to bond with your dog, learn about dog behavior in a fun environment and get the results you want than with one of our classes taught by our top notch trainers.  Our team works tirelessly to keep their own behavior knowledge and training skills honed, so that you can be sure you’re learning from the best.  Visit our schedule of dog training classes to see what might be fun for you to try!

Along with the wonderful work we do with the dogs of the Austin Humane Society, DogBoy’s has also begun working with the Friends of Austin Animal Center ‘s Hard Luck Hound program.  These are the 15 dogs who have been in their shelter the longest, and are having trouble getting adopted.  So our up and coming trainers Lydia, Jeanie, Kelly and Alice are taking on these special projects to see if we can teach them some manners and coping skills.  We will be giving these dogs some much needed training, lots of one on one time, furthering the behavior knowledge for our trainers in training, and hopefully increasing the chances of a successful adoption for these forgotten animals.  Giving back to our dog loving community is a win-win for everyone involved!

Tomorrow is the day to make your 2012 holiday reservations!  I know, I know, it seems too soon!  But DogBoy’s has been filling up for holiday slots a year in advance for many years now, so we want you to have every opportunity to get those much coveted spots!  Call, email or fax in your request, and we will make your reservations as quickly as possible.  With the new year, we are also adding a few new services, like our Private Dog Park opening in February, self-service dog wash appointments, and discounts with multiple days of Doggy day care and Chelsea’s Charm School!  See the Our Prices page of our website for all the latest details and prices.

Thank you all for a wonderful year, and we look forward to enriching the lives of you and your dog for years to come!  We are truly blessed to have each of you and your dogs in our lives.

With joy,

DogGirl

photo by Nicole Mlakar Photography

It’s been a week and I’m just catching my breath to tell you all about our big Open House weekend.  What a wonderful time it was – celebrating with family, friends and staff.  We’re still smiling about it!

We kicked off the weekend with a pre-party, taking time to thank our builder, our bankers, our local vets, and many of the others who made this project possible.  We decided to give the Training & Wellness Center an informal nickname, Chelsea’s Place after our first dog, Chelsea Garbo.  She’s the reason we got into this business, after all!

We also announced some BIG news.  We have made a committment to a formal partnership with the Austin Humane Society!  We are SO excited about giving back to the Austin pet community, and can’t wait to get started.  DogBoy’s will be helping out some of their more active dogs – who really need to get out and run!  We’re giving a free evaluation and day of day care for up to three shelter dogs per week.  In exchange, DogBoy’s will have the honor of a dedicated run at the AHS, and will get to be a big part of their annual Rags to Wags gala.  We just love the work that the AHS does, and we’re so proud to be a partner with them.

I’d like to say a big THANK YOU to Nicole Mlakar-Livingston of Nicole Mlakar Photography for shooting the pre-party and Saturday’s Open House.  For even more of her great pics, you can read her blog.  We’re really looking forward to working with Nicole more in 2010!

I’d also like to send big hugs and thank you’s to my mom, dad & sister for all their help with Friday’s event.  We couldn’t have pulled off such a wonderful evening without their help! 

The Open House on Saturday was loads of fun too.  We had our wonderful trainers doing demos on Agility and Rally Obedience.  So impressive!  Lisa Knaggs, Owner of Bark for Peace gave some great mini-classes on canine massage.  She’s teaching her second class out at the ranch on Friday, 2/12 if you’d like to join us!

Marcella and I did three FULL tours and really enjoyed showing everyone around.  Thanks to everyone who helped out and please come join us at Chelsea’s Place soon!