Metro Dog: It Takes A Village to Raise A Pet!
Issue: 5 October, 2010
In This Issue
Free Socials
Metro Dog Walks
Classes / Work Shops
Metro Dog News
Private Training Consults
Another Great Hike
Social? Single? Private?
  SOCIALS
Our free socials are a wonderful
opportunity to watch your friendly, social dog friend romp and play with others.
We offer a variety of socials for dogs with similar interests (and their owners!) to meet each other.
Check our calendar for more details.

*Small dog and other specialty socials are changing from 1 hour to 45 minutes.*


Small Dog Social

Every Saturday
from 10AM to 10:45AM

more calendar

OLD HOUND O'WEEN
October 30th at 4PM

For social dogs 10 years or older. Bring treats for dogs and their humans. A pumpkin to adorn and stories to share from a dog's life well lived.

Retriever Social
November 6th 11AM to 11:45AM
The Retriever Social is a free quarterly event dedicated to labs, goldens, curly-coats, flat-coats, and all other retrievers! Come and play for 45 minutes of wiggles and big goofy grins. BYOTB (bring your own tennis ball)


Puppy Social OPEN TO THE PUBLIC for pups from 7 - 20 weeks (up to five months) ONLY. This is an opportunity to let your pup meet and play with other puppies in a safe, controlled environment.
Every Sunday
 from 10-11AM
more calendar

We are changing the Not-So-Puppy Social back to its original purpose - As a place for puppies who have been attending puppy social but are now too old to continue to come and play with their friends. To attend you must have been attending puppy social as a puppy and have the permission of the Metro Dog staff. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions.




Metro Dog Walks
Last Minute Plans ? 
Metro Dog Walks might be the answer. Ask about Group Hikes, Private Neighborhood Walks or pet sitters.Call Metro Dog Walks 510.524.3647 and select option 5
. Or email us [email protected]
Classes / Workshops

Upcoming!

Intro to Agility  6 week class
October 11th - November 15nd at 7:00PM
Whether you are wanting to compete with your pup or just looking to do something exciting and new, this class will teach you all you need to know about agility.

Intermediate Agility  6 week class
October 14th - November 18th at 7:00PM
Come refine your newly learned agility skills in the next level class!

Silly Pet Tricks 60 Minute Workshop
October 16th at 11:30AM
Does your dog know how to learn?  Teaching your dog new tricks keeps their learning skills sharp, allowing them to learn anything easily.
 
Reliable Recall  90 Minute Workshop
October 24th at 11:30AM
Don't trust your dog offleash?  This one hour workshop gives you and you dog the skills needed to stay safe and understand what motivates your dog.

Basic Manners  6 week class on Wednesday nights
October 27th - December 1st at 7:00PM



More being added all the time. Keep checking the calendar or send us an email.


Training Tip


Training your dog doesn't necessarily have to take a lot of time out of your day. Grab a few treats at the start of every commercial break as you're watching TV, and you can review the basics with your dog until the ads are over. See how many times you can get him to roll over, or do a down-stay for the length of one commercial!



Grooming Tips

If you have a dog with long fur, don't forget to brush behind the base of his ears! This is an area where mats tend to form, because the constant movement of the dog's ears creates tangles in the hair. Use a slicker brush or comb to thoroughly seperate the hairs.


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Welcome to Metro Dog's 
fifthcome. sit. stay. play! newsletter.
Halloween is upon us and our quick summer has left us shivering. If you have an Older  social pooch join us for Old Hound O'Ween. A special social for older dogs and there humans. Bring some treats for both. Saturday October 30th at 4PM.


Holiday Reservations!
The holiday season will be here before you know it. Get your reservations in as soon as you can. We will be sending out letters to request deposits to secure your reservations in October. The Deposits and Cancellation policy is the same as last year. For more information on Metro Dog's policies and recommendations for boarding click here.

We look forward to seeing you.
 
All of us at Metro Dog
NEWS FROM METRO DOG

spiderpug
Halloween is coming up at the end of the month. For children, dressing in costumes and visiting the neighbors is great fun, but it can be overwhelming for your dog. Most dogs would prefer to settle down in a quiet back room with a stuffed kong or a bone rather than worrying about all the "strange creatures" who keep coming to the door. If you have cats, keep them indoors and out of harm's way, too.
Private Training Consults
Metro Dog Offers Private training for you, your family and your dog! Many times the concerns you have about your dog's behavior fall outside the scope of a manners class. Our experienced training staff will talk to you and determine which of us is best suited to work with you and where. We can come to your home, go where the problem occurs, or meet at Metro Dog. Private Consults are 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours long. Most problems can be greatly improved with only one or two sessions! After the initial consult, you will receive an email with detailed notes from our meeting. Then you will have a plan of action to get started with! We will check in every few weeks and offer support until the problem is resolved.

We are committed to helping you and your family enjoy the dog in your life.


We can answer questions about your dog's behavior.

not sure it is OK

We can to find solutions so you can enjoy living with your dog.

dogs eat couch

To request a private consult email us [email protected] or ask when you are visiting Metro Dog.
Metro Dollars can be used to pay for any Metro Dog Academy services including private consults, day training and classes

Fun Things To Do With Your Dog
Mclaren

McLaren Park

If you're taking a trip to San Francisco, you and your pooch will enjoy a walk through beautiful McLaren Park. The park includes seven miles of trails as well as two small bodies of water for your dog to cool off in. To reach the park, take 101 South, exit Paul Ave, and continue down Mansell St.

For More Information                                Map
How METRO DOG works
roomingMetro Dog offers different accommodations to meet the needs of different dogs. 
We wanted to take a little time to explain how we determine what kind of room is best for your dog. While you may have an idea of how you would prefer to have your dog housed while in our care, it is important to understand that dogs behave differently when they are away from home and separated from their human family. Our goal is to provide safe and comfortable accommodations for every dog in our care.  Because of this, we may make changes to a dog's rooming based on our own judgment.  However, you can always request a single room for your dog. Likewise, family rooms are available for 2 or more dogs from the same family or dog friends boarding together.

Here are the different types of rooming accommodations:

Social Room-dogs play in social groups, and room with 2 or more dogs depending on size. Social rooms are 8 feet by 8 feet for big dogs and up to 9 feet by 10 feet for small dogs.
Social dogs are dogs that are regularly around and comfortable with all kinds of dogs even when they are nervous or excited.

Social crate-These dogs play in social groups and stay in a wire crate during downtime (never more than two hours during the day) and sleep in crates overnight. Most of our crates are in the open courtyards of the villages. Dogs must be comfortable with other dogs passing by the crates. Dogs are never crated if they appear agitated (drooling, panting, clawing at door). If the dog cannot be in crate for any of these reasons or if you request that we not crate your dog, then they will be designated 'single room' dogs.

Single Room Social-dogs play in social groups but need their own room and space when having downtime and sleeping overnight.  This may be by request, or it may be for the dogs' comfort and safety.  All Single rooms require a reservation for both daycare and boarding.

Here are some of the conditions that would cause us to take a dog out of social rooms and make them Single or Crate Only:

�   Proximity issues-This dog is great in social play areas, but when it comes to smaller spaces, are a bit uneasy with dogs in their space and tend to correct (snap, growl, bite or bark at) the other dogs in the rooms

�   Mounting - this includes pawing at or looming over the back of another dog.

�   Resource guarding-when dogs do not like to share bedding, water bowls, with other dogs

�   Won't Stop Playing-Dogs need their downtime. When a dog cannot rest and doesn't let the others rest we will require that the dog be crated or, if needed, in a single room. We will periodically try this dog in social rooms to see if he can settle.

�  Bark excessively-this interrupts the dogs in the rooms who are trying to settle

Our last rooming designation is for non-social dogs:

Private- Dogs designated private at Metro Dog may be fine socially at home or at the park. Before we make this designation the staff will discuss options and if they feel it is safe,  try the dog with several groups. Here are some of the conditions that would make your dog a private dog:

� Dogs who have limited tolerance or are only good with certain genders or breeds of dogs.

� Dogs who redirect (put their mouth on) the handler when she is interrupting play.

� Dogs who are relentless in play, do not stop when the handler calls them off and create highly aroused interactions in the group. 

� Relentless inappropriate social interactions such as mounting, chasing, nipping, body slamming.

If your dog must be cared for solo, he will spend time with handlers one on one rather than social groups.  A dog that boards privately receives three 15 minute mini play sessions and one 30 minute play session per day. Because we can only provide care for 4 private care dogs on any day, private dogs require a reservation for both daycare and boarding.

We highly encourage owners with questions about their dog's room designation to ask away!  We are committed to the safety and well-being of all our residents, and to being open with owners about their dog's experience while at Metro Dog.
Save 25% Adopt a new best friend?  Metro Dog will give you 25% off a class or workshop.  Just bring your adoption papers showing that your new addition has been with you for less that 4 months.
No need to bring the coupon with you. This offer extends to anyone
Never expires