Santa Paws is Coming to The Good Dog Spot

Saturday, December 6th from 1 - 4 pm.

• Get your pet's picture taken with Santa


• Do some holiday shopping for the pets and pet lovers on your list


• Enjoy some refreshments (human & canine)


• ...And support a good cause! All proceeds will be donated to the T J O'Connor Adoption Center.

Our "Giving Tree" is already up so feel free to drop off donations of food, treats, towels, cleaning supplies, etc. that will all be given to the shelter at the end of our 2nd Annual Shelter Drive. We are also collecting donations that will be matched by a local veterinary facility to help provide medical care to the shelter animals.

Call our office at 413-534-1333 or send us an email at info@gooddogspot.net for more information.

See you Saturday!

Our dogs in the news!

Our Canine Presidential Election made the news!

Sy Becker from WWLP came to The Good Dog Spot to cover the story and interview Lisa! You can view the newsclip by clicking the link below:

http://www.wwlp.com/global/video/popup/pop_playerLaunch.asp?vt1=v&clipFormat=flv&clipId1=3100746&at1=News&h1=Election Day going to the dogs

The Dogs Have Voted!

The results are in! The Good Dog Spot dogs (with no coercing!) have decided on our next president...

(R) McCain - 7
(D) Obama- 11

Congratulations Barack Obama!

Election Results Countdown

Will the dogs' votes match their human counterparts? We'll have to wait and see...

Dogs pick the President on Nov. 4th!

Election 2008 has gone to the dogs....literally....at The Good Dog Spot! Dogs attending daycare on Election Day - Tuesday, November 4th - will get to "vote" for their candidate by choosing either a Democratic Donkey or Republican Elephant cookie from Taxi's Dog Bakery during snack time. The votes will be tallied by the daycare staff and posted in the office as well as on the website at 2pm!

Check back to see who wins!

Would your dog like to vote on Election Day? There's still space available! Call or email us to register your dog for daycare on the big day!

Halloween Changes

Please Note: Due to higher participation than expected, we have more dogs attending our Halloween Party than we can safely accommodate at our facility so…..

We’re moving the party to Exercise Finished! Daycare kids will now have over 6,000 square feet of play space for our party! Bobbing for hot dogs, here we come!

Questions:
Where do I drop off?
Wherever is easier for you!
The Good Dog Spot – 40 Old James Street, Chicopee (dogs arriving here will be transported to the party)
Exercise Finished – 35 N. Chicopee Street, Chicopee (Directions are below)

Where do I pick up?
Exercise Finished (again, directions are below – or just ask!)

Exercise Finished is on the second floor. What if my dog
doesn’t do stairs? Where will they go to the bathroom?
No problem! There’s an elevator in the back. Drop your pet
off in the morning and we’ll take care of the rest. If he or she
is hesitant with stairs, we’ll use the elevator. As for bathroom
breaks, we have extra staff on board so there will no problem
scheduling routine trips outside.

Refreshments will be available at pick up – so feel free to join us and look at pictures of all the fun!

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Directions

FROM THE MASS PIKE: Exit 5, bear left on the ramp after the toll booth, turn right off of the ramp. Proceed straight through the first set of lights. At the third set of lights, Unique Motors is on the opposite left corner, go straight through the intersection, take the first left into the driveway directly behind Unique Motors. The training center is located in the tall, brick building that is set back off the road.

FROM THE NORTH: I-91 south to Exit 16 (Route 202), turn left off the ramp. Turn right at the fifth set of lights (ball field on right corner), this road turns into I-391. Proceed on I-391 to exit 4-B, turn right off the ramp. See I-391 continued.

FROM THE SOUTH: I-91 north to I-391 to exit 4. Turn left off the ramp. See I-391 continued.

I-391 CONTINUED: Proceed down the hill, following signs for 141 West. Turn right at the bottom of the hill. Proceed straight through the next 3 sets of lights. At the fourth set of lights (next to Sunoco Mini Mart and 1.3 miles from where you exited I-391), turn right and go underneath a railroad trestle. At the next set of light (Unique Motors on left corner), turn left and make an immediate left into the driveway located behind Unique Motors. Follow driveway straight back to the tall brick building with Plymouth Paper sign.

FROM THE GOOD DOG SPOT: Proceed up the James Street hill, to the intersection of James Street and Montcalm Street. Take a right onto Montcalm Street. Montcalm Street becomes Prospect Street. Stay straight to go onto Buckley Boulevard. Travel down the hill and at the base of hill, you’ll see two large brick buildings on your right. You will also see signs for Main Street Candlery and Cote’s Carpet. Take your very last right (right before the chainlink fence and before the intersection and Unique Motors). Proceed down the driveway and turn right. The entrance is the first door on the building.

2nd Annual Halloween Party

Daycare Halloween Celebration!
A big party is planned for The Good Dog Spot daycare “kids” on Halloween day – Friday, October 31st. Due to the popularity of the Halloween event, it is limited to existing daycare "kids". We’ll be bobbing for hotdogs and having a costume contest! All dogs attending daycare are encouraged to bring their Halloween costumes. Our neighbors will be stopping by for some “reverse trick-or-treat” – that is, they’ll visit us and give treats to the dogs. They’ll also be voting for their favorite costume. Don’t have a costume? Don’t worry – we’ve got a few extra, just in case! Please note that we are not responsible for damaged costumes!

Dog Daze - Sept. 27!

Dog Daze
Celebrating Responsible Dog Ownership
Saturday, September 27th
1:00 – 4:00

at the

Exercise Finished Dog Training Center

Free Presentations
“Choosing the Right Dog For Your Lifestyle”

Elizabeth Chase, Exercise Finished Dog Training Center, Inc.

“Key Steps to a Lasting and Mutually Beneficial Relationship with Your Dog”

Marni Edelhart, CPDT from the MSPCA

“Grooming Basics – Home Maintenance For Your Pet”

Lisa Peloquin, ACPCT from The Good Dog Spot

Lots of Free Activities!
Trick Training Workshop * Dog Photo Id * Agility Try-It
Responsible Dog Owner Challenge * Vendors

MSPCA * T J O'Connor Adoption Center
Refreshments * And More!

For directions, please visit http://www.exercisefinished.net/

We look forward to seeing you there!

October Training Classes!

Starting October 2008
Exercise Finished Dog Training Center, Inc. will be teaching class at The Good Dog Spot in Chicopee on Tuesday evenings. For class times, start dates and registration please contact The Good Dog Spot 413-534-1333 or info@gooddogspot.net

October class offerings at The Good Dog Spot:

Good Dog Basics - A 4 week program focused on helping owners teach their dogs basic skills to improve the dog's behavior at home and out in public. Behaviors that will be addressed in class include; teaching your dog the proper behavior for greeting people, moving out of the way when asked, staying in place, coming when called and other useful commands. Please bring a hungry dog and lots of small easy to chew and swallow treats with you to class.

Dogs Just Wanna Have Fun!
Pre-requisite: All dogs will be required to have completed a basic obedience or puppy obedience class.
This class will reinforce learned skills such as walking on a leash, sit, down, stay, come - in a relaxed, fun format; sometimes utilizing games and basic trick training to enhance dog/owner communication skills. Instructor led class discussions on canine current events; opportunity to discuss training or behaviour issues and participate in brainstorming and solving simple issues which encourages all handlers to become more thinking, compassionate owners.

Looking for some other type of training class? Visit www.exercisefinished.net or call 413-533-0049 for information on a variety of other classes offered at the Exercise Finished Dog Training Center (including obedience, agility and rally-o!).

March News

Training News
Upcoming Training Classes:
We have several upcoming training classes with a variety of dates including weekends! Below the schedule are the class descriptions. If you would like more information or would like to register for a class, please call us at (413) 534-1333 or email training@gooddogspot.net. You’ll be glad you did!

Doggie Manners 101

Wednesday, March 5th, 6 – 7pm

Doggie Manners 101 (puppy focused, but open to all ages)

Sunday, April 13th, 10 – 11 am

Doggie Manners 102

Wednesday, March 26th, 7 – 8 pm

Doggie Manners 101 & 102, blended course

Saturday, April 5th, 9 – 10 am

Off Leash Extravaganza

Saturday, April 12th, 6 – 7 pm

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Doggie Manners 101 How are your dog's manners? This 6-week class covers basic commands including sit, come when called, and stay among others. Skills covered include polite greetings, no begging, no jumping and more. This class is full of helpful information and participating in it will help you build a better relationship with your dog. Cost is $125.

Doggie Manners 102 Now that your dog has some manners.... what's the next step? Manners 102 is designed to take your dog's skills to the next level! This 6-week class covers advanced commands including hand signals for sit, come when called, and stay. Skills covered include going to "place", settle, return to owner’s side, preparation for off leash, and other advanced skills & commands. Prerequisite: Doggie Manners 101 or permission from the class instructor. Cost is $125.

Off Leash Extravaganza This class is ideal for the handler and dog that want to live their lives free of leashes. We cover off leash walking; come when called and 15-foot stay in both a down and a sit position - just to name a few. This class meets for 10 weeks (First class NO DOGS, please). Pre-requisite: Doggie Manners 102 or permission from the class instructor. Cost is $190.

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Grooming News

Flea & Tick Season Is Quickly Approaching!
All cats and dogs are susceptible to flea infestations, except for some that live in high elevations or in extremely dry environments. You can help your pet win the war on fleas by knowing your flea season, which is largely influenced by temperature and humidity. This graph factors past weather data to illustrate when fleas are most likely to be active in this area – between April and November.
(from www.weather.com)

The best defense is a strong offense! Consider a flea and tick preventative for your pet! The once-a-month applications work very well – provided you remember to use them on a regular basis. You can find Advantage, Advantix, Frontline and Frontline Plus at The Good Dog Spot, beginning in April. If we don’t have the right size in stock, we will gladly order it for you! Save 10% if you pre-order your flea & tick preventative before March 31st!

As a side note, garlic is known to be an all natural flea repellent – when your dog eats garlic, the smell is excreted through the dog’s skin making your dog less likely to be the flea’s next meal (garlic may not be your favorite cologne and it’s not the flea’s favorite smell either). Brewer’s yeast tablets will also help to make your dog less attractive to fleas because, as with garlic, the smell is excreted through the skin.

If your pet does get fleas, we can help! It is important to remember to treat your home as well as your pet if fleas are found. If you bring your clean, flea free pet home to a flea infested house, well, you get the picture! We can work with you to schedule an appointment for a flea bath while you treat your house. We carry flea bombs which can be purchased individually or as a package deal with a flea bath. Just ask Lisa for more details!
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Please Clean Up After Your Pet!

For your convenience, there is now a Mutt Mitt dispenser mounted to the left of the entrance to The Good Dog Spot. We have had several complaints from our landlord and his employees regarding dog poop near their equipment and in the parking lot. Mutt Mitts are 2 ply bags with puncture resistant bottoms that will degrade in composts and landfills. We are happy to dispose of used bags – just bring them in for us. We ask for everyone’s cooperation in keeping the area neat and clean and we appreciate everyone’s assistance in advance.

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April Showers…
…are on their way! To make sure your pet is ready for the rain, check out the new rain jackets at The Good Dog Spot. Available in blue, pink and yellow and in sizes ranging from extra small to extra large, we’re sure to have the right fit for your pet! And if not, remember, we special order items at the beginning of every month! Prices range from $15.99 to $21.99, depending on size.

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Daycare News

There’s a lot to celebrate in the next couple of months!

Our annual Easter Bone Hunt for daycare dogs will be held on Friday, March 21st. Since food aggression can cause issues in group settings, each dog “hunts” for his or her hidden bones on their own (with a human “helper”) in the small dog play area or outside (weather permitting). Advanced registration for daycare on that Friday is strongly encouraged to ensure enough Easter Bones for each dog and enough time for each dog to “hunt”.
PLEASE NOTE: This event is only for dogs attending daycare and your pet’s “hunting” time cannot be predetermined.

Spring is right around the corner and so is baseball season!! We will be holding our 2nd Annual Red Sox Home Opener celebration for dogs attending daycare on Tuesday, April 8th. The event will include baseball games for the dogs, hot dogs during Snack Time and homemade baseball cookies to take home. This year’s home opener against Detroit will be on the radio for all to enjoy at its 2:05 start time! Be sure to sign your daycare “kid” up for this fun-filled event in advance so we’re sure to have enough cookies and hot dogs to go around.

Think your dog would enjoy daycare? Now’s a great time to sign up and complete the evaluation process to ensure your pet can participate in all the fun-filled events that we hold for the “kids” year-round!

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V.I.P. Discounts for the month of March:

• Complimentary Nail Trim – just ask at your pet’s next visit!
• Save 20% on any of our new Busy Buddy Interactive Toys for Dogs. **These are great daycare “snack time” treats! We will gladly store one for your dog in his or her cubby for use when attending daycare**
• Save an additional $5 (on top of a 5% V.I.P. training discount) off the registration fee for our Off Leash Extravaganza class, starting Saturday, April 12th if you pre-register by March 24th.
  
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  Is your pet a V.I.P. at The Good Dog Spot?
  If not, look at what you’re missing! Beside monthly specials (like the ones listed above), a V.I.P. membership entitles you and your pet to the following:
  


• 10% off Daycare Rates
• 10% off Grooming Rates
• 5 - 10% off Training Rates
• Monthly email specials
• Priority bookings for holidays (daycare, grooming & overnights)
• A membership card with photo ID of your pet - show the world that your baby is a Very Important Pet at The Good Dog Spot!Silver or Gold Pet ID Tag - engraved with your pet's name and our phone number. Should your pet become lost and you are unavailable, whoever finds your pet can call The Good Dog Spot and we will pick up your pet and care for him or her until you are available to pick up your pet during normal business hours. A transportation and boarding fee will apply.

Over a $300 value for only $125* annually!

*$125 for single pet; $185 for a family membership

To sign up today, simply call or stop by our office and we’ll gladly enroll you!

February News

February brings yet another busy month at The Good Dog Spot! We are anxiously awaiting the renovations to our facility that will double the size of the daycare play areas and increase the amount of space available for training classes and workshops!

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Be on the lookout for many new products in our retail section come mid-February. Some of the additions include Gentle Leader harnesses, treat bags and a whole new line of Busy Buddy toys – fun, interactive toys for your dogs!

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Birthday ‘Pawties’ have made a big hit with our Dog Daycare customers! A special thank you to Darlene Pelletier, Olivia’s owner for allowing us to host Olivia’s first birthday ‘pawty’! Plenty of fun was had by all – with pawticures for the girls and hot dog bobbing for everyone! And what’s a birthday celebration without ice cream and goodie bags…or should we say, doggie bags? If your dog attends daycare and you would like to throw a birthday ‘pawty’ during daycare, please contact our office and we’d be happy to arrange a special day to celebrate your pet!





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Leading The Way dog training continues to do a stellar job running our joint Canine Education Center! In addition to Doggie Manners 101 and Doggie Manners 102, look for upcoming Trick Training classes and Saturday classes, too! Once our renovations are complete, you can expect see a variety of Agility classes, Rally-O classes and more!

Upcoming start dates are listed below:
Doggie Manners 101 – Sat. Feb. 16th, 10 – 11 am
Wed. Mar. 5th, 6 – 7 pm
Doggie Manners 102 – Wed. Mar. 5th, 7 – 8 pm

Trick Training – Sat. Feb. 23rd, 11 – Noon

NEW!!! Board & Train Programs Are Now Available! With a busy schedule it can be hard to find the necessary time to work with your dog or you maybe you’d just prefer to have a professional establish the skills your dog needs to be the companion you have dreamt about. Board & Train Programs are designed to meet the goals and personal lifestyle of each individual client, using positive reinforcement methods.

Benefits of the Board and Training:
~Concentrating the training efforts in a controlled environment where appropriate distractions can be integrated into the session for realistic life situations
~Allowing the owner to focus on learning the skills, instead of learning and teaching at the same time
~Having one's dogs trained while out of town.

During training all dogs reside at The Good Dog Spot. Once your dog arrives, our experienced trainer spends the first few days evaluating your dog. This detailed assessment combined with their breed, temperament and lifestyle, ensures that most effective training method is used to allow for the greatest skills attained.

Throughout the your dog's training stay, he or she is trained a minimum of 2-3 times per day at a minimum of 20 minutes per session. Training begins in an indoor environment without any distractions and gradually becomes more advanced, leading to outdoor exercises with a variety real-life distractions, children, squirrels, other dogs, etc.

Dogs spend their free-time playing and socializing with the members the dog daycare "pack". This allows your dog to interact with a variety of dogs (dog chosen for their exceptional temperaments) and improve his or her social skills during the training program.

For more information, please call and we will connect you directly to our Training Department for more details or to schedule an evaluation.

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Is Your Pet A V.I.P. at The Good Dog Spot??
A V.I.P. Membership entitles you & your pet to the following:

10% off Daycare Rates
10% off Grooming Rates
5 - 10% off Training Rates
Monthly email specials
Priority bookings for holidays (daycare, grooming & overnights)
A membership card with photo ID of your pet - show the world that your baby is a Very Important Pet at The Good Dog Spot!
Silver or Gold Pet ID Tag - engraved with your pet's name and our phone number. Should your pet become lost and you are unavailable, whoever finds your pet can call The Good Dog Spot and we will pick up your pet and care for him or her until you are available to pick up your pet during normal business hours. A transportation and boarding fee will apply.

Over a $300 value for only $125* annually!
*$125 for single pet; $185 for a family membership

To sign up today, simply call or stop by our office and we’ll gladly enroll you!

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Last but not least, Valentine’s Day will be here soon! We will be hosting a Valentine’s Day party for our Daycare dogs on Thursday, February 14th. The party will include Craft Projects, Homemade Valentine Goodies and a complimentary nail trim.

Preparations for our Valentine’s Day craft projects will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 6th and Thursday, Feb. 7th. If you would like for your dog to participate in arts & crafts and have a special present to bring home on Valentine’s Day, then he or she must be here on one of those 2 days. Projects will be available for pickup on or after Feb. 14th.

Please feel free to bring in Valentine’s Day “treats” for your dog to share with his or her friends! For ideas or suggestions, just ask!

Saturday Training Classes Starting Soon!

DOGGIE MANNERS 101 starts Saturday, February 16th!

How are your dog's manners? This 6-week class will meet from 10 to 11 am and covers basic commands including sit, come when called, and stay among others. Skills covered include polite greetings, no begging, and no jumping, among others. This class is full of helpful information and participating in it will help build a better relationship with your dog. Cost is $125.

TRICK TRAINING starts Saturday, February 23rd! Have some fun with your dog! This 4 week class meets from 11 - 12 and will be filled fun and games. A variety of tricks will be covered. Dogs do not need to have any training experience however all dogs must be good with other dogs. Tricks include roll over, play dead and put your toys away. Class is limited to 8 dogs. Cost is $90 plus $15 for supplies.

Our Trainer has more than 25 years of experience in training and educating dogs and their humans. The mission is to share her extensive knowledge of canine behavior, obedience training, trick training, therapy dog training, show training, and behavior modification in order to build strong canine and human partnerships built on trust, love, and respect – relationships that last a lifetime.

For more information or to register, call 413-534-1333 or email info@gooddogspot.net. You'll be glad you did! The Good Dog Spot offers professional pet grooming, dog daycare and overnight care, pet transportation and training services for pets in the Pioneer Valley. Truly THE place to be for good dogs in the pioneer valley!