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BetCo July Newsletter

Hello ,


Do you have a great picture of your dog in public or out and about after having taken a class with us? Your picture could be featured in one of our next newsletters! Email us your picture, letting us know it's okay to use it for marketing, add what information you'd like to be mentioned (your and your dog's names, dog's breed and age, which class you took and where the picture was taken). This month's picture: Claudia's dogs Lucy and Sally in front of her BetCo Mobile! Taken at Lake Lucille daytime parking in Wasilla - on a hot day!

NEW: "Package deals" extended to include Grade School! We now offer Foundation Class and Grade School as a package! Save some bucks by purchasing the package, then decide when to come to take the classes. Valid for one full year!

Already been to Foundation Class and missed this great deal? Enter GSDEAL as the promo code and get $20 off the regular price of our Grade School! Hurry, this deal ends July 4th!

Attention: Is your kennel cough (Bordetella) vaccine up to date? This unpleasant condition is raging through South-Central Alaska and our facility has seen a few isolated cases so far, even in vaccinated dogs. The vaccine can't totally prevent any infection, but will most likely ease and shorten the course if it occurs. Talk to your veterinarian what you can do! Has your dog been sick recently? Ask us about our come-back-rule!

Find out below if there's a class for you and your pooch, and read our monthly tip at the bottom! This month read about Trail Etiquette
!

All clickable links in this newsletter are in PURPLE.


Enjoy life with your better companion,

Claudia


Manners classes - Sunday afternoon and Monday evening classes!

A few months back, I heard a lot of people explain their dogs' unruly behavior with lack of exercise due to icy conditions. So, how's your dog behaving now? Could s/he still use a brush-up on manners??? We have the right class for you starting in a few weeks on Sunday, July 10, 2016!!!

For our Puppy 2 and Foundation Class graduates, take Grade School, during which we practice manners like recall, stay, focus and loose leash walking with increasing distractions.

Too basic for your adult dog? Want to have your dog tested to proof good manners to yourself, your family, friends and maybe the landlord? Start by refreshing and practicing skills specifically needed for the test in our CGC-Prep School, then take the test on Sunday, September 11, 2016.

Our Puppy School Package is the best deal for the young dogs! You learn valuable lessons and your dog gets the best start. Next Puppy 1 classes: Starting July 11th, on Mondays at 5pm or August 22nd, on Mondays at 10:15am and 6:15pm! In September on Sundays again. Puppy 2 class starts July 11th, on Mondays at 6:15pm or in August, on Mondays at 9am or on Thursdays at 5pm. In September on Sundays.

Want to start your dog 6 months or older? Come to our Foundation Class, also starting every month! Next FC starting in July, on Sundays at 1pm or Mondays at 7:30pm. After that in August, on Mondays at 11:30am or Thursdays at 7:30pm. In September on Sunday afternoon or Wednesday evening.

Puppy Package and Foundation Class graduates can continue on to Grade School, offered every month.  Grade School applies all the learned techniques to valuable exercises, improving your handling skills and your dog's behavior through more practice. Next GS starting July 10th, Sundays at 2:15pm or August 22nd, Mondays at 7:30pm. In September on Wednesday evenings.

Want to practice good manners in public and impress your friends? Then join our CGC®-Prep School, working towards a Canine Good Citizen!  Prepare for the AKC's test held in September or just practice for your own benefit! This class is only offered twice a year (February and July).

Here's what one of our clients had to say after taking Puppy 1 class:
[My dog] "is mouthing much less than at the start of the class. My 92-year-old mother-in-law is even commenting that her [the dog's] overall behavior + compliance is really improving!"

Read more testimonies HERE!
Activity classes:

Start or keep going with our popular Agility classes! If we have enough additional interest, we'll even double up whichever classes are necessary, so times as listed could still change. Starting Saturday, July 9, 2016, with a break on August 6th (agility trial), finishing August 20th.

Join our Trick Dog class, starting August 18th, on Thursdays at 6:15pm. This is our newly revised former Tricks 'N Clicks class, now with a chance to earnTrick Dog titles for your dog conveniently from the comfort of our classroom!

We added another K9 Nose Work Beginner class on Sundays at 5:15pm, starting July 10th! This seems to be the fastest growing sport - a fun, mentally stimulating outlet for dogs without increasing their arousal level.

Which sports class would you like to see coming up in the fall - September or October? Another Sports Sampler class on a Saturday, or Freestyle, Treibball or anything else we could offer on a Thursday evening??? Email us your wishes and you might see it coming true!
Last Summer Workshop:
 

Feisty Fido Workshop is for dogs that are reactive to other dogs when walked on leash. They might be fine playing with other dogs off-leash, or it's unknown if they'd be friendly or not to other dogs. If you have been dreading or avoiding a leash-walk because of possible encounters with other dogs, this is your chance to change that! Dogs should be people friendly for this workshop. We have one workshop scheduled for Saturday, August 6, and could schedule another one on Saturday, September 3 (Labor Day weekend) if there's enough interest. This is a 6-hour workshop plus a lunch break for a maximum of 6 dogs. You're welcome to pay for an auditing spot and come without your dog!
Monthly Training Tip:
Trail Etiquette

Maybe you're avoiding walking or hiking trails with lots of traffic and don't have to worry about trail etiquette? Maybe you have that super friendly dog and all it takes is to shout out "don't worry, he's friendly!" to whomever you meet on the trails?

If you take your dog off your own property and in public places, from your subdivision to town errands and wildernes trips, off or on-leash, this article is for you! You could always end up meeting another hiker with or without a dog even in the wilderness, and some people might not take it too kindly when your dog runs up to them, their child or their dog after you shouted "she's friendly!".

- Encounters on the trails: Picture an animal you don't like to encounter, like a tarantula, snake or alligator. Now picture yourself walking along peacefully, and here comes a woman with her pet tarantula/snake/alligator ... - off leash! The animal is running towards you and the lady shouts 'don't worry, he's friendly and won't bite!'. Do you feel safe???

When encountering other people in public places, we dog owners need to make sure that other users of these places FEEL safe. It doesn't always help them that we promise that they ARE safe, they need to FEEL SAFE themselves. They might have had a bad experience or are plagued with allergies we don't know about.

How can we help them feel safe? By keeping our dogs close to us, maybe even holding them by the leash or collar for the walking by and asking them if they want to meet our dog, not just assuming they do. When I see a jogger approaching on a multi-use trail, I'll take my dogs by their collars or leashes, walk them a bit off the trail, place myself between the jogger and my dogs, and have them calmly Sit-Stay and look at me while holding them short. That way the jogger can go by uninterrupted with the same rhythm s/he came along.

How about the dog that won't come away from that jogger or other stranger? Maybe it's too early to allow your dog off-leash play if you don't have a reliable recall yet. Keep your dog on a long line (30-50') to give them the room to play and romp and to practice the recall, but to also be able to control them when needed.

- Right of way - I was here first! You arrive at a field to play ball with your dog. After only one throw, other people show up with their dog. Who yields? The best approach is to call your dog to you and talk to the fellow dog owners. What's their goal for today? Are they just walking by or did they want to throw a ball, too? Can you play at the same time, or does either dog need space and might get toy-aggressive or too focused on the other dog?  Ask them if it's okay to throw the ball for a little longer or if you should wait for them to be out of sight.

COMMUNICATION - this is the best tool to avoid tension between dog owners and between dog owners and other trail users! For you to be able to talk to each other; your dogs have to be with you and under control so that you can get close enough to hear each other. Shorten your leash (especially retractable leashes) to only 2 feet and ask your dog for a polite Sit. If your dog can't sit politely, s/he is probably not ready for a meet and greet anyway. Practice polite behavior as often as possible!

Do you have additional ideas you want to share for improving polite behavior when out and about, using positive reinforcement techniques? Remember some ideas from class or from your class folder I didn't mention here? Share them with other dog owners on our Facebook page!
   
We now carry
Orijen and Zukes
Mini Naturals dog treats!
 
The Better Companion, LLC, 1400 Regine Ave, Wasilla, AK 99654, United States


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