The Central BarkerIt's a Dog's World!

The first 3 Mondays in May, Central Bark is offering great opportunities to try out new activities with your dog.  Each hour long workshop lets both explore a popular dog sport, no strings attached.  Dog sports are a fantastic way to focus, train, bond with, stimulate, and exercise your canine companion and they have something to offer for every unique breed, age, and physical ability.  Here are the upcoming workshops and some darn good reasons why you should try them…

Rally Obedience on May 6th – Rally-O is the new wave of basic obedience trainining: fun reward-based pratical obedience using instructive signs.  If your dog can sit, down, follow you, or turn right (any or all of the above) you are already on your way to aceing this dog sport.  All of the exercises in Rally can easily go from competition ring to sidewalk.  Rally broke the mold in that it allows you to praise and encourage your dog during competition and that the course is never the same twice, removing the predictablility and rigidness of old-school obedience.

Canine Freestyle on May 13th – This rapidly growing sport is an absolute blast to train and perform.  You simply create a routine of chosen tricks to music.  It lets your dog’s (and your) personality bloom, having no required moves to compete.  You can do whatever your dog and you feel comfortable with.  If your dog stinks at stay, then don’t stay.  If your dog loves to jump, put that on cue and tada!  If your dog wants to improvise, great, go with it.  You will never be docked for too much personality.

Nosework on May 20th – Harnessing the power of a dog’s nose is part of our ancient and magical relationship with canines.  Nosework does just that, by asking your dog to navigate a course of objects and indicate which objects are marked by a small amount of predetermined scent.  It engages your dog’s brain, provides a ton of enrichment, does wonders for focusing and calming hyperactive dogs, and is a natural to train.  Plus it welcomes dogs of all abilities (deaf, blind, handicapped dogs welcome).

Workshops are from 7:30-8:30pm.  To enroll call at 206.325.3525 or e-mail at info@central-bark.com

 Join us Sunday February 10th from 1-2pm for our Valentine’s Day Social.  Mingle, snack, and socialize with fellow doggie romantics or play to win our Most Festive Attire or Most Enticing Trick contest.  Bring a donation toy for the Seattle Animal Shelter and enter our eMuttmony Mutt-Match service (all breeds and mixes welcome).  After all entries are tabulated, the Mutt-Match results will be posted on Valentine’s Day.

Day: Sunday February 10th

Time: 1 – 2pm

What to bring: Your most festive Valentine’s Day costume and a toy donation for the Seattle Animal Shelter

Activities: Trick and costume contests, eMuttmony Mutt-Match profiles, photos, games, snacks, and more.

Please RSVP to info@central-bark.com

Can’t make it to the party?  You can still enter by bringing a donated toy along when you drop off for daycare, boarding, or grooming.  We will have you complete a Mutt-Match profile and snap a picture.  Results of the Mutt-Match will be posted on Valentine’s

We are offering an exclusive bathing special for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  Be one of the first 20 dogs in the door on Sunday January 20th and get a bath with our environmentally-friendly hypo-allergenic shampoo, a full brush-out, ear cleaning, anal gland expression, and nail trim for only $20!  Get all this for the price of a u-wash.

Doors open at 8am.  Bath & Brushes are on a first-come first-served basis.  Only the first 20 dogs will be accepted.*

*The Bath & Brush Blowout does not include any specialty shampoos, products, hair trimming or shaving.  Daycare charges apply for doggie daycare visitors.

We asked you to send in pictures or your dog doing something cute.  We got a fantastic response and so many adorable photos that we had to form a panel of cuteness judges to evaluate the submissions.

Well the judeges have made their decision.  We have a winner!  Stella Luna the Miniature Schnauzer has been awarded the cutest photo.  Here she is playing “Where’s Stella” in a sea of shredded toilet paper.

You can check out the other cute contestants on our facebook page here.

There are a lot of dog photography books out there where you can oogle cute poms or see dogs in various states of play, rest, or even toting designer outerwear.  The cute factor is great but I have an even better recommendation for you: a book that recognizes the miraculous and very unique relationship that we humans and dogs share.

“Dogs Make Us Human: A Global Family Album” celebrates how everywhere on earth dogs and humans have developed together to become a family.  The photography of Art Wolfe is beautiful and the passages and selected quotes by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson are touching.  There are images of intimate moments shared by dogs and people from around the world.  Thanks to Art Wolfe’s passion for the northwest, there are also quite a few shots from the Seattle area as well (so you just might see someone or some dog you know).

I highly recommend it to enjoy yourself or as a great gift for a fellow dog lover in your life.  You can check it out on Amazon here… http://www.amazon.com/Dogs-Make-Us-Human-Global/dp/1608195651

We would like to thank all of you for completing our Customer Satisfaction Survey. We got a lot of great feedback, we heard your requests, and we’ve made some improvements.

We now have a second webcam in the Patio Room. You asked for it, and we got it.  Now you can see what your four-legged friend is up to from breakfast to bedtime. We also have faster refresh rates for both of our cameras.

Central Bark is mobile.  Now you can watch your dog on the go with your iPhone.  Download it here at http://www.macworld.com/appguide/app.html?id=382306&expand=false

We are expanding the grooming department. We heard how important those post-play salon treatments were so we have added more grooming and we’re now offering haircuts and full service grooming on Saturdays as well as weekdays.

Thanks again for all the helpful input.  We hope you enjoy the new services.

Q: My dog barks all the time.  I have tried spray bottles, vinegar, and collars but nothing seems to work in the long run.  What do I do?

A: Dogs bark for many reasons: boredom, stress relief, attention, to scare away bad things, and many more.  I think the one thing all these barky dogs can agree on is that they bark because they’re dogs.  Barking is a totally natural behavior in dogs.  It only becomes a problem when it doesn’t fit into the requirements for human living.  Here are some questions to ask if you are having trouble with barking.

1)  Are all of Fido’s needs being met?  Is your dog getting adequate exercise, attention, mental stimulation, and are their housing and feeding requirements being met?  Remember, your dogs needs are determined by your dog and your dog alone.  An active 2 year old Lab needs more exercise and mental stimulation than a 7 year old Cavalier.  If those needs are not being met, then there’s your barking problem.

2)  Is your dog getting “Doggy Time”?  Dogs have to have an outlet for their doggy behaviors.  They have to dig, bark, chew, play and do zoomies somewhere.  If you don’t give them appropriate outlets for their doggy behaviors, they will find inappropriate ones.

So what do we do now?  15 minutes of hard exercise and 2 minutes of training a day goes a really long way towards making most companion dogs happy.  Putting naughty dog behaviors on cue goes even further.  You can put barking, crazy running, digging, and much more on cue.

1. Simply say “Bark”
2. Prompt your dog to bark by ringing the doorbell or doing some other bark-inducing behavior
3. Tell them what a great ferocious watch dog they are
4. Get them to “Shush” by prompting them into a sit with a food treat
5. Praise them for being a wonderful quiet dog

Now you have a happy fulfilled dog that only barks on cue!

The Furry 5K is just a few weeks away.  Join Central Bark and thousands of other dogs and their walkers to benefit the Seattle Animal Shelter.  It all happens Sunday June 10th at Seward Park in Seattle.

The race starts at 10am.  You can register online, by mail, or in person at a participating athletic stores, just make sure you sign up by June 5th.  Pledge $20 to help homeless animals or $25 to add a t-shirt.

After the race check out local pet businesses at the Pet Expo and watch silly pet tricks and awards on the main stage.

For more information visit http://www.furry5k.com  We look forward to seeing you all there!

April 7th to May 7th is National Pet Month.  We honor these dates to promote responsible pet ownership, make people aware of the benefits of having companion animals, increase awareness of proffesional services for pets, and recognize the contribution working companion animals bring to our society.

To celebrate we are accepting donations to help the homeless pets at the Seattle Animal Shelter while they wait for their new homes.  They are in need of…

Please bring all donations to Central Bark – 838 Poplar Place South.  We will be accepting items until May 7th.  Thank you!

Here is the winner of our Leprechaun Photo Contest – Cooper!

When Cooper is not spreading his Irish charm as a Leprechaun, he is a Yellow Labrador Retriever.

Cooper’s favorite things are: food (of course), car rides, going anyplace where he can meet people, Maymoor dog park, street fairs, dressing up, sniffing new smells, and he loves his over-sized comfy crate – with removed door.

His dislikes are: cats, getting shots in his nose, and the blow dryer.

What his people have to say about him: Cooper if a wonderful sweet dog who has a great smile. He is very laid-back and very tolerant of almost everything. Cooper will be your best friend for the smallest piece of food. We also love his goofy personality, he still has a puppy brain in an adult body (he turns 7 tomorrow). He loves all people and other dogs, and they all love him back. We are always amazed when we meet someone who met him a year ago and still remembers him.

Congratulations to Cooper and have a Happy St. Patrick’s Day!