December Newsletter

Merry Christmas!  All of us at Dublin Creek Kennel would like to wish all of our clients and their pets a wonderful Christmas!  We appreciate all of you and thank you for trusting us with your beloved companions!

GROOMING
Don't forget to set up an appointment to get your dog or cat groomed for the holidays!  Our wonderful groomer Michelle can shampoo, brush and comb your dog or cat to get them looking and feeling great for the holidays!  Remember that your dog or cat does not need to be boarding in order to get groomed, you are welcome to book grooming appointments in between your boarding stays!  Sorry, no full haircuts.  

OUR NEW CATTERY
We are so pleased with how our new cattery has turned out!  We worked hard to provide a fun, enriching environment for our feline guests!  Come and see it today!

 

DOG TRAINING CLASSES!

Braveheart Dog Training now offers a wide variety of classes at the kennel including Beginning Obedience and Manners, Puppy Preschool, Fun with Agility  and much more!  Check out the class schedule to find a class that is right for you and your dog here.

PUPPY SLEEPOVERS
We are now offering Puppy Sleepovers!  For just $25 for one night, you can board your puppy aged 2 to 5 months to expose them to the kennel during the critical socialization period.  Feel free to bring your puppies favorite toy and bed or anything else that you think that they would like to have with them.  Each stay includes a play session and a stuffed kong!  We will go out of our way to make sure your pup has a great boarding experience!  Puppy Sleepovers are available Monday through Thursday!

ONE PUP AT A TIME RESCUE
Sue and Katherine, the owners of Dublin Creek Kennels want to do their part to help the community.  Because of this we have created One Pup at a Time rescue where we take in rescue dogs, work with them, and find them new, permanent, loving forever homes.  Of course, there are so many dogs and cats in need of rescue that our "one" dog at a time quickly turned into two or three or four!  Please check out our rescue page and see our wonderful dogs and cats that are looking for their forever homes.  These loving animals would love to be in a forever home of their own for the holidays.  Do you have room for one more?

November Newsletter

Book Early
As we welcome Autumn we want to remind all of our clients to remember to book early for Christmas.  As you know we tend to fill up around the holidays so please make sure to let us know as soon as possible if you are planning to go away!

Grooming
Don't forget that we offer grooming!  Our wonderful groomer Michelle will brush and comb out and bathe your dog!  Grooming includes nail trim and feet trimming if needed.  Sorry, we don't do full haircuts.  Also, your dog does not have to be boarding in order to get groomed you are welcome to come in for grooming in between boarding visits, whenever your dog needs freshening up!

New Cattery
The new cattery is nearly complete and will be ready by Thanksgiving!  Cats staying in our new cattery will be treated to a minimum of 3 hours a day of free roam play time in the cattery.  They will also get to enjoy extra luxuries such as a flat screen TV playing cat enriching videos, constant running drinking fountain and many climbing and play areas!  Come and check it out for yourself!  Stay tuned for pictures next Newsletter!

Puppy Sleepovers
We are now offering Puppy Sleepovers!  For just $25 for one night, you can board your puppy aged 2 to 5 months to expose them to the kennel during the critical socialization period.  Feel free to bring your puppies favorite toy and bed or anything else that you think that they would like to have with them.  Each stay includes a play session and a stuffed kong!  We will go out of our way to make sure your pup has a great boarding experience!  Puppy Sleepovers are available Monday through Thursday!

Howl-O-Ween Party Cancelled

The Howl-O-Ween Party has been cancelled.  The weather forecasts are warning of a big storm at the end of the week through Sunday.

October Newsletter

Sorry for the late newsletter!  We have been busy bees working on more exciting changes at the kennel! 

New Cattery
Our beautiful new cattery is nearly complete!  This area was designed with your cats in mind and they are going to love it!  We have created a new cattery containing four separate cat or cat family areas (much like our old cattery) that open up to the full cattery which is filled with climbing areas, play areas and lots of things to enrich your cats stay.  Each cat (or cat family sharing a house) will be allowed daily out time which will allow them to explore, play and climb around.  We are very excited to be able to offer this new space to your cats.  We still have our other cattery which will still offer cats roomy houses to stay in!  Come by and check it out!

Howl-O-Ween Party
Don't forget that our Howl-O-Ween party co-hosted with Braveheart Dog Training will be held here at the kennel on October 30, at 6:30 pm.  Bring your dog, yourself and your friends to the party to enjoy treats, snacks, costume contest and more!  Please think about your dogs comfort and safety when choosing their Halloween costume.  Hope to see you then!

Upcoming Classes
These are upcoming classes taught here at the kennel by Vicki of Braveheart Dog Training.

Beginning Obedience/Manners, Thursday, November 11, 6-7pm
This is a beginning class which will teach owners how to train their dogs to do a variety of basic behaviors including sit, down, loose leash walking, come here, out, off and much more.

Novice Obedience, Monday, November 15, 6:30-7:20pm
This is an intermediate level class for people who want to learn the behaviors and exercises necessary for Novice Obedience.

Marshmallows, Monday, November 15, 7:30-8:20pm
Is your dog shy or uncomfortable around certain things? Is he or she nervous of new people? Then this class is for you! This class is designed especially for shy dogs. The goal will be to teach owners of shy or fearful dogs to understand their dogs behavior and body language and how to help their dogs become more comfortable with different things. We will work on some manners and obedience behaviors while also learning to help dogs cope in a new environment.

Howl-O-Ween Party

We are happy to be co-hosting a Howl-O-Ween Party here at the kennel with Braveheart Dog Training.  We will have a costume contest, trick contest and prizes!  Please bring yourself and your dog and people friendly dog to join us at the party!

Lectures on the Lawn

Dublin Creek Kennels is now offering Lectures on the Lawn in our beautiful new training area. They are short, affordable, informative lectures presented by Vicki Ronchette, CPDT, CAP2.

An Introduction to Fear in Dogs

Wednesday, October 13, 7pm-8pm,

$20 per person,

Is your dog, shy, worried in new situations or fearful of strangers and the unknown?This one hour lecture will give you a basic understanding of fear in dogs, what it looks like, some things you can do to help fearful dogs and myths associated with dealing with fear in dogs. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate and snacks will be provided. Grab your friends and join us for a relaxing and informative evening. Call now to reserve your spot, 925-828-5355


No Dogs Please

September Newsletter

OUR NEW LOOK
We are so proud of all of the rennovations we have been making to the kennel.  In case you haven't been by lately, take a look at what we've done.  Or better yet, stop by and visit!  Here is our gorgeous new mural we had painted on the front wall:

And, this is our beautiful new training and activities yard:

DOG TRAINING CLASSES
We are now offering dog training class here at the kennel.  All of our classes are taught by Certified Professional Dog Trainer Vicki Ronchette, CPDT of Braveheart Dog Training.  Take a look at our schedule of upcoming classes.  If you are interested in registering for any of these classes, please contact Vicki at braveheartdogs@sbcglobal.net.

Beginning Obedience/Manners, 6 weeks, $150, 11/11 6pm
This is a beginning class that will cover teaching dogs the basics including sit, down, come here, loose leash walking, stay, off, leave it and many more.  For dogs and puppies over 5 months old. 

Novice Obedience, 5 weeks, $120, 11/15, 6:30pm
This intermediate/advanced level class is for dogs who have completed our Beginning class.  We will be working on teaching dogs and owners the skills necessary for competition obedience at the novice level.  Even if you do not plan to compete, this class is beneficial as dogs will continue to polish their beginning obedience/manners skills.

Marshmallows, 5 weeks, $150, 11/15, 7:30pm
Is your dog shy or uncomfortable around certain things? Is he or she nervous of new people? Then this class is for you! This class is designed especially for shy dogs. The goal will be to teach owners of shy or fearful dogs to understand their dogs behavior and body language and how to help their dogs become more comfortable with different things. We will work on some manners and obedience behaviors while also learning to help dogs cope in a new environment.

Agility Big Stuff, 4 weeks, $100, 11/13, 1:30
This class is for dogs who have completed our Fun with Agility class.  In this next level up we will introduce dogs and handlers to the larger equipment including the teeter totter, dog walk and a frame.

JOIN US AT AN ARF FUNDRAISER AT DOG BONE ALLEY
On Wednesday, September 15 from 5 to 8 pm, Dublin Creek Kennels will be participating at Dog Bone Alley at 730 Camino Ramon in Danville.  Come and see us there!

LECTURES ON THE LAWN
We will be hosting lectures on training and behavior by Vicki Ronchette of Braveheart Dog Training.  These informative, affordable lectures will be held on our beautiful training yard and will be relaxing, informal and enjoyable!

August Newsletter

Activities
Effecitve June 28, Dublin Creek Kennels began offering enrichment activities for the boarding dogs and day stay dogs and what a success it has been!  When a dog is dropped off his owners may choose to sign him or her up for activities such as agility, playgroup with other dogs, ball and toy play, Find It which is a food searching game trick training, or even just some one on one time for a massage and petting.  The dogs are really benefiting from these extra activities!  Ask about them when you board your dog!

Kongs!
We now offer Stuffed Kongs to our boarding guests!  A kong is a hollow, rubber toy that we stuff with a dog food and peanut butter mixture and then freeze.   The dogs are given the kongs and then get to spend time working to get the food out.  This is very enriching for the dogs because it causes them to work and problem solve for their food which burns energy!

Renovations
In case you haven't noticed we are making some changes!!  You can't miss our beautiful new training and enrichment yard in front of the kennel, but that isn't all we have been up to!  Our kennel area has all new flooring and is being painted as well.  We are so happy with the new look and are exciting to continue making changes and upgrades!

Dog Training Classes
We are now hosting dog training classes being offered by Braveheart Dog Training.  We have already started offering classes here and will soon have our training class schedule up on the website.  For now, you can visit www.braveheartdogtraining.com to see the class schedule!

Facebook
If you haven't already done so, please "like" us on Facebook where we post pictures of guests as well as videos and informational posts.

July Newsletter

Is it already July?  It looks like it is!  Time flies when you're having fun and we are DEFINITELY having fun at Dublin Creek Kennels!  And, we aren't the only ones, our guests are LOVING our beautiful new training and activities yard where they can play with their dog friends, enjoy some water games, chase a ball, practice agility or search for food and toys!  Don't forget to sign your dogs up for some of our new activities!  It will make their stay away from home as fun as your vacation!

Facebook!
We are on Facebook!  If you are on Facebook and would like updates and information about the kennel, please search Dublin Creek Kennels and "Like" us! 

Hot Dogs!
Summer is here!  While Summer is a great time for everyone with kids out of school and everyone going on vacation we need to be extra thoughtful about making sure our dogs are kept safe and cool.  Here are some things to keep in mind:

Water
Make sure your dog has plenty of water available at all times.  Any water kept in outside bowls will need to be refreshed more often as it can get warm on hot days.

Walks
It's not a good idea to take your daily walk in the middle of the day as this is typically the hottest time of the day.  Consider walking earlier in the morning or later in the afternoon or early evening to make sure that your dog (and you!) don't get overheated.  Also, be careful about walking on hot pavement or black top as it can get dangerously hot on warm days causing pain and even blistering.

Cars
Please do not take your dogs in the car if you would have to leave them in the car alone for any length of time.  Even on 80 degree days the heat inside a parked car can reach over 120 degrees.  Heatstroke can happen quickly and can be fatal.  Please leave your dog home on days when you can't take him inside with you.

Shelter
If you allow your dog to be outside during the day, please make sure that they have plenty of shade and shelter (and water!)

Puppies and Kittens, oh my!
We still have one Labrador/American Bulldog puppy available to a good home!  Jordi is a brindle boy who is looking for his forever home.  We also still have several kittens available to good homes.  If you have room in your home and heart, please consider giving one of these kids a new home.

Dog Training Classes are here!
We are happy to announce that in addition to our Board and Train program, we are offering dog training classes!  All classes are taught by Certified Professional Dog Trainer Vicki Ronchette, of Braveheart Dog Training.  To register visit www.braveheartdogtraining.com or email Vicki at braveheartdogs@sbcglobal.net.  Please take a look at our class schedule:

Puppy Preschool, Wednesday, July 14, 10-10:50am, 6 weeks, $120
This class is for puppies that are 2 to 5 months old.  We will discuss puppy raising issues (house training, play biting, chewing, jumping, etc), get starting on basic manners (sit, down, come here) and will include off leash play.

Beginning Obedience/Manners, Wednesday, July 14, 11-12:00pm, 6 weeks, $150
This class is for dogs that are 5 months old or older.  We will work on teaching the basics including sit, down, come here, stay, loose leash walking, leave it, out, off, and much more.

The Dog Who Came When Called - A reliable recall workshop, Thursday, July 29, 7-8:30pm, $45
This one session workshop is designed to help you teach your dog a reliable recall. 

Novice Obedience, Monday, August 16, 5 weeks, 7:30-8:20, $120
This advanced level class is for people who want some new challenges for their dogs.  The focus is on readying dogs for the competition obedience Novice class.  You do not need to be planning to compete to attend.

Clicking for Conformation, Saturday, August 28, 5 weeks, 9-9:50am, $150
This class will get your dog started on learning the behaviors necessary for competition in the show ring utilizing clicker training.

Marshmallows, Saturday, August 28, 5 weeks, 10-10:50am, $150
This class is made just for the softies!  If you have a dog that is shy or nervous around people or other dogs, this class will help.  You will learn how to help your dog cope with their shyness and learn ways to help them come out of their shells and learn to be more comfortable.

New Activities for our guests!

We are very excited to be offering new Activities for our boarding guests.  Effective June 28 you will have a variety of activities to choose for your dogs enrichment and enjoyment during their stay.  Our beautiful new training and activities yard is fully fenced and complete with a high quality synthetic grass for your dog to play and romp on!  We offer a full menu of activity choices including Agility Fun in which your dog is exercised and trained to navigate agility obstacles such as jumps, tunnels and tires, Just for Jocks when we treat your dog to exercise and play with balls and frisbees, Water Games in which water dogs can play in the sprinklers and in the hose, Find It! our searching game where your dog spends time searching through boxes and props for hidden food items and toys.  We are also offering Social Play Groups which allow dog friendly dogs to enjoy playing with other dogs that are suitably matched by size, temperament and play style!  All of our activities are designed, supervised and run by our Certified Professional Dog Trainer.  Our goal is to offer your dog a fun, enjoyable and enriching visit so that they have a vacation of their own while you are away!  Please ask us about these activities when you drop off your dog! 

A Special Thank You!

As a special thanks for subscribing to our newsletter, we would like to offer a 20% discount for all boarding stays before August 1, 2010. Mention this offer when making your reservation to receive this discount. We appreciate your loyalty and your interest in the happenings at Dublin Creek Kennel.

See you soon,
Sue and Katherine

April 2010 - Our first official newsletter!

We are excited to announce that Dublin Creek Kennels in now under the exclusive ownership of Susan O'Reilly-Hagan and Katherine Cummings. Our highly skilled team is passionate about making Dublin Creek Kennels the finest boarding facility in the state. 2010 is a new year and our complete renovation is in full swing. The changes to the kennel are guaranteed to ensure an experience that is both positive and rewarding for you and your pet.

One of the exciting new services we are now offering is our Board and Train program. Our board and train program is a cooperative partnership between Dublin Creek Kennels and Braveheart Dog Training. The program is designed and directed by Vicki Ronchette, Certified Professional Dog Trainer and owner of Braveheart Dog Training.

A brand new endeavour that we are thrilled to announce is our, "One Pup at a Time" Foundation. Along with the help of Vicki Ronchette,  we started this foundation because every year so many dogs are surrendered to the shelter simply because they don't have the manners needed to co-exist in a home. We strongly believe that with patience and the proper training almost every dog can become a loyal and loving companion. Our goal is to rescue and rehabilitate, "One Pup at a Time".

Our kitten rescue has been quite successful so far this season. We have already found loving, permanent homes for 6 kittens. Currently in search of a home, we have a beautiful 3 year old, seal point Himalayan and "Angela", a gorgeous and affectionate black and white, short hair.

We hope your enjoying 2010 so far and look forward to seeing you in the near future. If your interested in boarding, training or adoption, please stop by for a visit. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter where we will post kennel updates, training & health tips and adoption information.

See you soon,
Sue and Katherine