Our weekly walk this week will be at Robinson Woods in Cape Elizabeth at 9:30 a.m.  We'll be entering on the Rte 77 / Ocean House Road side of the property.  Parking is at a big, brown church on your LEFT (Hill Road is on the R just before the church) just before that last rise into the center of town.  Leashes will be needed for this walk and NO flexi-leads are allowed, thanks.

Have you joined us for a Sunday hike with your dog yet?  This will be a great one, and the weather's supposed to be grand.  Blueberry Mountain is a moderate hike with some nice views and some water features on the way up, including Rattlesnake Pool.  The link to trail info is below.  Driving directions are easy (see below).  

http://www.rei.com/guidepost/detail/maine/hiking/blueberry-mountain-via-stone-house-trail/38176

Click the link and you'll see!  This blog was written and the accompanying video made about one year ago.  We've made several improvements to our playground and our indoor space in the interim.  We LOVE our school!

http://south.wcsh6.com/news/families/why-nursery-school-works-puppies/65890

 

Bringing home a new pup can be a challenge, as many adults work outside the home and there's no one there to tend to the pup's needs during the day when they're not here at DWD with us.  Our solution is to offer a Puppy Visitor service for those times when you need it.  The service is flexible.  One visit per day is $15 and two on the same day is $25.  The puppy visitor will take your pup out to potty, feed/water them and provide some exercise.  We'll follow your routine to the T.  Your pups know and love us, so having us visit them at your home is ideal.  Let us know when you need us!

Our weekly walk this week will be at Robinson Woods in Cape Elizabeth at 9:30 a.m.  We'll be entering on the Rte 77 / Ocean House Road side of the property.  Parking is at a big, brown church on your LEFT (Hill Road is on the R just before the church) just before that last rise into the center of town.  Leashes will be needed for this walk and NO flexi-leads are allowed, thanks.

Have you joined us for a Sunday hike with your dog yet?  This will be a great one, and the weather's supposed to be grand.  Blueberry Mountain is a moderate hike with some nice views and some water features on the way up, including Rattlesnake Pool.  The link to trail info is below.  Driving directions are easy (see below).  

http://www.rei.com/guidepost/detail/maine/hiking/blueberry-mountain-via-stone-house-trail/38176

Click the link and you'll see!  This blog was written and the accompanying video made about one year ago.  We've made several improvements to our playground and our indoor space in the interim.  We LOVE our school!

http://south.wcsh6.com/news/families/why-nursery-school-works-puppies/65890

 

Bringing home a new pup can be a challenge, as many adults work outside the home and there's no one there to tend to the pup's needs during the day when they're not here at DWD with us.  Our solution is to offer a Puppy Visitor service for those times when you need it.  The service is flexible.  One visit per day is $15 and two on the same day is $25.  The puppy visitor will take your pup out to potty, feed/water them and provide some exercise.  We'll follow your routine to the T.  Your pups know and love us, so having us visit them at your home is ideal.  Let us know when you need us!

We're GROWING!  Beginning Monday, March 26 we will be adding a second Nursery School class to our schedule.  New students can enroll for EITHER or BOTH classes (Wed) and existing students can SWITCH, STAY or ADD to their Wednesday class.  Just let us know what you need!  Pups are welcomed to attend one or both days...

Can't get your dog to school at DWD in the morning?  Have a late meeting and can't get here to pick him/her up by closing time?  Fear not, we've got you covered!  Our new Dog Bus service can be used whenever you need it.  For $5 we will pick 'em up or drop 'em off for you.  Pick up is between 7 and 7:30 a.m. at your home and drop off is between 4 and 5 p.m.  Use it when you need it!  We're flexible.

On the weekend of April 7, we will begin offering FREE Weekend Walks.  Here's the deal.  We want to share all the lovely open spaces, nature preserves and other fantastic places where you can romp with your dog locally.  These are new discoveries we've made with our hiking dogs from DWD.  We'll post the day and time and location where we'll meet for an hour-long walk each weekend.  You can join us at the parking lot and we'll walk together with our dogs.  Mike and I will bring treats and our recall squeakers so we can show you how to work with your dogs like we do when we're out with the pack for hikes.  This way, your dog can practice with you and maybe join our hiking program if they're not already participating as part of their DWD school program.

Our Friday Hikes program has been so well-received and enjoyable for our small breed students that we are expanding the program!  We are pleased to announce the Hike With Mike Program, which will allow us to offer hikes on T, W and Th (in addition to F) for smaller groups.  NOW enrolling eligible DWD students.  We can take up to 7-8 on these additional days.  See below for details....

If you're new to the DWD "family" or would like to peruse the blogs I've written for dog lovers and dog owners.....you'll find the links to my THREE blog locations below.  There's some great topics, so click the links and check them out!

I am an on-line community blogger for the WCSH-6 television station on dog topics:

http://south.wcsh6.com/profile/61193/julie-bernier

There are a bunch of great articles on my Dances With Dogs blog, so scroll down or look on the right-hand side for a list of dates/topics:

http://danceswithdogsmaine.blogspot.com/

I just started using the "blog" feature on my photography hosting site and here, I'll be blogging about all things photography:

http://juliebernierphotography.zenfolio.com/blog

That's right, YOU can finally see Ireland the way it's seen best - on a luxury coach with lots of folks who love dogs, photography and relaxing vacations!  This trip was put together at the request of my DWD customers, who begged for it after I came back in September raving about the good time I'd had with Longer Vacations trip.  Evan McElligott is our guide and trip planner.  He'll be with us the entire time and will take care of ALL the headaches, worries and details. We'll be staying in a castle one night, at a spa another....and oh the sights we'll see!  The price can't be beat and we won't find an opportunity like this again.  The first 20 get in!  Deposits are due by March 28.  Click the link to check out the itinerary, pricing and all the fancy details.  And please COME!!!

http://longervacations.com/julies-irish-jaunt-2012/ 

I'm pleased to be offering a new Puppy Play Hour on Saturdays over at the new Mutty Paws Dog Day Care in South Portland.  Owners  get to be IN the group WITH the pups and will learn how to interpret play behaviors, supervise their pup's play safely and stop unwanted behaviors. Perfect!  And...it's FREE.  Group is on Saturdays at 2 p.m.!  Click the link below and you'll be taken to Mutty Paws'website, where you can find directions!!

http://www.muttypaws.net/

You can now enjoy photos of your pup/dog taken here at DWD from the comfort of your own home without having a Facebook account.  Just click on the link below and you'll be taken to my  photography site on Zenfolio.  I'll be adding galleries almost daily, so check back often....  I'm also available for private photo shoots if you desire.  Just ask....

http://juliebernierphotography.zenfolio.com/

Here's a link to Chris Marine's awesome segment on the Friday evening news on WCSH Channel 6 about tick bite prevention!  I'm so proud of the puppies....

http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article/179151/314/Ticks-still-causing-troubles-thanks-to-warm-temperatures

Here are the links to today's entries on my Dog Blog for WCSH-6.  The first is about Riverton Trolley Park, part of the Portland Trails sytem.  The second includes important information on tick bite prevention.  Enjoy and feel free to send the links to family & friends!

 

http://south.wcsh6.com/news/community-spirit/82721-riverton-trolley-park-another-gem-portland-trails-system

http://south.wcsh6.com/news/people/82708-if-your-dog-getting-bitten-ticks-your-preventive-measures-are-failing

My, how time does fly when you're having FUN!  Seems like just yesterday that I flew by the seat of my pants and opened Dances With Dogs in the backyard of my house on Stevens Ave in Portland.  Yet...here I am, exactly five years later, living in another home with an amazing puppy playground taking up most of the 1/2 acre yard here on Ocean Ave in South Portland.  THANK YOU to my amazing community and fantastic customers for supporting Dances With Dogs for five solid years!

Here's the link to the video from our 6/17/11 hike with 13 dogs at Pleasant Mountain in Fryeburg!  See below...

Did you know that Dances With Dogs has a group on Facebook?

I just posted a blog about Acquiring A Second Dog.  Check it out!  Here's the link:

An article on Dealing with the Allergic Dog.  Check it out!

It's flea and tick season again here in Maine.  Please refrain from applying Frontline to your dog the night before or the morning of a school day at DWD.  This puts other dogs at risk of getting these harsh chemicals in their mouths during play and also interferes with proper saturation of the product on your dog, as dogs get wet here at DWD (wading pool) and roll around in the sand, etc. during the day.  THANK YOU!

Want to learn some basic info about how talking AT your dog can hinder his/her learning? Read my latest entry on the Dances With Dogs Blog. Become a follower of the Pack Leader's blog and you'll be notified when a new entry is posted!

Check out the new posting on the Dog Blog dated 3/25/10 entitled "Some Thoughts On Common Puppy Illnesses." Kennel Cough and Giardia are discussed....  http://danceswithdogsmaine.blogspot.com is the address!

At Dances With Dogs, the emphasis is on teaching and learning and your pup receives so much more than in the traditional dog daycare...

Go to the "News & Information" section of our site and click on "Dear Pack Leader" to send me a question!  I'll post the answer for everyone's benefit!