May's Dog of the Month - Auggie

This guy has only been coming to us for two months, and he has done a night and day transformation. He was shy and nervous when he first started; his mom had to drag him through the door and he only reluctantly let us take him in back to the playgroup. 

By the third time they came, his mom happily remarked that his tail had wagged when he walked through the door. By the second week he was happily exploring and making small attempts to play. Now, by the second month, he drags his mom through the door and impatiently waits for us to let him into the group. He is one of the "popular kids", plays with everyone, and never has a bad day here. He is famous for his "antennae ears" and happy-go-lucky attitude. Keep it up, Auggie!

April's Dog of the Month - Luca

Luca first started with us last May, as a Canine College student. (You can read all about his transformation HERE.) He was definitely a handful. Over the last year we've continued working with him, while bringing out his sweet, cuddly, playful side. 

He is a big powerful dog, and he knows it, so teaching him how to reign in his strength has been our top priority. He always had a few friends he could play with, but they had to be as strong and bouncy as he was. Within the last couple of months all of our hard work came together, and the result is this: a happy, relaxed pup hanging out with his many newly made friends in the daycare group. He even made another St. Bernard friend, Bella. We couldn't more proud of him!

March's Dog of the Month - Kota

Kota has been coming to Pet U for ages. She originally started as one of our Canine College students, and blossomed from aggressive to extremely friendly and a crazy bundle of energy. She happily entertains herself by racing down and back in the backyard. Once she gets tired, she sprints toward us, stops on a dime, and rolls over onto her back to wait impatiently for a belly rub.

I call her my little model - look at her strut her stuff!

One of the services that we offer at Pet U is taking in dogs who can't go to other daycares. Along with a training package, we work to integrate them into our daycare group and leave the owner with a well-rounded, socialized dog. Kota has benefited hugely from this process, and last week had a breakthrough. Since she is a very dominant female, we have to be careful with the dogs she plays with. We put her and Hank together, and voila! It was a match made in heaven! Kota had a blast racing around with Hank, and we were so happy to see her playing nicely. Good job, Kota!

February's Dog of the Month - Piper

Picking each month’s Dog of the Month winner can be a little arbitrary. Which dog sticks out the most in my mind? Was their a dog with a cute story or picture to highlight? This month, there was a clear winner…. Piper!

Piper first started daycare here in January. She didn’t particularly like any of the staff, and wanted very little to do with any of the dogs. She was happy to freeze her butt off outside by herself, or hide away in a corner under the A-frame.

Over the last 2 months we’ve seen daily improvement in her attitude her at daycare. She started spending more time out from under the stairs, mingling with the dogs. Then one day she came running up to one of the staff, jumping up and licking her face. We were shocked! She slowly started coming out of her shell, playing with other dogs, and making attempts to be friendly with us.

Today was her best day yet. She spent hours playing with 3 other dogs in the backyard. They completely ignored me when I tried to call them back inside. They raced and wrestled and never seemed to wear themselves out. We were so proud of her!

January's Dog of the Month - Cashew & Peanut

There was a moment today when Cashew and Peanut were sitting on the stairs in the playgroup. Cashew claimed the top step, and Peanut lounged one step below him. They sat serenely, surveying the playgroup as if they owned the place. They’ve been regulars since we opened, so I guess they kind of do own the place!

These two are best friends, both at home and at daycare. They always hang out together, and Cashew takes it upon himself to be Peanut's protector. Their nicknames are 'the nut mixes', since they are such a mix of breeds.

They hold a very special place in all of our hearts, and we're always excited to see them come through the door!

December's Dog of the Month: Sir

December's Dog of the Month award goes to Sir! He is a German Shepherd Dog, and although relatively new to the group, has made quite a home for himself at Pet U! We love him for his dorky personality, and good-natured attitude.

He gets a little skip in his step when gets excited, and it never fails to make us laugh!

He gets along great with both large dogs and small dogs, and even prefers the little dogs on days when he comes in a little grumpy.

We love you Sir!

November's Dog of the Month: Leela

Leela and her sister Nakota have been coming to daycare for almost a year. Leela gets along great with all of the other daycare dogs, whether they are racing in the backyard or playing quietly inside. She always comes in to PETU pulling her owner through the door, and has been known to throw a fit or two when her mom comes to pick her up at the end of the day. (She lays down on the tile so that her mom is forced to drag her out the door.)

All of us at PETU have noticed a significant change in Leela within the last year. She used to prefer spending all day playing in back and wanted very little to do with any of the handlers. However, just within the last couple of months she has changed so much that she even has cuddly moods now once in a while! We love seeing this new side of Leela!

October's Dog of the Month: Zoey

Zoey is our first ever dog of the month!

When Zoey first came to PetU just over a month ago, she was skittish, terrible with strangers, and experiencing separation anxiety. She started doing one-on-one sessions with Dennis, and after a few weeks started attending daycare. Her progress was slow, but steady.

A few weeks after starting daycare, she had a breakthrough. I was crouching down petting another dog, and Zoey launched herself at me, trying to cuddle and lick my face. Then, as if realizing what she had just done, she retreated a little ways. But her tail was wagging.

Since then, she has had more little breakthroughs. It is really special to watch her come out of her shell. Zoey is representative of exactly what we strive for at PetU, and we couldn’t think of a better dog to kick off our Dog of the Month!