Oktoberfest at Doggie Day Care
Wag Central, 80 Hathaway Drive
Just what is a “Doggie Day” care? A place where you can bring your dog that is happy, safe, and comfortable for them. Wag Central has so many amenities and is so artfully decorated that it should be considered a Dog Spa.
Wag Central is the vision created by Angela Pantalone, the owner. Angela was previously a kindergarten teacher. As almost all dog owners do, she was walking her King Charles spaniel in the rain, and she started looking for a place where she could walk her dog indoors. That was the start of her journey. She traveled cross-country with her husband, children, and dog to visit and see what dog daycares looked like, and how they were developed. In June of 2017 she opened up Wag Central, a doggie daycare open 7 days a week right here in Stratford.
With a staff of 21 people, Wag Central offers daycare, grooming, and overnight boarding services for their furry clients and a lovely doggie boutique in case families want to find the perfect squeaky toy or gourmet milkbone for your dog. Once your dog is enrolled at Wag Central, you create a Wag Central client portal where you have the ability to view your dog in real time on your cell phone.
Son Gus, Angela, and daughter Annie, all of whom keep Wag Central Running!
Your dogs have to be at least 18 weeks old, have had their vaccines, be neutered and spayed, to be eligible to enroll in Wag Central.
“By 18 weeks the puppies, as well as rescue dogs, have gotten a sense of their home. You want the dog to be familiar and comfortable with their real home before enrolling at Wag Central in order to be successful. The younger they start the better they do,” Pantalone said.
Puppy Structured Day Care, aka Pupster Academy, includes agility exercises, on leash behavior, and cues. The agility exercises are designed to keep the dogs in shape and exercise their various muscles as well as balance.
One of the lessons in the Pupster Academy class is Nosework: the trainers hide treats in a “snuffle mat” and the puppies have to sniff the mat until they find the treat.
To a puppy, the outside world is big and scary. To get them used to noise, the trainers do noise desensitizing with the dogs on a leash, using a shopping cart, skateboard, small dumpster, etc., to eliminate or lessen their reaction to fireworks, bicycles, motorcycles, as well as other sudden noises they do not normally experience.
Wag Doggie Boutique has an inventory of dog toys, collars, leashes—just about anything that you would want for your pampered pet. Great for Christmas shopping or just plain spoiling you pampered pooch!
And of course, there’s the “barkery,” with dog treats that mimic our bakery items.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, there is structured day care, where the dogs (they presently have an average of 60 dogs in day care) have a variety of “dog offerings” to participate in. For example open play, swimming, agility enrichment, gym class, dance class.
The events are changed frequently to keep the dogs interested.
The swimming pool is popular, with all dogs initially wearing a swim vest until they become proficient with swimming. The pool has graduated steps, beginning with a level that covers their paws, then their chest, and finally the so-called deep end where they swim. There are water toys for them to play with. “Stratford is a water town so it is important that they learn to swim,” Angela pointed out.
In addition to Doggie Day Care, they have a grooming center where the dogs get their hair cut, nails clipped, and baths.
Grooming services include: Haircut – Full-service bath, plus a customized trim and style; Squeaky Clean Bath – Shampoo, conditioner, massage, and a fluffy towel dry; Teeth Brushing/Oral Gel; Nose/Paw Balm; Nail Trim/Grind; De-Matting; De-Shedding; De-Skunk Shampoo; Flea/Tick Shampoo; Color-Enhancing Shampoo.
And then there is Oktoberfest. What could be more appropriate for Oktoberfest than a pretzel around your neck, a pumpkin, and an accordion? Dogs at Dog Central are dressed in appropriate costumes to reflect the season, photoshopped, and the photos sent to their owners to view.
Got a photo of your pup you’d like to share with us at the Stratford Crier? You can do so by submitting their story and photo to our Fur Real section.
Thank you, Barb, for a wonderful article. It was a pleasure hosting you at Wag Central.