© Waglands 2024
For the health and safety of your companion and our other guests, we must insist on current vaccinations:
If vaccinations are not sufficient, we will not be able to help.
Probably not! Vaccines can take up to 14 days to gain effectiveness. Please plan ahead, and keep us updated through the Vaccination record function in your profile.
If this is not possible, please get in touch with us, and we can assess the best course of action and whether the entire two weeks is required in your case and discussion with your Vet professional.
Absolutely. Our reservation system has the most convenient way of sending us an image of your booklet – please do this when making a reservation so we can prevent any late notice hiccups that may upset your plans.
We require guests to maintain a recommended schedule of reputable flea and worm treatments. We can administer these treatments on your behalf if that is helpful – you can find these as options in your online reservation request.
Like a lot of things at Waglands, this is something we have developed ourselves in a unique and individual environment. We are doing the hard work of adapting our service to the individual needs of our guests for their health, happiness and safety. This philosophy rolls through everything our team does together to better our guest’s experience. Ben talks about this further in a blog, “Dog Centred Care.”
Welcome to our furry-focussed family! Creating an online profile is the best way to give us all the information we need: https://waglands.propetware.com/newAccount. If dropping us a quick query, it is beneficial for us to know at least:
Most newly arriving guests would like nothing more than to take in the space, sights, scents and environment, so we strive to give them space to do just this in a calm and quiet area.
Once familiar with the environment, they are much more relaxed and better placed to dive into some lovely small-group social activity with the close group we would like to introduce them to.
The most beautiful company is based on the personal preference of our guests, and observing and acting on this is the best advice our team can have. We make other decisions of compatibility, considering size, enthusiasm, personality, preferences, playing style and health.
Most of our guests have been to us many times previously. Over time, we develop significant insight into which playgroup they best suit and then make continuous slight adjustments to have everyone get the best from their social experience.
The quietest time for arriving is 9.30am – 10am
Also, note that you are their #1, and many guests will direct all their attention to you when in an unfamiliar environment. Your ongoing presence will distract them from engaging in their new environment and company, so don’t feel that staying around will help them settle in.
We have some great treats available in our reservation system – including bones as a bit of accommodation surprise and one-on-one team member sessions with them.
No! The purpose of our Enrichment sessions is to engage our guest’s real needs physically, mentally, and socially. Every structure we have built or upgraded at Waglands has carefully considered how to reduce stimulation to the dogs using it to relax, and better focus their efforts on great engagement with their chosen playmates and our team or dedicated rest and recovery periods.
But equally, we are not militant about silence – if dogs express themselves nicely as a part of healthy balanced play, which is not detrimental to others around them. We accept barking rather than preventing this natural behaviour, especially in some breeds.
We are passionate about fostering a social environment and require all of our guests to enjoy the company of others. We occasionally have guests recovering from surgery or injury, and we adapt to keep them quiet, separate and safe. But for individuals exhibiting behaviour that threatens or affects the enjoyment of others, if we are unable to adjust them into the friendly company, they are best suited to isolation-focussed facilities.
If your vet is based in Lower Hutt, we attend your vet where possible. Otherwise, we attend our local vets, who have an excellent range of services and expertise and great hours of availability. We will ensure any pertinent information concerning the ongoing care of your dog is shared with you and your usual vet for their continuity of care and records.
Small dogs appreciate space, privacy, enrichment, Human attention, smaller groups and well-matched company as much as any dog. And the diversity and interest Waglands has developed in the many different areas is unmatched. Our small dogs get equal access to the best of Waglands within the safety and enjoyment of their small-sized exclusive group of familiar friends.
The most beautiful company is based on our participants’ personal preferences and individual needs, and observing and acting on this is the best guide our team can have. We make other decisions of compatibility, considering size, enthusiasm, personality, preferences, playing style and health.
Most of our participants have been to us many times previously. Over time, we develop significant insight into which playgroup they best suit and then make continuous slight adjustments to have everyone getting the best from their enriched social experience.
We believe in surrounding each guest with a small group of well-matched individuals that each of them can benefit from. Size is a significant factor that we use to create separate playgroups, so we don’t mix small and large dogs. We also consider personality, physicality, age and health issues.
We have specifically designed The Waglands Express Bus to minimise the time your friend spends getting to Waglands, maximising the time up here on site. By connecting with all of our guests at Percy Scenic Reserve, we keep transit time to 15 minutes. The vast part of their day should be spent enjoying environments that best suit rest and play – not in a travelling van.
For the health and safety of your companion and our other guests, we must insist on current vaccinations for all visitors to our facilities:
• D.H.P (Distemper, Hepatitis, Parvovirus)
• ‘Canine Cough’ vaccination.
Note: Leptospirosis is not required in the Wellington Region, so we do not need this for entry.
Our rates are on the pricing page.
If this works best for them, absolutely, yes! We have evolved a range of accommodation options to best meet their needs.
For family members to share accommodation, they need to be compatible and have sufficient space to be comfortable. We consider this individually and can change tack if we feel their needs are better met with another option.
We are definitely not the right place for cats to have fun. Fortunately, we have Caroline at Hillcrest Cat Motel just down Normandale road a little, and she is terrific. You can reach her on 569 3598. Website: Hillcrest Cat Motel
More information can be found on our pricing page.
Most oral medications can be administered to even the most difficult of guests. Please bring any medications with clear instructions on dose and frequency of administration, and labelled with the guest’s name. Please ensure there is enough medication for their specific needs. The only health condition we wish to avoid is insulin-dependent diabetics due to the complex and less visible blood glucose status when shifting into our stimulating environment.
We are interested in every diverse need our guests have. Some require a lot more time investment by our team, needing an ‘Extra Love’ fee.
Included are such things as close weight monitoring with additional meals, awkward dietary workarounds like hand-feeding, special exercise provision to adapt our social environment to specific needs or limitations, or specific privacy measures in recreation or accommodation areas. Or anything else that we feel we need to invest particular time to make all the difference for a unique individual.
We encourage our guests to allow us to provide this, as we have always struggled with laundering, locating and returning our bedding at departure time. Please don’t bring anything you would hate to lose if you do wish to BYO.
We combine various soft bedding with good quality beds. We have specially imported U.S. made ‘Kuranda’ beds which are carefully chosen for their comfort and durability. Our towels, polar fleece blankets, and ‘DryBeds’ are perfect for keeping them comfortable and clean, can be washed as soon as needed and dry nicely throughout the day as required.
Attention spans are limited, so we have developed a dog-centred training service that keeps it to repeated short 10-minute bursts of training, with calm rest in between.
Space is limited, so we do have a waitlist for you. Let us know your aspirations, and we will see when we have the availability to help you along.
Jan Voss is one of the most experienced Dog Trainers in the region and someone with a vast diversity of practice and an ongoing desire to stay current with the latest and best evolutions of dog training philosophy and technique.
She has over 30years of professional training and experience behind her and owns and runs A.C.E Dog Training Ltd. Currently, her work includes private and group exercise classes and professionally assessing dogs for the SPCA, identifying and intervening with problem behaviours – but like us, she also really believes in getting the basics solid and sound, as well as ongoing engagement and betterment for each dog.
Absolutely!
“All Canine Education” (A.C.E. Dog Training Ltd.) are still providing all their wonderful services – we are just borrowing Jan as our Head Trainer for a dedicated time in the week to help with training our wonderful little community.
All our current costs are on our pricing page.
Location: Maungaraki Community Hall, 135 Dowse Drive, Maungaraki (access via one-way access around to the rear of building)
When: Tuesday nights
*Register Now* through our Waglands Online Profile. From here, you can request a place on our upcoming courses – Click on ‘Book Now’ & select ‘Puppy Training Classes’.
Join our puppy class for five weeks of fun and learning, all for just $220!
Amazingly, it isn’t. With everything we have evolved, we have the quietest rest periods much to many people’s surprise. This is critical to our guests’ routine, health and happiness. We even have calming music tinkling through our accommodation as they transition from play to rest.
Our customer arrival hours have been timed to coincide with our guests’ recreation times, so they will be active then – and your arrival just created a huge point of interest, as has our team member who goes into their playspace to fetch guests going home. These temporary bursts of activity and noise settle down again with all the careful privacy we have between yards, and they go back to recreational cruise mode.
If your vet is based in Lower Hutt, we attend your vet where possible. Otherwise, we attend our local vets, who have an excellent range of services and expertise and great hours of availability. We will ensure any pertinent information concerning the ongoing care of your dog is shared with you and your usual vet for their continuity of care and records.
In addition to Arlene and myself being fully committed owners, we have a large group of around 18 talented and active people to allow us to keep on top of all the critical foreground and background organisation that brings to life the Excellence that earns us awards. They are all an absolutely key part of the experience we provide. We specifically select our team based on their personality, attitude and background. Being stable long term people, they get to know our guests and their individual needs well.
Good on you looking in depth at the incredible service we are always working so hard to create for you and our guests.
The best way to proceed from here is to complete our questionnaire to help us match our service to your family’s needs. This can be found on the Join Waglands Page
To be really great at what we do, we need many great people. Since 2009, we have continuously evolved our facilities and service, and each improvement along our lines of Dog-Centred Care requires effort.
Aside from the huge commitment to manage the days recreational activities, we have a complex day to organise which meets many individual needs, high standards of hygiene, health and weight checks, 22 playgrounds needing mowing and maintaining, and improvements we are excited about making – so we need great help every single day of the year.
Absolutely. Once we have worked through a successful application, and we can met your needs. Ben can specifically puts aside windows of time to give you a really thorough welcome and introduction to the whole daycare experience we provide, giving you a complete insight into the unbelievable effort we keep pouring into adapting our environment to your dogs health, happiness and safety.
Our unique philosophy drives our decade-long evolution into dog-centred care.
We are providing our transportation service in a bus stop style rather than picking up from homes to ensure that our beloved doggies do not spend too long travelling around in a van! We will be starting off with just one bus stop and increasing as we build up the demand in different areas.
Our first stop is Percy’s Reserve at 7.15am and 5.00pm Monday to Fridays.
Please don’t come out of our office hours. A resource consent stipulates 830-530pm as the customer access window, and we have a dedicated team of wonderful Reception people whose precious availability is spread over a seven-day week.
Occasionally we can make a special arrangement out of hours for a fee, but this is still disturbing to our guests in their rest periods, so not the best or first option.
A really lovely wash is so much more than just the choice of shampoo. We can certainly provide you with the Internationally recognised best products we use, but we are also experts at the washing, drying and brushing that is a huge part of a professional wash.
Just like you and your family at schools, workplaces and cafes, a social life puts us in contact with others who may have a cough that can be passed on. Dogs will catch a cough at some stage in a life well-lived. As with a human cold, it is spread by airborne droplets (e.g. sneezing) and contact with each other and their mucus secretions. This can and does occur anywhere, even if your dog does not leave your backyard.
No – vaccinations assist in preventing specific strains only. Coughs in dogs (just like people) are caused by many different viral and bacterial agents, and it is impossible to identify, prepare and administer vaccines against all of them. Your dog indeed would not thank you for all the jabs either! Your vaccinations contribute to a baseline immune response which should prevent some and reduce the severity of other strains not directly protected for.
Some illnesses look like Canine Cough, and your vet is on the lookout for these. Other symptoms that need investigation include:
Very young, elderly, or medically complicated dogs are recommended to go to the vet to check for complications that may cause them more problems than a cough normally would.
Just like when you (or your kids) have a cold, a doctor’s appointment is not always necessary. Antibiotics are often of little use in basic cases, although frequently prescribed for canine cough. Some other medications may assist with easing the irritation in the throat to reduce the cough. Very young, elderly, or medically complicated dogs are recommended to go to the vet to check for complications that may cause them more problems than a cough normally would.
The majority of cases will bounce back to normal after a few days of rest. The cough subsides overtime – days or occasionally a week or two. Keep an eye out for excessive loss of appetite/energy and unexpected symptoms or stress, which would require your vet’s advice. As with a human cold, a watchful eye is best to detect more severe or worsening chest infection symptoms (pneumonia), which needs immediate attention.
Occasionally we do hear this, although I am sure school principles /bus company managers/ employers and others don’t get similar criticism when humans contract a cough in environments they manage. Such is the power our beloved family dogs exercise over our emotions and decisions.
While we are proud of our hygiene standards, and only guests that have had their complete vaccinations are admitted, we are a social facility for the good of our guests – and one individual arriving who has invisibly contacted a cough in the community can create more contact here.
We will manage this as best as we can, secure in the knowledge that neither the Common Cold nor Canine Cough is going away anytime soon. The best human science has given us a whole vaccination program and unprecedented cleaning products. But there are still times when nature is just cleverer.
© Waglands 2024