Without your approval we will not release your pet to anyone but you. If you plan on having someone else pickup your pet it must be pre-paid and you must leave their name & contact information with us. If you want someone to be able to come in and take your pet off our property, again it must be pre-paid and you must bring us a letter stating that this particular person has your permission to pick this animal up. Should you do this and the animal becomes sick, we are not responsible for any health problems that may accur after the pet is returned. We will not allow anyone but your emergency contact person or those stated in a letter to stop in and check or inquire about your pet during it's stay with us.

Celebrating 25 YEARS serving Great Falls and the surounding areas

Choosing a good care facility for your pet is an important decision and should be made with care and deliberation. We encourage you to inspect each facility before making your decision. Cleanliness and lots of Tender Loving Care are the keys to making your pets stay with us happy and comfortable. Our staff is passionate about the care of your pets and we offer you peace of mind as we provide your pets a safe and fun experience while you are away. Your pet will come home tired, but happy. We encourage you to come in and tour our facility.

We are the boarding facility that others try to emulate
When we opened our doors in 1988 we called all our guests VIPs (Very Important Pets) because that is what they are to us. Now many of the existing facilities refer to their boarders as VIP's or have VIP Boarding Packages. There are many things we have done over the years that others now try to imitate. Vacations, Pools, Holistic Foods, etc. Even part of our name is now copied.
They say that "Imitation is the highest form of flattery", but we believe the original is still the best.

We try to offer the best possible care for your furry family member. Always have, always will!

Without your approval we will not release your pet to anyone but you. If you plan on having someone else pickup your pet it must be pre-paid and you must leave their name & contact information with us. If you want someone to be able to come in and take your pet off our property, again it must be pre-paid and you must bring us a letter stating that this particular person has your permission to pick this animal up. Should you do this and the animal becomes sick, we are not responsible for any health problems that may accur after the pet is returned. We will not allow anyone but your emergency contact person or those stated in a letter to stop in and check or inquire about your pet during it's stay with us.

Your pets rooms are cleaned as many times a day as is necessary to remove dirt and hair. Fresh water is given daily. Large air exchangers run 24/7 to constantly bring in fresh air.

We take great pride in our ability to provide this service to your pets for you. We understand that your pets are not just animals, but your family. When you leave your pet with us they become our family too!

VACCINATION REQUIREMENTS
Proof of current vaccinations is Mandatory for boarding. Remember to bring in a copy of your current vaccination records that show when each vaccination expires. NOTE: There will be a $2.00 charge if we have to call your veterinarian for this information.
Should your pet become ill and we have to take it to the veterinarian there is a $10.00 charge for this.
It is recommended that any vaccination given, be given at least two weeks prior to boarding.

DOGS:Rabies & DHLPP and Boardtella - We recommend every 6 months for boardtella.
CATS: Rabies & FVRCP ** Leukemia is STRONGLY recommended

CHECKING IN & OUT:
Check Out Time is 10:00 AM. Pets checked Out prior to 10:00 AM (Mon-Sat) are not charged for that day. Pets will be charged for the day they check in regardless of the time of day. Checking In or Out, outside of regular business hours is a $25.00 charge and must be pre-arranged. We will not check in/out before 7:00 am or after 8:00 pm.

CANCELLATIONS & NO SHOWS
Reservations must be cancelled 24 hours prior to the day of check in or a charge could be incurred. If you do not cancel and fail to show up you will be billed a 3 day charge. Accounts not paying will be turned over for collection.


MEDICATIONS:
YOU must supply any/all medication your pet may need during its stay with us. We will not give prescription medication a vet has not prescribed
Insulin injections ...... $1.00/each time. | Pills & Vitamins ......... $.50/per time.


HOLIDAYS
Closed Holidays. Minimum Charge for Holidays is a 3 day charge.

FOOD & BEDDING
We feed only quality canned and dry food. If you wish to bring your own we ask that you bring only what your pet will need for his/her stay and it must be in some type of a solid container. Any additional bedding you provide must be machine washable. If it is a large dog pillow the cover must be removeable. Clean bedding is provided and washed daily. Sleeping bags, quilts, packing blankets are NOT acceptable. If your dog starts chewing up the bedding it will be removed.

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Do not feed your pet for 2 hours before or after boarding to prevent stomach upset. Give water in small amounts during this time. Your pet will be excited to be back home and may gulp food or water too fast which could cause bloating (this can be fatal) or vomiting.
We are not responsible for items left here that may be destroyed by your pet or lost. You as the pet owner are responsible for any property that your pet may damage or destroy while staying here.

Even though we require the Bordatella vaccination this is not a guarantee that your pet will not pick this up. Because it is an airborne virus they can actually get it from the neighbor dog, at the park, boarding facility, veterinary office, etc. You can actually pick it up on your clothes anywhere and take it home to your dog. There is always a chance your pets immunity to this is lower than others. No vaccine is a 100% guarantee. As a rule there is an 8-10 day incubation period before your dog may start to show signs of this virus.

All our guests are treated to very special, private and personalized service. Easy listening music is piped in for their listening pleasure. Canine guests enjoy romping in our play areas three times per day, individually.

We pride ourselves in being animal lovers and appreciate the special personality of each of our guests. We strive VERY hard to keep a spotless facility at all times.

Should we feel that for any reason your pet needs veterinary attention we will make every attempt to contact your regular veterinarian. However, if we feel that we have an emergency situation and your vet is not immediately available we may contact another.

We are not responsible for items that you leave, get lost or your pet chews up. Bedding is changed and washed daily, so any extra bedding you do bring MUST be machine washable. If the item is a large dog pillow, the cover MUST be removable.

Large skylights along with overhead lighting keep our boarding area bright and our large air exchange system runs 24/7 constantly bringing in fresh outside air. Each dog is taken out individually three times a day. This gives us the opportunity to handle each dog, watch its movement and observe its overall personality, attitude and health. When dogs are taken out in groups you can not focus on each dog. Many boarding facilities exercise the dogs in groups. We prefer a more personal approach. We do offer a community play time which is in addition to the 3 regular outings, but only if we have multiple customers requesting this and we are sure the temperments and sizes of the dogs will work well together.

ROOM SIZES
Room sizes range from 4' x 9' to 4' x 18'. Each room has a raised bed for sleeping and stainless steel bowls. We also have a few theme suites available that are much larger.

SUMMER MONTHS ONLY - POOL PARTY!
We have a pool for the dogs to play and swim in during those hot dog days of summer. If your dog loves water, ask for a Buddy Time or Pool Time.

EXTRA WALK or OUT TIME:
Instead of 3 outings per day (standard) you can schedule as many as you would like for an additional fee.

CANINE BUDDY TIME:
This is an additional outing of 15 minutes, in our large yard. Any dogs boarding together go out together for no additional charge. Buddy Time includes: chasing balls, playing tug, getting hug's and belly rubs, playing in the pool(summer months only) or whatever special attention your VIP enjoys. Weather permitting.

THEME SUITES:
These range in size from 9' X 10' to 10' X 16'.
Barking Sands, Field & Stream and the Ball Room
These are available by reservation only. Included are the regular 3 outings per day plus a Buddy Time each day. Prices vary depending on the number of dogs being boarded in the suite.
  

Our cat area is completely seperate from the dog area. Cat boxes are cleaned daily along with food and water bowls. We feed an all natural holistic cat food or you can bring your own. Any toys or treats you would like to bring are fine. You can supply your own cat food if you don't want your cat to change it's diet or it is on a prescription food.

The felines enjoy looking out a large picture window and some can view the front office area. We are in the process of remodeling this area, though it seems to be a slow process.

We have both single and double condos for those with two or more cats.

Your bird will enjoy the company of our birds and get to visit with customers as they come and go. You must supply your own cage and food. The cage MUST be easily cleanable. For other types of small exotic pets, we often will put them in our pass through area to the grooming room. Both areas are bright and receive a lot of foot traffic.

We will board any type of small pets that are legal to own.

We carry a variety of dry kibble, canned & frozen raw along with grain free. Also all natural treats & supplements.

Petcrean: Also available in Grain Free
GO! 5 SIGNIFICANT PERFORMANCE FEATURES: 1. Feed One Formula for an Entire Lifetime 2. Feed Up to 40% Less 3. Government Certified 'Fit for Human Consumption' Ingredients 4.Solution Formulas 5. Quality Assurance.
NOW FRESH™ "Fresh." Wholesome Food for a Healthy Life Minimizing Processing.....Maximizing Nutrition. Gently Coated with Natural Digestive Enzymes utilizing only fresh, hormone free, deboned meats (Absolutely no rendered meats or oils), Farm Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, pre-biotics, pro-biotics and digestive enzymes. 100% GRAIN FREE. MODERATE PROTEIN & MODERATE FAT. SAFE.....CONVENIENT.......HEALTHY! Finally, a grain-free pet food which combines only fresh deboned turkey meat, duck meat, and salmon with coconut and vegetable oils, garden fresh vegetables, farm fresh fruit and select anti-oxidant rich berries. NOW ADULT (grain free) is what we feed to our guests.

Natures Variety:

Wondering if Prairie is right for you? Our customers choose holistic Prairie foods when they are seeking:
* Pure, authentic, natural nutrition
* Delicious, nutritious varieties (especially for picky pets)
* Healthy skin and a lush, glossy coat
* A healthy, happy pet

Liquid Health:
Liquid Health K-9 Glucosamine:
25% of all dogs will develop arthritis or joint ailments of some kind. K-9 Glucosamine contains essential nutrients that have been shown in clinical studies to prevent and dramatically improve the condition of animals suffering from joint ailments. We sell a lot of this to people who are very active with their dogs in Agility, Hunting & other canine sports as a preventative.

Grizley Salmon Oil:
Great to improve coat quality which is often dried out during cold dry winter months. Puts a nice sheen on your dogs coat and helps with dry flaky skin.

Quality grooming with a gental touch!

Corine has been involved in pet care for many years, originally working as a veterinary tech. for Dr. Bruce McDonald's Rocky Mountain Animal Medical Center.

We hope these tips help and give you some insite to your new companion. Your puppy is never to young to start learning, so start your training right away.

The purpose of this page is focused on preventing accidents before they happen. To train your puppy to do the right thing from the start rather than trying to correct the bad behavior after it is learned.

What ever it learns, good or bad will depend on you. Now is when the work and fun begins. One of the first things I ask people when they call and say they can not get their puppy potty trained is .. "Do you have a dog crate?". Most reply "No". Often if they do have a crate, they tell me they think it is crule to confine the dog in it, or it hates being in the crate. The longer this goes on the harder it will be to break. That is why this is one of the first things I am going to address is potty training your puppy, and why it is so important.

RECOMMENDATIONS
1.) Purchase a crate if you don't already have one. (Be sure to get the right size-see below).
2.) Pick a designated potty area in your yard.
3.) Figure out what command you want your dog to learn to "potty". It is important that everyone involved in the training use the same command. The words you use are really not important. What is important is that you say the same word every time, so that it develops a meaning. You could say "sticks" instead of "potty", it doesn't matter as long as you are consistent with the same word.
4.) Set up a schedule for feeding, play, training & potty breaks (see below).
5.) Puppy proof your house!

CRATE TRAINING
We suggest that you purchase a dog crate that is large enough for your dog to lie down and move around in. A create is not a "cruel" thing. It is your puppys own private room where it can eat, rest and feel safe.
The dog should be able to lie down, turn, and stand up, but not enough room for them to play around in. They generally won't potty where they have to sleep. If the crate is too large, then they could relieve themselves and stay out of it, which will not encourage them to control their bowl and bladder.

Always make the crate a positive experience for your puppy. Keep some toys in there, and or give him a SMALL treat when you put him in the crate. Some puppies will cry and scream (very much like a baby being put to bed when it doesn't want to go). If you leave them alone they will usually give up after a while and lie down. We do not recommend that the puppy be left there for hours on end. Young puppies have to be let out to potty every 1-2 hours. The younger they are the shorter the period of time they can be left there.
The main purpose of the crate is that it is a "SAFE and SECURE" place that you can put your puppy when you can not be watching or playing with it. Just like a small child, you can not just turn them loose in your house and expect that you don't have to monitor them. After a while your puppy may go to its crate automatically at bed time, feeding time, or when it feels insecure.
Your puppy may not like the crate at first but don't give in to the complaining or tatrums! If you are sure your puppy is not hungry or does not have to go potty, just ignore it. Eventually he will settle down. Again, besure to give the dog a treat when you put it in the crate. We want the crate to be a positive experience.
Besure to keep your puppys crate clean. Dogs instintively want a clean place to sleep. If the puppy does have an accident in the crate, clean it good and put down fresh bedding in it. For very young puppys, especially when they first wake up, pick them up and carry them outside. Their little bladders are probably full and they may not make it all the way to the door.

FEEDING & WATER
Within 10-15 minutes of feeding or your puppy drinking water you should take it outside. If you puppy has just woke up from a nap, take it outside right away.
If you want your puppy to potty in the same area of the yard, be sure to keep it on a leash and keep it in that area until it does potty. Don't walk around. Stand in one spot. Don't stare at the dog, or say anything more to it. The more you move around the more the puppy will want to move around and get distracted from the business at hand. Once he/she has sniffed the area it is limited to it will pick a spot and do its business. Once it does then praise it. Now don't get overly excited here, just say, "Good dog" in a cheerful voice. If you want your dog to pretty much learn to potty on command (which can be very nice, especially if traveling with your dog or on cold winter days, then tell your dog "potty" when it does start to potty. Do this repeatedly every time you take your dog out to potty. Walk over to your designated area, calmly say "potty". After your puppy does its business, tell them "good dog!".

** One of the biggest mistakes that people make is putting their puppy out in the yard and leaving it there, then bringing it back in thinking it has done its business. Puppies have a very short attention span, and their mind will jump from the flower in the grass to the bee buzzing by to the bird that just flew over. The owner can not figure out why the puppy just went potty in the house when it had just been outside for 15 or 20 minutes. This is why it is so important to go out with the puppy EACH TIME, WATCH IT, and MAKE SURE it does its business before coming back in.

Do NOT overfeed your puppy or give it a large amount of food right before you have to crate it, or you could came back to a VERY messy crate to clean and puppy to wash. Think about yourself. Would you like to eat a large meal or drink a lot of water, and then be put in a position where you could not go to the bathroom for several hours? Please, don't ask your puppy to do this either.
Set up a feeding schedule for your puppy. If the puppy isn't done eating after 20-30 minutes, take the food away. By controlling its feeding schedule you can gain faster control and your puppy will quickly learn a reliable potty schedule.
Besure to keep your yard cleaned up of puppy stools. The stools should be firm and fairly dry. Loose, sloopy stools can be an indication of worms, health problems, stress or digestive problems.
Keep your puppies vaccinations up to date. Puppy vaccinations are givin usually 2-4 weeks apart. Be sure to get your puppy to a veterinarian and set up his vaccination and worming schedule. This is very important to keep your puppy healthy.

NERVOUS or EXCITED WETTING
Some puppies will squat and urinate when it greets you. Often at times when it is really nervous or excited. DO NOT scold your puppy for this. Most young puppies will grow out of this. Punishment will only make this problem worse.

ACCIDENTS DO HAPPEN
Accidents may happen. Do not go overboard scolding your puppy. If you catch it in the act, calmly go get the puppy, tell it "NO" firmly and take it outside to the designated area. DO NOT try to rub it's nose in it. If you find the accident area after the fact it is too late to do anything about it other than clean it up and you have only yourself to blame.

PUPPY PROOF YOUR HOUSE
Your puppy will chew up shoes and socks. It will pull toilet paper off the bathroom roller. It will grab the newspaper or your mail, and shred it into tiny tiny pieces. Electrical cords can be a favorite for some puppys, which can also hurt them very badly. So be sure that anything you don't want your new puppy to destroy, to put up out of its reach! Once it learns a bad habit like chewing things up, your training time and repair expense has just doubled. So the logic is, don't let it get a hold of what you don't want it to have. By doing nothing, you have just reinforced to the puppy that this is an OK thing to do. If you still think that you have puppy proofed your house and you don't need a crate, I can give you the names of people who have called and told how their dog chewed the wall paper off the wall, ate a hole in the door, or shredded their new carpet, rug, bed spread, chair legs, coat, etc., because they didn't crate their young dog when they ran to the store. "I was only gone for a few minutes!", they say. Once it has gotten away with this once, the next time could be even worse. This same logic holds true if you have just adopted an older dog. Until you KNOW what the dog is really like, and what good or bad habits it has, don't chance it. You can not leave a toddle alone in the house running around if you leave, so don't leave your puppy either. They are curious, and possible bored and just looking for things to get into.

OTHER THINGS TO DO
* You could keep your new puppy on a leash in the house. Just let it drag it around. When you need to get control of the puppy it is a simple matter of going over, steping on the leash so the puppy can't run off and then picking up the end of the leash. If your puppy tries to chew on it, you could spray it with a product called "Bitter Apple", or when the puppy has the leash in its mouth, just give the leash a quick jerk. This makes it an uncomfortable thing to put in its mouth.
* When you do praise your puppy, do not get overly excited about praising it. If you act really excited, the puppy is so focused on you that it has no idea whats happening other than it must be time to play, jump and bark!.
* Always remember, your dog is not human. It can not speak english, and it is not a mind reader. Try to look at things from the dogs perspective when problem solving.
* If your dog is doing something wrong, a firm "NO" is usually all that is needed to stop the behavior. Do not be so loud that your pet cowers from you as it may then start to avoid you. If the dog returns to the problem item, remove the item or move the dog away from the item or to its crate for a short time.


OTHER THINGS NOT TO DO
* Never excitedly yell at your puppy. Your puppy will only learn to run away. Patience is the key to success.
* Never play "Catch me if you can". If you make a game out of this you may never catch your dog when you really need to.
* Never let you puppy growl at you, over food or anything. It may be cute when it is young, but it won't be so cute later when you reach down for it food bowl and it bites you or someone else.
* Give your puppy it's OWN toys to play with, rotate them so it does not become bored with the same toy all the time.
* Never let your puppy have personal items like an old shoe. It does not know the difference between an old shoe and your new shoes!

* Always be patient and positive.

NOTE Some puppies learn very fast, and some take more time. Once you have developed good habits with your puppy they are much more enjoyable. A puppy is never to young to start learning right from wrong. It is up to the owner to endow the commands with meaning. Be patient but firm and consistent. Just like people, animals can be creatures of habit. You goal is create positive habits.
We hope this page was helpful and we are always interested in your feedback.
Thank You.

Canine Agility
This popular sport is growing by leaps and bounds. There are many dog clubs in the state that hold competition trials every year now, and one of the local dog clubs put on the first sanctioned trial in Great Falls in 2011. If you have an active dog, this could be the perfect outlet for burning off some of that extra energy. Most dogs love this and the owners have a great time too!

Agility Classes Start Every 2 Months year around, except November & December.
Classes are held indoors on rubber flooring in our Paws-Abilities Training Center next door.
Dogs MUST know the Sit, Down, Stay, Come and have good focus on the owner.

Beginning class (8 wks)- Cost $90.00.
This class teaches the Owner how to safely introduce their dog to the equipment. Owners also begin learning how to direct their dog through sequences of obstacles. Dogs will be assessd during the first class to determine if your dog has the correct temperment and enough training to start the class.

Intermediate class (7 wks)- Cost $75.00.
Here you will start working your dog off leash and continue to work on your handling skills.

Advanced Class (8 weeks) - Cost $65.00.
This class will prepare you for competition.

Classes are held indoors at our Paws-Abilities Training Center next door.
Obedience Classes run from Jan. - April and in Sept. and run one night a week for 7 weeks. The cost is $90.00 per session (7 weeks = a session).
There is a price break offered for 2nd or 3rd pet, or repeat students.
On the first night of class there is the Signup & collar fitting which runs from 6:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. then we go right into the 1st lesson. After that the classes are held in the evenings at 7:00 P.M.
DO NOT WEAR SANDALS OR LOOSE FITTING SHOES TO CLASS or when TRAINING!

Class sizes generally run between 15-30 dogs. If the class is extra large it may divided up into 2 different nights.

EQUIPMENT: Just as you would not expect a mechanic to tune your car without the proper equipment, you can not train a dog with improper or bad fitting equipment. Proper Equipment will be available for purchase if you need it. If you plan on purchasing equipment prior to class please check with us so you get the proper type and size of equipment, regardless of where you buy it.
You will need a chain collar and a 6' lead.

Collars:
A heavy chain collar is not necessarily the best collar. Don't use chain collars with long links instead of round links. Don't use collars with material woven through the chain. When the collar is on the dog and you pull up on the ring, you should only have a couple extra inches of links, NOT 4 or 5 inches.
Leashes:
If you have a dog over 30 lbs, we STRONGLY recommend you use a leather lead, not nylon as this can cut your hand if the dog should decide to bolt or pull you.

MAKE SURE YOUR DOG'S VACCINATIONS ARE CURRENT!


Training a dog requires commitment on the owner's part. When you attend a class, you are being instructed on how to train your dog. We are teaching you and you, in turn, are teaching your dog. By law, an owner is fully responsible for the actions of their dog, so your commitment is vital in its training. Training a dog requires follow-through and repetition with clarity of instruction, consistency and timing.

We feel neither you nor your dog can learn all the basics in just a few hours and have found that people need time to digest instruction in increments, have a chance to practice what has been taught them and have the opportunity to have the instructor check that they are training their dog correctly before progressing further. When you are training your dog, you must do so without emotion. Proper corrections should be made only after your dog truly understands what you are asking of it.

Our goal is what you will learn will help you in training not only your current dog, but any future dogs you might own. You are encouraged to take notes and ask questions. Additional family members are encouraged to attend. Small children attending MUST be capable of sitting quietly through the classes.