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March 17, 2024

DogWatch Dog Story: Maggy

Maggy is a sweet, spunky English Springer Spaniel who has graduated from DogWatch hidden fence training. She’s so adorable and has such a fun personality, Jake and Afton with DogWatch are considering getting an English Springer puppy of their own. She lives in Mendota Heights where she loves running along as her parents and human siblings ride their bikes.

Before Maggy came into the picture, her family had a beloved Springer Spaniel named Angel. She was an affectionate and endearing girl who was so precious, her dad couldn’t imagine losing her. That’s when they called DogWatch to install a hidden fence. Angel was a little nervous at first and needed some coaxing to get her around the yard. But she learned her new boundaries and lived a long, happy life enjoying her freedom.

Maggy could never replace Angel, but she came into the house and revitalized the energy (and sometimes chaos). Unlike Angel, Maggy learned her boundaries very fast and never hesitated to use every inch of her yard. All dogs are a little different when it comes to acclimating to a dog fence and the new boundaries, even when being trained the same way. But in the end, they can all learn and enjoy the benefits.

March 12, 2024
Jake and Afton Steigauf

DogWatch of the Twin Cities: a husband and wife team

Jake and Afton Steigauf are the owners and operators of DogWatch of the Twin Cities. They took over the business from Afton’s dad Guy, who started taking care of local dogs in 1991. Afton grew up around the business and learned all about the benefits of having a DogWatch hidden fence. She has been a dog lover since birth. Jake came in with a love of working outdoors and the ability to accomplish any physical task. He can install a dog fence wire in the most impossible places, and make a yard look better than when he arrived. He has become the biggest dog person in the family.

Jake and Afton have two small children. Who knows, maybe one day they’ll run the business! They also have a big Black Lab named Moose, and a small black and white cat named Murph. Both pets love the freedom of running around their yard in Chaska, and Jake and Afton love that they can’t get in trouble in the creek or on the road.

When he’s not working, Jake is a typical Minnesotan who loves snowmobiling, boating and fishing at the cabin, and deer hunting. Afton joins in on the outdoor sports, and also loves traveling, cooking, and paint by number. The whole family enjoys E-biking together all around Chaska and beyond.

The Steigaufs would love to work with you and your family.

March 19, 2019

DogWatch Dog Story: Mudge

Mudge the St. Bernard from Chanhassen is a DogWatch dog, but his family didn’t always work with DogWatch of the Twin Cities. With their previous dog, Mudge’s parents bought a dog fence from another company and it worked well to keep that dog in the yard. When they got Mudge, though, they decided to call us at DogWatch to help train him.

We put up boundary flags to show Mudge the boundaries of his yard and got to work. Mudge’s mom told us from the beginning: “He’s the sweetest puppy ever, but he doesn’t want to walk on the leash. He won’t try to pull you around, he’ll just lay down and not want to get back up.” And she was exactly right!

We had to get creative to train Mudge. Typically, we bring dogs around the yard on a leash over and over to help them learn where the boundary is and to stay inside the flag line. But if a huge St. Bernard doesn’t want to walk, that doesn’t quite work. Instead we focused on showing Mudge one flag at a time, we got his favorite toys involved, asked the neighbors to let their dogs out, and walked around with him off-leash (not usually recommended!).

After four days, we were happy and Mudge was happy. Finally, he was able to just take a nap in the yard. And his owners were able to trust that he wouldn’t walk off, even if they went to get the mail or went inside.

March 11, 2019

The DogWatch Crew Got a Cat

Afton and Jake with DogWatch of the Twin Cities got a cat. It’s not news at this point, they got the cat back in May 2018. But almost a year later, here’s the update: we love it! Neither of us has ever had a cat before, not even as children. They’re so different from dogs. Afton would say they’re a little unpredictable. Jake would say they’re the worst.

2018 was our first year in a new-to-us house in Chaska, and we had some issues with mice. They were collecting the dog food from the closet and stashing it in the washing machine and dryer. Good plan for them, but not ideal for our clothes.

The mouse problem combined with our son’s inexplicable love for cats caused us to start considering adding a cat to the family. We started telling our friends, and one day Afton got a text about free kittens at a garage sale. Jake was out of town, so the timing was perfect!

We all instantly fell in love with tiny baby Murph. She was brave, adventurous, affectionate and friendly. It took just two days or so before she and our dog Moose were getting along great. They cuddle on a very rare occasion, but they like to play. More accurately, Murph likes to play with Moose and then run away.

Within the first couple months, she started bringing us mouse presents too! She has solved our washer/dryer issues, and we’re very grateful for that. But she has brought SO MUCH more to our family. She is such a fun addition. We love how easy it is to take care of her. We can leave town for the weekend and leave her home? Amazing. And we love how she hops on our laps and purrs, whether we pet her or not.

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