Blog

Category: About Us

December 26, 2017

Winter Hidden Fence Installation

Have you ever wondered what hidden fence installers do during the winter? Just kidding, of course you haven’t. But we do install dog fences during the winter months in Minnesota, even when the ground is frozen. If you have a dog that needs to be contained, you need it now, not whenever the weather cooperates.

A typical underground hidden fence consists of burying wire around the perimeter of the yard, securing the wire across the driveway, putting up yard flags, hooking up the electronics, and beginning the dog training process. In the wintertime burying the wire isn’t an option, but everything else is. So we follow all the steps, and then we lay the wire around the perimeter of the yard above ground. The only other difference is that we use green flags instead of white ones.

The wire will make its way to the bottom of the snow and ice and stays secure. Your dog will learn the boundaries in about four days, and you have a working containment system. The last step is in the spring when we come back to bury the wire once the ground is thawed.

No matter the time of year, we want you to know that your dog can be contained.

October 23, 2017

DogWatch Dog Story: Blue

Blue is a Husky from Eden Prairie who became a DogWatch dog in 2015. Her DogWatch hidden fence has been around for 19 years, though, because that’s when Blue’s brother Louie came along. Louie is a Miniature Poodle, and he’s still around today!
Blue and Louie aren’t alone though.

There are two other dogs sharing their DogWatch fence, for a total of four. Blue’s sisters are a Chocolate Lab and a Pomeranian. It’s a busy house, so it’s so convenient to just let some or all the dogs outside and let them play without worrying about them. A school bus or a car full of squirrels could go by, and the four dogs will just watch from the driveway.

It wasn’t always this way. When Blue was a puppy, before she got her own DogWatch collar, she would run around the neighborhood so fast it was impossible to catch her. The only way to lure her back home was to shake a box of Corn Flakes, her favorite treat. The sound got her every time. While learning the boundaries of her yard, she required a little extra training and a high correction level because of her strong will and two layers of thick fur. But with some help from the DogWatch team, Blue is now staying at home with her canine siblings.

Blue the Husky running in the grass

September 27, 2017

Dog People

At DogWatch we meet lots of people, and the thing they all have in common is they are dog people. And so are we. If you have a dog in your life, you might have some different qualities than your cat-loving friends, or (heaven forbid) people who just aren’t animal people.

ADAPTABLE
Dog people tend to be adaptable. Getting a pooch means you have to make changes to your lifestyle and roll with some punches along the way. You can’t be too set in your ways. There aren’t many dog owners with immaculate white carpet or without a lint roller handy. With your pooch along for the ride of your life, you make adjustments. Maybe you wake up a little earlier than you’d like to, or you bought the Suburu instead of the Porsche. That’s what we do for our furry friends.

STABLE
If you have a dog in your life, you’re likely stable and responsible. You can’t hop on a plane and leave town any time you want or even stay out too late at night. You probably don’t move very frequently, and you’ve definitely had to pick up dog poo when you really didn’t want to. You have to be prepared for crises ranging from an unexpected jump in the puddle to an emergency trip to the vet. And if you’re like us, you’ve learned a lot from caring for a canine.

SOCIAL
Studies show that dog people are more outgoing and social than cat people. It makes sense – if you’re attracted to the in-your-face friendliness of a Labrador or the speed-of-light tail wagging of a Dachshund, you probably enjoy being social and interacting with people. Cat people generally are more introverted and enjoy their time at home, much like their feline companions.

SELFLESS
You know how to make sacrifices if you have a dog. If you’ve had a puppy, you’ve sacrificed sleep, shoes, and sanity. If you have adopted a dog, you may have sacrificed your dignity to earn her love. You’ve stopped what you were doing thousands of times and said, “I gotta go let the dog out.” But your dog (hopefully) greets you with a tail wag when you come home early.

Of course there is an endless variety of dog people, but we all have similar experiences and we’ve all been touched by the love and purity of a dog’s heart. At DogWatch of the Twin Cities, we love our customers and believe part of the reason is that you’re dog people like us.

September 14, 2017

Welcome Jake!

The family business is growing! Jake Steigauf is the new member of the team at DogWatch of the Twin Cities. He is an installer and repair specialist, and Guy Treanor’s son-in-law. Like Guy and Afton, he’s a dog lover. He enjoys getting to work outside and having lots of variety in his day. Once he starts a task, he won’t stop until it’s done.
When he’s not working, Jake stays busy with his baby boy and plenty of hobbies. He loves snowmobiling, projects in the garage, 4-wheeling, and weekends at the cabin. His dog is Moose, the black lab mix who lives up to his name.