We just wanted to post a quick and dirty comparison of the "old" FunDogs and the "new" FunDogs and some of the reasons why September 2008 is so exciting for us and for our members!!

Last year, our members paid $150 for 6 classes or $200 for 10 classes. This, respectively, came out to $25/class and $20/class.

However, this year, we've changed how we do things!

• We're happy to announce that our FunDogs Silver Membership level which is $40/month for 1 class per week comes out to only $10/class!!! That's a 60% savings off our pricing last year!!!!

And the good news is that the larger packages are an even better deal!!

• FunDogs Gold Membership is $52/month for 2 classes per week, which comes out to only $6.50 (a 74% savings from the old FunDogs).
• But best of all, our FunDogs Platinum Membership comes with all the FunDogs class you can possibly attend as well as all the FunDogs Field Trips you can possibly attend -- all included! The FunDogs Platinum Membership is only $60/month which comes out to less than $5.00/class, a whopping 80% savings from the old FunDogs pricing!!

The good news is, you can purchase any of our memberships on our website:

http://www.fundogs.org/store.html

And I'm also happy to announce that our recurring billing from 2CheckOut.com is now available! 2CheckOut.com is a secure billing site that will add your FunDogs membership to a recurring billing cycle so you don't have to worry about invoices or remembering to bring your checkbook with you to FunDogs class!

Get your membership today and start your fun and exciting journey into Canine Continuing Education!!!

The NEW & IMPROVED FunDogs site is live! We're very excited about the changes we have made and the upcoming year. I hope everyone checks it out and is able to come out to one of our Summer Membership Open Houses!

I do want to apologize for one tiny little thing. If you were hoping to purchase a membership through our online recurring billing, that feature is currently not working. There's a glitch in the setup, but we're working with the company who does our billing. You can still purchase memberships through PayPal or in person at one of our many membership open houses!! The only difference is, rather than have your account auto deducted, you'll receive a bill in the mail from us.

Please be patient and I hope to have this issue resolved quickly!

For all of you out there who have been waiting with anticipation, the wait is over! FunDogs will be returning in September with a full calendar of events and new pricing!!

The brand new website is scheduled to air Friday, July 25, 2008! Please stop by and visit us. Also, watch the Leesburg Today's Pet Photo Contest page for our teaser ad!

More updates to come... stay tuned!

I made a great attempt to update before skipping off to vacation, however, cyberspace ate my entry! I was trying to show off all our fantastic FunDoggers to my relatives, and suddenly, my update was no where to be found. So, I'll try again.

First -- Huge belated congratulations to Domi!!!

Domi attended the Lucketts Proud Pooch Show on September 15th and CLEANED UP! She was awarded:

• best "Look a Like"
• most talented with a high five, weave pole through the legs, a down and over, and a wave good bye!
• and best in show

Next, I have to say a big thank you for all the great volunteers (Dinger's mom & Rommel's mom) who came out and helped all day long at the K-9 Karnival! We couldn't have done it without you!!! We had more than 50 dogs come through our agility course. And we also found out that our own FunDoggers were quite talented at the K-9 Karnival events!

• Big congrats out to Happy who placed FIRST in the 40 yard dash!

• Big congrats out to Jazz who placed SECOND in the 40 yard dash!

  

• And big congrats out to Rommel who placed THIRD in the hurdles!

  

ALSO... (the list just goes on and on)...

Punx, Magnolia and Rebel all attended Breakaway Action Dogs's APDT Rally Trial last weekend.

• Punx got his Rally Level 1 title on Saturday morning! And got a qualifying leg towards his Level 1 championship title in the afternoon.

• Magnolia got fourth place Saturday morning, third place on Saturday afternoon, her title on Sunday morning AND FIRST place!!

• Rebel got second place on Saturday afternoon, third place on Sunday morning, and his title on Saturday afternoon AND FIRST place!

Finally, a little update on Magnolia's flyball career!!

She ran in Clean Break's Howling Homecoming Tournament with her team the Beltway Bandits' Greenway at the end of September in York, PA.

She earned her Flyball Dog (FD) and her Flyball Dog Excellent (FDX) title there!! Here's a little video of one of her runs

I wanted to extend my most sincere apologies to everyone who had planned on going to the Lovettsville Dog Swim this past Saturday (September 8). Rhonda, Steve, and I showed up promptly at 9:00am, psyched and ready to have a great morning, only to find the whole place locked down tight!! We were unable to find anyone at the community center to confirm or deny that the swim had been cancelled. The only people around were a couple of guys playing tennis who informed us that no one had been using the pool for more than two weeks.

I'm sure that many of you were frustrated and disappointed since no notice was given. However, this swim was scheduled by Loudoun County Parks and Rec, and we had no control over whether or not the event went off. We have learned in the future that we must secure some confirmation closer to the event in order to ensure that our members were are able to enjoy these activities.

Again, if you attempted to attend this event, please accept FunDogs' sincere apology. We will be looking forward to the October dog swim in Middleburg.

Big round of applause to everyone that came out for our very first FunDogs Community Seminar! And another big round for our speakers, Officers Kim Miller & Jeanette Reeves from Loudoun County Animal Care & Control and Doug Hubbard from the Loudoun County Health Department!!

We had such a good turn-out, and we learned so much about the new county and state dog bite laws as well as the importance of vaccinating for Rabies! Dog ownership is a huge responsibility and we're interested in helping everyone be excellent dog owners as well as being SAFE dog owners. Our event was sponsored by the American Kennel Club's Responsible Dog Ownership Day 2007, and we were very proud to be a part of such an incredible organization!

FunDogs's presentation on Canine Body Language was a big hit. And if you missed it, you can access the recommended reading and the source list HERE

If you missed the event, have no fear, we will present again! The Canine Body Language presentation will be given again at the Lost Dog And Cat Rescue's K9 Karnival at 3 Dog Farm in Hillsboro, Virginia on October 6, 2007!

This past weekend we hauled all the agility equipment and the Rally-O signs out to Great Country Farms in Bluemont, Virginia for their 5th Annual Dog Days Sunflower & Peach Festival.

What an awesome turnout! We had quite a few FunDogs members stop by and volunteer to help us teach visitors about agility, Rally-O, and FunDogs. So we want to extend a very warm thanks to (in no particular order) Amanda (Rommel's mom), Happy & Felicity, Chance, Shenan & Colleen, Gina from 3 Dog Farm, and of course Steve -- not only our "Bouncer" but our new "Networking Manager"! We couldn't have done it without you guys!

Great Country Farms was an awesome host, and they provided excellent activities as well as food and musical entertainment.

We got a little exposure from the Washington Post. This picture was seen in the Metro Section, page B4:

While this isn't FunDogs related, exactly, Magnolia wanted everyone to know how fantastic her first flyball tournament went!

Not every heat was perfect, but she was awarded her first 10 flyball points & she's halfway to her first flyball title!

It's official, the Dalmatian is running.

(This also means that we have to have a party at the Farm now that she can go again!)

Watch one of her stellar runs here:

Not so long awaited, but very exciting. Place your orders today!!

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