Five Great Activities You Can Do With (and for) Your Dog in September

Loudoun Pet Expo — Sunday September 9, 10 am – 4 pm — Franklin Park, Purcellville

50 pet-related vendors (including me!), this event is family friendly and free! Bring your dogs and your kids as there will be activities for everyone, including the Wildlife Ambassadors with their exotic animals. Franklin Park pool is open for their annual dog swim ($5 fee, 9 am – 3 pm).

Pet First Aid & CPR — Monday, September 10, 7 pm – 8 pm — Happy Hound, Leesburg

Hopefully you’ll never need it, but if an emergency ever comes up, you’ll be glad you took this class. Dr. Melissa Derbin from Towne Animal Clinic will teach you how to help your pet in the case of a medical emergency. Cost is $10, which becomes a Happy Hound merchandise credit if used the night of the event.
To register: http://www.happyhoundco.com/training/cprfirst-aid-class or call Happy Hound at 571-333-2171.

Productive Play Class — The Animal’s House, Sterling

Playing with your dog is fun, as it should be! But what if you could use play to help teach your dog obedience skills? This class will teach you and your pup that and more, including using play to shape behavior and establish boundaries. Lola and I are looking forward to taking this class! To learn more, call Scott at The Animal’s House, 703-433-1300.

Scent Work Class — The Animal’s House, Sterling

Dogs’ noses have 220 million olfactory receptors (humans’ have only 5 million), so put that nose to good work by taking him to a scent work class. Your pup will learn to seek out and find a target odor, an essential oil. (This same concept is how dogs learn how to sniff out bombs, bedbugs and all kinds of other odors.) To learn more, call Kelly at The Animal’s House, 703-433-1300.

Basic Training — Dog Day Afternoon, Leesburg

If you have a new puppy you want to socialize or you just want to teach your dog basic obedience skills, Dog Day Afternoon has a range of classes to meet your needs. I’ve taken classes there for a while and highly recommend them! You can see their schedule here

Ellen Zangla Photography: Pet portraits with personality!

M.Photog., Certified Professional Photographer

Professional Photographers of America: 2018 Bronze Medal Photographer of the Year

My pets, two dogs and two cats, are an integral part of the fabric of my life. I absolutely adore them. Like other family members whom we love, I feel that it is incredibly important to have portraits of them that capture the essence of who they are, whether they’re regal or goofy (or both!) or somewhere in between. If you feel the same way about your dog, cat or other fur or scaled kid, here’s how you can learn more about a pet photo shoot with me works. Or feel free to contact me. I am a pet photographer, specializing in photographs of pets and pets with their people. I serve all of Northern Virginia, including Loudoun, Fairfax, Leesburg, Ashburn and Reston, as well the DC Metro area, and I would love to create pet portraits for you that you will treasure for a lifetime.