Ahwatukee Foothills residents Tammy and Howard Teeter say they
weren’t really planning on opening a pet resort. But when their
mobile dog training business became popular, customers were asking
for it, so they decided it was time to find a storefront and stop
housing dogs in their own home.

“As we were doing the mobile training business, our customers
kept wanting more and more from us,” Tammy said. “So we did do some
grooming out of our home, then we started doing boarding out of our
home. We’ve got daycare dogs at our home and so now it is busting
at the seams, we needed a place. They just kept wanting more, which
is awesome. They really trusted us and wanted to use us again.”

Tammy has been taking care of dogs professionally for years. She
was the owner of one of the largest boarding kennels in west
Georgia for 12 years, as well as a vet tech and a surgery vet tech
before moving to Ahwatukee. After the move, she decided to focus on
just training because that’s what she has the most passion for.

The Teeters have been doing Wiggles & Wags mobile dog
training for three years and now that the business is growing and
customers are asking for more, the two are happy to say yes.

It took more than a year to find the right location, but they
were able to find a spot in a Tempe shopping center that would
allow them to build an outdoor play area for the dogs and have
plenty of room for kennels and a grooming station.

Because of Tammy’s experience in Georgia, she was able to learn
exactly what they’d need for this pet resort, and they have it
all.

Near the front office of their new resort, there’s a grooming
room, training room and daycare area, complete with a treadmill for
older dogs who could still use some exercise at their own pace.

Each dog that comes in for daycare will be pre-screened by Tammy
to make sure they’re a good fit.

“We do introduction tests to see how they’ll do with other
dogs,” she said. “Obviously, if you have one that’s too dominant or
too pushy, those dogs don’t get in. You also have to make sure that
you put dogs together that are similar in energy level or size so
they’re somewhat compatible. We also have several different areas
so we can move dogs around.”

For overnight boarding there is an entirely separate facility
away from the main building. In it there are three different
tempered glass and panel kennel sizes, ranging from 4 feet by 5
feet to 5 feet by 7 feet.

Each kennel is made by the Mason Company to withstand any
jumping without breaking. There’s a bathtub in the back room for
dogs that might have an accident and need a quick cleaning.

For day-to-day cleaning of the kennels, the Teeters found
special chemicals that are non-toxic, but still take care of any
dog or cat diseases, and all waste is flushed immediately and does
not sit in waste baskets in the building.

Outside, behind the pet resort, is a large enclosed play area
that is getting equipped with shade, misters, play pools and other
amenities to make the stay even more enjoyable for pets.

Security measures, like an extra enclosed transfer station for
taking dogs inside and outside to play, are in place. In addition,
they are installing security cameras that the Teeters will use to
monitor pets at all times overnight from their home.

Tammy and Howard will be at the resort for the majority of the
time and their daughter, Nina, will be helping out after school.
Nina is only in third grade, but she has been around dogs for so
long she’s become an expert and has even won trophies and ribbons
for handling dogs at Flyball and Frisbee competitions.

The Teeters said they didn’t want to hire anyone with any less
experience than their 9-year-old daughter. They sifted through
plenty of applications to find the few employees they have and to
make sure they were all properly certified.

They’ll be hosting an open house at the new location, 1811 E.
Baseline Road in Tempe, on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with
different vendors and events for pets and their owners. They’re
also open for tours at any time.

“For me, it’s about being able to provide safe places for their
pets to go,” Tammy said. “The customers just kept wanting more and
we just kept saying, well we can do that and we can do that. Now,
we have 780 customers that were excited for this so that moves over
with us. It’s just time to expand. To be so well received is just
wonderful. We wouldn’t be here without all those people who helped
us start.”

For more information on Wiggles & Wags, visit
wigglesandwagsboarding.com.

• Contact writer: (480) 898-7914 or
ahurtado@ahwatukee.com