When Keith and I first discussed having me write for the Pampered Pooch Playground blog, he shared, “Every product we sell has a story.” I always enjoy a good story, so that made me curious. A couple weeks ago, I met Keith at Bubbly Paws to learn more.

One thing I enjoy most about talking to Keith is his passion for dogs and his customers. He believes in promoting local and regional products, and in giving his customers unique options. Many of the products he offers actually came about in a sort of random way. For example, both Bubbly Paws and Pampered Pooch Playground use shampoo and conditioner from Top Line Canine Care. Originally created by owner Todd Pearsall for horses, the products were formulated to soothe and revitalize. Todd is a local guy who brought his dog to day care at Pampered Pooch Playground. After a while, he asked Keith if he would try his Top Line Equine Care products. Keith liked the shampoo and conditioner so much, both Pampered Pooch Playground and Bubbly Paws were the first to offer the line for dogs and to use them for dog washing. The conditioner is a personal favorite of mine–it smells great and leaves Leo’s Goldendoodle hair very soft. I especially like that the smell lasts about a week after Leo gets washed. Now that’s good stuff!

Bubbly Paws also offers Treat Smart™ dog snacks by Lincoln Bark. This company is owned by a couple out of Chicago, Illinois. Their snacks are made by hand and baked in small batches for freshness. They contain no wheat, soy, corn, preservatives, additives, artificial colors, or flavors. But they are packed with nutrition. As their website says, they “are loaded with protein, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, phytonutrients, all 9 amino acids, age-defying antioxidants, are gluten free and contain more calcium per ounce than milk.” Keith met the owners at a dog show, was impressed by the quality of the chewy nuggets, and brought them to Bubbly Paw so our dogs could enjoy them, too. Because they are chewy, they make great treats for training. Since the treats contain human-grade ingredients, Keith has even sampled Treat Smart nuggets himself. He says they taste pretty good!

Bubbly Paws also offers a variety of collars, leashes, and sweaters for your dog. During our visit, we decided to dress up Leo in his first sweater, just for fun. I’m a fan of argyle (much to my husband’s dismay), so when I saw the green argyle, he had to try it!

Then we added a collar with argyle and skulls plus a leash. You can just see a little of the collar above the sweater. Very stylish! Go to Bubbly Paws and have fun trying different things on your dog. The people who work there are nice and will help you with ideas. All you have to do is ask.

I saw a random fact quoted recently in an article, about 3% of pet owners will give Valentine’s Day gifts to their pets. Will you be one of them?

I just saw this video on Facebook and decided to share it… This lady put a video camera on a dog’s collar at the dog park!  Pretty cool!

Every day we make decisions on behalf of our beloved canine friends to support their overall happiness and well-being. We walk them, play with them, feed them, and show them love. But there is one more activity that is often overlooked that can improve their overall health and that is brushing their teeth.

By age three, dental disease effects 4 out of 5 dogs. Wow! Lake Harriet Veterinary’s website explains that periodontal disease is the cause of your dog’s bad breath, and when left untreated may cause infections of the kidneys, liver, and heart.

This is what happens:
1. Old food turns into tarter.
2. The tarter builds up along the gums and below the gum line, where it cannot be seen.
3. The tarter collects bacteria, which gets released into the gums and through the gums enters your dog’s blood supply.
4. The bacteria build in the dog’s body, spreading into the heart, the kidneys, and elsewhere. Eventually, it can overwhelm the dog’s systems.

How can you help to prevent the development of disease in your dog’s mouth? Brush your dog’s teeth once a day and talk with your vet about professional cleaning options. Yes, this is one more task to do each day, but the North Shore Animal League of America and other experts agree that teeth brushing can add years to your dog’s life. While the goal is daily teeth brushing, I know you live in a world with many demands on your time. Start with the goal of brushing your dog’s teeth at least three or four times per week, until daily brushing becomes a routine.

Learn more about how to brush your dog’s teeth from Lake Harriet Veterinary.

Leo, my Goldendoodle, has had his teeth brushed from an early age. He even reaches for the tooth brush! Take a look.

Maybe it could be fun for you too.

Schatzie and Hendrix were some of the first dogs in the remodeled Waggers Way.

Wow, what a difference a week makes in our doggy daycare makeover.  Our Waggers Way room is now being used, and I think all the dogs LOVE it.  You will notice the webcams are now in the middle of the room so you can see about 90% of the room and the new energy efficient lighting has made the room much brighter and the new paint color on the walls and the lighter floor has made the dogs stand out better on the webcams. I was laughing yesterday when I first logged on to the cameras because Brent (one of our staff) was wearing a black hoodie and he looked like a shadow on the cameras.  We love these changes!  Now That Waggers Way has been almost completed (there are just some ceiling tiles to be placed), the Ruff House has started getting the facelift.  We keep putting pressure on the construction guys to be finished by Friday and I think this will be achieved.

So excited to show everything off!

Keith

Cowboy the Rottweiler Puppy

Today was a big day when it comes to our construction.  The majority of the work in Waggers Way has been completed and they will be starting in the Ruff House tomorrow.  So we will have all of the big dogs in Waggers Way starting tomorrow and I spent 5 hours this afternoon putting everything back together in the room.  The construction guys cleaned everything when they were done, but I wanted to go through with the shop vac and make sure they picked up everything.  We have a Rottweiler puppy named Cowboy, who is known to eat just about everything at home and wanted to make sure he would not find anything on the floor.  So the entire time I was cleaning, I kept thinking to my self “we have to Cowboy proof everything”.  We are so very excited with how everything has been going.  The new webcams are up and running in waggers way, you can see about 90% of the whole room and you should be able to see all the dogs.  I am excited to see how the dogs react to the new digs tomorrow.

Have a great night, and I know we always say this, but thanks for putting up with our construction

Keith

Many of you go to the dog parks, and there is always “that guy” there that thinks they know all about animal behavior.. Well, guess what?  It is now making it’s way into a sitcom!  Check out the trailer below!  I was laughing the entire time and thinking “how true is this”.

Roxy shows off the remodeling progress of our Doggy Daycare room

Wow, Lots has changed in Waggers Way doggy daycare room in the past few days.  Sunday, the final touches were finished on the floor, and this morning we were able to walk on it.  At 7:30 this morning, the painting started.  Wow, does it look fresh and new! Tomorrow, the work on the ceiling starts.  We took Roxy in the room and she really liked the floor.  When we first opened, rubber flooring was the industry standard and the best that was out there.  After almost 4 years, the standards have changed, and rubber flooring is a great option, but not the best (in my opinion) which is why we have decided to update it.  We are putting down a rubberized epoxy which is 5 times easier to clean and the dogs really love it! m This room looks so empty with everything moved out of it.  Crazy!! If all goes well this doggy daycare room should be up and running by Friday, then we will start the Ruff House.

Thanks again for being so understanding with us during this time, construction is always hard, but we try to make it as easy on everyone as possible.

Keith

Petey and Benson were one of the first dogs to hang out in the new Dog Lounge

Today was the first day of the remodeling of Waggers Way.  The new floor was put down and it will look just like the Ruff House floor.  The floor is the Ruff House has proven to be the best and easiest to keep clean, but also provide a safe surface for the dogs to play on.  Our room configuration will be a bit strange the next few days.  The Ruff House will be un-changed, but the Waggers Way dogs will be in what we are calling the “Dog Lounge” which is our training room.  Today, the dogs in the Dog Lounge could run back and forth from the Canine Cove and many of them really enjoyed that.  If you are watching the webcams the next few days, make sure you cycle through all of them to find your pooch as they may not be in their regular room.  Monday, the walls in Waggers Way will be painted, then the ceiling installation will begin.  With any type of construction, we always place the safety of your dog ahead of anything else, and have been limiting the number of dogs we accept for the next to weeks. It also might take us a few extra minutes to get your dog ready to go home because of the configuration.  Please be patient with us, we promise it will be worth the hassle!

We are really excited to show off the remodeled areas!

Keith

Leyla was the first nail trim of 2012.. I did her nail trim at 9am on January 1st.

The new year is here and Pampered Pooch Playground is rocking.  This week all the talk is about our remodeling that is starting later this week.  Everyone is very excited for the updates and we really try to take our employees opinions into account when we change things.  As an owner, sometimes it is easy to sit back and say “deal with it”, but we don’t work that way and those words would never leave my mouth.  If there is something we can do to make the job easier, we will change and adapt to make things easier for our staff.   I think it really helps that Trycia and Myself are very involved in the dog daycare everyday (we don’t just sit in an office), but know what really goes on.  For example, tonight, the person that does our cleaning was sick, so who filled in?? I did!! Some of the staff did think it was kinda funny that the owner was cleaning, but it is a task that needs to be done.  I actually had fun doing it (I had don’t done it for a few months).

We are excited to get the ball rolling on 2012 and continue to provide the best possible care and exercise for your pooch!

I think we will make the slogan for the year….. 2012… The year of the pooch!

Have a good night.

Keith

Nap time in the Ruff Hosue

I just wanted to say a quick thank you to all of our wonderful customers and staff for a wonderful 2011.  I know we say this every year, but Trycia and I never expected Pampered Pooch Playground to be as successful as it is.  We really appreciate everyone that has made PPP what it is today!  In 2011 we remodeled our dog grooming, bathing, and food prep areas and added a new floor to the Ruff House.  I LOVE change and keeping things fresh and new and in the next few weeks you will see more changes taking place.  We strive to be the best possible dog daycare in the Twin Cities.

Thursday night, I was doing our closing shift because one of our employees was sick.  The entire shift, when I was in the room, I kept thinking about when we first opened 4 years ago and how far it has come!  I still remember when we had 3 dogs each day and can name our first 20 dogs (and most still come).

have a happy and healthy 2012!

Keith