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!
The Bubbly Bowl
Join us at Bubbly Paws Dog Wash on Saturday, February 4th for the Bubbly Bowl to benefit 5 local Twin Cities dog rescues. Click here for more information.
Remodeling Update
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
How Clean is it?? Cowboy Clean!!
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
Remodeling – Day 1
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
Pitching In
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
Thanks for 2011
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
iPhone Update
I was all a twitter when I saw the new version of Pooch Vision in my update list.
We just released the latest version of “Pooch Vision” which is our app for the iPhone. This being the 4th version, we think is is the best yet. We have made it possible to pay for doggy daycare and soon you will be able to check your pooch out before you even walk into our building (we are waiting on an update to our software for this and have been pushing the company for this feature for 2 years). We are all about making life easy for you, but also connecting you to your pooch. The whole purpose for the iPhone app is to allow you to watch your dog while they are playing at doggy daycare. Webcams provide a great sense of security and let you know how we operate. You can also read our blog, make reservations, and keep up on the latest dog events in Minneapolis.
In January we will be doing some remodeling in the 2 big dog rooms, and we will be adding more webcams, so watching your pooch will be even more fun! Many daycares have contacted me asking “why would you have an iPhone app and webcams”… My response has always been “why the heck not”… Our app might not be as cool as the Starbucks app where you can pay at register by letting them scan your phone, but we are getting closer and closer to that! We are still one of the few dog daycares in the country that have their own iPhone app which is a free download.
Those that don’t have an iPhone, we also have “Pooch Vision” available for the droid and blackberry.
Have a great night!
Keith
Mila
Mila is a Beagle that comes to doggy daycare a couple times each week. To say she gets excited for lunch is an understatement! The moment she hears Ellen‘s (the lunch lady) voice she starts howling because she knows lunch is near! Besides food, she loves chasing the ball in the canine cove, and playing with Hobbes and Olive. Mila always brings a smile to our face and we love having her visit us!
Patch.com – Meet Keith and Trycia
Our friends at the St Louis Park – Patch.com stopped out and did a pretty cool article on us and all the hard work that it has taken to make Pampered Pooch Playground what it is today. Click here to read the full article.
