Not Sure Where to Leave Your Pooch?

Not sure where to leave your pooch for dog daycare or dog boarding? You have lots of choices about where you pal plays during the day or stays at night while you are away, so how do you decide which is the best place for both you and your dog? Always ask for a tour of the play areas and where they will sleep at night.  Be sure and ask how many dogs visit each day and how many staff will be supervising them. When touring a facility, here are a few things our customers think are important:

Our place always smells fresh and clean, each dog has privacy, a bed, and plenty of room to move around while eating and resting at night.

The play areas are roomy, clean and well supervised with cameras so you can watch them play during the day.  Our daycare and boarding guests have extended supervised playtimes twice a day 365 days a year - no hidden additional fees here!

We limit the number of dogs we allow each day to assure that each one receives the personalized attention they deserve by our certified Pet Care Technicians.

We make sure your dogs visit is as comfortable and stress-free as possible, but if you still haven't made up your mind yet, check out our customer reviews by clicking the button below. We know you'll love our place too!

We Now Sell High Quality Dog Food and Treats

Playful Pooch is pleased to announce that we now sell high quality dog food, treats and snacks. 

Our goal is to provide a holistic approach to our dog care, by providing a safe, clean and fun place to socialize and exercise during the day, a warm and comfortable place to sleep at night, and grooming services to make sure your pooch goes home nice and clean.  We recently added training services to address individual behavioral issues or just to learn fun new tricks, and the addition of quality food and treat selections will help round out our line of services for your pooch.

Check out the Food Section under Services for more information.

Winter Care for Our Pooches

Now that Old Man Winter has arrived, it's time to think about how dry, cold weather can affect our pals.  Many of us don't think about all the things our dogs can get into, so we need to pay extra attention to them during the winter.

Antifreeze can collect in driveways or garages and is highly poisonous.  It smells and tastes good to them, but can be lethal, so be sure and watch for it.

Rock salt and other chemical snow melting products are very harmful to your dog's footpads, so rinse and dry your dog's feet after a walk.  We recommend that you treat your dog's footpads with a product called Mushers Wax, sold here at The Pooch.  It not only protects against the ice and snow, but protects their pads from the salt and chemicals used on many walks and driveways.  Here at The Pooch, we use plain clay kitty litter to add traction and it is totally harmless to pooches paws.

Frostbite can happen quickly to the tips of their ears, tails and feet, so don't leave your dog outside for too long, especially on really cold nights.  You might consider a coat or sweater and some of the great boots that are available online and in our local stores.

Groom your dog regularly and keep the excess hair trimmed between their toes and footpads so you can easily remove the packed snow and ice.  Keep their nails trimmed short so they won't break off near the base and start bleeding.  This happens more in the winter and can lead to a painful infection and expensive vet bills.

Have fun and enjoy the winter, but keep your dog warm and dry!

Kibble Quibble

Finding the best kind of food for your dog, can improve their behavior, reduce health issues, such as allergies and ear infections and add years to their lives. We have seen a lot of poor quality food come into The Pooch, such as the one shown in the picture.  The bright colored kibble comes in a deceptively "healthy" looking package from the grocery store or big box pet stores. Almost all of the commercial foods found at these stores contain high levels of grains and fillers, and a very low quality protein. The key is to read the label, just like in human food. The ingredient listed first is the primary ingredient, and often starts out with corn meal or animal by-products, very poor energy sources. Here are some simple facts to guide you at the store:

IMPORTANT KEY WORDS: Lean protein (not by-products or meal), Omega 3 fatty acids, and vegetables and fruits. The words should be simple and to the point. Here's the first few ingredients in that multi-colored kibble described above - ground yellow corn, chicken by product meal, corn gluten meal, animal fat, rice flour, beef, sugar.... Corn is one of the worst grains for dogs to eat, but it's cheap and filling, so that's why it is the number one ingredient in the multi-colored kibble. We would be happy to provide you with many sources of information on dog nutrition. We want everyone's dog to be healthy, happy and live as long as possible.