Friday June 17: Pets Naturally, Pride n Joy, Three Dog Bakery

Friday afternoon in the Valley- after we dropped our Fetch houseguest Seamus off at his home, we took a little tour around his neighborhood in Sherman Oaks. Roo was in rare form today. She's had a bizarre week actually. She occasionally reacts poorly to loud sounds. In the last week every time we've been to the dog park she has been disturbed by something- sometimes it is audible, sometimes not (at least not to me) and she stops playing fetch. :( Which breaks my heart because it is her favorite thing in the world. Today we at least played for about 20-25 minutes, but on Monday I barely threw the ball 3 times when she ran to the gate and begged to leave. Sad.

Anyway, today walking down Ventura Blvd she just wanted to go inside every door we passed. So she was very happy when we finally reached Pets Naturally and entered. It's been a whole since I've been there. A few years ago, Pets Naturally was the go-to spot for all of your natural, high end healthy food. Unfortunately for them a lot of competition has popped up, and they can't fit a lot in their small space. However, their advantage is the knowledgeable and friendly owner. I believe she would order anything you wanted if she felt it would enhance your pet's life. And if it won't, she'll tell you why (she let me know I shouldn't be using Missing Link for my dog Duval due to the yeast in it). Roo really enjoyed meeting everyone there, and several of the folks who came in just to visit with the store owner were in love with Roo, which always boosts her confidence. We'll be back.



Stop 2 was Pride n Joy groomers. However before we stopped there we passed an unnamed pet store (or at least I couldn't find a name) which we almost visited until we saw written in the window "we sell puppies!" I got the distinct feeling the puppies they were selling weren't the kind rescued from the shelter like our friends at The Orange Bone in We Ho. So I snapped a photo without Roo (she refused to pose) and we walked on.


Store touting "we sell puppies"

Pride n Joy really is a grooming salon- I've had a number of clients take their pets there. The sell pet supplies, but I wouldn't recommend going there for them unless you are there and are short on time and need a bag of food. I bought a Natural Balance Roll for 2X as much as I can get it in Henco in Sun Valley, and about $6 more than what I pay at Petco. I was bummed about that and almost said nevermind but thought that would be rude and they were a couple of very nice guys. Then the cat came out. I wasn't expecting the cat. Nor was Roo. Good thing I had a good hold on her. "Oh the dog doesn't like cats?" I guess most of their dog clients are OK with this kitty? Or maybe they don't care. The cat was brave and even stalked us outside when we were trying to get a picture (you can see Roo looking for the cat amongst the towers in the photo).





Last stop- we headed over to the Three Dog Bakery. Yum. Said Roo....Actually she spent more time eying their great toys than the treats in the case. I talked with the gal working about what I could get for my highly allergic Duval. It is a bakery after all, so grain free was not really possible, BUT I did pick up some wheat free goodies which they both enjoyed when we got home.

All in all a good afternoon of shop and treat hopping. :)







Roo trying to keep her eyes off the pastries....

Duval nibbling the crumbs of the pastry we brought home for him

Any more in that bag????

Week of June 6th: Maxwell Dog, Kriser's, Laurel Canyon Dog Park

Happy weekend everyone! So we're a little late this week: normally we do our tour on Wednesday afternoons, but I was busy helping my friends at Angel City Pit Bulls out with a special event- which we'll have to tell you about at a later date because I'm not sure if we're allowed to talk about it yet. Shhhhhh.

We did, however, pay a visit to the Laurel Canyon Dog Park on Wednesday afternoon, because I felt bad that I was gone during our prime walking hours and the pups were definitely a little stir crazy. It's not our usual park- I tend to do the dog park in the evening and usually am not in the mood to deal with rush hour traffic up the hill. But on Wednesday we went at 4 pm which was, in my opinion, PERFECT timing. There were a handful of people there, but by my count only one dog walker with a small pack of dogs who were mostly well-behaved. Here's the thing- yes, I am a dog walker, but I have over time grown to dislike being at the dog park with other dog walkers who *mostly* bring large packs of unruly dogs and sit around and gossip with other dog walkers while their dogs take over the park, stealing balls, starting fights, and just plain being obnoxious. And the Laurel Canyon Park is where you'll find the worst offenders most weekdays.


Anyway, back on track- Wednesday was glorious- mostly a bunch of owners there. Respectful dogs, Roo could chase her ball and not once did anyone try to steal it. Nor did she have me running around because she decided she wanted someone else to throw the ball ( a trick she loves to pull on me in North Hollywood). Maybe because we don't go to this park every day? It was nice to get to play with my own dog for a change.



The LC dog park is very large so there is usually one end where you can head to avoid chaos. However on one side of the park, behind the water, there is a slightly "wooded" area that I don't like. Duval is always trying to head up there and I worry about rattlesnakes and other things that he could get into while I can't see him- we are in the Hollywood Hills. Also a lovely musty puddle develops behind the watering station, and some dogs like to lay in it and get extra stinky- keep an eye on your water loving pups!




On Friday, we decided to stay local and walk to a couple of our favorite local hotspots- Maxwell Dog on Ventura Blvd, and Kriser's also on Ventura. Roo put on the charm at both stores as usual, and the store clerks all loved her. At Maxwell Dog we did see a little terrier mix come in, and while she was surprised, she did not react negatively. Instead, she really just wanted to play with this little wiry guy. His folks were busy trying to buy him one of Maxwell's gorgeous jeweled collars and so he was "naked" for a bit and trotted right up to Roo. They greeted each other and moved on. But Roo kept an eye on wherever he was in the store in hopes he'd come back and play. Later a mother and son came in and the son very respectfully asked if he could pet Roo. Of course she jumped on him (sigh) because she LOVES kids but he told me he had a golden retriever at home so he didn't mind. After a good tour of the store and all of it's fabulous goods, we purchased a Thundershirt (more on this on our next entry).



Back down the street to Kriser's- a place we frequent a lot because of their fantastic selection of food and treats. The Stella and Chewy's rep was right by the door and greeted Roo with treats and love. Then, a little long haired doxie came charging out at Roo, as doxies too, and she handled it like a champ. Good girl. Of course 5 minutes later she was starting to lose focus and everything was getting her wound up- from the dog in the grooming facility to the folks coming in to shop, so we decided to quit while we were ahead and start walking home.

Even on her walk she was quite good, though we did have a few moments of trying to "gallop with stick" (one of her favorite activities when she starts to lose focus on walking) on the way. We had wanted to pop into the Dog House on Moorpark, but we decided to save for another week when she could be fresh.

Later that evening we went to our regular dog park. Sadly she was disturbed by someone kicking a deflated basketball- she doesn't care for the loud "boof" sound it makes and this is two days in a row that she has freaked out and run off to the gate, refusing to continue her game of fetch. I think we're gonna have to buy a basketball and work on this at home. Or use the Thundershirt.....

June 1st: Urban Pet Supply, Orange Bone, Tailwaggers and a walk along Melrose

Happy Wednesday! It's time for another day of travels with Roo. Today, we cruised around 3rd, Melrose and Beverly in the West Hollywood/Park La Brea area.
WE had an ambitious 5 stops on our agenda, but we only made it to 3 due parking issues and a walk that got a little bit extended. We'll catch those other 2 spots on another outing.

First stop: Urban Pet Supply. Right across the street from Pan Pacific Park, Urban Pet is a spacious store filled with all sorts of goodies for pet and their owners. Don't be surprised if you are "greeted" by Mr. Moon at the door. Mr. Moon is the black dog in their logo, with one ear up and one ear down (he is also in the photo with Zack, the owne, if you click on the link in his name). He laid about 5 feet from the door, staring out as if daring us to enter. Actually is a very nice old dog, but I think his presence reminded Roo of my dearly departed Alex, and so it took a few minutes for her to get the courage to walk by him.



The lovely young women working were happy to give Roo treats and very helpful. Roo was not on her absolute best behavior however, she barked at some labs who were coming out of a training session, and then again at a sweet bulldog entering the store. However, we caught up with that bulldog as we were walking to our next destination. Her name was Vee and Roo greeted her quite nicely on the sidewalk. We than ran into another pup a little further down the street, who also received a very calm sniff from Roo. All in all she was actually quite calm about the dogs we passed on the street today.

Our plan was to walk up to Orange Bone on Melrose. I had left my planner with the address scribbled down in the car, so I went from memory...which of course was wrong. We should have just made a left around the corner and there was Orange Bone. But we went for a nice little stroll down Melrose. Which, actually was a good thing for you. She strolled confidently along, navigating lots of people and bikes and waiters bringing food out to people seated at tables on the sidewalk.

Eventually I pulled out the handy iPhone and realized my mistake, and back we went to Orange Bone. Let me tell you what I love about Orange Bone- they sell puppies.... from shelters!!!! That's right, so all those people out there claiming it's so hard to get a puppy if you aren't buying from a breeder or a puppy mill pet shop, take a stroll by the Orange Bone. That had some gorgeous, playful Rottie mix pups in the window who were dying to play with Miss Roo, and lots of small breeds available inside the store. (also, for the record Roo came from the shelter as a 4 month old puppy- she wasn't the prettiest as she had mange, but it was easily treated and she is gorgeous and happy now!). Anyway, Alex at Orange Bone was super nice and I enjoyed chatting with him until he had to get back to work because a herd of puppy shoppers entered the door.

Our final stop of the day - Tailwaggers NEW location on Fairfax. Great staff at Tailwaggers- when Roo poked her nose into the back she wasn't shood away but welcomed and then asked if she wanted a treat (to which she replied, yes, of course!). I have to work on "shake" with Roo though, because she does it for me but when others ask her for it she seems to think they want her to lay down.

By this time, we were both quite thirsty, and wishing we had time to stop in for a drink at The Fat Dog which was right next to Tailwaggers. But we had to get home and attend to Roo's big brother Duval, so we skipped the pint at The Fat Dog- next time!
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