The Grove Goes Green

Big change this week at The Grove, we signed up with Cintas !  We have used the old fashioned kennel cleaning system of Pine sol and Bleach (safely diluted of course) for the last 17 years!

Last July, I attended the American Veterinary Medical Association conference in Seattle and attended a seminar about the use of disinfectants and an overview of new delivery systems.  After searching and considering numerous systems we decided on the Cintas System.  This system dispenses pre-measured, diluted hospital grade, 100% environmentally friendly product directly into the mop bucket or spray bottle.  No more measuring and no more plastic jugs of bleach and pine sol to throw into the landfill !

Along with this system we signed up for their weekly mop exchange!  Each week they take our old mop head and give us a new one, the old mop heads are laundered and recycled.  Previously we bought new mop heads each month and threw our old ones away.

We also added the weekly towel service, I must admit I have a serious paper towel dependency.  I love paper towels and we were using about a case of papertowels a month in the kennel ;(

The smaller stack of towels on the right are simple linen towels, which are meant to use for cleaning glass, wiping counters and replacing many of the things we do with paper towels.  The towel service includes weekly pick up and replacement of all towels, which are laundered by Cintas and re-used.

We took down all our standard, save one in the restroom, paper towel racks which was alittle scary to me, and installed 3 commercial bio degradeable paper towel dispensers.  We went from 6 paper towel racks to 3 !

I am proud of us for making this switch, we will now avoid throwing away at least a dozen plastic jugs a month, 2 mop heads a month and decrease our paper towel use by hopefully 80% !

Besides decreasing our contribution to the landfill, most importantly this system of disinfection is more effective, safer for the animals then the old fashioned bleach and pine sol.

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January 2010 Golden Retriever

Ms. Willa is long time visitor to Friendly Grove Boarding and Daycamp. She is a beautiful Golden Retriever, a mature female who is nurturing to younger puppies and playful with all dogs. Ms. Willa enjoys her spa days, especially the scrubbing part!

We really enjoy having the pleasure of Willa as a guest, she is calm, well trained exceptionally well socialized. She provides nervous guests with a calming influence, we frequently ask Willa to help us with guests who have anxiety.

Thank you Ms. Willa !!!!!

You can also view Ms. Willa featured at Friendly Grove Dog Boarding & Daycamp in Olympia

Learn More about the Golden Retriever:

* AKC Official Golden
* AKC Golden Health Site
* National Golden Retriever Rescue

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After Doggie Daycare

Coffy at homeHere lies Coffy at home, pictured on her 2009 Christmas card, after a great day at Doggie Daycare at The Grove!

Coffy is a regular here and loves playing with Taz and Maddy!  She is running like a crazy terrier the minute she arrives till the minute she goes home!

We can hardly believe she actually does sleep!

Here is the inside of the card we got from Coffy this year for Christmas, too cute and we love it!  :

coffy card

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Holiday Safety

santa-dog-picThe holidays are a busy time, with family and friends coming into the house and good food just laying around on counters and coffee tables!

If your dog is apt to running away, be sure to put a sign on the front door reminding visitors to shut the gate and/or close the door securely.

Consider purchasing some really nice chew bones for your dog,  put your dogs crate in a quiet room so if he or she is getting to overwhelmed with visitors and commotion you can let him retire and enjoy  a nice juicy bone in peace.

Keep a close eye on food, especially Christmas Chocolates !

Shadrach the blogging dog wrote a great post last week about holiday safety be sure to check it out !

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Donate Your Old Sweaters for This Shelter Program!

doggiesweaters

Making Dog Sweaters for Shelter Dogs

Alisha Talbert and her husband recently visited a shelter and saw that most of the dogs at shelters in their area where housed outdoors.  After leaving the shelter, they got the idea to stop at a Goodwill and look for sweaters, they bought twelve sweaters their first trip and Alisha cut and sewed all night transforming these used human sweaters into doggie sweaters!

That was the beginning of a new mission and project, so if you have some old sweaters, throw them in a box and mail them to:

Alisha Talbert

PO Box 19071
Hattiesburg Ms
39404

Visit the Doggie Sweater site here

Good Job Alisha and Thanks to DogTipper where we first heard about this great project.

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Pig Ears & Hooves Recall

hoovesFrom the FDA:

“December 9, 2009 – Sanger, CA– Pet Carousel has initiated a recall of all Pig Ears and all varieties of Beef Hoof pet treats because the products may be contaminated with Salmonella. The problem was discovered after FDA testing found positive results for Salmonella in pig ears and beef hoof products.

These products were recalled because they have the potential to be contaminated with SalmonellaSalmonella can affect both humans and animals. People handling dry pet food and/or pet treats can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the treats or any surfaces exposed to these products.”

Visit the FDA for a complete product listing

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White Puppies

Taz and Ginger

Taz and Ginger

This Fall we welcomed Taz, the young German Shepherd puppy, to daycamp, we also had Ginger the Great Pyrenees puppy stay at our hotel for a while. Ginger and Taz really enjoyed eachother company and when they got to running and rolling around they looked like a giant white puff ball rolling around the play yard.

Taz Loves Willa!

Taz Loves Willa!

Taz comes two days a week to camp, we look forward to watching him mature!

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Indestructible Dog Balls

14" Jolly Ball

14" Jolly Ball

In October we ordered 3 balls to test drive (see previous post here), we got our balls late October and have allowed the dogs free access to them.

Pictured to the left is the 14″ Jolly Ball from Otto Environmental after almost two months. Deep scratches are present but it is still intact!  I worry that the plastic could be sharp if they do puncture through it, but so far the plastic by the scratches is soft, I think one should also be concerned about a dog swallowing some of the plastic if it broke off, other than those concerns I am very happy with both the 14″ Jolly and 10″ Best ball and so are the dogs!  Several of the dogs do seem to prefer the 14″ over the 10″, but both are well used.

 

10" Boomer Ball

10" Boomer Ball

Pictured here is the 10″ Boomer Ball, which as you can see is holding up just alittle better in that the scratches aren’t as deep. This ball has more weight to it than the Jolly Balls and the hard plastic seems to be denser.

The 10″ Boomer was $45 about twice the cost of the 14″ Jolly Ball, but at the rate they are wearing I think I will get twice the amount of life from the Boomer.

If your dog is a strong destructive chewer you should probably go for the Boomer Ball, otherwise the average dog would do fine with the Jolly’s.

Happy Days !

Charlie with the 10" Best Ball

Charlie with the 10" Best Ball

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Cooper – December’s Featured Client

Handsome_CooperCooper is a regular weekly guest at The Grove. Cooper is truly a unique dog, he is sensitive, playful, intelligent and kind.

We are very proud of Cooper’s recent acceptance to the Providence St. Peter’s Animal Assisted Activities and Therapy program! Now lots of children and adults will get to experience The Cooper Man !!!

Cooper is now our fourth daycare dog who has passed the program along with Isis and Brody.

Cooper enjoys spending time with Emma, he loves canned pumpkin but most of all he loves a good snuggle.

If you would like to learn more about Canine Therapy Certification in Washington State visit The Delta Society.

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Dog Groomer TV

Barleigh, the publishers of Groomer to Groomer magazine, has launched a Barkleigh TV website to host various Groomer videos.  Recently added are the finalist from the 2009 Groom Expo. There are some crazy creative entries! A standard poodle groomed to look like a cow, viking poodles and the winner Simba the Lion.

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