Pup of the Day week of 5/16-5/20/2016

5/16/16: To start the week for the pup of the day is... Bella H. has been a long time customer. Before Maplewood she was a regular with her sister Maggie at the West Orange location. (Rip Maggie ) Now Bella H is a regular with her brother Ranger. Bella is a ball fanatic! When we had our first ball day (Yes, there will be more!) her parents said she was one exhausted puppy dog. Bella is like a professional ball boy. Every time we threw a ball she zoned in on it and was determined to fetch it.

 
5/17/16: Our pup of the day goes to... Little Miss Izzy Azalea is a regular for doggie daycare. Izzy has many names that she goes by: Izzy, Azalea, and Little. She is a pint sized chocolate lab with a lot of spunk! Her best friends are Kili and Jagger, the three of them basically all grew up together over the past two years. What more can you say about Little?

5/18/16:For today's featured pup of the day it is Nacha & Stella. Nacha & Stella are a packaged deal. They’re both two of the sweetest dogs that you will ever meet. Nacha absolutely loves to play fetch, she will do so for hours and has no concept of when enough is enough. When she retrieves the ball/stick/etc. she will drop it at your feet, if you don’t toss it soon enough she will gently nudge it towards you to suggest you throw it. Stella is one silly girl she will chase after a ball even though she has one in her mouth, with no plans of dropping it. When they’re not running around playing they absolutely love to get staff attention.

5/19/16: For today our pup of the day is- Teddy F! Teddy is an old soul. He is a wise pup. Teddy always has something to say to the younger dogs. He loves getting staff attention when he’s in with the taxi group. Teddy will often mosey around meeting and greeting all the other dogs that are here for daycare and boarding. When the younger dogs get too rowdy he always polices them to let them know they need to calm down.

5/20/16: Who is our featured pup of the day you ask? Well let us tell you... it's Nika! Bad girl Nika as she goes by at Preferred Pet Care Inc is just that she’s a bad girl. But she loves being bad. Nika can’t contain herself she just loves to get herself into trouble. Nika is an aspiring artist. Apparently we just don’t appreciate her abstract artwork when she destroys her bed. All kidding aside she’s a sweetheart that just has a mischievous side to her.

Featured Pups Week of 5/9/16

5/9/16:

For today's featured pup it's the dynamic duo! Spud & Gritz have been doggy daycare regulars since they first got adopted. Gritz is constantly ordering Spud around, she claims she’s the older sibling. Gritz even tries to walk Spud. Spud doesn’t understand why, especially when she can’t even walk herself. Spud though is a good sport about it. When they’re not playing with their friends they can be found getting dirty having a blast at the South Mountain Reservation.

5/10/16: Today's featured dog of the day is none other then Danko! On Danko’s first day of daycare he actually didn’t pass his trial day. He was nervous and shy. After a couple of introductions he realized Preferred Pet Care Inc. is awesome! Since then he’s been loving coming to doggie daycare. When he’s not here for daycare he’s having a slumber party with all his friends here. Danko demands a big hello when he arrives and has trouble leaving, he just wants to play play play with all his friends.

5/11/16: 

Who is today's pup of the day you ask? Well it's Magic! Magic is one of our “time share pups”, he’s another regular like Rufus. When he’s not here for daycare he’s here for boarding, and sometimes when he’s not here he’s going for walks around Millburn with his other family. Unfortunately Magic can be a little wary of new people, but once he gets to know you he’s a sweetheart.

5/12/16:

It's almost our anniversary! Who is our featured pup of the day today? It's LUCY W! We have a handful of pups who can “smile”, Lucy is one of them. Lucy is one spunky pup! She loves to play ball with the staff, she went crazy over our ball day! Lucy also loves to play with the hose. She is one silly girl. When Lucy isn’t playing with her friends at Preferred Pet Care she’s going on walks with her dad.

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Featured Pups of the Week 5/2-5/6

Our first featured pup is Rufus C.! Rufus has been coming to Preferred Pet Care Inc. for what seems like forever! May 14th 2012 was Rufus’ first day of daycare at Preferred Pet Care, since then he’s become a regular for not just daycare but boarding. Rufus is a border terrier. When Rufus isn’t hanging out with his puppy friends he enjoys playing fetch in the pool

Guess who is our featured pup of the day? Faraday! What can we say about Faraday? He’s a big goofball! When Faraday isn’t playing with all his friends at daycare he enjoys working on his tan.

Who could possible be our featured pup for the day? It's Cody Rainbow! Cody also known as Cody Rainbow is basically a pint sized Golden Retriever, he looks like a Golden Retriever except he’s short like a basset hound. Cody Rainbow has a killer smile, he likes to keep his teeth nice and bright as he hopes to one day follow in his mom’s footsteps in be in commercials.

Our Featured Pup of the day is... Dexter T! Dexter dreams of becoming architect. He will sporadically decide that the playhouses will look better without a door or without a window shutter. Dexter and Jake M. have discussed starting their own architect and interior design company, they’re still currently arguing about the business name. Jake thinks it should be called “Barkable designs”, whereas Dexter likes the name “Bull designs”. When Dexter isn’t pursing his aspirations of being an architect he spends his time as a fashion model (don’t tell him though that it’s just for his parents, shhh).

Finishing for the week is Jake M as our featured pup! Jake M. has dreams of becoming an interior designer. He often spends his days checking out the different playhouses we have for the yards. Despite that dogs are color blind Jake has an eye for detail. Jake’s good pal Dexter and him plan to one day go into business together. Jake has been coming to Preferred Pet Care Inc. since he was a puppy, it’s been great watching him grow up and mature.

Goodbye Paw Pad (Route 22)

We recently learned that The Paw Pad daycare and training facility located on Route 22 is closing.

 

We’re sad to hear that a fellow doggie daycare facility is closing.  You may be shocked to hear that coming from another facility in the business, but competition is a good thing.  It promotes growth, it challenges you to continue to excel.  If you have a friend who is a good tennis player and you’re just an okay tennis player, the friendly competition with them challenges you to improve upon yourself.  On the same note it forces you to become more creative.  What new ideas or concepts can we bring to the facility?  If we want to be number one what can we do to one up the competition.  It makes you stop and think, perhaps reevaluate how certain things are done to make them more efficient or perhaps try new ideas.  Competition teaches you.  Even though we’re in the same industry no two facilities are exactly alike-unless of course it’s a chain or a franchise, and even there I’m sure there are differences.  Just this past summer we went to a trade show.  It was great to speak with other individuals in the business to find out what works for one area and what doesn’t work. 

We wish all the employees and the owner the best of luck on all of their future endeavors.  Additionally for all those pups that may be looking for another facility we extend a welcome to come check out our facility.  We know it’s not your home yet, but we hope once you get to know us it can be.  

What's a "snow day"?

“What’s a snow day?  Who has one of those?”

Our staff is often shocked when we’re asked by people (customers, friends, family, etc.), “Well, what do you guys do when you have a blizzard or a hurricane?  Do you still have to work?”.  Many of our employees are surprised when people ask us that question.  Well, what do you think?  We have live animals here.  If we’re not there to feed them or take them outside who is going to? 

In the 20 years since we have opened our doors we have never missed a day due to bad weather.  We’re thinking about adopting the U.S. post office’s slogan of “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds”.  I guess we would have to change that just a little.  I think our motto of, “Dog’s come first” is pretty good on its own; what do you think?

During Hurricane Sandy many of our staff lost power.  We ourselves at Preferred Pet Care Inc. lost power.  Did we close our doors?  No, we did just the opposite.  Many of our customers were in the same predicament of us with losing power.  Some customers left their homes to stay at friends or relatives or to stay in a hotel.  Unfortunately some of them couldn’t bring along their furry friends.  So even with no power we had our doors opened for both boarding and daycare.  We had overnight boarding guests and we had pups for daycare too.  We operated on a slightly altered schedule, however overall it was business as usual.

Every winter when it snows we still have staff members here taking care of the pups.  Not only are we here feeding, cleaning, and playing with the pups but we’re also here shoveling to make sure the pups have a lush green yard to play in. 

The dedication our employees show is outstanding.  This past weekend with winter storm Jonas both our Saturday & Sunday weekend crew were here providing the same fantastic care that we always do.  What’s a little snow?  (Alright maybe a lot of snow depending on who you ask).  The snow would not deter our employees from coming in and taking care of our overnight guests.  Many people had a “snow day” today due to the aftermath of the storm, but here at Preferred Pet Care Inc. we wonder, “What’s a snow day?.”  Just another day at Preferred Pet Care Inc., business as usual, and that’s all thanks to our outstanding employees (Thanks everyone!).  

Are you just like your dog?

Are you just like your dog?

Pet Products News International December 2015 Issue:

Study Finds People Choose Dogs That Act Like Them

We’ve all heard the old cliché that people look like their dogs, but would you be surprised to find out that people and their dogs tend to socialize, eat and learn new skills in very similar ways, too?

            According to the Natural Balance Canine Personality Study—a survey of 1,015 U.S. dog owners conducted by Burbank, Calif-based Natural Balance Pet Foods in conjunction with Learndipity Data Insights—Americans love dogs who often are just like them.

            Sixty-six percent of extroverted people have extroverted dogs—and there’s a 65 percent chance that an introverted dog will have an introverted human owner.  If you’re a choosy eater, your dog is three times more likely to be one as well.  If you identify as a lifelong learner, then there’s a 72 percent chance your dog will be good at learning new tricks. 

            Dogs display complex emotions, just like we do.

            Dogs’ personalities are highly nuanced, and they experience many emotions that are all too familiar to us humans.  If you’re hurt or late coming home, 90 percent of dog owners believe your dog is worried about you.  Seventy-nine percent say dogs can feel embarrassment, while 93 percent are certain they’ve seen their dog smile. 

            Dogs strongly influence the emotions of their human owners.

            According to 79 percent of dog owners, their dogs consciously and actively attempt to comfort them.  Fifty-five percent report that their dog looks at them with loving eyes that communicate deep emotion; 52 percent say their dog is able to accurately sense when they are sad.  

Holidays-Boarding Stays

Even though the holidays just came to a close it is never too early to book your dog’s boarding stay with us.  A good rule of thumb is that anytime schools are out that we are busy and may potentially be booked.  Some holidays/times to keep in mind are as follows: New Years, Martin Luther King Jr Day, Presidents Day (*may schools have winter break over this time), Spring Break/Easter, Memorial Day, 4^th of July, the months of July & August, Labor Day, Teacher’s convention (typically the first weekend in November), Thanksgiving, and Christmas season (typically from December 22^nd thru to January 2^nd).  Our best suggestion is to reserve your pup’s boarding reservation at least 4-6 weeks before your planned vacation.  If you’re unsure if you may need to cancel or change the boarding dates we highly recommend purchasing boarding insurance.  The boarding insurance is an additional fee, however it does allow you to cancel up until 6pm the day before the scheduled arrival date. 

This past year 2015 we booked up for the Christmas season before the end of November.  If you call and we are booked for the time frame you are looking for always ask about a waiting list.  We did have some people cancel their plans and therefore allowed for some of our customers on the waiting list to have a spot open up for them.  However please keep in mind we do only have a so many rooms that we can book.  Unfortunately once we are full we can’t just make new rooms to accommodate everyone.  We hate turning of customers away, and we wish we could accommodate everyone.  But unfortunately it’s not always possible. 

Additionally we do have a limit for how many individual dogs we can take, so that means if your dog is not with the other dogs (if they are not in our playgroup: if they don’t get along with the other dogs, or if you would prefer them not to be introduced) they are considered to be an individual dog.  Each “individual” dog receives at least ten minutes every hour of individual staff attention.  We will NOT compromise on the quality of care therefore we have a limit for how many individual dogs we can accommodate.  

Preferred Pet Care Inc takes care of our overnight guests 365 days a year (366 this year thank you Leap Year).  We are only closed six days out of the year: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, 4^th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.  Even though our front office is CLOSED on those holidays there is still staff who is away from their family and friends working taking care of all our pups here.