Pomeranian Rescue

We got a call this week from a Pomeranian Breeding Kennel. Due to the husband's health issues, they are needing to downsize and were inquiring about our rescue program, The Lucky Puppy. We spoke at length and have decided to accept the challenge. Here's how it will work:

Over the next few months, we will be acquiring (a few at a time) approximately 7 Pomeranians & 1 Papillon, ages 2 to 10 years of age. Most of them are not yet housebroken (we're sure hoping we can teach old dogs new tricks) and none of them are spayed or neutered. They were purchased as breeders and have lived in a kennel environment all of their lives. It is our plan to spay & neuter all adults, work on housetraining, and to find them loving, adoptive homes.

There were 2 puppies that are 1/4 Papillon and 3/4 Pom, that are 10 weeks old. (In case you are still stuck on the 1/4-3/4 thing, it's a Pom crossed with a Papillon/Pom.) They have come to us first. They will be adopted out at premium rate ($300. for brown and white, $350 for wolf sable). Their adoption fees are set high to help pay for the spays and neuters, care and housebreaking on the dogs to come next.

These puppies are BEAUTIFUL! They are up to date on vaccinations and dewormings and the adoptive family will be required to neuter them by 7 mos. Here are there pics:

If you are interested in filling out an adoption application, please call us at 740-695-4566.

Blueberries and Mud!

What do BLUEBERRIES and MUD have in common? And why are they being talked about on a dog & puppy blog?

Because VERY SOON, we will be offering Blueberry Facials and Spa Mud Masques for boarding and grooming clients at Play N Stay Pet Camp and the Soapy Puppy Doggie Spa!

Now, before you check out on me (I know you are rolling your eyes), let me explain a little more.

But first, GET YOUR DOG OVER TO THE COMPUTER, so that I can talk to him or her directly.

OK, dogs, here goes:


BLUEBERRY FACIALS: Believe it or not, Blueberry Facials are pretty cool! Here's why: Dogs-let's be honest-we KNOW that you can't wash your own face. And most people who bathe you won't wash your face either (often they just kind of bathe everything else and act like you don't even have a face). And if your people DO wash your face, it's often just a little "wipe off" of the hair...not really scrubbing your face. (And, you know, all of your people scrub THEIR faces...some even do it a few times a day!)

Our special Blueberry Exfoliating Face Wash (due to arrive this week) is specially formulated for dog faces and dog whiskers. It's tearless and exfoliating, so the spa attendants can really scrub it down in...which is very, very relaxing-it feels SO good!

After a nice facial massage, it rinses away cleanly removing 85% of those ugly tear stains and breaking down all of the mouth and slobber gunk that make your whisker crunchy and sticky. (And for those of you with really wet faces, either from tears, slobber, or your water bowl, your face won't smell like old socks anymore!) You and your owners will be delighted with the smell of Fresh Blueberries that lasts and lasts! (It's great for long, dangly ears too!)


MUD MASQUES: For all of our 4-legged friends with problem skin (dry, itchy, flaky, or hot spots), this is the spa treatment for you! Specially formulated mud with Dead Sea Minerals & Eucalypus Oil is massaged into your skin (not just your hair). If it's nice day out, you can wear your mud out into the play yard, where the heat from the warm sun will feel so good on your skin. (If it's a yucky day out, our spa attendants will lay warm, damp towels on your body, so the mud can penetrate over the next 15-20 minutes.) The mud masque then "goes to work", moisturizing your skin and coat, relieving the itching and burning that makes you crazy sometimes. Once the masque is rinsed away, you will be thrilled at the results! Your old dry hair and skin will be lustrous & beautiful!

All the neighborhood dogs will be so envious when they see the whole new you!

Both products will be available as a service and available for purchase, so your owners can do-it-themselves at home!

The Big Decision

OK...so if you've been following along, you know that each spring we struggle with what to do with a VERY slow puppy store (lots of lookers, very few buyers) all summer long. A few weeks back, I asked for your input. We had some good responses, the best suggestions surrounded utilizing volunteers at Play N Stay and trying to keep the store open.

After careful thought, we have decided that idea is likely to not work for us at this time. We are certain that there are available and reliable volunteers out there, but we are VERY dependent on our workers at PNS. If one or both called off or did not come in, we would have a mess on our hands. Perhaps as we grow, we will be able to have a volunteer or two be with 4 or 5 workers, but on most days at PNS, there is only 1 or 2 people on shift at a time. We need everyone to be there and to be on their A-game. And if they aren't, we need to be able to address that. We can set that bar high with our staff, but I'm not sure we have the systems in place to set it that high for volunteers, without compromising reliability. And we can't lower the bar.

But-thank you for sharing your thoughts on this. That may be an idea for 2 or 3 years from now.

So-(drum roll), here's what we are doing...(you may already know, if you've been on the Perky Puppy website)...

We're closing The Perky Puppy for the summer. We're selling out (or at least DRASTICALLY reducing) and will not be open to the public again until mid-August. We will continue to do Special Orders/Special Requests, which is a growing segment of our business. If we do "stock" any puppies, they will be listed on our site and shown BY APPOINTMENT to SERIOUS customers only. We will no longer pay staff to stand here while people just "stop in to look at the puppies". Honestly, we know that's a part of the business, but in the summer it reaches a very unhealthy level, and it doesn't pay the bills. (Of course...I could look into starting a petting zoo and charging admission. Nah! We'll save that for another time and place.)

SO-today is our last open day until fall. We are down to 5 puppies. The price on those puppies is somewhat negotiable. If they don't sell, we will move them to PNS and start housetraining them. They will sell from there for sure.

All of our staff will be working at Play N Stay for the summer. We've got some prety neat stuff happening over there. (Check back for info on Blueberry Facials and Mud Baths.) We think you'll be excited about what's in store! Keep your eyes on the website and the blog. We'll keep you posted. Again, Thank You for your input on this tough dilemma.

We appreciate your business! Have a great summer!
Jessica

Memorial Donation

Thank you to Darlene Kolodziej. She recently made a memorial donation to The Lucky Puppy in honor of Maxine Greiner.

It's Been Awhile/Dilemma!

Hey Everybody!

It's been awhile since we've talked. Sorry about that! I have been juggling everything to the best of my ability and just haven't gotten to blog much.

We've been analyzing and re-thinking a lot of what we do around here and why we do it...I think that's always a good thing to do...otherwise, we get into the habit of just doing things because it's what we do, not because it even makes sense anymore.

(Maybe you should consider starting a "stop-doing" list. Eh?)

Anywhoo...we are nearing the dreaded Perky Puppy Summer Slump. It's that time of year that causes us great anxiety. "Why?" you ask. Well, I'm glad you asked. I'll tell you why:

Every summer, the puppy business sinks like a rock. Just completely tanks. Apparently, most people are camping, swimming, boating, fishing, vacationing, cook out, etc. They really aren't looking at adding a new puppy to their life. So, we spend everything we made during the winter to stay open during the summer. So basically, we eat hamburgers in the winter (which we are always glad to see coming), and we eat beanee-weenees all summer. That's just no fun.

AND to top it off, it's crazy at Play N Stay, there are barely enough of us to keep it all covered without killing ourselves, and we keep trying to make it look like we still have a thriving puppy store, even when it's the bad season.

For a few years, before we had staff and Play N Stay, we just enjoyed the summer and sold puppies to the few people who called. That's been tougher in recent years, since we have staff who depend on their paychecks.

2 years ago, we tried keeping everything going without blinking. BAD IDEA.

Last year, we tried to go to "Open By Appointment Only". A better idea, but feeding, cleaning, and playing with the puppies everyday (even just 10 or 12), and keeping them all current on vaccinations was still expensive, since we were often next door at Play N Stay and had to "pay someone to be us" here with the puppies.

So...what should we do this year?

That's the dilemma.

Options:
Option #1: Close TPP for the summer, doing only special order puppies. Reopen mid-fall. Move all staff to Play N Stay for the summer, since we need extra help there. There are several successful businesses that operate this way. (Most extreme examples of seasonal businesses-Jamboree in the Hills or the Famous Houston's Chicken)
Option #2: Close TPP for the summer, carry a small number of select breeds (less than 6). Integrate them into Play N Stay's population. Hours on those puppies by appointment only. Pros: Still selling puppies...staff have to be there anyway. Cons: During the summer, it's hectic at PNS...don't need more work.

So-what do you think? What would you do if you were us? Can you think of something we haven't thought of? We want to hear from you. Email us at jessica@theperkypuppy.com

Thanks in advance. Well be making a decision soon! We'll keep you posted!

The Perky Puppy is now on Twitter!

We're now on Twitter! Don't know what Twitter is? That's ok...we didn't either until recently, but it's VERY cool! Here's how it works:

1. Follow us on twitter @theperkypuppy (Just click on the link and create your account.)
2. Set your new twitter account to notify you on your email or cell phone.
3. As new puppies arrive or prices are reduced, we will update our twitter account, and you will receive an update on your cell phone and/or email immediately.

YOU WILL BE THE FIRST TO KNOW! How cool is that??

DACHSHUND Day!

WOW! We're all booked up this weekend at Play N Stay, but the big play group looks funny because there are a BUNCH of Dachshunds! Today's group includes the following doxies: Louie, Oscar, Lucy, Charlie, and Josie!

GET A-LLLLOOOONNNNGGGG LITTLE DOGGIES!!!!