6 Ways to Pamper Your Pet

Improve communications, treat and otherwise spoil your four-legged friend.

From the issue: June 2012

Photo: Jenny Borg

Pamper your pooch with a celebrity photo shoot. Eden Prairie's Stella was 5 years old when this photo was taken by pet photographer Jenny Borg.

If your dog seems out of sorts—tired of the same old treats, the same old backyard smells—it’s a perfect time to rev things up and introduce Fido to some new pet-pleasing experiences. Why not schedule a photo session to capture his winning personality, visit a new indoor play space or try a delicious new biscuit, made with love? Perhaps this is the summer when you and your pet will take separate vacations—we’ve dug up some great boarding options for him (you are on your own). Here are great local places, spaces and ways to pamper your favorite dog or cat.

1. Pride Biscuits

Every dog treat is special to a dog, but there is something extra-special about Pride Biscuits, created by a crew of special needs students at Chaska High School. Angela Gamades, special education teacher who launched the Pride Biscuits project, is thrilled by the way her students—all with varying disabilities—have embraced this business. “The kids do everything from shopping for the ingredients to mixing, cutting out the biscuits, baking and filling the orders,” Gamades says. “This addresses so many skills for them and it’s awesome to see them become so independent with it.”

Pride Biscuits come in all-natural flavors only a dog could love: Peanut Butter Oatmeal, Apple Cinnamon and Minty Delight. Shaped like dog bones, they are available in packs of 50 small for $5 and 20 mediums for $6. For now, Pride Biscuits—made during the school year—are available through Gamades at Chaska High School, but she hopes these special treats will eventually be sold throughout the community. 952.556.7227; gamadesa@district112.org.

2. Luxury Kennels

ADOGO PET HOTEL

There are a host of amenities at Adogo guaranteed to keep your pet happy and healthy while you are away, including indoor and outdoor play areas, classical music during naptime, private sleeping quarters.

According to owner John Sturgess, pet owners want to see for themselves how much fun their pet is having without them. “Our Adogo-Cam is really popular and people check it out. One couple, vacationing on a beach somewhere, asked me to lift their huge Newfoundland up to the camera so they could see him,” says Sturgess, who was in the “human hotel business” for more than 20 years before opening the Adogo Pet Hotel in Minnetonka in 2011.

While pet owners want their pets to have fun, they also want to make sure they are healthy and safe. Adogo’s custom designed gates and fences, high level of supervision and centralized cleaning system is what Sturgess believes sets it apart from other kennels. 612.850.3433

TOP DOG COUNTRY CLUB

If your dog is getting along in years and would prefer a nap over lively outdoor playtime, Top Dog in New Germany understands. The kennel staff will also make sure your older dog receives his medications, supplements, etc. right on schedule. Travelers shouldn’t fear boarding a puppy either; not only does a stay at Top Dog, open since 2000, provide a good opportunity for socialization, the staff will make sure that the progress you have made with potty training and all other things puppy continues while you’re away.

The 24,000 sq. ft. of outdoor play space is enjoyed by dogs for 5 to 6 hours each day, plus a 34-foot in-ground, heated swimming pool allows them time to splash around. Pampering amenities include massage, dental care and complimentary bath if your dog stays for more than a week—she’ll be returned sweet and clean. 952.353.3600