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Durham

Durham’s February All-Stars!

Daycare Dog of the Month: Kai Lenhart

Kai joined our pack as a puppy back in April of 2015. We’ve had the pleasure of watching this fun guy grow up. Kai likes to fancy himself a bit of a daycare attendant and he takes his job as a pack leader serious here at Suite Paws. He’s often showing the puppies how to behave and have fun in a pack environment. He loves the water and can’t wait until pool season again where he can wrestle and play with his best friends Tucker and Emma!

kai

Dog Boarders of the Month: Katie & Bella Albidrez

Katie and Bella are sweet senior sisters that love their time here and are absolute snuggle bugs! They love to lay outside in the sun on nice days or curl up on their cots to cuddle up together. They are loved dearly by all of the staff members here!

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Cat Boarder of the Month: Eva Yount

Eva is such a fun playful little kitty. She loves having as much time out of her condo as possible just so she can jump, climb, scratch, and attack the cat climbing trees. Even though her stay with us was short, she still filled our hearts with joy.

eva

Durham

Durham: March Superstars!

Dog Daycare Dogs of the Month: Kari and Petey Whittleton

Kari and Petey have been daily visitors to our daycare program since we first opened. Kari is a super tiny yorkie, but what she lacks in size she most definitely makes up for in personality. She’s typically a wall-flower and observer in daycare, but she loves people time and seeks out cuddles frequently. She’s come out of her shell more now that it has warmed up! Her favorite thing to do is cuddle with buddy Marshall Dillon in the corner of the room and observe the puppies playing. Petey is the brindle chihuahua who runs the daycare group. In typical Chihuahua form, he doesn’t know he weighs 5 pounds. He thinks he’s the top dog and boss of the small dog group (and he is!) Petey is outgoing and spunky and loves it in daycare! We adore both of these tiny dogs very much!

 kari petey collage

Dog Boarders of the Month:

Mia and Cooper Oliver

 Mia and Cooper joined us recently for a couple of boarding visits. Mia is a sweet quiet black Labrador mix who really loves her people time. The boarding staff here adore her perfect cuddles and gentle disposition. Cooper spends his days here in daycare where he gets to run around and flirt and be pampered by our daycare staff. Cooper is outgoing and active and has lots of fun! We love both of these sweet dogs very much and are happy they have joined our pack here!

mia cooper collage

Cat Boarders of the Month:

Fergus and Finn Schmidt

Fergus and Finn have been a very funny duo of cats who have visited us this month. If you’ve seen two orange tabby’s talking to anyone who walks in recently, you’ve met Fergus and/or Finn! They LOVE people, and they love chatting to everyone who comes into the lobby. Both boys are super playful and energetic. The front desk girls have giggled and been entertained thoroughly by them recently.

fergus finn collage

Groom Star of the Month:

Stan Wiggins

 

Stan had a wonderful visit with us recently and before he went home, he had a spa day and had a huge makeover. Traci tells me he was wonderfully behaved for his visit with the groomer, and that she enjoyed his visit with her. We think he had a wonderful transformation and looks like a very dapper gentleman!

 stan before and after

Employee of the Month:

Serafina Reese

Serafina has been with us since we first opened in December. If you’ve called, emailed or come in for any reason – you have probably met this cheerful and friendly lady. Serafina is a hard worker who is dependable and positive. We are so happy and appreciative to have her as a part of our Suite Paws team!

Durham

Durham: February Superstars!

Doggie Daycare Dog of the Month: Cooper Bergman

Cooper has been a daycare attendee since we first opened. He is a sweet gentle soul and truly loves his time exploring in daycare. He is a bit shy with new people, but he LOVES other dogs. It’s taken a few weeks of trust building, but being able to give him love and scratch his ears is the highlight of my day when he’s here! His best friends are Benjamin and Willie!

 

Dog Boarder of the Month: George Hayman

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If ever there was a dog that did a complete 180 in personality, it was this little man. George boarded with us, and was shy and scared and unsure of his surroundings, but he slowly warmed up to us and is incredibly affectionate and fun now. He loves spending his day in daycare, and looks for any and all affection he can get. He’s outgoing and spunky and every staff member smiles when they see him. And then when they think back to his first couple days here hiding in his crate, they are amazed at how far he has come. We love you little George, and we are so proud of you!

 

Cat Boarder of the Month: Itty Bitty Kitty Greenfield

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Itty Bitty is a shy girl who has spent much of her time with us exploring the cattery. She loves the attention she gets from the staff and is very chatty when we visit and like all kitties, she loves a good chin rub! She’s a little mischievous since she likes to seek out any dark hidden areas in the cattery and play hide and seek in them!

Groom Star of the Month: Huck Eberdt

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Huck is a cockapoo puppy who had his first ever groom recently. Traci, our groomer said “Huck was perfect, he was calm and relaxed and wonderful. I can’t believe it was his first trip to the groomer. He couldn’t have been any better!”

 

Employee of the Month: Sasha Toker

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Sasha joins us in the Suite Paws family as one of our Kennel and Daycare Leads. She’s new to the area, and has been a wonderful addition to our staff here. She’s a very hard worker and dependable and she has a true love for all animals. We appreciate her hard work and are so happy to have her on our staff here. She has two kitties at home named Finley and Persia.

Durham

Durham: January Superstars!

Doggie Daycare Dog of the Month:
Ben Cooper

This choice was so very hard for us. We had to pick between a big group of wonderful dogs that we have gotten to know this first month of being open. Ben won for being as close to perfect as any dog can possibly get! He’s the right amount of playful, lovable and calm and has really gotten attached to each of the daycare attendants. Just looking at him and his big smile brightens up our day. We love having him in our pack here! 

Dog Boarder of the Month: Darcy Wicke

Darcy has been with us quite a bit this first month. She’s super playful and frisky in daycare, and just has the best smile. She’s a wonderful girl who has thoroughly enjoyed her time here. She loves playing  and is super affectionate to anyone who has a moment to love on her. As a Labrador retriever, being drawn to water wasn’t a big surprise and she definitely loves chasing the water hose in daycare. I’m sure once the pool opens, she will be excited and willing to hop in! 

 

 

 

 

Cat Boarder of the Month: Franklin Botti

Franklin was one of the first boarders here in our cattery at Suite Paws Durham. He was here at Christmas, and initially started his stay over in Raleigh and was brought here on our first day. He’s young and playful and silly, and the front desk girls really got a kick out of him. He had a tad bit of mischievousness about him as the staff learned as his attempts to sneak out of the cattery left them giggling quite frequently. We can’t wait to see him again, and see how much he’s grown since he was just a tiny kitten on his first visit! 

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Durham, Raleigh

Trimming or Grinding, that is the question.

Did you know that we offer multiple options for your dog’s nails when you visit the grooming at Suite Paws? The two main choices you have are either a regular trim, or a nail grinding. For many dogs, getting their nails done is frightening. This can be due to a traumatic quick cutting that they have experienced, and if it were up to dogs, they would never trim those nails! (If only dogs were like cats who will groom their nails themselves if they get too long and annoying!)

 

nail_trimmingFirst of all, let’s learn about the anatomy of the nail. The “quick” is the blood vessel that resides in your dog’s nail. Every single creature has this, even as humans, if we break our nails or injure them somehow, they will bleed from this blood vessel, and it will hurt. In dog nails, this blood vessel can extend and retract, meaning as your dog’s nail grows, the blood vessel grows with it getting longer and longer. This is why when you’ve missed a few nail clippings you can only take off a little at a time or you will hit that quick! So if you’ve ever been disappointed in a nail trim because only a little was taken off when your dogs nails were extra-long, this is why!

What needs to happen when your dogs nails have gotten extra long, is more frequent minor trims in order to get that blood vessel to retract back into the toe. Groomers encourage bi-weekly trims for a few visits to return those nails back to a proper length. And if you can hear  nails clicking on the floor when your dog walks on tile or hardwoods, you can use that bi-weekly nail trimming to help get that nail back as close to the toe as possible thereby eliminating that click you are hearing!

If you’ve ever done your dogs nails, or even looked at them in detail, you will have noticed that quicks are easier to spot on dogs with lighter colored nails. Black nails make it incredibly difficult to see that quick, and it can lead to injuries more often than the lighter colored nails.

 

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Some dogs keep their nails short due to their activity, they may have a nice cement area that files them down for you naturally. If you are not blessed with such luck you might find your dogs nails needing regular TLC, either from you doing it at home or you visit a groomer and they take care of this for you. The two main choices you have is choosing to trim the nails or grind the nails. Since grinding the nails takes special equipment that is a little pricier than your normal nail trimmers, most families trim the old fashion way at home and don’t know a great deal about the grinding option.

Normal nail trimming takes place with specialty trimmers that leave a rather sharp edge on the nail initially, which will dull down as the dog walks and smooths them over. The groomer may file these down if they are dangerously sharp. This sharp edge can be a bit of hazard if you have a dog who likes to jump!

 

nail grind

 

I’m sure you’ve seen some of the “As seen on TV” ads for nail grinders, and our groomers use a line of Dremel grinders that they love. Grinding nails can be a bit less traumatic for the dog,  and the nail ends up a nice soft rounded shape versus a sharp edge from the trimmers.  A grind can result in a closer trim, with a smooth tip that can be a huge benefit if you have children or elderly at home that may end up getting scratched from a sharp edge.

 

Grinding isn’t difficult, but it may take a bit of practice to make it perfect, and our groomers have lots of practice and a steady hand!

 

IMG_20130928_155207_262Another thing we see is called “toe splaying” when the nails are so long that the dog’s foot is starting to deform to accommodate the nails. This can be very uncomfortable to the dogs, and sometimes the nails may actual grow into the nail pads causing infection. Some dogs may start having a pronounced limp due to nail issues that are being overlooked. Some breeds are a bit more prone to this than others, bulldogs and basset hounds come to my immediate mind due to their anatomy.

Even nails this long can be fixed with a few trips to your groomer. A small trim every two weeks can correct any issues you are facing due to long nails. If the groomer finds the nail embedded in the pad of the feet, they will contact you as you will likely need to keep it clean once trimmed or see your Vet for care if it is infected and needs medication. One of the most common nails we see this severity on is the dewclaw.

If your dog plays at dog parks, or even here at Suite Paws in daycare, long nails can be dangerous as it can lead to a possible nail breaking while they jump and run.

So, next time you visit us and are faced with the decision to make regarding your dog’s nail trim hopefully you will feel a bit better informed about the choices you have. And hopefully if anything this post will inspire you to check the health of your dog’s nails and paws and make sure they they are healthy, and that your dog is happy.

 

Durham, Raleigh

All About Senior Checks

One of the complementary services that we offer here at Suite Paws is called a “Senior Check”. It is free of charge, and automatically added to your dogs visit if they are 9 years of age or older. We often will add them to younger dogs if the need is there, and some of the common needs we see are dogs recovering from surgeries or illnesses, or those who are nearing their senior years prior to the age of 9. What a “Senior Check” is depends on the need at the time, sometimes it’s just a free cuddle session while we make sure the elderly or injured dog is happy and healthy, sometimes it’s a potty break if the dog is having trouble with incontinence. We often double check their charts at this time, just to make sure they are eating and drinking normally and just making sure that they are as healthy as possible. Sometimes we will have an elderly dog come and visit up at the front desk to help them relax as well, that side office  has been a hotspot of elderly boarders throughout the years.

It’s one of the services here that we are proud to offer that sets us apart from other facilities. All of the employees at Suite Paws have a huge heart for animals, and while I can’t speak for the entire staff, I know that I personally have a serious soft spot in my heart for a grey face!  We want to do whatever we possibly can to help them make this transition into their senior years with peace and love, and sometimes that just means an extra hug or belly rub to reaffirm that everything is okay!

A collection of some of our sweet seniors we've seen over the last year.