Nauset Kennels

Does anyone reading this remember the movie with John Travolta where he plays a young man with an immune problem and he can only go out in a bubble? (Yes, I know I just dated myself with that reference!)

This past weekend, we encountered a dog whose parents would like it to live in a bubble. Well, I doubt that they would really like the actual bubble concept, but figuratively, this is what they were asking us to do.

“Please make sure he is socialized with as many other dogs as possible, but we don’t want any scratches, scrapes, punctures or anything like that. Oh, and I only want him playing with other puppies.”

The last time I watched a group of puppies playing together I remember them pulling, tugging, scratching, yipping and all of those cute, adorable things puppies do to each other. Ouch, those tiny, little teeth are SHARP! and can do some damage all in the name of fun. And those nails. My goodness, puppy nails are sharp. Those little guys roll around, pulling on an ear, gnawing on a leg, and just generally learning how to play together. When someone yelps, you can see the offender pull back a bit, as though surprised. Sometimes, a nip is returned as a warning. Puppies play hard.

As I listened to the customer’s wish list, I thought of the movie. At one point, this silly image of a dog rolling across the yard in a bubble actually went through my mind and I had to suppress a giggle. Finally, Kirsten explained to them that they can’t have it both ways. If the dog is going to play and be socialized, which they want, there is always the possibility of scrapes, scratches and more. She reminded them that we certainly don’t want that, nor do we encourage it, but things do happen. And so, with some hesitation and crossed fingers, we all took a chance and practiced some puppy socialization. Although he still needs a lot of practice and time playing with others, a bubble isn’t what he needs. While we never want anything bad, even in a small way, to happen to our dog babies, we have to realize that sometimes things will happen. And yes, we need to teach our dogs how to play appropriately, just like we teach our kids how to play appropriately with others. While we teach them, they are learning. If a dog doesn’t like another dog in its face, it lets her know to back off. As social pack animals, this is how they learn. Without a bubble.

Even though we are in the pet business, we are regularly amazed at how different pet ownership is these days. When I was growing up, I honestly can’t remember much about the day-to-day business of dog ownership, but I clearly remember that feeding Buckwheat, not the first dog I brought home unannounced, in the garage. I also remember having to sneak Shasta, another dog I dragged home without permission, up into my room at night. Inevitably, my mom would find her and bring her back down to, well, I’m not sure. The garage? The basement?

Today’s dog and her owner can enjoy the space saving comforts of the “Sleep ‘N Store Dog Bed Combination,” with a dog bed underneath and a storage area for all your dog’s clothes. (This is making the assumption that your dog has enough clothes to need her own closet. Again, not one of my dogs from my childhood owned clothing that went beyond a collar, and that might have been a non-existent item too!). $215 on sale.

Speaking of clothes, how about cashmere? No, silly, not for you - for the dog! For $120 you can own the finest in dog apparel. This particular style is smartly trimmed with suede and is even hand-knit. Now, I can only speak for myself; I happen to love cashmere and I’m pretty sure it loves me. My wallet, however, does not love cashmere with the same intensity, so my personal cashmere selection is somewhat small, as is my dogs’.

No cashmere would be complete without some doggy boots, labeled Air Doggy. Perfect for the day your Chihuahua is feeling the need to hit the court with her buddies! Oh, and they can be yours for more money than I spend on my children’s shoes. $45. I don’t know that my own experience will be yours, but Kirsten and I really did try booties on one of our dogs and I thought we’d just die laughing. Needless to say, he wanted nothing to do with them and managed to chew them to bits.

If you happen to be attending a baby shower for your friend’s new puppy, you might consider a dog baby cradle for $164. It is far more beautiful than what my own dogs sleep on. I may need to start shopping for some new friends who might actually spoil my dogs the way they deserve to be spoiled.

For the Oscar worthy pooch, there are gowns galore that would put the stars on the red carpet to shame. My favorite is actually a seasonal dress, but I am sure the rules in the doggy fashion world can be relaxed to allow such a fashion faux paw (!) now and then, right? Trixie’s Christmas Red Dress with Long Evening Skirt is perfect for that special event that calls for a special gown, priced at $435. Way less than Sandra Bullock spent, I’m sure!

If your poochie’s gown can’t be trampled on the red carpet by all of her fans, then stroll her down in style in a deluxe pet stroller. Most models might easily be confused with a human baby stroller, particularly since the prices are comparable. Like the human version, they set up in a snap and even have a handy tray for your coffee, car keys, etc. I wouldn’t suggest shopping with it though; many times with my human babies happily strapped in a stroller, I’d forget and toss something in on top of them. Oops! $150 for your one and only.

And every dog, no matter designer or mutt, needs a collar. The designer dog, the one whose preferences lean towards Gucci Pucci (get it?), would love to have a Turquoise Sunburst Leather Collar. This is truly jewelry. Heck, this is so nice I might wear it. Priced at $169.

So far, we’ve spent $1289 on accessories and I haven’t included the dog bowls, the food, and supplements.

My best guess on what we spent on Red, Shasta, or Buckwheat, again not including the bowls, food, and of course the supplements, which weren’t even sold for humans back then - maybe $25. Yes, $25. Granted, you probably just figure out my age based on the supplement comment, so prices were obviously less back then. However, pet ownership was also different back then.

Unlike the dogs of my childhood though, I’m really hoping that Pecan can end up at Harvard, but I’ll settle for Williams. They might appreciate the fact that his tongue is usually hanging out of his mouth.

Kirsten and I attended a Geek Girl Camp on Saturday, a great conference with lots of familiar faces. It seems we were all there learning to navigate our businesses within this fabulous world of technology.

I finished the day exhausted, but whirring with excitement to start using what I learned. At the after-conference appetizers and drinks, it seemed everyone had learned something, and was anxious to implement, try out, or create something new.

So just what does technology have to do with running a kennel? I can just hear my mom guffawing in the background as I log in to Facebook to check the kennel account. She’d probably make some snide remark about uploading a video to YouTube. She just might even ask if it’s all worth it, wondering if the time spent fussing around with technology takes away from my time with customers or the animals.

In some ways, yes. I don’t interact in quite the same way with the customers as I used to. And while blogging is not the same as running around the yard with the dogs, it is satisfying in a different way.

If I can ever get my act together and actually put all of what I learned into motion, this Geek Girl stuff will allow us to do things we never thought about. That video I will soon upload to YouTube will be able to show people who don’t live just around the corner an opportunity to see the kennel. The kennel’s Facebook account allows us to share bits and pieces of daily life, events, announcements, pictures, and all sorts of information with a lot of people quickly. It also allows them to comment in return. Our website works similarly, but without the group concept. Technology, while it seems almost counterintuitive, is allowing us to create, refine, and further relationships with customers.

I suppose, though, if you are reading this then you probably already get it, don’t you?