The Dog Fashionista was starting to stink, so I figured it was time to make use of the Pet Express Php100 off Bath and Blow Dry gift certificate we got during the TailRunners pet and human fun run last summer. The event was starting a bit later than the scheduled 1pm, but we were already in Cubao by 11:30am so there was still time to have Shantee showered.

After some verification, I paid for the remaining cost for Bath and Blow Dry. Shantee’s fur is still short, so our favorite groomer from Georgette’s Closet advised we let it grow first before another full grooming session. So bath it is. Shouldn’t take too long, right? Wrong.

The lady gave us a number, and I deposited Shantee to her cage. I left my mobile number, and the lady said she’ll just send me a text message when Shantee is ready. About an hour and a half later, I was able to have my lunch already but still no text. I figured I just head back to Pet Express, maybe they just forgot to contact me. But I was in for a surprise when I got there: Shantee was still on queue.

I waited for another hour. I was getting edgy. We were already so late for the event in Ali Mall, and I could see through the glass Shantee was looking scared. You see, she’s not used to being caged — specially not the type of cage she was in where the only source of light was the front where the cage door is. The back and the sides of her cage were solid metal, not the grill type. I think it’s rather effective keeping dogs from neighboring cages from snarling at each other, but for Shantee, it was scary.

Three hours in, and Shantee’s still in the cage. I asked how long before she’d be given a bath, and the now-attending lady said three more would be given full grooming before her bath — one of which was a group of cats. I don’t know how many they were, but apparently, Shantee would have to wait for more hours before she got her turn at having a simple bath. I passed by Shantee’s cage and saw how huge and scared her eyes were. I told the crew to let my dog out.

They couldn’t get Shantee out. She was huddled in the corner of the dark cage. I had to coax my poor baby out, and when I did, I felt her heart beat so fast and her eyes wide with fear. She eventually calmed down, then sat beside me in the waiting area.

It was already a bit past 3pm. We were so late for our event already and she still haven’t been given a bath. I was already frustrated, my dog stressed out for nothing, and we were so late. I asked for a refund, and they told me I couldn’t. They would just give me a gift certificate of some sort valid only for one month — they were expecting me to just go back. SERIOUSLY?! I didn’t lose my cool entirely, but I think they noticed I was beyond pissed. I asked for their manager, and told them outright I will not return to their facility just to have my dog given a bath. We live in Cainta, and there was no way I will make another trip just for that within the one-month deadline they set. Just give me my refund, I said.

The crew and the manager were actually nice about it, saying that they really couldn’t give me my money back. So ok, fine, they could have my money but I was never ever coming back. I basically paid them to stress out my dog, but I tried not to think of it that way and just attributed that loss to learning experience. I was ready to cry in frustration. I guess it shown in my face, because the manager suggested if I could spare them a few minutes to have Shantee move up the queue and give her the bath since it shouldn’t take long anyway. Shantee’s fur was still short (not in its full Shih Tzu glory), and it should only take a few minutes. I accepted the peace offering, and let them work on Shantee.

You know, had I known my dog would have to wait three hours just to have a 15-minute bath and blow dry, I would never have bothered bringing her there. I wasn’t warned beforehand that a dog would take hours waiting on queue to be serviced, I only knew that after Shantee already waited three hours in a dark cage. Shantee had already tried a lot of different groomers (this blog is a testament to that), and she had never waited that long in a cage. The most she had waited before this was about an hour max, but never three hours. It probably would have been more than three hours had I not complained.

I’m very grateful at the way the Pet Express crew and manager handled my situation — they were really apologetic at what happened. I’m also glad they found a way to give Shantee her bath. We missed more than half of the program of the event in Ali Mall, but it could have been worse.

I just hope their management will do something about this. They told me that they only have two groomers and a lot of clients — ok, good to know their business is booming, but making animals wait for hours at a time might actually make them lose clients in the long run. Maybe it’s time for them to hire more groomers? Pet Express has a great facility, and their groomers are trained well. I watched them work on other dogs for more than an hour, I’ve seen they’re pretty good. But obviously undermanned. And please, do warn your customers beforehand and give an estimate of how long the wait time is so dogs like Shantee — who are not used to being in a cage — won’t have to go through such a traumatic experience.

If hiring more groomers isn’t possible yet, maybe they can implement an appointment system as a short-term solution. That way, owners will more or less have a gauge of when to bring in their pets, and the time the animal spends in the cage won’t take too long. Walk-ins will have to wait, priority given to those with appointment, but should be warned beforehand and given an estimate time of when their pets will be worked on.

I’m impressed at the way Pet Express’ groomers work on their canine clients. The attention to detail, and the gentle way the groomers handled the pets. But I am so disappointed with the wait time, not to mention the failure to warn me of such long wait. I really hope they do something about this.

A shaved Shantee with Eukanuba bags, two months ago

I was honestly a bit skeptical when we were asked for our dogs to try Eukanuba for two months. We’ve already had a bad experience trying out other brands of dog food, and I wasn’t sure if Shantee was allergic to the formula that Eukanuba uses. Anyway, since we have a lot of other dogs who aren’t allergic to specific dog food brands, we decided to give it a try. If all else fails with Shantee and Kubrick, at least our other dogs can try it out.

We did the usual “dog food transition,” where we slowly added Eukanuba Adult Maintenance Small Breed Formula (with Prebiotics) to my pets’ meals. Shantee just loved it, and even picked out the Eukanuba bits and left the other dog food brand kibbles on her dog bowl. Kubrick, on the other hand, wasn’t as “accepting.” The first time he was able to have an all-Eukanuba dinner, he barfed it out the next day. We thought the Eukanuba formula wasn’t for him, but as it turned out, he apparently didn’t chew the kibbles well. Shantee already finished her meal and was waiting right beside Kubrick’s bowl for his left-overs — Kubrick was so anxious to finish his meal so Shantee wouldn’t get a piece. For their succeeding meals, we made sure Kubrick wouldn’t feel threatened if Shantee finished her food early. From then on we didn’t encounter any more problems.

Shantee used to be so difficult to feed. I guess she was getting tired of her usual brand. We used to buy the same brand for the past two years with only the different formulations as variety. Kubrick will eat just about anything that fits (or doesn’t fit) his mouth. Except for that one-time barfing, he ate his daily Eukanuba meal with gusto Shantee is the picky eater, but surprisingly, she loves Eukanuba.

Since Kubrick was already healthy even before the Eukanuba experiment, he remained healthy after the 2-month trial period. But on Shantee, the changes were very noticeable. She gained weight: she went from 3kg to 4.2kg in two months following the recommended Eukanuba formula intake. Her fur grew back, and seemed softer than it was before. Her fur usually takes on a coarser texture when she hasn’t had a bath in about a week, but for some reason, it wasn’t as coarse as it usually becomes. After lacking nutrients in post-pregnancy, Shantee’s back to her usual healthy, bubbly self

For the purpose of this experiment, we discontinued giving her Nutri-Plus Gel for the past two months. It was a risk, but thank goodness Eukanuba went through. The dog food gave her back the nutrients she needed, even without vitamin supplements.

A happy, healthier Shantee!

One of the things we liked about our pets’ old brand was that it made the smell of my dogs’ poop almost odorless and easy to clean up. Apparently, the Eukanuba formula doesn’t only provide the dogs the needed nutrients, but also makes their poop’s smell tolerable and clean-up wouldn’t be difficult.

Aside from the obvious improvement in my pets’ health and eating habits, Eukanuba is also affordable. It’s not dirt-cheap like those you can buy at a hardware store, but it’s definitely cheaper than their usual dog food, which is probably the most expensive brand for small breeds in the market today. A 1.5kg pack of Shantee and Kubrick’s usual dog food costs the same (if not more) as a 3kg pack of Eukanuba Small Breed Formula with Prebiotics. That’s like getting twice the amount of dog food — to think that the servings needed for daily intake are based on their weight. Meaning, Shantee and Kubrick don’t necessarily require a whole cup of kibble per meal because of their weight and size.

The verdict?

Well, Shantee became healthier, Kubrick remains healthy. Their fur improved. Both Shih Tzus apparently love its taste. Poop’s smell is almost orderless. Best of all, it’s affordable. Offhand, I’d say this experiment was a success.

And yep, we’ve decided to switch the dogs to Eukanuba. We just bought a pack from their vet a week ago to last them another month. Even Pixel, the last of Shantee’s pups, is on Eukanuba’s Puppy Formula now

To learn more about the product, please visit the official Eukanuba website. If your dogs are like mine (small breed), you might want to check out Eukanuba Adult Maintenance Small Breed Formula, which we had for the experiment and is currently our choice for our little fur-babies daily food intake

That’s Shantee’s summer “office girl” look — conservative cuts but with the bright hues of summer. It’s the same dress she wore during her TV shoots with the Kulilits and Zooperstars crew. The summery colors just looked great on TV!

We got this dog dress from a shop in Tiendesitas for about Php150-200. I can’t remember the exact amount, but I do remember it being on sale. Shantee just loves it!!!

Thanks to MyPetChannel.tv (thanks again!!!), my doggies were able to happily try out a dog food endorsed by Animal Planet: Nature’s Plan. See the pic? Shantee just couldn’t wait to taste it!

This pack of Nature’s Plan lasted two weeks with Shantee and Kubrick — daily feeding, about 3 cups each. I didn’t notice much change in Kubrick, as he’s always been fat and healthy, but it’s different with Shantee.

For one, she didn’t get any allergies. As a Shih Tzu, my dogs are usually very sensitive with the kind of dog food they eat, that’s why we don’t feed them the cheap kind of dog food you find in grocery and hardware stores. Dog food that aren’t good for them (though not necessarily bad per se) can result to hair loss and rashes. Luckily, my pets reacted quite well to Nature’s Plan — no allergies, no hair loss, just healthy, happy doggies!

Nature’s Plan is especially formulated with 100% natural ingredients. Maybe that’s the reason why Shantee and Kubrick didn’t get allergies. The brand prides itself for having no corn, no wheat and no by-products — dog food ingredients that can usually cause allergic reaction.

As a nursing mother, Shantee has been needing vitamin supplements lately. We give her pet vitamins daily to boost her up, but since giving her Nature’s Plan dog food, she fattened up considerably. Maybe it’s because she liked the taste, or maybe it’s because of the dog food’s complete vitamins and minerals… Either way, it helped her a lot!

Shantee and Kubrick’s stool during the two weeks of having Nature’s Plan weren’t so bad either. Stool wasn’t totally scentless (what stool is anyway hehe), but it looked healthy — not too soft, nor too hard… Stool consistency seemed just right (I didn’t touch it, eww), as Shantee and Kubrick seemed to have an easier time relieving themselves while on Nature’s Plan

I’m actually seriously considering switching my pets to Nature’s Plan after this short trial. Their current dog food is quite expensive. It’s definitely good for my pets, but if you’re feeding two adult dogs, buying three packs of dog food monthly becomes very painful to the wallet. Nature’s Plan seems to be a good and a bit cheaper alternative (as one pack lasts them for two weeks already), and it’s still all-natural and packed with nutrients. Besides, Nature’s Plan is also endorsed by Animal Planet, our all-time favorite television channel!

To learn more about Nature’s Plan, visit their official website.

Want to win a 9kg of Animal Planet Nature’s Plan dog food? Head over at MyPetChannel.tv and check out the My Pet. My Planet. Photo Story Contest! HURRY! Deadline is on April 5, 2010. Goodluck!

That’s Kubrick in his summer cutie crew cut with the Pooch Park groomer. We were gone for five days on a trip to El Nido a few weeks back, and unfortunately, Kubrick wasn’t able to have his daily brushing as regularly as usual. And since he doesn’t really care about whatever he walks on, Kubrick’s fur on some parts of his body had become tangled and matted. I was given the option to just have the areas that are too matted to be shaved while the rest remained intact, but I imagined he’d look like an elongated earth globe with a head, feet and tails, so I just opted to let them go all out! Besides, it’s summer already and the heat makes Kubrick very uncomfortable. With his adorable new bob, he’s comfy… and he smells soooo good too!

See that other Shih Tzu in the background? That little guy threw a fit when he saw us pick up Kubrick. According to the Pooch Park Metro East crew, the noisy one is a regular, and they were unfazed at the tantrum he’s throwing. Apparently, the noisy Shih Tzu throws a fit every time he sees another dog gets picked up. But once a staff member pays attention to him, he shuts up He’s just an attention-hungry pup like Shantee

I always make it a point to chat up staff members of grooming salons I take my dogs to even when I’m not writing a review. Talking to them gives me a glimpse of how they treat their canine clients, and if they’re just in it for the love of money and not of dogs. After all, I’ll be leaving my pet under their care for a few hours. I needed to know if they’ll treat my pet right.

So far, I’m very satisfied with the crew of Pooch Park Metro East — they know their canine clients, and seem to have a genuine concern for them. Kubrick was literally shaking in fear when I handed him over to the lady behind the counter, but calmed down a bit when she cooed and comforted him. The interaction between staff and the dogs gave me assurance that my Kubrick was in good hands — he’d be safe until I pick him up after a few hours in the nearby gym.

Pooch Park Doggie Day Care in Robinsons Metro East is strategically located by the entrance of the mall’s fourth level. The mall does not allow dogs to wander about, but Pooch Park is so near the entrance that you can easily drop your dog off their store before doing your shopping. Pooch Park started as a doggie day care center with a purpose: give dog owners a place to stay in a no-pets-allowed establishment. They’ve now expanded to grooming services and selling dog stuff; your dogs get the pampering they deserve while you do your shopping.

What most attracted me to check out Pooch Park when it first opened in Metro East is their unique setup of doggy treats. It’s a like a buffet, a dog’s dream come true! It kind of reminds of the those candy stores usually located near movie theaters, where you get to pick the flavors you want and pile it up inside a bag. Pooch Park’s doggy treats corner is similar to that, though the treats are priced as per piece instead of by weight.

My dogs just adore the “burger” treat — looks like a tiny burger — they absolutely go gaga over the bag of treats I take home for them after a round of workout in the nearby gym.

Pooch Park also has reasonably priced dog clothes. My sister already got Kubrick a dog shirt (Php 250 for a “macho” polo shirt) from them which he wears over his crew cut whenever we turn on the air conditioner in the office so he won’t get cold. They also have these creatively-labeled spoof shirts — my husband particularly like the one with the label “No Gay, connecting pretty” a spoof of “Nokia, connecting people,” it’ll look so funny on a macho-looking dog!!!

Pooch Park Doggy Day Care Metro East has so much to offer to dog-lovers — it’s like a doggy wonderland! Check it out and give your dog the pampering he deserves

Hey wait, there’s more!!! Would you like to be the winner of a gift certificate for an Executive Grooming Package from Pooch Park Doggie Day Care? If the answer is yes, head over to mypetchannel.tv and join Pooch Park’s Sleeping Bow-wowties Photo Contest!

Pooch Park Doggie Day Care
Website: http://poochpark.multiply.com/

J. Vargas Branch
181 Auto Depot Building
Julia Vargas Avenue, Pasig City
Phone: 910-50-36
Mobile: (0922) 966-33-20

Metro East Branch
Level 4 Robinsons Metro East
Marcos Highway, Pasig City
Phone: 647-70-25
Mobile: (0922) 302-45-66