Weekend of Friday, May 14, 2010

What are you doing this weekend? So MUCH to do and not enough time to do it!

If you're trying to decide what to do, consider attending one of these fabulous dog-centric events:

Sat., May 17

Dogs Can Dance - A Weekend of Canine Freestyle

Raytown, MO

Lakewood Run for the Dogs

Lee's Summit, MO

Tails R Waggin 2nd Annual Grand Opening

Overland Park, KS

Sun., May 16

Dogs Can Dance - A Weekend of Canine Freestyle

Raytown, MO

Heart of America Newfoundland Club Picnic and Draft Practice

Napoleon, MO

Backwoods Hiking Club - Dogs Welcome!

Overland Park, KS

Missouri Shiba Inu Walk

Kansas City, MO

Pooches on the Parkway at Young Park

Blue Springs, MO

For information on these exciting events, visit our Web site: http://www.dogslifekc.com/K9Calendar.html

Calling all ball crazy dogs

As regular readers of DogsLifeKC know, we're fans of flyball!

Well, now those of you who are fans of flyball are in luck! There is a team now forming in Kansas City! 

Our friends at ABC Pet Training are in the beginning stages of forming a Flyball team. If you're interested in learn more, contact Stasi at ABC Pet Training: stasi@abcpettraining.com

Welcome Cafe Augusta

We've added a new restaurant, just in time for the warmer weather!

This week, Marshall Rimann of Rimann Liquors (a DogsLifeKC favorite) told me I needed to contact Café Augusta of Lenexa, KS because they had absolutely, delicious food and he knew they had to be a dog-friendly establishment.

As I ambled out to the car with Quincy, I put it on my list of "To Dos" for Wednesday. Then, almost as if by magic, Micheline Burger of Café Augusta, contacted us via Facebook that very day stating that her restaurant is most definitely dog friendly and welcomes them on their patio!

So, I please welcome Café Augusta to our ever growing list of dog-friendly establishments in the Kansas City metro area.

Café Augusta, a New World Bistro

http://www.cafeaugusta.com/

12122 W. 87th Street Parkway

Lenexa, KS 66215

(913) 859-9556

If you would like to share with us places that have welcomed your dog, feel free to e-mail us or call us: 913-538-1757.

Lets remember to be nice...

This past weekend, I had one of the best times I've had in a long time.

It was sunny and I had the opportunity to attend several dog-related activites and venues with my pack of wooly mammoths. We went for a walks, did a succesful rally run-thru, visited the vet's office for a wellness checkup, had a silly time at the freestyle practice, went to Dresslers and just relaxed together.

One thing that did bother me though was a comment that another dog owner made to me.

I was with two of the mammoths: Quincy and Zane. And, Zane being 8 months and rather distractable was having difficulty keeping a "sit" for anything beyond a few seconds. So, I had to repeatedly remind him of what he was doing albeit quietly.

After I had to remind him for the fourth time what a sit was, a lady near me leaned over and said "You know. The breed is not known for being bright."

It took a couple of seconds for me to register what she was saying and I said "What?"

She said, "You do know that the breed you have there is not known for being intelligent. They're rather dense."

I won't say where I because I really don't want to start a tiff, but if the words were said to someone new to a dog activity, sport or venue, it seriously could upset someone enough not to come back.

Of course, me being me, I acted like my dogs and ignored the woman. We continued on, participated and I was proud of the mammoths.

The point of sharing this interaction?

Remember if you're going to say something to a fellow dog person say something positive or helpful. Everyone was new once and if your words are not going to be positive or helpful in some fashion then you could seriously be impacting the activity or sport you're participating in.

With the downturn of the economy and more legislation constraining our abilities to have dogs, we don't have loads of people flocking to participate in things like agility or dog shows or even taking classes. Many areas are losing opportunities of that nature because those activities are considered luxuries and in some instances even owning a dog is a luxury.

So...consider what you're saying. You're not just being hurtful to someone you don't know, you're being hurtful to yourself and your dog.

Dogs not welcome

Once a week the pack at DogsLifeKC researches where dogs are welcome in our metro area.

 

We send out e-mails to local restaurants and stores and wait for a response.

 

When we send out an e-mail, we make it clear to the owners and managers, that we know that having a dog in their establishment is a privilege and is treated as such. Dogs that are allowed to partake of this are friendly, well-behaved and on lead. And then we send links to our Web site, our listings and to our etiquette rules.

 

Sometimes we get long e-mails from companies about how cool this is and yes, they're dog lovers too. Then we share e-mails and photos back and forth talking about dogs.

As is with life, with the good comes the bad.

 

Upon occassion, we do get e-mails from stores and restaurants that make it clear that dogs are not welcome in their establishments under any circumstances unless they're working dogs for the disabled. And, we kindly e-mail them back thanking them for their time.

 

After some consultations with fellow DogsLifeKC pack members and our supporters, we've decided that this weekend, we'll be be adding a small section to our Web site that lists restaurants where dogs are not welcome on the patio. We will not be doing this for stores as it is best practice to consider all stores as out of bounds.

The reason we're doing this is so that our readers don't make a mistake and take their dog to a place where they will be unwelcome.

 

Currently, the list is small with only two restaurants: Panera Bread of the Kansas City area and The Cheesecake Factory. Both establishments have multiple locations throughout the metro area and have patios with direct access to public sidewalks or parking lots.

 

When we contacted them, their corporate offices said that it is their preference to not welcome dogs of any size on their patios under any circumstances so as not to upset other diners.

The pack of DogsLifeKC respects their decision and we hope you do as well.

If you have any concerns or would like to share with us places that have welcomed your dog, feel free to e-mail  us or call us: 913-538-1757.

we've already updated our site!

Thank you to everyone that has e-mailed us since our newsletter went out on Wednesday. Please know that we've followed up with each and every store and restaurant you've mentioned. We're waiting for their response. With that said, we've already got new listings for restaurants and stores so we updated our site this evening.

Under stores in Kansas...

• dynamic earth equipment company - 13308 Metcalf, Overland Park, KS
  
  • An outdoor's store that facilitates your immersion in the outdoors. It carries backpacks, gear for camping, climbing, paddling, backpacking and trail running. And, they carry RuffWear gear for dogs.

Under restaurants in Kansas...

• Dean & Deluca - 4700 West 119th Street, Leawood, KS
  
  • An upscale grocery and deli headquartered in Wichita, KS. It's a source for gourmet and specialty foods, cheeses, bakery goods, food gifts and more. It also offers catering, a coffee bar and hot food to go.
• Trezo Vino Wine Bistro - 11570 Ash Street, Leawood, KS
  
  • A wine bistro that specializes in an experiences to share with delicious food, fine wine and great cocktails.

And, we've confirmed the following...

• Panera Bread in the Kansas City metro area does not welcome dogs on their patios.

Shopping with your dog - REALLY!

Our much awaited Shopping With Your Dog listings for Kansas and Missouri are finally available!

It's normal to have dogs welcome at dog-centric establishments that sell items specifically for dogs, like Three Dog Bakery, Land of Paws, Petco, PetSmart, etc. But, did you know you can take your dog in to Bass Pro to shop for camping gear or Rimann Liquors to browse the wine section?

Yes. It is confirmed that dogs are welcome in to 20 stores within the metropolitan area. We have contacted the stores and had e-mail conformation from their owner or the corporate office. And, they gave us permission to list them on our Web site.

So, go out and enjoy shopping with your best four-legged friend. Remember that taking your dog with you in to these establishments is a privilege and not a right, so proper shopping etiquette is a must at all times.
Many people submitted to DogsLifeKC places such as Lowe's and Home Depot. When we contacted the corporate offices, we were told that it is up to each and every location to determine if dogs were welcome. So, tread carefully and ask the store manager before you bring your dogs in to shop.

If you know of any other places that would like to be listed, email us: Editorial@DogsLifeKC.com.