We are on a road trip to PetSafe Pet Blogger Summit.
Hope you can join us on Friday, October 3rd: World Smile Day blog hop
Sugar Visits KONG Company at Golden Colorado
On our recent Golden Woofs Road Trip to BlogPaws, we spend two days in Colorado.
Our intent was to enjoy the scenery of Colorful Colorado, visit a Golden friend Moose and visit brands that Sugar loves like InClover (which will share more in a future post) and Sugar’s favorite chew toy, KONG. The KONG Company is located in Golden, Colorado.
Lots of Golden Thanks to the City of Golden, CO for admiring Sugar’s photo on Instagram. We hope Golden, CO becomes a bit friendlier dining with your dog.
According to a staff from KONG company, KONG is not open for public tours. We were very honored that they allowed our request. Sugar was Golden Thrilled. It was an honor to meet Mark Hines, KONG’s Canine Behavior and Training Specialist. Mr. Hines provided us a PAWsome presentation and a KONG manufacturing tour.
How Did KONG Company Get Started?
KONG was founded on 1976 by Joe Markham inspired by his German Shepard Fritz. Fritz was a retired police dog who got very interested in a car rubber part from a 1967 Volkswagen van. Joe was inspired with the odd shape and seeing Fritz’s enjoyment from playing with the rubber part. Joe, as an inventor, brought the part to his shop and his partner commented ” looks like King Kong’s ear plug” … the name KONG stuck and the company was created.
We were at awe from Mr. Hines presentation in regards to the importance of “PLAY” and using KONG as a mentally stimulating tool for dogs (and other pets like birds and dolphins). Mr. Hines is very passionate on what he does. He travels around the world and works with veterinarians, trainers, other behaviorist, shelter/service dog/k9training (explosives and narcotics) organizations. Mr. Hines has a tremendous knowledge about dog’s body language. He has provided us a very inspiring perspective and understanding of animal bond relationships.
Mr. Hines emphasized “how important it is to PLAY with your DOG.” Many trainers uses KONG toys as a tool to change and manage unwanted behaviors and stimulating play.
Golden Happy to tour the manufacturing facility and see how KONG was made. KONG is made of natural rubber + non-toxic fillers. Bands of rubbers are fed then heated into the forming machine. The rubber melts into a liquid and poured into a KONG mold. It’s VERY HOT! We are Golden HAPPY to share that KONG is made from a machine but involves a human touch to process each KONG after its formation.
We saw many happy smiles form KONG workers. PAWsome to hear that many of employees have been working at the KONG factory for considerable number of years.
We can’t thank Mark Hines enough for the wonderful knowledge he instilled in us and his personalized tour of the KONG company. Mr. Hines also provided us a first look of KONG’s new product (which we promised not to tell). Woofs and Lots of Golden Thanks! for all the toys and treats.
Visiting KONG was one of our best unforgettable Golden Woofs Road Trip highlights.
Lots of Golden L♥VE n Woofs
SUGAR n mom Rosalyn
Finding A Dog-Friendly Quick Serve Food On The Road
Many of you know that we had a road trip to Atlanta to attend Barkworld 2013. It was a long drive. We had many stops to go for potty breaks and stretching our legs. On the way to Atlanta, we quickly stopped on several chained burger/coffee food establishments that were not dog-friendly. They do offer an outside dining patio but it was not shaded and the cemented area was a bit uncomfortable to rest. One reason why mom prepared us for where to stop on our way back home to Chicago. She made a plan for us to stop at Cracker Barrel establishments, “known for providing a friendly away from home atmosphere in an old country store and restaurant.” Cracker Barrel’s mission is “to please people.” Everyone that walks in the front door of Cracker Barrel gets a warm welcome and a good country meal at a fair price.
Cracker Barrel does not allowed dogs inside their shop/restaurant. However, all Cracker Barrel’s have a large covered patio with rocking chairs and wooden benches. It was a comfy area for me to hang/rest. My peeps ordered their meals to go and ate it on the patio.
Our first stop was Cracker Barrel, Tennessee where my peeps ate some old style country breakfast. Mom was so hungry that she forgot to take photos of her breakfast. According to her, she had a delicious corn grits. How about ME? I had breakfast when we left Atlanta so I was full. I was actually still sleepy and decided to just hang out and let my peeps enjoy their meals.
We stopped in another Tennessee Cracker Barrel for a quick potty break. It was packed by Sunday church goers and we were unable to take photos.
At lunch time, we arrived at a Kentucky Cracker Barrel. The place was packed too but we found a bench to rest while we waited for our food. There were so many children that petted me. I received great compliments from their parents for my PAWsome behavior with them. Oh! my peeps enjoyed a Delish grilled catfish with a side of baked sweet potato and brown rice. Since Cracker Barrel is also known for their Fried Apple, they have lots of fresh apples too. So what did I have for lunch? Fresh Nicely Cut Sweet Apples. Again, photos are just ME as mom was so hungry that she forgot to take photos of her food.
The last 2 Cracker Barrel we stopped were located in Indiana, 1) Scottsburg 2) Hobart which is known to be a friendly town. We stopped for potty break and stretch our legs. Golden Nice that there were many grassy areas in the Cracker Barrel locations we visited.
Golden Shout Out, if you are on a road trip with your dog and looking for an alternative quick serve food stop, we recommend Cracker Barrel. There were also lots of neat stuff in the Cracker Barrel shops.
Definitely Tuesdays Just Got Tastier.
This is a Blog Hop I am Co-hosting with my doggie pal Kol.
Click Here to for more information and rules of the Hop.
If you are joining our Tasty Tuesday Blog HOP, Golden Thanks!
Don’t forget to grab the Hop’s Badge and post it along with your blog post. Hop’s Badge is located on the Tasty Treat Recipe Page.
Also, don’t forget to Link-up your blog post on the HOP (below).
Please find some time to visit all the participants.
Lots of Golden Thanks, Happy Tasty Tuesday!
Lots of Golden L♥VE n Woofs
SUGAR
