Summer is just around the corner and Spring is in full swing! I bet you and your best four-legged friend are ready for some outdoor adventures! We’ve compiled a list of what we think are some great Off-leash Dog Parks around the Sound. So lace up those sneakers, don’t forget to stretch, and go have fun!

TACOMA
Wapato Park Off-leash dog park is located at 6802 S. Sheridan Avenue. It has three fully fenced dog parks! One of these is designated for small puppers only. There are benches and shelters, as well as water, which is provided beginning in Spring. If you’re interested, check out the rest of what Wapato has to offer! There’s a great paved path around the lake and lots of wide, open spaces for your pup to run about (on a leash, of course).

Rogers Off-Leash Dog Park is located at 3151 East L Street. This park offers 1.5 acres of fully fenced dog heaven. Lots of open space along with a water fountain. A bench and shelter is provided as well.

Point Defiance Park Designated Off-Leash Area is located at 5400 N. Pearl Street. Please note, this dog park is only *partially* fenced! This park offers 7 acres along Five Mile Drive, to the south of Fort Nisqually. Along the roadway and waterfront bluff are there is fencing, but only in these places. The rest of the park is unfenced. There is 1/8 acre fenced area designated for small dogs. You can access this park from the above address directly, or you can park at the Fort Nisqually picnic area and walk south until you reach the park. There is also an entrance area off Mildred Street to the west.

LAKEWOOD
Fort Steilacoom Dog Park is located at 8714 87th Ave SW in Lakewood. It offers two fully fenced dog parks, one for small pups and one for larger dogs. All total, it equals 22 acres of fully fenced, off-leash bliss for your pup! Both parks also offer benches, shelters, and water fountains for your four legged friends! When you’re done there, take a nice cool-down stroll around Waughop Lake, which is flat and paved. Please note that Fido needs to be on a leash when outside of the Dog Park.

PUYALLUP
Clarks Creek Off-leash Dog Park is located at 7th Avenue SW & 18th Street SW. This park has 2/3 of an acre and is fully fenced. There are also many trails winding throughout the park, but your pup must be on a leash if you’re going to explore these.

Rainier Woods Park is located at 2610 Cherokee Blvd. It offers a fully fenced area. What it lacks in size, it makes up for because it has obstacles for your energetic buddy!

GIG HARBOR
Tubby’s Trail Dog Park is located at 2120 14th Ave NW. This awesome park offers 9 acres of fully-fenced grassy goodness, which is broken up into Large and Small Dog Parks. This park has an interesting history, as it is named in honor of a Cocker Spaniel named Tubby, the only casualty of Galloping Gertie.

Rotary Bark Park is located at 10100 Bujacich Road NW. Parking is in Fire District #5 Headquarters Lot. This 15 acre fully fenced off-leash park offers over a mile of trails for you and your pup to explore! Trails wind in and out of old growth forest, a change up from the usual flat, grassy park. When not in the fenced dog park, please keep your buddy on a leash.

We hope you and your dog enjoy visiting these parks! We would love to hear about your adventures!

You cherish the photographs you have. As you look through them, your memory lights up with each moment and you feel the joy of puppy adoption, the pride of graduating from the first manners class, the peace of hiking on vacation, the hilarity of the first big mess that you just had to see to believe, and the ease of napping in the sunbeam that hits the living room every afternoon.

Even if you had the budget for it, a professional photographer isn’t likely to capture all of those for you because they are spontaneous. They just happen, and you can’t plan for them all to happen in the same one-hour block of time when you have your annual family pictures. Well, you can. You’ll be really disappointed.

You are the best photographer for your family. The photographs don’t need to be perfect in order to move you – they need to exist. I’ll share a few tips here that will help you improve your photography without getting technical. It doesn’t matter if you are holding a smart phone, a point-and-shoot, or a DSLR. The photographer creates the photographs, not the camera (much like a writer, not the computer, writes books).

The handsome gent in these photos is Rhys, a 10-year-old Great Dane. I used an iPhone 6 Plus for these images, which have not been edited in any way, to prove you don’t need a spiffy camera or processing to create interesting photographs.

Get Close

Whether you use a zoom lens or zoom with your feet, get close enough to your subject to fill the frame. Get closer than you think you need to. Get really, really close.

Closing in on your subject leaves no mistake about what is important in the photograph. It’s your job as the photographer to direct the viewer to what you want her to see. When you leave no room for distractions within the frame of the photograph, what you want to say with the image comes out loudly and clearly.

Change Your Perspective

Photographs that come from the human’s eye-level are interesting once in a while. What about seeing the world from your cat’s point-of-view? What does the world look like from your dog’s favorite napping place? How much more intimidating does your Chihuahua look when the camera looks up at him instead of down?

Move around with the camera in hand. Stand on something and look down. Lie on the ground and look up. Get on eye level. Your companion looks very different from each of these perspectives.

Look for the Light

I promised I wouldn’t get technical, and yet I wouldn’t be doing you any favors if I didn’t talk about light. Light in a photograph sets the mood, establishes detail, and dictates the intensity of colors. It’s important.

For now, I invite you to look for the light that shows in your companion’s eyes. It’s called a catch light, and it’s the little bright spot that you see that comes from your light source (the sun, the overhead light, a window). A catch light instantly brings life to eyes; eyes without these twinkles look dull.

Here Rhys has a teeny, tiny catch light. His eyes look empty.

The following image is darker and yet because one of Rhys’s eyes caught the light, he looks much more like himself.

Understand Your Intention

So let’s say you don’t remember any of the three guidelines above. Not to worry. You can save the image with intention. What do you want the photograph to say? How do you want to feel when you see it? What’s the story?

In this moment, Rhys approached me in the living room and indicated that he’d like to walk around the neighborhood. He looked at me, looked at the front door, and looked at me again. When I looked down at our feet I knew I’d remember the moment in detail with the help of a photograph.

In the digital age, it’s common to burn through gigabytes of memory in creating images without a thought, and that’s a recipe for crummy photographs. By all means, create many images if you feel you must and do it with intention. When you have in mind what you want to capture and express with your camera, you can’t help but connect with your subject. That connection and your intention come together to create beautiful stuff that will speak to you later.

Written by Shannon MacFarlane from Slobbered Lens 

We all love our pets and want the best for them, which includes them being safe and secure with us at home, right? About 10 million pets get lost each year due to multiple factors, such as missing identification, environmental factors, non-secure perimeters, etc. We at Spoiled Rotten want to ensure the safety of each pet, even if they are not under our care. With July being National Lost Pet Prevention Month, we wanted to bring awareness to preventing pets getting lost and staying safe at home.

1. Proper I.D

Microchips and identification tags are amongst the most popular and useful identification tools pet owners can get for their pets. These useful tools can hold owner’s contact information (such as phone number, address, etc.) that others can use to contact the owner of the recovered lost pet. Microchips can be implanted by any shelter or veterinarian at the pet owner’s request for a fee. Identification tags attach to the collar and are purchased at many pet stores, feed stores, or through pet supply companies.

2. Safely Secured

Animal are indeed intelligent creatures! They can escape at a moment’s notice if they get scared or curious if they see access to a place to escape frighten things or uncharted boundaries. To secure your house check for 2 areas: 1) check for holes in the yard and fence or any other areas in the yard where a pet can squeeze through. 2) Close all doors, gates, and windows and lock them. Basically, secure any access points where pets could potentially escape!

3. Properly Sized Collar & Leash

Pets can easily slip out of and escape from collars and leashes that are either too big or too small for them. Fitting pets with the proper collar and leash can eliminate dogs from getting lost when on a walk or traveling from place to place. Generally, a properly fitting collar is when you can fit two fingers between the collar and the pet’s neck comfortably, but not more than 2 fingers. Leashes should be restricted to about 6 feet if pets are going for walks, errands, and other events. Leashes that are shorter or longer have the potential to slip through the owner’s hand or make it difficult to manage. Additionally, harnesses can make it more difficult for dogs with stocky necks, like the bully breeds, escape as it is easier for them to pull out of their collars, even if they fit well.

4. Proper Training

Proper training your dog to not bolt out the door, pull on walks, or even not to be scared about certain things can be a life saver not only to prevent from pets getting lost but can be helpful in other scenarios. If you feel like your pet needs training in certain areas, seek out animal trainers or seek a veterinarian’s advice.

5. Safe Transport

When transporting your pet to the vet, errands, or really anywhere that involves a vehicle, it is very crucial to make pets are secure within a crate, proper fitting collar and leash, and the vehicle itself. For many pets, traveling in the car can be very stressful and the pet’s flight or fight response can be heightened. With that said, a pet’s reactions during transport can be unpredictable. This is where accidents and mishaps can happen the most! Scared pets can panic and bolt out of the car and run into the street. This all can be avoided with proper fitting collars and leashes and secured crates. Additionally, if your pet is very anxious in the car pet owners can use calming sprays and prescribed medications from the vet to help calm the pet down.

6. Hire a Pet Sitter

Sometimes pets can get stressed out when their owners leave them home alone and they can dig or break out of the house or yard. If they are secured in the house without access outside, they can cause damage in the house and could harm themselves. Hiring a pet sitter to step in for the pet owner during their absence can be a relief for not only the pet owner but for the pet too! Having a pet sitter with your stressed pet can reduce their stress levels and keep them safe while keeping your house and yard in tack. Not only that, your pet will receive positive attention, affection, and care from a caring individual. We have a team of highly trained, qualified, and professional sitters who would love to spend time with your pets and are ready to assist.  If you’d like to hire us to care for your pets, click here.