Service-a-day: T-shirts

Alright, alright. So it isn't as much a service as it is a perk. Who wouldn't want to sport the ultra-hip, ultra-chic threads donning a Top Dog logo? I mean, c'mon. Really.

You can order your favorite now on Zazzle. Or get it free when you sign up for a monthly plan.

(we like to call that yellow one "Exploitation". No real reason...)

A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for.

So, friends. All security has been shelved. In one of the worst economic climates in years, I've fired myself. Otherwise known as "giving my 2 weeks" to my career in advertising.

It's all for the love of dogs. Top Dog is going to be an awesome ride. And I can't wait.

We set sail May 16th.

Couch Potatos

Vesper likes TV. Especially shows that have dogs in them. But she'll take the occasional soccer game without complaint.

I think breed has a lot to do with it. Namely, their attentiveness. Not so much intelligence. Another Jack Russell that we're friends with also likes watching TV. But he doesn't like to come when called (hence the distinction).

Our Weim, James, hardly noticed the big box of moving images before Vesper came along. I'm pretty sure the parts in this video when he's "watching" the TV, he's really just trying to figure out why she's so interested in it.

Curiously, I was doing the same.

Take our poll and post your opinion. Do dogs really watch TV?

One last thing

We don't believe in late fees or penalty charges. In fact, we're pretty sure they're responsible for all the bad things in the world.

So, we won't be having any of those.

Stuff happens that you can't predict. Especially with the four-legged kind.

If you need to cancel, we understand. No penalties. No fees.

It's just our way of being human too.

best,

TD

Service-a-day: Connect

We had a great day at the dog park today with Vesper and James. Vesper was smelling ripe, but after a quick bath, she's smelling fine now.


At the park, we were thinking. As owners of two dogs ourselves, we're constantly wondering what they're up to. Especially when we can't be with them. So that's why we want to cater to every dog-owner's basic need to know how their best friend is doing.

Email Report Card
Included with every walk is one brief email with a little report of how your pal did on his walk and other items we took care of (feeding/water/etc).

You can even bump it up to an in-depth email report card if you'd like as one of our many a-la-cart items.

Other ways to Connect
But we want to go beyond traditional contact. So we set up a Twitter account which we can demo during our meet & greet. It's the best way to go on a virtual walk with us exactly at the moment we're on a walk with your friend. You'll get a picture and location kind of like this.

Plus, you'll soon be able to connect with us on Facebook where we'll host contests, polls, and videos of the week.

And as always, if you want to check up on your pooch, give us a call. Any time. Any place. 757.620.5207

Good Dogs. Good Saturday.

Service-a-day: The Walks

So. Let's get to the heart of it: The Walks.

Rain or shine, your dog will enjoy a high energy power walk around your neighborhood. All walks are tailored to meet the needs of your dog’s fitness level and breed. And we won't be doing the "same-old, same-old" around here. We'll take alternate routes around your neighborhood to make sure your pal never gets stuck in a rut.


A dog that is both mentally and physically stimulated is less likely to become bored and destructive at home.

So if your dog needs more exercise, consider bumping his walks up to a run (yep - we do runs too). Or, we can just add another 15 minutes to his walk. It could really make the difference.

Your first walk is on us. So you can put our theory to the test.


Hours
We go from 6am to 6pm but are absolutely flexible to base our schedule around your unique schedule. So if you want us to walk your dog at 5am, we'll do it. (We might have bed head. But we'll do it.)

And we know - there are always last minute things that come up. Especially with dogs. We totally understand and are available for the surprises.

Options
We'll offer up a lot a-la-cart items. We'll actually be giving these their own post very soon. But so you can have a taste - we'll be offering services like scooping the poop (ugh) while we're there, making it look like someone's home in case you're out for the night, we'll even give your pal a bath if you want. It's all up to you.

Field Trips
If your pup needs a little change of pace, he's welcome to join a small group of us for Friday Field Trips. We'll burn off excess energy at a park, the trail, or even the beach. For more on that option, check out this earlier post.



We look forward to wearing out your dog so he doesn't wear out you.

Have a great (Top Dog) weekend,

TD

Service-a-day: Twitter

I know, I know. It sounds scary. But I assure you, friends. Twitter is nothing to be afraid of.

I'll try to explain it and how we use it to keep you loopt. But for an in-depth tutorial on twitter, I highly recommend this video.

In a nut-shell, Twitter helps us keep you posted about your best friend absolutely FREE of charge.

What it is
Twitter is like a homepage for a user's custom status updates that answer the question "What are you doing?". That's it. Short (max 140 characters). Simple. To the point.

From Twitter's Home Page:

Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

In our case, the answer to that question is "we're on a walk". Which brings me to...

How it works for Top Dog
Say we take your dog, Rufus, for a walk between 1pm and 2pm every other day of the week. We'll take a picture of Rufus on our walk and post a little 140 character note about him (i.e. - "Rufus is walking really well today. He must've gotten a good 8 hours last night.")

(Above) How a post appears on Twitter.com/topdogwalk

(Above) A picture and map example from the same Twitter post

How you use it
You don't have to sign up for an account. All you have to do is go to www.twitter.com/topdogwalk when your dog is scheduled for a walk and you'll see your dog's name in our note along with a link (that looks like this: http://loopt.us/qMLVBA.t) to his picture and current location on a map*.

If you already have a twitter account, great. By following us, you'll receive all our updates automatically on your homepage without linking directly to ours.

Basically, you get to walk with us. Virtually.




Help
If it still sounds too foreign, don't worry. We're here to help. We'll come over and explain it face-to-face so you can get the most out of every walk.




We'll post about walks, about doggy-related breaking news, and link you into important dog things on the web.

So that's it. Have a great Monday. We'll walk on the web again soon.

TD


*This is all optional. As with any Top Dog service, if you don't want it, that's a-ok.

Service-a-day: Friday Field Trips

While everything is busy getting set up, we thought we'd take the opportunity to share a few of the services we'll be offering up.

First on the list is Friday Field Trips.

Sure it's fun to go on walks through the neighborhood and meet your friends. But your best friend deserves a change of pace every once in a while. That's why we're planning FFTs.

Sign your pup up and we'll take her to fun destinations around town every Friday. Whether it's the sandy oceanfront, Fort Story's wooded nature-walk, or a trip to the dog park to socialize with all her friends.

Vesper the Jack Russell finds a shell on the beach.

James the Weimaraner tests his rock-climbing skills.

Friday Field Trips offer you a way to change things up a bit for your pal.

If we get enough tails wagging for this feature, we might even set up a few MFTs or WFTs!

Take care and have a Top Dog weekend.

TD

Lots Happening

As the title suggests, there's a lot happening with Top Dog. I'd like to take a moment and celebrate the one week anniversary of the birth of topdogwalk.com. A site that didn't exist but 7 days ago is alive and flourishing.

Well, I don't know about the flourishing. But it's up, and it's testing the bounds of our internet knowledge. We've started planning for the real site and the countdown will start soon.

We've also gone crazy digital. We've already started to max out our potential on the web with a Facebook page, a twitter account, and a Zazzle shop. All these things help you keep in touch with us.

For Example

Let's say you have a late night at the office ahead of you and you want us to walk your dog, James, between 7 and 8pm. And in this example, you live in Dallas, TX.

Well, now you can log on to Twitter between 7 and 8, and follow us on our walk. We'll post a quick note about James' walk along with pictures that are geo-tagged so you can see your best friend and know exactly what street he's on.

Plus - you don't have to sign up for a thing. It's all automatic. No usernames, passwords or anything.

Pretty cool, huh?

Go ahead. Click on the screen above to test it out. Once you're on the twitter page, just click on the first "loopt" hyperlink you see in a post (or just click here for a demo). Loopt allows us to make this service possible and absolutely free of charge.

There are more great things on the way and we'll keep you posted.

best,

TD

Welcome.

Welcome to our first, official, blog post.

This will serve as a forum where we can stay connected to the ones we love most - our dogs. It'll also be a playground of sorts for Top Dog. We'll post pictures of our dogs, of your dogs, of Top Dogs.

We'll delve into stories about the day's adventures and host contests galore. (Did someone say Top Dog of the Week?)

So stay tuned. There's a lot more to come.

www.topdogwalk.com