Dog Lover’s Treasure Trove is Worth the Drive

I had been past the tiny pet supplies shop numerous times en route to various dog walk destinations and had often thought about stopping in to see what was there, but by the time I noticed the modest sign, it was already flying by my minivan window. With traffic in the area sometimes tough and parking near the shop so sparse, doubling back never seemed quite worth the time or effort as I tried to keep myself on schedule. It was Arlington resident and Regional Publisher of Beantown Tails Magazine, Cheryl Sullivan, who finally convinced me to slow down and check out this hidden gem of a store named Active Paws.

No more than a 15-minute drive from Arlington Center, Active Paws is located at 80 Trapelo Road in Waltham, near the intersection with Route 60 and practically next door to , a popular after-work hangout for dogs and their humans, as well as a favorite place to pause with my borzois, Tatsuya and Skylar, for “pit stops” during our on-the-road days of in-home dog training. This time, as the Active Paws sign blurred past, I remembered Sullivan’s high praises for the shop. I turned onto a side street and walked back, intending to just poke my head in and maybe pick up dog food, which was on my shopping list anyway.

As I stepped in, I was overwhelmed with pet products crying for my attentions from every nook and cranny of the small shop. I whirled, trying to get my bearings. Shop owner, Cara Armour, leapt to my rescue, pointing me to the dog food I needed. It was as I headed toward checkout that the richness of the shop’s selection began to get through to me. With each product that caught my eye, a neighboring item sucked me deeper into the need to put checking out on hold so I could explore.

Of course there were lots of products I routinely recommend, including the Easy Walk Harness—even the harder-to-find “tweener” sizes I’ve previously advised my dog training students to order online since so few places seem to stock them. Active Paws also had some of my favorite like the Kong Wobbler and Premier’s Tug-a-Jug. In fact, they had some puzzle toys I had never heard of such as Ruff Dog’s Peanut (and its smaller version, Wee Nut). Initially, my gaze flitted right past these on the rack, but when Cara took one down and said, “Here, smell this,” I was hooked! I knew Skylar, a huge peanut butter fan, wouldn’t be able to resist the allure of a puzzle toy that smelled of real roasted peanuts! Sure enough, even once he had emptied the peanut off kibble, he continued playing with it until he tired himself out. As an added bonus, Ruff Dog products are locally made in Worcester out of recycled rubber. Other puzzle toys sold by Active Paws include Twist-n-Treat, Squirrel Dude, Kibble Nibble, Buster Cube, Paw Hide, Kong Genius and Premier's Magic Mushroom.

The discovery that Active Paws carries so many interactive dog toys gave way to my fevered foray through their densely packed 300 square feet of many marvelous treasures. Of these, perhaps my favorite find was the Tick Key. This thin, metal tool will replace my old plastic Ticked Off, which is a clunky, plastic, spoon-like gadget that I can never seem to find quickly enough in the bottom of my bag. Both tools work in very similar ways, but the Tick Key will fit neatly on my key chain, so it will be easier to find and less cumbersome to carry along at all times. The short drive to Waltham is well worth it if for no other reason than to pick up one or more Tick Keys!

Other fabulous finds included:

• Flea Flicker, which is made in Leicester, Mass., of all natural oils. This product repels fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes.
• Get Naked Dental Chews, which are wheat, corn and soy free. They come in Low Calorie, Puppy, Antioxidant and Gut Health formulas.
• Pearly Whites, which are also corn, wheat and soy free. Pearlie Whites are fun, real-bone-shaped, harder dental chews that help remove tough tartar. These seemed pricey until I saw both of my dogs gnawing vigorously on them in ways that really seemed like they could clean their teeth well. Cleaner teeth lead to better health and thus fewer vet bills in the long run. After that train of thought, Pearly Whites seemed like a bargain, especially since after half an hour of chewing, the dogs had barely made a dent in their Pearly Whites. I’ll put them away until tomorrow night’s dog-dinner dessert time.
• A product called a Rubit is a more elegant solution than my use of hardware from the Home Depot to solve the problem of switching my dogs’ tags from one collar to the next (which I often want to do when they’ve been swamp-dogging). Rubits are sturdy, fun-shaped tag clips that snap on and off a dog’s collar with ease while not being in danger of coming off unintentionally.
• “Vegan Leather” collars by Olly Dog: What, one might reasonably ask, is vegan leather? The Olly Dog website describes it as, “webbing core with a protective laminated coating,” which has the look and feel of leather (only in vibrant colors) while being both waterproof and odor-proof.
• Bravo Lobster Treats, consisting of real freeze dried lobster chunks.
• Yummy Balls, which are spot-scented tennis balls that come in mint, vanilla, chocolate and peanut butter. This may not be for the dog who already has a tennis ball obsession, but for my many students looking to teach their dog to fetch this summer, these may at least help solve the problem of motivating the dog to go get the ball, though they may not help with motivation to bring it back.

I can’t remember ever being in a single store (of any type) where so many things caught my eye! I have a feeling I could have browsed for hours. Now that I know what I’ve been missing, I’ll be going out of my way to make the trip and I won’t let traffic or parking put me off.