Does you pooch have a leather dog collar, well that’s not really animal friendly, when you think about it. Fabric dog collar? Apparently it’s a bacteria breeding ground. Although handmade ones are pretty chic like favorites made by Lucky Fiona (find it on www.etsy.com). Nylon? Fashionable? Well, that depends, as long as it’s not fluorescent! Shudder! So what’s a trendy dog to do this holiday season? Go Green of course! Organic and recycled materials are the way to go.
Get an urban and smart looking eco-friendly rubber collar made from bicycle inner tubes. Black latex looks good, surprisingly! These collars can be found on Etta Says (www.ettasays.com) with stitching in three colors, Cool Blue, Red Hot and Mellow Yellow.
Do your bit for plastic bottle recycling by getting a very handsome houndstooth (is there a pun here?) collar. Made from recycled bottles right here in the USA, the rugged polyester can hold up to abuse from the most active dog. Sizes from Small to Extra Large can be found at Proper Pet (www.properpet.com) 
It’s the season of mistletoe, gingerbread, candy canes … and endless hours gift-wrapping! No matter what I get for my dear friends and family during the holidays, my favorite part is wrapping the actual gift. I’m no Martha Stewart, but I do like to put a different spin on the packaging.
Helping me in my endeavor is Printed Puppy ( http://www.printedpuppy.com ) which has doggie bags that are definitely not for the dogs. With playful puppies asking “Let’s Play”, or bossily ordering to “Fetch the Car”, these gift bags will definitely bring a smile to the recipient, even before they open their present.
I’ve made unusual gift tags over the years, using photos, ornaments, even twigs. This year, I’m going simple by picking up some luggage tags from the ASPCA ( www.aspca.org ) Instead of filling the address info section; I’ll use the blank area for a holiday message instead. And it’s also a gift in itself that can be used on the next trip. Available in 31 breeds, from the sad-looking Basset Hound to the happy Yorkie.
For cat lovers, the Happy Holiday Catnip Cookies are a perfect present. Two handmade fabric Fortune Cookies are stuffed with fiberfill and certified organic catnip, kitties will think these are the cat’s meow! And they come with fortunes too, complete in their own take-out box. No need to gift wrap, it’s complete. Available from Jake and Micah ( http://www.jakeandmicah.com )
For those last minute holiday visits with friends, just tie a ribbon around the Candle with a Cause, created by Jax and Bones to help Rescue Train a nonprofit dog and cat rescue. 100% of the proceeds, when purchased on www.jaxandbones.com go to benefit www.therescuetrain.org to save a life of a homeless dog or cat.
It’s the thought that counts, so put some thought into not only the gift but the wrapping too. Happy Shopping!
s your dog drinking responsibly? Does he take sips of your beer? Do you find tell-tale nose or tongue prints on your drink glass when you aren’t looking? Then it might be time to pick up a six-pack of Bowser Beer (www.3BusyDogs.com) for the holidays!
Made from beef and chicken broth with pure malt barley, just like in real beer, this beverage also has glucosamine. Bowser Beer contains no alcohol, carbonation or hops, just good clean fun for your dog. The last thing you need is a drunk dog!
My dog loves beer and she sneaks a lick from anyone’s beer – she doesn’t discriminate with brand preference. I’m going to pick her up some of this Bowser Beer, which is available in tongue-in-cheek names like Beefy Brown Ale and Cock-A-Doodle Brew!
Make your dog into a responsible drinker, not a booze hound!
Bowser Beer is available at
LA Dogworks
1014 North Highland Ave
Los Angeles CA
www.ladogworks.com
323-461-0742
Pussy & Pooch
564 South Main Street.
Los Angeles CA
www.pussyandpooch.com
213-438-0900
I’ll never forget the day we brought him home. We took about…oh…a thousand pictures, friends and family came over to meet the cutie patootie and I could barely contain myself from smothering him with kisses and cuddles. Our baby’s name is Flanders, after the beloved character from The Simpsons. Seems an odd name for a baby, right? But you see, this baby is of the canine variety. And for almost 4 years now, he’s been our pride and joy, filling our days with unconditional love and happiness. But we’re about to welcome another baby into our home. Our (human) baby boy will arrive before we know it and needless to say, I’m stressed.
If Flanders were, say, a Labrador or Golden Retriever, I’d be a lot calmer. But Flanders is a mini-dachshund. When I insisted on getting a small city-friendly dog, my husband insisted on the mini-dachshund, despite the breed’s reputation for shall we say, not being the biggest fan of children. According to my husband, mini-dachshunds have “big-dog personalities”. He was right. In a nutshell, Flanders is like the boyfriend no one understands why you’re dating. You swear to your friends that he’s the most loving, loyal, affectionate, well-behaved, little mush ball when you’re alone together; but around visitors, he’s is like a stressed out Mr. Hyde with a Napoleon complex, barking to show that it’s his territory.
I’ll admit we’re partly to blame. Though we enrolled him in basic obedience class as a puppy, Flanders can still definitely be considered what you’d call ‘top dog’. In other words, we’re not what the Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan, would call ‘pack leaders’. It’s supposed to go Exercise, Discipline…then Affection. It’s definitely the other way around with us. Though I’m hoping Flanders will come to regard his little brother as a member of his family who he loves and protects, I can’t help but wonder if jealousy and resentment are on the horizon.
Rather than take the ‘wait and see’ approach, we decided to be as proactive as possible. We scheduled an appointment with our dog trainer, Wally of www.caninecompleteinc.com. After a few private lessons using leash and remote collar training, Flanders was considerably more obedient, calmer and more responsive to our commands. Admittedly, we still gave him tons of affection, but we did so on our terms, not his. Some people are horrified when they see the remote ‘shock’ collar (especially since it looks so big around our 8 lb pupster), but we rarely, if ever, have to use the shock feature. Simply wearing the collar calms Flanders down and reminds him that it’s time to listen to his mommy and daddy.
Another option is the use of a citronella collar. The scent of the spray, which is emitted in response to the dog’s bark, distracts or startles the dog so he stops barking (and stops any negative behavior that comes along with it). Depending on how your dog responds, this collar (which is totally safe and humane) could save you a lot of headaches, not to mention phone calls from complaining neighbors. There are many brands of such collars offered on www.amazon.com. You can also visit www.DogsandStorks.com for exercises on how to limit those annoying attention-seeking behaviors and for a bunch of tips on how to acclimate your baby to your…well, other baby!
Some pet parents leave the radio on when they leave the house. Others turn on the TV, with some unusual channel choices – for example the Golf Channel for the hushed reassuring tones of the presenters. Definitely not Animal Planet, which may have distressed cats meowing, or aggressive dogs growling. We do this so our pets don’t feel separation anxiety.
Perhaps Pando Music (www.pandomusic.net) for dogs and cats may be the better answer. This series of CDs uses instruments that produce sounds at certain frequencies that are apparently appealing to your pet, putting them at ease with a positive effect on their emotions.
Each of the melodies are versions of popular classical music from Beethhoven, Chopin and Mozart, produced using distinctive frequencies, many of them undetectable to the human ear, that are both pleasing and comforting to animals. The music also incorporates special sound effect that create the illusion for your pet that others are also at home, helping alleviate any sense of loneliness.
The Chopin For Dogs CD has Prelude in E Major, Opus 28, #4, with soft bird singing embedded in the melody. Beethoven For Cats boasts Pathetique, Sonata #8 in C Major, 2nd Movement, complete with cat purring. I don’t know if these animal sounds are soothing to the average pet. Check out twelve samples of Pando’s music to find out for yourself at the link -
www.pandomusic.net/?page=products&model=cd
And if your pooch or kitty responds well, you can pick up the CDs at www.PandoMusic.net.