Dog Gone Blog - The Dog Blog for Real Dogs

Dog of the Week - Dante

Seeing as today is Halloween (or Howl-een, as we like to refer to it around here) I thought that our Dog of the Week should be the most scary, the most frightening dog of the bunch.  A dog that will strike fear in the hearts of small children and cause nightmares for years to come after just one look.  A hound from hell with snarling fangs and eyes of death.

(Or is it breath of death?  Wait, that's my dog.)

Are you ready to be scared out of your socks by a canine so horrifying a mere glance at his picture will leave your heart cold?

That dog... Is Dante.

Scared ya, didn't he?  I told you he was dreadful.

Dreadfully cute!

Dante is owned by one Clare, aka Mom2fur.  I'm sure she hasn't slept a wink since she got him.  I mean, how would you like to wake up with that staring at you? 

Let's hear it for Dante!  Woof!

One of the best grooming products ever

As the owner of labs (a breed that people feel the need to go out of their way not to tell you about how much they shed - except me!  I'll tell you!  They shed like cah-raaazy.) I need to brush my dogs frequently to make sure all their hair doesn't end up all over my floors.  And furniture.  And in my food.

Yeah, it's that bad.

Slicker brushes work great but I've found something that works even better.  Ready?

The Zoom Groom!

You're probably asking yourself "What the heck is that thing?"  It doesn't look like it would work as well as it does, actually it looks a bit like a toy, but it does wonders for ridding a shorter haired dog of it's excess hair.  I don't know how well it would work on a longer haired dog but a friend of mine used it on her Golden Retriever and said it worked well on her dog's coat.  As a matter of fact she speaks as fondly of it as I do and her dog's coat is much longer than mine.  The Zoom Groom even works great on wet hair.  Use it while shampooing your dog to give them a nice skin stimulating massage.

Bottom line, if you have a dog that sheds get yourself a Zoom Groom.  It's one of my favorite products EVER.

You can purchase the zoom groom in blue or pink for $5.78 from PetEdge.  (Another one of my pet product secrets. They've got great prices on everyday items.)

It's hard out there for a pup

I'm not big on dressing my dogs up for Halloween.  They hate wearing the weird costumes and I hate dressing them.  It's hard enough trying to dress a toddler in a chicken suit without the extra stress of trying to stuff an 80 pound dog into a bee costume.

(Not that I would ever dress either of my dogs in something as silly as a bee costume.  No.  I would never do that.)

And the prices of pet costumes are ridiculous.  You want me to pay thirty five bucks to dress my dog up like a bunny?  No freakin' way.  For that amount of money I could get myself some real bunnies.  And they would beget more bunnies.  Then I could start making some money selling bunnies instead of spending money trying to turn my poor dog into one.

If you insist on dressing your dog up on Halloween at least consider buying them something they can wear again and again.  Like this.

Call me silly but I got such a kick out of the fake bling on this doggie sweatshirt.  If I had a smaller dog in need of outfitting I would totally turn him into a pimp.   I would buy him a cute, but masculine, rhinestone collar and matching leash and finish it off with this hoodie.  Then I would set him loose on all the fine shorties at the dog park.  And his name?  It would be Snoop Doggy Dog, of course.

Notorious D.O.G. Hoodie available for $35 at Trixie and Peanut.

Shelter Dogs - The Book

So, there I was in Super Humongous Chain Bookstore, perusing the pet section (duh) when I came across this book.

And as I flipped through it tears began to well in my eyes. Tears.  In Super Humongous Chain Bookstore.  How embarrassing, right?  So I did what any self respecting person would do, I faked a coughing fit. 

Shelter Dogs was so beautifully photographed, how could I not shed a tear?  Every picture captured the inner spirit of each dog that had found him or herself locked up in some kennel, awaiting their fate.  It showed the beauty in each creature that one would see if they could look beyond the barking, digging, chewing, and other "bad" behaviors that helped land them in that particular shelter. 

As the owner of a rescued dog (though, truthfully, my dog never saw the inside of a county shelter) this book hit me particularly hard.  According to the HSUS 3 to 4 million cats and dogs are euthanized in shelters every year.  Did you catch that number?  Three to Four MILLION.  The good news is that 3 to 4 million cats and dogs are adopted each year from shelters.  But that still leaves roughly 50% of the population of adoptable cats and dogs unadopted and, eventually, killed because of over-population or behavioral and medical problems.

Shelter Dogs is filled with beautiful photographs of wonderful, misunderstood animals.  Animals that want only a comfortable place to sleep, a full food bowl and a kind hand.

Do you have a rescued dog?  Are you considering getting a dog from a shelter?  I urge you to buy Shelter Dogs by Traer Scott.  You won't be disappointed.

Dog of the Week - Roxie

Gaze, mere mortals, on the beauty that is Roxie.

This lovely creature of noble stature (though you can't really tell that from the picture) is the lucky rescued charge of one Binky and her family.  A family that includes a young child.  That's right, dear readers, a rescued American Pit Bull Terrier, living in close proximity to a baby, and yet has not so much as bitten a hair on the child's head.  Suck it biased media.  Not every pit bull goes on wild violent rampages terrorizing children and adults, biting everything and everyone in it's path.

Can I say that again?  Because I really enjoyed it. 

Suck it breed biased media.

Ah, that felt good.

Much love to Roxie and her family.  I lift my glass of California Cabernet to you all and Fisher and Lana raise their water dish, or at least they would if they had opposable thumbs.  Woof!

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Crate Training

One question that I get asked frequently is "How do I get my puppy to stop peeing and pooping in the house?"  To which I usually say "Get a crate!  For the love of dog please get a crate."

Crate training is a very efficient way to teach your pooch to do his business outside rather than on the rug, in your shoes, or on your bed.  (Sound familiar T.?)

Even though crates (either the metal see-through kind or the hard plastic transportation crate) have been around for some time a lot of people still have hang-ups about putting their dog in a box-like enclosure.  Please remove those thoughts from your minds, dear internets, dogs are den animals.  They love curling up in small, tight spaces.  It makes them feel comfortable and secure.  Think of it this way, you have a bassinet, playpen, or crib for your baby to sleep or play in safety, a crate is a sort of crib for dogs.  It keeps them safely away from household hazards (cleaning supplies, sharp objects) and stops them from being destructive (like eating your new cashmere sweater).

Now that you're considering getting a crate for your dog - and dogs of any age can be introduced to a crate with some training and patience - you might be asking yourself how a crate can help you teach your dog to pee outside.  It's very simple actually:  Dogs don't like to eliminate where they sleep.  If you get your dog on a eating, sleeping and eliminating routine with the aid of a crate the dog will learn very quickly what is expected of him.

Instead of writing down all the do's and don'ts of crate training here (because I'm feeling lazy today) I will instead point you to some great sites that explain crate training in detail and also to some books so you can further your education.

Before I send you off to other sites I will say that crate training is not for every dog but it is a wonderful way to manage and train most dogs.  If you are housetraining a dog of any age I urge you to at least consider buying a crate.

Onto the links:

I have no idea who the American Dog Trainer's Network is, and I have no affiliation with them, but I did enjoy this article on crate training.  Lot's of good information in there.

Need to know how to introduce your dog to a crate?  The HSUS has a good article.

I'm loving this booklet by Patricia McConnell and Karen London - Way to Go! How to Housetrain a Dog of Any Age

"Quick and Easy Crate Training" by Teoti Anderson is also a good resource, although I don't like the "quick and easy" in the title.  That's not to say that crate training is long and difficult but your version of quick and easy and my version of it might be two different things.

Good luck!

Extravagance!

Confucius says:  Dog who is lucky enough to eat and drink out of Bodhi Dog Bowls has very generous owner with deep pockets and wonderful taste.

I'll admit that I have very utilitarian dog food bowls for my dogs.  And utilitarian = ugly.  Because they're so ugly they're hidden in the very back of my kitchen.  But if I owned these Bodhi Asian Inspired Dog Bowls with their matching Zen Mats I would proudly display them out in the open where everyone could gaze upon them with longing and wonder what I was doing to afford such an extravagance.

Yes, it costs a bit to inspire such envy. The individual bowls will run you $18 (for the small 5'' bowl) to $42 (for the large 9.25'' bowl).  The matching mat will tack an additional $22 - $42 onto that already hefty sum.

I wonder what Confucius would say about choosing decorative food bowls for my dogs over basic necessities for myself.  Such as, I don't know, Eating?  Maybe ugly isn't so bad after all.

You can buy these awe-inspiring dog bowls on line at Tails by the Lake.

Dine with your Dog Day? Yuck.

Dear Nicollette Sheridan,

I may not be a fan of your's (seriously, hon, Michael Bolton?  Again?  He must be amazing in the sack.) but I'm on your side today.  I wouldn't have eaten the dog food, either.

And Linda Blair, good call on the vegetarianism.  Dog kibble doesn't go well with pea soup.

Sincerely,

A Concerned (non)Fan

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I don't care if October 21st is "Dine with Your Dog Day", I'm not sticking my head into a metal dog bowl beside my dogs to munch away.  Sure, I've eaten dog cookies (ahem, gourmet dog cookies from the local dog bakery - or, barkery, as they're sometimes called - and the peanut butter treats I lovingly make for my beloved pooches because, duh, they're made with peanut butter) but canned dog food?  Uh uh. 

Connecticut, Rhode Island, Nebraska and West Virginia have already made this Saturday a state recognized day for honoring dogs.  Unfortunately, it's missing it's mark for me.  If you want to honor woman's best friend (okay, and man's too) do you have to attach it to a dog food company run by Dick Van Patten?  Do you really need a corporate sponsor and a cheesy title to put aside a day for such a noble beast?  Yes, I know you're giving back to local animal shelters.  Blah, Blah, Blah.  You're donating 50 whole cents per trial sized bag?  Wow.  Can you spare it?

I've checked out the facts on that food and it looks pretty good.  But I'm not buying something labeled "Hobo Chili" for my dog.  And this ad campaign (let's call it what it is) smacks as slightly... I'll be nice, misguided.  I will hand it to your marketing department, though, this is probably the largest national push for dog food I've seen since that little chuck wagon went riding through the house ending up in a large bag of chow.

So go ahead, Mr. Bradford, you go first.  Belly up to the bar and throw back a nice helping of that wet dog food.  Mmm Mmm tasty.  How's that "Chinese Take-Out with Sauce"?  I'll stick to the crab rangoons, thanks.

Now I've seen everything

Here at Dog Gone Blog we understand that there are certain types of breeds that require outwear, particularly in colder climates.  If your Min Pin is going to be outside for an extended period of time put a coat on that pup.  Yes, the shih tzu needs a sweater when you're taking her for a walk. And a Weimaraner is not going to be able to handle being outside on a snowy day without outerwear as well as a Siberian Husky with it's built-in insulation by way of a double fur coat.

What I'm trying to say is this, I have no problem with necessary clothing for dogs.

But this is taking it to a whole new level.

Mothers and daughters do it (so I hear).  Old married couples do it.  So how about you?  Wouldn't you like to dress like your dog?

At Woozie Wear you can get t-shirts, raincoats, sweaters and accessories for you and your dog.  You can both be matchy-matchy.  Doesn't that sound super cool?!

If this sounds like it's up your alley check out Woozie Wear's line of coordinating clothing for women and their dogs.  Funny, there's no men's clothing.  Hmm.  I wonder why?

Dog of the Week - Moxie

The theme of the week around here is shaping up to be doggie world domination.  So with that in mind here's an example of a dog who is more of a benevolent dictator than a vengeful despot with her heart set on genocide.

This is Moxie.  Her owner, Chase, tells me she has a love of coffee tables and her own booty.  From this picture it's clear she also has a fondness for imitating doorstops.  Don't ya just want to squish her head and bury your face in her silky ears? 

So she has to lose a few pounds.  Don't we all?  Much love for Moxie and luck on the Weight Watchers/Jenny Craig/Grapefruit diet.  Woof!