Nurse Zeva

Being a big sister is a hard job. Last week DixieLee had a bad belly. She couldn’t eat anything because she would just throw it up. Mom said I had to help by not asking for cookies.

The vet said she should not eat anything for 24 hours! I can’t imagine anything worse than not being able to eat! You could get died if you didn’t eat for 24 hours.

I guess the vet was right. After 24 hours she could eat again and was not sick any more. The bestest part was that she got to eat really yummy stuff like boiled chicken and scrambled eggs. I got to have some too as a reward for being so helpful.

You would think that once she got to eat again everything would be good. Instead of being happy about getting kibble and cookies, she started stealing paper towels off of the counter and paper signs from Mom’s desk. She would rip them and chew them and swallow them.

Mom was not happy. When DixieLee first came to live with us, she would try to eat stuff from the trash and she really like paper towels. Paper towels are NOT good for dogs. They can get caught in the tummy and you can get a blockage. Not sure what that is but it can make you have to get an operation or even get died.

Mom and Dad had to buy lots of different trash cans before they found one she could not get into. DixieLee is very smart. She can’t get into the trash any more so she found different places to get paper.

I understand how she feels. She told me that before she came to live with us, she didn’t have a Mom or Dad to give her food so she had to find her own. There were some days when she didn’t get much so when Mom wouldn’t give her food for a day, she thought she had to get her own again.

Some dogs eat paper and other stuff they shouldn’t because they are hungry. I explained to Dixie that she didn’t have to worry. I saw a big new bag of dog food in the back room so we would have plenty of food forever.

Being hungry isn’t the only reason dogs eat paper. Way long ago, before there was food like kibble that is easy to eat, dogs had to rip and tear their food so that they could eat it. Even though we are now have easy to eat food our ancestor memories can make us like to rip and tear.

Now that DixieLee is eating regular food at regular times again I hope she will not eat paper. Aside from being bad for her, it makes Mom unhappy and I don’t like it when Mom is not happy.

Do you eat paper or other things you shouldn’t?

Love,

Zeva

P.S. Blatant self-promotion. For the bestest pet gift baskets in the universe check out pawpalsboutique.com

Just For You

A few weeks ago I did a blog about how dogs show affection. In it we talked about lots of ways we dogs let their peoples know how much we love them. One of the ways we show affection that I didn’t talk about was giving gifts.

Not all pets give gifts but lots of dogs and cats do. Cats are very proud when they catch a bird or chipmunk. They often bring it to their humans to show what great hunters they are and share their prize with their humans. Cats think a nice bird or chipmunk is a great thing to have so humans must feel the same way.

At Paw Pals Boutique we know all about giving gifts cuz peoples buy our gift baskets as gifts for their furry friends. So we know how happy getting a gift makes someone.

DixieLee is the big gift giver at our house. When Mom and Dad come home from being gone, even for only a little time, she always greets them at the door with a gift cuz she’s happy they are home and wants them to be happy too. Usually she brings them one of the caribou horns because she loves caribou horns and so Mom and Dad must also.  Here is a picture of her bringing her prized pterodactyl to Mom.

She also likes to take Dad’s socks out of the laundry and bring them to Mom. Once Mom notices them she grabs them away and runs to hide them in her crate. I try to tell her that it is not nice give someone a gift and then take it back for yourself. When I bring Mom a gift, it’s usually a nice toy we can both play with, not a stinky sock.

Our Mom and Dad like when we give them gifts. How do I know? I know because they always say thank you, tell us how good we are, tell us how much they like our gift and give us big pettings and ear scratchings.

Our humans make us a nice home and we want them to know how much we love them. Giving them gifts is just one of the ways we can do that.

Do you give your humans gifts and if so, what’s your favorite gift to give them?

Happy gifting,

Love,

Zeva

P.S. Blatant self-promotion. For really great gifts to give your furry friends, check out the gift baskets at pawpalsboutique,com

Back To School

Now that nice weather is coming, Mom and Dad want to be able to take us to lots of fun places like Dog Mountain and hiking in the White Mountains. We love going places with our Mom and Dad but it is important that we are on our best behavior when we do.

You see, only good dogs, with excellent manners, should go to places where there are lots of people and other dogs. Good dogs are dogs who listen to their humans about things like coming when called and dropping things we shouldn’t have picked up in the first place. One of the most super duper important things a good dog knows is how to leash walk well.

I admit I am not an excellent leash walker. Once we leave our yard, there are lots and lots of different things to see and smell that I tend to want to sniff every tree and rock and fire hydrant I see. I am trying to be a better leash walker, but it isn’t easy so Mom is taking us back to school.

Well, I’m going “back” to school because I did have school when I was really little but for DixieLee, going to school is a new experience. She said that when she lived with Mama Mel, she had some training but never went to “real” school.

We don’t go to the school yet, the teacher comes to our house. We like her a lot cuz she brings really good treats when she comes. She teaches us new commands and then we practice with Mom during the week.

I’m a good learner and DixieLee is getting better every week. Mom is thrilled that she knows “leave it” now cuz it's lots easier getting Dad’s socks back. This morning Mom noticed that DixieLee was hiding in her crate, chewing on a pencil.  Mom called "DixieLee Come" and she came out of her crate right away and then dropped the chewed up pencil as soon as she was told to “leave it”. DixieLee was so proud that she did good at listening that she gave Mom a big smile.

She still has to learned that just because something falls on the floor, it doesn’t mean it is hers but one thing at a time.

One of the hardest things we are learning is how not to bark when someone comes up our street. We think it is important to let Mom and Dad know such things like when the mail person comes but they say it isn’t necessary.

School stuff is fun but if we had to choose what we like best about school, I’d say it is recess.

Learning new things is so fun.  Maybe some day we’ll take Agility Training. Then again, agility training takes lots and lots of energy and I prefer conserving my energy for important things like eating.

Your scholarly friend,

Zeva

P.S. Blatant self-promotion. Looking for the very bestest pet gift baskets in the universe? They are all at pawpalsboutique.com Stop by today and take a look.

Dog Heads Up New Division

We were cleaning up the Studio and getting things back in order after the Christmas rush when we found a bunch of brochures we had made up when we started the pet gift basket business.

The cover read:

Dog Heads Up New Division

January 2012

Press Release

Marie Lisewski,

owner and chief designer of

Laurel Mountain Basket Co

is pleased to announce the promotion of

Zeva The Dog to Canine Vice President

of the company’s Pet Division.

Zeva will be responsible for choosing and

testing all of the toys and treats that will be

used in the company’s expanded line of pet

gifts and gift baskets.

“Zeva joined the company in August of 2010

as a puppy and due to her Border Collie

intelligence and organizational skills quickly

rose to several management positions

“We plan to expand our on line presence in

the pet gift field in the next twelve months and

Zeva will be an important asset to help our

organization reach its goals”

said Ms. Lisewski.

“I am thrilled to be taking on this new role.  As

a dog, I am very aware of the  need for more

toys and treats in every pet’s life and my goal

is to see that we provide pet gifts to fit every

taste and every budget.” Said Zeva.

End

Zeva can be reached at

Zeva@laurelmtbasket.com

I can’t believe it’s been five years!  In those years we have experienced tremendous growth.  I got promoted some more and am now Chief Canine Officer with lots of new responsibilities.

We now have our very own website PawPalsBoutique.com and we have our own Facebook and Twitter (@Zevathedog) pages!

We are posting weekly to this blog and sending out a newsletter to our fans every other week. (If you want to receive our newsletter it’s easy.  Just go to our Facebook page and click on the newsletter link.)

In 2013 DixieLee came to live with us and soon became a very important part of our team.  Of course I had to train her in all aspects of the business but she is a fast learner and it didn’t take long before she was the best product tester I ever saw.  She loves checking out boxes so she has become very helpful in both shipping and receiving.

If you haven’t visited our website yet, I invite you to check it out and to friend us on Facebook and Twitter.  We love talking with dogs (and cats) from all around the world and would love to hear what you have to say.

Mom says it’s time to get back to work.  The Studio won’t clean itself.

Wishing you and your humans a healthy, happy and funfilled 2017.

Love

Zeva

P.S.  The photo is of me and Mom when we started the pet division.

Mom Was Right!

Me at 66 pounds

Me slimmed down to 56 pounds

Holy guacamole!  Who is that dog?  Flipping through my blogs, looking for ideas, I saw a photo of me from August 2014.  

Mom said I needed to go on a diet and at the time I thought she was bonkers.  

I’m part lab and labs tend to be stocky, right?

Well, here we are, just over one year later and what a difference!

 Mom’s a healthy living nut. She watches what she eats and goes to the gym every day.  DixieLee, Dad and I, well we like being retired and hanging out around the house.  We do yard work and such but we really like napping on the couch and watching TV better.

I hate to admit it but Mom was right.  She made all of us go on diets and get more exercise.  It’s not just about looking good it’s about feeling sooooo much better.  Since Mom made us all be better eaters and exercisers we all lost weight and have much more energy.  I lost 10 pounds! We all still grumble that we are starving but we really do like carrots and apple slices as much as cookies and even Dad has discovered that he actually likes vegetables.

I think the bestest part of getting healthy is the walks.  Mom makes us all go on big walks.  It’s so much fun that the minute DixieLee see that both Mom and Dad have their coats on, she runs to the rack where the leashes are an tries to get her halter down.

We never know where we are going which makes it very exciting.  Not going to the same places all the time gives DixieLee and me a chance to explore.  Sniffing out our surroundings is important so being in different places is lots of fun.  Sometimes we walk around one of the towns.  Sometimes we go to the dog park or to one of the hiking trails our part of New Hampshire if famous for but the best times are when we go to walk on the logging road up to the old orchard.

Mom and Dad like the logging road because it goes up a mountain so we get more cardio.  I love it because I get to be off leash.  I only get to be off leash when Mom knows there is no danger to me.  I NEVER get to be off leash where there are cars or even where there are going to be lots of people.  DixieLee doesn’t get to go off leash because before she came to live with us, she must have been trained as a hunting dog because she loves following a scent and would get lost for sure.

We didn’t start out walking up mountains or going for big hikes.  We started by taking short walks around town.  Yesterday we walked a trail that was three miles long.  That’s far!  It was a nice walk cuz we got to enjoy Nature.  It was peaceful, no traffic sounds or other people, and there were lots of scents from the animals who live in the forest.   

Walking with your humans has lots of other Ben Fits.  We are a pack of two humans and two dogs and walking is a way for us to get to know each other better and strengthen our bond.  Walking is a great way for humans to get rid of stress too.

So, if you or your human is a little on the chunky side, consider taking more walks.  Seriously, I know you’ll like it.

Your slimmed down friend,

Zeva

P.S.  Blatant self promotion.  Our Puppy Power gift basket is filled with lots of toys to keep in the most active dog  happy.  It also includes a box of poop bags for those walks around town. Check it out at pawpalsboutique.com

Walking On The Wild Side

We just got back from a big walk.  DixieLee and I love to go for walks with our humans.  Mom is a big walker and a fast walker too.  Dad, not so much.  He tries to say he walks slower because I have to stop and smell every post and tree and pee 100 times not cuz he is old.

It was hot on our walk today.  The best time to walk is the early morning or at night when it is cooler but that’s not always possible.  There was a nice breeze today but the roads and sidewalks still can make our feet burn so our humans walk on the pavement and we walk on the grass.  We are very careful when we walk on the grass.  Some people put chemicals on their grass to make it look pretty.  Those chemicals are very bad for pets and can make you sick or even died.  Parks are good places to walk because there are usually lots of trees to make shade.  If you have to walk on pavement all the time, you can wear doggie booties to protect your pads.

Dad was sweating a little so he knew to drink some water but dogs don’t sweat, we pant, so our humans need to watch carefully to make sure we don’t get dehydrated.  When we go for long, long walks, we take along water and little bowls that fold up so we can have drinks too.  Mom keeps them in her knapsack but I know some dogs that have vests and carry their own water.

We live near town so most of the time we can walk on sidewalks.  Sidewalks are safer than roads but there are places where we need to walk on the road.  We make sure we walk facing traffic and that we dogs stay on the inside.  The inside is the best because it has the grass but also it is easier for cars to see big humans than small dogs.

Having a good harness or collar and good leash is very important.  We have good non-pull harnesses.  One time a big dog ran off of his yard and wanted to fight with us.  DixieLee was ready and able.  If she hadn’t been on a leash somebody could have gotten hurt.  Make sure you always have your tags on too just in case your humans get separated and lost.

If you do go for walks at night be sure to wear a reflective vest or collar.  There are lots of good products available that are very fashionable.  Be sure your human wears something reflective or at least light colored clothes too.  Have your human bring along a flashlight so other people and cars can see you coming and you can see other animals like skunks or porcupines before you step on them.

Walking is great exercise for humans and dogs so I highly recommend that you take your humans out for a walk as often as possible.  A fit human is a happy human and a tired dog is a good dog.

Be safe out there,

Love,
Zeva

P.S. Blatant self-promotion.  We know every dog loves treats but why keep them in the closet when you can keep them right on the counter in a pretty tin like My Own Dog Cookie Tin?  It makes begging for treats much easier.

Walkin' The Dog

The mail person brought a package for me and DixieLee the other day.  It was a surprise.  Mom bought us new harnesses.  I have to admit I am not the best leash walker.  I like to go fast and Mom is so slow.  It’s not her fault that humans only have two legs so they can only go half as fast as us dogs who have four legs. 

 Not being a great leash walker hasn’t been a big problem since we do most of our walking at Dog Park or at Dog Mountain where I don’t have to be on leash.  It would be nice to be able to walk other places so we have tried a bunch of different collars and harnesses but I didn’t like any of them.   I had a nice harness that I sort of liked but I still pulled cuz I wanted to go faster.  I know, we are supposed to do training but it just frustrates Mom and me so we gave up

 I liked that harness, it was a pretty purple color and it worked okay until DixieLee ate it. With two dogs to walk, we really needed to find something that made us be good leash walkers. Instead of buying a new harness right away, we tried using a gentle leader but I didn’t like it on my face.  DixieLee is okay with her gentle leader but it makes her face itchy and she tries to rub it off after it’s been on for a while.

 We looked at all kinds of leashes and harnesses but we didn’t like any of them much.  Then Mom heard about a new kind of harness that connects the leash to the front on my chest instead from behind on my shoulders.   It’s called Walk Your Dog With Love.  It works sort of like the gentle leader, turning me around if I start going too fast or going in a different direction than Mom wants me to go in.

 My new harness is black which looks absolutely stunning on me and goes nicely with my pink collar.   DixieLee’s is blue which looks very nice with her brown coat.  Mom’s pretty good with knowing fashion stuff.  This harness is very easy to put on too.   With my other harness, I had to pick up my foot and then Mom had to clip it this way and that.  The Walk Your Dog With Love harness is super easy to put on.  It slips over my head and Mom takes the strap under my tummy and clips it on the other side.

 Having an easy to get on harness is very helpful when you have a dog like DixieLee who gets so excited that she rolls around and squiggles every which way when you try to get her ready to go out. Mom likes that these harnesses are made in the USA.  They even have some stuff called Scotchlite on it which makes it easy to see us in the dark. 

 We tried them out today and I think they are going to work good.  We all went for a big walk in town and I hardly pulled at all.  I walked slower and Mom was able to keep up.  DixieLee walked better than me but that’s cuz she got to practice yesterday.  The only one who failed walking was Dad.  He was a real slow poke.  He needs lots more practice if he is going to walk with us again.

 Going for walks is one of the best funs we have so I’m happy we found a harness that makes walking even more fun.  Were you always a good leash walker and if not, how did you get better?

 Your good walking friend,

 Zeva

 P.S.  Blatant Self-promotion.   Our To The Rescue Gift Basket has everything a new dog needs, even a pretty leash.

How Spoiled Are You?

I heard that celebrities and people with lots and lots of money spoil their dogs.  For example, Paris Hilton’s dogs have a two story dog house with a winding staircase, pink walls and a balcony. 


Hummm…. What’s the big deal?  I have a two story house, well if you include the basement where we have our studio.  It has stairs but thankfully the walls are sort of white, not pink! We don’t have a balcony but we have a nice screened in porch we can lay in and watch the birds and squirrels.

 DixieLee and I have our own place in the studio with a big soft rug and toys so we can play and nap when we get tired of working and we can go anywhere we want upstairs.  We can sleep on the big bed or on the couch and we each have our own creates in the office if we want to have some private time.

 
I also read that there is a company that makes mink coats for dogs.  How horrible!  First of all I have my own fur coat and it is quite beautiful, thank you.  Second, why would I kill another animal to steal its fur?  Sometimes I worry about humans.

 
Did you know they make dog collars with diamonds in them?  I sort of liked the one I saw.  It was very sparkly and it might look good on me.  I’ll have to figure out how many dog cookies I can buy for $1.2 million before I ask Mom to get me one.  The diamond collar is very nice but if I have to give up too many dog cookies, it’s not worth it.

 
Speaking of cookies, mostly we get ordinary cookies.   When she shops for regular cookies, Mom makes sure they are made in the USA.  Too many pets got sick or got died from eating cookies not made in the USA.  Sometimes, we get special cookies, like when we get an order from Locomotion Pet Treats for our gift baskets or samples from another company we might like to order from.

 Another friend, Organic Pet Boutique, has a Kobe Beef and Truffle Jerky Treat that sounded pretty good to me but Mom said $1,000.00 for an 8 ounce bag was a little out of our budget.  They have other treats we can have, but not that one.  She must be right cuz she knows money stuff.

 Summer time is vacation time.  Some dogs have to stay in kennels when their humans go on vacation, others get to go along.  I read about one dog who won a special vacation that cost $73,000.  He got to do lots of stuff like get a chauffeured car ride, had a personal chef, got grooming and Reiki sessions and got to meet a famous author and dog behavior expert. 

 
I don’t see what was so special about that.  We get chauffeured car rides all the time.  We get chauffeured to the vet, the dog park and daycare.  No big deal. We have a personal chef.   His name is Dad.  He fixes us breakfast, lunch and dinner and makes sure we have our snacks on time.  We can get groomed when we go to day care, I hate it but DixieLee likes to have her nails clipped, and Mom is a Reiki practitioner so we get Reiki all the time. I got to meet The Amazing Dog Training Man lots of times.  He is a famous author and a famous dog behavior guy.

 

 

 You don’t have to live with a celebrity or a super rich person to be a spoiled dog.  We have a sign at our front door that says “Spoiled Rotten Dogs Live Here” and I guess that’s true.

 
If you’re a spoiled rotten dog, I’d like to hear what your humans do for you that makes you feel special.

 Your Spoiled Rotten Friend,

Zeva

 P.S. Blatant self promotion.  You can have your very own sign that says:  A Spoiled Rotten Dog Lives Here so there's no question who's spoiled at your house.  Just go to our website and order and I'll make sure you get your special sign.

 

A Place of My Own

When you work from home like I do, it’s not always easy to separate your work life from your home life.  After a hard day in the office, I like a little peace and quiet but when you have a noisy and energetic sister it’s not always easy.

If I go in the bedroom, she goes in the bedroom.  If I sit on the couch, she sits on the couch.  If I go outside, she goes outside.  She can be so annoying. The only place I can have a minute to myself is in my crate.  I know lots of folks think that crates are just used for training or a place for a dog to be when no one is home but for me, my crate is my special place.

My crate is pretty.  It’s blue with nice wire windows on the sides to let me see out and let air in.  It has a wire metal door that I can look out too.  I keep the door open so I can go in and out any time I want. It’s a pretty big crate.   I can stand up or sit up straight or even stretch out a little when I nap.  My crate also has a fluffy blue blanket to sleep on.

DixieLee’s has her own crate and blanket too.  Her crate is all wire and has a plastic tray on the floor so the wire doesn’t hurt her feet.  Mom put a rug on top of it that also covers one of the sides so DixieLee can have some privacy.  It’s a big crate so she can sprawl out or sit up.  She also has a little crate that stays in our car.  When we go for rides, DixieLee rides in her little crate because she isn’t a good car rider like I am.   Mom puts her in the little crate and she naps otherwise car rides would not be fun because she wants to sit in the front seat and drive.

Since our house has both of the more popular kinds of crates, I’ve become pretty much an expert on crates.  So, if you are looking for a crate for your dog but don’t know what kind to get, let me help.

First of all, plastic crates are prettier than wire crates, mostly because they come in different colors.

Plastic crates are cozy and more private.  I can see out if I want but if someone wants to look in, they have to get close.  I can curl into a ball and not see any outside if I want to sleep.  I like my crate to feel like a den.

Plastic crates keep body heat in so they are nice and warm in the winter but wire crates are better in the summer because air has more places to get in.

Dogs in wire crates can look out all the sides while there aren’t many places to look out of a plastic crate.  Some dogs don’t like not being able to see out.  They feel trapped rather and secure.

Plastic crates are harder to break out of.  DixieLee had another kind of wire crate before and she was always getting out.  Mom finally got one with a double closer on the door and she hasn’t gotten out since.  I think she also likes her new crate more so she stays in it.  My cousin Sophie can also get out of her wire crate.

If you have a puppy or if your dog has a bad tummy, cleaning poop out of a plastic crate is more difficult than a the kind of wire crate that has a removable tray.

Both kinds are easy to store when you are not using them.   The top half of most of the plastic ones come off and fits into the bottom and the wire ones fold up flat.

If you really want a extra special crate for your dog, some crates look like furniture that you can keep in your living room.

No matter what kind of crate you choose, the most important thing you need to remember is to get the right size for your dog.  It should be big enough so your dog can sit up, stretch out and turn around but not over big.  After all, it is supposed to be your dog’s special place. Some of the wire ones come with dividers so you can buy a big one and make it small by using a divider while your puppy is little and make it bigger as the puppy gets bigger.

What kind of crate do you have and what’s the best thing about it?

Your friend,

Zeva

P.S. Blatant self promotion.  Having a place of my own is one way my humans pamper me.  Our Spot's SPA Gift Basket is another way to show your dog how much you care.

5 Resons People Need Dogs

I was relaxing on the couch this morning when I heard the bulldog on TV say that having a human is a big responsibility.  Wow!  I never thought of it that way but he sure is right. 

 Humans need a lot of care if they are going to lead healthy, happy lives and dogs can play a big part in making sure they are the healthiest and happiest they can be.

 In our family, if it weren’t for me letting Mom and Dad know what time it was, they would probably sleep way past five o’clock in the morning.

 1.  Dogs help their humans keep physically fit.  It’s true that people who have dogs in their lives are much more apt to exercise.  Taking them for walks is probably the biggest way we help keep them fit but I know one dog that helps her Dad run.  We also make sure that our humans get plenty of sunshine and fresh air by playing games with them outside.   Right now DixieLee is helping Dad stay fit filling in the holes she dug.

 My friend Sadie takes her Dad hunting pheasants and I’m going to take Dad fishing soon.  He says I’m the only Lab he knows who doesn’t like water.  I thought going in the water while he was fishing might not be such a good idea so I just like to sniff along the banks and check out the near-by fields.

 2.  Dogs can help improve a human’s social life.  We meet all kinds of people wherever we go. The dog park is the best place to meet new people.  If you happen to be as cute a dog as I am, people will come up to say how adorable or whatever and before you know it, we have a new friend.

 Some dogs even take their humans to therapy dog school.  After they complete the class, they can go to visit schools, libraries and places where older people live.

 3.  Dogs are good health care providers.  Just by petting a dog a human can lower their blood pressure.   Dogs can smell stuff 1,000 to 10,000 times better than a human so some dogs are able detect bad things like cancer or let a person know when their blood sugar is low.  Other dogs can know when a person with epilepsy is going to have a seizure.

 Dogs know how to cuddle just right to make a person not be depressed. 

 4.  Dogs keep people safe.  One very important responsibility we dogs have is keeping our humans safe.  For example, Mom would never have known there was a squirrel in the back yard just now if DixieLee hadn’t been lying on the bed looking out the window.  They would never know when any of our neighbors came home or when the mail came if we didn’t let them know. We can alert them as soon as someone turns onto our street because our hearing is so much better than theirs. 

 5.  Dogs provide companionship.  We make the very best friends.  We always want to do whatever you want to do.  We love unconditionally, are always happy to see you, never criticize your singing, or find your stories boring and we are excellent secret keepers.

Even though they can be trying at times DixieLee and I take good care of our humans because they are worth it.

What job do you do that you think is the most helpful to your humans?

Zeva

P.S.  Blatant self promotion: Every dog deserves to be spoiled rotten so we created our Spoiled Rotten Dog gift basket just for them.

 

 

The Topic Is Toys

Today I wanted to talk about something that is very, very important.  Toys.  Next to cuddles and treats, toys are the most important consideration in a dog's life.  We can never have enough of them.  I always had lots of toys. I had inside toys and outside toys and toys that stayed at the office.  I had toys to play catch with, toys to play tug with and plush toys to cuddle.  Life was good.
And then, along came my sister Dixie.  When it comes to toys, I call her Dixie the Destroyer.  My favorite rag tug toys got shredded in one day.  My plush teddy, disemboweled in a flash.  Plastic squeaky toys didn't stand a chance.  Even my tennis balls were ruined.  She even ate the basket we kept them in!
Mom went on a crusade to find indestructible dog toys.  She asked the people she talks to on LinkedIn (they are professional dog people) and a nice lady said we should try toys made out of fire hoses.

Dixie managed to destroy toys made out of car tires but we decided to see if fire hoses were stronger.  The nice lady told us about a company called Kyien that makes fire hose toys so we got two.  Now, I usually don’t do endorsements because I don’t want to ruin my chances of a major company coming along and signing me up.  But, I have to say, the Kyien toys are pretty much Dixie proof.  I say pretty much because we’ve only had them for about two months, which is a record, but still, that isn’t long enough for scientific proof.
Mom also found a toy called Big Brute which is also pretty good.  I like this one because it looks like a person.  It’s made out of something called nylon and seems to be pretty strong.  It’s made in China so Mom is not thrilled and Dixie has managed to fray it a little in one spot, but it is holding up pretty good.
Kongs, especially the King Kongs, are pretty good but unless they have peanut butter or treats inside, they’re kind of boring.  We like to play tug of war with our toys and Kongs don’t work so good.
I’d be really interested to know what your favorite toys are.  I am always looking for new products to use in our pet gift baskets and knowing what toys are the most favorite would be helpful.

You can write to me at this blog or on DogBook.com, PetPav.com or my email at info@laurelmtbasket.com.  Love to hear from you

Your friend,

Zeva

P.S. Blatant self-promotion.  Our Dogs In Toyland Gift Basket is Sooooo full of toys!

 

Senior's Have Class

"Blessed is the person who has earned the love of an old dog." - Sydney Jeanne Seward

Being very active in social media, I follow a lot of dog blogs, dog rescue and adoption groups on FaceBook.  I am always sad to see so many dogs who don’t have furever homes and most sad that lots of older dogs never get adopted at all.

I know, puppies are cute.  But I have to tell you, puppies can be a pain in the butt.   I mean, we adopted my sister Dixie.  She’s not a baby but she’s just out of puppyhood and I’ll tell you, what a handful.  She runs, and plays and chews constantly.  Good thing she likes old bones and not the furniture.

Now, if we adopted a Senior Dog, he or she would be much quieter.  They would walk nicely, not run a hundred miles an hour everywhere.  They would also take more naps.

When we got Dixie, she didn’t have all of her shots yet and she wasn’t spayed.  It costs a lot of money to get a dog spayed and to have all of their shots.  Many older dogs that are turned in to the shelters already have had their shots and have been spayed or neutered.

And most shelters don’t charge as much to adopt a Senior Dog as they do to adopt young dogs.

People think that older dogs come with “bad habits”.  Any dog can have “bad habits”.   That’s what dog training is about.  Helping dogs have good habits.  Old dogs LOVE to learn new tricks!

People are afraid to adopt Senior Dogs because they think they will die soon.  That is so not true.  When a dog has a good home, with good food, it can live a long, long time.  Who wouldn’t want to experience unconditional love for 8 or even 5 years?

So, if you or someone you know is thinking about adopting a dog, suggest an older dog.  They make wonderful companions and are very deserving of a good furever home.

Your friend,

Zeva

P.S. Blatant self-promotion.  Every dog deserves a little pampering now and then.  That’s why I created Spot’s SPAGift Basket.  It has everything a well groomed pooch needs.

 

Birth Control for Pets

According to The Humane Society of the United States… “About 2.7 million healthy, adoptable cats and dogs—about one every 11 seconds—are put down in U.S. shelters each year. Often these animals are the offspring of cherished family pets. Spay/neuter is a proven way to reduce pet overpopulation, ensuring that every pet has a family to love them.”

My sister Dixie went to the vet on Tuesday to get spayed.  I did a Google Search and found out that spaying is an operation that makes it so girl dogs can’t have puppies.  I’m a girl dog so I asked my Mom how come she didn’t take me to the vet to get spayed and she said I was already spayed when she adopted me. I was really little so I didn’t remember.

Mom and Dad love us, and they loved all of the dogs that lived with them before and they made sure all of them were spayed or neutered.   Mom said it wasn’t a difficult decision because she did lots of research and believes the good that comes from “fixing” her dogs, out-weighs the bad that could possibly happen to them.  Yes, she said sometimes bad things happen but the odds or on our side.  Whatever that means.

Spaying not only stops dogs from having puppies when there aren’t enough homes for all of them, it can be good for the mental and physical health of the dog.  Spayed dogs have less of a chance of getting sick with uterine, ovarian or breast cancer which are all very, very bad sicknesses to get. Spaying also makes dogs act nicer.  Believe me, when Dixie first came to live with us, she was in heat and she was a major witch with a “B”. She tried to get out of the pen all the time.  She was moody and so bossy and when we would play fight, sometimes she would try to bite me for real.  I hope they are right when they say spaying will help her not be so witchy.

Like any operation, bad stuff can happen but she has been home for couple of days she seems to be okay.  Neither of us is happy that she can’t jump on the couch or bed or play fight with me.  She has to be in her crate a lot during the day and all night. Mom says we have to wait a couple of more days and then we can play all we want.  Some people say girl dogs get fat after they get spayed.  Maybe that’s why I tend to be a little on the chunky side but we do watch my diet and exercise and I’m sure Mom will do the same for Dixie.

There are lots of different opinions about what is the best age to spay or neuter a dog but I think most responsible dog owners will agree that spaying and neutering is the right choice for their pets. After all, if I had a litter of puppies, we could never give any away and we would have too many dogs in our house.

Are you spayed or neutered?  Is so how old were you when you had your operation?

To your health!

Your friend,

Zeva

P.S. Blatant self-promotion:  We have a whole line of gift baskets for cats too.  Check out our Finicky Feline Gift Basket!

 

Two Dog House Redux

This might just work.  A while back I wrote that I was getting a sister.  I was kind of excited since I would have someone to play with all the time but then I would also have to share things like my toys and my Mom and Dad and I wasn’t so sure about that.

Well, Dixie, that’s her name, came to live with us a couple of days ago.  Mom and Dixie’s foster Mom were only a little concerned about introducing us at my house.  It’s way better to introduce strange dogs in an neutral place like a park but since Dixie was used to living with other dogs and I am very socialized, we met at my house.
 
Of course, Mom picked up my food bowl and toys but we barely noticed.  It didn’t take more than a couple of minutes of checking each other out that we started playing.  And playing, and playing.  I have had other dogs come to my house so I was a little surprised when her foster Mom and Dad left and she stayed.  I guess that’s what it means to have a sister, not just a friend. 

Mom kept my schedule pretty much the same.  I got to eat at the same time and we went to sleep at the same time.  Going to sleep the first night almost didn’t work.  Dixie couldn’t settle down so Mom finally brought her crate in the bedroom and Dixie went right to sleep.
 
The next night, she jumped on the bed with me and went right to sleep.  I am going to have to talk with her cuz she is a bed hog and she snores.  She wants to sleep on Mom’s feet and that is where I like to sleep.  I’ll just cuddle with Dad until she gets more used to us then I’ll get my space back.

I still get to eat at the same times but Dixie doesn’t know how to eat nice.  She gets way too excited, jumping up and down, and she eats way too fast.  Then, when she is done with her food, she tries to eat mine.  Mom says the people who owned her probably didn’t feed her nice so she is helping her to have better manners. Dixie gets fed in her crate so even when she finishes first, she can’t come and try to get my food and I can take my time and enjoy my food.

Mom makes sure we each have alone time with each human.  Yesterday Dad took me to dog-park while Mom took Dixie to see our Vet.  I also get to spend time by myself on the deck.  It’s my thinking time.

Enough work for now.  Time to get back to playing and then a little nap. 
Let me know what your experience has been with having a new dog come live with you.

Your friend,

Zeva

P.S.  Shameless self promotion… Our To The RescueDog Gift Basket