Home Sweet Home

It’s a beautiful Saturday morning, the first warm day we’ve had in months and Mom says to me, “So, Zee, what do you think about dog houses?”. 

I’m like, “Is this trick question?” 

 Okay, DixieLee and I have been a little crazy and noisy lately.  After all, it is Spring and it's been a long winter.  And she has had to remind us to use our quiet barks a lot lately, but still, telling us we had to find our own house sounded a little drastic, even for Mom.

It tuned out that's not what she had in mind.  She just wanted a dog's perspective on a dog issue.  She does that a lot, ask me for my opinion.  Anyway, she said that some of her friends were building houses to give away to families who couldn’t let their dogs live in the humans' houses.  She said the dogs have to stay outside all day and all night.  She said they can’t go inside and sleep in their humans’ beds or anything.  Can you imagine! 

I think that if a dog has to be outside when it is cold or raining, they should have a house to go into to where it is warm and dry.  The problem is that sometimes those dogs are chained to their houses and can’t go very far.  I don’t think the chaining part is a good thing.

If they are chained to their dog house, they can only go far enough to poop and that’s not very far.  That is very, very sad and should not be allowed to happen. Dogs need to have a safe place to run and play.  Now if they could build fenced in yards AND give the dog his own house, then I would totally support that.  Mom says that that’s not an option in most cases but she was sure they would consider it.

DixieLee and I have a nice big pen where we can be outside by ourselves. We call it our pen but it is really a 36’ X 36’ section of our yard that is fenced in so we can play and Mom doesn’t need to worry we will play in the road or get lost.  If it is too cold or too hot or raining or snowing, we can stay inside our big house and play.  We can sleep on the beds, on the rugs and even the couch if we don’t want to sleep in our own crates.

Mom says that dog houses are sort of like crates.  I do like to go in my crate when DixieLee is being a pain or when I just want to be alone and think.  So after careful analysis, I think all dogs should have their very own place where they can be warm, dry and safe, and if that place is a dog house, then I think it’s a good idea.

Do you have an outside house of your own?

Your friend,

Zeva

P.S. Blatant self-promotion.  For all you Spoiled Rotten Dogs out there, tell the world with one of our special signs.

Make Mine Chocolate

I know, I know chocolate is bad, bad, bad for dogs but this isn’t about dogs.  This is about bunnies.

 

Lots of people associate bunnies with Easter and since bunnies are so cute, they buy live ones and put them in Easter Baskets.  Live bunnies are NOT toys! They are critters who need love and affection and food and toys (I’m not sure what toys bunnies like but they must like toys).

 

Anyway, thousands of little bunnies are raised at places like puppy mills and sold at Easter time.  The bunnies raised in these places are not taken care of at all.  Some are so sick when they are born that they die within days or weeks. The bad people who breed them don’t see them as helpless little critters, only as a way to make some money.

 

Some bunnies even get their fur colored pink to make them “cuter”.  It is very sad that up to 80% of them end up in shelters or let loose in parks or woods to live on their own. 

 

Shelters are supposed to be temporary homes for critters and when they get too full, they have to euthanize some.  Euthanize is a big word for making dead so many of the bunnies that end up in shelters never even get rescued but are killed.

 

The bunnies that are let go in parks and woods don’t do much better.  They are not born and raised in the woods where they have their Mamas to teach them how to find good food and hide from enemies.  They are little tiny critters, alone and afraid.  Most don’t last very long before they get eaten.  That’s how it is in the woods world so that’s why animals that are not born there need to have good homes with humans who will take care of them and love them.

 

What can you do?  Don’t support stores that sell Easter Bunnies. Bunnies make wonderful pets, almost as good as dogs.   If you do want to get a bunny, get one from a reputable breeder or better yet, adopt one from your local shelter or area rabbit rescue.  Before you buy, learn about how to take care of them. You can find out more about how to be a good bunny parent at a website called makeminechocolate.org.

I think bunnies are cute and it’s nice that bunnies are part of the Easter celebration. But please make sure any bunny you put in your Easter Basket is a plush one you buy in a toy store or a chocolate one.

 

Your friend,
Zeva

 

P.S.  Blatant Self-promotion.  We use chocolate and plush bunnies in our Easter Baskets and we’d be happy to make one up for you.

Further Adventures In Our Doggy Dog World

Last week I shared the story of a couple of friends of mine who live far away in India. They told us the story of where they live and a little bit about their daily lives.

Today I'm going to share some more of their story.  Like most of us dogs, Bumo and Miu love to play.   When they were puppies they like to play with chew toys but now they are more interested in chasing birds and monkeys.  When it's nice outside, Miu likes to sit in the yard and soak up the sun.  Her Mama says she's getting lots of Vitamin C. 

Miu is a Mama's baby.  She sticks like glue to her Mama and really like to play catch.  It's is all fun and games until she upsets the freshly done laundry.  She's kind of a klutz when she's not paying attention.

They also like digging tunnels in their yard.  Don't tell your humans but Bumo, Miu and some of our other friends are all digging tunnels to each others yards so we can have play dates.  Our tunnel was looking good until Dixie dug too close to the post that holds up the stairs, making them almost fall down.  Dad covered it up so we will have to start all over again once the ground unfreezes.

It's not all fun and games though.  Tibetan Mastiffs and Himalayan Sheepdogs are both very intelligent, hard working breeds.  Bumo's family guarded the fields along the Myanmar border while Miu's family guards Buddhist monasteries high up in the Himalayas.   Although they now live in town, they still take their house guarding duties seriously.  In addition, like many of you,  they are the furry therapists and cuddle babies for their Mama.

I met the girls on line and found that they don't really like the dogs in their neighborhood very much and would much prefer reaching out to doggies all over the world through the internet. They like to learn about the different lives and exchanging ideas.   It's easy for them to make friends with dogs from all different countries because in addition to dog, they speak English, German, Hindi, Tamil, a smattering of Bengali, French and Russian and their Mama is teaching them Japanese.  I told you they were smart!

They say that most of the dogs they meet are very friendly but every once in awhile they meet one that's snobby.  Like the dog from Germany that thought that just because they were from India they were flea and tick ridden and live dismally on the streets.  Unfortunately many dogs do have to live under those awful conditions but obviously Bumo and Miu don't   That would be like saying that just cuz Dixie is from the South, she's a redneck.  Well, maybe that's not such a good example since she is kind of a redneck.

They love learning about other dog's lives and sharing information.  Our friends Max and Beauregard are very well read and like to share links to interesting articles. Their friend Livvy's family is super fascinating (they said they never met a married dog before!).  Neither have I come to think of it.  Tillie Audriana talks about her life in LV and always posts inspirational quotes and Nakita Boo Boo's is from Rainbow Bridge.  I agree when they say that it is comforting to know that there is a place like Rainbow Bridge where all pets that are died go where they become whole again and live in a warm, sunny place where they can run and play and just have fun.

Like most of us who have nice homes with loving humans, they know they are lucky especially since there are lots of dogs in India who do not have loving homes. When they go for a walk, their Mama has to take a stick because the street dogs are very territorial and don't want any other dogs around.   The majority of dogs that are born on the streets have to live there their whole life because people who want dogs don't like adopting mixed breeds.  They want pure breeds.  Hate to say it but we have that problem here in the USA too.

It is sad that there are just litter after litter of unwanted dogs who are often sick and diseased and yes, full of ticks and fleas.  I didn't know this but India is one of the most rabies prone areas in the world.  Millions of dogs and people too die of rabies in India.  How very sad.

When their Mama was younger (she's still not old but has some arthritis and can't run around like she used to) she would collect stay dogs and bring them to camps where they could get rabies shots and either spay or neutered.  That was only a short term solution but it was a step in the right direction. Of course, money is also a problem.  With so many humans starving and going without good medical care, dogs don't get much help.  It makes their Mama furious but what can one human and a couple of dogs do?

We have lots of "unwanted" dogs and cats here but at least we have lots of humans who are working very hard to help as many as they can.  Me and Mom are always advocating adoption and doing what we can.  I'm adopted and so is Dixie.  Mom says she wishes we could adopt more but I'm not encouraging that idea.  Living with Dixie is challenging enough right now.

Anyway that wraps up my interview with Bumo and Miu from India.  If you have anything you would like to know about them, just let me know and I'll see what they have to say.

Also, if you would like to share your story with my friends, let me know and we can talk.

Big play bow and kisses,

Your Globe Trotting Friend,

Zeva

P.S.  Blatant self-promotion.  I usually don't promote our human gift baskets but since we are talking about friends, I thought giving Mom's side of the business a plug would be okay.  Here's a link to our You've Got A Friend Gift Basket. 

It's A Doggy Dog's World

As a blogger and key canine in the family business, I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with dogs of all breeds, from all over the world.  To a dog, they have been very supportive of me in my work and in my personal growth and have taught me many things.  Today I want to tell you about two of my friends who live half way around the world in India.

Their names are Bumo and Miu.  They are sisters, both 6 years old (Bumo proud to be the older by 2 weeks) who live with their human mama, a graphic designer and illustrator, near New Delhi.  They are Himalayan breeds so their mama gave them Tibetan names.

Miu, is a Tibetan mastiff mix whose name means “doll” and Bumo is a Himalayan Sheepdog whose name means “girl”.  I’ve seen photos of them and they are both so pretty it is easy to see how they got such pretty names.

We met on Dogbook and continued our friendship through emails.  We shared lots of information about our homes and families.  Here is what Bumo had to say about her home in New Delhi.

“We live in the National capital Region of New Delhi. New Delhi is the capital of India and is situated in the plains of Northern India.  It is a very beautiful city.  The National capital region includes the city of New Delhi and lots of satellite town and is HUUUGGGGEE.”

She goes on to say: “Although New Delhi is sadly one of the world’s most polluted cities, we live in a satellite town where there is a lot of greenery, and it is still relatively quiet and less polluted.  There are a lot of birds and insects to chase, and monkeys too!  And of course nice stretches to walk in.”

We’ve had many discussions comparing the chasing of moneys in India and squirrels in New England.  No matter where we live, we dogs have lots in common.  As Miu reminded me, much of what we discuss is how we fit into the human world. We agree that we have mixed feelings about things like holidays.  We love the food but if they involve loud noises or lots of people singing and cheering, we’ll stay home.

“New Delhi has people from all over the country and world.  Our mama is a Tamilian from the South of India.  But she has always lived up north in Delhi.  New Delhi sees a lot of celebrations because of its interesting mix of people from all over.”

She goes on to say: “The noise pollution is very high and that disturbs me a lot.  Bumo doesn’t mind it very much.  We have a gas company guest-cum-ware house next door with lots of people in it.  And they practically live outside in their yards.  Huge scary vehicles come and go at all times of the day, I am constantly barking at them till I get sore. Very annoying!”

Half way around the world and we have so much in common like big noisy trucks and people walking on OUR roads.

Food is also something we dogs all have in common.  We can’t get enough.  Bumo favors Pedigree  dentastix and real bones while Miu prefers Chewbones and dairy products, particularly paneer made with curdled milk.  Breakfast at their house sounds wonderful!  They get an omelet each and Miu gets a bowl of milk while Bumo prefers water.  While busy guarding the house while their mama is at work, Bumo has a bowl of kibble and Miu gets toast.  After all, guarding a house is hard work and a girl does need her strength.

As Bumo tells it, their days are pretty typical of many dogs I’ve met.

“We get up very early, at 5:30 am and ask mama to let us out.  We ensure that no one disturbs mama while she is getting ready, which she does by 7:30 a.m.  We know the regulars who come early in the morning like the help, the gardener, and the car cleaner and don’t bark at them.”

Then it’s a yummy breakfast and after kisses from their mama, they settle into their beds (in different rooms cuz they tend to fight like most sisters).

According to Miu, “We sleep most of the day or sit on the desk and peek out of the window and bark if necessary to keep the house safe (It is our job and an important one, wouldn’t you agree?).”

Absolutely!  That’s why we get the big bags of dog food.  Speaking of food, wait until you hear what they get for supper!

According to Miu “Dinner is chicken and rice which is simply YUMM!  The chicken is prepared on Sundays.  Fresh chicken is pressure-cooked with fennel, salt, oil and turmeric (heals tummy problems nicely says mama).  This is then refrigerated (frozen) and micro waved daily as required.  2 days a week we get chopped plain pork salami and rice (Lip smacking YUMMM).  Our food is fortified with fish oil, Omega 3 fatty acids for shiny fur and good immunity.  Bumo’s food gets a dose of some edible tooth paste since she won’t brush her teeth.  She actually snaps at mama!”

What a great mama they have, cooking them all that good stuff when she is a vegetarian!

Bumo tells how they finish up their day. “Our food is gone in no time and then it is garden time again till it gets dark.  By 8 pm we are sleepy.  We curl up with mama in her bed. She watches TV while we sleep. Did you know that Miu snores?”

(I have it on good authority that Bumo snores too).

You know… all this talk about omelets, chicken and pork salami is making me hungry.  I think I’ll grab a bit of dry dog food from a bag, MOM and continue our interview with Bumo and Miu again next time.

Your starving friend,

 Zeva

 P.S.  If you would like to share your story, give me a bark and we’ll talk.

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!

 

Can We Talk?

I’ve read lots of articles and blogs about how humans can learn to understand dogs.  Our language is pretty simple and complex at the same time.  We can obviously talk.   My sister Dixie likes to tell long involved stories, which are mostly about me and of course are untrue.   She barks up a storm, going on and on, throwing in a growl or whine for emphasis.   I will tell a story now and then but prefer to use more subtle forms of communicating.

If I back into you, it means I would like you to scratch my back.  If I sit in front of the cookie jar or my bowl it means I would like you to get me a cookie or feed me.  I save my voice for more important things like alerting the family that the mailperson or the delivery person is coming or a squirrel is on our yard.

If humans just watch us dogs closely, they will notice that we use our ears and tails a lot when we communicate.  If they just listen with their eyes and they’d hear exactly what we are saying.

But I didn’t want to talk about how dogs communicate with humans.   Like I said there are lots of articles you can read about that.  I also didn’t want to talk about humans communicating with dogs during training.  Training requires special words and body language.  You can find lots of article about that too.

What I wanted to talk about was simply taking to us.  I love when Mom talks to me.  I’m her business partner so she talks to me a lot about stuff that’s going on with the business.  She asks my opinion about new gift basket designs she wants to add to the line.  Even those that aren’t for the Pet Division, which is my department but for ones she does holidays or is custom designing for a client.  When we ride in the car she tells me where we are going and what we are going to do.  When she is going in the car by herself, she tells me where she is going and when she is coming back.

When she started working from home, she talked to me lots more than when we were in the shop and people came and went all day long.  She doesn’t talk baby talk to me or talk in a sing-songy voice either.   She talks to me like an adult, which I am.  I’m a good listener and very good at keeping secrets.   She says I’m a good sounding board for ideas and the best therapist, whatever that is.  

I love to hear the sound of her voice, except when Dixie does something wrong, like tips over the trash and she talks really loud.  I like it much better when she talks in her regular voice.  I can sit quietly and listen to her for hours.  I really like when she tells me I’m her best girl or that she loves me a lot. When she talks to me I know that she cares about me and that I am safe and loved and am an important part of her life.  Those things are very important to me.  Even more important than even cookies.

I’d love to know what kind of stuff your human talks to you about.  Unless it’s a secret because I bet you’re a good secret keeper too.  We dogs know that it is better to way our tails, not our tongues.

Your friend,

Zeva

P.S.  Blatant self-promotion.  If you are listening to your dog, he or she is probably telling you that they would LOVE one of our Puppy Power Gift Baskets.  :)

 

 

Of Mice and Dogs

I was checking up on some of my friends on Dogbook the other day and learned that one of my friends was very, very sick.  She found a dead mouse and, since it smelled really yummy, she ate it.  Luckily, her humans saw what happened and brought her to the vet right away.  She didn’t feel so good for a little while but she is going to be just fine.

Mice live just about everywhere and usually don’t have all that much contact with dogs but in the winter time, mice, like most creatures, like to live where it is warm.  They look for ways to get into nice barns or basements and attics or houses.  For lots of reasons, humans don’t like having mice living in their houses.  There are bunches of different ways for humans to get mice to not live in their houses and one of them is to use this bad stuff called poison.  Poison is bad because it makes the mice died.   I know, I don’t think poisoning animals is right, but humans worry about mice carrying diseases and stuff so they don’t want them in their houses.

When humans put out poison to get rid of mice, most of the time they put it where pets can’t get to it.  That’s a little easier if the pets are dogs cuz they can put it up high in rafters and such but cats are a different story cuz they can climb anywhere.

Some poison comes in packages that pets can’t get into so humans with pets who want to use poison should get this kind.  They also make bunches of things called “traps” to get rid of mice.  Some traps are nasty but there are some that are okay.   Personally, I think if humans don’t want mice to live in their houses, they can use the nice kind of trap that captures mice alive so they can be set free in another place, but that’s just me.

Anyway, my friend found one of the mice that ate some of the bad poison.  Because the mouse had the poison in its tummy, and my friend ate the mouse, my friend got sick.  I understand this doesn’t happen very often to pets, especially to dogs but it does happen. 

When a pet eats a mouse that ate poison and get sick, it’s called “secondary poisoning”.  How sick a pet gets from secondary poisoning depends on a lot of things like how big the pet is and if he or she got any of the real poison or just what the mouse already had in their tummy.  Sometimes, the poison can be the mouse’s mouth so it really strong.  If a pet eats the poison that hasn’t been in a mouse’s tummy where it gets made less harmful, it is called “primary poisoning” which is much worse.   If she had found the packet of poison and ate that, well, she would have primary poisoning and be much, much sicker and maybe even died.

Cats who live on farms and stray dogs are more likely to eat dead mice than dogs who have nice houses like we do.   Cats and dogs who live outdoors don’t have enough to eat so they will eat dead animals.  Pets who have nice homes get enough food so they aren’t hungry all the time. That’s what they tell me but you could have fooled me.  I’m always ready for another meal or treat.

Anyway, please be careful and never, never eat dead mice or any other dead animals.  First of all, it freaks out humans and second, it could make you very, very sick.

Stick to eating stuff your humans say is okay.

Your friends,

Zeva

P.S. Blatant self-promotion.  Valentine’s Day is almost here so why not get your favorite pet a super Valentine’s Day gift like our Best In Show (dogs) or Cats Rule! gift basket.