What Is It About Cats?

I’m a pretty smart dog.  I read lots of blogs so I know a lot about a lot of stuff.   The other day I noticed our neighbor’s cat sitting in the window and realized that I don’t know much about cats.  Even more puzzling is why anyone would want to let them live in their house.  I mean, they aren’t very good guards.  They don’t warn their humans that the mail or UPS truck is coming and they don’t bark and run to the door to see who is there.

They catch mice and bugs but so does my sister Dixie, bugs anyway but I bet if she saw a mouse she could catch it.  I don’t see cats chasing anything big like a burglar or zombie.

I don’t understand why humans find cats entertaining either.  A cat will chase a dot of light around for hours and never catch it.  The human just sits there.  I would think watching TV or surfing the Net would be more fun.   At least people get exercise while playing catch or Frisbee with their dog.

Cats don’t know how to get the full value from their toys.  I have not seen one cat toy that was mangled or chewed up so much it had to be taken away.  Cats also love cat nip.  They have these little toys filled with the stuff.  I tried cat nip once.  We had some cat nip toys and pillows for sale when we had our shop.  I don’t know what the big deal is, it did nothing for me.

Do people realize that cats don’t care if their humans go away?  When Mom and Dad go away for a time, I miss them and let them know how much when they come home.  Cats don’t even seem to notice who is home and who isn’t.   It’s like cats think all humans are good for is making sure there is food and water in the dishes.

I’m just guessing cuz it’s hard to tell what a cat is thinking.  They rarely talk.  We dogs are always talking.  We bark, whine, growl, and whimper.  Cats purrs.  Okay, so if a cat is really, really mad it might hiss but you’d think it would at least try to learn a language to communicate with other species.

I have to admit, one thing I find interesting about cats is that they don’t have to go outside to pee and poop.  They get their humans to set up these little yards in a box right inside the house.  This is a huge advantage since they don’t have to go outside on rainy or cold days.  I wonder if I can get Mom get me one of those yards in a box.

I am going to have to do lots more investigating about cats.  They may be on to some other good things.   I’d love to hear from any dogs that live with cats.  I’m curious.  Oh my, isn’t curiosity a cat trait?

Your canine friend,

Zeva

P.S. Blatant self-promotion.   Mom says we have gift baskets for pets and the people who love them and that includes Cats.  I kind of like our Cat Nappin’ gift basket cuz it has a nice soft blanket in it.  Everyone should have a nice soft blanket, even cats.

 

Home Alone

I’m a very lucky dog.  We own our own business so my sister Dixie and I get to go to work with Mom every day.  When we aren’t at work, we go with Mom and Dad almost everywhere else so we very rarely have to stay at home by ourselves.  For those times we do have to stay at home by ourselves, it is only for a little while.  Being home alone for a little while is okay cuz we get to nap in our own crates.  I like having my own crate cuz Dixie can be a pain sometimes.

The other day, Mom and Dad went to a family party far away and they were gone ALL DAY.  Napping in our crates is okay but ALL DAY is a very long time to be in a crate.  For long times like all day we have a Pet Sitter.  A Pet Sitter is a person who comes to our house to feed us and take us out to play and do our business.

Finding a good Pet Sitter is serious business.  We had a very good Pet Sitter at our other house but when we moved, we were too far away so we needed to find another one.  Like any busy dog, the first thing I did to find a Pet Sitter was to look on line.  From reviewing the different websites, I could see who lived close by, what organizations they belong to, what training and experience they had and all sorts of other valuable information about them.

We chose a very nice lady.  She has lots of experience taking care of animals and even has a lot of animals of her own living on her farm.  She came to visit and played with me and Dixie so we could get to know her and see if we thought she would be okay.  She gave Mom lots of paper to look at.   Mom thinks things like having special insurance is important for a Pet Sitter to have.  She also likes that our Pet Sitter knows our new vet and knows the people at the emergency vet hospital near by.

She asked Mom lots of questions about us and our routines.  And she wrote down lots of stuff.  The one question that impressed me the most was “Where do you keep the cookies?”.  I was sold.  The lady had her priorities right.

Having a Pet Sitter come to the house is very nice.  We like our neighbors and they would be happy to help but Mom likes to have a "professional" who has special training with dogs.   I never had to stay in a kennel and I hear that some are really nice but I’m not good with change.   I think I would miss my own crate and yard.   Also, with two dogs, a stay at a kennel can be expensive.  And then there’s the whole thing about dropping us off and picking us up.  We’d have to be on the kennel’s schedule, not ours.   Also we’d need to take our blankets and toys and food dishes and food.  And don’t forget our cookies.  What if they don’t have good cookies? Staying at home is much nicer for us and lots easier for Mom and Dad too.

How about you?  Do you have a Pet Sitter come to your house when your Mom and Dad have to go away?  If so, what do you like best about your Pet Sitter?

Your friend,

Zeva

P.S. Blatant self-promotion.  My very special Dogs in Toyland gift basket was designed for that very special dog in your life!

FAST FOOD - 5 Ways to stop your dog from gobbling their food

My sister Dixie holds the world record for fast eating.  She has to eat in her crate cuz she finishes so fast then tries to eat my food too.  I used to eat very slowly.  Sometimes I would take a piece of kibble into the next room, eat it, and then come back for more.  Not anymore!  I have to eat everything sort of quickly or Dixie will steal it.

I can understand when she first came to live with us that she thought she might not get enough food.  She was a stray so sometimes she didn’t get enough to eat.  I tell her that we always have lots of food.  I even show her where we keep the HUGE bag of food in the cabinet.  I tell her it is all for us and it never gets empty! But, she still gulps down her food.

I’m part Lab and Labs are always hungry.  We get lots of very nutritious food which is  divided so we get fed three times every day.  And, we get cookies and carrots for snacks.  I may be starving at dinner time but I still have manners when I eat.

Gobbling food is not only undoggy like, it can cause bloat.  When a dog gulps food, air gets in the tummy which is a bad thing and can make a dog very sick or even died.  So getting a dog to eat nice is very important.

Mom decided Dixie is not going to stop fast eating all on her own so we are trying some tricks.  First Mom tried to hand feed her.  Poor Dixie, she would gobble what little Mom had in her hand then sit and wait for the next handful.  Only, she looks so pathetic while she is waiting, Mom couldn’t keep feeding her that way.  Besides, Mom’s hand got all sticky and yucky from Dixie slobber.

Hand feeding is one trick.  Here are a few others that might work if you or someone you know gobbles their food.

1.      You can buy a special feeding dish called a Break Fast Bowl.  It has big posts in the bowl so the dog has to eat around them.  It also slides a little so the dog has to chase the food.

2.     You can make a regular feeding dish into something like a Break Fast Bowl by simply turning it upside down.  The food goes in the groove around the big bump in the middle so the dog has to work harder to get at the food, slowing down the eating.   A regular feeding dish is much less expensive too.

3.     Instead of using a bowl, try a muffin tin.  Put a little of the food into each of the little compartments.  The dog has to stop a bit when going from one compartment to the next.

4.     Another thing you can buy is a feeding cube or ball.    The food goes into the cube or ball and you have to play with the cube or ball until all the food falls out.  I would like this one.  Sometimes Mom puts some Kibble (or peanut butter) in the big Kong and I have to play to get it out.  It’s lots of fun.

5.     There is another kind of gadget you can buy that goes in the feeding dish.  It’s a round ball made out of ceramic or some kind of shiny metal.  Some people put a big rock in the dish (it has to be big cuz we dogs do tend to eat little rocks), but they say you can’t wash a rock so they invented these other balls.

Mom is trying the “rock” method now only she is using the big Kong.  She puts the food in the dish then puts the Kong on top of the food.  Dixie is eating a little slower cuz she has to stop and move the Kong around to get to the food.  Mom likes the Kong cuz, first all we already have it, and unlike a big rock, she can wash it.

We’ve only been trying it a couple of days, but it seems to be working.

If you or anyone you know is a food gobbler, please let me know what you did to help get better eating manners.

Thanks

Your friend,

Zeva

P.S.  Blatant self-promotion.  Dixie and I are very spoiled… so I created a gift basket especially for Spoiled Rotten Dogs. Can you guess what I call it?

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.

 

Good Bye Schoep

“Dogs lives are too short.  Their only fault, really. ” (Agnes Sligh Turnbull)

I’m sure you heard the sad news that Schoep passed over to Rainbow Bridge last week.

Like many of us, Schoep was a rescued dog who found a wonderful furever home.  He and his Dad, John were the bestest of best friends for almost 20 years which is a very long time.  Some people say that dogs are angels in fur coats because we come into people’s lives when they need us the most.  I know his Dad is going to need a long time to heal and I hope that when he is ready he finds another wonderful dog to share his life and love with.

Run Free Schoep,

Your friend Zeva,

P.S.  Blatant self-promotion.  Paw Prints on the Heart Gift Basket.

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!

 

Be A Picky Eater

It seems like every day there is another recall of pet food or treats but did you know that it is okay to sell pet food with stuff in it that is not all that good for you.  My friend Eric, The Amazing Dog Training Man, showed me what to look for and what to look out for when choosing food.

Here are the ingredients on two different bags of dry dog food.  Which one would you choose?

Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), rice flour, beef, soy flour, sugar, propylene glycol, meat and bone meal, tricalcium phosphate, phosphoric acid, salt, water, animal digest, sorbic acid (a preservative), potassium chloride, dried carrots, dried peas, calcium propionate (a preservative), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, choline chloride, added color (Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 2), DL-Methionine.

Or:

Whitefish, Herring Meal, Salmon Meal, Menhaden Fish Meal, Peas, Potatoes, Canola oil (preserved with Mixed Tocapherols) Pea fiber, Tomato Pomace, Natural Fish Flavor, Ground Flaxseed, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Kale, Broccoli, Spinach, Parsley, Apples, Blueberries,

Vitamins (E supplement, Beta Carotene, Nicacin, d-Calcium. Pantothenate, A supplement, Riboflavin, D3 supplement Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrae, Ascorbic Acid, Biotin, Folic Acid)

Minerals (Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfte, Iron Proteinate, Ferrou Sulfate, copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Maganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate)

Choline Cloride, Mixed Tocopherols added to preserve freshness, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Taurine, Chicory Root Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation product, Rosemary extract.

I know, the second one has lots of weird sounding stuff in it, but the weird stuff is mostly vitamins, minerals and probiotics which are good for you.  The second one also has many more good for you foods like different fish and lots of veggies.  Corn, rice, soy, sugar and animal by-products will fill you up but they aren’t all that nutritious.  Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6 and Blue 2 are actually pretty bad for you.

I think the best food to eat is raw but making raw food takes time and you need to make sure you are getting the right mix of good for you stuff.  Me, I’d love a whole chicken (raw) or a nice chunk of beef (raw) with a side of mashed sweet potato and carrots.  And for desert, I would love a big Frosty Paws!

Now I’ve done, it.  I am starving.  Think Dixie and I will see if Mom will give us a cookie.

Bone Appetite,

Your friend,

Zeva

P.S.  Blatant Self-promotion. My Own Cookie Tin Gift Basket.