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.

Yappy Holidays!

 

I'm so excited!  Christmas is almost here! I know because I heard some dogs on the radio singing Jingle Bells.  I remember my first Christmas.  It was all new to me so I didn't realize the significance of the day until the night before.  That's when I found out that lots of the pretty boxes under the special tree that lit up were for me.  And those boxes were filled with TOYS!!!!  That's when I understood that Christmas is when dogs get lots and lots of toys! So this year I'm ready.  I'm already sniffing the pretty packages but all I smell are clothes.   I hope those are for the humans cuz I don't like clothes.  My cousin Sophie like to wear sweaters and stuff, but I don't.

Although the most important part of Christmas is the toys, and we pets get excited about all of the new things in our houses please remember that Christmas can be a dangerous time for us.  My sister Dixie never had a home when it was Christmas so this is all new to her.  I'm teaching her all about presents but also about things we need to look out for.

We all like looking at the pretty trees with their flashing lights and pretty balls, but the oil in the trees is toxic and the needles don't digest.  The chemicals people put in the water that help the tree live while it is inside are also toxic to pets.
Make sure your pets don't chew on the electrical cords that keep the lights flashing and those pretty balls, if made of glass, can easily break and those little pieces of glass can cut our paws.  Tinsel, is very tempting, but tinsel does not digest either and can get all knotted up in our bellies.  We can die from knotted up bellies.

So please be extra watchful of your pets around your Christmas tree.  In our house we have a very little tree and it stands on a high table so I can see it but can't reach it.  In some of my friends houses, there are gates in the doorways so the dogs can't be in the room with the tree unless there are humans in there too.  Cats are different so gates don't work for cats and cats love to climb trees. So houses with cats need to be extra careful.

So please remember to keep your pet safe during the Christmas Holiday and remember to buy them lots of toys and treats.  If you don't know what to get them, just give me a call.  I helped design all of the pet gift baskets and can help you choose the right gift for your pet.  You'll find some of our most popular ones in the Pet Gift Division of our website.

Merry Christmas everyone.
Your friend,

Zeva

A BONE OR A PHONE

I’ve been surfing the web and choosing the gifts I’m going to put on my Santa Paws list.  There are some really great toys out there!  I know Mom is going to be practical and probably tell Santa we need new Shoo! Tags because Dixie ate hers and we need to be protected against fleas and ticks.  She’ll probably say we should ask for Kyjen tug toys made out of fire hoses cuz Dixie ate all our other toys.  But I’m looking for something really different this year.

I’m a real techie dog so the PetCell really got my attention.  It’s a small bone-shaped phone that attached to a dog’s collar.  Too cute!  I wonder if it comes in pink.  It works just like a human cell phone so your humans can talk to you even when they aren’t around.  How cool is that!!!  It also has a GPS and Geo fencing.  Wow.

I told Mom all about it but she says I’m too young to have my own phone.  I’m three!  And besides, I’m very responsible. I’m putting it on my list anyway cuz Santa Paws knows I have been very, extra, super good this year.

I like when Mom puts kibble inside the Kong and when I play with it, it gives me treats.  I saw some other toys like that on line so I’m hoping to get one of those.  What could be better than playing AND getting treats at the same time?

I have a ball that flashes lights when I play with it.  I like to drop it at the top of the stairs and watch it go down.   It’s a new toy so I don’t know how long it will last before Miss Chews Everything gets it and Mom throws it out.  So I looked and found something called X-Tire Blinky Ball.  It’s a ball that blinks like the one I have but this one is surrounded by two rings that are made out of the stuff car tires are made of.  Definitely going on my list.

Antlers are always a good choice and on Christmas day, after we open all of our gifts, I would like nothing better than to relax and enjoy a fresh marrow bone.  Perfection.

I think that about covers my wish list for this year. After you mail your list off to Santa Paws, drop me a note, I’d love to know what you are expecting to see under your tree.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Seasons Greetings,

Your friend,

Zeva

P.S.  blatant self-promotion... all of our holiday gift baskets have lots of great toys and treats so if you don't have the time to shop around, check out our website.  It's so easy, just choose the gifts you want and tell me where to send them.  I'll even include a nice card.  Our site is filled with great gifts for pets and the people who love them.  Here's the link to the pet page http://laurelmtbasket.com/index.php/store/category/pet-gifts-and-baskets

Home For The Holidays

The Holiday Season is here.  Thanksgiving is just a few days away and Christmas is right behind it.  OMD!  I haven't written to Santa Paws yet!  Anyway, the holidays are a very hectic time of year for pets as well as for people.

Houses get decorated and big meals get cooked.  Lots of people come to visit.  All of this can be confusing.

Mom and Dad love Christmas and love to make the house pretty with all sorts of decorations.  The biggest decoration is the tree.  They actually go outside and bring a tree into the house.  Imagine that!  Bringing a tree in means that they have to move stuff around which is kind of confusing for a while.

A real tree needs to have water so if you get a real tree in your house you need to remember that you are not supposed to drink the water that is under the tree.  That water is the tree's water.  Also, sometimes people put chemicals in the water.  Chemicals are good for the tree but bad for pets.

Christmas trees are not for chewing.  I like to chew sticks but the kind of trees that make good Christmas trees, make bad chewing trees.  These trees have oils in them that can make your tummy very bad and the little green needles can get into your intestines and, oh boy, it can hurt.  The last thing you want to do is go to the emergency vet.  Your humans will not be happy.

Cats -  As tempting as it is, DO NOT climb the inside tree.  Humans don't like it.

Male Dogs - The inside tree is not for lifting your leg. You still need to go outside to pee.

Having a tree in the house can be pretty but humans take it a step further.  Humans like to decorate the tree with all kinds of stuff.  They wrap the tree in lights and garland, hang pretty round things called ornaments on the branches and even sprinkle shiny tinsel all over it.  None of this is good to eat!

The ornament things are really pretty but you need to be careful because some of them are made of glass.  Glass ornaments are easy to break and you don't want to get any broken glass in your pads.  Tinsel and garland are very pretty too but you don't want to eat them because they make you very sick and again, you don't want to go to the vet.

I'm the curious type so I'm always sniffing the ornaments and poking them to make them move.  That's why Mom puts ornaments that can't break on the lower branches of the tree.  If I poke one or hit it with my tail and it falls off the tree, it won't break which makes Mom happy and keeps me out of trouble.

Be very careful that you don't knock over the tree.  Dixie and I play tag and wrestle so we are going to have to be extra careful around the Christmas tree this year.  Hopefully Dad will put it in a very sturdy stand so that we can't knock it over while playing.

The best part of having a tree is that that is where Santa Paws puts the presents. You just have to remember that not all of the presents are for you and you should not unwrap them or chew the boxes.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and I hope Santa Paws brings you lots of toys and treats.

Your friend,
Zeva

P.S.  Blatant self-promotion our Yappy Holidays! gift baskets  is one of my very favorites because it has some yummy stuff for your humans too.