Happy Birthday USA

What do you think of when I say Fourth of July celebration?  Parades?  Fireworks?  Picnics?  I love a good party but not all pets do.  Parades, with large crowds of cheering people, marching bands playing music and people throwing things from floats make some pets very anxious.  Fireworks, although pretty, are very, very loud to our sensive ears.  And picnics.  Fourth of July picnics are actually dangerous places for pets.

Lots of things that you see at a picnic may seem harmless but they are not.  Hot dogs, hamburgers, potatoe salad, chips, they're just food.  So what's wrong with food.  We dogs should only eat dog food even though we love human food.  You might think a little human food would be okay.  Well, dogs you see, we're never full.  If we can beg or steal human food we will keep going until we are really sick.

That can of beer or glass of wine you leave by the side of your chair, can be mightly tempting to a pet.  But pets should NEVER be allowed to drink any kind of alcohol.  Alcohol is so toxic to pets
.
And the other stuff we might find lying around like sunscreen, insect repellant, citronella candles or oils can cause serious harm if we eat them.  You see, we can't read and some of these things look like they would be fun to play with.  We won't know it's not good to eat until it's too late.

Fireworks and glow sticks also look like toys but are poisonous so please make sure they are well out of reach.  Like I said before, the noise from fireworks is scarey to many pets.  So many pets get scared by fireworks that the Fourth of July is the day/night when the most pets get lost.  The loud continuous noise is so scary a dog or cat might keep running.  They are so scared that they could run so far trying to get away from the noise that they can't find their way home.  They could even run into traffic and get hit.

Please help us stay safe this Fourth of July.  I have a nice crate in an air conditioned room that is a perfect place for me to spend the Fourth.  I can have my own good food and cool water with ice in it and nap the day away.  If you don't have AC, find a nice cool room and turn on a fan. If your pet is really scared, you can call your vet today and have them give you  something to help.  There are also some good holistic treatments you can get at most pet stores. 

Wishing you (and your pets) a happy and safe Fourth of July.

Your friend Zeva

P.S.  Follow me on Twitter @zevathedog or see the pet gift baskets I designed at Laurel Mountain Basket Co

Walkin' On The Wild Side

I was hanging out with my Mom the other day while she read a post by our friend Eric, The Amazing Dog Training Man.  It was about choke collars and how he doesn't like them. 
I never heard of choke collars so I did some research and OMG!  They don't look very comfortable at all.  Even the ones that come in pretty colors look like they would hurt and the ones with the spike things, no way! They are supposed to help train dogs but if they aren't used correctly, they can seriously hurt a dog.  I also read they are NEVER be left on when the dog is alone cuz they can, well make the dog choke to death.
When I was a puppy, I didn't like to walk on a leash. I used to pull Mom along.  I'm a border collie/lab mix.  It's my job to make sure humans are safe by chasing away the birds and herding people down the path and I couldn't do that on a short leash.
Mom was very patient with me.  It took forever to go for a walk cuz we had to stop all the time and do "training".   Training was sort of fun cuz I got treats when I did things right.  Training got really good after Mom bought me a pretty purple halter to go with my bright pink collar and leash. I started doing walking without pulling all the time.  After all, looking good IS everything and the purple and pink combo is for strutting, not pulling, although I still do lapse when I'm super excited.
There are lots of different types of collars for dogs.  There are martingale collars that are kind of like a choke collar but they don't close all the way and breakaway collars that come apart if they get caught on something. There are head collars which are sort of like a halter and dogs can sometimes get themselves out of them.  And of course there are regular collars with a buckle or snap which come is all kinds of colors and styles.  Some even have real diamonds or other expensive stuff.  I don't think I'll ever get one with diamonds but some sort of bling would be nice.  I do wear my pink buckle collar all the time cuz it's where I keep my identification tags.
For Mom it's all about making sure I'm safe, for me it's about looking good.

The best person to help you and your humans decide what collar is best for you is your trainer. So if you and your humans don't walk well together, ask your trainer if a different collar would help or if you just need more treats.

Here's to happy walks,

Your friend Zeva

P.S. Shameless self promotion - Our To The Rescue Gift Basket includes a nylon lease along with many other "welcome to your furever home" items.

Hazardous Waste Material

I love going for walks on the Manhan Rail Trail with my Mom. The Rail Trail is a beautiful paved trail near our house where people ride their bikes, roller blade or just walk with their dogs. Walking the trail is so much fun. You get to meet lots of people and dogs and there are so many interesting smells. Like I said, dogs get to walk on the trail and some days there are lots of marking to explore.
Mom doesn't mind too much when I sniff a post or tree but when I get too close to a pile of poop she reminds me with a gentle tug on my lease to keep walking. I guess in the human world dog poop is something bad.
Mom read that, according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dog poop is a dangerous pollutant like toxic chemicals. If it gets into drinking water or even if humans get some on their feet when walking barefoot, it can make them sick. Really sick. They could get tummy hurts like cramps or diarrhea or really bad things like blindness, kidney disorders, intestinal illnesses. Lung, brain, liver or heart disease could happen because of some of the things that are in dog poop.
Dog poop can have worms like ringworms, whipworms and tapeworms and evil viruses like Salmonella or E Coli.
Dogs can get sick too. They can get Parvovirus, Distemper or Giardia.
So, it's very important for humans to make sure to clean up after their dogs. Mom keeps a rake and shovel handy so my pen at home is always clear of poop and when we go anywhere her pockets are filled with little poop bags. We even keep an extra box in the glove compartment of our car.
Our company promotes responsible dog ownership so we include a big box of poop bags in many of our dog gift baskets like our Dog Gone It! gift baskets .
So humans, please pick up after your dog so we can all be safe.
Your friend,
Zeva

Salute to the Working Dog

I'm a working dog.  I am the product tester and chief designer for Laurel Mountain Basket Co, my family's gift basket company.  I have a very tough job and have to make lots of important decisions every day.
But today I want to talk about some other working dogs that I really admire.  Dogs like Police Dogs often called K-9's.  These highly trained dogs have lots of jobs, all of which are dangerous.  They protect and help their police officer partners.  Because they can run faster than people, they can chase down and hold a bad guy until the human police officer can catch up.
Some police dogs have special training. Because they have such a great sense of smell they can be trained to sniff out drugs or explosives or even help with arson investigations. Their sense of smell makes them good at searching and rescuing lost people too.
Police dogs are so special they can have their own badge numbers and even have their own bullet proof vests.  In some places hurting a police dog is considered a felony which means big, big trouble for the bad guys.
Other really important working dogs are serving in our military.  Like the police dog, a military dog protects and helps.  War dogs, as they are sometimes called, sniff out mines and are great scouts and guards. Within the past few years, War Dogs started being used more and more on the front lines.
Cairo is probably the most famous War Dog I know about.  He was with the Navy SEALs team that captured Osama bin Laden.  He got lowered out of a helicopter and he has his own body armor to help keep him from getting hurt.
I want to thank Cairo and all of the other dogs who work to help keep me and my family safe.
Now I will get back to my work.  Where do I want to take my afternoon nap, family room couch, office couch or the bed.... decisions, decisions, decisions
Love from your friend,
Zeva

Tricks for Treats

Hi Everyone,
Who likes treats?  I do for sure.  They say if you do something you love, you never have to work a day in your life.  Well, I have the perfect job.  I am the Product Tester at www.laurelmtbasket.com I get to test all of the treats that go into our Pet Gift Baskets. Of all the product I get to test, I like testing cookies the best.
Recently we got a package of treats from Healthy Dogma(www.healthydogma.com) in Michigan.  Because I am such a good product tester they asked me if I would try them and give my opinion.  OMG!   They make the yummiest cookies ever!  I got to test the nutty apple barkers.  Peanuts and apples together! An amazing combination that is so delicious.  Of course they have other good stuff in them like whole grain oats, olive oil and other stuff mom cares about.  But they don't have any wheat, corn or soy which is stuff mom doesn't like to have in my food.
It says right on the package that they are "For good dogs only" which isn't a problem for me.
I also got to test their amazing apple crisps.  Amazing is part of the name and boy, did they name these treats right.  Does your mom bake?  You know that nice smell when she bakes an apple pie?  Well, these treats taste just like that.  The amazing apple crisps are great for all dogs but they could be especially good for those of us who are watching our girlish figures.   They are low calorie and have dietary fiber in them which is all good.  They also have antioxidants and vitamin C.  I don't know where they hide all that good stuff because all the ingredients say is apples and cinnamon.
Healthy Dogma has lots of other great treats I am going to ask my to get for me.    I'm thinking the blissful banana crisps will be pretty good.  I wonder if they taste like banana cream pie.  And there are a bunch of barkers that sound yummy too.
All this talk of treats is making me hungry.  I'll have to go see if there are any nutty apple barkers left.
Be a good dog and maybe your humans will get you some Healthy Dogma treats too.
Your friend,
Zeva

<script src="http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=144776" type="text/javascript" ></script>

Dog vs Bear

A very terrible thing happened in Northampton, Massachusetts a few nights ago.  A dog, a nine year old golden retriever, was attacked by a bear.  The dog had to go to the vet but is going to be okay.  The policeman said it was probably a mama bear and a cub and that the mama was protecting her baby.
This sad story is not that unusual.  Thankfully this one had a good ending.  What upset me more than a dog getting hurt by a bear was the way people responded to what happened.
Some people blamed the dog (the nerve of some people).  They said it should not have barked at the bear.  Sorry but barking is what we dogs do.
Others blamed the bear.  They said it shouldn't have been in the yard and said they hoped it got shot.  And still others blamed the dogs humans saying they should not have let the dog outside without being on a leash.  It was the dogs own back yard.
I blame the people who come from the city to live in a nice woodsy area and don't know anything about the animals who also live here.  Our house is only a few miles from Northampton, a city of about 30,000 people.  Our yard is mostly woods and there are lots and lots more woods in our neighborhood.  All kinds of animals, including bears and coyote live in the woods.  I have a nice fenced in area of grass to play in but we know that a coyote could easily jump over the fence if it wanted to so we are always careful.
One morning, not long ago, on our way to work we saw a half dozen trash bins knocked over and garbage spread all along the road. Yup, bears love to pick through garbage.  It's easier to knock over a garbage bin that's just sitting there than to go hunting for food.  And bears must have good memories because once they find a place with free food, they keep going back.
Bird feeders are another favorite place for bears to find yummy food.  We have bird feeders at our house but only keep them up in the winter when it is hard for the birds to find food.  Once it starts to get warm, we take them down.  Birds can easily find food in warm weather.  Other people think it's good to feed the birds all year round because they like seeing the birds.  They get angry when a bear climbs up and steals the bird feeder.
Some people think the bears that live in the area are like the ones they see in zoos.  They think it's okay to just walk up and take pictures.  It is not okay.  It is dangerous.
I love where I live.  It's a very pretty place.  My humans and I also know that we need to respect the wild animals who also live here and do what we try to make sure we are all safe while we enjoy our homes.
Please, if you like living in a nice woodsy area, remember the animals were here first and be their friend by giving them space.
Your friend,
Zeva

STOP! THIEF!

We've been seeing alot of posts recently about dogs that have been stolen! Figuring out which pets were stolen or simply lost is not easy.   According to the American Kennel Club 224 dogs stolen during the first seven months of 2011, that's 49% more than the same period in 2010.  In 2008 there were 71 cases reported.  WOW!

Some people say the economy is to blame for the increase in dognapping.  They say that stolen dogs are being sold over the Internet, are being held for ransom or that because people don't have the money to get a pet from a shelter, they are stealing other people's pets.  Yorkies, Pomeranians and other small breed dogs are especially popular breeds of dognappers since they are easy to snatch and hide.

As if that's not scary enough, really, really, really bad people are stealing dogs to use as bait dogs.  Bait dogs are used to train fighting dogs.  They use dogs that are stolen from happy homes and teach other dogs to kill them. Remember the Michael Vick story?  Yeah, I belive he has been rehabilitated.

Here are some things people can do to help protect their dogs from dognappers.

1.  Don't leave your dog unattended.  It only takes a minute to untie the leash from a parking meter or post outside of your favorite coffee shop.

2.  Heatstroke is not the only bad thing that can happen to a dog left unattended in a car.  They can get stolen.

3.  Never let your dog roam free in the neighborhood.

4.  Don't leave your dog in a fenced in yard when you are not home.  It only takes a minute to open your gate and walk away with your pet.

5.  Make sure your dog ALWAYS wears a collar and they id tags. 

6.  Microchip your pet and make sure you register with the proper agency.  A microchip that is not registered is useless.

7.  Keep proof of ownership papers handy.  They can simply be the paperwork that you got with your town tags or from your vet.

8.  Keep a recent photo handy.


If your dog should go missing.  Report it immediately to the local aurhorities and shelters.   Print up fliers and post them around your neighborhood.  Post a photo and other information with on line rescue services.  And most importantly  NEVER, NEVER, NEVER give up hope.  Sometimes it takes months or even years for us to find our ways back home.  We depend on you to keepus safe and if we do get lost or stolen, to keep on looking for us.

Be safe,

Your friend,

Zeva