More About Fences

 Last week in my blog I talked about the different kinds of fences there were and why it is safer for a dog to have a fenced in yard than for them to run free around the town. One of the kinds I mentioned was an invisible fence. Our friend Beauregard reminded us that invisible fences can be very bad for dogs.

Some people like them because they can be lots less expensive than other kinds of fences and since you can’t see them, they let you see all of the outside. Some places make rules about what kinds of fences houses can have. Because you can’t see an invisible fence they fit the kind of fences those rules say are okay.

An invisible fence sounds nice but it is really an electric fence that gives a dog a shock and makes a screechy noise when he tries to go outside of the fence. Shocks hurt and I don’t think hurting is a good way to train a dog. I think there are already enough bad noises like fireworks and thunderstorms so who wants more ugly sounds in the world.

Also the dog needs to be wearing a special collar for the fence to work. That means that other dogs, other animals or even bad peoples can come in the yard and hurt the dog that lives there.

If a dog sees something he really wants to chase or if something scares him enough, he could run real fast right through the invisible fence. He would get a shock but he would already be on the outside. The problem gets worse when he can’t get back into the yard. He will walk up to the yard and get a shock and stay on the outside.

One of Mom’s friends tried an invisible fence at her house. Her dog got shocked a couple of times and refused to go out of the house. He didn’t understand that he could go outside, just not too far. Luckily he only thought it was the front door so they let him out the back door and stopped using the fence.

 Our friend Julee reminded me that collars can get caught on fences and could choke a dog so we need to always be careful when we are outside, even when we are fenced in. Caught collars are only one of the reasons I  reminded peoples that they need to watch their dogs even though they are in a fenced in area. 

I see Dad is ready to go outside to rake the big yard so DixieLee and I will relax in our pen and watch him work. Having a big chain link fenced in yard means we can be outside with Dad and pretty much keep out of trouble. Well, I can. I don’t know about DixieLee.

Love your outside friend,

Zeva

P.S. Blatant self-promotion. For the super bestest pet gift baskets in the universe, stop by pawpalsboutique.com You will be happy you did.

Running Free, Not Me!

Did you know that a long time ago, when Mom was a girl, family dogs stayed outside all the time and ran free around town? I bet it would be fun to run around town and visit other dogs but it must have been very dangerous living back then.

Today most people let their dogs stay in the house and don’t let them run free when they are outside. I know that some adoption agencies won’t let a dog get adopted unless the house has a fenced yard. Fenced yards help keep pets safe. Fences keep dogs from running into the road where cars are and help to keep them from getting stolen. Today dogs that are running free around town can get picked up by the Police.

Pets that run free, especially cats and little dogs, are targets for undomesticated animals like foxes and coyotes. Porcupines and skunks many not eat you but they sure can make your life miserable. Even tangling with a squirrel or snake can mean a trip to the Vet. A neighborhood cat was almost taken by an eagle. Good thing her Mom heard her screaming and was able to rescue her. She is going to be okay but she did have to go to the emergency Vet to get stitches and shots.

Fences can be made from lots of things like wood or vinyl. There are even fences that are invisible!

DixieLee and I have a nice fenced in area. It is big enough for us to have good races and play fights in. It’s made out of chain link. DixieLee is a good jumper but the fence is high enough so she can’t jump over it and she’s not big on climbing over it like some dogs would be.

Dogs have been known to climb on top of dog houses or wood piles and jump over their fences from there. Some dogs prefer to go under their fences.

DixieLee almost dug her way out from under our fence. I don’t think she started out thinking of tunneling her way out, it’s just that she likes to dig holes and a couple of the holes happened to be near the fence. Some dog fences have a border of metal netting that helps keep a dog from digging their way out. Another way to keep a dog from digging under is to make sure that the fence goes at least 6 inches under the ground.

We get to go in our pen most any time we want but only when Mom or Dad is home. They don’t need to be outside with us but they want to be able to keep an eye on us. They know that DixieLee can get into trouble without even trying and escaping from the yard would be big trouble.

When we first got our new fence she tried to squeeze between the end of the fence and the house. Dad had to put an extra post in to fill the gap.  Like I said she doesn't look for trouble but it does seem to find her.

It’s a beautiful Spring day in Northern New Hampshire so I think I stop now and go outside in my pen and enjoy some sunshine and fresh air.

Love,

Zeva

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

The Real Scoop About Poop

Spring is finally here and we are getting to spend more time outside. It was so fun going for a big walk yesterday except Mom got very upset when we walked by a house that had a yard filled with dog poop.

When it snowed all the time, the poop got hidden in the snow but when the snow melted, the mess appeared. She said a poop filled yard not only looks gross, it is very bad for the dog that lives in the house.

Some people think that dog poop is like cow poop. They are wrong. Cow poop is good fertilizer, dog poop is not. That’s because dogs and cows eat different food. A dog’s diet is high in protein filled with stuff like beef and chicken. A cow’s diet is vegetarian. 


Dog poop makes the grass brown which is bad but what is more bad is that dog poop can have diseases like Parvo, Giardiasis, Salmonellosis and bugs like hookworms and tapeworms.

Parvo is very contagious and causes vomiting and diarrhea in dogs. Buggies like hoookworm are bad for dogs and people too. A yard full of dog poop is not a fun place for children to play and when grown ups step in a pile, it makes them say bad words.

We have a big pen and Mom cleans it twice a day, even when it snows. After the snow melted, our pen was nice and clean. When we go for walks, Mom has a pocket full of bags so if we have to poop, she can clean up after us. We think that cleaning up after dogs is so important, we put a box of biodegradable poop bags in of our dog gift baskets.

Unless we learn to use a shovel and rake like the doggie in the photo, we need to remind our humans that cleaning up poop is the right thing to do, even when no one is looking.

Your friend,

Zeva




P.S. Blatant self-promotion. For the bestest pet gift baskets in the universe are at pawpalsboutique.com See for yourself!

A Job Well Done

Hi everyone. I’m DixieLee, Zeva’s sister. I’m the chief product tester at Paw Pals Boutique so she said I could write the blog this week and tell you about some of the things we put into our pet gift baskets.

I have to admit I don’t know anything about cat things so I’m just going to talk about things dogs like. I’m part hound so I have a good nose for sniffing out the good stuff. Stuff like the all natural yogurt and carob frosted treats made in Vermont. Mom likes them because they are healthy, I like them because they taste awesome.

I also admit that I like all of the treats we use in our gift basket and most of the toys. Zeva likes the squeaky ball kinds of toys while I prefer the ones that are good for playing tug of war.

I like really like the dog bone toys from Smiling Dog Pets. They are hand made from recycled denim and have embroidered words on them. I also like the Zanie unstuffed toys. They are great for playing tug of war.

Sniffing out things to go into our gift baskets is only the beginning. Once we find something, I need to test it to make sure it meets my very strict requirements. I tend to be a little rough on toys so Mom makes the final determination.

Mom is also the one who puts all the toys and treats into the gift baskets. She gets that job because she is the only one that has opposable thumbs which are a big help especially when tying bows.

Zeva and I usually watch very carefully to make sure she puts in enough treats and toys and that she puts in a good variety of each. We also watch in case a package of treats accidentally opens and falls on the floor. It hasn’t happened yet but it’s good to pay attention because you never know.

Zeva said that writing a blog is lots of work and she is right, as usual. I still have to test a new batch of treats but I think I’ll take a short nap first.

Nice to meet you all,

DixieLee


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

Off To Work We Go

I like working at Paw Pals Boutique. Making gift baskets for pets is interesting work and a lot of fun. Mom was working in the office the other day doing accounting stuff. It sounded really boring until Mom explained that one of the reasons we work is to get monies so we can buy cookies.

I don’t know much about monies but I do know about cookies. At the time, I was reading an article about expensive dog accessories so Mom explained how much the different things cost if we paid in cookies.

For example, we saw a pretty collar that was made up of 52 carats worth of diamonds. Now I like carrots almost as much as cookies but Mom said carats are different from carrots. Then she wonders why I get confused when she says stuff.

Anyway, this pretty collar cost $3.2 million dollars. Mom said you can buy your very own cookie company for that much monies.

I have a pretty purple collar made by Waggsley Muttleston which didn’t cost nearly that much so if we every get $3.2 million dollars, I’ll buy my own cookie company and keep my purple collar.

We also saw a bathtub covered in shiny crystals that cost almost $7,000. I wouldn’t want one of those anyway since I don’t like baths.

I did like the dog house we saw that cost $417,000. It has two bedrooms, a big TV and an automatic food dispenser. We already have a pretty nice house with three bedrooms and a sort of big TV but we sure could use an automatic food dispenser.

There was a $10,000 harness. It was leather and lamb skin. It also had some of those diamond things on it and some 24K gold. It was sort of nice but I like my harness. It’s black and looks stunning against my white coat.

There were some accessories for cats too. There was a nice tree house that cost $999. I guess houses for cats cost a lot less than houses for dogs. I didn’t see where the tree house came with an automatic food dispenser so maybe that’s why it wasn’t as expensive.

We found a dinner bowl that cost $750. It was black and gold. I thought my dinner bowl which is white with different color bones on it was much prettier.


At Paw Pals Boutique we know that every pet needs a few essentials like a collar, harness and a dinner bowl and our To The Rescue gift basket is filled with some or those basics plus a whole lot more (like cookies). And it’s priced way less than $3.2 million.

Love your cookie counting friend,

Zeva




P.S. Blatant self-promotion. Check out our To The Rescue Gift Basket and other designs at pawpalsboutique.com 

To Video Or Not To Video

Mom has started doing videos and posting them on our Facebook page and they seem to be popular.  DixieLee and I were featured in the first video but no others.  DL and I should probably do more but I am sooooo busy I'll have to see where I can fit another job into my already overbooked schedule. It looks like I may be able to shave a few minutes off of my afternoon nap but I'll have to do a time management analysis to see if that is the best use of my time.

In the mean time, I'll simply devote my blog this week to talking a little bit about pawpalsboutique.com

When I was adopted in 2011, I went to work with Mom every day to keep her company.  When people would come into our Shoppe I would greet them and soon people were coming in just to visit with me.

It was my idea to start selling pet gift baskets in our Shoppe and they did become very popular.  One of our biggest selling baskets was Paw Pals On the Heart.  We know that the loss of a pet is unbearable.  People send condolence gift baskets all the time so the idea of sending them for pets was a natural.

We also had lots of peoples who liked to send gift baskets when a pet got adopted.  I like those almost the best myself because I know a pet who gets a gift basket is going to be living in a super good home where there will be lots of people who love them.

By the time we closed the Laurel Mountain Basket Co shop in Massachusetts I was very active on line.  I had my own Twitter account, this blog and was an active member of 3 Million Dogs so it made perfect sense to give the pet division of Laurel Mountain Basket Co its own website.

Now you can find the bestest pet gift baskets in the universe all in one place.  Well, actually in three places but who is counting.  If you haven't already, "Like" us on Facebook and visit us often at pawpalsboutique.com

Look at the time!  I should be getting ready for my afternoon nap.

Anyway, please check out Mom's videos and let me know what you think.

Your friend,
Zeva

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

Hi! What's Your Name?

You all know my name is Zeva but you may not know why my Mom chose that name for me.

When my Mom and Dad first met me, they thought I was very pretty and very smart.  Ziva David, was the prettiest and smartest character (played by Cote dePablo on NCIS) they could think of.  So, I got named after her.... only we spell my name differently.

My sister's name is DixieLee.  She got her name because she is a Dixie Dog. A Dixie Dog is a dog that is rescued from high kill shelters in the South and brought North

My friends Bumo and Miu were named after the area their breeds originated.  Both breeds started in the Himalayan mountain region of Tibet so their Mom gave them Tibetian names.  Bumo means girl and Miu means doll and their names fit them well.

Our friend Beauregard is a very special dog so his Mom named him after her very first dog who was also very special.  Beauregard is a French word and means well regarded and handsome.  I think my friend is very handsome.

Fo, our cat guest blogger, was named by her human girl who liked the fairy tale Jack In The Beanstalk so she named a litter of kittens Fe, Fi, Fo and Fum.

There are lots and lots of ways to choose a name for a pet.

Lots of pets have people names or people nicknames.  Some of the most popular dog names are Max, Buddy and Charlie for boys and Bella, Lucy and Molly for girls.

Some favorite cat names are Tigger, Lucy and Molly.  Lots of cats are given names that reflect their appearance or personality.  Names like Shadow, Smoky and Midnight or Comet and Dash.

There are some things that might help people choose a good name.  First, pets respond better to names that have one or two syllables.  Some dogs, especially championship dogs, have really long names.  Their papers may say their name is His Royal Highness Reginald III, his humans probably call him Reggie.

Also it should be a nice name.  How embarrassing it would be to be playing at dog park with a bunch of new friends and have your human yell out "Come here Dog Breath"!  I would run away for sure.

People should choose a name that will grow with their pet.  Even if the puppy is the smallest of the litter, Tiny is not such a good name for a Great Dane or Newfoundland.

Since we are friends I'd love to know your name and how your humans chose it for you.

Love,
Your friend,

Zeva

P.S.  Blatant self-promotion.  Looking for a super special gift for your favorite fur friend?  Take a look at the super special gift baskets at pawpalsboutique.com