5 Lasting Valentine Gifts for Your Dog

Posted by Clare Bristow | 1 Comment

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Are you buying your dog a gift for Valentine's day?

I ask the question because celebrating Valentine's Day with your dog is becoming as big a marketing event as it already is for us celebrating the day with our partners!

There are now hundreds of dog valentine gifts you can buy ranging from heart shaped dog tags, dog beds and dog toys, clothes with heart motifs on them through to special dog biscuits and gift baskets. The majority of these products won't last more than a few days, they're really just produced for Valentine's day.

So for a gift that'll last a bit longer, here's my list of 5 lasting Valentine gifts:

Commission a Pet Portrait

ArtPawArt Paw produce portraits from a photo you supply of your dog.

You can choose to have the portrait done in one of the following styles: Fine Art Style, Warhol styled Pop Art, Master Paw Print Style where your dog is inserted into a famous painting such as the Mona Lisa, or a Soft and Pretty Look where the photo is color enhanced or reproduced in black and white or given a vintage look.

Prices range from $135 to $260 dollars.

Create a Pawprint Pendant

pendantWhy not create an everlasting memory of your dog by having his pawprint recreated onto a charm pendant?

For $194 or $204 Pawprints Jewelry will do this for you in .999 pure silver.

They send you a pawprint impression kit so you can get a mould of your your dog's pawprint, then they transfer that onto a pendant - either by impression or relief.

Make a Donation to the Morris Animal Foundation …

pet tagof $50 or more and they will send you a stylish Canine Cancer Campaign tag in return.

The aim of the campaign is to find a cure for canine cancer in the next 10 to 20 years.

Cancer is becoming increasingly common as the cause of death for many dogs, and much of the research into canine cancer presently undertaken is being done in conjunction with doctors researching the causes and treatments for human cancers.

Commission a Felt Miniature of your Dog

felted-dogKay'sK9s produces replicas of your dog using a technique called needle felting - Kay does such amazing work, and what a wonderful way to immortalize your dog.

At $120 these really do look like value for money, and judging by the testimonials on Kay's site, her customers are very happy with the results: "Oh my god – he is SO cute!!!! The markings are perfect!! His little face is great — you got his expression wonderfully captured. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!"

Spend Some Extra Time With Your Dog

heart-shaped-leashThis gift is free, and is the one that's of most value to your dog.

Spending an extra half an hour playing, practising your training or going for an interactive walk will strengthen the bond between you and your dog.

Our dogs give us so much and ask for so little in return that an extra bit of attention from us would make really make their Valentine's day something special!

How do you plan on spending Valentine's Day with your dog?

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Michael Vick's Dogs - How are They Doing?

Posted by Clare Bristow | 6 Comments

If the following videos are anything to go by, they seem to be doing pretty well.

49 of the dogs recovered from Michael Vick's property in Virginia are now in sanctuaries and rescue groups being rehabilitated for adoption.

Considering these dogs spent almost eight months in shelters and dog pounds before going to their new foster homes in January this year they appear to be adapting to their new life very well.

Excuse me for the indulgence but here are 4 short videos showing the great work BAD RAP (the pit bull rescue and education group Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pit bulls based in Oakland California) and foster parents have done in rehabilitating Hector, Jonny Justice, Uba and Ernie.

Click to Continue Reading —>


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Songs to Make Your Dog Happy

Posted by Clare Bristow | Leave a Comment

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Two songwriters based in Laurel Canyon, California have produced a CD called "Songs to Make Dogs Happy".

Working with animal communicator Kim Ogden-Avrutik the songwriters, Dana Walden and Skip Haynes, identified which topics dogs liked and what style of music made dogs' tails wag.

After interviewing 214 dogs Ogden-Avrutik found that favorite dog topics included: I want my owners to love me, I want to tell my owners I love them, and I love my dog bed; and a Latin rhythm got the dogs' tails wagging.

12 songs were then written and tweaked until they were given the 'Paws Up' by a series of focus groups made up of about 90 dogs.

Here's a sample from the most popular track "Squeaky-Deakey"

If you'd like to listen to a sample of the tracks, head over to PetCDs where you can listen to an extract from all 12 songs.

Not convinced?

Apparently PJ, a dog living in Chicago, used to chew on curtains and couches whenever his owner left him alone in the house, but after listening to the CD PJ stopped his chewing and preferred lounging on the couch instead.

Still not convinced?

PJ's owner video-taped the newly relaxed pooch for 3 days to prove the CDs had a calming effect. Apparently Walden and Haynes have many other similar testimonials that they use to market their music.

I played all the sample tracks to Zoe and Fritz - Fritz was interested in 'Squeaky Deakey' and did start wagging his tail, he barked uncontrollably through 'Adventure Dog' (due to a dog barking in the background) and got up and left the room when 'I Like to Go Outside' played. Zoe lay on the floor unmoved by any of the tracks.

As we only listened to samples, it wasn't really a fair test of the music - has anyone else had experience of this CD?

The article on Songs to Make Dogs Happy appeared was published in the Los Angeles Daily News.


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