Wordless Wednesday: Camouflage Dog

Can you find Cosmo Havanese in this picture?!

Thanksgiving Traditions: Macy’s Parade and The National Dog Show with a side of Turkey!

One of our favorite Thanksgiving traditions starts with watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade followed by The National Dog Show presented by Purina. Cosmo and I camp out in front of the TV all morning, enjoying amazing parade floats, Broadway numbers and finally each breed group followed by Best in Show.

Ahhh, what could be better!

This year, to mark the 10^th anniversary of The National Dog Show on NBC, viewers can enjoy more dog show fun by downloading the free National Dog Show app from the Android Market or iTunes App Store. We just downloaded ours and are already hooked on reading up on all sorts of fun facts, taking polls and watching videos of our favorite breeds.

Fun Fact from The National Dog Show App

The hilarious Christopher Guest movie Best in Show inspired NBC’s Jon Miller to bring NBC, The Kennel Club of Philadelphia and Purina together to make The National Dog Show a reality. The Kennel Club of Philadelphia’s all-breed show dates back to the 1800s, and beginning in 2002, the prestigious show was transported to the living rooms of millions of Americans to enjoy on Thanksgiving day.

This year, host John O’Hurley and expert analyst David Frei will be back to share their colorful commentary as 2,000 dogs vie for Best in Show honors. The 10^th anniversary special is scheduled to air on NBC from noon to 2 p.m. in all time zones, right after the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Now, does anyone know where we can get a Busy Bee?

Have a Calm and Happy Thanksgiving with Pets and a Special Earth Heart Offer!

The holidays can be a joyful time for visiting with family and friends, but they also can be a stressful time for your pets.

Whether you're traveling or staying home, we sniffed out this helpful and timely offer from Earth Heart, maker of all-natural products that use aromatherapy and pure essential oils to help keep you and your pet happy and healthy this holiday season.

The offer

Earth Heart is offering their own version of Black Friday, Shop Small Saturday AND Cyber Monday! Receive one FREE product with your online order during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, November 23-27, 2011.  Order one or more Earth Heart products, and in ‘special instructions’ or ‘note to seller’ at check out, enter ‘DL Thanks 2011’ and be sure to include the product name you wish to receive FREE with your order. 

A look at Earth Heart products

(You can order each product from these links below)

• Canine Calm helps dogs relax during stressful situations
• Travel Calm is a safe and healthy solution for travel shy dogs
• Guard Well helps dogs find relief from environmental irritants
• Buzz Guard can help improve your dog's comfort during outdoor activities

If you'd like to learn more about how other folks have used Earth Heart product, there are plenty of helpful reviews here.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving and Cosmo says, 'whatever you do, stay calm!"

Cosmo calmly packs a few essentials before jetting off for the holidays!

It's National Get a Pal For Your Pet Day!

Pets Add Life (PAL) has officially declared November 19th National Get a Pal For Your Pet Day! The folks at PAL recognize the benefits of owning multiple pets, and want to encourage pet parents to consider adopting additional furry, winged and/or finned family members.

Cosmo, left, is an "only dog" but sure enjoys playtime when his pals come to visit!
Is it time for a second dog?!

If you're considering a second pet, or a third or a fourth, the folks at PAL say there are many benefits to having multiple pets in a household:

"Giving your pet a friend allows it to interact with other animals, which results in a more active and social animal. Studies have even shown that multiple pets can help ease a pet's separation anxiety from its owner, as well as revitalize older animals when a new pet is introduced." 

It's also important to be knowledgeable about HOW to introduce a new pet to the household. Pets Add Life has assembled some good resources about multiple pet ownership, including these tips from Banfield, The Pet Hospital to help make the transition more successful. PALS shares more information on the benefit of sharing your life with multiple pets here.

***

This post is sponsored by the Pets Add Life campaign and the American Pet Products Association. The Pets Add Life (PAL) campaign is designed to demonstrate the benefits of pet ownership, thus driving increased adoption of pets and responsible ownership of pets. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about the benefits and joys of pet ownership. 

Winner of Purina ProCare Prize Package and Pet Care Cleaning Tips!

We received some great cleaning tips from the entrants to our Purina ProCare giveaway, and today's the day to announce our winner!

No, Cosmo, you can't eat these, but they will keep your home fresh and clean!

But first, a few tips from our readers to help make your home -- and litterbox -- spic and span this weekend:

• Cynthia Downer shares, "If you've got hard water that leaves that 'crusty' calcium build-up on dog bowls, bath tubs, etc., vinegar dissolves it right up. Just soak it overnight! If it's in a hard to reach area a good idea is to leave it covered with a vinegar-soaked rag."
• Kelly Ann says to "use vinegar to clean up messes on tile and concrete."
• Amy Orvin says, "my tip is using baking soda in the catbox. It helps to absorb odors."

Training pads can also be used for purposes beyond house-training puppies.

• Pepper Pom writes, "I use pee pads at night, and in bad weather, and when traveling. I even used one on a train! BOL!! I also line my pet-a-roo with one." 
• I also keep a training pad in my carry-on in case of emergency, like I did when we traveled to Italy with Cosmo!

Thanks for some great cleaning tips, and now one lucky reader will win a prize pack from Purina ProCare -- including new Purina ProCare Ultra Dry Advanced Training Pads and Pet Stain and Odor Eliminator.

Drum roll puleeeez >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The winner is Amy Orvin! Congrats to you and thanks to everyone for playing and sharing your cleaning tips! 

Dog Joy Treat Review from Freshpet

A few years back we discovered a new type of treat, kept in a small refrigerator in the pet aisle of our local Kroger store. Cosmo adored them and we used them for agility training, perfect because we could break off tiny pieces from each of the soft treats so Cosmo wouldn’t be too stuffed running around the course!

The treats were a bit hard to find – not every Kroger carried them – and after a while my local Kroger didn’t stock them anymore. So when we were recently contacted by Freshpet to sample some new refrigerated treats under the Dog Joy brand, I was hoping they were similar to what I remembered from a few years back.


Turns out they are the same, but with a few new products in the line as well. Freshpet originally sold their treats under the brand name of The Loved Dog (the brand I remembered). They were changed to the current brands, Dog Joy and Dognation.

Cosmo was sent three types of treats to sample from Dog Joy:

• Sweet Potato Treats – made only of real sweet potatoes
• Real Chicken Recipe – made with juicy slow grilled chicken
• Real Beef Recipe – made with savory, slow grilled beef

All Doy Joy Treats are all natural with no artificial preservatives and contain no corn, wheat or soy. Important note: they must be refrigerated. It’s recommended to return each bag to the refrigerator within 20 minutes after treat time, and use contents of the open pouch within 14 days.

Results from Cosmo’s Test Kitchen

Below, Cosmo gives Dog Joy treats the sniff test -- the "eyes" and "nose" are the soft chicken and beef treats, the "mouth" is a sweet potato treat.

He wastes no time in devouring the soft chicken and beef treats.

The sweet potato treat is more like a soft chew and it takes Cosmo a little longer to warm up to it...

... but finally he does, and he consumes it with the same gusto as he does the softer treats.

Take a look at Cosmo in action...

Here he is woofing, "I want a Dog Joy Beef Treat and I want it NOW!

Cosmo is a bit more methodical about sampling the Dog Joy Sweet Potato Treats. He must take each one out of the bag, lick them all, roll on them, and then decide it's ok to chew on one for a while!

Don't worry, Cosmo did NOT consume the whole bag though he WILL be back for more! And we'll plan to add the soft beef and chicken treats back into our agility training treat rotation. 


To find Freshpet products near you, visit their store locator. 

More about Freshpet

Freshpet brands include Freshpet Select and Dog Joy, available at select grocery and mass-market retailers; Deli Fresh, Vital and Dog Nation, available at select pet specialty stores; and Veterinary Nutrition available at select veterinarians. For more information about Freshpet products, visit http://www.freshpet.com/.


Disclaimer: We were sent the treats complimentary from Freshpet for our review but our opinions are entirely our own. Cosmo always woofs what he is thinking!

Atlanta Pet Expo Fun!

Last weekend Cosmo and I headed to the Atlanta Pet Expo, a pet-friendly event filled with lots of fun exhibits and games for you and your pet!  You can find out if there's a Pet Expo coming to your area on AtlantaPetExpo.com and look for the list of upcoming shows at the bottom left.

Cosmo met Shorty from Animal Planet's Pit Boss and Shorty's Pit Bull Rescue.

Shorty signed autographs... that's Hercules in the background.

There were also lots of pet rescue groups and adoptable dogs and cats from all over the state. This is Tiki from Dream Dachshund Rescue.

We also met Matilda, a sweet senior dog from Small Dog Rescue, who also is looking for her furever home.

Cosmo visited with the folks from Good Mews, who have plenty of sweet kitties to adopt.

We've also been asked about the harness Cosmo wore at this event. You can see the Rock Star label in this photo. And on the other side...

... it says Cosmo Havanese! We bought our Julius K9 Harness and ordered the custom name plates from Canis Callidus. Cosmo wears a size Mini.

The Expo also featured an agility demonstration from AKC Canine Partners, the American Kennel Club's program for mixed-breed dogs.

There was also lots more fun and games, including Doxie races, musical chairs and also information about training and supplies. Here, Cosmo hangs with his pal after competing in the Doxie Dash ... yes, all breeds were allowed to compete!

For more photos check out our To Dog With Love Facebook Page.

Watch Pets at Home with VueZone Remote Monitoring System

Every wonder what your pet is doing while you’re away from the house? I’ve thought about strapping a Cosmo cam on Cosmo, but here’s another way to track what’s going on at home. With VueZone, a system of miniature, battery-powered wire-free cameras, you can check on your pets 24/7 and probably find a few other unique uses too!

   

The cameras stream real-time video that you can watch on your smartphone or online from any computer. You also can pan and zoom, and record and publish videos to YouTube and Flickr. To access and view your cameras, you log onto your own password-protected my.VueZone.com account through either a smartphone or computer to begin viewing, saving, and recording live video.

In addition to checking on your pets, here are some uses other folks have found helpful:

•  If you have contractors in your home, check on the progress of your home improvement projects
•  If you live in an area with outdoor wildlife, point the VueZone camera outdoors to spot outdoor critters
• While you are out, point the camera at your front door to check if packages have been delivered

 Or how about catching a raccoon in the act?... Yikes!

All VueZone personal video network systems come standard with motion detection and start at $199.95. Add up to 15 motion detection cameras at 99.95 each. VueZone remote video monitoring systems are available on vuezone.com and amazon.com.

Share the Santa Paws Drive Love and Help the Animals Who Need it Most!

 

Santa Paws Drive is in full swing and we'd love for you to help share the love! Santa Paws Drive is the first online Christmas toy drive to help shelter animals worldwide, and there are lots of ways you can help spread the word.

Love bug Wilbur is from Black Dog
Animal Rescue in Wyoming

Share the love

• Grab a donation widget or badge and post it to your blog or website. You can see one on our sidebar to the right.
• Share Facebook posts from the Santa Paws Drive page with your FB friends.
• RT Santa Paws Drive Twitter posts.
• Share our story with anyone who will help spread the word so that we can spread more joy to shelter animals this holiday season (think national media, local media, online news sites, your blog, friends, family, moms, dads, boys and girls... anyone who wants to help a shelter pet!)

Learn more about Santa Paws Drive!

Sweet Sampson is from Sheba's Animal Haven in Canada

Six shelters have been selected from nomination across the world and you can read all about the Santa Paws Drive shelters here. With four organizations in the United States, one in Canada and one in the U.K, we are hoping to spread the holiday cheer to some very special dogs and cats this season.  You can get to know some of the dogs and cats who will benefit from the drive on the Santa Paws blog!

Read about how the Santa Paws Drive started and what it's all about. 

Adorable Dali is a playful kitty from K9 Kastle in New York

Donate toys and cash for the animals who need it most!

Our goal is to send oodles (yes, it's the technical term for lots of joy!) of toys and treats and $900 to each nominated shelter this holiday season.  You can donate toys, treats or cash and every single dollar helps a shelter animal. Seriously, no donation is too small (or too large!). If you have a little extra pawket change, here's where you can donate! 

So far, we've raised bunches of toys (much smaller than oodles) and $368 in cash, so we have a way to go still. Toy and treat donations can be made until December 12 and cash donations can be made until December 20, 2011. (The elves need a few days to get everything packed on Santa's sleigh for delivery to our shelters!)

We pause a moment for a PSA from one of the rescue kitties!

Adopt Marvelous Mickey from Blind Cat Rescue in North Carolina and he will help you sweep! Take a look!

Please help us spread the word and consider helping the animals with a donation too! 

Handsome Harold from Greenfields Greyhound Rescue in the U.K. says thank you!

Purina ProCare Review and Giveaway

Cosmo is giving away new Purina ProCare Ultra Dry Advanced
Training Pads and Pet Stain & Odor Eliminator to one
lucky TDWL reader!

Ever since Cosmo has been part of the family, I've kept a bottle of pet stain cleaner and a supply of pee pads in the cupboard.  So we're excited to offer a giveaway today with a new solution to pet care needs from the folks at Purina. More on how to enter our giveaway at the bottom of this post, but first a little bit about these new products.

Purina ProCare

Purina teamed up with the oneCARE Company to develop its new line of Purina ProCare products. You might not be familiar with the name oneCARE but you're sure to recognize some of its  great products from Bounce, Clorox, Downy, Febreze and others!

Even the best pets have accidents!

If you have a pet, you know pet stains can happen, and that can include everything from marking to snorting up the occasional blade of grass! Not only do I look for products that break down stains and provide odor elimination safely and naturally, but they also must pass my sniff test. That means, the scent of the product must appeal to me and not be overpowering. Purina ProCare Pet Stain & Odor Eliminator passes my test on both accounts!

Some other features of Purina ProCare Pet Stain & Odor Eliminator:

• Designed for use on carpet, upholstery, pet beds, litter boxes and any water-safe surface
• Safe for use around children and pets
• Certified by the Carpet & Rug Institute (Check out the CRI's nifty Spot Solver too! Remember, blot, don't rub!)

Essentials for puppies or unusual circumstances 

Purina ProCare Ultra Dry Advance Training Pads look and feel
different from other pads we've used. Check out the microweave top
layer that helps channel urine into the core and trap it there.

When Cosmo was a puppy he was trained to go on a pee pad. Now he goes outside, but we still keep pads on hand for unusual circumstances like traveling long distances or long periods of inclement weather. A feature that we've found particularly useful are pads that help eliminate tracking after using. 

The new Purina ProCare Ultra Dry Advance Training Pads have a special feature that do this and more:

• Exclusive DryStep microwave technology to eliminate unsanitary tracking
• Super-absorbent gel core  to provide maximum absorbency
• Leak-proof backing to protect floors and carpets

Both the pads and cleaner are available at pet specialty retail stores.

Win a Purina ProCare prize pack!  

One U.S. winner, chosen at random with random.org, will win a Purina ProCare prize pack with Ultra Dry Advance Training Pads and Pet Stain & Odor Eliminator.  Entries must be posted by 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, November 16. 

To enter:

(mandatory)

• Leave a comment on this blog post telling us you are entering our giveaway. If you'd like to leave a cleaning tip, we might post it on this blog with credit to you too! Be sure to leave email contact info if your comment doesn't link to some contact information.

For additional entries:

(leave a separate comment for each one)

• Like To Dog With Love on Facebook
• Like Cosmo Havanese on Facebook
• Join this site using Google Friend Connect (look on our sidebar to the right)
• Follow Cosmo Havanese on Twitter
• Follow To Dog With Love on Twitter
• Subscribe to the blog by email (look on our sidebar to the right)
• Tweet: Win a Purina ProCare prize pack with @ToDogWithLove! Giveaway: http://bit.ly/vO1hHR

Good luck!

Disclosure: The products for review and giveaway were provided to TDWL free of charge by PurinaProCare. However, opinions expressed herein are our own.

Superdog!! Jumping Agility Havanese

 Will Cosmo make it over the jump? He sure looks aerodynamic enough!

Photos by Phyllis Ensley

Wheeee! Made it! 

What To Do If Your Dog is Wheezing

Cosmo rests comfortably in his favorite spot after his ordeal

What would you do if your dog started making strange wheezing sounds -- somewhere between a  reverse sneeze and a coughing/choking sound?

That's what happened to Cosmo this morning, resulting in an emergency trip to the vet, x-rays and a full exam to try to locate any obstructions. This story has a happy ending and Cosmo is just fine now, but here's how it all went down.

8:10 a.m. -- Cosmo heads to the backyard, does his usual sniffing around, searches for squirrels, eventually goes potty and heads back up to the kitchen for breakfast.

8:30 a.m.  -- Once inside, Cosmo starts snorting and sneezing. He seems to be breathing o.k., but he's clearly distressed and uncomfortable. After checking his mouth and looking and feeling for any obstructions I decide to head to the vet. 

8:50 a.m. -- Magically, once we entered the vet's doors Cosmo's wheezing calmed down, of course. But he still didn't seem like himself and he snorted a few times. Vet conducts full exam and x-rays and finds no obstructions. She sends us home with an antihistamine to try to calm his wheezing.

9:20 a.m. -- At the checkout area, our vet had a nice array of Hills treats to sample. I chose one of the Hypoallergenic treats to give Cosmo. He took one bite and started sneezing uncontrollably, batting at his face with his paw.  And then all sorts of nose snot, bits of blood and this flew out ...

That's right, it was a pretty impressive blade of grass. Even Cosmo's vet wanted a photo of it!

Cosmo peruses what just came out of his nose. Ewwww! 

 Returning to the scene of the crime, these tall blades are much like the one's Cosmo inhaled.

Some of the activity that likely led to the incident.

While eating grass isn't typically a dangerous activity, and Cosmo likely would have recovered without a trip to the vet (it seems the Hills treat was all we needed!), I wanted to play it safe since I didn't know what was causing the problem.

Here are a few tips from Cosmo's vet if your dog is making unusual wheezing sounds:

• Check your pet's mouth for anything that might obstruct breathing passages
• Observe if your pet is having trouble catching his breath
• If  they are having trouble breathing and the color of their gums are not pink (think blue or white) they are not getting enough oxygen and get to your vet immediately
• For other less serious respiratory ailments, like the upper respiratory discomfort Cosmo was having, antihistamines will typically provide relief

Most likely Cosmo inhaled the grass through his mouth and in the perfect storm of events, it got lodged in his nose, somehow. (Think about what happened when you were a kid drinking milk and someone told a funny joke.) Anyone else have a grass snorting experience?

That's my Cosmo!

Atlanta Animal Rescue Groups Help Pets and People Too

Dudley Moore is an adorable 10-week-old Basset Hound
 and English Bulldog mix from Animal Action Rescue

Last weekend Cosmo and I attended Dogtoberfest, a fun event hosted by one of our local doggie treat bakeries, Taj Mahound. In addition to a fun Halloween costume contest, best trick contest (which Cosmo won!) and great raffle items, we also had the chance to meet several local animal welfare organizations and a few adoptable pups too!  Here's some info on these pawsome groups.


Animal Action Rescue
Founded in 2003, Animal Action Rescue is an Atlanta-based non-breed specific animal rescue organization. They are dedicated to the rescue of animals from high-kill shelters, promote spay/neuter programs and provide education for each pet they place. Dudley, pictured above, comes from Animal Action Rescue!

This is Torti (left) a Wirehaired Terrier and Pinocchio (right) a Poodle/Bichon mix.
 Both are available for adoption at Caring 4 Creatures

Caring 4 Creatures

Caring 4 Creatures is an Atlanta-based non-profit animal welfare and rescue organization, and has helped 800 animals find loving forever homes since 2008. The dream of Caring 4 Creatures founder Karen Ragusa is to build a compound where animals can be properly vetted, loved and nurtured by people who come to partner with them and share in the recovery and healing process. Check out Torti, Pinocchio and Aimee, all from C4C!

Aimiee, decked out in Halloween finery, is a Boston Terrier/Affenpinscher mix,

and also is available for adoption at Caring 4 Creatures.  

Doggie Harmony

Doggie Harmony is a rescue group focused on finding the right homes for dogs in foster care or belonging to owners who wish to re-home them. They also support spay/neuter, wellness and training to help keep or place dogs in homes. Doggie Harmony was founded by Jamie Sprague and Liz Mansour in 2009. Check out Maggie and Farrah from Doggie Harmony!

Ahimsa House
Ahimsa House is Georgia's first and only 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to helping the human and animal victims of domestic violence reach safety together. Ahimsa House provides emergency shelter for pets while their families seek safety themselves. They reunite pets with their families once everyone is safe.

Cosmo hangs out next to the Ahimsa Dog House and hopes that all pets and people find their furever homes soon!

Winner of SmartBones Giveaway

Thanks to everyone for playing our SmartBones giveaway. Looks like we have lots of smart dog readers... 

• Dakota, who can turn on a DVD player
• Frida, who waits for goodies from the microwave
• Patch, who uses his owner for shade
• Jack, who enjoys a nice soak in the tub to relieve allergy itching
• Blind Maximus, who really is blind and can fetch squeaky toys all day
• Bella, who can open jars
• Another Bella, who has learned to open the front door and let herself out

Just to name a few!

But now here's what you all have been waiting for, and without further ado, the winner of our SmartBones giveaway is >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Vivian and her dog Bella who opens jars! Congrats to you, and thanks to everyone for playing!

Cosmo saves and protects his last bit of SmartBone chew!

Cosmo and the Fire Engine: Atlanta Fire Station No. 19

Each year at our neighborhood Halloween parade, our local fire department -- Atlanta Fire Station No. 19 -- brings a fire engine for all the costumed dogs, children and families to see. Neighborhood families gather at the top of our street on Halloween day, and the engine leads the procession to the bottom of the hill, about two blocks away.

 Here's what the procession looks like from the rear.

And the front of the procession, with the fire engine leading the way!

This year, Cosmo Havanese dressed as a fireman  so it was particularly fun to meet the firemen from our local station!

Cosmo and his fire fighting pal exchange fire safety tips

A few worthy things to note about Atlanta Fire Station No. 19

As Atlanta's oldest operating fire station, Station No. 19 has served Virginia Highland and the neighboring Atlanta communities since 1925. The station is in the process of a fundraising effort to help renovate the historic building, and you can make a tax deductible donation to contribute to the renovation here.  You can also support the fire station by purchasing items like these nifty dog bandanas!

The station also does a lot of other cool events like storytime for the neighborhood kids with free ice cream. We also think this 1925 fire engine rescued from a garage in Indianapolis is pretty nifty too!

Cosmo had a special seat in the 2010 Halloween parade!