Look Who's in Fido Friendly This Month!

This month's issue of Fido Friendly magazine is extra special! It's the celebration of the mag's 50th anniversary issue AND Cosmo and I are featured in it! See the image below. These photos were taking during our trip to Italy... guess what lake Cosmo is enjoying!! Answer below the image...



Cosmo is sitting in front of the beautiful Lake Como. So speaking of beauties at Lake Como... who do you think is more handsome -- Cosmo Havanese or George Clooney?!!!

For more weekend fun, let's head over to the Saturday Pet Blogger Hop!

Win an EYENIMAL Pet Cam on FIDO Friendly!

Imagine what this would look like from a dog's-eye view?! 

We've always thought it would be pretty cool to strap a camera on Cosmo and see the world from his short and fluffy point of view. So we found the EYENIMAL pet cam review on FIDO Friendly Blog particularly interesting.  (Check out the video from the Dexter Cam, pretty darn good quality I'd say!)

And our ears perked up even more when we heard FIDO Friendly is hosting a chance to win an EYENIMAL from DOGTEK -- the contest runs through June 17, 2011 and all the details on how to enter are here.

Is a Cosmo Cam in the future? We sure hope so. From Cosmo's travels to his athletic pursuits, we'd love to see Cosmo's view of the world!

Dog-Friendly Dining: Check out Cosmo in FIDO Friendly magazine!

Cosmo and I love to visit dog-friendly restaurants, and while they seem to be on every corner in Italy, there still are plenty of choices for outdoor dining in our Atlanta area.

So when Carol Bryant from Fido Friendly magazine and blog let us know we made the current issue of the magazine, we couldn't wait to share the great news and the story about dining out with your dog. Check out the photos below and click on each to make it large enough to read the entire story!

We're featured at TAP, a gastropub in Midtown Atlanta with a large patio right on Peachtree Street, perfect for people or dog watching!

Our pal Gus from According to Gus is also featured in a very handsome photo in the first photo below.  Read on to check out the story AND a way to win a subscription to FIDO Friendly magazine.

We had just renewed our subscription to FIDO Friendly when we got the news we'd actually BE in the magazine. How cool is that?! We especially like the photo of Cosmo eyeing the yummy bacon, while I'm enjoying my coffee and brunch on a beautiful Sunday morning last fall.

And now, to make it even better, Gus is hosting a giveaway for a subscription provided by FIDO Friendly!  Just be sure to visit According to Gus before Monday to get all the details and enter!

Pet travel tips this holiday: Travel bag comfort for you and your pet!

Cosmo and I will be leaving on a jet plane this week, heading out to spend Thanksgiving dinner with family and friends, just like thousands of others this holiday!    According to a survey by PetRelocation.com, 63 percent of pet owner says they travel at least 50 miles with their pets during the holidays.  Cosmo's a travel pro at this point, but we put some time into making sure he'd be a well-behaved traveler right from the very start. One of the first things you can do is to make sure you and your pet are comfortable with your travel bag. Here's a few tips to get started! 

1. Play bag games!  When we got our bag, we put it out in the living room and let Cosmo sniff it and get familiar with it. We gave him treats when he touched the bag, and then gave him treats when he got in the bag. Now he knows the command "Go Bag" means that when he gets in and gets comfortable, treats and good things will be coming his way.
2. Carry the bag around the house before your trip! Play the bag game with treats, zip up the bag -- with your pet in it -- and make a few laps around the room. Unzip it with a "Good Dog!" ... and more treats.
3. Keep a small bag of treats handy at the airport. When you go through security, you'll take your pet out of the bag and carry him through with you. The bag will go through the x-ray screening with your other carry-on items. I typically take Cosmo and our bags to a table on the other end of security and play a little game to put him back in the bag. He gets more treats which of course makes him very, very happy! It takes less than a minute to do all this -- you don't want to draw TOO much attention, but folks typically do stop to talk to us. So be sure to schedule a little extra time when traveling with a pet! 
4. Stay calm, yourself! There's something to be said about the saying that dogs can feel your nerves at the other end of the leash. If you're a nervous Nelly, your pet may sense your emotions and have a hard time relaxing too. The more you play bag games and "practice traveling," the more comfortable you BOTH will feel! You might even take a few trial runs by taking your pet and travel bag around the block a few times in the car.
5. And finally, make sure YOU are comfortable with your travel bag. We use the large SturdiBag because it measures the maximum size (12x12x18) allowed by the airline we fly, it's light and flexible enough to place under the seat with ease. Be sure to check pet carrier requirements with the airline you fly. 

For more travel tips, we like Fido Friendly's "Holiday Road Warrior Survivor Guide."

Thanksgiving turkey, here we come! Happy travels!

Best of BlogPaws West

Cosmo and I spent last weekend in Denver at the pet bloggers conference BlogPaws West,  and we had a blast meeting fellow bloggers, hobnobbing with sponsors, listening to inspiring speakers and eating our way through the weekend (at least Cosmo did!) Here's a look at our favorite moments from BlogPaws.

The Grand Hyatt Denver made us feel right at home and they treated Cosmo like the king he thinks he is, with an abundance of belly rubs and  a new treat or toy every time we returned to our comfy room! Thank you Grand Hyatt!

We got to see our old pal Neil Brogan, who generously let Cosmo root around in his bag 'o swag, filled with irresistible treats and toys.

Neil, who pens the wildly popular Life With Dogs blog, was one of 10 bloggers sponsored by Pedigree at BlogPaws West. We were honored to be one of the Pedigree bloggers too and participated in the Write a Post, Help a Dog campaign, which continues through Sept. 19.

Cosmo got lots of playtime with his pal Laura Zickus, mom to his BFF @Perrythebirman! Chica Boom! The swag provided hours of tugging and playing fun including the giant plush gator from Kyjen.

Cosmo and his new pal Dexter, dog to Carol Bryant at Fido Friendly posed solemnly in front of the interactive piece of art -- "Hand to Hand, Paw to Paw" -- created by BZTAT live at BlogPaws!  During the conference, each BlogPaws attendee penned their own thoughts and ideas that were incorporated into the artwork.

Cosmo might not enjoy the party hat he so graciously tolerated, but the doggie birthday cake presented to him by BlogPaws co-founder Caroline Golon, right, more than made up for the humiliation. Thanks to Brett Chisholm of Houston Dog Blog for sending us this photo and for the camera tips!

Cosmo thoroughly enjoyed eating his way through his eighth birthday at BlogPaws. I was a bit worried he'd be over the weight limit for the plane ride home, but it all worked out! Thanks to Boris Kitty for sending us this photo, and thanks to everyone for spoiling this little doggie more than he already is!

Inspiring sessions included this panel discussion from the Be the Change Panel of Jane Harrell, Dorian Wagner, Lynn Haigh and Jessica Vogelsang. Twelve-year-old Miah Thornton, standing, wowed the audience with her new blog, Start the Change.

In another session that inspired, Randi Price told the story about her partnership with CCI service dog Lucky.  Here, Ashley Niels and Nikki Jeske of Pettie Award winning blog I Love Rescue Animals had the chance to chat with Randi and Lucky.

We met the most amazing group of people and pets at BlogPaws! See you next year!!