All Things Dog Blog

Your Dog Choice: What a Hat Says About a Guy

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 08:39 AM PST

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

© Carrie Boyko

Tanner in his Thinking Cap

While cruising through the website of MANKINDdog™ last week, I realized something. Their signature hat, emblazoned with their logo, screams out that all dogs are for all people--the whole of MANKIND. Yet, until that moment, I had always seen a guy's hat as a signal of the type of dog he would choose.

Call me an amateur profiler if you like, but this is all in fun, so please just sit back and enjoy the sillinesss that is me today. Hang in there with me for a moment while I explain. Visualize this...okay.

A guy in a cowboy hat is often found with a herding or a hunting breed. These dogs typify his association with ranches, the West, and the mountain wilderness lifestyle.

Your typical preppie type from an Ivy League college is probably wearing his Princeton baseball cap (and don't forget the sweatshirt) while walking his dog in the park--his Labrador Retriever. These days Yellow and Chocolate are the Labs du jour.

Tanner's favorite hat for 'thinking', shown above, sends an image of foreigners to my mind. And maybe a suave, debonair, elderly gentleman. Well, that certainly doesn't define Tanner, but I suppose he's not really part of this hat association thing I've got going today. He's cute though, huh?

Now picture a frequent flyer in the fighting dog genre--a black hoodie with low-riding shorts that show off his boxers, pants held loosely at his thighs by a heavily-studded black belt. What kind of hat is he wearing? A black baseball cap with a 'boarding' logo, but backwards on his head. Right? And maybe tipped a little off center just to add some extra cool.

Now I get to use one of my son's funny words--jarhead. I guess it comes from the haircut our servicemen get when they first join up. Their hats? Typically a flat topped military-style cap in camouflage. Their dog is often the German Shepherd that serves in so many of our deployment areas to sniff out bombs. A natural choice--protective, loyal, obedient--just like their owners.

Funny thing about this game I'm playing here. As I was looking at various types of hats that are prevalent today, I found fishing hats too. You don't see them often, but then I don't see many fishermen. They tend to take to the lake before dawn and are back in by mid-morning. These hats look cute with flies and hooks and worms all over them. I never did come up with a typical dog for the fisherman, though. Any ideas? I'm actually stumped on this one.

Now, a bird hunter will also be wearing a camo hat, and sporting a Retriever to return the duck, quail or pheasant to him after he fells it over the water. Now there's a job Tanner would love. Sorry boy; I'm not much for guns. We'll stick to fetch in the pool and at the dog park.

Today I had some fun looking through my husband's hat collection. It's more like a baseball cap collection, actually. It's sort of a fanatical hobby that makes him kinda cute to me. (Go ahead and say "awwww!") After 32 1/2 years of marriage to the guy, I'm glad I still think he's cute. But I digress.

He's acquired a couple of very nice cowboy hats (western style, anyway) over the years and a recent addition of a Fedora that I think he pulls off quite well. Occasionally he wears Tanner's hat from the photo above. It's a good look on him. What do you call those? Not a beret....

The majority of hubby's hat collection seems to be easily sorted into 3 areas of distinction: golf courses he has played, colleges and universities he likes (lord knows we've supported enough of them with 3 kids and an attorney in the family) and a third category that is sorta corny. Working in the children's book industry, hubby has all sorts of hats from various book series, publishers and characters. His choice of hats says a lot about him. He likes to read, golf and show off his favorite universities. You may find this humorous, but I like a guy whose appearance says something about his interests.

©The Stray Dog™

So, what hat is he wearing today? You'll love this. While on vacation this summer we ate at a restaurant called The Stray Dog. They have a shop and quite a bit of custom imprinted clothing, hats and all sorts of personal items--really adorable. Their logo is a scruffy, indeterminate dog of the pound puppy sort.

What's unique about this, other than it's lack of a logo with AKC papers, is how they designed their hat. I'll plug that is here too. The frayed outline of the words really add to the image of the scruffy dog, don't you think? It's a perfect design fit for the company's image. We had such fun shopping there.

All that said, I have had some great times shopping at MANKINDdog™ recently. I'm particularly proud of the doggie sculpture. "No, mom, you can't have it!"

I suppose now I'll need to pick up one of their hats for hubby. I guess if he'll wear a "Stray Dog" hat, he's likely to enjoy wearing a macho MANKINDdog™ hat:

Now I just have one problem. Red or olive?

Today is your last chance to place your order to get in on the big drawing giveaway. Good luck everyone.

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Woof and Meow, Part VIII: Socializing your Cat to a New Dog

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 06:27 AM PST

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

(c) N.M., reader copyright on file

Roxy Loves
her Kitty

We're on the downhill stretch now. This process is much easier than the latter. When your cat already owns the home, you've got half the game licked. Woof will understand immediately upon his arrival at the door that this is Meow's house.

But first you must make an important investment in Woof's education. Take him on a very long walk, arriving at your home with a tired Woof, ready to meet him new pack-family with subdued energy. As you approach the door, be sure to impress on him one additional act of leadership. You should always enter the house before your dog. Leaders go first.They understand this by instinct.

Woof should be taken to a small area of your home where you spend a great deal of your time, often the kitchen and family room area, and preferably not carpeted, if Woof needs house training.

His crate or bed should be located here, and this area should be easy to secure him in, when you must leave Meow and Woof alone. This will remain Woof's only area to explore until he demonstrates his respect for you, Meow, and all belongings of the house. In other words, he grows up and behaves like a nice dog. When Woof learns good, reliable bathroom manners, he'll be given the privilege of exploring other areas of the house, one by one, only by your invitation. This is one way you demonstrate your leadership; you expect it.

Woof will know Meow is present from her scent in the home. He will become curious and desirous of exploring. Do not give in. After a couple of days of long walks, and when calm behavior is evident, bring Meow to sniff Woof from behind. Once again, Woof should be leashed and held by a helper. Woof will get only the scent he can gather from this distance. That's enough for him to understand his status.

Don't take any guff about sleeping areas, unless you decide for yourself that Woof should sleep elsewhere. As a well-behaved adult, you may choose to have Woof sleep near your bed or perhaps by a doorway. Moving his crate or bed at that time will be fine, but not until then.

Woof and Meow will be experiencing each other from a distance for quite a while before she will jump the gate or sneak in to get a better look at the new boarder. Observe quietly and determine if Woof needs to be leashed or if the two are ready to get acquainted. They'll need to do this on their own terms, but with manners. Separate them without scolding if either is upset by the meeting.

Using a gate will allow Meow to visit Woof whenever she desires, with a quick escape route out, as well. This is the best way to separate the two until they learn to accommodate one another. Often this bond will form without you knowing it is happening, and suddenly you'll find the two playing or lounging together.

When Xena, my Retriever mix, adopted Patches, our 12 year old Heinz 57 cat, the two were both young. They bonded almost instantly and played tag and hide-n-seek for hours. They hunted lizards on the porch and napped together often. Unfortunately those days were before that of digital cameras in every home, and who knows where the photos are. I guess, for now, they'll have to remain in the recesses of my memory—two diverse species—living the destiny of being best friends.

I hope you have enjoyed this Woof and Meow series, and mostly that you have learned a little something about helping your own Woof and Meow become happier housemates. I'll put the links to these posts on our Best of All Things Dog Blog page, which you can reach by clicking the link just under our header. These posts have brought brisk traffic here, and I suspect there are many of you who have both cats and dogs in your home.

Check out the gang's comments at 5 Minutes for Fido, where Tanner shares the somewhat different experience that he and Oliver had in learning to live with Patches.

Next week is the big drawing. I'll be giving away World's Best Cat Litter, miscellaneous kitty goodies, and the grand prize--a Litter-Robot to one lucky reader. I have about 100 entries so far, and there's room for more. Check out Woof and Meow, Part II, to learn how you can get in on this drawing.

Next week's post will not only announce the winners of the drawing, but also will include a photo slideshow of Patches journey--from using the new World's Best Cat Litter to learning to love her more private Litter-Robot. Join us next week for the big announcement.

Here are the earlier posts in this series:

Woof and Meow: Can they Coexist Happily?

Woof and Meow, Part I: Stop the Treasure Hunt

Woof and Meow, Part II: How to Win our Prize Packages....and a Sneak Peek at What's to Come

Woof and Meow, Part III: Strategies for Stopping the Treasure Hunt and Keeping the Peace
Woof and Meow, Part IV: A Little Training in Respect
Woof and Meow, Part V: Exploring New Options with the Litter-Robot and World's Best Cat Litter

Woof and Meow, Part VI: Considerations Regarding a Second Pet's Adoption

Woof and Meow, Part VII: Socializing Your Dog to a New Cat or Kitten

Have you entered the drawing for our prizes? Check out Woof and Meow, Part II above, for instructions on the many ways you can enter. You can enter at any or all of these sites, as often as you like:

All Things Dog Blog on Facebook and All Things Dog Blog on Twitter

World's Best Cat Litter on Facebook and World's Best Cat Litter on Twitter

Litter-Robot on Facebook and Litter-Robot on Twitter

One last place you can enter is my dogs' blog: 5 Minutes for Fido

Full disclosure: The Litter-Robot and World's Best Cat Litterdescribed in this series have been donated to All Things Dog Blog for an independent review. I have not been paid to provide my opinion of these products, and the opinion provided is my own.