Thursday, October 29, 2009

All Things Dog Blog

All Things Dog Blog


Got Poop? No Tricking this Halloween

Posted: 29 Oct 2009 02:00 PM PDT







(c) photo copyright Carrie Boyko 2009


Mom...Don't Forget the Poop Bags


Once dark, Halloween can sometimes do some Tricking of its own. Our children often run across our yards to beat their friends to our doors. We can welcome these youngsters without leaving their sneakers smelly--our own version of a Trick! So, treat your visitors with a clean lawn, as well as your chosen treats that go into their pumpkins and pillow cases. Your neighbors will be thankful for your efforts. Happy Halloween!

Got poop? We got a scooper:







Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Follow All Things Dog at Twitter

Find me at Facebook


Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Raise a Green Dog!

Raise a Green Dog!


Homemade sweet potato chews!

Posted: 27 Oct 2009 04:49 AM PDT

It's that time of year...time for sweet potatoes!

I love sweet potatoes, they are a super yummy and really good for me.

Sweet potato chews are a great alternative to the ever present rawhide chews, which contrary to pupular belief, really aren't good for dogs. They present a choking hazard, and they don't digest very easily and could become lodged in the intestines creating a dangerous health hazard. In addition, many rawhides are processed with chemicals which aren't good for dogs either.

So what's a dog to do? Make some yummy sweet potato chews!

Mum wanted to make some for me and Gracie the other day. She looked up a great recipe online and guess what, we loved em! Here is the recipe, courtesy of The Dog Treat Kitchen:

Sweet Potato Chews for Dogs

Wash a sweet potato (organic is best and we like to peel them). Cut down the middle lengthwise. Then cut long lengthwise slices about 1/3 of an inch wide and place them in a single layer on a cookie sheet (use a stainless steel, for healthier cooking).

Put in the oven at 250 degrees for about 3 hours. This leaves them kind of chewy, but you could also bake them a little longer to get them crunchy.

Oh, and you can waffle cut them for more fun...Enjoy!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

All Things Dog Blog

All Things Dog Blog


Calling all Newfoundland Lovers

Posted: 27 Oct 2009 02:00 PM PDT

Find me on Facebook
Follow me on Twitter




(c) copyright Carrie Boyko 2009


Tanner is Calling Newfie Lovers

While playing hopscotch on the web this morning I found a blog that offers a screensaver for your computer with Newfoundland images. This particular blogger is a big fan of Newfies and writes much about hers, and about search and rescue dogs, which Newfies are often trained for. If you are interested, you can learn more at 4 Paws Blog.  Having a beautiful dog of your particular passion looking at you every day can be very inspiring.

Each day when I sign on to All Things Dog Blog, I see Oliver's cute little photo and melt. And my desktop computer has a fab photo of Tanner in a great big, goofy smile. That's it up there; I certainly do enjoy this.






Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Follow All Things Dog at Twitter

Find me at Facebook


Monday, October 26, 2009

The Dog's Life Dog-a-Blog

The Dog's Life Dog-a-Blog


World Dog Games This Weekend!

Posted: 25 Oct 2009 03:43 PM PDT

G'day Dog Lovers,

This is another reminder that the World Dog Games are happening this weekend!

The PURINA® World Dog Games is a brand-spanking-new event that celebrates all the things we love about dogs. The Games will be held across 31 October and 1 November at Sydney's Acer Arena and the event is set to be the biggest canine extravaganza ever held in Australia.

The country's finest canine athletes will compete for the title of "Top Dog" in a range of sports including agility, canine disc, flyball and diving dogs.

There will also be a vibrant "Dog Fest", where dog lovers can immerse themselves in all things canine — with experts from Australia and around the world, a dog breed showcase, lectures, demos, competitions and exhibitions to keep the whole family entertained!

Log on to www.worlddoggames.com.au for more info.

Raise a Green Dog!

Raise a Green Dog!


A few make your owns - dog boots, raised dog feeder, harness vest and more!

Posted: 25 Oct 2009 08:15 AM PDT

We are always on the lookout for ways to save money, re-use items we have around our home, or just make dog necessities out of old, unused materials. Today we are sharing a few we found from some great folks we encountered surfing around the Internet.

Here is a pawsome tutorial on how to take the old hardware from your worn out dog's collar, and make a shiny new collar using material you have lying around the house and gathering dust.

We recommend creating the collar with heavier material to make the collar stronger. Head on over to see this, a great tutorial on making a dog's collar in just about 15 minutes from The Sewing Blog.

Raised dog feeders are all the rage lately. They can offer your dog some very real health benefits by helping them maintain better posture when eating and drinking, causing less stress on their back and joints; which can be very important for senior, arthritic or dogs with back problems. Just make sure they are right for your dog, because recent studies are showing that raised feeders may not be the right thing for dogs prone to bloat.

Those raised feeders can be super expensive, if you've priced them lately. But there is a solution - make your own!!! Here are some pawsome instructions for making a very cool raised feeder from an old wooden crate. If you are like our family, we have a few old wine crates just gathering dust in the garage, or you can construct your own crate with unused or reclaimed wood, and then stain and treat the wood with an environmentally friendly, safe and non-toxic stain and sealer.

It's starting to get chilly out there, and you know what that means in a lot of parts of the country? Yep, snow, ice, painful ice balls between your dog's toes, dangerous ice melting chemicals and more. So what's a pup pawrent to do? Make your dog some home made boots with reused material, save lots of money, protect and make Winter more comfortable for your dog!

Here is a great tutorial and pattern for making very simple dog boots. The cool thing is you can reused some strong material you have lying around the house, or an old holey sweatshirt, and even reuse some velcro that you saved from other projects and products. Try to find material that will be the least water absorbent.

The other day it was one of those chilly days. Mum is always concerned for me when the weather turns sharply cold - because I am prone to pulling muscles from not warming up enough before going for our hikes. So, she had my coat on me, and my harness, but guess what? They weren't compatible! So Mum thought, why not figure out how to make a coat and harness in one!

We searched the Internet and found this pawsome tutorial on making a dog harness vest. What a great idea! It could be modified to be a full warm coat as well as a harness, and we could use some old material we have around the house that would be nice and warm and sturdy for me. Interested? Head on over and see the tutorial for this dog harness vest.

And last, but certainly not least for this go around, if you'd rather crochet your dog a nice warm sweater, here' s a great tutorial.

Have fun!!!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

All Things Dog Blog

All Things Dog Blog


Dogs with Cat Problems, or Perhaps it's the Other Way Around

Posted: 25 Oct 2009 01:38 PM PDT

Find us at Facebook
Follow us on Twitter


© photo copyright Carrie Boyko 2008


Patches
A Rare Moment of Camera Friendliness



I probably don't mention it often enough, but I do have a cat. Her name is Patches; she was adopted shortly after Xena,  our 12 10/12ths Retriever mix. Xena and Patches grew up together, playing tag and hide-and-go-seek for years. Patches used to hide when she heard Xena coming and give Xena a right-cross from behind a couch. She was quite a pistol in her youth. These days, not so much. She finds more pleasure in locating a warm spot to curl up in, with an occasional lizard hunting trip onto the screened porch.


Patches, like Xena, has arrived at her senior citizen years, despite the fact that cats live much longer than Retrievers. The two still frequently nap together, although they quickly disperse whenever I get the camera out to capture this. Patches is quite camera shy.


Enough of that. Let's get down to business--Tanner and Oliver business. Tanner, I expected, would be more of a challenge, coming into Patches life when she was about 9 1/2. She was not terribly thrilled to have a hyperactive youngster join the family--especially one who was larger than her already. Little did she know that this juvenile would outsize her by 7 times before he was done growing.


Nevertheless, Patches has always been able to take care of herself. A lightning-fast swipe of the paw past a delicate doggie nose and she quickly made her point with Tanner. He stopped chasing her to beg for a tag game very quickly, and she no doubt thought she was quite a tough girl. These two are easy housemates now. But...


Along came Oliver 2 years later. He's still another story. Oliver refuses to give up on his invitations to play with Patches. After all, she is exactly the same size as him. Why shouldn't they be best friends? "I hate to tell you Oliver, but it is just not going to happen. She's set in her ways and that's that."


So, I guess Oliver and Patches both have a problem. But so do we. When young Tanner discovered Patches' litter box and food dish, he thought he had found Heaven. Until we installed a cat door in the door to the laundry room, where her "stuff" resides, he was forever into it.

The cat door was the perfect fix. Instead of buying one from a store, our carpenter simply cut a kitty sized entry way out of the door, and trimmed it nicely before painting it. You can see in the photo, that it is neat and convenient for her, while keeping the 2 Retrievers out. Perfect!





Unfortunately, it is now also convenient for Oliver. I suppose when he grows out of his adolescence, perhaps we'll have more luck keeping him out of her "room". He needs to learn, but she also needs a safe place to eat and take care of business. Using a baby gate has been our solution, at least for Oliver's younger years, to separate kitty and pup for a more peaceful home for Patches. The gate is sometimes left open when company comes, in order to ease their confusion. As you can imagine, Oliver and Patches can put on quite a show for our guests at these times.


It goes something like this: Oliver charges up to Patches, offering an enthusiastic Play Bow. Patches swats him and turns her back. Oliver runs around to face her and tries again. Patches repeats the swat. And so it goes. Poor Patches! Or maybe it's poor Oliver?



Perhaps I will write to Dr. Jacki (All Things Dog Blog's ASK THE VET Columnist) for help. That's a great idea. Maybe. She might just tell me I need to consult a trainer. She'd be right, of course. Yet, somewhere deep inside I know that he also needs to grow up a bit. Perhaps I'll simply have to continue letting Patches train Oliver herself, while guarding her private space. She's doing a pretty good job of keeping the canine gang at bay, especially when she's out-numbered 3 to 1. Should I rename her something tough? Hmmm?!


NOTE: Just in case you missed it, Dr. Jacki is now taking questions for her ASK THE VET column, right here at All Things Dog Blog. Numerous columns have already been published, and Dr. Jacki's columns are quite popular with readers. Feel free to write to her yourself at the link above.





Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Follow All Things Dog at Twitter

Find me at Facebook


 

Doggie Bok! Bok! © 2008. Template Design By: SkinCorner