Ain't Nothing But A Hound Dog

There is not a lot of art (or at least art I am willing to put in my house) that is related to hound dogs, specifically coonhounds. I am constantly perusing websites that specialize in custom pet portraits or pet photography that is to die for but these items can be a bit pricey (the photo shoots start at $500 but I have already identified several photographers in the area who are great). So until Chopper starts making his own money we may need to settle for something a little less pricey.

One example I found at the BirdAve shop on Etsy:

This comes in several different types - working dog, toy dogs, to name a few, so chances are you will find your dog on one of the posters. Even better the price is right - only $20.

Let There Be Light

While we live in the city and on fairly busy street there are little to no streetlights on the sidewalks around our house. All the neighbors appear to go to bed before 8:00 p.m. as well so there is never any light coming from houses. This has made for some interesting nighttime walks with Chopper.

First you must understand that although Chopper is a large dog he can be skittish at times - he will run away from a 12lb dog if it growls at him and jumps when a door slams. At night, however, this fear means that he will bark (loudly) at noises. While we have this under more control now in the last few years if he feels like something or someone is sneaking up on him he will become a barking lunatic at night. The problem is you can't really see Chopper at night - what with the no street lights and the fact that a majority of his fur is black - he just kind of blends in. In attempt to help with this problem I have gone through numerous light devices in order to let others know Chopper is there and to keep us safe.

The first thing we tried was some little blinky light on his collar. Didn't last. Chopper likes to shake his head around a lot which made the light turn off. Also it fell off once and got lost. After we went through two of those I gave up.

Next I got a headlamp. Now this actually worked quite well but I looked kind of ridiculous and the elastic band kind of hurt my head. I keep this in my backpack for when we hike now (one time we got stuck out late and the stupid blinky light on Chopper was the only light we had - out of five people and five dogs.)

Next I bought this light that clipped on the leash and held poo bags. The double duty of this product is what seemed to have made it completely non-functional. First the hook was too small for our leash so we had to upgrade to a bigger hook. To turn it on you had to twist the top, which was also the way you put the bags in it and the batteries - which meant the whole thing often came apart. If you dropped it while pulling out a bag you ended up with a string of bags and the whole contraption would fall on the floor and break. I dealt with this for a week and thought we would take our chances without a light again.

A few weeks ago at the American Family Pet Expo, however, we came across a brand new product: PupLight. I liked that I could see it on a real dog before I bought it and the couple selling them (and their dog) were super friendly. It is an elastic collar that you can just slip over the dog's head - one size fits all - and is super bright. We've been using it for about a week now and it is working great. Takes regular batteries and doesn't turn off with a little head shake.




Here is Chopper modeling the PupLight.




You can see how bright the light is.

I was with a friend and we bought six so we got them for $10 each - I think they are more expensive if you buy just one though. Either way I like it. I can see what Chopper is looking at (no more eating weird stuff on our nighttime walks) and it purports to keep away other animals - since we have coyotes and skunks where I live that was a selling point for me. Also if your dog gets away from you and has the light on you can see where he went. And it serves its original of people being able to see Chopper at night. All in all we are pretty happy with it.

Jonathan Adler Pet Accessories

I love my dog but even I have some limits on how much I am willing to spend on things like dog bowls and beds but that doesn't' mean that I haven't always really wanted some Jonathan Adler Pet Accessories. I'm not sure at the end of the day though that a llama wool pet bed is really practical for the Chops.

Imagine my shock yesterday to quite by accident discover that Jonathan Adler has designed a set of collars and leads (which I found for sale at Lifeguard Press). And which are brightly colored and fantastic.

My favorite is the Chevron collar.

The collars come in two sizes and four designs and there are matching leads as well. One or two of the collars will likely find their way to our house very soon. (Probably won't be buying a lead though - we have a leather lead which was expensive but one of the best things I ever bought and is so much more comfortable than any other lead we've ever had.)

Happy Easter!!!

Hope everyone has a Happy Easter - Chopper will be participating in his very own Easter egg hunt. (I put treats in those plastic eggs and hide them and he cracks them open and eats the treats.)

Chopper Needs This

I think this is one of the most adorable dog accessories (not to mention how cute is that dog) I have ever seen and I am exercising extreme self-control to not get it for Chopper.

This can be found in the SillyBuddy shop on Etsy. At first I thought I would never really use it and thought about just getting the collar version BUT the bow tie is removable so really you are getting two different looks here - one everyday and one fancy. Chopper doesn't go too many fancy places but if he had this bow tie I think he would.

I wouldn't be surprised if one of these makes its way to our house very soon.

A Bedtime Story

We go through a lot of beds at my house - my mom only has one bed and hasn't got a new bed the whole time I've known her but I've had LOTS of beds.  Now don't go thinking I'm spoiled or destroying beds all the time (though both of those are a little true.)

My first bed was purchased the same day I was adopted.  It was a smaller bed as I was much smaller than (only 43 lbs v. 70 lbs).  I liked that bed a lot so my mom bought me the same bed for the living room - she didn't want to keep moving the bed around. 

Then I got bigger and the bed got smaller and I was still a puppy so sometimes I would chew the corners on those beds.  My mom would sew up the corners and I would chew them again - it was a fun game but eventually the zippers didn't work anymore and when my mom washed the whole bed it was lumpy.  I don't like lumpy beds.

So then the great bed search began.  My mom decided I would like a bed with a bumper on it.  She searched and searched and finally bought me my first big bed.  My Aunt Joey called it a "condo" because it was so big.  My buddy Mumble could fit on that bed with me no problem.  We also got a cot for the living room about the same time (which is my "place" and where I am supposed to go when my mom says "go to your place").



This is me on the "condo" after it was moved to the living room.  That's my monkey blanket in the corner that my grandma made me - it has monkeys on it because that is my nickname.  I love that blanket.

 After a few years  my mom got tired of having the "condo" take up so much space in the bedroom and she moved it onto the place and got me a smaller bed from Molly Mutt.  She liked that bed so much she got me another one for the car.  The good thing about the Molly Mutt beds are when the cover wears out or if I chew it we can just buy a new cover!

This is my Molly Mutt bed that stays in the bedroom.  It is comfy.



This is my Molly Mutt bed for the car.



Things were going well for awhile but recently the "condo" has started to get a little shabby looking and last week when my mom washed it one of the zippers broke.  (Also someone chewed one of the inside pieces one time but I don't know who.)  So we had this bed for a week with one bumper falling out and my mom was getting antsy.  The problem with the "condo" was that after my mom ordered it she realized that she couldn't order replacement covers for it so now when the zipper broke and the material started to wear out there wasn't much we could do.

So last weekend my mom went to a Pet Expo in Orange County.  She was perusing the aisles and came across the booth for Jax and Bones.  They sell some nice beds.  They only had one large bed left and it was the end of the day on Sunday - so they made my mom a deal.  So my mom got me the lounge bed in a red, white and blue fabric and made sure that we could order a replacement cover.  My mom got me this super duper $249 bed for only $75!  It has bumpers on all four sides and the pillow comes out too.  This fabric happens to be indoor or outdoor fabric as well (I'm not sleeping outside though) but they have LOTS of options on the website.  Knowing my mom she is already deciding which replacement cover she will get (I'm guessing black and white to match our living room).



This is my new bed - so far I think I'm going to like it.  (That's my stuffed Bolt in the corner - sometimes I like to snuggle with him when I go to sleep.)



And I slept happily ever after.

America's Family Pet Expo

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to America's Family Pet Expo in Orange County. It comes here every year and I've been once before and it is a lot of fun. First, there are a TON of products for pet owners (I only looked at dog products). And some great demonstrations by different organizations. Last time we watched the Splash Dogs, which are dock diving dogs, and this year we watched "Jump" a show with dogs catching frisbees and doing weave pole races. There were also lots of free samples this year (more treats for Chopper). I didn't take any pictures because I was having so much fun that I forgot but we did get some new products which Chopper and I will be sharing shortly.

If you missed the America's Family Pet Expo this year it comes back to Orange County every spring - so just look for commercials. If you happen to be in Puyallup, Washington, the Pet Expo is coming there in July and I would recommend going.