Good morning, everyone. Rise and shine. I'm sure none of you are reading this with an ice pack on your head, pouring hot coffee down your green-stained throat and wondering how the heck you're going to make it into work today. I'm sure none of you do that kind of thing. My days of waking up with a pounding head and cotton mouth are long gone- eons gone, really- at least so far as hangovers are concerned. I still have to contend with that whole morning breath thing, though- not mine, but that ... Read more »
Reviews
Product Review: World’s Best Cat Litter
I have to admit, I don't spend a great deal of time thinking about cat litter. Some of this is by design- when I was pregnant in 2004, I told my husband he had to change the cat litter because otherwise MY ENTIRE PREGNANCY WAS AT RISK (which, by the way, is not entirely true- one needs to take precautions, true, but changing litter during pregnancy isn't an automatic Toxoplasmosis infection.) Anyway, I left out that last part because I was happy to have an excuse to hand over litter duties, ... Read more »
Product Review: TazLabs safety collar
We have neighbor dogs. There are three, actually- I guess the other Golden wasn't out on this particular afternoon. They sure do like to bark. These are the same dogs that Skippy liked to think he could vanquish- I think some of the chicken wire fencing is still off to the right, where it was 100% ineffective in keeping him on the right side of the fence. Those were fun times. Like Skippy, and Mulan and Emmett before him, Brody thinks barking right back at these guys is hysterical. First ... Read more »
Product Review: Sleepypod Air and Crater Dot
Our product reviews have been heavily skewed towards the dog type items lately. When Sleepypod asked if I was interested in reviewing a couple of their cat items, Apollo started kneading and drooling all over the keyboard. 1. Sleepypod Air The Sleepypod Air is a carrier geared towards those who fly with a pet in-cabin, though it's obviously usable as a regular day-to-day carrier as well. Its claim to fame is the ability to compress length-wise from 22 to 16 inches, which would allow you to fit ... Read more »
Product Review: Kyjen toys
When I was given the opportunity to review a selection of dog toys from the Kyjen company, Brody shot me a look that said, "You'd better take this one, lady." Not that he isn't as spoiled as they come anyway, but I'll admit the majority of his playthings are the usual easily destroyed types that I get at the store. I was already interested after so many of you raved about the line when I was looking for suggestions for the Holiday Guide, so this was a no-brainer. They sent a large assortment ... Read more »
Fun with Math: The Nutrition Game
I was in the grocery store yesterday, and like I always do, sort of did a double take at what some of the brands are charging for their food. Clients come in every day and say that they are feeding their dogs high quality, all natural food- a common example would be something like Beneful- believing it is top quality food simply based on the marketing. But when they go back and read the label, they are inevitably surprised. "I can't afford the really expensive food," is something I hear ... Read more »
Oh Disney, we were on such a high…
Up was one of the best films I have seen in a long, long time. It might be my favorite Pixar movie to date and one of my favorite films ever. It solidified in my mind the Disney franchise as a solid deliverer of syrupy movie goodness. And since we know they recognize good when they see it, it makes the bad even more of a travesty. As anyone who has been around me for any length of time can attest, I love the holidays. I love the decorations, the cheesy displays, and the specials. Oh, how I ... Read more »
The 2009 Holiday Gift guide is here!
It took me the better part of two weeks to sort through everything, look though all the suggestions, and run a few items by Brody, but I finally came up with what I think is a fun selection of my favorite cat and dog items for 2009! (The Flash gallery is a new addition here, so be sure to click the little "i" in the corner in order to see the accompanying text.) [flagallery gid=2 name="Gallery"] There were so many great items out there that I couldn't fit them all into the gallery, so I'm ... Read more »
Product Review: Biscuits by Lambchop
One of my blogathon sponsors was Annette at Biscuits By Lambchop, who provided 5 prizes for donors. Their specialty is a treat that is gluten free, animal protein free, and low fat, low sodium, and low phosphorous- making them a good choice for dogs who are unable to eat many of the treats on the market. Along with my stack of prizes, she was kind enough to include samples for Brody. She told me I should try them too. I kind of raised my eyebrow at this- I mean, I'm kind of dog fooded out at ... Read more »
Maybe they did have a good idea after all
My daughter is glued to the TV like a barnacle these days, announcing "I wish I had that," and then, "I wish I had that" every two seconds as the generous spirit of Christmas sinks its greedy talons into our daily programming. I suppose I could avoid this by not having the TV on at all, but ha ha, not in this lifetime. I haven't even thought about starting my holiday shopping, which is probably not smart, but that's always been the way I roll. Last minute central. I could only hope she didn't ... Read more »
Hour 18: Brody Reviews Weruva Cirque de la Mer
Brody very politely asked for the opportunity to do a product review, and so I obliged. ... Read more »
Thursday Thank Yous
Here are three things that I love: 1. Dog bone collar charms. I have a weakness for beautiful handmade lampwork beads to begin with- my coworkers will attest to this, as I risk my earlobes every Christmas wearing big gingerbread glass earrings to work because I LOVE THEM SO. So if you take a glass bead, then make it something adorable like a dog bone- or a dog face- or the chickens- I am in love. Seriously, check out the chickens! I've never seen such cute poultry. *love* She made me love ... Read more »
I don’t need no stinkin savings account
Brody arrived at my house with nothing but his vaccine record, a generic collar, and the fur on his back. When I adopted Emmett and Mulan, there wasn't a whole lot by way of internet shopping available- at least not to the extent there is now. While there are certainly myriad options to be found at the local stores, the stuff available if you do a little searching online is so very much cooler. My Brody's wishlist is growing day by day. This dog is going to be spoiled. 1. What dog would ... Read more »
Cat Genie. Hype? Awesome?
Has anyone used this or heard about it? I have a LitterMaid, but I've never hooked it up and we're still going old school Flushable, washable litter. I'm always the last to hear about these things. You hook it up to a water supply and you don't need to clean it or change it or anything. It even looks like a human toilet. Starting at $329, I'm not sure I could convince my husband this is an experiment worth conducting- but given the $10 a week I spend getting litter, it doesn't ... Read more »
Product of the week
Check out what I have decided is the greatest advancement in pet carrier manufacturing since the faux Louis Vuitton totes: the SleepyPod! I saw this while surfing around at Krazy for Pets (way too much internet spending going on here) and immediately decided that it was amazing. Maybe it's the futuristic shape that reminds me of a little Jetsons spaceship. Maybe it's the fact that you can secure it to a seatbelt and the manufacturer has used crash tests to ensure its safety. Maybe it's ... Read more »
The importance of accoutrements
Seeing as how 80% of the entering class at most vet schools is female, I think a sidenote to talk about mascara in a pet blog is OK. And if you're a guy who likes mascara aka Adam Lambert, that is OK too. We do not judge here. Vets are many things, but "fashion forward" does not immediately come to mind. Sure there are some of us who are well dressed, but as a vet school entrance requirement, not so much. I would say it was maybe 50/50 in my class as to how many people wore makeup at all. We ... Read more »
Pets CAN fly the friendly skies! (or, Woo hoo for real!)
How funny that I just posted last week about Southwest's new "pet friendly" policy, and one of the comments was to the effect of how nice it would be to have an airline where all the pets were welcome in the cabin. Ask, and ye shall receive! Voila- Pet Airways! Their prices seem pretty inexpensive to me (in the mid $100 range each way), especially considering the alternatives. Flying a pet in cargo certainly isn't cheap, nor is hiring someone to drive your pet if you cannot yourself. It ... Read more »
No, no, no
I am admittedly a huge perfume-a-holic. I have an entire dresser drawer devoted to fragrances- bottles of various scents smelling of fresh ginger, sweet vanilla, fragrant gardenia. I can't help it. I'm hopelessly addicted. It's not the most practical thing to have on hand, for, much like high heeled shoes and dry clean only blouses, this just isn't something I can use at work. It would be cruel. Dogs, as you know, have noses that are much more sensitive than our own. They can sniff out corpses ... Read more »
