Just in case Santa Paws is listening, I thought I’d put together a few of my favorite things for Christmas gifts for dogs this year.

This toy is high on my final gift list because  it has a squeaker, Tashi’s favorite, and it’s stuffing-free, keeping my dog safe from broken seams and a surprise impacted bowel. The Pogo Plush toy  has an inner rubber skeleton and free-floating squeaker, it bounces, and the outside wool cover provides  a good chew.  At $8-$11, it’s no budget buster.

The PawPlunger is another finalist. Since I sold my home and moved into a townhome, I don’t have a first floor bathroom so trekking up to the second floor on wood floors would be an unbelievable mess, every day, three or four times a day. This gadget looks like it would have no problem  fulfilling its promise: Cleaning  pets paws thoroughly with soft bristles that surround the paw and get the dirt off without discomfort. Just fill this mug-shaped gadget with water and plunge in the pup’s paws. The gentle bristles do the job, and all you need is a towel at the door. It does a much better job than trying to use baby/dog wipes. Saves paws from the de-icers and salt and some money on dog wipes too. $29.99

These Tough by Nature toys are  good looking and made with rubber, not vinyl or other less durable materials. ”Pliable, resilient, natural rubber has proven itself to be the best material to satisfy the dog’s normal craving to chew” says the JW Pet chew toy manufacturer. I wouldn’t disagree and provided you get the right size for your dog, this toy looks like a good bet. 

To find a JW PET distributer in your area, call customer service at 1-(800)-407-7826.

Designed in America and handmade in Nepal of New Zealand wool, A Cheerful Pet products help Nepali women feed their families and give their children a better quality of life.  And their special PUMA line provides food shelter and education for children at the PUMA orphanage.  I prefer to spend my dollars with businesses that think in terms of more than just profit. Take a peak at their products–bet you’ll find at several things you like and can trust your dog or cat with, helping others at the same time:) It’s a perfect time of year for that, isn’t it?

What have you decided to get for your dog(s) or cat(s) this year?  Did you come across a good deal? Find a seriously great or useful item that others might like? How about an etsy item you think everyone should know about, or a toy your dog or cat plays with every day? Come on, don’t be shy!

As a child I would frequently start my annual wishing for a dog around the time of my birthday in Oct, and would accelerate that wishing as only a child can straight through to Christmas Eve. My parents would smile and tell me the old story of how they used to have a dog but had to give him away when I was born because he liked to jump in the crib, their explanations were peppered with reasons that now make sense but at the time I did not want to hear. I mean so what if they both had to work and there was no one around to dependably take care of a dog, I wanted a dog…..

When I was nine years old they let me pick out a cat from a new litter in a neighboring town, I picked the multi-colored cat out of a the litter where all the rest of the kittens were yellow. So we took the kitten home and because it was mine my parents and sister only put up mild objections to naming her Stuffy. I loved the cat and even at nine took on the cleaning of the litter box and occasional brushing. We had Stuffy for 16 or 17 years and she taught me many things about animals and love.

With a cat at home my love of animals kept growing and I would run into 6 or 7 dogs in the next 10 years that would have a profound impact in how I viewed the treatment of pets. The first one was a beagle who lived a couple of hundred yards down our street, he was chained up in front of a little dog house situated next to an apartment house. The beagle who I a 10 year old little boy would name Ow-u did not bark or whine he just sat in his yard watching everyone coming and going. One day I crossed the lawn and went to visit him, I ended up returning over and over to chat with him and feed him milk bones I had bought with money from my paper route. We became fast friends for a year and a half till his owners moved away. In all that time I think I was the only person who spent time with him other then his daily feeding. it broke my heart when he went away just as his loneliness broke my heart when I walked by his house.

Animals deserve to live with people who have the time, patience and love to take care of them, they are not toys or things we buy and then push in the back of some closet when a new shinny toy comes along. Too many people neglect their animals and that’s why more and more shelters sprout up every year to meet this horrible crisis.

During this holiday season please direct some of your giving to animal shelters so they can continue the generous work they do everyday. Giving just 2 or 3 dollars to a couple of shelters will brighten the lives of some forgotten pet. Please visit a couple of shelter websites and make a donation today…  Thanks….

Even without snow, I can tell it’s Christmas.  Suddenly all the annoying things you forgot to take care of rear their ugly little heads eating up your time (and money)—brakes on the car need attention, omg, I didn’t get a tree yet, get the tree, mixed with the fun things like people are coming Thursday night for some season’s greetings and Friday a friend on the other end the Chicago suburbs and I are celebrating our birthdays somewhere in between hers and mine, and the dog needs a bath.   And to top it off, I’m sneezing again!

Suddenly there’s no time at all–is it just me or does everyone feel this way during the holidays?  So as my dog dries out on his favorite blanket, and the tree settles in, waiting for the branches to relax and be ready for trimming, I’ve been thinking about a story I read the other day and a conversation I had and wanted to ask for your take on some rambling thoughts that it provoked. 

Main Line Animal Rescue in Philadelphia is the group keeping Michael Vick and dog fighting in the public consciousness.  Main Line put together the “sack Vick” program that benefitted dogs each time that happened on the playing field.  Now they are partnering with Petco Foundation to provide food to pets of handicapped senior citizens in every city that Vick plays.  And that’s a really wonderful cause.  Seniors with companion animals need a better support system.  But what about the core problem, the need for cultural change? 

It’s been two years since the revelations about Michael Vick and his deep involvement in fighting pit bulls. How have the handful of programs set up to deal with violence against dogs, street dog fighting, and the educational programs that teach children kindness to animals benefitted? Where are they, the people who work for cultural change every day, in all this publicity?

Groups like Safe Humane Chicago, run by Best Friends Cynthia Bathurst, (this year’s recipient of the AVMA Humane Award) worked with others to get domestic violence and animal cruelty cases cross-reported between police and social work agencies, to protect all members of the family efficiently and effectively. Safe Humane work to “reduce violence by showing people how compassion toward animals makes communities safer and more humane.”

And the Humane Society’s End Dogfighting Campaign which started in Chicago in 2006, was replicated by a group in Charlotte in 2008 and is now active in Atlanta and LA and is seeing some success.  There were reportedly 100 requests from cities in one day for help instituting this program.  This is a grassroots community-based program and works with proven violence intervention methods.  And don’t forget the $5,000 cash reward for reporting dog fighting providing information leading to a conviction. I believe this program is still active, though the link is not currently working.   Education of at risk children is one of programs run by both Safe Humane and the Humane Society of the US.  There are similar programs elsewhere, so Google your area. You might even want to start one!

Root causes are never sexy because programs applied to fix the problem are not likely to see quick results.  Certainly systemic cultural issues like dog fighting are the toughest of the tough to tackle and are long term and multifaceted.  These few programs alone won’t do the job. I know there are plenty I am unaware of, so please, share! (Especially if you are working for one.)  These programs need to be everywhere, and there should be more of them.  How about if we point fingers and shine the spotlight on them, beat the drum to get needed funding and volunteers for the hefty work of cultural change? 

Then there’s the program many revile…HSUS and Vick outreach to dog fighting neighborhood kids. It seems everyone uses Vick to suit their agendas, except the community organizations like Safe Humane Chicago that work each day to make inroads into hearts and minds.  Changing the face of the future, now that’s getting to the core of things. 

(Drat, I think it’s raining again!  Where’s my Christmas snow??)

Ho Ho Ho, Santa’s Christmas gifts countdown has begun. Days are just slipping and sliding by so fast that if I don’t keep my balance, it’ll be Christmas Eve and I won’t have my dog’s gifts, and maybe not a tree to put them under.  The bark back on that would not be pretty…Tashi loves opening his presents!

In an attempt to help me figure out what to buy this year, I’m going to share with you some items I think are interesting, and also suggest a few different ways to give gifts this year.  Maybe this will help save your feet from walking all over hill and dale, or much less poetically, from mall to mall, for just the right Christmas gifts for your dog(s). After all, despite money being tight, reports state that more than 81% of households are planning to buy presents for their dog, even as the pet product industry announces that sales for the fourth quarter of 2009 will be flat, the second worst holiday season in 42 years.

The Company of Animals Interactive Dog Game $39.9929.99 internet sale at Petco!

For the pet parent who likes to remind everyone on the block that their Scrappy is a dog genius, this puzzle puts that notion to the test. Your dog  first must dislodge removable bones, and then push sliding covers to access hidden treats. Sound familiar?  Yes, this is the less expensive version of one of those wonderful wooden Swedish toys I was talking about weeks ago. The level of difficulty is varied depending on the dog’s smarts, but there are three games to choose from, so you can pick the one you think will most entertain Bobo.  The price is right, and this item was listed by Petco as one of the top ten dog toys of the season. You can check it out here.

Tuffy’s Red Paw Ring Dog Toy – $11.69 to $13.49

This is one tough but soft chew toy. No rough edges to hurt your dog’s gums. Four layers of material, seven rows of stitching, a subtle but satisfying squeaker experience, covered with an industrial grade luggage material  which is all covered by a soft layer of fleece. It’s machine washable and it floats. I ran this through the HealthyStuff website that has tested over 400 pet toys (children’s too) for toxins and it was not listed.

Dublin Dog Collar – $22-26 by size

Here’s a cool, clean concept. Dublin Dog produces a line of innovative, stylish and functional dog accessories(and a line of unique clothing for passionate dog owners). All products are available at DublinDog and in fine pet stores and kennels throughout the U.S and abroad.
 
The original “All Style, No Stink” dog collar is made with a polymer blend that won’t absorb moisture, retain dirt, or harbor bacteria, and is hand-injected and layered into each pattern to eliminate any potential odor. Available in a variety of colorful designs, each Dublin Dog collar features customized hardware, cleans easily with warm water, and glides smoothly across the dog’s coat.
 
I asked about contact allergies and collar strength and got this response via email from CEO and Founder Jason Watson:

As for contact allergies, our collars have proven to be a great choice for dogs susceptible to hot spots or allergies. Since our products don’t harbor bacteria like a traditional cloth or nylon material, it won’t trap that moisture against a dog’s neck. On the Winter Bliss collar, it even has an internal layer of material built inside our polymer, almost like rebar in concrete that makes it even stronger than before. So all in all, this is the Ironman of dog products. Built to last… Our buckles are extremely strong and the collar has a strength rating over 7X the weight of a dog. So a large dog that would qualify at 100lbs has a pull strength rating of over 700lbs of tensile strength on our collars.

Practical Gifts

Dog coats in all styles are on sale now–a bit like the gloves and scarf equivalent for people, but with the weather dipping into single digits in the North, it’s a useful idea for many designs costing less than $20. 

And if it doesn’t have to be all about your dog, there are also many ways your dog can share his good fortune with other dogs who don’t have a home and aren’t quite so lucky.  Petco has a Christmas tree and you can buy an ornament for the tree in dollar increments that will go into the Petco Foundation, which supports shelters.  Shelters also have these types of programs they run themselves, so check with your local agencies. 

FrouFrou Clothing

While I am not one for putting clothing on my dog beyond his coat for practical purposes, you won’t believe this international website I came across…with 90+ Euro bathrobes (apprx $130 and change) of beautiful materials and finish for dogs, it’s just fun to look at.  They are in fact so haute that they do not allow you to copy any of the photos on the site.  If you want to satisfy your curiosity, go here. L’izzura, Luxury & Elegance for Pets have gone to a lot of trouble to set the mood:) Photos are beautiful.

Products that Give Back

I’ve been privileged to meet a couple of great people this year, one a company head, one an author, both of whom believe in giving back! When they found out I was looking to raise funds for Lake Shore Animal Shelter, each offered their services. Let’s Go Design is providing Lake Shore with $25 per sale of their all weather custom dog walking jacket. It even has piping that glows in the dark!

And then there’s author Nadine M. Rosin, whose book “The Healing Art of Pet Parenthood” tells the true story of a successful fight against cancer through holistic means that gave her dog Buttons another eleven years of life without the use of chemo, amputation and radiation.  She makes her book available to not-for-profits as a fundraiser.  It is excellent information to share with supporters and friends, and buying books and other goods from not-for-profits helps you support the cause without spending money you just don’t have.

There are artists who are giving back and all kinds of products that routinely donate a percentage of profits to charitable causes.  You can make them your preferred vendors, so be on the lookout.

If you have any favorite pet toys or pet-related ideas you’d like to share (not from companies please–we know you all love your own products!) let’s hear about them! 

one more thing…

If you need last mnute gifts from your dog to a holiday party hostesses dog, take a look at Bisket Baskets–they design fun people and great corporate baskets too:) 

Here’s an idea that feeds hungry dogs and is worth duplicating.  Linda Parker, a music teacher at the Lydia Rippey school in New Mexico, taught her 3rd grade class how to help raise funds for a community need: the economy has put families is such a financial bind that they are having a tough time providing for their dogs.

Since many schools have canned food drives at this time of year,  Parker simply put “dog” in front of “food drive” and tied that to the children’s musical about a dog who wants to learn to sing and gets an audience with Mrs. Claus. Magic happened and more than 700 cans were collected by the school.  Parker also got a local food bank involved so efforts multipled and distribution wasn’t an issue.   See G Jeff Golden’s article in the Daily Times for photos and more.  Who said there were no more really good teachers?  Got any stories to share?

News Bites

As I was unintentionally ice-skating down the driveway with my dog the other day, my ears perked up when I heard Leah Hope of ABC 7 News mention a great tip she got from a professional dog walker: to keep traction, take old pantyhose and cover your shoes with them.  She said it works!  We have an ice storm coming, so I will put this tip to the test.

There are a lot of stories around about how, even in this economy, spending on pets is up, so I thought I’d find the real numbers.  The American Pet Products Association is reporting that spending is up 5% over last year, up 26% from four years ago, and is on track to reach $43+billion in 2008.  It’s not surprising then that CNBC’s 3 minute segment “Mike on America” provided a real life example of these numbers.   A very successful niche player in the pet casket and urn business,  Hoegh employs 8 people making between $20 and 30K per  year, has distributors in all 50 States, and reports that business has quadrupled in the last three years.  See www.hoeghpetcaskets.com