pet connection

I used to be a crafts person. Hanging out in craft stores for hours; buying yarn and dreaming of all the dog sweaters I would knit and quilted blankets I would sew. Reality hit and well, today I can barely knit a straight row. However, I do appreciate handmade fiber arts, especially for pets.

A Cheerful Pet offers adorable lines of dog toys made from 100% boiled wool.

Boiled wool? How? There are two ways to do this.

First, if I remember correctly from a knitting book I read, after you have spent hours and hours knitting precise rows of yarn into intricate patterns, gauging the stitch, adding in colors, and creating your labor of love- you then dunk it in a pot of boiling water to watch it shrink and mat and become a piece of thick wool fabric.

The second method of making boiled wool fiber art (or toys in this case) is to take pure wool, combed and cleaned, and then dye it. After it has dried you stretch it out into unwoven layers of colorful wool fibers. Carefully molding and laying in colors, as shown in the photo below, the toys are crafted. Once finished they are then boiled to fuse the wool into the final toy. The toys are $9.49-$13.39.

When the review set of dog toys arrived I was immediately enchanted by the color patterns and the detail of the 3-D workmanship. In the video below you will see a blue fish. In the background of the photo above you can see the same fish as a Nepali woman makes it. Up close, I reviewed this fish toy on my kitchen table. It was so beautiful, I couldn’t even give it to my dog. I chose to give my dog a dinosaur instead.

My dog Ace happily started chewing on the toy, concentrating on the dinosaur spikes along the toy’s back. Dogs, especially puppies, love the feeling of the wool as they gnaw on it.  The company website states that their “Headzees” toy line is their best seller. I didn’t choose to review this line, as I favor prehistoric creatures and fish, but I wanted to show the fun pig and duck Headzees to you in the photo below.

These toys are made in Nepal and the Nepali women receive funds to help their families in need. From A Cheerful Pet website:

Every Cheerful Pet toy is a uniquely handcrafted piece of art made by our talented artisans in Nepal. Many of these women are widows and the sole provider for their families. By using their talent in making our beautiful toys, these ladies are able to earn a living, raise and educate their children and take care of any health needs they may have. We are sincerely grateful for the opportunity to work with this wonderful group of skilled women. … For more information on PUMA, please visit www.puma2000.org.

Here is a video of the toys up close as I marveled at their detail. This is my favorite dog toy product line so far for 2011.

photo credits: Dinosaur and Sea-life toys on kitchen table, Ericka Basile. Nepali craftswomen and Headzees, A Cheerful Pet.

My three Australian Shepherds are allowed on the furniture. I like their company and usually one is within arm’s reach all the time. So they don’t lack for comfy places to nap. But even though they can nap where ever they want they do have favorite places. Riker’s favorite place is in a corner of the sofa; Bashir prefers the recliner; and Sisko is usually right beside me.

However when I got the Pooch Planet Cloud 9 pet bed in to test, it was an immediate hit with all three dogs. In the three days it’s been here, it has rarely been empty.

My first impression of the bed was that it was big. Perhaps too big. However when I compared it to the dog beds I already have, I found that the footprint of the Pooch Planet bed was the same. It’s 39 inches by 35 inches.

I think the size impression comes from the thickness of the bed. The description says that bed is nine inches thick. Visually, it appears to be thicker than that. The outside of the bed is high and round, surrounding an indented center, making the bed appear nest-like. The center still has plenty of padding so the entire bed is soft and cushiony.

Initially I thought there might be too mush softness for Riker, who’s hips are bad. I figured he might have trouble getting his back legs under him but that hasn’t been the case at all.

The raised edges do provide resting spots for the dog’s head and they do use it as a pillow. The raised edges also keep the dog snug in the middle of the bed. I noticed last evening when it got chilly, Riker was all curled up in the center. He looked very cozy.

The bed uses some recycled materials. The center section contains memory foams leftover from manufacturing other memory foam products. The rounded edges contain fiberfill made from recycled plastic water bottles – 270 of them per bed as a matter of fact.

The cover of the bed is washable. Although I haven’t washed it yet I did take the cover off and put it back on and it was nearly as difficult as some pet beds are.

The Pet Connection product review guidelines are that after a review, the reviewers don’t keep the product. It’s donated to a worthy cause. This bed will be donated to a working service dog from the Kindred Spirits Canine Education Center’s service dog training program. That dog will love the bed but my dogs will be upset with me; especially Riker. I’m going to have to order one myself. Maybe it can be his belated 12th birthday present.

Pooch Planet Cloud 9 Premium Pet Bed    www.worldwise.com

Top photo: Riker in the Pooch Planet bed

Bottom photo: Bashir snoozing. Both photos by Liz Palika

Dogs have progressed from living in the back yard to the kitchen to the bedroom. Dr. Marty Becker has shared this sentiment with me and many others all over the country. I love hearing the saga of how dogs used to be in a dog house in the back yard and then they gradually moved up on the back porch, then the kitchen floor, then to our beds.

It is so true, isn’t it?

So, let’s see. Not only have the dogs come to live inside but now the smaller breeds, well, they want up to be lifted up onto our couches and beds.

Hence the advent of pet stairs and steps.

I’ve shared in a previous post a review on a ramp that help dogs gain entry into the back of an SUV. Now, I want to share a review of a set of stairs, called Slant Pet Steps, which retail for $139. They give dogs easier access to couches or beds, much to the chagrin of my husband. He once was known to say “the dogs will never sleep in our bed.”

Roxi, our beloved Chihuahua, does sleep in the bed.

And, ironically, it is my husband who helps lift her up every night and places her at the blanket near our feet. Not any more. He loves the Slant Steps just as much as Roxi does.

The Slant Steps measure 15″W x 20″D x 15″H and are constructed from eco-friendly materials.
•    wood veneer steps
•    dark zebra wood engineered finish
•    grip strips added for a non-slip surface
•    durable metallic silver powder coated steel tube – 40lbs max weight

The Urban Pet Haus Slant Steps are made to appease minimalism design-lovers as well as for strength and stability. While I appreciate the aesthetic look of the gray painted rods against the dark wood steps, I also wanted the steps to work.

Once I assembled the steps, which took about 15 minutes from opening the box to finished use, I tested them myself by leaning on them and pushing heartily with my fists. The steps are very stable. I especially like the non-slip pads that are an option for $17. Personally, I think they should be a standard feature.

Here is a video showing the stairs in use. It took a little longer for Roxi to learn how to use these steps than I would have guessed. I am not sure if it is because there is space in between each step and she was spooked by this, or perhaps Roxi is just a slow learner. Anyway, when in doubt I turn to training with treats and that seemed to work this time. If you watch the video you will see a monkey was involved. Sometimes you just do what you gotta do to get the job done, y’know?

While I may not be the best dog trainer in the world, city, neighborhood… I do like the Urban Pet Haus steps and Roxi finds them stable.

I found that placing a towel over the steps the first week helped greatly. The fact that these steps have no kick-board and are “open” probably made it scary at first for Roxi. I eventually removed the towel and she breezed up the steps without hesitating.

There is nothing like having a puppy in your life to create the sudden need to shop for dog toys.

I have a gazillion dog items in our product review area waiting for review but none of the items we have received this month seemed “jusssst right”, so I found myself, well, the puppy, in need of a perfect chew toy NOW. Hence, a quick trip to Petco to shop. Yay!

Puppy, a.k.a. Steve*, is five weeks old and his teeth are in. And they are sharp.

Very. very. sharp.

When Steve is biting my hand I try to always divert his attention to a toy to “pretend kill.” Lately none of the socks, squeaky plush toys, or tough chew toys I give him entertain him. He still wants to bite my fingers.

Today I was out buying cat food at Petco I saw this Burly Ring with Rope dog toy. What a great find! At under $5, this toy is great for a puppy. Steve loves to gnaw on the rope, pull the ring across the room, and generally enjoys teething on it.

The Burly Ring Rope toy packaging states it bounces and floats. It does, but that didn’t interest me. The black and white rope woven in and out the side of the ring was what sold me. It is stimulating and a challenge that Steve would love. Rope toys in general are helpful because they remove soft tartar from the teeth, but, again, Steve is a 5 week old puppy just wants to pretend kill and gnaw on everything. So, when he is older this toy will help with dental care but right now I think 99% of this product’s function is pure playtime fun.

Why do I keep referring to my foster puppy as Steve? Well, I was getting really attached to him and needed something to help mentally keep from bonding 100% with him. Steve has met his new owners and in a few days the transfer foster care paperwork will be finished at the Humane Society Naples and the new owners will take Steve. He will be neutered at eight weeks.

In the mean time, I have three more days to care for this adorable puppy. It is getting harder and harder not to want to cling to him forever and never let him go.

So, I asked his new owners what name they were thinking of calling him.

Steve or Bello, they said.

Steve seems nice and fits his personality.

I have been calling him Steve and it really is helping me think of him as someone else’s puppy that I am simply caring for.

Three more days until he leaves to go to his new home and I am buying toys for him, you ask? You bet I am.

It is so much fun to see Steve’s excitement at every new toy I can shower upon him. I also wanted to give his new owners a fabulous toy that will help them continue the ‘distraction from biting’ method I have used to help Steve learn what is correct to bite (toys) and what is not (my fingers).

Wish me luck as I try to put on a brave face when Steve leaves in a few days. I know- I signed up for this and this is what is best for Steve. But it is still bittersweet.

Bye, puppy. Enjoy your toys, okay?