Onesy?

Since so many, possibly too many, of us with little dogs get them confused with little ones, I think it is high time that companies just gave in and let us treat them as the little babies we think they are. That's why I jumped at the Onesy currently being sold at Target in stores for just $5! Its adorable, and my little girl looks beautiful in the light green.

Mandy Moment

Of course, I completely forgot the entire reason I had started writing my last post. My roommates dog is barking up a storm and its driving me insane because I was up all night studying for a midterm, which was a horrendous experience.

Crying Dogs

I am so thanful at the moment that m dog is obviously happy and content. I saw a little Chi at the mall the other day, and it was stock still in it's owners arms and shaking. My boyfriend couldn't help but remark to me how much happier our own seems. I've dragged her along shopping before and she loves it. I can hardly keep her contained as she tries to check everything out. Sales clerks usually adore her. Although, I try to keep her away from children as she has a nasty temper and no manners when it comes to showing her teeth. I love her anyways, and just wish all owners would make sure their dogs are comfortable and feel safe before bringing them to crowded places such as the mall.

What is it about these crazy dogs?

Starry is just so typical sometimes. I swear, its almost like having a toddler. Not that I'd know. Anyway, I bought her a "cozy cave: thinking she'd love something warm and cushy to nap in. Nope! Why would any little puppy want to nap in an expensive, sheepskin, designed just for small dogs toy when she has a King sized bed? My bad. Oh yes, and here is the kicker. My boyfriend has this pillow that he has had since he was a kid. It's beaten to a pulp, but I swear it's the most comfortable pillow on the planet. Instant relaxation. He hates to share it, but Starry loves it, too. Hilarious watching those 2 fight over a pillow. I think Starry should get it, she fits perfectly into it.

The BEST Toy Ever

I love to say something is the best thing ever. It's like my own personal way of giving a stamp of approval. I guess I could describe the severity of the sentiment by as something that I just get excited about, and find a bit revolutionary and amazing. I feel this way about the Kong toy. For small dogs, I really recommend the snaps, instead of he thick treats that come as a sample. Small dogs can hardly chew them on there own, nevertheless inside the toy. But the snaps provide just the right amount of challenge for entertainment, without too much frustration. I have piece of mind when I I leave Starry alone, because I know she has some playtime ahead of her, followed by a treat and a feeling of success, and then hopefully a little nap.

Recall Lists

Recalled cat foods

Americas Choice; Preferred Pets; Authority; Best Choice; Companion; Compliments; Demoulas Market Basket; Fine Feline Cat, Shep Dog; Food Lion; Foodtown; Giant Companion; Good n Meaty; Hannaford; Hill Country Fare; Hy-Vee; Key Food; Laura Lynn; Li'l Red; Loving Meals; Main Choice; Nutriplan; Nutro Max Gourmet Classics; Nutro Natural Choice; Paws; Presidents Choice; Price Chopper; Priority; Save-A-Lot; Schnucks; Sophistacat; Special Kitty; Springfield Pride; Sprout; Total Pet; My True Friend; Wegmans; Western Family; White Rose; and Winn Dixie.

Recalled dog foods

America's Choice; Preferred Pets; Authority; Award; Best Choice; Big Bet; Big Red; Bloom; Bruiser; Cadillac; Companion; Demoulas Market Basket; Fine Feline Cat; Shep Dog; Food Lion; Giant Companion; Great Choice; Hannaford; Hill Country Fare; Hy-Vee; Key Food; Laura Lynn; Loving Meals; Main Choice; Mixables; Nutriplan; Nutro Max; Nutro Natural Choice; Nutro; Ol'Roy; Paws; Pet Essentials; Pet Pride; President's Choice; Price Chopper; Priority; Publix; Roche Bros; Save-A-Lot; Schnucks; Springsfield Pride; Sprout; Stater Bros; Total Pet; My True Friend; Western Family; White Rose; Winn Dixie and Your Pet.

Homemade Pet Food

I recently read a comment where one reader pointed out that she makes her own pet food. That is a great idea! Foods designed for human consumption obviously have much stricter guidelines regarding safety and ingredient control. I was lucky, I feed Science Diet which thankfully is not on the recall list. However, my roommate feeds IAMS, and I have been absolutely neurotic about keeping my dog away from it.

Anyway, my boyfriend dragged me into the Roseville Meat Market, where they literally walk a cow in the back door and...yeah. The smell of death almost made me puke, and I am eating vegetarian for the next few days. What I did notice was that they sold "pet food" right alongside the flank steak and ribs. It's very inexpensive (well, if you feed a Chihuahua) and fixing your pet a little bit of fresh, non-preservative chicken or beef pet food from the butcher is great for piece of mind.

Iams Dog Food Recall

From PETA:

Menu Foods reportedly knew of this potentially deadly food as early as February 20, 2007. When reports surfaced that its dog and cat food might have caused severe illness in customers’ animal companions, the company quietly conducted lethal toxicity tests to confirm the contamination. Dogs and cats were forced to ingest toxic and lethal food in Menu’s laboratory before the company announced the recall of pet food from stores nationwide nearly one month after the initial illnesses were reported. During this critical time, countless animal companions may have been at risk of getting sick, and many may have died.

In addition to the appalling failure to disclose information about the contaminated food to its consumers, Menu Foods chose to test the food by forcing healthy dogs and cats to ingest it—instead of using one of the reliable, humane alternatives that are readily available, including chemical analyses of the food, necropsies and tissue analyses of the already deceased animal victims, and non-animal test methods, such as the functional gastro-intestinal dog model (FIDO) or TIM-1 and TIM-2 (small and large gastro-intestinal models).

No one knows how many animals are dying in homes or how many are dying in laboratories for pet-food profits. PETA is calling on Menu Foods to provide full disclosure regarding the location of its laboratories, for law enforcement agencies to investigate whether cruelty-to-animals charges should be filed against Menu Foods in the U.S. and Canada for alleged failure to warn consumers about the tainted food as soon as the company had the information, and for Iams to stop unnecessary suffering and death by immediately ending its laboratory tests on animals.

PETA’s Investigation Revealed Cruel and Deadly Tests Conducted for Iams
For nearly 10 months in 2002 and early 2003, a PETA investigator went undercover at an Iams contract testing laboratory and discovered a dark and sordid secret beneath the wholesome image of the dog- and cat-food manufacturer. Undercover footage captured images of dogs who had gone insane from intense confinement to barren steel cages and cement cells, dogs who were left piled on a filthy paint-chipped floor after having chunks of muscle hacked from their thighs, and horribly sick dogs and cats who were languishing in their cages, neglected and left to suffer without veterinary care. In addition to suffering through painful experiments, animals in Iams labs were denied companionship and enrichment and were confined to their barren cages for at least 23 1/2 hours every day. The recent massive recall by Menu Foods, contract manufacturer for Procter & Gamble’s Iams and Eukanuba brands—of more than 60 million cans and pouches of dog and cat food is further proof that laboratory tests on animals do not guarantee that a product will be safe to use.

Puppy Names

I like to think of myself as a great namer of puppies. My boyfriend probably would disagree, however, I will hold to this day that Martini would have been cute, and 8Ball would not have been. Maybe Starry got lucky with Rockstarr. Anyway, here are my simple tricks for naming your puppy:

1) Take into account the coloring of your puppy. For example, Starry is all white, like a little star.
2) Take into account the temperment of your puppy. For example, Starry is sort of a diva
3) Think about any special situation concerning the new arrival. For example, we bought Starry late at night in a parking lot, and so as I was driving home, I was also drinking a Rockstar energy drink.
4) Think of anyone specal to you, or otherwise. We have a friend with the last name fo Starr, and for when he runs for President, we thought it would be fun to have our dog partially named after him

Congratulations of the new puppy, and hopefully you wil find this helpful!

Update: Where Have I Been?

Hello,

I am have been going through a slight crisis of writing. It effectually ceased to be fun for me, so I took a little break. But, I'm back.

So, for my update blog, I'll tell you a bit about Starry. Of course next to nothing is new with her, but she is healthy, and happy, and just got a bath. How do you give a tecaup Chihuahua terrified of being submerged up to her ankles in water a bath, you ask? Just pick them up! She gets one in the shower and love it!

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xo

Mandy & Starry

Special Winter Treat for the Pampered Pup

If you're looking for something extra special with which to pamper your little (or bigger) pup this winter, than take a cue from my obviously spoiled rotten little princess and plug in an electric blanket. Little dogs absolutely adore the extra warmth.

For safety considerations, aside from following all of the standard directions provided with the blanket on its packaging, this should only be allowed under close supervision, and I wouldn't crank the heat all the way up, but prefer to keep it at a more medium temperature. Make sure plently of water is available to your dog (as always), and make sure there isn't any water near the blanket. Also, beware of the cords, as a little one could easily become tangled. Like I said, let them nap on these under close supervision.

Affordable Collars That Actually Look Good

Collars are so mundane, they really are. They're like socks, or a belt. You know they're a necessity of life, yet there always seems to be a million things you'd prefer to purchase. Starry just burned through the bejewled collar she's had for less than a year which cost be 50 bucks, and since she recently chewed a whole through my favorite pair of designer jeans, I am less than eager to go buy her a new one. Still, she needs one badly, so I was ecstatic to check out Pure Country pet Boutique and find a bunch of fabulous options all priced at under $20. They have all of my necessary requirements; some with jewels, some with studs, leather, etc.

While you're snooping around, you can try and find Starry who won a modelling contest for their site. I'll give you a hint, she might sneak up on you in an orange sweater and say "Boo"!

Adorable Photos of Jessica Simpson & Daisy

Haute Coats

Coats are great. They not only look amazing, but they add a little extra something to the fashionable pup. Any dog can wear a sweater, but a great coat looks incredibly luxe. Thats why I just adore the Aspen Dog Coat by New York Dog. It features: faux suede and think faux fur, velcro closure, gold hardware on back, and metallic faux leather trim. It is available in emerald green or chocolate brown.

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Thank You to Our Featured Sponsors!

*Barks & Kisses
I just went nuts checking out their site. It has so much great stuff. I especially fell for the pink ad black argyle sweater, the pearl collars, and the butterfly coat. All so amazing, and definitly worth a look yourself.

Modern Dog Magazine

I just love Modern Dog. I have never been much of an avid dog magazine reader, as my addiction to fashion magazines has a knack for sucking up to much of my time and money, and the availability of the same-old-stuff in Dog Fancy never seems quite as good as Anna Wintour's latest muse. But with the recent popularity of small dogs has come a slew of great magazine's for dog lovers.

This magazine goes beyond the potty training and adoption information to discuss what we all really want to know about. They cover dog fashion, cool products, celebrity pets, and trends... but all on a small companion scale.

Pet Air Travel

As anyone who has ever attemped to travel with their small dog knows, airline flights, restrictions, and costs can be such a burden that it is often not even worth trying. However, if you have a dog like mine who does not take well to being kenneled (Starry hardly eats when she is boarded, and even boarding her with the vet does not set my mind at ease), than your vacation or holiday plans could face a conundrum.

Today, many airlines offer transport of pets, however, Jet Blue stands far and above the rest. First of all, it is inhumane and variably unsafe for a dog to ride in cargo. Jet Blue recognizes these safety issues and therefore does not even offer cargo transport as an option. Furthermore, they are one of the most affordable at only a $50 fee per pet. Unfortunately, you can only bring one pet per passenger. The animal must be stored below your seat, and they are required to stay in their carrier, which is standard.

Fifi & Romeo

Want to shop where the stars such as Paris Hilton shop for their little dogs? Do you want to own the same must have dog-carrier, and chat with the same sales team? Then check out Fifi & Romeo. This boutique is located at 7282 Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles (a few blocks from the infamous Robertson Blvd.), and has a whole host of clothing and accessories designed with the priviledged pup in mind.

Having visited their myself, I would describe the setting as fun and fashion forward, but not nearly as posh as what E! might lead you to believe. Their stuff is adorable and amazing, but is very pricey. The staff is mainly disinterested if you are not a celebrity, but it was still fun to look around. Some of the clothing racks are at teacup level so that your dog may browse for whatever may catch their eye while you do the same. If you're looking for a classic piece, consider one of the great cashmere sweaters.

Free Stuff for Photos

Free stuff for submitting a photo of my little princess for the world to see? Sounds good to me, sign me up! Pampered Puppy holds a monthly photo contest with tons of great prizes up for grabs. I'd love to see some of my readers as winners, and I'd love to see some of your photos as well! Send me photos of your dog, and although I'm not giving away free goodies, I'd love to put them up for the world to gush over.