It seems more holiday pet tips are coming my way from all differnt directions, so I thought I’d post this one too. This one is about some great holiday pet gift ideas that are nice and easy. It’s from my good friend John at Guideposts.com.

Here are 5 purr-fect budget friendly gift ideas for your pets:
http://www.guideposts.com/story/presents-pets-christmas
1. Buy a great toy: Check out the environmentally-friendly toys at your local pet store, or online. Or go even more simple. A bucket of old tennis balls makes Kelly happy. Try making a toy yourself. If you can sew, create a simple stuffed teddy bear for your pup. Tie a feather or pompon to the end of a string for your kitty. Get creative!
2. Cook  Something Yummy: Find a recipe for healthy dog treats. Try this dog carsomething yummy:rot cake recipe from Sharon Azar’s WOOF! blog or Editor-in-chief Edward Grinnan’s dog food recipe.
3. Frame a picture: For your animal-loving friends and family, frame a special picture of their pet, or create a small scrapbook or brag book. If you’re handy with the computer, print up stationary or note cards, with the pet’s picture in the corner.
4. Make pet books and calendars: Pet lovers will never grow tired of reading about their best friends, and there are so many great options: fiction, memoirs, how-to, and great true animal stories. (Check out Guideposts’ own Their Mysterious Ways) Page-a-day or monthly pet calendars make great gifts, too.

5. Give your time: What’s the best gift to give a pet? Your time! Get down on the floor and play, maybe even invent a new game with your dog or cat. Relish time to just cuddle. Kelly and I like to get wrapped up in a blanket. For your pet-owning friends, offer dog walking or pet-sitting. Or help more pets by donating time or money to a local animal shelter.

(Next one added by me, yours truly….I couldn’t help it)

6. Volunteer. I think that we should all get out and volunteer for an animal charity this holiday season, whether by being at adoption events, writing letters, or answering phones, go into your local pet charity and see how you can help this season!

 
Happy holidays!

This is a guest post written by my friend Rod Burkett from GoPetFriendly.com. If you are traveling with pets this holiday season, then it’s a must-read.

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Millions of people will hit the road this holiday season to spend time with friends and family, and for many of us, spending the holidays away from our pets is inconceivable. Planning ahead and taking some precautions can help ensure that everyone – including the furry members of the family – has a safe and enjoyable trip. Here are some tips to make sure your trip is a merry one!

• Health and safety first. Before departing, have your pet checked by the vet to ensure he/she is fit to travel.  Consider scanning your pet’s medical records to a CD or thumb drive so you have a portable history.  Also, your pet should wear a suitable collar with identification attached.  A microchip is a good idea if your pet is prone to running away.

• Strongly consider traveling by car. The airlines are plagued with huge crowds and massive amounts of baggage during this time of the year. Delays and cancellations are the norm and could cause increased stress for your pet. While driving in the car, keep your pet crated or buckled up and no heads poking out the windows!

• Make certain your pet is welcome at your destination. Friends and relatives may not be comfortable with having your pet as a guest. Confirm in advance that your host will welcome your pets and discuss any restricted areas or rules that will need to be followed during your stay.

• Brush up on obedience. Our pets are introduced to new places, scents and people when we travel. Understanding what’s allowed in a new environment can be confusing for them, but a little training before you leave will allow them to showcase their manners. Simple commands like “Stay,” “Down,” and “Drop It” can keep a dog from bolting out an open door, greeting guests inappropriately, or ingesting something harmful.

• Give them a comfortable retreat. Many pets can become overwhelmed with holiday gatherings and would prefer a quiet spot away from the activity. Having their bed or crate and their favorite toy creates a welcome refuge where they can relax.

• Keep your pet’s normal schedule. As simple as it may seem, feeding and exercising your pet on their normal schedule can reduce their anxiety. Set an alarm to remind you of your pet’s feeding time and don’t skip their daily walks to drain excess energy!

• Avoid digestive disaster. It’s very tempting to spoil your pet during the holidays with foods and treats however it’s very important to stick to your pet’s normal diet while you’re traveling. Many foods like onions, raisins, macadamia nuts, chocolate and alcohol served at the holidays are toxic to your pet. Poultry bones splinter and can cause serious health issues. Just eating foods your pet is not used to can lead to gastrointestinal distress. Let other guests know that your pet is well-fed and anyone offering treats may be cleaning up after him later!

• The tree is off limits. Pets can be injured if they take tinsel or ornaments off the tree, and the water in the tree stand can have preservatives or bacteria that could harm your pet. Pets should not be allowed around the tree, and gates should be used if the tree is just too tempting.

• Monitor your emotions. Over-excitement, anxiety and stress are common emotions around the holidays. Remember that your pet will pick up on your feelings, so relax, stay calm and have fun!

Since I have been so ill lately, my friends have kindly volunteered to write some posts for me. This is the first in a series, and its written by Denton Fowler from PetWellBeing.com.

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Losing your pet is never easy, whether you’ve had them for a couple of months or a couple of years.  The impact can easily be compared to the loss of a child, even if people without pets probably can’t relate.  The grief can hit us in many different ways.

 I share with you the story of Fish, a puppy mill rescue who changed the lives of my family.  And although he blessed us with just 11 short months of joy, he will be forever remembered by everyone he came in contact with.   

 We lost Fish in early November, but we are reminded daily of the impact he had on our daily life.  His hair is STILL everywhere, no matter how often we vacuum.  His cage sits empty in the garage because selling it would be like saying aloud that he is really gone.  His favorite chew toys lie scattered about the cage, covering the polished water bowl I know is there somewhere.

 Fish was a German Shepherd mutt, mixed with a bit of this and a bit of that.  He was rescued from a puppy-mill by the SPCA and then adopted by my kids and I when he was just 3 months old.  Fish was the bundle of energy that caught our eye.  His body had scars from his ordeal, but we saw past them.  It was love at first sight. 

 He wasn’t the best trained dog but he knew his basic commands.  Unless, of course,  there was another dog around.  We were still working on that part.  Fish was a favorite at the dog park because he would play with any dog there.  He could rough house with the best and give as good as he got.  Or he would crawl on his stomach to let the smaller dogs climb all over him.  He just wanted to play.  With dogs or with people, he just wanted someone to play with him.

 Guilt was the biggest emotion I felt when he died.  And it’s not because of the way Fish died, because he died doing what he loved best.  We were down at the river down a gravel road just where the huge power lines cross over.  No one ever came there and he would chase after the ducks and squirrels to his heart’s content.  But he saw a dog in the distance and took off.  Anyway, when a running dog, a blind corner and a utility truck meet, the dog doesn’t win out…

 By the time the kids came home from school, I had already done the whole woulda-shoulda-coulda thing in my mind.  If I had left 2 minutes sooner.  Or got just one more red light.  Or thrown a stick for him to chase.  Or worked harder on his commands around other dogs.  Maybe, just maybe this wouldn’t have happened.

 It took my daughter to drag me out of that mood that night when she started doing it herself.  She lamented that if she hadn’t missed her bus, I wouldn’t have gone down to the river after driving her to school, and Fish would still be alive.  It was all her fault.

 To make her feel better, I gave her the list of all my could-haves to show her that it wasn’t the cause of one particular person or event.  I mean, what if had been raining?  I certainly wouldn’t have been there.  You just can’t blame the weather for your pet dying.

 I think that clarified things in her mind and my own.  It wasn’t her fault any more than is was mine.  It doesn’t make Fish’s absence any easier, it just reduces a certain amount of self-guilt that makes you point the finger at yourself.

 Now, when we find more of his hair on our blankets or clothes, there’s just this longing for something that was.  And memories of what we had.

 Denton Fowler wrote this article for PetWellbeing.com which offers prevention and treatment products for cancer in cats and Cushings Disease in dogs.

Okay, so this was an especially hard contest to judge, but I took into account reader comments and emails to me on who readers thought was the cutest pup over the last month.

If I could give prizes to EVERYDOG I would, but I can’t…so here’s the winning three, again, based on Administrative judging, and reader comments and emails (in no particular order):

FENRIS:

PHOEBIE:

KLAUS:

CONGRATULATIONS to the winners! I will be emailing you shortly to get your mailing address so I can send you your doggie holiday prize package, which includes all kinds of new toys and treats for your pooch!

Thank you so much to all who entered, and I can’t wait to see your entries for the next contest, which will be announced in February.

Concurrently with the December dog photo contest I was running the PetSmart Holiday Giveaway package. I asked people to let me know how they have helped animals this year and got some pretty amazing entries…it was tough to choose just one winner for the package. It’s so amazing to hear all that people do for animals day in and day out…
I finally decided on the winner being Lauren Egier for all her time and donations. This is what she wrote me:

“Hi, I’ve been busy this year trying to help out as much as possible. When my Bull Terrier passed away last year, we started searching for a rescue Bully to fill the void in our heart and home. We found the perfect Bull Terrier for our family and have been volunteering with Southern Ontario Animal Rescue (S.O.A.R.) ever since.

I baked thousands of homemade dog cookies to raise money at the All About Pets Show. I also baked a bunch for those dogs that haven’t found their forever home and for those that are sharing their homes with fosters.

I’ve volunteered my time at the annual Howl-o-ween Party and at the Christmas Pawty. The rescue group recently got involved with the Ontario Bingo halls and I’ve volunteered for 3-4 sessions.

Today was a very important day as I helped transport a young Lab X with a broken leg to her new foster home. Her new foster mom is a friend of ours that used to take care of our first Bull Terrier when we went away. We had emailed her hoping that she might know someone that could foster and she opened up her home to the dog.

My rescue Bully and I also partook in the Rescue Me Walk-a-thon at Woofstock in Toronto. This walk benefited many rescue groups and also raised awareness as to the types of dogs that can be found through rescue.

I am also a member of the Pig Dogs in the TDot group which gets together to walk our Bull Terriers. Each walk has a different benefactor and we have raised lots of money that goes directly to specific rescues.

Lastly, I’ve attended a couple of protests/rallies at Queens Park in Toronto to get rid of the “Pit Bull ban.”  These have been very powerful events and I have met some great people and their friendly dogs.

For any rescue group looking to make a decent amount of money, try finding a local bingo hall. We run about 3-4 sessions a month for 4-5 hours each and make a significant amount of money.”

Thank you Lauren for all that you do — and thanks to all who entered for everything that you do for animals. You all deserve to win:)

Jaime

I still have so many more content pictures to post, so I’m going to post the remainder of them in three posts today — this is the third, scroll down for the other two, and then I’m going to move back the winner announcement date to tomorrow, Dec 15th, so you guys can comment and tell me who you think is cutest today!! Make sure you go through all three posts today, plus the other ones from the past couple weeks for the December doggie photo contest!

Riley

Unknown Boxers...

Pheobie

Kasper

Steve

Fenris

Bentley

The "Six Pack"

Ollie

I still have so many more content pictures to post, so I’m going to post the remainder of them in three posts today, and then move back the winner announcement date to tomorrow, Dec. 15th,  so you guys can comment and tell me who you think is cutest today!! Make sure you go through all three posts today, plus the other ones for the December doggie photo contest!

Javelin

Myles

Aspen

Cody Bear

Don Vito

Unknown Name

Name Unknown

Ziggy

Molokai

I still have so many more content pictures to post, so I’m going to post the remainder of them in three posts today, and then move back the winner announcement date to tomorrow, Dec. 15th, so you guys can comment and tell me who you think is cutest today!! Make sure you go through all three posts today, plus the other ones for the December doggie photo contest!

Klaus

Clifford the Agility Chow

Toby

Maya

Cesar

Mischa

Name Unknown

Tess

Lulu

Hi everyone.

Well Mom has been REALLY sick for about four weeks now. She went from swine flu to sinus infection and now has a bad upper respiratory infection accompanied by a nasty chest virus.

Needless to say, we are going to have to take a break for a couple days. We hope to be back next Monday and will post more doggie photo contest entries.

In the mean time, sorry we haven’t made it around to your blogs as often as we’d like but Mom has been too sick to even really be on the computer and do our blogging!

We miss all of you and hope to hear from you soon. We will be back next week.

In the mean time, don’t forget both December contests run through December 14th. So get your dog pictures  in to win holiday themed doggie bag prizes, and send me your animal welfare contribution stories  to win the PetSmart package!

Wags, licks, kisses, purrs, barks,

Benson, Gibson, Sasha and Theodore

(and Jaime, the sickly Mom)