The Healthy Bloghound – Moving Your Mutt

Although I’m not moving cross-country (again, anyway) and Ralphie is really, really chill most of the time, I still feel that I should take precautions in order to make his trek to a new home as stress-free as possible.  So, in light of my very soon– so-soon-I-should-be-packing-instead-of-writing–move, I’ve compiled a few tricks to keep your beloved pups as cool as a cucumber while you’re fussing at the elevator and re-enacting this scene from Family Guy.

1. Move your pet yourself
Not that you were planning on dumping Fido out and giving him a map or anything, but  professional movers don’t/shouldn’t move pets. Did you see what they did to your Ikea coffee table? That could have been your pup! And moving’s stressful, everyone’ll feel better being able to keep an eye on each other, especially for those who are not particularly fond of being in the car in the first place.

2. Make sure your pup has proper identification
Not so much for that post move-in beer, but more so for the probably-won’t-happen-but-just-might situations. This is an absolute MUST if you’re moving via air travel. I’d suggest not only proper id tags, but a microchip as well.

3. Make sure you’re legal
Okay, I’m going to admit something here. I honestly had NO idea that you had to pay the county a fee for registration. I mean, I’d heard of it (I’m not that dense) but it was something I’d never run into in my homes, so I hadn’t thought about it. When I took Ralphie to get his rabies vaccination, I asked where the tag was, and was then told that I would  get it from the county after paying their *cough*ridiculous *cough* fee. Apparently there can sometimes be a nasty fine if you get caught shirking this “responsibility”, so check up on it!

The Bloghound Shelter – Pooch-Perfect Pet Beds

I think it’s been well-documented that Ralphie will sleep on anything or anywhere that isn’t guarded like a Wii in your cart at a Black Friday sale. He does however, love his mutt bed dearly–and when he tires of hanging out with mom, he always retreats to the comfort of his pup pillow. And since it’s been looking raggedy lately, I figured now was a good time to scope out some replacements, but I had NO IDEA there would be so many cuties to choose from! Behold–my findings.

Seeing as my two biggest bed concerns are poof and cute factor, this one from Jax and Bones (starting at $109) definitely fits the bill.

I'm totally going through an Orange thing right now. I don't think Ralphie minds.

See Scout Sleep has really unique beds with great graphic design–and on top of all that, they donate 10% of the proceeds of your purchase to the Gulf Coast Fund; being a Texas girl, I really love that.  These guys also strive to make their beds as eco-friendly as possibly. Double applause!! Here’s my favorite, at $190 for a medium:

The bf would get a kick out of this...he has a crab thing.

But I can always flip it over for these fancy stripes!!

Harry Barker also has a great selection of eco-friendly beds, I’m sure Ralphie would love this entire pile of their rectangle bed (starting at $140).

Or, I could do Ralphie’s favorite for nesting and buy several of these pillows from Ikea for .99, that way he could make his lil bed any ‘ol way he pleased. Any other bed recommendations? Let me know in the comments!

The Best Piece Of Furniture According To Your Pets | Apartment Therapy Chicago

I saw this funny article on Apartment Therapy (you can tell I’m a big fan, right?!?) and it got me to thinking, what IS Ralphie’s favorite piece of furniture, and why? I want to say the couch, but is that only because it’s hard for his short little legs to get into his dome shaped “Ralphie chair”?  He likes the bed too, but is that just because I’m in it? Would he like it if I weren’t? Would it be as much fun for him to get in there or anywhere if I didn’t fuss so much about his little hairs going everywhere?

The mind reels.

What is your pup’s fave furnishing item? And whyyyyy?

The Best Piece Of Furniture According To Your Pets | Apartment Therapy Chicago.

Pooch Product Review – Woolite Pet Oxygen Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner

I don’t know what kind of voodoo magic is in a bottle of Woolite’s Pet Oxygen cleaner, and I figure it’s best just not to ask. Instead, I will continue to be awestruck by its ability to get basically ANYTHING out of the carpet (not just pup disasters).  As I’d mentioned in a previous post, Ralphie enjoys taking only the messiest treats onto the carpet for consumption–which inevitably leaves telltale snacking stains. When I first adopted Ralph, my mom introduced me to this cleaner, and she couldn’t have been more right about its Norse God-like stain killing power.

At $6.50 a pop, it's almost too good to be true. Almost.

I know I probably sound like an infomercial at this point, but when something is so awesome that you can spray the stain and walk away for a few moments only to find that your stain has DISAPPEARED–well, that’s awesome.

The Bloghound Shelter – Pup Approved Wall Art

Ralph and I are making the move to a new apartment (and a new kitty roommate for him, but that’s another post) and I felt that a way to really spruce up the space was with a wall mural. I’d been to AllPosters.com several times before, but had never clicked on their “Decorative Wall Murals” section, figuring it was boring plants or pictures of flowers or something. I was stoked to see exactly how wrong I was–it’s a dog lovin’ decorators paradise! Are here are a few of my favorites–but be sure to check out everything AllPosters has to offer, which is a heckuva a lot of awesomeness! Click on the photos to see more information!

Aww, puppy love!

My bf’s sister has the most adorable Boston, so Boston-themed treats always catch my eye!

This guy comes in several colors, just perfect for a picky palate!

And this one to remind of us home-

And we may not have a yard, but that can’t keep us from enjoying the most delightful yard ornament of all time!

There are so many adorable critters of all kinds to choose from, and if you find something you like, chances are that it’s in several different colors to serve your color matching needs. I’d post more, but I’m afraid I’ll just end up buying more of these than my wall space will allow, so I think it’s probably best if you mosey on over and check out all the cuteness for yourself!

Bloghound Bites — Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies

As a somewhat temporary attempt at eating well, I’ve decided to stop cooking sweets for myself in order to get a grip on that rascally “sweet tooth” thing.  So instead of fighting my urge to bake cookies for myself, I decided that I would indeed make cookies–PUPPY COOKIES, that is. I was scanning the interwebs looking for instructions on how to make cute decorated dog treats, and came across the canine twist on an old favorite, thumbprint cookies at Dog Treat Kitchen! They were incredibly easy to make (although mine are a bit pale because I was out of wheat flour and forced to use white), but otherwise, Ralphie loves them.

I used their photo because their treats are all cute and junk.

Quick tip, do not let your dog eat these on the carpet, lest you enjoy berry-colored stains. And also, I just found out that grapes and raisins are poisonous to dogs, so make sure to whip these up sans grape jam.

 

Cat Vs. Couch: Who Wins the Shedding Wars in Your House? | Apartment Therapy San Francisco

Speaking of shedding issues, here’s a hilarious article from Apartment Therapy about shedding! (Don’t worry, the article isn’t just about kitties!)

Cat Vs. Couch: Who Wins the Shedding Wars in Your House? | Apartment Therapy San Francisco.

Pooch Product Review – Eureka Boss Pet Lover Vacuum

Although I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of mentioning it before, Ralph is the absolute worst shedder on the face of the planet. (Seriously, I will have a shed-off with anyone who dares!) The thing about Ralphie’s hairs are that while some other pups–like my bf’s Frenchie–have short little hairs, but you can just brush them off without much problem. Ralphie hairs, meanwhile, are terribly naughty things that stick and burrow and cling to anyone and anything.  I know they just laugh all day with their little hair buddies every time I try to fruitlessly brush them from my clothes. So it goes without saying that I need a heavy-duty vacuum to suck the little barbed beasties from every nook and cranny of my apartment. After a lot of research, I decided on the Eureka 4870SZ Boss SmartVac Pet Lover Bagged Upright Vacuum Cleaner.  So here’s a quick overview of why I decided that this machine was the best weapon to battle the shedding beast.

And purple is my favorite color! We were meant to be!

I don’t particularly want to go over all the specs and all that business, I really don’t understand what they mean, so we’d both be wasting our time! But I will go over the pertinent information, such as:

-This is a bagged vacuum, supposedly the HEPA bag provides extra protection against any pet stink that has been trapped inside the vacuum that might attempt to escape.

-There are several little hose attachments that come with the vaccuum, but my favorite has to be the “Pet Paw”, this is literally the ONLY thing that can grab and capture the embedded Ralphie hairs from anything fabric-y.

This guy is like magic vacuum form.

Imagine all dust bunnies you can get with these guys!

-As far at maneuverability is concerned,  it seems pretty good to me. I can’t say I vacuum a whole heck of a lot, but it seems like it goes where I want it to go without much trouble!

-It has settings for both hard floors and carpets, with adjustable brush roller height for each. I’m not sure how much of a difference it makes, but it’s really good and picking up anything and everything from the carpet! I also have wood floors and the vacuum gets most of it, but sometimes little things like pebbles will get shot out the back of the vacuum instead of being sucked up.

-As far as weight goes, it’s not super heavy, but it’s got some heft. I assume that is because of the massive amount of hair-grabbing awesomeness that is trapped inside. The vacuum sells for $158.99 on Amazon, but I am pretty sure I got mine a little cheaper at Home Depot during a 20% of vacuums sale.

Happy cleaning!

Doggie DIY – Ikea-hacked Dog Bed

I’ve never really been able to figure out what Ralphie’s penchant for climbing into the highest chair that his little legs can reach, but in support of his special affinity for heights, he has his designated “Ralphie-chair” for naptime. Unfortunately, his bed is still ground-ridden, but not for long–thanks to these amazing (and simple) dog bed instructions from Ikea Hackers.

Perfect for a little pooch prince or princess, no?

The best thing is that you can pick whatever colors/fabrics your heart desires. Never again will you be forced to suffer from “Hey, my dog has that bed!” interactions. Soooo embarrassing.

Sharp Dressed Pup

As much as my darling boyfriend insists that Ralphie doesn’t care what his collar looks like, I will forever maintain that he totally does–Ralphie has great sartorial taste! And if he could talk, I bet he’d immediately demand each of these adorable collars below!

Adorableness courtesy of Dog Day Designs on Etsy.

Hedgehogs? Mushrooms? What does it mean?!?! Cute. That’s what.  Here’s another from Dog Day Designs.

For Ralphie's inner wild thing.

Both of these collars are priced between $12-$15, which basically means, if one were so inclined, that a week’s worth of collars could be had for under $100. Just thinking out loud, really.

Another Etsy shop that brings the cute is Fairy Tail Collars.

For days when the Ralph is feeling particularly dapper.

And then there are the more whimsical ones–

For days when he's uprooted my flowers or committed any other sort of general Ralphie rascalism.

And these cutie pies will run you $16.50 each.  There’s no longer an excuse for mass-produced collar-wearing! (Except my general lazyness, which means that yes, Ralph is wearing one of the aforementioned mass-produced collars–but soon! Change is coming!)

So if you’ve got a naked dog and a couple bucks burning a hole in your pocket, you’re lucky enough to live in the age where a collar that perfectly suits your pup is available at the push of a button–or click of mouse….you get the idea.