www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEuekImXSPQ
Lyrics

He looks like skin on a bone pile
A cat wouldn’t give him a chance
But When he stretches his long legs out
A fox ain’t got a chance
Tennessee hound dog Tennessee hound dog

Sad faced mooneyed creature
His ears hang down to his knees
The she hounds call him a has been
An old aged home for fleas
Tennessee hound dog Tennessee hound dog

But when he gets a certain kind of look on his face
The she hounds run for a hiding place
Cuz when he takes a notion all the girl dogs know
He’s a dynamite up tite outa sight backyard romeo

He leeks like ugly warmed over
Some dog lovers have said that
But he’s got more sense in the end of his nose
That they’ve got in their head
Tennessee hound dog Tennessee hound dog

Every Friday, Mutt Tunes showcases songs with or about dogs. Email your suggestions.

But those damp canine noses will find us. They’ll pull us outside to play and demand snuggle time on the sofa. They kick us in gear and keep us on track. Dogs know nothing of post-holiday depression. They don’t indulge in self pity. Thank goodness! We’ll travel into February and beyond, nudged by four-legged energy and good cheer.

This will be my last weekly post for a while. I have a book project that requires my attention for the next few months. I’ll try to do an ocassional post when I can. Scott will be steering the blog in my absence. He’s a unique animal. It’ll be fun to see what he comes up with. 

I had hoped to have a  project featured on the craft page by now. I selected a simple project months ago and started compiling what I thought would be a short supply list for a dog leash holder. The list was a little longer than I imagined. I photographed the supplies, then thought of some more.  We started photographing the process. The supply list grew so long, I trashed the idea. So, until I can think of a REALLY SIMPLE project, the craft page will be dormant. We are still planning a photo contest, but the wheels turn slowly here! I wish everyone lots of slobbery kisses and tail-wagging moments in 2010.

Preserving  dogbeds: Even with washable covers, I replace dogbeds every couple years because the foam or filling gets stinky. When our last two terriers reached the incontinent stage, I wrapped their bed inserts in heavy duty garbage bags, then put the covers on. It saved the beds and made clean up so easy. If there’s an accident, just toss the bag and replace it. After those dogs were gone, I started wrapping each new pet bed in plastic. Now, the covers wear out before the bed does. King pillowcases make great replacement covers for small dog beds. For large beds, fold a twin flat sheet  in half, and sew the open side together, then sew one end together. Just slip the bed inside the case and fold the extra fabric under the bed.

Preserving people furniture: Everyone knows I’m the slipcover queen. But slipcovers aren’t waterproof, so  I protect the back and seat of my sofa from leaks and dog smells with a queen mattress cover.  You can buy the cheap plastic kind or use waterproof fabric, which will last longer. If you have an extra large sofa, you might need a king size. 

Catalogs:  You can save on almost every dog supply by shopping catlogs or online. The only thing I’ve found that doesn’t follow that rule is pet food. We use Foster and Smith for prescriptions, heartworm, and flea control, and          KV Vet Supply for general merchandise, which offers no shipping on orders over $50.

Prescriptions: Another way to save on prescriptions is to ask your vet if there’s a human drug replacement for your canine prescription. Hobbit’s Prozac is the same as people Prozac, so we have the vet call in the prescription to Target. We pay $4 there compared to $77 for the canine chewables from the vet. Walmart also offers $4 deals.

Supplements: Check healthfood stores for supplements in bulk. Most of them also have a small pet section. We buy Ella’s Ark Naturals probiotics from Nutrition Smart for half what it sells for in local pet stores.

Feed Stores: Livestock feed stores sell petfood, treats, bones, and pet supplies, usually at lower costs.

Vet Care: Ask your vet if  cost is negotiable, especially if you have more than one pet. Some vets are willing to compromise. Also, consider bartering. I bartered two painted scenes on  my vet’s office doors that paid for six months of vet work on two old dogs. Bartering can also work for grooming, training, and petsitting.

That’s all from me. If you have any pet thrifty tips, share them!

This sign announced an early meal with the jolly man in red. We just missed him, darn it! (I had my list in my pocket, just in case.)

Homemade displays circle the building. I see those huge blow-up plastic Santas taking over people’s lawns and I appreciate the hand painted wood cut-outs even more.

We stepped inside and wished to be kids again. Garland, ornaments, and lights dangled from the downstairs hall. No mistletoe. This is an elementary school, afterall!

 Model trains wind through three classrooms of themed landscapes.

Oooh! Aaah!

I loved this snowy alpine scene.

In the last room, Christmas trees decorated by local groups brighten the worn wood floors.

Check out this frothy pink 50’s tree! Made me want to put on a poodle skirt and sip a frosty root beer.

When we left, the floor above our heads creaked as children ran in the upstairs hall… echoes of the school’s  good ole days, when wood desks and dusty chalkboards filled these classrooms. This building no longer serves to educate, but it’s still the perfect place for child wonder.

My cousin’s dog, Sydney, shows her distaste for the gift…a Cesar Millan DVD.

Dog Clicker with Target Stick – if you’ve ever used a target stick to train your dog, you know how difficult it is to time the dog’s touch with your clicker reinforcement. This tool puts it all in one hand. Available for $14.95 from Clean Run.  While you’re at their site,  check out the other cool training gear.

Tuffy Tug Toy – tested by Hobbit who rips everything to shreds, including a Kong. This toy made it through two years of tugging and chewing. It also handles multiple machine washings. It’s available at Petco and on sale for $14.99.

Furniture Covers – I’ve used Surefit slipcovers for many years and never been disappointed. They offer a wide range of styles and colors. I like to shop their clearance sales. You can also find their merchandise marked way down at Big Lots.

All Purpose People Vest – Scott wanted a vest to carry treats, leashes, clicker, camera, etc. I looked at dog training vests but they were expensive and most of them were too heavy for Florida. I found this vest by Rothco at Amazon.  for around $30. It’s lightweight fabric with mesh lining, adjustable, and has so many pockets, you’ll have difficulty filling them all. Scott likes it so much, I have to force him to take it off so I can wash it.

Collars and Leashes – We bought Ella a collar made by the Bison company when we adopted her four years ago. She’s still wearing it and Hobbit has tried his best to destroy it. Collars start at $10.00. Petco sells Bison collars for around $12. This company also offers rugged people products like belts and keyholders.

Dog  Coats – Foggy Mountain  has a great selection of sturdy and comfortable dogwear, including  coats for hard to fit breeds. Prices start  around $39.00. The design mimics well-made horse blankets. If you’ve ever had a horse, you know just how durable their winter wear needs to be and how important it is to have the right fit. We bought a Foggy Mountain dog coat ten years ago for a Jack Russell and it’s still in good shape. Check out their website for retail locations or an online source.

I’d like to thank the people who tune in to our blog, especially those who comment and send photos. We feel privilged to have met so many dedicated dog lovers. The connections we make bring us closer together and enrich our world. We hear story upon story. At the dog park, a young single man devotes hours to his three foster dogs’ needs.  At the trainer’s, a woman stokes the spirit of a dog found half-dead on the highway from abuse. At the vet’s, a small child and his mother wait to hear the verdict on their loyal old spaniel. All these people have stretched wide their hearts and their stories stretch mine.

Tomorrow when we sit down to eat with family and friends, I’ll thank God for the bounty in my life, including the people we’ve met through our dogs.

New York Times

A Kid’s Idea, for Dogs to Savor

By SUSAN DOMINUS November 21, 2009

A Queens teenager, Christian Liendo, came up with the idea for his canine ice cream while enrolled in an entrepreneurial program.

For Dogs With Good Taste

By MARIANNE ROHRLICH November 19, 2009

Mungo & Maud, a London company, has created a line of stylish pet accessories.

Reuters

Dog story “Nubs” being developed for big screen

Reuters – Steven Zeitchik – ‎Nov 19, 2009

“Warner Bros. is going to the dogs, signing on to acquire and develop “Nubs,” a feel-good story of a pooch and a U.S. Marine based on a publishing sensation. “Nubs” tells the story of a stray dog that Maj. Brian Dennis rescued while on a tour of duty in Iraq. After nursing the dog back to health and caring for it as his own, he arranged to have him shipped back to the U.S. and was reunited with the dog when his tour ended.  . . .In addition to Dennis’ life rights, filmmakers have acquired the top-selling children’s book “Nubs: A Marine, a Mutt and a Miracle,” which Dennis wrote with Mary Nethery and Kirby Larson. The Little, Brown Books for Young Readers title was published two weeks ago and sits at No. 4 on the New York Times children’s best-seller list.”
‎

Radio

Animal Tales In the Tampa Bay area, tune in every Saturday at 12noon on WTAN, TanTalk AM1340, AM1350 and AM1400. HEAR THE NOV 14th, 2009 SHOW Live from the Tampa Pet Adoption Expo

Books

I recently finished listening to a book on CD in which the character’s dog has a significant role throughout the book.  School Days by Robert Parker, features a private detective named Spenser.  In this novel Spenser’s girlfriend is out of town and he has to care for their dog, Pearl,  a German shorthair pointer.  The dog rides along in a police car twice, goes to a couple of stakeouts, and in the end prevents Spenser from getting shot. 

Hurray for a successful animal adoption event last weekend at the Florida State fairgrounds!  According to Tampa Pets.org’s Facebook page, 297 dogs, 106 cats, and 5 bunnies were adopted. That’s over 400 critters removed from overburdened  shelters. Now, let’s hope those pets have found forever homes.

I’m always happy to hear about new adoptions but a small part of me worries that some percentage of those animals will find themselves back in a shelter. Adopters have good intentions, but not all of them are prepared to commit to an animal, no  matter what its needs. Sometimes those needs are overwhelming.

I remember the day we adopted Ella. We were experienced dog owners and couldn’t have missed the clues that she was fearful. She cowered at the back of her crate in a shivering ball. We naively believed that with patience and kindness, Ella would come around. It took us one week to recognize her fear was beyond our understanding and we sought help. That initial session with Angelica Steinker at Courteous Cainine set us on a long path of tiny steps towards Ella’s rehabilitation. I’m so grateful for all I’ve learned through the process. It was worth every dollar spent and the hours of work.

Ella is a gentle, loving girl and it thrills us to see her growing confidence. But not everyone has the resources or the time to commit to an animal who needs the attention she did. And Ella isn’t the worse case. There are animals with medical issues or severe behaviorial problems. The rescue groups and shelters do their best to assess each pet, but they often know only what they observe for the short period the animals are in their care. Ella had been with Lost Angels Rescue exactly one week when we got her. I pray that the kind folks who adopted animals last weekend are enjoying the first days of a long, happy relationship with their new pets.

Newspaper

New York Times

A Patchwork of Food Assistance for Pets
By CARLA BARANAUCKAS November 12, 2009
“ANIMAL shelters have reported a steep rise in the number of cats and dogs being surrendered as owners face unemployment, home foreclosures, evictions and other financial hardships. But animal welfare groups and even churches are stepping up with bags of kibble and containers of cat litter to help owners keep their pets and to prevent more from being sent to shelters, and sometimes death. . . No national network coordinates pet food assistance. Instead, efforts have sprung up at a grass-roots level as individuals and groups have recognized the problem. The means of offering aid to pet owners varies with each organization. The Humane Society of the United States keeps a long list of programs on its Web site headlined “Having Trouble Affording Your Pet?” And the society acknowledges that there are probably many more programs the organization is not aware of.”  Here is the Florida list.

Love for a Dog That’s No Bark and All Yodel

By N. C. MAISAK November 14, 2009
“Yodel-ay-hee-hoo! The number of French bulldogs, a small breed with a language of its own, is growing in one Queens neighborhood.”

Online

BBC News

Rare birds monitored by dog GPS

“Dogs wearing global positioning systems (GPS) are being used to help monitor one of Scotland’s rarest birds. Wildlife Ranger Ally Macaskill is using two German shorthaired pointers to help him track breeds such as black grouse at Perthshire’s Schiehallion estate.”

Shock dog collars ‘complete ban’
“A proposed ban on electric shock dog training devices in Wales will be re-written to make it a complete ban, says the minister who wants to bring it in. ”

Time to eat the pets?

Justin Rowlatt Sunday, 15 November 2009

“Trying to make my home more carbon efficient taught me a very important lesson – the only way to get significant cuts is if you look at all aspects of your home. . . . But one area of our home lives always tends to escape under the ethical radar – our pets. I think it is time to give them the “ethical” attention they deserve. . .

. . . The issue of carbon pawprints has been in the news recently thanks to a new book: Time to Eat the Dog. The authors have attempted to estimate the environmental impact of a range of popular pets. Their most startling conclusion is that dogs are significantly more damaging to the planet than SUVs.  The authors claim that keeping a medium-sized dog has the same ecological impact as driving a 4.6 litre Land Cruiser 10,000km a year”

Expo puts hundreds of pets into loving homes

By KEVIN WIATROWSKI | The Tampa Tribune  Published: November 14, 2009

“Nearly 400 animals found homes today at the Humane Society’s 2009 Pet Expo . . . Alex Wright didn’t come to the Humane Society of Tampa Bay’s 2009 Pet Expo looking for a new pet. The airman 1st class was part of the honor guard that opened the event.  But then Chardonnay, a 3-month-old mixed-breed puppy caught his eye. He was hooked.”

Radio

Talking Animals - the recent Talking Animals show, 11/04/09,  featured: “  Sue Martino, Executive Director of The Pet Project, an Oakland Park, FL-based organization that helps serve the needs of pet owners who are living with HIV/AIDS, have a terminal illness, are disabled, or seniors on low, fixed incomes–discusses the history of The Pet Project and its specific focus in the earliest days; describes the organization’s growth and widening out of both the coverage area and clientele served, as part of longer range plans to operate not just statewide, but nationwide; outlines the scene of a quintessential Pet Project client and the products and resources provided her; addresses the group’s corps of volunteers; and fields a handful of calls from listeners offering to help The Pet Project in one way or another, and more. [www.PetProjectForPets.org] COMEDY CORNER: Brian Regan’s “Dog Barking” (www.BrianRegan.com)