any dog lovers out there?
 

Just wanted to check in and see who the dog lovers are!

1) Do you have a dog or dogs? Names, ages, breeds (pictures are welcome too!)

2) What is your favorite pet related product?

I'll go first

1) I have 2 dogs-Molly a 2 y/o black lab and Murphy a 3 y/o American Bulldog. Both are rescues. We have 2 cats also.

Here are their dogster pages :)

http://www.dogster.com/dogs/523236
http://www.dogster.com/dogs/538029

2) My new favorite pet related product? We recently bought one of those PediPaws nail file tools. I LOVE it so far. My dogs are so much better about sitting to have their nails filed than with me using the clippers. This is easier too because Molly's nails are black and I used to quick here ALL the time. With this I won't hurt them.

There's another thread somewhere around here, but I have a blind Alaskan Malamute that I got from an Alaskan Malamute rescue group. She's a kind, sweet and submissive Mal (which is extremely rare.. a submissive Mal!)

Samantha
http://www.wideopenwest.com/~denisebr/sammigirl1.jpghttp://www.wideopenwest.com/~denisebr/sammigirl6.jpg

Her Kong is probably our best friend. It helped her get over her separation anxiety. She's happy to see me leave now because she knows there will be peanut butter in the Kong for her. In fact, when I brush my teeth (usually my last step before I leave the house in the morning), she starts prancing around and getting all excited. It throws her on the weekend when I brush my teeth in the morning and then don't leave!

ETA: Yeah, the date on the digital camera was set wrong. We didn't have that much snow in June

We have 2 doggies! Their names are Spencer Phoenix and Mr. Chompers. Spencer is a red Miniature Pinscher, and Mr. Chompers is a tan and white Chihuahua. I got them both from the shelter about a year apart from each other. We also had a yellow lab named Susie that passed away on October 22nd. She was 12.
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Oh, and my favorite pet related product would have to be the Pawdicure. It is like Pedipaws. The dogs hated it at first, but I think they like it better than the old way of cutting their nails. They used to freak out.

yes!!! i love love dogs!!! I am a vet tech at a veterinarians office!! I have a 13 year old black lab named Otis. I have a 6 month old cavalier king Charles spaniel named Gabriel and i recently lost my 3 year old Pomeranian mix named Gus:( He broke his back...but here are the pics!!

http://greekchat.com/gcforums/%5BIMG....jpg%5B/IMG%5D

http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r...ent=lsugus.jpg
http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r...mas2006013.jpg
http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r...onepics006.jpg

oh... i forgot the pet product...since I work at a for a vet I would have to say my favorite would be the anti-shed products that my office carries. They work wonders for my lab!!!

1) Yes, one.
Flo. Six years old and we are unsure of the breed but we can guess Catahoula Leopard hound and maybe Australian Shepard
http://www.dogster.com/dogs/927050

I hadn't heard of this site. I love it!

2) Pet related product... I don't know the name of it, but it is this bone, whose ends screw off. You put the treats on the bone and screw the ends back on. Flo loves it and it bounces too.

Sorry its so big!
 

http://i377.photobucket.com/albums/o...7/CIMG0050.jpg

My doggy! He is a West Highland White Terrier ("Westie") and his name is Shiloh. We got him from a breeder 11 years ago. He has a lot of skin allergies, so our favorite dog product is probably his hypoallergenic shampoo.

I am the proud owner of a 3 year old fawn boxer named Kaiser Chief.

My favorite pet product? Hmmmm . . . maybe his Mickey Mouse collar. We get many positive comments about it at the dog park!

Forrest is a 9 year old Basset Hound. Here are some pictures...

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...rrestSwims.jpg

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http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...tandToo004.jpg


Our favorite pet product is his electronic doggie door. It wasn't cheap by any means. But it opens and closes only when he's near-- he wears an activator on his collar. Best money ever spent! I also love his Vera Bradley collar set (Windsor Navy) and his lighted Christmas collar set.

He also used to have his own bedroom in our old house. Here are some pictures. *lol* The drawings are from Disney Quest's Animation Academy, and one of his many certificates from the Disney Kennels. He's a spoiled boy... but at our new home he got booted for my treadmill.


http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...t/DSC00041.jpg

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I have a dog! He is a 12 year old (going on puppy) Welsh Terrier named Barney. I got him from a local no-kill shelter in 2002. He's the best dog ever. :)

Favorite product...probably Pill Pockets. Barney is on medication for a heart murmur and these make it super easy to give him his pills. Just put them in the pill pocket, smush it closed, and give it to him - it's a big treat for him.

Your groomer is doing his head incorrectly. It's cute. But, incorrect. Not the worst I have seen by far. But, there are slight corrections that could be made in a couple of places to balance the chin out better and produce a more rounded, correct "westie" head.

My mom has a Yorkie, and his name is Max. She had to have her 1st Yorkie put to sleep. I have a cat, and her name is Marbles. I don't have a favorite pet product. But I am a dog and cat lover.

I love dogs!
 

I have a 7 yo Golden Retriever who is the sweetest dog ever! And I have a mutt who is mostly corgi and perhaps some shepherd who is about 5 years old and as lazy as can be. He gets super excited every day when I put my socks on because he knows that socks lead to shoes, shoes lead to keys, and keys lead to a car ride!

By far, the most essential and indispensable dog related item I have is the FURMINATOR .
If you have a dog who sheds you have to give it a try, it has saved my sanity.:D

1. I have a 15yo American Eskimo named Lucky (Dee and I have talked about Lucky and Samantha at length! They should be buddies). Really he's live-in's dog but since I'm looking for work and home most of the day I take care of him more. He's not a hard doggie to take care of, though.

http://i719.photobucket.com/albums/w...Wedding047.jpg

2. Honestly, we don't use a lot of pet products with Luckers. He goes to the groomer (although I might have to give the furminator and pedipaws a try!) and he doesn't like toys. So our favorite is good old fashioned rawhide bones. He can't get enough of those things (as you can see from his picture).

ETA: He was under my desk when that picture was taken. It took him a little while to get used to the heater and he used to hide under our desks if we were at them.

Our Golden is just over a year old. He too is a sweetie (and really handsome), but he still has lots of puppy energy. He still can't be unsupervised in the house -- there's just no telling what he'll get into. :D

This post makes me so happy. I love that you adopted an older dog from a shelter. I'm all about adoption and like it even more when people adopt older dogs that are often overlooked because most people want a little puppy.

I got my dog from a shelter back in June. They said she was between 2 1/2-3 years old, but her vet thinks she is probably 1 1/2 (almost 2 now). She's the greatest dog- sooo lovable and affectionate, already house broken, and is obsessed with every dog in sight. After her, I don't know if I'll ever get a puppy.

Lucky was adopted through a rescue program when he was 7.

My mom got a furminator for our dog back home, Bella (german shephard and rottweiler mix). It gets SO much hair off her. I tried it on my dog, who sheds like crazy, but it didnt do much for her. I wonder if its because she doesnt really have an undercoat.

PLEASE be careful when using that tool.

1) It is supposed to "card" the coat and remove EXCESS hair, right? Problem is, if you keep going past where groomers know to stop, you're actually removing good hair, too. That turns what you're doing into a type of "stripping." It basically yanks the hair out at the root and causes it to regrow. Since some dogs are not meant to be stripped, you can cause bald patches that might not grow back.

2) This product was designed by a groomer. She took a SURGICAL clipper blade, removed the back plate and put it on a handle. I say this because you can actually slice a dog open with this tool. Look at the teeth.

I have had several clients who used this incorrectly and went to the vet for stitches.

*** This product is a fabulous tool. But, many groomers, like myself, do not support the public release of this product. It can cause great injury to the dog if not done correctly. And 99% of all hair removed by a furminator can be removed JUST AS WELL with a rubber Kong-type Zoom Groom AND a COMB... ***

Your dog DOES NOT need a furminator!!! Spitz, poms, chows, etc. have a type of coat that tends to "bald-out" like mentioned above. They do have an undercoat. But, a comb and a brush are ALL you need to remove excess hair. Have your groomer show you how to line-comb and line-brush. If they won't show you, pm me and I will. You CAN use the furminator shampoo and solution if you bathe him at home. But, leave the tool alone for your babe!

Be careful using a pedipaws on your baby. He has longer "toe" hair. Pedipaws are just simple dremel tools with a cover on them to make them supposedly "safer."

Problem is, if your dog has longer hair on their feet, this hair can and will get caught in the rotary part of ANY dremel. If the hair gets caught, it will spin the hair so tight that you'll have to cut the hair OUT of the dremel.

So, when groomers use dremels to file the nails, we first CUT the nails to reduce the time needed to file and to locate the quick so as to avoid filing into it. (You file into it, and you'll have a bleeder.)Then, we cut the hair AROUND and IN-BETWEEN the toes to keep from getting it all spun up.

Pedipaws is another so-called invention that groomers have been using for years. They just slapped a fancy name on a dremel tool and marketed it for pet owners.

I firmly believe, as a groomer, that you only tell people about tools if they can SAFELY use them. I don't believe pedipaws explains the safety precautions for the pets well-enough.

Thanks for the advice. We do take him to the groomer, but since we've moved we're having a hard time finding one that we like/can afford/Lucky likes.

The last place we took him to, I said "He needs a bath, his nails cut, his glands expressed, dry him and brush him out, leave his ears COMPLETELY alone, he's prone to ear infections."

They gave him a bath. Nothing else. WTF? I can do that at home!

ETA: He does have long toe hair. I'm deathly afraid of hurting him with clippers, and I believe you when you say I could hurt him with the pedipaws, too. I almost always defer to the professionals because I don't think I could live with myself if I hurt him.

PM me. Maybe I can help you find someone.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

Everytime a certain someone in my family sees that thing on tv, he says, "You ought to get that for your dog!" To which I reply, "That's why God made groomers."

Our baby gets very long hair between his toes, and I've had nightmares about having his paws mangled from that Pawdicure or whatever it is today! He loves his groomer, so it's SO much easier to have her do it, leaving me to wear the White Hat as the Lullaby Singer/Treat Giver!

And... last year, he was Mr. December on a Bichon Frise Calendar! He was the sire for a background breeder (read: mini-puppy mill), until they were shut down. We got him in his heyday, and he's permanantly "retired" - but should have been named Cuddles!

Here are my two babies:

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...100_0521-1.jpg http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...100_0580-1.jpg
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Sienna (aka Peanut) is the beagle, and Belle (aka Hairy Beast or Beastie) is the mix. We bought Sienna at 8 weeks old, and adopted Belle 4 months later when Belle was 5 months old. Belle was dumped on the side of the road as a tiny little thing, just a couple weeks old. A friend of mine picked her up but couldn't keep her due to a baby's allergy. They both just turned 7.

Maybe they aren't 'products' per se, but the things we couldn't live without are our collection of tennis balls and Belle's brush.

Yep, it can do a lot of damage. (Even if they say it has safety features, I know how it works...)

Used by a professional, it's a awesome tool. I use it a lot for elderly clients who could have their skin ripped open by fresh-cut nails and for peeps with hardwood floors or kids.

But, in the wrong hands, it could cause injury.

That's what i've been told to do on my Chihuahua too (to cut the nail first) but his nails are dark and i'm always scared to cut the quick. I've taken him to groomers before and they've cut the quick, and our vet's office says I have to do it myself.

I thought that pedipaws would work better, especially since he "bites" his nails, some of the longer nails chip away. And then he has nails that don't grow at all--they've stayed small.

I just end up getting a regular nail file and file his nails that way, although they never seem to get any shorter! lol

Here's the pet thread from before that someone mentioned


http://greekchat.com/gcforums/showth...highlight=pets

I put pictures of my two dogs, Rusty and Heidi, on this thread.

Would his name be Marley?;)

I use a Furminator religiously! I don't see how it can hurt an animal because it is not sharp at all and I have never had it pull out excess hair or leave bald spots. I don't even see how that can happen unless you are super zealous with the brushing or something. Maybe the public Furminator is different from the professional one. Mine resembles a flea comb but with the teeth closer together and has absolutely nothing sharp that could hurt a dog. Yeah, we used to pay a groomer to Furminate but now we do the job just as easily at home about 2 times a week. I have almost no hair on my floors, so yes, I swear by it. The groomers used to brush the dogs for 30 minutes total in two 15 minute intervals. I brush for maybe 5 minutes, that is all it takes to remove enough hair so that I don't get furry feet from walking around my house.

It's the same one. They can hurt a dog. I've seen it happen to clients that bought them from Petsmart and didn't know how to use them. They are modified clipper blades on a stick. Good for you if you know how to use it correctly.

Awww, darn.
My dogs get so excited when they see the Furminator! They love it! Ah well, I will be careful with it in the future.

My back up favorite product is the Sheddin Blade. I usually follow the Furminator with the Sheddin Blade which appears to be a safe tool...I think.

BUT as for the last sentence in that last quote...(Tippie, this isn't directed at you just the author of the quote)

I love my dogs and I am willing to do the work it takes to keep the stray fur under control. Just because I hate fur in my food, drink, attached to my socks, or tickling my nose doesn't mean that I shouldn't own a dog who sheds. My dogs love getting combed and I would never trade my Golden Retriever away because I hate shedding. I am way too smitten with Goldens...I can't imagine not having one of these goofy, gentle, wonderful dogs in my life. :D

I totally agree. I have 4 pugs who shed nonstop. I just used the quote because it was from one of my groomer message boards.

I don't want people to think that the Furminator isn't great -- it is. I'm just saying that I don't like the fact that they are now being marketed to every one in the world at some pets' expenses. If you know how to use it on the proper coat using the proper technique and are able to recognize when the coat is no longer releasing and starts cutting the hair, then it's perfect for home use.

BUT, you can get the same results for most breeds with combs, brushes, and rubber zoom grooms. Truth be told, I use the furminator tool rarely.

LOL. No, his name is Casey. But "he" gave my wife the hardback, illustrated copy of Marley for Christmas last year. A few days later, he chewed half the cover off. :D

LOL! My Golden was a 'Marley' for years, but he eventually grew out of it. Every time he did something bad he would look at me with those soulful, cute Golden eyes and I would just melt. He pulled the cute card and it worked.

Sorry to Hijack BUT....I can't wait for the movie to come out, but I will go to it with tissue in hand because I know I will cry at the end.

I just made a Dogster page for my dog, Kylie. She is an 11 year old Jack Russell.

http://files.dogster.com/pix/dogs/95...1228354813.jpghttp://files.dogster.com/pix/dogs/95...1228356616.jpghttp://files.dogster.com/pix/dogs/95...1228355516.jpg

One of my favorite dog products is the Chuckit. It's a ball launcher, basically a stick with a cup for a ball. It's great because you can throw the ball farther AND you don't have to touch the slimy ball with your hands. My dog goes nuts if you say "Chuckit" in her presence.

lol now that is SO cute. I would love to see that.:D

I use this on my dogs and love it. Of course both my dogs are short haired (a lab and an American Bulldog), but looking at the device I'm not sure how fur could get caught in the rotary head unless its some long fur. The hole on the safety guard is pretty small, really only big enough for the nail to fit in.

I personally as a non-dog expert thought the safety precautions were laid out pretty well in the instructions. They are pretty clear about making sure you ONLY file the nail for 3-5 seconds because of the heat from the friction and you are supposed to check every 3-5 seconds to make sure you aren't quicking the dog. If someone is too dumb to read the instructions or follow them, well maybe they shouldn't have a dog!

For us Pedipaws is pretty much the only think I will use here again, and I'm pretty much a novice at dog nails. Cat nails is another story LOL. The difference in behavior of my dogs at nail trimming time is insane. Molly (the lab) will sit nicely and let me do all her nails at once, with treats, which she NEVER did with the clippers. I would do one nail with her struggling the entire time, treat her, and she would inevitable wriggle away and I'd have to chase her down to do another nail. I hurt her a few times with the clipper because of her struggling. She has black nails which makes it even harder for me to clip with her squirming. This is so much better.

Murphy (the American Bulldog) was EXTREMELY anxious about getting his nails done-to the point of urinating, shaking uncontrollably, and becoming aggressive. When we realized we couldn't do it ourselves, we took him to the vet who muzzled him. Even with 4 adults holding him, he still struggled free and began bashing his head on the exam table every time the vet picked up his paw. For a long time we were having him sedated to trim his nails. After working with him awhile on being comfortable with paw handling, we tried slowly reintroducing the clippers. He was better but as SOON as he felt the pressure of the clippers clamp down on his nail, he freaked out. On getting the PediPaws, we spent awhile introducing it to him and when we turned it on the first time, he jerked his paw away, but didn't flip out. After a few days trying this, he let us do a whole paw, then all paws without EVER urinating or becoming aggressive.

So yeah, that's why I like it. Even though I'm not a dog expert or groomer in any sense, I feel MOST of these products can be used safely if people weren't dumb enough to use them without reading or following the directions.

She is ADOREABLE!

Tippiechick's referring specifically to American Eskimos in her post about the Pedipaws. They have long hair on their feet and in between their toes. Unless the directions specifically say "cut the hair in between and around the toes very short so as not to get the fur caught in the dremel" I would read and follow the instructions and still hurt my dog. And look at him in my post - he's too freakin' cute to hurt.

So there ya go. I wouldn't call myself dumb, but I found Tippie's advice on how to care for my dog and how to find a good groomer helpful. You can call me dumb if you like.

Oh no, I wasn't calling YOU dumb at all! I wasn't really referring to the hair thing either when I said that. I think given the design of the Pedipaws, it would be pretty difficult to get a pet's hair stuck in the rotary head, and if someone has seen that happen with the guard on, my mistake!

The guard covers the WHOLE rotary head so the only exposed part is the opening for the nail, which is only really big enough then for the nail. I've seen traditional dremels and the filing head on them is very small and I could see with one of them, long hair could easily get wound around the base. With the PediPaws, the rotary head is pretty fat-like probaby 2 inches across and given the size of the hole on the guard, the fact that it covers the entire filing head AND base, and the size of the head, I think it would be quite difficult to get any fur down there to get wound up, unless again, it is some long ass hair. But that's just me-thinking about the mechanics of the thing.

And yeah, if someone used it WITHOUT the guard on and injured their pet-they are stupid. If they leave it on the nail longer than 3-5 seconds and their pet's nail gets singed or bleeds, they are stupid. But then again, with the bleeders, its quite possible to cause a bleeder with the clippers too, and I have seen several a groomer (mostly the Petsmart ones, dont think Id ever take a dog to Petsmart for grooming) quick a dog that way. I've done it to mine! For the aforementioned reasons in my first post about the Pedipaws.

I'm glad you got good advice on finding a good groomer, there are SO many shitty ones out there. Thats personally why I keep dogs with coats that are generally pretty easy to care for at home-and using a groomer for the nails? Molly doesnt need it and no groomer would EVER touch Murphy the way he used to behave and even now probably. He'll let me use the filer on him, but I can't imagine he'd take too kindly to a stranger doing it.

We live in the city, so the sidewalks do a pretty good job of keeping his nails under control. He only gets them clipped when we go to the vet or the groomer. That way I don't have to worry about quicking him. He gets brushed once a week between visits to the groomer.