Dogs

Watch this grainy video closely and you’ll see what appears to be a dog pushing a man in a wheelchair through flood waters in what we guess is Russia. No information is included with the video, posted on YouTube Sunday, so we can’t conclude whether the dog is being heroic, or just trying to keep [...]

From Monday Mom and I are tidying up some of the stray pikhs we've had to share but hadn't yet - she khame home a week or so ago whilst it was raining and saw where the bunnies go when it is raining - under the lilahk bush! Last weekend - June 8th to be exakht - we khame bakhk from our walk - and saw Butterskhotch sitting on the front walk - so Mom took that as a subtle hint fur more water and food - when she went out, she saw a bird dart away from one of the bushes - so Mom looked more khlosely and noticed the nest Robin puppies!!! Part of my hunki Mal Pal Summi's stuff His own Bobkhat - obviously misspelled ;-) On the furst night of Khamp Khyra, Mom saw Tulie Toad was bakhk! Then Mom went bakhk out fur some more shots - I think this is the STINK EYE look! More rrrrrrabbit - I think we have 87 of 'em in the neighborhood!Still robin pups Monday chilling after our muggy jungle walkNap time was drawing near fur me AND fur Mom!Happy Tuesday EvFURRYone!Hugz&Khysses,Khyra

Chihuahuas are overwhelming many shelters in California. Having owned four Chihuahuas, including my childhood BFF, Mickey, and being around many more of them, I think often people judge the dogs because of bad owners who indulge them and then abandon them. Chihuahuas make totally delightful pets. They are intelligent, sensitive, loyal, and eager to please. Anyone who isn't willing to teach a dog basic obedience should nurture a pet rock. They are low maintenance. They don’t eat much. They have a longer life expectancy than most breeds Bloat and hip dysplasia are almost non-existent in Chihuahuas. They have been bred to be companion animals for thousands of years. They seldom dig or run off to go hunting. They have low prey drive but it is not unusual for a Chihuahua to kill a mouse like a trained assassin. All dogs need exercise; a walk and a rousing game of tag or fetch is enough for most. When playing, Chihuahuas have two speeds: high and off. They make the best watchdogs; with those ears they hear anything suspicious in their zip code. They have the cutest welcome home happy dance and will even perform it if you are just coming out of the shower. They do well in agility and obedience training. Chihuahuas can be trained to work as drug and search and rescue dogs where their size is an advantage. They will happily watch chick flicks or NFL games with you as long as you do it together. They’re only small on the outside. This is Velveeta Velveeta and her sister were found in an abandoned car in San Francisco. Her sister has been adopted, but Velveeta is still looking for a forever home. She is everything a dog should be. She loves people, but is not overly needy. She gets along with dogs and cats, she is potty trained, walks on a leash and does a great happy dance. More on Velveeta Thanks to Lisa Brown of Dogs N Paws for starting this blog hop to help shelter animals.

We Funny Farmer Felines were recently asked to pick out a treat.  Did we get to pick?  Nooooo!  Jan intercepted OUR email and told Chewy.com we'd like to review the Salmon Formula.  Now, whether we would have disagreed on which flavor we'd prefer to taste test has nothing to do with the fact we kitties should have been able to take a vote on which flavor we'd like.  We could have arrived at a

Companies Have Good Reasons to Embrace Dog-Friendly Workplace Looking to improve your workplace? The answer may be resting at your feet. According to a Virginia Commonwealth University study, employees who bring their dogs to work produced lower levels of the stress-causing hormone cortisol. Stress is a major contributor to employee absenteeism, morale and burnout and results in significant loss of productivity and resources. But a preliminary study, published in the March 2012 issue of the International Journal of Workplace Health Management, found that dogs in the workplace may buffer the impact of stress during the work day for their owners and make the job more satisfying for those with whom they come into contact. The VCU researchers compared employees who bring their dogs to work, employees who do not bring their dogs to work and employees without pets in the areas of stress, job satisfaction, organizational commitment and support. “Although preliminary, this study provides the first quantitative study of the effects of employees’ pet dogs in the workplace setting on employee stress, job satisfaction, support and commitment,” said principal investigator Randolph T. Barker, Ph.D., professor of management in the VCU School of Business. “Pet presence may serve as a low-cost, wellness intervention readily available to many organizations and may enhance organizational satisfaction and perceptions of support. Of course, it is important to have policies in place to ensure only friendly, clean and well-behaved pets are present in the workplace,” he said. Another study from 2010, headed by Christopher Honts, at Central Michigan University, found that the mere presence of a canine in the office could help make people collaborate more effectively. The researchers also showed that the staff who worked with a dog gave all their teammates higher scores for trust and team cohesion than those who worked in dog-free groups. A recent survey of 50 companies that welcome pets found: 1. Lower stress levels and less absenteeism than in pet-free offices; 2. Productivity and employee morale got a boost when canine companions joined the work force; 3. Employees were more willing to work overtime, thanks to the addition of pets in the workplace. So, if your company doesn’t have a dog-in-the-workplace policy—Take Your Dog to Work Day on June 21 is an opportune time to test out this growing trend. The following tips can be used to help set up a successful dog-policy. 1.  Start off with a committee made up of dog owners and non-dog owners to draft a policy. 2.  Dogs must be friendly to humans and other dogs and have a good social personality. 3.  Follow a dog ‘hire’ policy where a new dog is interviewed for acceptability into the workplace. 4.  Fearful or shy dogs might not do well in a busy office. 5.  Basic training is a must and dogs should be housebroken. 6.  Dogs should be clean, free of illness, and should be up on routine vaccinations. 7.  Introduce a dog slowly into the workplace, and introduce a new dog to the other office dogs in a neutral area. 8.  Employees should sign a waiver and be responsible for any damage or harm to equipment, facility or other dogs and humans. 9.  Dogs can be leashed, and the use of baby gates or crates can also be useful. 10. Consider a dog-free zone for employees who might have allergies or who are frightened of dogs. If your business is a new or proven dog-friendly practitioner—consider entering Bark’s Best Places to Work presented by Zuke’s. The Bark is searching for the most dog-friendly workplaces in America. Three winning companies will be featured in Bark’s Winter 2013 issue and each of their office pups will receive a year’s worth of Zuke’s dog treats! Contest details, rules and entry form are available here: http://thebark.com/content/barks-best-places-work About The Bark The Bark is the first magazine devoted to exploring the relationship and bond between people and their dogs. Taking its slogan—Dog i

On May 26, Jeremy McDonald and the Minerva brothers (John and Billy) were tooling around the upper Chena River in Fairbanks, Alaska, on McDonald's jet boat, during a period of high water. On board were the men, between the ages of 25 and 34, as well as Cutie, a 30-pound Labrador/terrier mix belonging to John's girlfriend, according to a story by the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. They headed upriver, and later helped free a raft stuck on a log jam. The rescue went horribly awry, and their 17-foot boat flipped. Everybody was thrown overboard. McDonald suffered a nasty cut on his finger. The others were battered by logs. The boat was swept downstream. And Cutie? There was no sign of her. Share this image Chena River by Shutterstock.'> Chena River by Shutterstock.'> Chena River by Shutterstock. function changeWidth(obj) { if(parseInt($(obj).parent().width()) > parseInt($(obj).width())) { $(obj).parent().css({'width':$(obj).width()}); } if(parseInt($(obj).width()) Once they got back to shore and assessed the situation, McDonald took off to find the dog. “I ran a quarter mile through the woods trying to catch the boat and look for the dog,” McDonald told the News-Miner. “I went as far as I could.” He found nothing, but they didn't give up. “My first priority was to get back up there and find the dog,” McDonald said. “I put my dog down last winter, and I could imagine how bad everybody was feeling." The three men borrowed a boat and got back on the river, finally finding their boat three miles downstream from where it flipped. It was hung up on a gravel bar, battered. They couldn't get to it, and there was no sign of Cutie. They thought she had died. The had no idea -- couldn't imagine, really -- that the dog was still in the upside-down boat. Still, they embarked on a lost dog search, calling the Alaska State Troopers and stopping campers to tell them to watch out for the dog. Four days later, they went back to salvage the boat. “It was crazy,” McDonald told the News-Miner. “I get to the side of the boat, look in there and she barks and growls at me.” Cutie had survived. Somehow, she had found an air pocket in the bow, and hunkered down for the duration -- four days. To retrieve her, McDonald and his team had to flip the boat. Share this image Sarah Smith by Flickr.'> Sarah Smith by Flickr.'> Photo of a Lab by Sarah Smith by Flickr. function changeWidth(obj) { if(parseInt($(obj).parent().width()) > parseInt($(obj).width())) { $(obj).parent().css({'width':$(obj).width()}); } if(parseInt($(obj).width()) “As soon as we did, she comes walking out shaking and scared,” McDonald said. “I was pretty sure we were going to go there and find a dead dog. It was pretty much a miracle.” Cutie was fine after her ordeal -- sore and hungry, no doubt, but okay, especially after she chowed down on chicken from the truck. When Grace Sommer, Cutie's owner, got the news by phone, she broke down crying. The dog she had given up for dead was alive and well. Via the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

This past weekend was family reunion weekend for the Philley clan. Although I wasn’t about to descend on my mom’s condo with all four of my dogs, I did get my doggy fix from my brother’s dog, Matilda, and my sister’s ancient Chihuahua, Archie. Matilda is the one with her head on top in the [...]

Share this image function changeWidth(obj) { if(parseInt($(obj).parent().width()) > parseInt($(obj).width())) { $(obj).parent().css({'width':$(obj).width()}); } if(parseInt($(obj).width()) If there's any question whether the human and dog bond is a real thing, just take a look at the recent storms in Oklahoma. Reunions of lost pets with upset owners is one thing, but it's another thing to see the toll the storms took on the animals who survived the tornadoes, proving that animals experience emotions similar to our own. They're more than "just dogs" -- they're creatures with feelings. Share this image Paws up for this week's Monday Miracle. function changeWidth(obj) { if(parseInt($(obj).parent().width()) > parseInt($(obj).width())) { $(obj).parent().css({'width':$(obj).width()}); } if(parseInt($(obj).width()) This week's Monday Miracle are three little Chihuahua puppies born in the chaos of the Oklahoma tornadoes. They were born in the care of a breeder (okay, we know there are some issues there, but let's focus on the fact that these pups are in the world now and need just as much love and care as any other dog), but, upset by the storms, their mother killed one of her own puppies and rejected the remaining three. The breeder would have cared for the puppies himself, but while his home was not directly hit by the tornadoes, he sustained some damage, and did not have a safe place to provide the extensive care the puppies needed. Share this image The puppies were so tiny that three of them fit in the palm of a hand. function changeWidth(obj) { if(parseInt($(obj).parent().width()) > parseInt($(obj).width())) { $(obj).parent().css({'width':$(obj).width()}); } if(parseInt($(obj).width()) That's when Elizabeth Hart -- whose name you might recognize as the woman behind Emma the Cleft Palate Chihuahua and Oakley, the dog born without an anus -- stepped in. The puppies came to Texas from Oklahoma a mere seven hours old, which means Hart has been bottle feeding them every couple of hours, providing what their mother would have naturally. It's no easy task and requires miraculous patience. Unfortunately, despite Hart's best efforts, one of the puppies "slipped quietly over the Rainbow Bridge." However, the remaining pups are now a month old and thriving -- adorably, might we add. Share this image The remaining two puppies continue to put on weight. function changeWidth(obj) { if(parseInt($(obj).parent().width()) > parseInt($(obj).width())) { $(obj).parent().css({'width':$(obj).width()}); } if(parseInt($(obj).width()) Share this image Hello! function changeWidth(obj) { if(parseInt($(obj).parent().width()) > parseInt($(obj).width())) { $(obj).parent().css({'width':$(obj).width()}); } if(parseInt($(obj).width()) Share this image My what a big tongue you have! function changeWidth(obj) { if(parseInt($(obj).parent().width()) > parseInt

How to choose a pet sitter? While there’s nothing wrong with hiring a neighbor or a friend to watch your pets, these tips are for people who are looking to hire a professional. Each pet has different needs, and every pet sitter has different strengths so it’s about finding the right match. I own a professional dog sitting business in Fargo, N.D., and I can tell you that not all pet sitters are the same. Some are very good at what they do. Others are quite lazy. Others employ a bunch of college kids who may or may not be reliable. Here are some tips on how to choose a pet sitter. How to choose a pet sitter Find an actual pet sitting business. Most pet sitting businesses are owned and operated by one or two people. Some have a few employees, but most are running the businesses themselves. They will likely take pride in their work, offer a great service, carry insurance, accept credit card payments and keep in contact with you regularly while you are away. They will likely be reliable, with a wide variety of experience. You should be able to find pet sitters in your area through a Google search such as “Fargo pet sitting.” Don’t bother with a phone book. Intelligent pet sitters don’t waste their money on those listings. Don’t hire a pet sitter off of Craigslist. You will likely be able to find individuals advertising pet sitting services through Craigslist, Care.com or SitterCity.com. Most of these are students who love animals and are looking for some extra cash. While most of them are hopefully reliable, they typically do not have actual businesses set up. They may not know how to handle powerful dogs. They may not know what to do in an emergency. They most likely will not carry insurance. Ask the pet sitter for references. Don’t trust someone with a key to your home without asking for a few references first. The pet sitter may list testimonials on her web site. It’s also reasonable to ask for additional references. Call or email each reference and ask questions such as: How did you feel about the pet sitting services your pets received? Did your pets seem comfortable with the pet sitter? Was your house kept as clean as you left it? Were the dogs walked? Did the pet sitter touch base with you every day? Were her rates reasonable? Were there any problems? Would you hire her again? Make sure the pet sitter carries pet sitting insurance. A pet sitter who does not carry insurance is either just starting a pet sitting business or she isn’t taking her business very seriously. Pet sitting insurance is not expensive for the pet sitter (less than $200 per year), but it will cover her if she accidentally damages a client’s property or if a client’s dog bites someone, etc. You want your pet sitter to have insurance for your sake because you don’t want to get stuck with the bills if she damages your property or if your dog bites someone while under her care, etc. If she has employees, she should also be bonded in case one of those employees steals something. Judge a pet sitting business by its web site. A serious business owner wants to give off a good impression. Her web site is the first thing a potential client will see. If her pet sitting web site is clean and professional, that is a good sign. Don’t hire the cheapest pet sitter. You should expect to pay a pet sitter at least $20 for each half-hour visit, but the rates will vary depending on where you live. You definitely want to hire a pet sitter based on your impressions of the business, not on the rates. Cheap rates may also mean poor service (although not necessarily). A pet sitter might have the lowest rates for a variety of reasons. Most likely she’s just starting out and trying to gain new clients. She might also be a student or someone looking for some extra cash as a side job. Or, she might not value herself as highly as she should. For more info, see my post on what to charge for pet

Silicon Valley and the tech industry is involved in a burgeoning love affair with dogs, pouring money into it, and we've starting covering the new gizmos to hit the market for canines. We've got a new one: Swifto, based in New York City. The startup raised $2.5 million from Benchmark Capital last year and is poised to disrupt the world of dog walkers, which is dominated by small operators. Share this image function changeWidth(obj) { if(parseInt($(obj).parent().width()) > parseInt($(obj).width())) { $(obj).parent().css({'width':$(obj).width()}); } if(parseInt($(obj).width()) The problem with dog walkers, such that there is one, is that you rely on the word of the dog walker to walk the dog, which can be a gamble. Enter Swifto, a dog-walking service currently in New York City. Its walkers are fully vetted and interviewed, each completing a test and ... enough about that. That's not what makes Swifto cool. It's this: When one of Swifto's walkers takes your pup out on the streets, you get a text message. Then, you can track the walk on a live map on your mobile phone, via GPS tracking. Imagine: You can watch your dog on a walk, heading down streets, taking a right here, and a left there, then stopping at the dog park, then heading for home. Swifto will also send you photos of your dog on the walks. Share this image function changeWidth(obj) { if(parseInt($(obj).parent().width()) > parseInt($(obj).width())) { $(obj).parent().css({'width':$(obj).width()}); } if(parseInt($(obj).width()) Here's what might be the best part, for a certain sort of person: When your dog poops, you will get a "poop alert," along with a text message that says, "Your dog has just pooped." Who wouldn't love getting a text like that? The service also offers other neat things. If your dog needs to be run and not walked, Swifto can calculate the dog’s average speed down to fractions of a mile per hour, for example. The New York Times recently took Swifto on a test run and reported a positive experience. The dog walker assigned to the writer, Meredith, said she never sent pictures of a dog's poop, but she has done other things: “When a dog has been sick, I have sent pictures of vomit. The owner found it very helpful.” Share this image function changeWidth(obj) { if(parseInt($(obj).parent().width()) > parseInt($(obj).width())) { $(obj).parent().css({'width':$(obj).width()}); } if(parseInt($(obj).width()) The Times says the cost of Swifto is line with the industry -- $20 per half-hour walk if you sign up with the service. According to an article by TechCrunch, sales are expected to reach $1 million this year, and the company plans to expand to Boston by the end of the year as well as Chicago and San Francisco in 2014. Via New York Times and TechCrunch; photos via Swifto's Facebook page