Pet Auto Safety

If you and your dog are tired of being cooped up for the winter, it is time to get up and get out.  I know it is cold, but if your dog likes snow, he will love a snow day at the dog park.  Or just take him to the park with the kids for a little snow sledding.  But if you are not for spending time outdoors, go to a Starbucks drive through, get a hot coffee, and ask for a buttered croissant and give your dog a piece or two.  A trip to a pet store to look at all the dog toys would be fun too!

The benefits of traveling with your dog are many.  First, your dog will learn to be a better traveler.  Second, your dog gets more socialization and the more socialization, the better he gets with other people and other pets.  Third, the more your dog goes out, the more exercise he gets.  And finally, the better he gets at riding in the car, the more likely you are to take him on long road trips instead of leaving him at a boarding kennel.

Wherever you travel with your dog this year, be sure you travel in safety.  Have your dog wear a dog seat belt.  If he is not used to wearing a dog seat belt, take small trips like to Starbucks or pet stores or dog parks.  The more he rides with his dog seat belt on, the more he will get used to it and be ready for the long haul.

Have fun this year and travel safe!

This is the time of year to give and to help those in need.  When you donate your time, belongings, or money to children and people in need this year, don’t forget that there are animals in need too.  Animal shelters get overloaded right after the Christmas holidays so anything you donate now will help.

Why are animal shelters overloaded after Christmas?  Because people give pets as gifts and, more often than not, it doesn’t work out.  Also, pets sometimes get out and get lost during the craziness of visiting families or the going in and out for holiday shopping.  Donate dog food, blankets, dog toys, or money to your local animal shelter.  Do it for yourself.  Or donate on behalf of someone else as a gift.

Take care of your pets when you travel and help pets in need and have a happy tail-wagging Christmas!

Are you traveling a long distance for the holidays?  If so, you may be trying to decide what you should do with your dogs.  Should you take them with you, put them in a boarding kennel, leave them in the care of a friend or neighbor, or hire a pet sitter?  Perhaps you have tried one of these methods and they did not work out for you.  Maybe one of these options is not available.  Or perhaps one of these options is out of your budget.  If you are having some trouble deciding, consider the following advantages and disadvantages of each option.

Take Your Dog With You
Obviously this has the biggest advantage is that you know your dog will be cared for.  You will also be able to enjoy your Holiday with your best friend.  But if you are flying, that could be a big disadvantage in both cost and comfort for your dog.  Flying can be very traumatic for a dog – especially if they are bigger dogs which have to be put in the cold and dark cargo area of the plane.  Weather can also be an issue because animals are not allowed to fly in extreme hot or cold weather.  And cold weather is a big likelihood this season.  If you are traveling by car, consider how your dog travels in the car.  Do they get car sick?  Are they afraid of riding in the car?  Also, you will want to make sure your pet rides in a pet car seat or is wearing a dog seat belt.

Boarding Kennel
Most boarding kennels provide excellent care.  You will want to visit them before-hand to make sure.  Perhaps even consider a boarding kennel which was the new web cams so that you can see for yourself how your dog is doing.  An obvious disadvantage is the cost.  Many boarding kennels charge a flat fee for boarding, day play, and special attention.  But some boarding kennels charge extra fees for this service.  Even boarding kennels with a flat fee can be expensive.  In my area, it is about $25 per day so four days gone for the holiday is $100. Another disadvantage of a boarding kennel is illnesses which sometimes tend to frequent such facilities.  A boarding kennel may have the cleanest facility around but with so many dogs, the chances of your dog catching an airborne illness increases.  Be sure to select a boarding kennel which requires all dogs to get bordetella shots.  Also consider your pet’s temperament.  Some dogs, like my dog Sephi, would hate a boarding kennel.  Putting them in a place which they don’t like could cause more stress and in turn make them more susceptible to illness.

Hire a Pet Sitter
If your dog won’t like a boarding kennel, they may do better being left in the comforts of their own home.  A hired pet sitter can come by 2 to 3 times per day for feeding, walking, affection, and play time.  However, pet sitters can cost as much as a boarding kennel.  Also, if your dog craves attention, the limited visits of a pet sitter may not be enough.  And since a pet sitter does not visit as often, they may not notice any illness or depression issues.

Enlist a Friend
Having your friend or neighbor take care of your dog is a good advantage expense-wise.  It can also be a good alternative for dogs who don’t like boarding kennels.  And a dog who stays with someone they know and trust will be less likely to get depressed.  But finding a friend or neighbor who is going to be able to care for your dog over the holidays may be difficult.  Many people are traveling this time of year.

When I traveled to Oregon one holiday, my biggest concerns were expense and the temperament of my dogs.  We were going to fly to Oregon and taking the dogs was not an option due to cold weather.  Not only that, Sephi has flown before and hated it so I did not want to subject her to that again.  So my only options were boarding kennel, hire a pet sitter, or enlist a friend or neighbor.  Luckily I had a friend who could take one dog, but she couldn’t take both.  Since Sephi doesn’t like boarding kennels, I decided Sephi could stay with the friend.  Since Maya loves to play with other dogs and we had a good boarding kennel which gave all the dogs an all-day play session, I decided to board her.

Be sure that you also consider your dog’s health temperament when making a decision.  Their happiness and well-being is far more important than accumulating a little more holiday expenses.  Take your dog with you when you can.  Try to enlist a friend or trusted neighbor if you can’t.  And if neither is available, budget for a boarding kennel or pet sitter.

We went to visit our family in Texas for Thanksgiving.  It is a twelve hour drive from Lawrence, Kansas to Kyle, Texas.  We could have flown but it would have been more expensive and we would have had to find someone to take care of our dogs while we were gone.  So, my husband and I put the dog car harnesses on the dogs and hopped in the car.

The drive from Kansas to Texas was rather uneventful.  We got stuck in traffic a few times while driving through Wichita, Oklahoma City, Fort Worth, and other towns where everyone was one the road trying traveling for the holidays.  We made lots of pit stops for gas, food, potty breaks, and just to stretch our legs.  Oh, we did have w few times where we had to stop suddenly.  Traffic was truely aweful!

Even though we took a relatively small car, the dogs had more room than we did.  The back seat floor was covered with the Extend-A-Seat so they had the seats and the Extend-A-Seat to stretch out on.  With the floor covered, Maya lay right in the center and had her head resting on the center console.  Sephi mostly lay off to the side and put her head near the window for fresh air.  Both had their dog car harnesses on, but they have the dog car harnesses with an adjustable strap so that they can sit, stand, and laydown without getting tangled in the dog car harness mechanism.

I’m glad it wasn’t so bad for the dogs.  Although I enjoyed the time with my family, I am not looking forward to the long twelve hour trip back home.  But, it was all worth it.  I bet Sephi and Maya would say the same.  We love the holidays!

Once during a long road trip, we stopped at a hotel for the night so that we could take a rest before the next big driving day.  We were a long way from any big cities which provide a number of hotels to choose from so we didn’t have much of a choice when we finally found a place to stop for the night.  But when we went to this hotel with our dogs, we were appalled!  They turned us away because our dogs were too big.

So back on the road we go.  We drove for at least a half hour before we found another hotel.  And can you believe it, but the same thing happened again.  It was almost midnight and we were tired.  What a dangerous thing to be driving when you are tired.  But what could we do?  When faced with the decision to either sleep in the car or keep going, we chose to keep going.

Thankfully, we found another hotel within about 5 minutes.  And not only did they welcome our dogs, they gave our dogs treats and directed us to a designated doggy-potty-area.

So what is the big deal with a big dog in a hotel?  Our dogs are well-behaved and non-destructive.  I suppose a bigger dog can make a bigger mess, but in my experience, little dogs are more likely to make messes.  And I suppose that a bigger dog can have a bigger bite, but did you know that most dog bite cases are from small dogs?

Don’t worry, I am not trying to discriminate against little dogs.  I’m just saying that to discriminate against big dogs is unfair.

Visit GiveBigDogsABreak.com to sign a petition protesting the hotels who discriminate against big dogs.  Stand up for your big dog so that he gets treated the same as a little dog.

It was cold!!  Or at least it was to me.  The dog walkers and runners at the event probably got warmed up a lot quicker than I did.  Perhaps next year I will run, but not with Maya.  If I take my dog Maya running, I will likely be dragged instead.

The Tails on the Trail event was a dog-friendly 5k run/walk held as a fundraiser to help the Helping Hands Humane Society of Topeka.  The runners got there early and began their run/walk while we set up our booth.  After the 5k run, there were other races, an obstacle course, dog demonstrations, and judged contests.  Oh, and did I mention the free food and coffee for the walkers/runners… and booth vendors?  Yummy!

For anyone who didn’t have a dog to run/walk with, a dog could be “rented” for the race.  The “rented” dogs were dogs up for adoption and were eager to be free to run.  What a great way to promote adoptable dogs.

As part of the judged contest, we vendors got to put in votes on dog runners/walkers who came to visit the booths.  One of the entries was for the friendliest dog.  There were lots of super friendly dogs and I loved them all.  But my favorite had to be the beagle mix pictured above.  He not only welcomed my petting and love with glee, but he invited himself on my husband’s lap and kept him warm.  Isn’t that sweet!   J

If you weren’t able to make it this year, join us next year.  Visit the Helping Hands Humane Society in Topeka for more information.

Check out this hilarious video from Just for Laughs.TV of a dog driving a car.  The look on people’s faces as they watch the impossible happen is to die for!  Just watch the German Shepherd at the wheel of a car as he drives by and see for yourself.

The Dogtoberfest at South Park in downtown Lawrence, Kansas was a huge success.  There were lots of vendors, events, and lots of people with their pets.

South Park was a beautiful setting for this wonderful event.  It was the perfect place for our doggie pals to visit.  There were plenty of flowers for doggies to sniff and lots of plants for them to mark.  There was an open area for play and the center of the park had a place for the fun doggie contests.  And best of all, there was a dog bowl full of fresh water at every corner.

Dog people are the best.  I thoroughly enjoyed talking with everyone who visited our booth.  I love hearing stories about dogs – about their quirky behaviors, their silly antics and lovable behavior, and how they brighten up our lives.

Sephi and Maya were pretty excited about it too.  They loved it when people praised or pet them and gave them treats.  Maya even had some people and dogs come to play with her!

If you weren’t able to make it to Dogtoberfest this year, be sure to come next year.  It’s free and it is super fun for every two-legged and four-legged member of your family!

Probably 99.9% of restaurants do not allow dogs inside unless they are service dogs.  However, did you know that some restaurants will allow dogs to be on the outdoor patio with you?  Yes, it’s true!  Some restaurants are even extra friendly and open about it.

So how do you find out if a particular restaurant will allow you to have your dog with you on the outdoor patio?  If you already know which restaurant you are going to eat at, call them first before bringing your dog.  If you want to get an idea of some restaurants in your area, we know of some great websites you can visit.

We liked PetFriendlyTravel.com because they provided a way for people to give their reviews of the restaurants.  And those people can review the restaurant with a one, two, or three-bone review.  A one-bone review is a restaurant which allows dogs while a three-bone review is a restaurant which not only allows dogs but makes them feel welcome too – like by giving the dogs a bowl of water.

The only thing we didn’t like about Pet Friendly Travel was that they did not have any restaurants or reviews listed for the state of Kansas (which is where we live).  We did find another great website at DogFriendly.com.  This website did not have a way for people to give review and it did not list much information other than the restaurants themselves.  But at least they had information for Kansas!

Even if you find a pet friendly restaurant on these websites, you should take a moment to call them before you bring your dog.  You never know if there has been change in management or policy since the website was last posted.

My dog, Maya, and I had a great time at the Paws in the Park pet event at Gage Park in Topeka, Kansas.  I had a booth there for Pet Auto Safety.com and Animal Figurine Store.com.  Maya was there to show off her dog seat belt.  You can see her wearing her dog seat belt in the photo above.  The black harness is her dog seat belt.  (I left the connecting strap in the car so it wouldn’t dangle and annoy her.)  Maya is also playing with her new toy which we got from one of the vendors next to us.  Other photos include a pair of Irish Wolfhounds and a Borzoi.

There were lots of vendors at the event.  Many were for profit and many more were for non-profit.  Proceeds from the Paws in the Park pet event went to the Topeka Helping Hands Humane Society, including the cost we paid to have our booth there.

Other Paws in the Park pet event activities included pet contests and a dog walk.  Maya really wanted to enter the pet contest for best trick (she has been working on some cute tricks) but she had to stay at the booth with me.  She still had fun, though.  She got to meet lots of people and dogs.  She played with some dogs and didn’t jump on or lick anyone when they petted her.  She was a really good dog and she is looking forward to the next pet event.