Pet Auto Safety

Maya is at the new facility for Day Play and overnight boarding.  You can check her out on their video cam at http://www.woofsplaystay.com/woofs-watchers.asp.  Just select the low resolution or high resolution public web cam.  There are several views to look at.  Maya has mostly been seen on the “Medium Dogs Inside 1″ camera.

We loved the new facility at Woof’s Play & Stay. During our visit, we got to speak to the business owner and several employees. Everyone was obviously a huge dog lover. There was great food for both people and pets, fun games, and wonderful free prizes and spectacular door prizes.

We were greatly impressed with our tour of the facility. The day play areas were large and clean. An employee stood inside the play area to monitor the dogs. Cameras which can be accessed online were also monitoring the play area! We really liked this idea because we can watch our puppies online while they are having fun and playing. There were different play areas for different dogs. The dogs were put in different play areas based on their size, temperament, and activity level.

The night boarding kennels were well equipped and looked very comfortable. There were two types of rooms: The regular suites and the Penthouse suites. All the suites are private but the Penthouses offer a bit more home-like feel. The Penthouses had televisions, pet-themed wall paintings, more privacy, and luxurious bedding. One thing we liked about the night stay was that the day play was included in the cost of the overnight fee. We liked this because most boarding services charge extra for play time.

The full service grooming and spa services were also wonderful. It is a terrific way to really pamper your puppy at a reasonable cost. The Furminator de-shedding is also a great service that our own dogs could really use during those heavy shedding seasons.

Maya will be staying at Woof’s Play & Stay on Wednesday, July 30th. We will try to have a link to the online viewing so you can see her in action! For more information and pricing on the services offered at Woof’s Play & Stay, check out their website at www.WoofsPlayStay.com.

Like a cell phone, a dog can be a major distraction in the car.  A phone call that distracts a driver has been statistically proven to cause car accidents and create cars of people more prone to injury and death.  This can be said for an unruly dog in the vehicle.  Even the best trained dogs can be excited in a car where anything can happen.  A loud noise or an interesting dog walking down the street could be enough to send a calm dog into a fit.  Avoid putting yourself and your dog in harms way by getting an inexpensive dog safety belt today.

There’s a new business in town and it’s made just for dogs. Woof’s Play & Stay is a doggy day care, enhanced boarding kennel, and a pampered pet grooming facility all rolled into one. Their grand opening is this Saturday, July 26th from 11:am to 4:pm at 6465 E. Frontage Road, Merriam, Kansas 66202. Employees of PetAutoSafety.com will be there to celebrate. And we will be checking out the facility for a possible place for our own pets to stay for those times when we want to travel but can’t take our pets with us.

Sometimes taking your dog with you when you travel is not always the best thing for your best friend.  If you are flying, for example, airlines will often refuse to fly animals.  And sometimes they will not let you know this until the last moment.  This is because it is against regulations to fly animals when the weather is either too cold or too hot.  So if you want to fly to another state in the summer, your dog will probably not be able to go with you.  So what do you do?  There are many options available.  You can leave your pet (or pets) with a friend, leave them at home and hire someone to come by every now and care for your pet, or you can board them in a pet boarding kennel.  Each option has its own benefits and problems.  So before you travel, be sure to explore each one carefully.  My dog has never stayed at a boarding kennel before.  But this fall, leaving her with a friend or hiring a pet sitter may not be an option.  So I am going to check out this new Woof’s Play & Stay facility.  If you live in the Kansas City Metro Area, you are welcome to come by and visit too. Or check our blog in a few more days to see what we think.

Taking your dog to the river for a swim is great summer fun. But getting the car wet and possibly muddy is not. Neither is soaking your car seats with the smell of wet dog very enjoyable. And smells like that can stay and stay and stay. Traveling with your dog can be convenient if you can find a pet sitter or dog hotel, but dog hair getting all over the car is not so convenient to remove. And your dog may love taking a short ride with you in the car but you don’t like the drool he leaves all over the vinyl or fabric door panel. There is a solution for people and pets who love to travel together. Several products are available which will help to keep your car clean and new looking.

Car Seat Covers
The most common protection you can get for your car is a car seat cover. You can purchase a back seat car cover or a front single-seat car cover. (Just remember if your dog travels in the front seat, passenger side airbags should be turned off or non-existent.) The car seat covers keep mud and pet hair off your seats and they are usually machine washable.

Cargo Liners
Cargo liners can be custom fitted for over 175 models of SUVs, station wagons, and mini vans. They will protect the back part of your vehicle from almost anything, including dog hair and muddy paw prints. Hatchbag (R) makes a cargo liner which is extremely durable. It is constructed of industrial grade, waterproof, heavy-duty vinyl coated polyester fabric that has double sewn seams for extra strength.

Door Bibs
A fairly new invention from Hatchbag (R) is the door bib. Door bibs are great for protecting your car doors from dog drool. There are two sizes to fit on any vehicle door, including the smaller extended cab vehicle doors. The vehicle door bib is waterproof and cleans easily.

Pet Hammocks
Front seat and back seat hammocks will help to not only keep your dog off the floor, but they will help keep pet hair off your seats as well. Keeping your pets from getting thrown onto the floor can also keep your pet from being injured. They are not as safe as seat belts but some security is better than none.

I used to live in the country where it was very well known that coyotes would attack sheep, cattle, chickens, and even other dogs. I had 5 acres of land but kept a half an acre fenced so that my dogs would not roam around and get attacked by these coyotes (or mistaken for coyotes and get shot by a farmer). In the fenced yard, my dogs were safe.

However, Duce had a tendency to dig. Like my other dogs, he was kept in the house at night but let outside during the day for potty and play. I liked to be outdoors too so I was generally able to keep an eye on him and stop him from digging. But one day, he dug out and disappeared. I looked and looked for him but the country is a big place and there was still a lot of wild and wooded areas that made it harder to find him.

I really loved that dog and I miss him very much. He was shepherd/chow mix and a beautiful and lovable dog. It wasn’t until recently that I heard about a GPS pet tracker. The company I work with called PetAutoSafety.com sells one in particular called the RoamEO pet tracker. If those had been invented when I had Duce, I would have gladly have purchased one. That way, when Duce got out I would have been altered and hopefully would have been able to track him down and get him back home before he got hurt. This is a great product and probably one of the best pet trackers on the market because it is so easy to use and there is no monthly fee. I have the RoamEO pet tracker now although my dog Missy is almost exclusively and indoor dog. I use it mostly when we go camping or hiking. Missy has never gotten away from me but I don’t want to take any chances with losing another great dog.

Hi, my name is Dawn and I am the primary owner of PetAutoSafety.com and the sole owner of Sephi and Maya. Sephi is a lab/shepherd/chow mix. She is over 7 years old now and a great dog. Maya is a yellow lab. She is almost a year old and growing fast. You can read more about Sephi and Maya at http://www.mydogspace.com/me/naturebydawn and http://www.petautosafety.com/page/1460887.

I started the PetAutoSafety.com site in 2006 with Sephi in mind. Sephi always had a dog seat belt but I didn’t always use it like I should have. I mostly used it for when we traveled on the highway and tended to use it less when on city roads. Why? Because Sephi hated her seat belt and she would always get tangled up in it. The seat belt she used was the kind that had a loop attached to the pet car harness where the car seat belt would pass through. It was very inconvenient because whenever Sephi would turn around in her seat, the loop of the dog seat belt harness and the seat belt of the car would get twisted and sometimes Sephi would get her foot caught in it.

A few years ago, when Sephi wasn’t wearing her seat belt, I had to swerve out of the way of a car coming into my lane. Sephi fell onto the floor and hurt herself. Thankfully, she wasn’t seriously hurt but I was bound and determined to not only make her wear her seat belt every time, but to find a better seat belt for her. And I found the perfect dog seat belt made by Guardian Gear. Instead of a loop that the car seat belt has to pass through, the dog seat belt made by Guardian Gear has a strap that buckles directly into the seat belt receptacle. With this strap, Sephi can turn around all she wants and she won’t get tangled up in it because it is a single strap. Not only that, Sephi doesn’t mind this seat belt at all. Because she can move around a bit more and not get tangled, she actually gets excited now when I put the dog car harness on her.

In 2006, I built a web site for my artwork called NatureByDawn.com. I had so much fun selling online that I partnered with others and expand my market to sell pet auto safety stuff, including the Guardian Gear dog seat belt that my own dogs use.

The Suds of Fun event at U-Wash Puppy was a success for the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City.  There were a few vendors such as Woof’s Play Stay, Bark Busters, Lil Pals Pet Photography, and Pet Auto Safety.  The event also gave away lots of free gifts.  There were tons of people and their pets who came to visit the event.  And The Humane Society brought a few of their adoptable dogs.  We are happy to say that some of those dogs found new homes.  Several dogs got a bath for only $5 which went directly to the Humane Society.  As part of the baths, U-Wash Puppy provided dog brushes, detangling combs, special de-shedding brushes, dog shampoo, towels and blow dryers for drying, spray-on dog coat conditioner, and dog perfume.

No word yet on how much the Humane Society made at this event, but we will post it as soon as we find out.

Safer Summertime Trips 

Dogs and summertime rides just seem to go together!  Dogs love to go with us everywhere.  They love to stick their heads out the window while the vehicle is moving.  And dogs love to move around the interior of the vehicle.

But while all these seem like perfectly harmless things to do, any one of these actions can place our best beloveds in enormous danger.  Why?

       In a matter of minutes, the interior temperature of the vehicle can exceed safe limits for your dog, even when the temperature outside seems moderate. 

       Your dog can experience damage to its eyes from flying debris and wind.  It can also be injured falling or jumping from the vehicle window.

       In the event of an accident, your dog could become a projectile, being thrown about the cabin of the vehicle.  This can injure not only your dog, but also you and any other passengers. 

How can we make the journey safer for our dogs, while still allowing them to enjoy the summertime ride?

       A pair of BreezeGuard™ Screens can allow for a cross breeze, keeping the vehicle cooler for your pet.

       BreezeGuard™ screens allow your dog full access to the window, while still preventing it from falling or jumping out

       BreezeGuard™ screens make your dog more likely to stay in one spot—near the BreezeGuard™!—where it won’t usually mind wearing a seatbelt.

Our dogs have become our fur-babies for many of us.  We wouldn’t dream of driving around the town without a car seat for a kid.  We certainly wouldn’t let our kids stick their heads out of the car window while we drive.  And of course we expect our kids to sit in their own seats when the vehicle is moving.  Shouldn’t we have those same expectations and feelings for our fur-babies? 

Protect your pet with the same love, care and concern you give to all the members of your family.  Make your summer travels even safer with BreezeGuard™ products, so you and your dog can enjoy the open road.