I’m writing this tale in hopes of preventing others of making the same mistake, though I will likely seem pretty damn foolish as I do so.

You see, I know that raisins are bad, very bad, for dogs. And I know the safest place for puppies when you can’t watch them is in a crate. Yet, I somehow seemed to carelessly forget both of these things and our insanely loveable, six month old labradoodle Cupcake managed to devour a snack box full of raisins Saturday afternoon. Thank heavens he’s fine now, but let me tell you of our scare.

We went upstate to spend the night in our little cottage. We only have one crate for Cupcake and though it collapses, we stopped bringing it on overnight trips with us a month ago. Cupcake sleeps solidly through the night at the foot of our bed, and we never leave him alone long enough to get into trouble during the day. That was until Saturday, when the three of us headed out to a restaurant leaving our dear little pooch alone for a couple of hours. Coming home with our bellies full, we open the door to find Cupcake, happy and excited to see us as always, standing over a shredded box of empty raisins on the rug. I had left them in a bag on a chair, and now that too was on the floor.

My heart instantly leaped into my throat. Raisins are on the list of things that are toxic to dogs (along with grapes, chocolate, onions, garlic, macadamia nuts). How toxic? I didn’t know and instantly started Googling “My dog ate raisins” to find out. The results terrified me. Eating raisins causes sudden kidney failure in some dogs. But the specifics were unclear: How many raisins? How quickly? Some dogs? This Snopes page offered some useful, albeit scary, background.

Apparently, animal doctors made the link to kidney failure in dogs with grapes and raisins in late ’80s. They found that after eating a few ounces of them, some dogs would stop eating, have diarrhea, and grow lethargic. After a few days, they would not be able to pass urine, causing intense abdominal pain — and sometimes resulting in death.

Everything I saw advised to call a vet immediately, so I dialed the number of the nearest 24 animal hospital (about 40 miles away). They told me to give him a teaspoon on hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting. After a quick run to CVS, we managed to do this — and it worked! Up came a rather impressive pile of all the things Cupcake had eaten recently including a whole lot of raisins. I thought that would be it, but the vet told us we needed to come in none-the-less.

We got to the clinic and immediately felt out of place. Obviously the other pet owners were there with really sick animals (who were howling and whimpering sadly from behind closed doors), while our dog was scampering around, as cute and energetic as ever. How could anything be wrong with him?

The doctor called the Animal Poison Control Center, to get the prognosis. She came into the exam room grim faced and told us this is very serious, and Cupcake would have to spend two nights at the hospital, and be treated with intravenious fluids and charcoal to flush the toxins out of his system. After this — and a $1500 bill — she promised he would be 100% well.

Reluctantly, we left our dear dog at the clinic and headed home to a much emptier house. I called every twelve hours to check on him, and got nothing but positive news. He came home today with a funny cone around his neck, a shaved leg, brimming with wags and kisses. It’s possible that he would have been fine if we hadn’t taken him to the hospital, but who could take a chance like that? We’re so happy to have him back.

And for the record, we now live in a raisin free house.

More posts from the Puppy Files:

Choosing the perfect breed

Okay, we get that every holiday is an excuse to push new themed products and market your goods in a festive way. But the cruel thing about April Fools is that we actually saw some “gag” products that got us excited. First up, this “solid” gold pillow from Land of Nod. It looks like it’s made of metallic corduroy, perhaps with a touch of disco sparkle, and it completely appeals to our 70′s rec room decorating roots. Unfortunately, it doesn’t exist (not even for $24,198).

The other email that got us jazzed was this one below from Warby Parker, makers of urban cool eye-wear that get shipped right to your home.

They one upped the ante but not just sending out a joke email, but making a whole site intended to fool us: Warby Barker, glassed for dogs. In additional to normal specs (choose from colors like Spiced Muton and Gravy Burst), there’s even a doggy monocle. You can click on a frame to “see them in action” on a dog. When you try to put them in a cart, you get the message below.

Wow. Color us impressed with the work that went into that! In the end, they encourage you to donate to the Humane Society. Good thing, cause we were about to go find an optometrist for our dogs.

It didn’t take us long to realize that our puppy Cupcake could get over just about any dog gate we set up in the house. He looks at those top rails and doesn’t see a deterrent, but a challenge. He manages to scramble up and over them in minutes. I am not entirely sure that Bow, a dog crate system from the Japanese retailer Replus would contain him, but it sure is a lot prettier than the unsightly offerings at nearby pet stores. Also, I’m thinking that the absence of an upper rail would make it harder for him to climb over. Unfortunately, I didn’t find a place in the states that sells it. Perhaps there’s an industrious distributor out there that would like to bring to American dog owners like me? Click here to see more pictures and tell me if you think it’d work on your pooches.

We love our pets here at Shelterrific. What we aren’t so fond of is boring pet furniture. The good people at pEi Pod have come to our rescue and created a stunningly modern, cool pet bed. Who needs a floppy, brown cushion when you can have a neon, egg-like pod that looks like something straight out of Twiggy’s (or Zoolander’s) apartment? pEi Pods are customizable- choose your egg color and bed cushion-, highly durable, safe, and crafted from recyclable material. Smaller dogs, cats, and even bunnies will love pEi Pods because they’ll have a warm, cozy little cave to snooze in. You’ll love pEi Pods because of the style points you’ll instantly earn by having it in your living room. –Katie D.

I’ve been thinking about getting a Furlicious bean bag from PB Teen for ages… and finally bit the bullet the other week. I was worried that it would make our living room seem too dormy or juvenile. But then I realized that with a four-year old and a puppy in the house, it was nearly impossible to have “mature” decor anyhow! Actually, it was Isadora who tipped the scale towards buying the bean bag. There’s a bookstore in our neighborhood that has one tucked in the kids’ corner, and whenever we go there we get so cozy reading that it’s hard to leave. Sure, she would have preferred a purple polka dotted variation, but I thought this faux flokati monster would match our brown leather couch, orange Saarinen chair and shag rug better. Since I seem to spend more time sitting on the floor than furniture these days, it is already getting a ton of use. Isadora “loves it” and the puppy… well, see for yourself. I dare say it’s the best $180 I’ve spent in a long time. — Angela M.

Here’s something I never thought I would confess: I just spent three hours on Purina’s website. That’s right. Forget Reddit. Move along, Facebook. Time’s up, Pinterest. My hard-to-capture Internet attention has been captivated by Purina’s site petcentric.com. If you too are a fan of anipals, a similar fate awaits you. The purveyors of kibble have created a fun, stylized breed library for both cats and dogs. Almost everyone is represented here in delightful, colorful animation. Click on your favorite breed and you’ll be greeted with an mini cartoon of a representative of the breed welcoming you with facts about themselves in their hysterically over-the-top voice (if you only have time for one, check out the German Shepherd). Besides sheer entertainment value, the website’s main goal is breed education. Purina (just like me!) encourages you to adopt your anipal! Use the Friend Fetcher to honestly evaluate how much time and money you will have to devote to your dog or cat, if they should be kid/other pet-friendly, and several other factors. –Katie D.

Recent stories:
The Puppy Files: Choosing The Perfect Breed

Blueprint for the Perfect Dog (Art)

Forgive me for not writing with a puppy update sooner. I thought that finding time to write was tough with chatty preschooler in the house: Adding a playful pooch to the mix means my distractions are on overtime! I am pleased to report that Cupcake is settling in splendidly to his new home, family and life. Since we brought him home three weeks ago, so much has happened!

Crate training is working! Thanks to all those who wrote in words of encouragement. After a few fitful nights of sleep, the puppy now settles down like clockwork when placed in his crate at bedtime. The key is take him out (I would say that the the end of the day potty trip is even harder than the early morning one) and then give him about fifteen minutes of focused play (he fetches like a master already!). After that, we simply put him in the crate, shut the lights out and he settles down until dawn.

He likes to eat everything — including things that are bad for him. I have heard that puppies are worse than babies when it comes to sticking things in their mouths and have learned the hard way it is true. We are earnestly trying to be diligent about not dropping food on the floor — especially things like onions, grapes, raisins or chocolate which can be especially toxic to dogs. But our yard is a whole ‘nother arena! Cupcake wants to gnaw on every piece of bark, twig and dried up flower he finds. On New Year’s Eve we had a real scare: He was up all night barfing and with diarrhea. At one point, sleeping on the living room floor with him was easier than trudging up and down the stairs to our bedroom. He kept on going out until nothing was left. It didn’t dampen his spirits though, and the next day he was happy and interested in food. I made him some comfort food — white rice with poached chicken — and mixed in a little canned pumpkin. Supposedly it acts as a binding agent and “firms things up.” It seemed do the trick and in less than 24 hours he was completely back on track. I still don’t know what it was that caused him to get so sick that night. I need to do some research on toxic plants, I think. (Any advice?)

Walking a puppy makes you really popular. Cupcake is seriously the happiest dog in the world. His tail is always up and wagging. He wants to say hello to every person and dog within eye, ear and nose shot. And people who would never have spoken to us before are suddenly fishing for invites to come and play. Walking down our town’s main street with Cupcake attracts so much attention, I feel famous. Yet, some resist temptation: About 80% stop and say hello or at least make eye contact, but to the 20% who don’t, you have to wonder: If puppies don’t make you smile, what does?

I could go on and on, but can’t right now. More soon on the our wonderful puppy adventures! — Angela M.

Previously on The Puppy Files:
After Losing Our Dear Cat We Ask, Is It Time For a Dog?

Introducing Cupcake!

Hello dear readers! It’s Monday afternoon, and though I am a little more sleepy than usual I didn’t want to wait a moment longer before introducing you to our new puppy, Cupcake. (Yes, our four-year old daughter picked out his name.) We picked him up from the breeder on Saturday, and spent about an hour there playing with him and his siblings, and getting some last minute tips on puppy care. It really helped to see where he was coming from. The house was big and warm and cozy — a puppy paradise, really.

We brought him home via a four hour drive that went surprising well. The little guy mostly snoozed contently the whole way. As soon as we got home, he promptly set about exploring his new place. It took him about five minutes before he found a spot to poop. Luckily, it was on the hard floor and was easy to clean up. We spent most of the night laughing and playing, amazed that he was already so good fetching; all those squeaky toys really are actually a ton of fun! The first night in the crate was not so bad. He fell asleep after about ten minutes and only woke up once around 2 am. After a quick, cold visit to the backyard, he went back to sleep until dawn. I thought, this is easy…

That was until last night, which seemed much harder than the first. Perhaps it was finally sinking in that his brothers and sisters were not going to show up? What ever was going on in that little walnut of a brain, Cupcake would not quiet down. After about 20 minutes of unsuccessfully trying to lure him to sleep, we decided to move the crate downstairs. Bad idea. He cried all night! Well, at least until around 2:30 a.m. when I took him outside (burrrrr — when did it suddenly get so cold here?!) and then moved the crate back up to our room. I got him to go to sleep by literally sliding it as close to our bed possible and then sticking my fingers in the crate. Not exactly comfortable for me, but it worked! We’ll try that again tonight. My plan is make sure we wear him out with lots of play before we put him in the crate to sleep.

People keep telling me that dogs learn to love being in their crates but it’s hard to imagine. From the wails he made last night you would think we were torturing him. Please tell me it gets easier! — Angela M.

Previously on the Puppy Files

Chosing the Perfect Breed

What to Look For In A Breeder

This is the weekend we go to pick up our new puppy! It seems like we have been thinking about and preparing for its arrival for ages now. I am excited and also nervous. Here are a few of the things we have done to get our home ready for the incoming bundle of energy. Are we ready?

Fenced in our yard. We have a small backyard, that already had border fences along the back and to one side. Luckily our neighbors didn’t mind that we wanted to finished it off on the other side and add a gate to the driveway. I thought the gate would make the yard feel smaller, but it actually does the opposite.

Bought a couple of baby gates. We’re not big believers in hanging on to things we don’t we need, so we mistakenly gave away our baby gates once our kid mastered the stairs in the house. We were able to replace them with a cheap ($15), portable version that we picked up at Babys R Us (rather than at a pet store). This will help us close off the house and keep an eye on the puppy. Hopefully they’ll do the trick!

Got a crate for training. It’s the one thing we’ve heard over and over again: Crate train! I’ve never done this before but I am trusting all I have heard and read that it will work. I love the idea of also using it create a safe place for the puppy to hang out when things in the house get overwhelming (like when we have screaming kids running around — it happens, though not everyday). We picked one that the puppy would grow into that has an adjustable section.

Read a few books. The first thing I read, to get myself psyched up about the dog, was Jill Abramson’s wonderful The Puppy Diaries. First, I am fascinated by the author because she is the new editor and first woman to run to The New York Times. Secondly, it’s an honest, emotional account of ups and downs of puppy-ownership.

Another book I picked up, at the insistence of Pam at EdenValleyDoodles, was Raising Puppies and Kids Together. It offers some great practical advice on how to teach your kids not to abuse or frighten the dog, and how to make sure your dog doesn’t pick up bad habits like biting and jumping. It even has some fun suggestions for games, like hide-n-seek, that I can’t wait to try with Isadora and pup.

Started instituting new “pick up all your toys” rule. If you have ever visited a home with young children, you know how often there are little things scattered about the floor. All those tiny plastic dollhouse pieces are gonna look mighty tempting to a young dog. We got some new sturdy bins from Ikea and organized their contents in big Ziploc bags. We also did a purge. Always healthy!

Began saving all our plastic bags. I know we can buy doggy poop bags (and some are even flushable!) but it doesn’t take long to gather a stash of plastic bags (even if you try your darnedest to always bring your reusable tote with you to the grocery store). I hear the ones that our newspaper comes wrapped in are especially good. Got ‘em!

Bought some things we’ll need: Such as sturdy food and water bowls, a mini Kong toy, rawhides, leash, collar, dog brushes, etc.

Bought some things ’cause they’re cute: Toys (thank you Martha Stewart, again), basket to put them, a jingle bell collar for Christmas morning, a puppy stocking to hang on the mantle with ours, and Poochie Bells, which you hang on your door frame for your dog to ring when he has to go out. (I’ll let you know if they work!)

We haven’t seriously invested in a dog bed yet — just a simple washable one for the crate. There are so many to choose from and they seem so pricey. We’re gonna wait. Also, I haven’t gotten any dog sweaters — though I know it will be cold out and puppy is just getting used to going outside. It’ll have a nice curly fleece coat of its own — will an extra layer be needed?

Dog owners, what am I forgetting? Your advice as always is appreciated and extremely welcome! — Angela M.

Previously on the Puppy Files
After Losing Our Dear Cat, We Ask: Is It Time For a Dog?

Chosing the Perfect Breed

What to Look For In A Breeder

After deciding that we were ready for a puppy and that we wanted to get a Labradoodle, we began researching dog breeders. I heard lots of cautionary tales — and horror stories — about puppy mills and unsafe breeding practices. I followed my gut on a lot of things. I was not about to order a puppy online. I wouldn’t get a dog from a breeder who wouldn’t let us visit. And, though I know lots of people do this, I couldn’t imagine picking a dog up from an airport. I want to be able to see the puppy’s birthplace, and hopefully mom and dad. But there were a few things I learned very quickly that I wasn’t expecting.

The best breeders are few and far between — and have waiting lists! Once we narrowed our sights on a breed, we quickly discovered that there weren’t that many breeders who specialized in Labradoodles in our area. There’s Hudson Doodles upstate which we have heard good things about. But we gravitated towards Eden Valley Labradoodles in Maryland. Always a sucker for packaging, we instantly fell in love with their site and gorgeous pix of happy pets romping with lovely girls. And best of all, they were expecting a couple of litters towards the end of the year, which seemed like perfect timing to us.

Breeders won’t sell their dogs to just anyone. I was amazed at how extensive the puppy application form was — questions about our lifestyle, home, and level of commitment were asked. It forced us to ask ourselves a lot of questions and do even more research on the breed. We learned about grooming needs, crate training, and immediately decided we needed a fence around our backyard. We completed the form, sent in a deposit for a puppy that was just a pea in its mommy’s belly, and waited for news.

Be suspicious of any breeder who won’t supply references of previous clients or allow visits. Because a dog’s early development is crucial, you need to know how a puppy is being raised in its first few weeks of life. How often are the dams mated? When does early training and socialization begin? What are the puppies fed?

Ask for a health certificate for the pup’s sire and dam. Make sure they have been tested for any common problems the breed may be susceptible to. Here’s our future’s puppy’s dad, and its mom, Lady Godiva (shown above).

Be prepared to pay! The price was a bit of a shock to us. But it is so important to make sure that a puppy comes from a good breeder — with clean facilities, high quality food and expert medical care – that it is worth it.

Another shock is that we couldn’t pick out which puppy would be ours. The breeder is deciding which dog we will get. We don’t know if it will be a boy or a girl, but we are putting our faith in Pam at Eden Valley to match us with the puppy that best fits our family. She has years and years of experience doing this.

A good breeder will be your guide through the new puppy process. I can’t believe how much I have already learned from Pam on how to prepare for a puppy (more on that next time).

There is more to know about picking a breeder — this is a great reference article at Petside.com — but those were the big factors for us. Our puppy was born on October 26th and after eight weeks of waiting we’ll be picking him or her up next weekend! I will try to write a couple of more posts about how to prepare your home for a puppy in next week. Then — let the cuteness begin! — Angela M.

Previously on the Puppy Files
After Losing Our Dear Cat, We Ask: Is It Time For a Dog?

Chosing the Perfect Breed