feeling groovy pets: peipod beds
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.
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showin’ off: our new pbteen bean bag (a.k.a. groovy dog bed)
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.
bookmark worthy: purina’s petcentric breed libraries
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
the puppy files: the cutest dog, ever?
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?
the puppy files: 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
Getting Our Home Ready For a New Pup
