Little Pampered Pets Blog

On Wednesday, October 4, 2007, a representative of Michael Vick legal team appeared in the Surry County Courtroom in order to prove that the
suspended Atlanta Falcon quarterback has proper legal representation. 

Vick is expected to show up in court on November 27, at which a trial date for his State dog fighting charges will be set.  Vick is to be sentenced on
December 10 for Federal Charges, where he is expected to face up to 5 years in prison.

Vick has been charged with two state felony counts for beating, killing or causing dogs to fight other dogs and engaging in or promoting dog
fighting.

Each felony is punishable by up to five years in prison.  Though his Lawyers will be fighting State charges on the grounds that he cannot be tried
twice for the same crime. 

He has already pleaded guilty for federal charges
on August 27, where Vick admitted to killing six to eight dogs among other things.

Dog owners are ready to see justice in the case of Michael Vick’s dog fighting ring.  It must be shown that it is not the dogs, but the owner
who is responsible for creating a positive environment.  According to our friend
Cesar Milan, The Dog Whisperer, “dogs are not born killers nor do they choose to be killers. What we are seeing in the news with the recent rash of canine violence is the tragic outcome of humans who own dogs, but do not
know how to properly fulfill the needs of man’s best friend.”  We must take care of our canine friends to ensure that an age old partnership between dog and man will remain pure. For those of you who absolutely adore your furry friends, this Christmas, think about getting them a holiday dog costume for the family party. Also, get some cute dog pajamas for those freezing winter nights.

October 4 marks the annual celebration of World Animal Day, which
is dedicated to honoring, blessing and protecting animals all over the
world. 
The day was founded in 1931 at an ecologist convention in Florence,
Italy in order to bring awareness to the plight of endangered species. 

It encompasses all animals and birds, and is not restricted to any one
nationality, creed, religion, political belief or ideology.  

The day was chosen to coincide with the Catholic celebration of Saint Frances of Assai, the saint of animals, birds and the environment. 

Churches all over the world recognize the day with an annual “Blessing of the Pets”, where pets and pictures of pets are prayed for.

World Animal Day is aimed at encouraging everyone to celebrate
their love for their pets and animals, as they are important to this world.

 Why not surprise your little special one by giving them a new pair of dog boots or a new puppy sweater in celebration of this day.  This is a great a way to show our little friends how much we love them.
 

Michael Vick’s attorney Billy Martin announced that Vick will be pleading guilty to federal charges of dog fighting. This comes after two co-defendents of Vick’s pleaded guilty and said that Vick was involved with them. Vick has been pleading his innocence up to this point.

The charges include the killing of eight dogs after “testing” them and finding that they would not make good fighters. It is a sickening story and is very saddening considering the people that have stood behind Vick and defended him. There’s no telling what his punishment will be, but he faces up to five years in prison and the termination of his NFL career.

A few people, like the general manager of the Green Bay Packers, Ron Wolf, have said that Vick deserves a second chance once he pays his debt to society. I have to admit that I too believe in forgiveness and a second chance. However, it would depend on Vick’s admittance that he made a mistake. It’s true he’s pleading guilty, but does that mean he’s sorry? There’s really no way to get into his head and find out.

One thing is for sure, every adoring pet parent that gives designer dog clothing to their pampered pooch hates dog fighting and anyone associated with it.  It’s going to be most difficult for that group to forgive or tolerate his actions, and many are calling for his immediate dismissal. No doubt there will be many pet articles coming out in the near future that condemn the man completely and perhaps even call him every dirty name in the book, including a dog. There have even been extreme comments from people on this blog. It’s important to administer justice, and I’m sure all the negative press has done permanent damage to his career, but if being a dog lover has taught me anything, it’s taught me the importance of unconditional forgiveness. The question is: Is he really sorry?

Halloween is a great time to have fun with some funny costumes for your dog. Pictured at right is a Dachshund wearing our Hot Diggity Dog Costume in the ketchup style. This particular costume is easy to put on and is a riot at any party or Halloween gathering.

There’s also a mustard style, of course, since not everyone wants their hot dog with ketchup. This piece of clothing can also keep a little weiner dog quite warm, too. However, this outfit is not only for Dachshunds, any dog that feels like being a tasty treat for Halloween can look adorable in it.

A dog costume is obviously not a necessity like other dog clothes. Small breeds need some clothing during winter to stay warm or during summer to prevent sunburn, but none of that is ever quite as enjoyable as getting Fido to join in on the dressing up fun with the rest of the family.

Another kind of canine clothing that can work for Halloween, Christmas or any time of year is a dog dress. Their are many different colors and styles that can be worn at any event, party or for just going on a walk in the park. For example, a nice Purple Velvet Dress can be a “Belle of the Ball” costume at Halloween and just a nice outfit for a Thanksgiving party.

Wendy, pictured at left, is a dog from the whippet breed, normally known for its slender appearance and lean muscles. Obviously, Wendy is not a normal whippet. Due to a genetic condition, Wendy’s body has become extremely muscled instead of the expected sleek design. There’s no dog clothes for this amazing girl, though I’d bet she’d love a good massage. 

This genetic anomaly has gained her fame, though. She recently appeared on The Today Show in Manhattan. She was cheered on by her fans and received petting by Al Roker and company. Her owner, Ingrid Hansen, thinks she liked the free steak the best, though. They were doing a bit about how to cook steak, so Wendy lucked out for her show date.

If you have a dog that is naturally broad chested, like a bulldog or pit bull, it can be difficult to get clothing that fits. Dog shirts and sweaters can work in larger sizes because the material often stretches. The problem is that larger sizes can be too long. If this is the case, buy a larger size and then hem the bottom, just as you would a pair of pants that’s too long.

Of course, one piece of dog apparel that will always work no matter what the size of your canine baby are dog boots. They become an essential item during winter months. They can also be useful if your dog has an allergy attack on the skin of their paws. Sometimes grass is treated with pesticides and chemicals that can irritate dogs’ feet, and booties help prevent that.

Wendy certainly got her share of walking around New York City, and plenty of people recognized her just from this picture posted all over the internet and stopped for a picture of their own. Hansen is a proud pet parent that says she thinks Wendy has truly enjoyed all the extra attention. Then again, what pampered pooch doesn’t love getting extra attention, especially on national television.

Our beloved Chihuahua, Sox, pictured at left in our dog football sweatshirt, used to struggle with being just a bit overweight. These days, the problem of obesity seems to have run over from our cup into the lives of our pets. More and more I see owners walking around with obese dogs.

It’s not that the owners don’t love and adore their pets. They even pamper them with cute little dog costumes at Halloween and sweaters for their dogs at Christmas. However, the precious little pooch that is overweight will have a shorter lifespan no matter how many clothes are in his closet. Sox’s vet said that he needed to lose one or two pounds. This doesn’t sound like much, but considering Sox was a total of 13 pounds, that’s almost ten percent of his body weight.

If it were me, that would mean losing 15 pounds, which would take a lot of work. We tried many different kinds of dog chow with no real success. We tried limiting his daily serving to the lowest amount possible, and that only made him hungrier. During this last food recall, we started making all of our dogs’ food from scratch. It took getting used to the extra work. We have to cook a bunch of rice and veggies, which takes some time. Then, we had to cook a bunch of chicken and pull it off the bone which is labor intensive. Now, we actually feed them a recipe of rice, lentils, mixed vegetables and boiled eggs. It’s faster and easier to make and they are thriving on it. The important thing is that as soon as we started making their own food, Sox lost the weight and is now healthier than ever. Our oldest dog, Jaz, used to have numerous bowel movement problems and those have gone away as well. I strongly suggest looking into making your own dog food and looking up treat recipes for their optimal health. 

Coco, our youngest Chihuahua baby (pictured at left in a pink collared shirt), is just now getting to a point where we can call him house broken. Unfortunately, it took a year and a half, whereas it didn’t seem to take that long with our other Chihuahuas. He got to where he was pee pad trained pretty quickly, but he sort of stalled. I think being a little dog it’s not always pleasant to go outside, especially in cold New Jersey winter.

So, he would just pee inside and save himself from having to endure going outdoors. We bundled him up in a small dog sweater and a small dog coat, and that did help a lot. He would finally start going on walks with the other dogs, but I could tell he wanted nothing more than to get back indoors as soon as possible. He wasn’t focused on doing his business at all.

This led to many gross problems, not the least of which was the stink from dirty pee pads. Our oldest and largest dog, a Labrador and Maltese mix, had taken on the bad habit of eating Coco’s feces from the papers. I read that sometimes wolves in the wild will do this as a way of keeping inferior members of the pack from leaving their mark on the territory. Whatever the case, it’s just plain nasty. Now we’ve started strictly crate training him; we only let him out of the crate when it’s time for his walk. It seems to be finally working, and we were finally able to take up the pee pads. Also, there’s no more poop eating…yeah. Coco likes being secure in his space most of the time; after all, he’s perfectly bred for cute small dog carriers, right?

Oscar the cat, pictured at left, may be a special pet that can predict death. In fact, in 25 separate cases, Oscar correctly predicted that terminally ill nursing home patients were a few hours from death. There’s no pampered ride in a pet carrier for this feline. Oscar is a two year old rescued feline that was adopted as a kitten and grew up on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The facility treats Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other forms of dementia and disease.

After about six months of living there, staff noticed the cat making his rounds just like the doctors and nurses and that he sniffed and checked up on patients. He would curl up next to a patient and about four hours later, that person would pass. After his 13th correct call, doctors started notifying family members when Oscar curled up next to someone. The patients are so sick they don’t really know he’s there or that he’s announcing their final hours, and this is a cat that takes his work very seriously. Staff members say he’s not too sociable with people.  

There are many interesting animals like this feline in our world, and you can find many just by perusing some pet articles. As a matter of fact, if you observe your own pet, you will find they each have their own behaviors that make them special.

Some dog owners may have second thoughts about getting their pooch any holiday attire for Halloween since so many of the costumes for dogs are complex outfits that a canine may tear apart. Many costumes come with hats or headpieces, which I know for a fact all four of my dogs hate wearing. My Chihuahua was an angel once for Halloween, and we couldn’t get him to keep the halo on his head. All night he just wore the wings on his back to the delight of trick-or-treaters.

One way to get around this is to get simple Halloween outfits, like the sweatshirt pictured here. It’s a festive way to celebrate the holiday with your hound, you don’t have to worry about your furry baby hating what he’s wearing.

Another little tip I always suggest to pet owners for Halloween or even Christmas is to look at some treat recipes to make their dogs and cats some special treats to enjoy. This way, they won’t have to beg the people around them and can celebrate eating yummy snacks like everyone else.

Once you get Fido in on the fun, the whole family will love the memories it creates.   

House breaking your puppy can be challenging; you spend all this money on cute small dog clothes for them to wear while out on a walk, and all they do is pee on it…and everything else in the house. Many first time dog owners become so frustrated that they give up and stick to some sort of pee pad training. It’s usually easier for puppies to use a pee pad than to go outside because it’s quicker and easier. The problem is that pads are not sanitary and stink up the house.

There are several tips to help train your little furry baby to go outside. First of all, try hanging up your dog’s leash and dog collar near the door so that your puppy can learn to make noise with it when she needs to go out for a walk. You may also want to try crate training your little pooch if they don’t get it right away. Sometimes, cold weather or rain can cause your dog to not want to be outside, so a little doggie coat or jacket may be a good addition to the collar and leash.