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Innovative Pet Gifts Sure to Please
Steve Dale
HOME > LIFESTYLES > PETS
The economy may be in the doghouse, but the joy of giving to our pets hasn't diminished. Here are some new products to consider this holiday season:
Poor Harvie the Rabbit, Knute the Moose and Sheldon the Squirrel look
reminiscent of road kill; these super-tough, flat-as-a-pancake,
over-sized plush squeaky toys are particularly appealing to canines;
If you think your indoor cat is so desperate for activity that she's
about to climb the walls, encourage her with the City Kitty Climber.
Cats can dig their claws into the wooden 6-foot-high scratcher, wound
with sisal, and climb as if they're climbing a tree. The City Kitty
Climber is easily mounted on a door;
The regular plastic bags people typically use to pick up dog waste
can sit in a landfill for decades before breaking down. That's not the
case with biodegradable Poop bags, which might even begin to return to
the earth before the contents inside do the same;
Organic Loopie dog toys, called Flat Katz, are made of 100 percent
organic cotton and soybean fabric and pet-friendly natural dyes. Choose
from Kari the Bunny, Spax the Cat, Zigfried the Squirrel and Alfonzo the
Monster;
When you leave the house for holiday festivities, your dog misses
you. Leave your best friend a message by recording our voice into the
Rubber Talk to Me Treatball. As your pup rolls the toy for treats or
kibble to tumble out, your message is played back (over and over);
Dogs who enjoy wapping themselves in the face don't seem so smart. No
doubt, they would benefit from brain games from the Company of Animals.
The Dog Spinny is like a Wheel of Fortune for Dogs. Dogs or cats can
play. They spin a plastic wheel with a paw or their snout. When the
wheel stops in the right place, the "fortune" (a cookie) is revealed.
Similarly, the Dog Brick is a puzzle for Mensa pets. The pet moves the
bones (puzzle pieces) for their own chess game, Moving the pieces just
the right way yields treats for the winner. The games, named for their
inventor, Nina Ottonsson, are
Brain exercises are fine, but so is a good old-fashioned game of
fetch. The Winga is a disc that sails 200-feet in the air, farther than
most people can throw a Frisbee disc or ball, because instead of using a
human arm to throw, you swing a launcher;
Spoil your dog, spare the floor. The Neater Feeder isn't so much a
gift to a dog or cat as it is a present for their people. The feeder
might look like an ordinary food/water bowl at first glance, but
protective walls and a reservoir prevent splattered food and water. The
feeder is elevated off the floor;
The Wander Collar
Holiday Pet Adoption Campaign Saves Many Lives
Steve Dale
Iams Home 4 the Holidays is arguably the most successful pet adoption campaign in history. Within the past decade, over 3 million pets have been adopted through the program. The goal this year is ...
Should We Worry About Pets Catching H1N1
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The fact that a single cat came down with the H1N1 is fascinating to scientists, veterinary infectious disease researchers and human virologists, but is this truly significant at all?
2009 National Dog Show Will Spotlight Work of Therapy Dogs
Steve Dale
The National Dog Show, presented by Purina, will air in a two-hour special on Thanksgiving Day, following the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC, 12 p.m. ET. Arguably, even more than the legendary parade, the dog show, hosted by the Kennel Club of Philadelphia, has a little something for one everyone in the family. That's a rarity on TV these days
Cat Microchipping Effort Breaks Record
Steve Dale
Breaking the Guinness record book -- or maybe it's a Garfield record book -- 59,074 cats were microchipped and enrolled in the HomeAgain Pet Recovery Program from June through August. For the second consecutive summer, HomeAgain donated $1 per cat 'chipped to the non-profit Winn Feline Foundation.
Celebrating Feral Cats
Steve Dale
Domestic cats have been living with people for around for about 10,000 years, according to recently uncovered archeological evidence. Sometimes the cats provide great benefit. Credit cats for killing rats who spread the Great Plague. Today, we know living with housecats is beneficial for our health
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Steve Dale welcomes questions/comments from readers. Although he can't answer all of them individually, he'll answer those of general interest in his column. Write to Steve at Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY 14207. Send e-mail to PETWORLD(at)STEVE DALE.TV. Include your name, city and state. Steve's website is www.stevedalepetworld.com; he can be heard Sundays on WGN Radio, 8 to 10 p.m. CST (www.wgnradio.com to listen live), and hosts the nationally syndicated "Steve Dale's Pet World" and "The Pet Minute." He's also a contributing editor to USA Weekend
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