A Wee Nursery For Baby And Puppy

My sister-in law Alicia is pregnant with her first kid, and like every first time mom, she's totally obsessed with anything baby! Just like me, except I go bananas over hot pink leashes and pug pillows, while she fawns over baby booties and baby slings.

This weekend she and my brother Bruno went shopping at Babies R Us and came home with a brand new, very beautiful, and may I add safe (it's actually the safest in the industry) baby car seat. You can read about the product on Wee Baby Stuff, a website they just started featuring product reviews for all things baby.

And as it turns out, Babies R Us happens to have a lot of dog inspired products for your baby nursery remodel. Alicia sent me this picture of baby's room, all decked out in a graphic mix of brown and white. I love the puppy accents, like the puppy mobile hanging above the crib and the doggy art on the wall.

P.S.

Microchip. Microchip. Microchip!

A Rookie Mistake

Daniel and I went out to dinner on Friday night to celebrate our last weekend together in Minneapolis. There's a pretty good Italian restaurant on Lake Street called Amore Victoria, and we were lucky enough to score a beautiful table outside, on a more than beautiful evening.

Five minutes into our meal a random puppy dog runs up to our table and starts licking up the parmesan cheese crumbs. Turns out the poor little guy is lost, and we grab him just before he runs back out into the traffic on Lake.

So now we're in the middle of dinner, and we're holding onto the lost dog, who's got no leash and no tags, just his collar and the stretched key ring where the tags used to be... It was pretty obvious the owner had accidentally hooked the leash up to the key ring instead of the collar and the pup had pulled his way loose, breaking off his tags.

I must admit that this happened to me several times when I first got my dog, except Charly never ran off further than our next door neighbor's yard. After the third or fourth time I decided I'd had enough with the broken key rings and lost tags, so I went to Lowe's and bought an S Hook. I opened it up with some pliers, strung on Charly's tags, and used the pliars again to close the hook around the existing metal hook of the dog collar. The S Hook is so small there's really no way you can hook the leash up to it, but it's also super strong, so you'll never lose those tags again.

Daniel quickly finished up his pasta dish and biked back to our house to pick up a leash and our car. We'd have to take the puppy over to grandma's house since Gus won't be having no stray pups up in HIS house. Before we left the restaurant we decided to take a quick walk around the neighborhood, now that we had a leash to hold on to the dog. And within 10 minutes we ran into his owner. She'd only had him for a couple of months and he'd never run off like this before. I'm just glad we didn't have to take the dog to animal control the next morning.

So remember, never use a key ring to hook up your dog's tags to his collar. Go buy an S Hook. They're only 0.93 cents and well worth it.

Berlin Schnau

Daniel and I spent the whole three-day weekend packing up our house, getting ready for our move to Germany. We'll be spending the fall semester in Deutschland, where Daniel will be doing research at the University of Bonn.

So Dan left yesterday, and he's on his way to Europe, via Chicago. I'll be joining him in a month, after I wrap up some things with my job. They've been incredibly supportive and have allowed me to take a three month leave of absence, which means I have to work extra hard this month to help out with as many projects as possible.

The dogs of course will go to grandma's, since we're just too scared to stick them in the bottom of an airplane for the 8 hour flight to Germany. My mom is thrilled because she'll get the puppies all to herself, for four entire months.

There are so many things I'm going to miss while on this European Adventure; my family and friends, our coffee maker, a washing machine and dryer in the basement, the autumn colors of the Midwest.

Most of all I'll miss those dogs. Damn, I love those guys.

And second, I'll miss our Select Comfort Sleep Number Bed. Honestly, we've never slept better. The back pain is gone, and we are so happy and rested when we get up in the morning. I just know that little European double bed waiting for us in Deutschland is going to kill.

But at least I can rest assured Gus and Charly will be getting their beauty sleep. I just got them their very own doggy beds from DoggyArchy to take with them to grandma's. These eco-friendly beds are made from organic cotton and pesticide-free industrial hemp fibers and fillers, reducing your dogs daily exposure to the hazardous chemicals released from your typical synthetic pet bed. And these beds are gorgeous, so you can promote your dog's natural health without compromising your style.

Ride On Cowboy

I've been in stuck in this country phase for the past several months, and I find myself swooning for anything that reminds me of the open road, never ending fields of green, and that perfectly quiet solitude found only in the middle of nowhere.

Of course, my dog obsession still reigns supreme, so when I came across Fine Arf Collection's leather cowboy belt adorned with gold plated pewter dogs, I said to myself, ah, now that is a perfect belt! If only I had a some cattle to rope, or a horse to ride, I'd go right ahead and buy it.

A Good Investment

I think it's time for us to retire Gus's plain and simple metal water bowl, and invest in this very smart and innovative Drink Better™ product from Contech. Gus will probably hate me for broadcasting this over the internet, but I'm tired of cleaning up his vomit because he drinks too much, too fast.

The Drink Better™ pet bowl encourages dogs to drink at a slower, healthier rate, and make less mess while they’re at it. Neither Gus nor Charly seem to have any terribly bad eating habits (other than eating a dozen bagels off the kitchen counter a couple of years ago, but that's another story). Yet drinking seems to be a more complicated thing to do, and sometimes Gus just can't seem to hold down his water. So I'm gonna get my hands on one of these today!

Dog Stash

I'm not one to really dress up my dogs. Of course, they each have a very simple warm coat that they wear only in the winter when it's 20 below zero (Charly's has a fur hood, and that's my mom's fault!), but essentially, that's all the clothes they have. I've seen cute numbers here and there, funny dog-t-shirts, elegant wool sweaters, heavy duty booties, and more. But I'm pretty sure Dan would throw a fit if I came home with matching outfits for Gus and Charly, so I don't even try. Good thing I didn't make it to Pet Fashion week this year, because I know it would have been impossible to resist the couture fashion.

For those of you who do have a full doggie wardrobe, check out Canine Couture Closets, and give your puppy his own place to stash those clothes. Functional yet stylish, these closets help you stay organized, while adding a punch of pup to your life. So take control of your closet, and get back that short hang you've been needing so desparately.