How To Make Your Own Dog Costume

Halloween is right around the corner and I thought it would be the perfect time to write a DIY (do it yourself) on How To Make Your Own Dog Costume for Halloween.

Last year I wasn’t too creative with Stetson and his first Halloween costume. However, Target has some great costumes and Stetson and I both dressed up as bee’s (I guess you could say we were a swarm of bees). This year we decided to do a little more preparation and after researching the internet and posting about The 6 Best Dog Costumes On The Internet I got really excited about designing my own dog costume for Derby and our Halloween guide dog meeting.

Derby’s Dog Costume - Simba The Lion

Here are some images of Derby in his dog costume as Simba the Lion:

Derby chomping on his prey (looks like a piece of grass or twig)

Derby the happy dog!

Derby giving us his best lion pose!

Don’t mess with Derby the lion.

Derby smelling the grass.

I’m sure everyone’s now wondering…what a brilliant costume! How did you do it?

How To Make Your Own Dog Costume

I was secretly hoping I would get a yellow Labrador Retriever or a Golden Retriever so I could dress them up as a lion for Halloween. If you saw my post on The 6 Best Dog Costumes On The Internet then you would have seen the Golden Lion who was actually supposed to be Lambert the Sheepish lion. A very random reference, but I just recently saw the short cartoon when watching Disney’s the Fox and the Hound…I’m a kid at heart and still watch cartoons.

Anyhow, I’ve been searching for a lions mane since I got Derby and couldn’t find anything suitable until Halloween costumes started rolling into the local Walmarts and Targets. While walking through Target I saw the perfect Lions mane…it was the hair on the wolfman’s mask. So here are the step-by-step instructions for constructing your very own dog costume.

Items you will need for this project:

• Wolfman Mask from Target
• Elastic band
• Piece of Velcro
• Extra Collar
• Sewing kit (needle and thread)
• Knife or Scissors
• Optional - rubber band

Instructions

1. Go to Target and buy the $9.99 Wolfman mask.
2. Grab a knife or scissors and unstitch the hair from the latex mask.
3. With rudimentary sewing skills attach the collar to the lions mane (this will keep it in place when costume is worn.
4. Next, attach the velcro under the neck. This will keep the lions mane closed around the neck area.
5. Finally attach the elastic higher up from the velcro just under the chin. This helps to keep the hair from sliding back behind the ears.
6. Optional - take an extra piece of hair from the mask and attach it to your dogs tail with the rubber band.

And the final results…we won Most Original Costume at our Guide Dogs of America meeting! YAY!

The Fearless Lion

Farm animals about to be preyed upon by the mighty lion!

Thanks to Joe for the wonderful photographs at our GDA meeting.

Let me know if you have any questions about How To Make Your Own Dog Costume. I, myself am not very creative nor very crafty, but was able to piece this one together.

By the way, you may have noticed the DigitalPhotoShoppe.com on the Derby images above. My mother takes some great photographs and is an expert at fixing them up with Photoshop. The images above were all taken by my mother and edited using Photoshop. If you have any questions or would like to see some other great photos or Photoshop tutorials then go check out her new site at Digital PhotoShoppe.

Did your dog wear a dog costume for Halloween? If so, what did he/she dress up as?

Check Out These Awesome Halloween Dog Costumes!

Halloween dog costumes have become quite the rage for the enthusiastic dog owner. Just a few years ago I wouldn’t have dreamed of dressing my own dogs up, but since I started volunteering with Guide Dogs of America I’ve become more involved with my own dogs and learned that there are benefits to dressing up your dog besides just letting your dog ham it up or get a good laugh or scare from your friends and family.

Why Dress Up In Halloween Dog Costumes?

Dressing your dog in a Halloween costume allows you to handle many parts of your dog including head, feet, torso, tail in ways you may never have before. This is important as a blind handler will use his sense of touch to handle his dog in many different ways. As a guide dog puppy raiser it’s important to get your dog used to being handled in as many different ways as possible including having them dressed up in Halloween dog costumes. Halloween dog costumes allow you to pull legs through arm holes, pull a t-shirt over head, or put those silly socks on your dogs paws.

Haute Dog Howl’oween Parade 2008

A few weeks back I put up the post Halloween Dog Costume Parade Coming Soon!. I was very excited to go to this Halloween dog costume event in downtown Long Beach, but unfortunately I had a conflict in my schedule and instead I was part of charity event (we raised a little bit of money for Guide Dogs of America) all weekend. Fortunately for me I got our roving reporter to go to the event and snap some photos and write up a little report on the excitement yesterday at the Haute Dog Howl’oween Parade 2008.

Without further adieu here’s our report from the Haute Dog Howl’oween Parade 2008:

I attended the Haute Dog Howl’oween Parade in Belmont Shore (Long Beach) yesterday and had a great time! After reading on their website that over 600 dogs participated in the parade last year, I anticipated this year would be about the same. I didn’t actually count the number of costumed doggies but I think the parade lasted about two hours. That’s a lot of dogs!

After finally finding street parking, my friend, her little Westie and I got to Livingston Park around 2:15 p.m. The energy there was off the charts. There were many vendors, adoption booths, dogs, their owners, and numerous spectators. Because the parade was set to start at 2:30, we decided to head straight to the parade route and would have to come back to the park later.

The main part of the parade route was along the north and south sides of 2nd Street (between Roycroft Ave. and Granada Ave). Now if you’re familiar with 2nd Street then you know that it’s a congested street as it is, but add a special event and there’s not much walking space on the sidewalks. But I think all this only added to the excitement! We found ourselves sitting curbside on the south side of 2nd Street where it was shaded.

As dressed up dogs and their owners passed us, my friend and I found ourselves laughing, squealing, and in complete amazement. Dog owners truly showcased their artistic ability and creativity and their dogs showed great patience. With the heat from the sun, from wearing their costumes, and too much stimulation, many dogs grew tired along the parade route. Some owners opted to stop midway through the parade due to their dogs’ exhaustion.

Here are some of my favorite costumes:

• Surfing pugs on a wave float - my brother would have liked this one - Colby

• Bulldog pilot - It looks like the bulldog Red Baron…where’s Snoopy? - Colby

• Evel Knievel Chihuahua - looks like fun…is he riding on a backpack roller? - Colby

• Chariot pulled by Chihuahua - This one reminds me a little of knight and his loyal steed from The 6 Best Dog Costumes On The Internet - Colby
  

• Princess Leia schnauzer - How can you not like a star wars costume - Colby

My most favorite costume of all: Flasher pug! - I like the little pug arms! - Colby

Once the parade was over, we headed back to Livingston Park to see what the vendors and adoption booths had to offer. There were various vendors selling doggie clothing, doggie costumes, leashes and collars, and treats. I was hoping to buy some doggie toys but was disappointed that none could be found. We missed the bulldog kissing booth that was held before the parade, but the Bobbing for Howl’oweenies booth was still open. Here Yuki, my friend’s Westie, took a look in the containers but wasn’t sure what to do.

Overall, the Haute Dog Howl’oween Parade was well organized and a very successful event. If you love dogs in costume, I highly recommend you attend next year.

I’m so sad that I missed the Haute Dog Howl’oween Parade 2008 but glad that some of my friends and family were there

Hopefully I can make it to the 2009 Halloween Dog Costume parade! Until then I’ll just have to live vicariously through pictures, friends, and family (my mom and sister were there too!).

Did you attend or participate in the parade? Your thoughts?

If you’d like to see more Halloween dog costumes check out some of my favorite costumes at: The 6 Best Dog Costumes On The Internet.

VPI K9K Pet Cancer Awareness Walk

Did you guys read the update on Tink and Pink this week? After reading Johanna’s update on Tink the Dachshund and Pink the pig I got to thinking about poor little Tink and her medical problems. I was hoping that she was going to be okay and that her tumor would not be cancerous.

It’s funny how sometimes when you hear news, good or bad, you often times hear more related stories. In this case as I was thinking about Tink’s health a friend of mine emailed me this upcoming dog event:

VPI K9K Pet Cancer Awareness Walk

Date:
Saturday, November 15, 2008

Time:
10:00 AM

Venue:
Shoreline Village Lighthouse Peninsula
Start at Catalina Landing

Address:
320 Golden Shore
Long Beach, CA 90802-4243

Brief Description:
For the second consecutive year, Veterinary Pet Insurance is leading the charge in raising awareness of the nation’s number one disease-related killer of dogs and cats with a fun-filled 3K (1.8 miles) walk for both people and their pets. This year’s K9K carries participants along a picturesque trail through the Rainbow Harbor boardwalk and Shoreline Village Lighthouse Peninsula area in Downtown Long Beach, California.

Additional Information
Pet owners and their canines will walk in unison to help raise money for the Animal Cancer Foundation (ACF). All registration fees will be donated to this non-profit organization focused on the prevention and treatment of cancer in pets and people

Registrants for the second annual VPI K9K Pet Cancer Awareness Walk receive entry to the K9K, a commemorative T-shirt, a bandana for their pooch, and post-event refreshments.

Fees:
$25 before Nov.1, $30 after

Online Registration Closes:
11/14/08 11:59 AM

Website:
http://www.renegaderaceseries.com

The online registration form is on Active.com at Pet Cancer Awareness Walk.

Pet Cancer Awareness Walk For Linus, Stetson, Or Derby

This is one of those events that any of my dogs can participate in. The question is which one should I bring. By this time Derby will be over 6 months old and should be able to handle a situation like this. However, Stetson is probably the most prepared to be in an environment with many dogs some well trained and probably some that are not so well trained. Finally, there’s Linus who would definitely not enjoy being in the company of so many strange dogs. Linus would probably be best suited to watch the other dogs walking and be allowed to choose how far or close he’d like to be to the action.

Regardless of who I decide to take this is definitely an event I’d like to participate in. How about you? Are you interested in joining us on supporting the Animal Cancer Foundation?

Dog Halloween Safety Tips

Over the past week I started receiving dog Halloween safety tips in my email inbox and through my RSS reader. I did take the time to scan several of the emails and articles and decided that it might be a good idea to share some of these dog Halloween safety tips with all my doggie friends.

A lot of the tips are common sense, but just getting a short refresher list will help you and I be aware of any dangers that might be lurking this Halloween.

Dog Halloween Safety Tips

Here are a few Halloween safety tips for you and your dog:

• Dressing Your Dog In A Halloween Costume - Is Lex dressed up as Pink the Pig for Halloween?  Some dogs and dog owners enjoy dressing up in Dog Halloween costumes.  We put a post of The 6 Best Dog Costumes On The Internet here on Puppy In Training.  Guide Dogs of America encourages us to dress up our dogs. The main reason being that they want us to handle our dogs paws, ears, claws, face…etc. so the dog won’t be shy or timid when their blind owner reaches for them or grooms them. Dressing up your dog is a good way to teach your dog to be tolerant when getting handled in different ways.  That being said I wouldn’t dress my dog if I did not think he was comfortable in his costume.  Linus does not like getting dressed up, so when Halloween rolls around he does not wear a costume.  Be careful with your dog costumes.  Make sure the costume is comfortable fitting.  Also, do not leave your dog unattended when in a Halloween costume…keep a close eye on him and make sure he does not accidentally choke himself or ingest parts of the costume.
• Keep Your Dog Indoors - This may not always be possible, but Halloween brings added noise and activity that can potentially frighten (isn’t that the point of Halloween…not for your dog) your dog.  While this may be fun for kids running around in costumes it’s not so fun for your dog.  If possible try to keep your dog indoors away from those scary ghosts and goblins.
• The Counter Surfing Dogs - I’m sure no one likes their dog counter surfing (taking items from the table top).  This can be especially harmful to a dog during Halloween…chocolate can be quickly gobbled up (especially if you have Labrador Retrievers like me), but it’s quite toxic to your dog.
• Scary Halloween Decorations - While scary Halloween decorations can be fun for you and the family they can potentially be harmful to your dog.  Candles in Jack-O-Lanterns can be knocked over burning your dog.  Glass decorations can be broken or consumed.  I’ve even heard of a dog consuming an entire pumpkin.  When decorating your home be sure to keep your dog in mind and a close eye on his actions when he’s around any Halloween decorations.
• Trick or Treaters - Some dogs can be quite fearful of people in scary costumes.  Others might be just fine.  If you live in a neighborhood with lots of children then you will potentially have lots of trick-or-treaters.  If your dog is like Linus my Aussie mix then he will not enjoy the ringing of the doorbell over and over as well as children in scary costumes.  It also might be a good idea to keep your dog away from the front door with a baby gate.  If you invite guests inside you should introduce them to your dog in a positive manner.  If your dog’s still frightened you might want to keep him in another part of your home to avoid the commotion of Halloween guests.

I hope this list of Dog Halloween Safety Tips helps keep you dogs and puppies safe this Halloween.  If you have any additional tips I’d love to hear about them in the comments section below.

Do you have any additional Dog Halloween Safety Tips?  Anything you’d like to add about this coming Halloween?  By the way if you enjoy seeing dogs in costumes check out the Halloween Dog Costume Parade in Long Beach this coming Sunday, October 26th.

The Latest News On “The Pink Puppy”

Does everyone remember Pink the piglet and his dachshund mother Tink? If you haven’t heard it’s the true story of a little piglet named Pink who is adopted by Tink and her litter of Dachshund puppies. You can find all the details about this amazing true story in Johanna Kerby’s book, The Pink Puppy.

We also documented much of the story right here on the Puppy In Training website including many great pictures of Pink the piglet, Tink the mother Dachshund, and all of Tink’s little Dachshund babies. Here’s a link to all of those stories: Pink And Tink

The Latest News On Pink And Tink

A few people have asked me how Pink and Tink are doing so I went ahead and contacted Johanna to see how the two were doing. She sent me a few pictures and gave me the update on Pink and Tink. Here’s what she had to say:

We are all doing well. The book is selling really well and I have been invited to some schools for author visits and I have had a few book signings, one at our local Borders Store. It has been a lot of fun.

Tink is having a little bit of a medical problem. She has to have a mammary tumor removed and her teeth worked on at the end of this month. I hope the tumor isn’t cancerous. The vet said it was a 50/50 chance. The tumor is very tiny but hard as a rock. She also has to have a hernia repair and get spayed after the first of the year. She is just as sweet as can be and is always happy!

Pink is doing great. We moved him last week to a smaller barn where he can go inside or outside. It was the first time he had ever been allowed to really be a pig. He loved the mud!!! He is usually a very clean guy, but he was covered from head to toe by the end of the day. I loved watching him experience it. He ran and ran. He needs the exercise!!! He is getting very chubby. He is short and wide…about 150lbs now. He should be well over 300lbs and a lot taller. He is very sweet and loves to eat marshmallows. We have trained him to “sit” like a dog for a marshmallow treat. We can get him to do it about half the time.

When we put him outside, we put a litter of piglets in there with him for company. He had never been with another pig before and it was also interesting to watch him interact with them. They are about 75lbs at 2.5 months old. He chased them around and by the end of the day he was like a mother hen with chicks following him around. He is the boss of the pen! They won’t be there for long, but I thought it would be a good experience for him.

I am sending you a few pictures of them and I will get you some more later. Tell your readers thanks for the inquiries and they can email me anytime at tinkandpink [at] msn [dot] com

And here are the latest photos:

Well, all I have to say as that Pink sure has grown since those early days. If you want to see the photos of Pink when he was just a tiny Piglet take a look at look at these: Pink The Piglet. Thanks Johanna for the update on Pink and Tink. Hopefully everything goes okay for Tink and her visit to the vet.

Three Out Of Four Animals Euthanized At Shelter

It’s an amazing statistic, but a common one at many shelters these days. This morning I read an article Las Cruces Sun News today about Animal Shelter Euthanasia Rates Remains High. They mention some alarming statistics including the one stated in the title of this article: “Three out of four of the roughly 1,500 animals taken in per month are killed.” That means that approximately 1,050 out of 1,500 animals are killed each month…that’s SHOCKING!!!

Animal Shelter Euthanasia Rates Remains High

Despite a goal by officials to move toward a no-kill animal shelter, the pet euthanasia rate at the Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley is more than 70 percent.

I won’t pretend to know all the details going on at the Animal Services Center of th Mesilla Valley, but if 6 months ago the shelter director announced a goal of becoming a no-kill animal shelter then 70 percent euthanasia rate makes me believe that at this point the shelter is failing miserably.

The article does mention several possible issues and obstacles keeping the animal shelter from improving their numbers and moving towards the goal of a no-kill policy including:

• Lack of a full-time veterinarian
• The current directors outdated approach to tackling the euthanasia and pet overpopulation problems
• A “throw-away” mentality prevalent among county residents that places little value on pets’ lives and well-being.
• The shelter’s unfriendly atmosphere toward the public

The article brings to light some of the issues going on with one of Las Cruces’s local animal shelters and hopefully at some point in time the Animal Services Center of The Mesilla Valley does achieve its goal of becoming a no-kill shelter. However, at this point it does appear that they might be moving in the wrong direction.

Are You Ready For Pet Adoption?

If you’re interested in pet adoption do not take it lightly. As mentioned in one of the points earlier do not have the “throw away” mentality. You pets life is valuable and requires a long-term commitment.

One of the most important points I’d like to make when adopting a dog is to focus on their training. Your friends and family will enjoy your dog if he understands basic obedience. You and your dog will feel more comfortable on any outings whether it be to the dog park or to a friends home (you will be welcome to more peoples homes if your dog is well-behaved). Also, training your dog is a great bonding experience for you and your dog.

I did a little research in hopes of finding a database of animals from the Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley, but was only able to come up with a link to the City of Las Cruces website with information contact information and hours of service. After a little further research I found their adoptable pet list on the Petfinder.com website. Here’s a link directly to their adoptable list: Animal Service Center of The Mesilla Valley.

The two pictures I included in this article are from the Las Cruces Sun News website. There are several other pictures at the following link: Animal Adoption Pictures.

Top 10 Dog Breeds

Today I was thinking about the top 10 dog breeds and if you do a search in Google you’ll see tens even hundreds of articles about the top 10 dog breeds. The most commons lists you’ll find are hard numbers done by the American Kennel Club (AKC). The AKC produces a list each year wit the top breeds registered to the AKC.

Top 10 Dog Breeds As Voted By The Internet

I wanted my top 10 list to be slightly different than your average list. So, I came up with my own way to calculate the top 10 dog breeds. I’m somewhat of an analytical person and like to use numbers when calculating most of my lists. Here’s what I did to find my top 10 dog breeds list:

1. I went to the AKC website and found this list: http://www.akc.org/reg/dogreg_stats.cfm
2. I took the top 50 and typed the breed into Google search using the following formula: “Breed Name” + Dog. An example of what I would type into Google is “Labrador Retriever” + Dog
3. I used the singular for each dog breed and used quotation marks around the breed name (this does an exact match in Google)
4. After clicking search, Google returns a number in the top right corner indicating the number of web pages returned for your search.
   

   

Disclaimer: Let me just say that this is a very inexact science. The Google search engine is constantly re-indexing pages and the results from my search changed within minutes. Basically this is just a snapshot and if you conducted a similar experiment your results would vary drastically from the results you see here.

Top 10 Dog Breeds

Number	Breed	Google Search	AKC 2007 Ranking	Notes
1	Yorkshire Terrier	5,610,000	2	“Individual dogs will differ, but they are generally intelligent, independent and courageous” - Wikipedia
2	German Shepherd	5,080,000	3	“German Shepherds are highly active dogs, fearless, but not hostile and often are described in breed standards as self-assured and never shy” - Wikipedia
3	Boston Terrier	5,080,000	16	“Boston Terriers have friendly, very strong, lovable, unforgettable personalities” - Wikipedia
4	Shih Tzu	5,070,000	9	“The Shih Tzu is characterized by its long, flowing double coat; sturdy build; intelligence; and a friendly, energetic, lively attitude” - Wikipedia
5	Golden Retriever	4,900,000	4	“The temperament of the Golden Retriever is a hallmark of the breed and is described in the standard as ‘kindly, friendly and confident’” - Wikipedia
6	Cocker Spaniel	4,050,000	17	“Cockers are renowned for their demon like behavior, but they are easily trained and make a good medium-sized family pet.” - Wikipedia
7	Beagle	3,780,000	5	“The Beagle has an even temper and gentle disposition. Described in several breed standards as “merry”, they are amiable and generally neither aggressive nor timid” - Wikipedia
8	Dachshund	2,950,000	7	“Dachshunds are playful, fun dogs, known for their propensity to chase small animals, birds and tennis balls with great determination and ferocity.” - Wikipedia
9	Pomeranian	2,830,000	13	“Pomeranians are typically very friendly, playful and active. They are very intelligent as toy breeds go and are easily housebroken and trained.” - Wikipedia
10	French Bulldog	2,800,000	34	“The French Bulldog is a gentle breed that typically has a happy-go-lucky attitude.” - Wikipedia

Other Notable Breeds

11. Labrador Retriever - #1 on the AKC list for 2007
22. Boxer - #6 on the AKC list for 2007
36. Poodle - #8 on the AKC list for 2007

A couple things that surprised me after creating this list. First, was that the Labrador Retriever did not make the top 10. I might be biased, but this is such a popular breed not just as a pet, but also as a working dog.

The Beagle was another breed I expected to contend for the number 1 position. Beagles have received a lot of attention over the past year with Uno (a beagle) winning the Westminster Dog Show Best In Show. The Beagle did finish seventh on our list, but that is below his 2007 AKC ranking of fifth.

What do you think do you own a dog that’s on this list? Do you think your dog breed should have been in the top 10?

Fun And Excitement At OC Market Place Pet Days

Did you guys visit Pet Days at the OC Market Place this past weekend? I hope some of you were in attendance. I know my mom, dad, and sister made it out there. I even heard my mother purchased a new cat tower that almost reaches her ceiling.

I also made it to the event, but unfortunately Derby had to stay at home. After much deliberation (in my mind) I decided it might not be a great activity for Derby as there would be lots of strange dogs and people that at 5 months of age could be a little overwhelming for a puppy. Anyways, as our Guide Dogs of America group leader told me Derby doesn’t have to do everything you do.

Pet Days

Anyhow, back to the Pet Days event. It was a little smaller than I expected, but had a nice turn out during the time I was there. There were several cool things going on besides the pet adoptions. The main stage was showcasing puppies and dogs who needed homes. I also was lucky enough to catch the Le PAWS Pet Agency do a little obedience and trick work on the stage.

While dogs seemed to be the main attraction they were not the only pets on display. We ran into booths from dog breed specific, to pet product booths, dog sitting and boarding, Parrot rescues, Guinea Pig rescues, and of course cats and kittens were up for adoption as well.

Another popular attraction were the soccer collies. A couple soccer loving collies were willing to take on anybody who could kick the ball on a giant inflatable arena.

Thanks To All The Rescues

I did have a chance to talk to several of the volunteers at the different rescues and I’d just like to say thanks to everyone working so hard to find these animals a home. As one volunteer mentioned to me “Aren’t these people amazing…how much they love these animals and gather to help them find a good home.”

I agree, they are amazing people and I’m so happy they organize events such is this one.

Here are a few pictures of puppies I saw while visiting the different booths:

This little guy was up for adoption at the Cuddly Canines Rescue and I believe it said that he had a Chow Chow mommy. It sure looks like he didn’t get the Chow Chow fur:

A couple more puppies from the Cuddly Canines Rescue. These little guys had a Shepherd mommy and from the looks of these two and their siblings may have have had two different daddy dogs.

Animal Assistance League of Orange County

Another thanks to the Animal Assistance League or Orange County for coordinating the event. As it says on their website:

The Animal Assistance League of Orange County is a non-profit no kill humane society dedicated to aiding lost and homeless pets, helping people with pet related problems, promoting responsible pet-ownership and pet population control, and preventing cruelty to animals through educational programs.

I always enjoy going to these pet related events and hopefully some of you made it to the Pet Days at the OC Market Place as well. My mother made it to the Pet Days on Sunday and told me: “We’re hoping the OC Market Place has a Pet Day at least once a month. It’s such a good way to promote pet adoptions.”

Did you go to the Pet Days at the OC Market Place last weekend? If so, what did you think?

Introducing The New Improved PuppyInTraining.com!

It’s been a long hard battle for me, but I finally gave the Puppy In Training website a much needed face lift. If you’re an RSS subscriber and only receive my articles in your feed reader or by email then take a moment to visit the new improved Puppy In Training website.

Gone is yesterday’s colors, page design, and layouts. Say hello to the new magazine style layout. We no longer have the look and feel of a standard blog, but instead we chose to design the front page in quadrants with different topics covered in each section. We finally got the new logo up that we talked about and showed you a couple months ago at Evolution Of A Puppy In Training Logo. We stuck with the Puppy in Training Magazine name as we wanted this to be kind of an online interactive magazine type of site. Here’s an image and some brief descriptions about the new layout:

:

• The main section in the middle will contain a Featured Article along with tabbed categories that you can quickly click through.
• Below that are two columns containing a Puppy And Dog Training section and a Puppy And Dog Events section.
• In the top right quadrant is our Featured Product. Our current featured product is the SitStayFetch Dog Obedience Training program. We read this e-book from cover to cover during our trip to Alaska. We plan on posting a review of the program in the near future.
• Just below that in the bottom right quadrant are our regular Product Reviews. We have several products at home that we will have reviewed in the coming months.
• There are also two horizontal navigation bars. One at the very top of the page which shows our regular pages (mainly about the site) and a second navigation bar just below the logo that shows our website blog topics (this is where our blog articles will be organized.

There’s still a lot of work to be done, but overall I’m definitely pleased with what we have up right now. You’ll notice that I have thrown in some sponsored advertising here and there on the site. This is in hopes to offset any costs associated with keeping this site up and running.

Well I hope you enjoy the new design and remember if you don’t regularly visit the site then hop on over to check out the new design by clicking this link: Puppy In Training.

Let me know what you think about the new site design. Do you like it? Is there anything I can do to improve the look and feel? Any input is greatly appreciated.

Halloween Dog Costume Parade Coming Soon!

Time to break out your favorite Halloween dog costume. If you’re the creative type, time to design and make your  homemade dog costume from scratch. Yep, it’s that time of year again the leaves are starting to change color (not so much here in Orange County, California), the days are getting shorter, and the evening are getting cooler. It’s that time of year when you and your best pal can dress up like the silliest of doggies or the most serious scary Weredoggie or Frankendoggie.

If you’re not into designing your very own dog costume than you can always run to your local Target or Halloween costume store or do as I often do and order through Amazon.com. Check out this little stinker skunk- Dog Halloween Costume. That would look great on a black dog like Stetson or Linus.

If you’re still having trouble coming up with the perfect dog costume then take inspiration from my post on The 6 Best Costumes On The Internet.

I’ve already started working furiously on Derby’s new dog costume. He’s going to be…well I’m not going to tell you just yet. Let me first finish it up and I’ll put together a post including pictures and all.

For those of you dog lovers out there who love to dress up your pup the Haute Dog Howl’oween Dog Parade is just around the corner.

Haute Dog Howl’oween Dog Parade

What: The 2008 Haute Dog Howl’oween Dog Parade

When: Sunday, October 26th, 2008, 2:30pm

Where: Livingston Park
4900 E. Livingston Drive
Long Beach, CA 90803

Here’s a little information on the event:

The 10-block sidewalk parade takes place on Second St. between Roycroft and Granada avenues and lasts about an hour.

More than 600 dogs last year helped us to raise more than $10,000. More costumed dogs are expected this year!

All events are free to spectate.

ENTRY: $15/advance or $25/day-of per parade dog. $2 for kids’ costume contest.

For more information on the Haute Dog Howl’oween Dog Parade visit their website.

Can You Make It To The Dog Costume Parade?

I plan on joining in the fun and festivities of the Dog costume Halloween parade. However, I have many obstacles to overcome. First, I’m captaining my tennis team that weekend and will not know my schedule until after we complete our morning matches. I also have a hockey game that afternoon at 4pm which I will skip in lieu of the Dog costume parade. Other than that…no excuses and I’ll see you there!

Will Derby Be At The Parade In His Dog Costume?

Unfortunately, I’m not sure if this is an appropriate event for Derby. There are two things that concern me about this event. First of all, there might be too much noise and excitement for Derby. After all he’s only 5 months old (closer to 6 months by then). Second, it may not be a good idea to bring him around so many strange dogs. The goal with Derby is to do my best to make sure he does not have a bad experience. This is something I’ll probably discuss with other people from our Orange County GDA group as I’m sure some of them have attended this event in the past.

I hope to make it to the Haute Dog Howl’oween Dog Parade and I hope to see you and your puppies in their best costume.

Did you attend the Haute Dog Howl’oween Dog Parade last year or in the past? I’d love to hear what you thought about this Halloween dog costume parade.

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