Shelter Dogs

FIFA Ref Needs A Guide Dog

June 29, 2010 By Colby Leave a Comment

As you all know I receive news through my RSS reader on a daily basis. Basically I just run filters through Google News that finds information about dog training, guide dogs, puppies, etc and sends it straight to my feed reader, called Google Reader. Here’s a short article I wrote about RSS feeds if you want more information.

I know everyone is following the World Cup and some of you may even have bought a World Cup Dog Jersey for your best friend. An article came through my feed reader that really caught my eye. The title was Fifa’s Head Of Refereeing Needs A Guide Dog.

Here’s a little excerpt from the article:

Garcia-Aranda says some of their decisions “are not good.” What about the disallowed goal which could have given the United States a late lead against Slovenia

Lucky for me I’m not a huge fan of soccer (football), but I did hear from many of my co-workers, friends, and on my news feed in Facebook about the egregious calls made against the U.S. team a few days ago.

I just thought this was an interesting article considering the topic of this blog (guide dog puppy training), the current craze of the World Cup sweeping across the globe, and also the timely post we recently added about World Cup Dog Jerseys.

By the way, if you’re interested in World Cup Dog Jerseys there are there are five different countries available: Brazil, England, France, Germany, and the United States.

How About A World Cup Dog Jersey?

June 25, 2010 By Colby 3 Comments

Are you caught up in the excitement of the World Cup? Do you already have your favorite World Cup Jersey while you cheer for your country? I’m a fan of hockey, but every four years I must admit I flip the channel to see what’s going on with the World Cup. On the other hand, I have several crazy friends from Ireland, England, and other countries who are fanatical football fans (for us Americans…soccer). Now if you’re one of those fanatical fans then you might be interested in a new product I recently came across: World Cup Dog Jersey!

World Cup Dog Jersey

Earlier this year we won a contest for a world cup dog jersey. At the time we didn’t think to much of it, but we were a little bummed when we found out they did not make large dog sized jerseys. We ended up ordering the USA small jersey for my dad’s Cairn Terrier. Here’s a picture of him sporting his fancy new jersey:

I’m very impressed with the material and quality of the jersey. The material is very light weight and feels very similar to the material from my Nike Dry Fit Golf shirts. Here are a few more World Cup Dog Jersey details:

Constructed of breathable micro-mesh fabric.
Stretchable neck and waist for comfort.
Vibrant colors. Wont fade.
100% polyester.
This is the same jersey your National team is wearing. Now your four-legged friend can also sport this jersey!

By the way, the United States is not the only country available you can also get a dog jersey in the style of: Brazil, England, France, or Germany.

If you’re a fan of the world cup and a dog lover then I suggest you check out the website. I’m not too sure if they will be able to get your favorite world cup dog jersey delivered by the end of this years world cup, but I’m sure you’ll have something for your dog to be proud of for the next World Cup!

Filed Under: Dog Products, Shelter Dogs Tagged With: Dog Jersey, football dog jerseys, soccer dog jersey, soccer dog jerseys, World Cup, World Cup Dog Jersey

Guide Dog Graduation

May 5, 2010 By Colby Leave a Comment

As I mentioned the other day we attended the Guide Dogs of America Graduation and had the opportunity to see Derby’s (our second guide dog puppy in training) brother Dexter graduate and become a working Guide Dog.

Guide Dog Graduation

I enjoy going to the GDA graduations even though it’s a bit of a hike to get out to the GDA campus. I usually takes a little over and hour from my place in Irvine, but traffic is unpredictable and it’s taken me as long as 2+ hours to get to Sylmar.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have a puppy to take with me, but we did hitch a ride with Pat, Chuck, and Puppy In Training – Winter…as well as Setsu and Puppy In Training – Biwa.

There are always lots of happy tears at graduation and this year was no exception.

Proud Puppy Raisers seeing their puppies all grown up and taking the final step to becoming a working Guide Dog…
Guide dog handlers with their new guide dogs…
Friends and family many of whom helped along the way…

I was emotional and very proud to see another dog from our Orange County group graduate and move on to become a Guide Dog.

Dexter The Guide Dog

It was great to see Dexter again who looked very handsome in his shiny new harness. We were lucky enough to take Dexter on several outings over the past year+ including a tour of Downtown Disney, a Movie, the Rainforest Cafe, and the Harvest Festival in Laguna Beach. I remember Dexter did a great job on all the outings. In fact, Dexter was so relaxed at the movies (I believe it was Public Enemies with Johnny Depp) he fell asleep and started snoring. I had to give him a couple nudges to make sure he wasn’t making too much noise.

Another highlight was riding on the trolley. Dexter curled up right under my feet and had no worries while we sped down the street from the parking lot to the Harvest Festival.

Here are a few pictures I have of Dexter while he was a Puppy In Training.

Dexter at Puppy Training Class

Dexter and I exiting the trolley

Dexter and Dutch getting some rest at the Harvest Festival

Dexter at graduation in his new harness

Congratulations to Dexter on becoming a working guide dog and best of luck to him and his new partner. Also congratulations to Janet and Joe for doing a great job as Dexter’s puppy raisers.

Filed Under: Shelter Dogs Tagged With: Guide Dog Graduation, Guide Dogs, Guide Dogs of America, Puppy In Training

How To Donate Food To Animal Rescues For Free

March 26, 2010 By Colby Leave a Comment

“Today, you have given the value of .6 bowls of food to rescued animals.”

That was the message I just received for clicking on a link on the Animal Rescue Site.

“You have just donated another 10 pieces of free kibble!”

That was the message I received for clicking on a link at the FreeKibbleKat and the FreeKibble websites.

How To Donate Food To Animal Rescues For Free

We’ve written about these sites before, but just this morning I came across an article at the Carolina Mountain Dog website reminding us about the importance of visiting these websites. Each visit to the Animal Rescue Site, FreeKibble, and FreeKibbleKat results in food donations to animal rescues. It’s a simple process:

Click on the the Animal Rescue Site
On the Animal Rescue Site click on the purple box that says: “Click here to give – It’s FREE!”

or you can donate at the FreeKibble or FreeKibbleKat websites.

Click on the FreeKibble or FreeKibbleKat website.
On the FreeKibble or FreeKibbleKat website answer the trivia question in the middle of the page.
Whether you get the answer right or wrong FreeKibble will donate 10 pieces of kibble to an animal rescue.

As I mentioned earlier, a while back we had a complete write up about the FreeKibble.com website. If you have a moment I highly recommend you take a look at the About section on the FreeKibble.com website. It’s a pretty cool story about how the site was started and something we talked about here on Puppy In Training over a year ago.

Did you get a chance to make a free donation today? If not please visit on of these three sites:

Filed Under: Rescue Dogs, Shelter Dogs Tagged With: Animals Rescues, Free Donations, Shelter Animals, Shelter Cats, Shelter Dogs

Puppy In Training Blog Carnival – October

October 28, 2009 By Colby Leave a Comment

Welcome to the October 28, 2009 edition of puppy in training carnival. So this time around I’m trying the Blog Carnival InstaCarnival. Of course with my witty comments about each article and a little bit of editing here and there.

So lets get it on! (too much MMA for me)

Canines

The Pet Chatter presents It’s a toxic world, especially for our pets. posted at Pet Chatter, saying, “Our world is full of dangerous toxins that present a threat to the lives of our canines. Be informed and be safe.” Beware…this is a sad story. Hopefully it helps others be more conscious of the dangerous toxins in our everyday lives.

Dog

Surbhi Bhatia presents Doggie Woes posted at The Viewspaper » The Viewspaper. A good article questioning why so many love there purebred, hybrid puppies, but look down to the mutt on the street corner.

Gary Mullen presents 50 ways to entertain your dog posted at World of Pets Blog. Are you at home bored with your dog? If so, take a look at this list and I’m sure you’ll find something interesting to do.

Puppy

edieness presents Afraid of the Dark posted at Unspecified Mass, saying, “I started this blog and was not sure which way to go with it. Then I got a puppy and she seems to be taking over Unspecified Mass.” Yep it’s always good to blog about your puppy.

That concludes this edition.

Submit your blog article to the next edition of puppy in training carnival using our carnival submission form.

Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

If you’re interested in sharing your blog or a blog article with us then let us know at our Puppy In Training contact form.

Filed Under: Shelter Dogs

Pet Top Portable Drinking Device Review

September 29, 2009 By Colby Leave a Comment

Over the last few weeks we’ve been reviewing dog bowls specifically dog food bowls for fast eating dogs. I had perfect test subjects: Stetson and Derby my two Labrador Retrievers. If you know Labrador Retrievers then you know these guys love to eat. If you’re interested in checking out the bowls we reviewed then go to this page: Dog Bowl Reviews.

As a Guide Dog puppy raiser we are out in public all the time and we need dog food and water bowls for traveling. Well, dog water bowls aren’t always “dog water bowls.” In the case of today’s review our “dog water bowl” is actually just a device used for dispensing water out of an ordinary plastic water bottle. Confused? Well let me enlighten you with this weeks Dog “Product” review…The Pet Top Portable Drinking Device.

Pet Top Portable Drinking Device Review

We first saw the Pet Top Portable Drinking Device at the OC Pet Expo a couple years ago and used it quite a bit with both Stetson and Derby. Here are the specifications on the device:

Product: Pet Top Portable Drinking Device
List Price: $5.99
Product Features:

Designed to supply a neat and clean water supply to your pet when your on the go.
Fits most standard water bottles.
Unique ratchet-action keeps the Pet Top® portable drinking device open at your desired setting while in use, so your pet gets the right amount of water throughout!
Dishwasher safe

Product Description

Our unique patented Pet Top® portable drinking device for pets is designed to provide a neat and convenient water supply for your pet when you’re on the go and can’t be bothered with the mess, hassle and waste of pouring water into a bowl.

Take the Pet Top® portable drinking device with you to the park, in the car, on a walk, or anywhere your pet needs a drink. It’s small enough to fit in a jogging pack, purse or pocket when not in use. And since it fits most standard water bottles, you’ll always have a ready source of water nearby. You can even reuse a water bottle.

Puppy In Training Product Review

Pet Top Portable Drinking Device Video Review

Once again Stetson is our trusty test subject. He was pretty thirsty on this day and did a great job licking away at the Pet Top Portable Drinking Device. Take a look at the video:

What did you guys think of the video? The Pet Top Portable Drinking Device worked as advertised and I can confirm that it does fit on pretty much every water bowl I’ve tried.

My Thoughts on the Pet Top Portable Drinking Device

What are my final thoughts on this product. Well for starters it worked great and is very portable. One of the main features I like about the Portable Drinking Device is the fact that I can grab this little orange cap, a couple water bottles, Stetson, Linus, and I can share the water very easy and conveniently. It’s easy to keep clean and my dogs required very little training to use the device (I just had to wait until they were thirsty).

The one thing I didn’t like about this device and actually a bit of a deal breaker for taking with my Guide dogs was the fact that the water dripped outside Stetson’s mouth. This was really unavoidable even after adjusting the water flow by tightening up the cap. If I’m in doors with one of my guide dog puppies I can’t have water dripping all over the floor or carpet I need something better suited for indoors. Also, another negative about loosening and tightening the cap: if the cap is too tight very little water comes out and it takes forever to quench your dogs thirst. If you loosen the cap then you end up with a bigger mess of water on the floor which is not that big a deal as long as you’re outside.

To sum up:

Pros:

I love how portable the device is. It’s fits easily in your pocket (in my cargo shorts)
It’s great how it fits on most any water bottle
Easy to keep clean and interchange water bottles between people and dogs

Cons:

Water drips on the ground. How much depends on how much you loosen or tighten the cap for water flow
Even when you have the Pet Top on very loose for maximum water flow Stetson sat there for minutes drinking water (I time lapsed the video to speed things up)

It’s great that it fits on any water bottle, but we’re trying to be more green and eco-friendly by avoiding the plastic water bottle – I originally had this as a con, but in reality I’m sure you can find a used water bottle just about anywhere from anyone of your friends which does promote recycling.

Overall we really enjoyed the Pet Top Portable Drinking Device and we would recommend it to people as long as they know that some of the water will drip to the ground. Of course this is not a problem if your just taking your dog to the park, camping, or hiking. However, if you need to give your dog water indoors you might need a device or dog water bowl that does not drip or cause a mess.

Filed Under: Dog Products, Shelter Dogs Tagged With: Dog Bowl, Dog Drinking Device, Dog Water Bowl, Pet Top, Pet Top Portable Drinking Device

Orange County Super Pet Adoption 2009

May 18, 2009 By Colby 2 Comments

The third annual Orange County Super Pet Adoption Event at the Irvine Animal Care Center is just around the corner. We were at the Super Pet Adoption Event last year and plan on checking out the festivities again this year. If you’re interested in adopting a pet then this is a must see event as there are over 40 rescue groups in attendance with approximately 700 homeless dogs, cats, and rabbits. I even saw several pigs, chickens, and goats at last years Pet Adoption.

Here are some more details on this years Super Pet Adoption:

OC Super Pet Adoption 2009

WHAT: Orange County Super Pet Adoption Event
WHEN: Sunday, June 7th 10am – 5pm
WHERE: Irvine Animal Care Center, 6443 Oak Canyon Road, Irvine, CA 92618

More than 40 rescue groups will bring about 700 homeless dogs, cats, and rabbits.

Other activities include:

Food Court
“Ask the Vet” booth
“Ask the Trainer” booth
Silent Auction
Raffle
Low-cost Microchips
Vendors
Special Guest Appearance by Snoopy from Knott’s Berry Farm

This is one of the larger pet adoption events in Orange County. If you enjoyed the Orange County Pet Expo back in April we highly recommend visiting the Irvine Animal Care Center June 7th for the Orange County Super Pet Adoption

Filed Under: Dog Adoptions, Dog Events, Rescue Dogs, Shelter Dogs Tagged With: Cats, Kittens, Pet Adoption, Rabbits, Super Pet Adoption

How You Can Help A 12 Year Old Girl Feed Shelter Animals

December 3, 2008 By Colby Leave a Comment

You can help a 12 year old girl feed shelter animals absolutely free and from the comfort of your own home. All you have to do is visit her website FreeKibble.com and take the 1 question quiz. It take 5 seconds. No annoying forms to fill out…just a single click of the button.

However, you may want to take the time to browse the entire website to learn more about this extraordinary 12 year old girl named Mimi Ausland.

FreeKibble.com

Straight from the FreeKibble.com website:

Freekibble.com’s primary mission is to provide good, healthy food to dogs and cats to those shelters who are working so hard to see that none of them go hungry – they need our help. In addition to providing free kibble to the Humane Society of Central Oregon, we’ve added 10 new shelters to the program (from Oregon to Florida!) and plan to expand the program to many more! Thanks to everyone for supporting freekibble by playing the trivia game – every piece of kibble counts!

FreeKibbleKat.com

You might have been thinking what about all those kitties in the shelters. Don’t worry there’s also a site for the cat lover in you. Visit FreeKibbleKat.com and take the 1 question quiz to donate 10 pieces of cat kibble to the animal shelters. I’m sure my mom will be visiting FreeKibbleKat.com everyday now!

As of this writing the FreeKibbleKat.com website has donated 34,948,870 pieces of kibble for shelter cats and kitties in need of food. Overall between the two sites they have donated 512,889 nutritious meals to hungry cats and dogs.

Great job Mimi on your websites! You are an inspiration to me and many others.

If you’d like to take the Freekibble.com or Freekibblekat.com quiz then click on one or both images below:

There is a new quiz on FreeKibble.com and FreeKibbleKat.com everyday so be sure and visit daily, take the quiz, and make your free donation.

Filed Under: Shelter Dogs Tagged With: Charity, Dontations, FreeKibble.com, FreeKibbleKat.com, Shelter Animals

What is Big Black Dog Syndrome?

November 7, 2008 By Colby 4 Comments

Have you ever heard of big black dog syndrome? Until just recently I never thought twice about the color of my dogs fur then I heard about big black dog syndrome. I was amazed when I heard that big black dogs were euthanized at a much higher rate then other dogs.

What Is Big Black Dog Syndrome?

As mentioned earlier Big Black Dog Syndrome is basically the fact that big black dogs get euthanized at a much higher rate then other dogs.

There are many ideas and theories as to why black dogs don’t get adopted as easily:

They don’t show in kennels as well – features on a black dog can often times not be seen very well when shown in a kennel.
Grey hairs show more easily on their coat making them appear older then they actually are
Superstitions and bad press – stories, poems, movies have often portrayed black dogs as fearsome and evil.
Teeth on a black dog can look whiter and more menacing
Black dogs aren’t photogenic – we even mentioned this one in a post about Stetson: 4 Steps To Avoid In A Puppy Group Photo

Which Labrador Retriever would you choose?

Stetson and his siblings – from left to right Stetson, Stuart, Salem, and Sukie.

Linus the Big Black Dog

Linus is more of a medium sized dog at 55 pounds, but he’s tall and lean and therefore looks a little bigger then he really is.

I wasn’t sure what kind of dog I was going to get when I picked up Linus from the shelter, but the color of his fur was just one minor detail amongst the different criteria I planned on using to choose my next pet. Before choosing Linus I visited several breeders and had my eye on one particular chunky little yellow Labrador Retriever we visited out in Riverside, CA.

However, a few days after putting a deposit down on the little yellow lab I saw pictures of a couple puppies at animal shelter in Carson, CA. The puppies were mixed Australian Shepherds and in the picture one had a the tri-color look (black, tan, and white) and the other was solid black with a small white spot on his chest.

When we saw the two puppies I remember commenting on how beautiful the tri-color puppy was and was instantly taken by her beautiful coat. However, I still was intent on testing personality over looks (isn’t that what we always do when starting a relationship). After putting both puppies through several personality tests I thought both dogs passed with flying colors, but I was leaning towards the solid black puppy versus the tri-color. In the end I ended up taking home the solid black puppy and named him Linus. While I was much more attracted to the tri-color coat I ultimately (and now happily) went with the dog I thought matched my personality best.

I guess Linus wasn’t a big puppy, but I knew he was going to be a medium to large dog. If you plan on getting a dog take a good look at the black dogs as well as the other colored dogs. A black dog can be just as good a pet as a golden, white, tri-color, blue merle, and any other color you can think of.

Have you heard of black dog syndrome? Do you have a black dog and why did you choose him or her?

Filed Under: Dog Adoptions, Pure Bred Dogs, Rescue Dogs, Shelter Dogs Tagged With: Australian Shepherd Mix, Labrador Retriever

FIFA Ref Needs A Guide Dog

How About A World Cup Dog Jersey?

World Cup Dog Jersey

Guide Dog Graduation

Guide Dog Graduation

Dexter The Guide Dog

How To Donate Food To Animal Rescues For Free

How To Donate Food To Animal Rescues For Free

Puppy In Training Blog Carnival – October

Canines

Dog

Puppy

Pet Top Portable Drinking Device Review

Pet Top Portable Drinking Device Review

Puppy In Training Product Review

Orange County Super Pet Adoption 2009

OC Super Pet Adoption 2009

How You Can Help A 12 Year Old Girl Feed Shelter Animals

FreeKibble.com

FreeKibbleKat.com

What is Big Black Dog Syndrome?

What Is Big Black Dog Syndrome?

Linus the Big Black Dog

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