Dog In The Desert ~ Featured Blogger

Today we'd like to introduce you to the peeps & pups behind Dog In The Desert.

I started Dog In The Desert because I wanted to share and connect with other like minded dog owners. As I write in my first post ever I find that dog people can be a little opinionated- and that can make navigating the world of dog ownership a little overwhelming. I wanted a place where I could vent about the world around me, speak my mind, and have healthy discussion.

Copley

We were about to adopt a puppy too, so I knew it would be an exciting year ahead, I just never knew how exciting. I chronicle our adventures in the outdoors, visiting national parks, camping on BLM land and generally running around the American Southwest. The dogs eat home-made raw food, do agility and go to a lot of local dog events so there is never a shortage of things to talk about. My family's unique combination of farmers market going and holistic vet visiting coupled with living in a big city and you know- believing modern medicine actually has some good things to offer- gives me a moderated view that tends to get people on every side of an issue worked up!

Kerrigan

My goal with blogging is to bring everyone together so we can all learn from each other. That may seem like a lofty goal but my dogs are on board with me so what more support do I need?

Nova

When I started blogging I never imagined this would be such an exciting year with the dogs. I adopted Kerrigan, took her through obedience class, got her her CGC and recently she became a therapy dog. Copley was diagnosed with Lyme disease, treated and recovered.

Copley

Thanks to Mr. DogInTheDesert's we fostered two puggles who took forever to be adopted but went to wonderful homes. Then most recently our pack of two became a pack of three. Nova is a long story (you can see it unfolding right now on the blog) but I will say this- she has lived her entire life as a stray, she needs serious rehabilitating, and she is the most wonderful little chihuahua who has fell into place amongst our dogs easier and faster than any dog before her.

In the coming year I look forward to sharing with my readers Nova's rehabilitation journey, Kerrigan's first trip out into the competitive agility ring and our continued travels and adventures in the desert!

Kerrigan

Favorite posts-
Big Bear Lake, CA 
"Watch Out for that Pack of Dangerous Pit Bulls"
What we are Eating Around Here

Just these great pups would be reason enough to visit, but how about the scenery?  Stunning!  Go on over & say hello to Dog In The Desert.

Power Outage Due to Storm

Due to recent storms, internet connection is out. Please be patient as it may be days before service is restored!  Oskar is turning 8 today and his party is postponed : (

Jolly Paw Prints ~ New Blogger Alert

Let's meet the gang from Jolly Paw Prints!

Today I would like to introduce my story to you fellow dog lovers like my big sister, Stephanie. I am a mixed of both the American and English Cocker Spaniels.

You see, I have several names given by different people. I was a very independent puppy; I left my parents at a very young age, and went to live with a total stranger who isn’t even the same species as me, a Human. I was named Wei Wei. I was cared and loved until my first Human had to give me away to some other Human for career reasons. She gave me to my big sister, Stephanie. Now, I am named Cocoa, I was delighted and at the same time home sick. But that was temporary, Steph showed me her love and care through food and play time. I love Steph’s big garden where I could chase squirrels and birds all day.

I love to chill at my fav spot.

And she always feed me the yummy and healthy stuff like carrots, broccoli and potatoes. And I love the weekends, that’s when she would feed me yummy yummy meat…..*slobbering on the floor while blogging*. Oh and she gave a birthday cake that I could eat them all without sharing. A.W.E.S.O.M.E.

Stop by Jolly Paw Prints & say hi!

Fight Like A Frenchie, Benny!

Our friend Benny has the bad cancer.  I should say everybody's friend Benny, because everybody loves him, his sister Lily & him mom.

You can see Oskar's reaction here.

The medical costs are mounting up very quickly.  If you can spare anything, please consider going to his Go Fund Me page & make a donation.

We're sending them all of our love & positive vibes.

Military-Style Boot Camp For Dogs In The UK: Enlist Today!

Could your dog leap 3 ft into the air on command or dig up a buried item and deliver it back to your hand? A fantastic new military training programme has been launched to gauge whether your fluffy friend has got what it takes to be a military working dog and you could enlist today!

The boot camp for dogs by Churchill will put your pooch through their paces but with the chance to show the world what you’re made of, what’s not to love?

The doggy boot camp has been launched to celebrate Churchill’s sponsorship of popular documentary series Animal Heroes, which follows 16 young hopefuls as they battle it out on a grueling ten week course to prove they've got what it takes to become Protection Dog Handlers.

The series, which comes to an end on Tuesday 18 June, highlights the work that goes into training, handling and maintaining the health of Britain’s furry troops who stand alongside the loyal servicemen and women who risk their lives for this country.

Churchill has decided that 15 minutes of fame is not enough and consequently launched a competition offering pooches and their owners the chance to win a stint at a military-style boot camp. Dogs will receive expert training from former RAF Police Dog Handler John Fitzpatrick and owners will gain an insight into the methods used to train animals in the military before putting their skills to the test during a military-style assault course.

All you have to do to enter is choose one of the five exercises shown in the tutorials (walking to heel, the retrieve, the search, the send away and the clear jump). Next, train your pooch with plenty of toys and treats at hand before uploading a video of your best attempt for your chance to win.

The four winners will be decided by a public vote and sent off to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home in Old Windsor in September for their prize.

Competition applications are open from 1 June to 11:59pm on 14 July 2013.

This is a paid advertorial post.

Amazing Proctor & Gamble Experience for New Yorkers Wednesday!

P&G LAUNCHES ITS LARGEST EVER CONSUMER EXPERIENCE WITH STAR-STUDDED, ACTION PACKED DAY OF EVENTS IN NYC 

Vanessa Lachey, Jordana Brewster (Fast & Furious), Laz Alonso (Deception), Hakeem Nicks (NY Giant) & Val Chmerkovskiy (Dancing with the Stars) Will Kick-Off and Host Series of activities throughout the Day

Procter & Gamble (P&G) in partnership with celebrity ambassadors will share the power of its Everyday Effect program by hosting the largest consumer event in its 175-year history, featuring some of its most-loved consumer brands. Pop-up surprises from Harlem to NYU will highlight how P&G helps New Yorkers make everyday life better, including: Scope mouthwash outside coffee shops, Febreze car clips for taxis, free beauty touch ups and male grooming stations, and surprise, special deliveries for new moms at local hospitals!

WHEN: Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Citywide Activities: 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Big Blue Boxes are open to media and consumers all day.

Visit Facebook.com/PGEveryday or PGEveryday.com/EverydayEffect for event day map

Look for the P&G Big Blue Boxes! To serve the daily needs of New Yorkers and demonstrate how P&G products make everyday life better, celebrities and P&G brand ambassadors will canvas the streets of Manhattan to provide consumers with fun, unique and interactive experiences that include:

· P&G Innovation Center at Herald Square (34th St. and 6th Ave.)

CAMPAIGN KICKOFF: 9:45 a.m. with Vanessa Lachey, NY Giant Hakeem Nicks and the Charmin Bears!

Lachey and Nicks will kick off the power of the Everyday Effect, and be available for photos and interviews.

· P&G Beauty Box Hosted by Cover Girl (42nd St. and Broadway)

12:30-2:00 p.m. with Jordana Brewster (Fast and Furious 6) and celebrity stylist, Sunnie Brook

Celebrites will go through the beauty stations (on-site nail, hair and makeup touch ups), and be available for photos and interviews. You will also have the opportunity to experience the beauty stations!

· P&G Man Cave Hosted by Gillette (Washington Square Park South and Wooster St.)

2:00-4:00 p.m. with NY Jet Nick Mangold, Laz Alonso (NBC’s Deception and Avatar)

Mangold and Alonso will refresh and recharge in style in the P&G barber chairs; and be available for photos and interviews.

· P&G Loving Home Hosted by Iams (72nd St. Dog Run and Riverside Park)

2:30-3:30 p.m. with Val Chmerkovskiy (Dancing with the Stars) and his English Bulldog, Sir Sleep

P&G will provide doggy treats - thanks to IAMS So Good! - and cleaning products to Upper West Siders, keeping homes and pets looking and feeling good! Photos and interviews available with Dancing With the Stars professional Val and Sir Sleep!

· P&G Beauty Box Hosted by My Black is Beautiful (125th St. and Lennox Ave.)

3:15-3:30 p.m. photo op with Sanaa Lathan (The Best Man Holiday, The Cleveland Show) and Lifestyle & Style expert Tai Beauchamp. Media are also welcome to experience the various beauty stations.

· P&G Community Roundtable Hosted by My Black is Beautiful (Herald Square, 34th St. and 6th Ave.)

4:45-6:00 p.m. - Sanaa Lathan and lifestyle expert Tai Beauchamp, along with P&G, will host teen girls from local community organizations such as Black Girls Rock and New York Needs You, to a girl talk session. Together, they will discuss societal and cultural issues surrounding black beauty and self-esteem. Sanaa and Tai will be available for photos and interviews.

FACTS:
· More than 40,000 products will be given away throughout the day
· Follow live at: Facebook (facebook.com/pgeveryday), Twitter (#EverydayEffect) andwww.PGEveryday.com/EverydayEffect
· More than 25 P&G brands, including: Duracell, Puffs, Iams, Cover Girl, Charmin, Swiffer, Gillette, Old Spice and Crest, among others.

If you're anywhere close to NY, don't miss it.  I'd be there if I could!

Sweet Purrfections ~ Featured Blogger

Today we're happy to introduce you to Truffle & Brulee from Sweet Purrections.

Truffle, Paula & Brulee

We're Truffle and Brulee from Sweet Purrfections. We live in the deep South in South Carolina. Mom Paula began our blog in July 2011. She's actually been blogging since June 2007 when she first started blogging with Sweet Praline. Sweet Praline went to the bridge in April 2011 from cancer at 15 years of age. Mom Paula knew she wanted Persians again and after a couple of months, she found us.

Beautiful Shading

We're Silver Shaded Persians and we belong to Mom Paula. Our fur is white with "silver tips" and is cottony soft. What you may find interesting is that Silver Shaded Persians are born dark and start turning white as they get older. Silvers have green to blue-green eyes and the full color isn't present until a couple years of age. Females only weigh between 5 to 7 pounds as adults. The cats on the Fancy Feast commercials are Silver Shaded Persians.

Truffle with Bed Head

Truffle was born on June 2, 2011. Her registered name is Crystalpurrs Truffle Blanche. Truffle came to live with Mom Paula in September 2011. Truffle has more silver in her fur and has a black nose. Truffle has big beautiful eyes, but can be a little stinker. She wants to eat anything Mom Paula is eating and is constantly getting into mischief. One of our favorite blog posts about Truffle was a video of her enjoying her pet fountain.

Truffle

She just kept putting her head under the water trying to get to it and did this for several minutes. In fact, this video was featured in the first segment of the Friskies Awards recently. Since Truffle was born in the Charleston, SC area and is very much the regal Southern Belle ladycat, Mom Paula hosted a Debutante Ball for her 1st birthday. We had kitties from all over the world to come to the ball and a great time was had by all.

Brulee

Brulee is a half-sister to Truffle (have the same daddy cat). Brulee was born on August 27, 2011 and came to live with Mom Paula in November 2011. Brulee's registered name is Crystalpurrs Creme Brulee. Brulee has a flatter face and a cute little red nose. She's a little bigger than Truffle, but can be so funny. Mom Paula calls her a little clown. When Mom Paula was deciding on a sister/brother for Truffle, she thought she should find a calmer kitten since Truffle was always into everything. The breeder told Mom Paula that Brulee was quiet and shy.

Pretty Girls

Brulee won over Mom Paula on her visit to the cattery with her cute little flat face. A couple of weeks later, Brulee came out of her shell and became quite the active kitty. We received a video from the breeder showing Brulee taking over a shelf and going crazy. We shared this video at Brulee's Circus Birthday party post. Brulee hasn't been shy since.

We've hosted the Secret Paws activity on the Cat Blogosphere for the past two years. It's a lot of fun to meet new furriends and to see the happiness this little exchange brings to others.

Please stop by Sweet Purrfections & check out these two beautiful girls!

Rascal & Rocco ~ New Blogger Alert

I've been having some trouble logging in to Blogger, but for the moment we're back.

Today we'd like you to meet Rascal & Rocco!

Rascal and Rocco are always getting into strange and hilarious situations! My little family adopted these two crazy cat brothers from a local shelter when they were both three years old. We went in to find a kitten, one kitten, of course, but the kittens all hid under the cages from my two small kids, my hubby, and I; whereas these two, who have no shame, sprawled their fat (they were exceedingly fat!), furry selves across the floor and begged for their bellies to be rubbed. Who ever heard of a cat who wants a belly rub! Let alone from a stranger! Not to mention toddler and preschool aged strangers! Weird? They must be ours.

We have never regretted our decision, however they have been nothing but trouble makers since the day we brought them home! They are mischievous, demanding, clumsy, and sometimes their behavior is downright bewildering! They provided so much material, without even trying, that I simply had to give them their very own blog! What else was I to do with the ever growing collection of funny photos and videos of these two, than to share them with an audience that would appreciate them! Little did I know I was far from the only one! It's been an absolute joy connecting with so many pet lovers across the world who can relate to my exasperation with (and love of) my furry kids!

Stop by Rascal & Rocco and welcome them to the world of blogging!

Belly Rub Please ~ Featured Blogger

Today's featured blog is Belly Rub Please.  Sit back, relax & read all about them!

The Belly Rub Please blog was created to document life with Suki and share the knowledge and experience I’ve gained with other dog lovers in the dogosphere. I became dog mommy to Suki, a very spoiled but sweet 7 yr old lab/beagle mix, a couple years ago. One look at her puppy dog eyes on Petfinder.com, and I was a goner!

It’s definitely true what they say…the right dog picks you. Suki definitely picked me during my visit to her foster family, and she wasn't going to let me forget it. We bonded quickly, and she demanded I throw her ball over and over again. She became my precious fur baby and changed my life. I’m not sure who rescued who! I do know Suki has taken over the house, and I just live in it.

Suki had been abused and abandoned, so she had some baggage. It took time, patience, some failures, and different approaches for her to overcome her fear of everything! To say she was majorly leash reactive is an understatement! I threw myself into researching dog behavior and tips along with enrolling her in a reactive dog class. I learned a lot of valuable lessons working with her and the trainer. I also realized how much I enjoyed learning about dogs, so why not blog about them? PBU’s concept of bringing bloggers together seemed like a perfect fit for us!

The Belly Rub Please blog is intended to be informative and fun at the same time! I want to share my experiences with Suki, but also welcome others to share their views and stories. The blog includes posts on training, health & nutrition, product reviews, general tips, humor, and any other dog-related topic that comes up. Since she has a lot to say and tries to “help” me type the posts, Suki has a special commentary where she dishes about life according to her…and why all dogs should be spoiled.

Suki and I argued a little over our 3 favorite posts (she wanted all of hers), but we finally agreed on these:

Be Your Dog's Protector At The Vet
Life With A Sweet But Oh So Reactive Dog
What? I Was Hungry

Stop by Belly Rub Please & let them know that Oskar & Pam sent you!

We're Still Here! Here's A Hysterical Cat Video!

Oskar & I would like to apologize for the radio silence.  Blogger was not allowing us access to our account all week & for a while I was worried that it might be gone.  Finally we are back on track.

For your patience I would like to reward you with the funniest cat video I have ever seen.


Thanks for hanging in there with us!

Peaceful Dog Blog ~ Featured Blogger

Today we're proud to feature the Peaceful Dog Blog.

I'm Kirsten, and I operate the Peaceful Dog Blog. Thanks to Pam and Oskar for this opportunity to introduce myself and the creatures who inspire me!

I've been fostering dogs with rescue groups and shelters for years, and my involvement in rescue led me to learn about positive dog training as a way to address common dog behavioral problems and save more lives. I started Peaceful Dog when two dogs with unique behavioral challenges came into my life at around the same time, and I learned so much so rapidly about how to train and manage them that I wanted a way to document it all and keep track of it!

The first of those two foster dogs, Fozzie Bear, is an impulsive muscular explosively loving mastiff/pit bull mix who continues to inspire us as a foster failure of incredible intelligence, sensitivity, and absurdity. Lamar Latrell is a 13-year-old foster failure himself, an Anatolian shepherd mix born in New Mexico. My human companion is Florian, not a foster failure but a Swiss guy and professional ballet dancer who performed all over the world before discovering that dogs were his second passion, and making his home in Takoma Park, MD with me.

I still use Peaceful Dog as a place to record my discoveries in the realm of positive dog training, whether with Fozzie and Lamar, with client dogs, with the foster dogs who share my home for days or months at a time, and with the dogs at the shelter where I volunteer. Florian and I are big outdoor buffs and we love to take the dogs hiking, camping, swimming, and kayaking, and you'll see a lot of posts about those adventures too. Most posts stay true to the dog theme, although occasionally I'll stray into other areas dear to my heart like conservation and ecology, insomnia, and Florian's career when he takes off the hiking boots and dons the white tights. I also groom dogs as a hobby, and use Peaceful Dog to record my thrilling discoveries about skin diseases, ear infections, dog breath, and dander.

I hope that some of you will find these topics as deeply engaging as I do and will join me at Peaceful Dog. One of the most wonderful things about blogging is meeting so many other people with delightful dog blogs of their own, and I love learning about my fellow bloggers and building our community.

Here are 4 of their favorite posts:
7 Billions Humans Day: Are You Scared?
Fozzie Leash Walk Success
More Dancing
Adventurous & Illegal

Stop by Peaceful Dog Blog & tell them Pet Blogs United sent you!