Archive for the ‘Info + Tips’ Category

November updates

What happened to this year’s Halloween costumes?
Preston and Nolan were supposed to go out as lion brothers according to Mommy’s plan.
well… It didn’t work out. Nolan had a lot of “opinions” about his costume.

Preston is always a good sport.

The lion outfits didn’t work out but Nolan agreed to be a little black bear and Preston put on his Halloween bandana.

Mommy took both Preston and Nolan out to the Halloween event in town ALL BY HERSELF because it was an afternoon event and daddy had to work. It wasn’t easy to push the stroller and at the same time keep Preston in control on the street full of KIDS (in their Dark Vader outfits, Vampire face paint or hairy monster suits). Preston only managed to make a little “cowboy” cry. šŸ™‚

A few weeks ago, Mommy and Daddy took Nolan on a week-long vacation. Sadly, Preston wasn’t able to go. It always stressed Mommy and Daddy out to have to find Preston a new sitter when they moved to a new place even though they have had good luck in finding great people/boarding facility to take care of Preston in the past. Mommy started her search for a perfect sister way before the vacation. There are some nice dog hotels in Portland but Mommy and Daddy thought Preston would be much happier in a home-setting. Mommy went looking for help on a website she discovered during her search-Rover.com. What a great idea rover.com is! Check it out if you need a sitter for your fur babies or you are interested in being a sitter.
Mommy found Ladan and Andrew on rover.com. They are truly the greatest dog sitters. Preston came home a very happy puggle. What a relief for Mommy and Daddy.

Guess where mommy, daddy and Nolan went for the vacation?


Final hint- the state bird of this State in the U.S. is called Nene.

Have a very safe and wonderful turkey day!

Good Samaritans

Two weeks ago, as Mommy and Preston were leaving the dog park and walking towards their car, Mommy heard a bang. It wasn’t very loud but enough to catch Mommy’s attention. She looked up and saw someone breaking the window of a car parked right next to hers. Mommy was so naive. The first thing that came into her mind was a dog locked inside the car along with the car key in the 85F weather and his/her owner had to break open the window to rescue the dog. Then she saw the guy bending over into the car and coming out with a purse. She suddenly realized what was going on. Preston and Mommy just witnessed a break-in! After getting the purse, the guy jumped into his own car and sped away! But… Mommy got his license plate number!!
Mommy found the owner of the car and helped her report the incident to the police. The poor lady was devastated. She left everything, including her house keys, in the purse because she thought she was “just a few steps away in the dog park…”
Mommy couldn’t believe things like this could happen in a busy parking lot, in broad daylight and in front of her eyes! The whole incident took place in less than 10 seconds!

It turns out car break-ins happen frequently in the dog parks everywhere. Dog parks have become easy targets for the thieves because dog owners are more likely to leave their bags and valuables in the car while staying in the park. The lady in this incident even hid her purse under the seat and still became the victim. Mommy wants to remind everyone to never leave your valuables in the car when you visit dog parks even though you think it is just a short visit and you are close by. It only takes 10 seconds!
Hope the bad guy gets caught with the information Mommy and Preston provided…

Save the cars!

Anyone who lives with a big shedder like Preston can understand Mommy’s headache over dog hair in the cars!
A lot of Preston’s hair was accumulating in the hard-to-reach places in the car. For a long time, Mommy had given up on cleaning the hair out of her “puggle mobile”. But when the “puggle mobile” started to smell like a puggle even when Preston wasn’t on board, Mommy had to do something about the dog hair at the bottom of the car seats!
Mommy is happy to annouce that she has found the best gadgets to deal with this problem!
This Micro Vacuum Attachment Kit is one of the best $10 Mommy has ever spent.
Mommy’s cleaning gadgets-

It took a lot of effort but Mommy’s car is finally clean again!


As to the hair on the fabric upholstery, Mommy found the best way to remove it is with a slightly damp cloth.

Finally, for Mommy’s worst nightmare, Preston’s stinky anal gland accidents! (or sometimes just “mysterious stains”!), Mommy’s secret weapon is Folex Carpet Spot Remover.

Flying…again!

Happy Thanksgiving from Seattle!
Preston flew to Seattle with Mommy and Daddy last Saturday to spend the holidays at Grandpa and Grandma’s house. Yes… Preston was flying again!!
Just like previous flying trips, Mommy and Daddy were very nervous about putting Preston on a plane since he is too big to stay right next to them in the cabin and has to travel in the cargo hold. In the past, Preston has flown with United Airlines and American Airlines. Both of the airlines accept pets as checked baggage, meaning Preston was checked in at the same ticket counter as Mommy and Daddy and picked up at the baggage claim. This time Mommy and Daddy had booked Continental Airlines. They handle their pet customers a little differently. Pets that are too big to fly in-cabin are shipped through their PetsafeĀ® program. Under this program, pets are accepted as cargo, meaning Preston has to check in at the airlines’ “Cargo Center” and be picked up at the Cargo Center at the destination too. Mommy and Daddy did research and prepared this trip as if Preston had never flown eventhough it would be his FOURTH trip flying wtih Mommy and Daddy.
Phew! Preston had a pleasant flight and arrived in Seattle safely! Mommy and Daddy would like to share their latest experience.
Preparation:
-Book ahead: Daddy reserved Preston’s spot on the plane 2 months ahead!
-Check restrictions: Airlines have restrictions on breeds. During the hot weather months, some short-nosed breeds are not accepted for flying in cargo.
-Health certificate: Continental and the USDA require that traveling pets have a Health Certificate issued by a veterinarian dated within 10 days of travel for both the outbound and return trips. Preston is spending a week in Seattle so Mommy got his Health Certificate the day before his travel date.
Flying day:
-Arrive early: Preston arrived at the Cargo Center 2 hours before the scheduled flight.

-Flying in comfort: No toys are allowed in the kennel. It is a 4-hour flight from Houston to Seattle. Mommy had prepared Preston’s Kennel in case there is an unexpected long delay.

With the PetsafeĀ® program, Mommy and Daddy can track Preston’s status online throughout the journey but they didn’t need to get online for this trip.
Look, who is arriving at the terminal and ready to board.

Mommy and Daddy’s seats happened to be on the right side of the airplane so when they landed in Seattle, they were able to catch a glimpse of Preston being unloaded.

Mommy and Daddy didn’t waste a minute picking Preston up at the Cargo Center after they got off the plane. It was a relief to see that Preston made it to Seattle safe and sound.

Preston’s past flying expereince: Flying with a Puggle.

FYI: Prior to this trip, we were uncertain about checking Preston as cargo as opposed to a baggage. We were worried about the additonal time Preston would be separted from us since an earlier check-in time is required for cargo and we wouldn’t be able to pick up Preston as quickly as we did when he traveled with us as a checked baggage. Based on this experience, we are giving Continental’s PetsafeĀ® program thumbs up. We were able to avoid the chaos at the ticket counter espeically during the holiday season and picking Preston up at the Cargo Center is definitely more secure than finding him at the Baggage Claim where anyone could have picked him up. We didn’t have to wait for TSA screening either. That was also a plus. However, we recommend researching beforehand the directions to the Cargo Center as most airport’s Cargo Center is located in a remote area unknown to the general public and maybe hard to find.

Car Safety

Mommy and Daddy would be the first to admit they didn’t used to practice good dog car safety eventhough they knew how important it was. Preston could sit anywhere he wanted in the car and was never buckled up. Shame on Mommy and Daddy!

But that was all in the past. Preston is now always buckled up when riding in the car. Mommy got him a zip-line type of seatbelt that keeps Preston safe but still allows him some freedom in the car.
On Mommy’s car, also known as Puggle Mobile because it is Preston’s primary ride (and full of Preston’s hair), Mommy uses PETCO Zipline Dog Seat Belt. The zipline is hooked onto the rear passenger seatbelt tabs. The adjustable leash that comes with the zipline is attached to Preston’s harness. Preston can still stand on his favorite spot in the car-the center console. Occasionally, Mommy extends the leash so Preston can sleep in the front seat but remains buckled.

On Daddy’s car, Daddy uses KURGO Zipline and hooks it onto the rear passenger overhead handles. He also uses a seat protector that can be zipped up to become a bucket to catch Preston’s shedding hair.

FYI: PETCO zipline and KURGO zipline are virtually identical except for the logo and the color.

The seat cover is made by “Outing Dog”. We like it a lot. It doesn’t have openings for passenger seatbelt use but works well with the zipline seatbelt attached to the overhead handles. There is also a smaller version of this seat cover available that only takes up half of the space. We found ours on Amazon.com. They can also be found on the wholesale website, dhgate.com or dinodirect.com.

Barkitecture Houston 2010

Preston was at Barkitecture Houston on Saturday. It is a yearly event where architects and designers create dog houses to be auctioned off to benefit an animal rescue organization called Pup Squad. The participating dog houses are displayed for the silent auction and anyone can place bids on their favorite dog houses or buy-it-now for $500.
Preston did some house hunting at the event.

Preston liked this house so much Mommy and Daddy almost brought it home.

Apparently, Preston did not find this event mascot funny.

The highlight of the event for Preston!

Mommy found a wonderful dog treat at the event. It is Chef’s Buddiez jerky treats, made with all natural and human grade chicken, duck and sweet potatoes. The treats smell so good they make Mommy’s mouth water. They are created by a real human chef.

Preston also came home with a new stylish leather collar from Dosha Dog.

Thoughtful Presents

Preston recieved some very thoughtful presents from his puggle buddies.
Coco the Puggle sent Preston a welcome-to-Texas package. Included in the package are a Green Sea Turtle stuffie, a doggie placemat and a picture of the adorable Coco.
Green Sea Turtle is known to Preston by its scientific name Chelonia mydas (Isn’t Preston the smartest?) Knowing Chelonia is an endangered speices, Preston is taking good care of his new stuffie.

Coco must have been able to read Mommy’s mind and known she was looking for a new placemat for Preston’s puggle feeder.
It is perfect! Thank you, Coco!

Preston also recieved a surprise package from Poochy the puggle.
An edible greeting card (called Crunch card)! How cute!

A buffalo tripe treat! Poochy knows the best that puggles love stinky treats. Mommy had to put on gloves before touching this treat. That is how “aromatic” it is. You rock, Poochy!

Mommy always admires the cute harnesses Poochy wears (he has quite a collection). Poochy picked one out for Preston too!
“Hey, you think I look cool?”

Moo MiniCardsĀ®

As Preston (Mommy and Daddy also) started making new friends in the new city, Mommy thought having his own Moo Cards would help his new friends remember him better.


Mommy loves Preston’s MiniCards! Daddy has been giving them out at work too (they are probably more popular than his own business cards!). These MiniCards were ordered from Moo.com. They are about 2.75″ x 1.25″ (7cm x2.8cm) and printed on thick paper with smooth satin finish. Mommy is very pleased with the printing quality. You can upload up to 100 different designs for each pack of 100 cards (only $19!!). Mommy tried four designs with website address printed on the reverse side.

Awesome Dog Parks

Thanks to Preston’s cyber friends in Houston, Preston got a long list of pet-friendly places to visit. Mommy and Daddy helped Preston check off three dog parks from his list in his first month here.
1). Congressman Bill Archer Bark Park– 17 acres of off-leash area with open space, walking trails, an agility course and two bone-shaped pools.

Preston visited on the day when a Great Dane meetup was taking place.

2). Millie Bush Bark Park– 15 acres of open and well-manicured space for off-leash fun. There are walking trails, agility equipments and three pools. This dog is only 5 miles from Congressman Bill Archer Bark Park. Can you believe that two such awesome dog parks are so close to each other? Lucky Houston dogs!
In Houston, the small dog areas of the dog park are for dogs 20lb and under (size restriction here is smaller than parks Preston used to visit in CA or MA). When 30 lb Preston visited the small dog area as a guest, he had an entourage following him…

3) Danny Jackson Bark Park– This is a smaller park (by TX standard, of course) with 3 acres of off-leash area and two swimming pools. The best thing about this park is…it is only 1.5 miles from home!
Preston hopes to make lots of new friends here.

The part Mommy likes the most about these bark parks is the doggie shower! Preston can always come home as a clean dog! But he doesn’t seem to be as excited about this amenity as mom is.

What’s in your KongĀ®?


It has become one of Preston’s daily routines to have a treat dispensing toy like KongĀ® when Mommy and Daddy are having their dinner. Preston finishes his dinner first and then brings his Kong over to Mommy to be filled with “goodie of the day”. Mommy is always looking for new yummy (and sticky) Kong fillings. Here are a few of Preston’s favorites. What are yours? Please share!

Beef & Rice: Puree 2 parts of cooked beef + 1 part of rice, add water to achieve the desired consistency.

Banana & Peanut butter: Puree one banana and 1 tablespoon of peanut butter (and some optional honey). Add a small piece of bread to make it stickier.

(a behind-the-scene capture during the photoshoot…)

Salmon & Cream cheese: Puree 1/2 cup of cooked salmon and 2 tablespoons of low/non-fat cream cheese (or cottage cheese).

More great fillings… Just cook and puree!