Holiday Shopping Guide

 

 Copley and his nearly 4 year old lupine collar

I know a lot of people post holiday shopping guides, but I have a lot of good ideas this year so I am going to post my list with the hopes it might help others with their shopping too!

Recommended Shopping (Stuff we have and love)-

• Barkbox!  Barkbox is a really great gift for a new dog owner or anyone looking to learn about new products.  I have several reviews on my blog (here, here and here) and have been receiving it for a long time now myself.  Some months are better than others- but every month is worth it.   I always get my money's worth in a box.  For me though the real enjoying thing is discovering new products, there are some treats and toys that we have bough more of and many have become staples in our house.  Also if you use this link you will get $5 off your first box.
• Buddy Belt- as I mentioned above we walk the chihuahuas on Buddy Belts all the time.  They are the best made, most comfortable and hardest to back out of harnesses I have encountered.  They have a non leather version called BB2 out now for the vegan folks among us or others looking to spend a little less.
• Max & Ruffy's treats-  These are great, organic treats and the Mini size is perfect for training treats and for small dogs like mine.  I also like them because if you are someone who shows or does obedience and puts treats in your mouth they are perfect for that.  They are all vegetarian and made with human grade ingredients that smell good and don't taste half bad.  My dogs who don't usually like meat-less treats love these.  I used them as the primary treats for the run of Legally Blonde with Kerrigan.  The only issue I have with their company is that they advocate a vegan diet for dogs and I don't ever believe healthy dogs should be fed a vegan diet.  So just ignore that part of the website- their treats are great.
• Star Wars!  Petco has started carrying a Star Wars collection.  Some of the items are a little overpriced and not the best quality stuff (although the t-shirts are good quality and we have two of them that have been getting a lot of use).  But come on- Star Wars!!  I got Kerri one of the cat toys that is a tie fighter on a stick and she loves crushing the empire in the living room.  I would say they are a must have for any Star Wars loving pet owner.
• Lupine Pet collars and leads-  I LOVE lupine.  They are an American company who manufactures in New Hampshire and their stiff is all guaranteed for life even if chewed.  Copley's everyday collar is the same lupine collar he has been wearing since two months after we got him in 2010.  The chis don't wear Lupine collars but they are walked on Lupine leashes and Kerri has their small step in harness for wearing over clothing.  I have bough other leashes but I don't use ant of them.  99% of the time my dogs leave the house is on Lupine.
• Planet Dog Toys-  These are some of the few dogs toys I have found that are actually manufactured in the USA (the other exceptions would be Kong and Nylabone).  Even with that said- watch out- there are a few Planet dog products (and Kong and Nylabone for that matter) that are made in China. so if that is something you care about read the fine print.  No matter where they are made I like them though.  The Orbee globe that Kerrigan has is one of her favorite toys and she has had it for quite a while.  Our blind foster dog Luke went crazy for their raspberry because it- along with a lot of their other toys- has a natural mint scent added when they make the toy- and it helped him find the toy when he couldn't use his eyes to see it.  This would be first on my list for any blind dogs out there.

I think that is most of the stuff I am loving right now.  Have fun holiday shopping!