The Pet Blog

Woofles and meowz pet bakery

2011-01-08T11:13:00.000-08:00

Today its gonna be a baking day here at Woofles and Meowz with "Bis-Scotties"....get it?!?!? on the roster to make....yes I know...I am too funny! At least the dogs are happy with the results.
Today is timely as we are making two different types. One is a peanutbutter, banana and carob and one is an applesauce, pumpkin, banana and spice.
It is timely because usually after Christmas and this year is no exception dog owners are concerned with any and all chocolate consumption by their dogs.
Almost everyone has the story of how Fido ate a box of black magic chocolates or a dairy box of chocolates off the coffee table while they were out well....

Everybody has heard the old story....chocolate is poisonous to dogs. The fact is THIS IS TRUE! Chocolate contains significant levels of a substance known as Theobromine as well as caffeine (drug class: Methylxanthines) which are extremely toxic to dogs (and cats to a lesser degree). These substances are present in all types of chocolate although the darker the chocolate the more theobromine present. In dogs this substance can cause vomiting, nausea, hyperventilating (accelerated breathing) and accelerated heart rate. In more severe cases it can causes seizures and even death. Even small amounts of chocolate given over a long period of time can have detrimental effects to certain organs (eg, liver). The only way to prevent any harm being caused is to ensure your dog has no chocolate whatsoever unless it is specially formulated for dogs. Although even this can lead to problems such as obesity and tooth decay if fed in too large quanities or if fed too frequently.

Sweets/candy can also pose a threat to your pet. This is not due to the sugar content (although this can cause the usual health problems if fed in unsuitable amounts: obesity, tooth decay, diabetes etc) as most mammals are suitably adapted to process sugar efficiently (dogs and cats DO HAVE A PANCREAS! and it works very well) the main problem is that most of the sweets available today contain various sweetners as well as sugar and, like theobromine in chocolate, these sweetners contain some substances that are fairly toxic to dogs and cats many of which can have a profound effect on the central nervous system leading to symptoms similar (if not more severe) to those of chocolate toxicosis.

The simple answer is DO NOT FEED CATS AND DOGS candy or chocolate.

natural sugars are so much better for both people and pets with people being able convert them better than animals. Carob, bananas, apple pieces and pumpkin are great alternatives to any and all sugary treats you may be tempted to give your pooch.
IF you think the dog or cat has got into some chocolate and it is displaying any of the above symptoms...I would take a quick trip to the vet.
and save the treats for yourself!

Dog days of summer

2010-09-15T12:39:00.001-07:00

Woofles and Meowz has been a super busy place this summer and by the lack of blog entries this confirms it but what has transpired in the past short while has been the opening of The Granville Island Soap Gallery here on Granville Island.
We are of course a pet friendly store there as well as the pet boutique so come on by and say "HEY" as they say in the south.
The soap gallery is dedicated to making and providing from other suppliers only products from Canada and mostly BC with a focus on natural and organic products.....including some wonderful items for doggies and kitties.

This past summer has been great seeing all our regular customers and the lovely problem we had was trying to keep up with the biscuit making for those who know us and our products.
Providing organic and handmade treats is labor intensive but one out of love and from what we see a necessary one for those pooches who can only eat our items.
We are both happy and frustrated by that.
Giving the best nutritional advice we can with regard to our observations and experience has been both tiring and rewarding. I still wonder why oh why people still feel they can feed only a dry dog food to their animal with no vegetables or proper balance and then they wonder why their wee pooch is not doing so well.
My simple advice is always "if you ate what you are feeding your dog how would YOUR digestion and overall health be??"
That usually gets a clear mental image and puts things into perspective.
Several of our doggy friends have been good success stories this past while...yay!!
...ok off to do some ordering..........Halloween is upcoming and as you all know I don't love dressing up dogs in unnecessary clothing items but for an interactive doggy/owner day a cute costume can be fun!
I'll keep you abreast of what transpires!!

Granville Island goes to the dogs.

2010-02-18T16:51:00.000-08:00

Granville Island sees a lot of our furry friends on a normal day but since the Olympics have started there is a lot less traffic ( I think there is a rumour that Granville Island was closed or that there was no parking...both of which are not true) the walking traffic is starting to get pretty busy though and along with that comes all our doggy friends.
In this blog I have to tell you that there is a new hot toy on the market which is marketed by the name of Orka. This product is super tough but also has just enough give to prevent a tooth going through the product easliy. The thing is so tough that I tried to put a nail through it and there was almost like a self healing property to the material. This makes it a really good toy to use as a retrieval item.
As I have said before many times there is no such thing as a "chew toy" but there are toys that are routinely chewed in the course of play. This ORKA toy is one that works well in this regard.....come on by and check it out.
On the CAT TOY front there is big news in a new line that I have got in the store that is super popular and made rerally, really well by a lady on the Sunshine Coast. These products use sheep fleece, replaceable feathers and tisal fibres attached to smooth and safe bike wires. These products ROCK!!!...made by a lady named Linda Buckingham and very well!
We carry the whole lineup so ask for them when you come in.
WOOF and MEOW!

Olympics goes to the Dogs. or vise versa.

2010-01-28T11:21:00.000-08:00

Opening a new store here on Granville Island called THE BUBBLES STORE has taken a bit of time and energy to say the least but it is all finished and in the same interest as Woofles and Meowz we have stocked "Bubbles" with organic and sustainable products of high quality with a focus on local suppliers. While Woofles and Meowz can get a bit.....uhh....fragrant when we bake the treats the Bubbles store always smells great with all the organic essential oils going on and NOT like some other stores where it assaults your senses.
Since the last entrt we have done several interviews with local and far reaching news organizations and I have been remiss in loading them up here on the blog but the following is one from Steffanie in Texas......
cheers and WOOF!!
www.examiner.com/x-35768-Dallas-First-Dog-Examiner~y2010m1d26-Vancouver-and-your-dog

Dog costumes for Halloween.

2009-10-08T17:56:00.000-07:00

Well, folks they are here and FLYING out the door..literally. The dog costumes are so freaking funny and this year we at Woofles and Meowz have a great but quickly diminishing supply of:

The dinosaur
The Skunk
the Witch
The witche's hat with hair attached hanging underneath
The spider
The pig
...of course the HOTDOG outfit...too freakin' funny
The tuxedo outfit
The Lion
The convict...
......all too funny and all sizes being purchased.....come and get'em!

HALLOWEEN COSTUMES FOR DOGS!!!

2009-10-01T14:28:00.000-07:00

YAY!! the Halloween costumes are here for 2009 and we are stoked!

Now, a wee bit of backtracking in that I am not one to dress up dogs in a fluffy manner for everyday type walking around rather I like cold weather equipment used properly to keep dogs dry and warm when needed. Nothing to get in the way of the "smell test" of other dogs in my opinion but here is where I sound like a hippocrate because I really have fun with the dressing up of Fido for a fun night of Halloween.
There are some considerations to factor in with regard to safety and they are pretty important:
NO MASKS on the dogs that are made of plastic and could impede vision or safety....no dangly bits that could be caught up in anything or be swallowed when chewed.
If the dog is panting or distressed by the costume after wearing it for 5-6 minutes then forgo the option and maybe just throw on a fun bandana in a Halloween print...easy-peasy!
For those who have dogs that like the interaction and attention and dig the costume I offer the concept of themed duos.......Imagine Sonny and Cher with your dog in a black wig and moustache....you KNOW that long black wig is just waiting for you...........and ya KNOW you wanna!
Either way have a great time with the festivities!
Here at the Pet store Woofles and Meowz we have about 14 different types of costumes from Dinosaurs to Fellons and from Lions to Cheerleaders........different sizes and styles.
Stop by before October 31st for the best selection...........last year was an absolute blast.
Also check out the article in LOV Magazine theres always cool stuff in there!
Happy Haloweener dog!!
WOOF!

Rain coats for dogs.

2009-10-01T14:17:00.000-07:00

Ok, yesterday or so I was looking out the window and fully expected an ARK to float by! It was not helped by the fact that the overhang of the KIDS MARKET was barely handling the rain pouring off the roof. It was pretty darn wet...a type of weather that we actually rarely get here on the coast.
It was the type of rain that I have experienced in Alberta or Ontario. Here when it rains it is that misty type stuff that unless you are wearing a fur coat it does not actually soak through......fur coat......nice segue huh?!??
Of the many people here in the pet store I would have to say that most were in the market for a good rain jacket for their dog.
We carry a variety of styles and from my searches around the other stores we carry a HUGE selection. Two of my favourites come from one of my favourite suppliers that make the METRO SLICKER (a rip-stop nylon shell with a rubber polymer coating that is both tough and flexible while being pretty stylish to....this one lasts forever and I know as I never, ever washed my dogs Metro slicker in several years and it looked pretty great! The other one is a fabric with Gortex type technology and a fleece lining......super warm and waterproof to cover all the bases for short haired animals or those is other provinces or in the interior.
We seem to be the main supplier for people from Edmonton and Calgary......literally 1000s of warm weather items go there from our store on Granville Island.........and we and the warm, dry dogs thank you for it!!

Woofles and Meowz Pet Bakery and LOV magazine

2009-09-10T17:17:00.000-07:00

Recently we(well, me) here at the store were approached to do some editorial work for Living Out Magazine. (www.lovmag.com)
This magazine was looking for some insight into the Vancouver pet scene from someone on the inside and I try to do them justice in that arena. Check out the September issue entitled "A DOG BY ANY OTHER NAME".
It's a commentary on mixed breed dogs, purebreeds and the benefits of both.
In the next month we will talk about all the FUN of Halloween with your favourite four footed friend....stay tuned!

Granville Island and the oasis that is Woofles and Meowz.

2009-09-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been experiencing severe tennis elbow in my right arm and was wondering what the heck the reason is.
It came to light recently when my sister mentioned that i am making thousands of biscuits, cookies and other treats in our organic fresh baked line here at the store.
What a lovely problem to have!
Added to the roster of biscuits this past month is one that I cannot keep in the store and make fast enough and that is the organic bison and bacon biscuits. Now, I admit that these smell pretty darn yummy when I am baking them so it is no surprise that they are going fast...almost too fast suggests the pain in my arm.
Again. a pretty nice problem to have. I am always looking for new directions and suggestions when it comes to the treats so if anyone has an idea I welcome the input.
Until then I will keep making the 20 or so menu items and wear the wrist and elbow brace...and try to not complain about it too much..
all my problems should be so deliscious!

Cat grass..whats the deal.

2009-09-03T11:53:00.000-07:00

This is something that almost all cat owners ask themselves, and a question which nobody, including vets, have a clear answer to. However, one thing is certain - grazing is something that comes naturally, not just to domestic cats but also to feral and wild cats.
Eating grass isn't for the nutritional value. Grass is pretty indigestible to cats, and low in nourishment anyway. Grass is mainly fibre and the cat's stomach doesn't have the enzyme needed to digest it. However, grass can help a cat's digestive process by inducing regurgitation of undigested matter. For example, feral cats might nibble on grass blades between mouse snacks. From a cat's point of view a dead mouse is a fiddly thing, and it is impossible for the cat to septe fur and bones from the meat. Therefore the cat gulps down the entire mouse. Once the meat has been digested the hair and bones remain in the cat's stomach. Eating grass makes the cat vomit, and this brings the grass back up, now neatly wrapped around undigested mouse parts. This is probably safer for the cat than passing spiky little bones through its intestines, which might get punctured or blocked.
Domestic cats, especially exclusively indoor cats, will seldom have the chance to digest live prey (your ankles don't count). But even these cats still will nibble on grass if it is provided - and it should be. Remember that cats groom themselves extensively, and their tongues are equipped with little hooks which scoop up loose hair. However, the disadvantage of this is that cats end up swallowing a considerable proportion of the hair they lick off their coats. Hair is not digestible and it can bundle up in the stomach to create a furball. Eating grass may aid in removing the furballs through vomiting before they become unmanageable. A furball on the carpet is no-one's favourite sight, but it is infinitely better than a blockage in the intestines which is painful and traumatic for human and cat and often needs surgical intervention to remove.
Those who make a profession of watching wild cats have noted that when prey is killed and ingested, the first bit of the carcass to be eaten is the intestine. The explanation often given for this is that the intestines contain lots of nutrients needed for good health. That may be also partially true for grass. Although mainly an indigestible fibre lacking almost everything the cat needs in its diet, grass does have a lot of moisture, some trace minerals and the vitamins A and D. Grass also contains chlorophyll, which before the discovery of antibiotics, was a remedy for pain, infection, ulcers, skin diseases, and anemia. Cats, like most other animals, are very skilled in controlling their needs for particular nutrients and finding healthy diet supplements, some of which can come from grass.
Finally, cats may nibble on grass blades for the same reason as country yokels do it. It is quite palatable, and they may enjoy the taste.
Some cat owners make the mistake of preventing their cat from eating grass. There are various reasons for this, one being that it makes their cat vomit. Since most cats make sicking up their stomach contents a major dramatic production, it is hard for the distressed human to understand that eating grass is done precisely to achieve this effect. It is actually highly advisable that cats have access to grass. Many florists and pet stores now offer grass in pots or as seeds which you can grow indoors. Outdoor cats will probably choose the garden lawn as their grass snack bar, so make sure that the grass does not have weed killers or other pesticides which might be harmful. Indeed it may be safer to have grass available in the house even if your cats are outdoor cats, so they have a source of healthy grass.
For whatever reason, or combination of reasons, cats like eating grass. If the cat can't get grass she may try your house plants for taste instead. This could be dangerous because some house plants and flowers are toxic to cats, whilst other sources of fibre, including fabric and wiring are also likely to case distress to human and cat alike. At the same time if a cat starts bingeing on grass followed by frequent vomiting, it is definitely time to consult the vet.

The Pet Blog and why it is so great!

2009-08-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

Since learning the ins and outs of dog training back in the 80s and keeping abreast of what is new and exciting in the industry I have noticed alot of changes in the business of both training and selling of retail goods.
The common denominator that I adhere to is good common sense and the truth in sales instruction. So many people have told me over the years that they are told a toy is "indestructable" (there is no such thing)or that one food is better than the other and you "have " to use what they are using for their dog for your dog as well.
I like to keep it open and find out as much as I can about the type of dog, how old and what are the basic living conditions that the dog is experiencing.
This gives me a better understanding of what the dog needs and how I can help.
As mentioned before...I am all in favour of talking someone OUT of buying an item if I think they may be wasting their money or if the benefits are not as promised.
Harnesses are one of those items. It is also helpful though if someone communicates what they need....if I have to drag it out of them or repeat a question because they are not being communicative...then that sometimes happens. I only want to know what is best for my customers so they don't waste their hard earned money. I want them to come back as often as they like........and with the (literally) thousands of repeat customers we get I think that tact is working.
It is interesting to note that some people do not understand the simple asking of a question does not imply someone is doing something wrong with their pet..not at all. Everyone has their own style and technique..........some good and some...well, less than effective.
As most of my readers know I would not purposefully challenge anyone in my store however if someone does start calling names or acts out they are free to leave. Its interesting to note that sometimes people who misconstrue an exchange feel the need to call back and talk at length about something that may have nothing to do with them.
The blog stays.
Its not about you.
Nobody was named.
Threats are recorded.
Take a breath and be nice.
My point on your attitude was confirmed by the call but if it makes you feel any better I am sorry that you thought that simply asking you questions to help you was in any way not to your liking. The other lady in the store thought I was being inquisitive and trying to help someone who was not interested in an exchange....no problem. I understand completely. Bring your dog in for a treat sometime!

The best dog toys on the market at least at Woofles and Meowz.

2009-08-19T17:02:00.000-07:00

A lot of people ask me what is the most popular toy(s) for dogs right now.
I have to respond with of course, "The Scrambler" (damn! I only with I thought of it myself)
Interactive toys like the "chuckits" which are great in that they excercise the dog with your help and one of my favourite is the "Tirebiter" rubber tire. Harder to chew up than a Kong toy (and seriously...what the heck IS the design of the Kongs?!?...it looks like a giant butt plug....uh I mean...I've HEARD it does)..but I digress. The Tire is also great to use as a "Treatball" in that you can put treats....perhaps with one of our handmade, organic treats baked fresh right here at Woofles and Meowz .....shameless self promotion eh?!
The treat or biscuit balls are great to get the pooch to DO something to earn a reward. I am not a big fan of simply piling on the treats willy-nilly or using treats for constant training but I do not mind the dog having to figure out how to get a treat out of a toy and working toward a goal.
The Tirebiter toy is also cool because it is (and this is really important) it is easy to keep clean.
Its a pretty bet the dog will take to it with a bit of peanutbutter smeared on the inside and some of its kibble stuck to it.............mmmmmmm kibble goodness!
Remember..make 'em work for the treats.

Martingale Dog collars and the benefits of good equipment.

2009-08-18T16:50:00.000-07:00

Recently a woman came into the store here at Woofles and Meowz and was browsing our selection of "soft" harnesses.
I asked her what type of dog she had, after a quick info shpiel on the benefits of using that particular type of harness, and why she was wanting a harness.
She said that she was presently using a strap harness on her 3 month old dog and I asked her why she wanted a soft harness...."I dunno" she shrugged with a wry smile.
"Ok what is the concern with the other harness?" I asked her with a knowing smile.
"I dunno..I just don't like it" was her response.
"Do you prefer a harness over a collar?"
"I'm not sure" she gave with a bit of a flip of the head.
*sigh*
".............ok, well, harnesses don't work as well as a collar with walking on a lead" I started
"but it CHOKES!"she blurted.
".............um...............yes.....to a point...........that..............it how................the dog...........learns that you ..........want...........them to mind you" was all I could get out as she scowled at me.
Needless to say the rest of the exchange was less than productive though I did try to explain that I would like her to know that I often talk people out of buying items that I think they would not use or need to use............she would have none of it though as there was a bit of a quietly defensive nature I was dealing with so I just let it go. Sometimes you just have to do this.
Now, at this point I knew it was a lost cause....this type of person was the same type that I used to see in dog class who would refrain from doing ANY kind of behaviour control and WONDER why their dog was so misbehaved.
The blog could go on for several more paragraphs on the proper exchange of intent in teaching dogs but in this blog I would like to focus on one thing that she was sorrowly lacking besides good sense and that is good equipment.
Harnesses while great for some things are NOT great for teaching proper lead control and sitting, staying techniques.
As harnesses distribute weight throughout a larger area the dog is uncertain to what you need he/she to do when a simple,short,twitch is used to correct behaviour.
We are NOT talking about choking or mangling a dog's neck we are talking about getting their attention.
A MARTINGALE collar is a great tool in this regard for a few reasons...one is that it gives a gentle squeeze to the dog when and only when the dog pulls excessively.
Two is that it does the same thing when a a quick jerk of the lead is used and it releases immediately.
Three is that the chained kind rather than the "soft" Martingale gives a clicking feel and noise that indicates after a while not to pull.

********
Martingale Dog collars are also known as Greyhound, Whippet or humane choke collars. The Martingale dog collar was designed for Sighthounds because their necks are larger than their heads and they can often slip out of buckle collars. These collars have gained popularity among other breed owners in the recent past with many trainers now recommending them instead of choke chains or buckle collars.
Martingale Dog Collars are fitted to the exact size of the dog's neck when the collar is pulled closed. Properly fitted, the collar will be comfortably loose when not in use. When the Martingale control loop is pulled, the two slides (hardware on the small control loop of the Martingale Collar) should pull close together but the two slides should never touch otherwise the squeezing is not effective.

THIS is what the woman should have been using on her dog but somewhere, somehow, someone told her that her pooch should not have anything around its neck....that it was a bad idea. She was ans is ill informed and unfortunately will not be able to control her dog as well as she should.
The right tools used in the right manner have always produced results and this is so true with dog equipment as well.
Cheers and WOOF!!!!

Keeping your dog cool with Woofles and Meowz

2009-07-30T15:22:00.000-07:00

Be a Cool Owner: Don’t Let Your Dog Overheat

Working up a good sweat in the hot summer months may be good for you, but it can lead to heat stroke in your dog and kill him in a matter of minutes. Heat stroke is a dangerous condition that takes the lives of many animals every year. Your dog's normal body temperature is 100.5 to 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit. If it rises to 105 or 106 degrees, the dog is at risk for developing heat exhaustion. If the body temperature rises to 107 degrees, your dog has entered the dangerous zone of heat stroke. With heat stroke, irreversible damage and death can occur. Here are some cold summer facts: The temperature in a parked car can reach 160 degrees in a matter of minutes, even with partially opened windows. And any dog exercising on a hot, humid day, even with plenty of water, can become overheated. Overheating often leads to heat stroke. As a pet owner, you should know the dangers of overheating and what to do to prevent it.
You should also know the signs of heat stroke and what to do if your dog exhibits those signs.When humans overheat we are able to sweat in order to cool down. However, your dog cannot sweat as easily; he must rely on panting to cool down. Dogs breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth, directing the air over the mucous membranes of the tongue, throat and trachea to facilitate cooling by evaporation of fluid. Your dog also dissipates heat by dilation of the blood vessels in the surface of the skin in the face, ears and feet. When these mechanisms are overwhelmed, hyperthermia and heat stroke usually develop.Dogs who have a thick coat, heart and lung problems or a short muzzle are at greater risk for heat stroke. Others at risk include
Puppies up to 6 months of age
Large dogs over 7 years of age and small dogs over 14 years
Overweight dogs
Dogs who are overexerted
Ill dogs or those on medication
Brachycephalic dogs (short, wide heads) like pugs, English bulldogs and Boston terriers
Dogs with cardiovascular disease and/or poor circulationWhat To Watch For If your dog is overheating, he will appear sluggish and unresponsive. He may appear disorientated. The gums, tongue and conjunctiva of the eyes may be bright red and he will probably be panting hard. He may even start vomiting. Eventually he will collapse, seizure and may go into a coma.If your dog exhibits any of these signs, treat it as an emergency and call your veterinarian immediately. On the way to your veterinary hospital, you can cool your pet with wet towels, spray with cool water from a hose or by providing ice chips for your dog to chew (providing he is conscious). Veterinary Care Heat related illness is typically diagnosed based on physical exam findings and a recent history that could result in overheating. Your veterinarian may perform various blood tests to assess the extent of vital organ dysfunction caused by overheating. Intensity of treatment depends upon the cause and severity of the heat illness.
Mildly increased temperature (less than 105°F) may only require rest, a fan to increase air circulation, fresh water to drink and careful observation.
Markedly increased temperature (greater than 106°F) must be treated more aggressively. Cooling can be promoted externally by immersion in cool water or internally by administering a cool water enema.
Underlying aggravating conditions, such as upper airway obstructive diseases, heart disease, lung disease and dehydration may be treated with appropriate medications, supplemental oxygen or fluid therapy.Home Care Heat stroke is a life-threatening emergency. Check your dog's temperature rectally if you suspect heat stroke. If it is over 105 degrees F, remove your dog from the heat source immediately and call your veterinarian. Meanwhile, place a cool, wet towel over your dog or place him in a cool bath. Do not use ice because it may cause skin injury. Spraying with water from a garden hose also works well.
always...always carry water with you on super hot days like it is in Vancouver this past few weeks...its important for both you and your dog...

WOOF!!

Green, organic, sustainable dog treats.

2009-07-21T17:28:00.000-07:00

Recently over a dinner party it was discussed about the benefits of being "Green". More than a few people all agreed that it was a necessary direction that we all move towards but I asked "why...what does it mean to you to be green?"
One person suggested that his Prius was the green choice over my Jaguar as it was "less impact on the environment".
I asked "why?"
..."because it obviously takes less gas and throws less carbon emissions into the air" he said smug smile on hs face.
"Ahhhh but"... I countered "Your car in new...had to be made new with batteries that require special handling...plastics that take oil reserves. shipping of the new car...resources lost to manufacturing and a $4500. premium that he will have to drive the car 10+ years to recoup the gasoline savings"......the perplexed look on his face was brilliant! ..while the intent is a great one I continued...I bought MY car with 41,000 kms on it...second hand so there was no need to make a new car......I saved money buying second hand......I dont have to store mercury and lead batteries when It goes to the scrap heap...if ever...the hand built panels can be hammered out if dented and not simply replaced with more plastic and it looks damn hot to boot!
Your choice I said is being "sustainable"..not being "green"....if you wanted to be be green you would have bought a bike or walked.
The point to this story is not to show that one choice is better than another (although admittedly who would not want to drive a Jaguar convertible instead of a Prius...HELLO!?!?) but it is more to the point that we have choices to be more consumer savvy when it comes to how we trade our dollars.
Here at Woofles and Meowz I make great efforts to buy organic ingredients that are local and items that are made in Canada or BC, Plastics that are biodegradeable and choices on how you can purchase items.
Nobody is perfect and nobody should say that anyone MUST live a "green" or sustainable lifestyle but it is important to try if you want to and get the proper information on the products that we take home. Don't just jump on the bandwagon and subscribe to the buzz words and catch phrases of the day and make yourself feel better by not using a bag to put that bottled water into........buy from true organic, local producing places like Woofles and Meowz and for that matter most of the stores here on Granville Island.
..............just sayin'!
WOOF!!!

Interbred dogs.

2009-06-23T17:13:00.001-07:00

Recently and more frequently I have been introduced to bizarre and baffling diseases that animals have that are coming into the store. People have been telling me that their carnivors cannot eat meat..that they are unable to take stairs or run or wear a collar for fear of choking.
With a perplexed mindset I started looking up the major factors to why there is such a problem with animals bred for the "doggy set".
I admit that I had and have my own suspicions with so many years of dog and cat connections but I was enlightened beyond what I expected.
To sum it up in a nutshell.....and without fear of making an overly broad statement I have to come to the conclusion that we have, in the past 100 years, overbred certain "pedigreed" dogs to the point that they have unusual and debilitating physical problems.
Recently it was passed in the UK that breeding standards were to be changed after pressure from the BBC which broadcasts the major dog showing there.
The BBC pulled out of the dog show after it was embroiled in the row over the welfare of pedigree dogs, leaving the event untelevised for the first time in 40 years.
Pedigree Dogs Exposed, a BBC1 documentary last year, claimed some of the Kennel Club's standards were effectively encouraging dog owners to breed ill-health into their pets.

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It revealed that decades of inbreeding has caused epilepsy and cancer among some entrants at the event, described by a leading vet as showcasing "a parade of mutants".
The corporation subsequently suspended coverage of the Crufts dog show in 2009 after The Kennel Club refused to comply with the BBC's demands that 14 'at risk' breeds be excluded from the competition.
Crufts attracted 150,000 visitors last year and an average of three million television viewers each day.
The Kennel Club has now said it will change the standards – the ideal which show dogs must try and match - to ensure that all dogs are "fit for their original function". It will also ban the breeding of close relatives.
There are a number of breed specific amendments, for 78 breeds.
They have been revised so that they will not include anything that could in any way be interpreted as encouraging features that might prevent a dog from breathing, walking and seeing freely.
Under the "strict new rules", the standard for Shar Pei dogs will no longer include exaggerated folds of loose skin across its neck, skull and legs and breeders must stop encouraging "excessive weight" in Labradors.
Owners of Clumber Spaniels will be banned from "exaggerating substance" – the size of a dog's body and muscle – so that they would be fit for their original purpose of working in the field.
Marc Abraham, Kennel Club veterinary advisor, said: "The changes that have been announced today will leave breeders and judges in no doubt about their responsibilities to safeguard the health and welfare of dogs, first and foremost."
The Kennel Club denied suggestions that the new guidelines were bought in as a result of the BBC decision to suspend coverage of Crufts.
The Kennel Club is tied into a contract with the BBC until 2010, meaning it cannot offer the rights to a rival broadcaster. The BBC pays an annual six-figure sum to the Kennel Club for the television rights and could face a legal battle if it decides to suspend payment for the coming year.
Concerns raised by the documentary have already led to the withdrawal of Pedigree, the main sponsor, and the RSPCA. The animal charity welcomed the BBC's decision, describing current breed standards as "morally unjustifiable".
Mark Evans, the RSPCA's Chief veterinary adviser, said watching Crufts was "like seeing a parade of mutants".
He said: "Many characteristics which are considered desirable in pedigree dogs – as defined by the breed standards which the Kennel Club promotes – are actually shocking deformities which affect the welfare and quality of life for hundreds of thousands of dogs.
"There are now recognised to be more than 450 inherited diseases suffered by pedigree dogs and we believe the intentional breeding of deformed dogs and close inbreeding is morally unjustifiable and must stop."
Kennel Club spokesman Caroline Kisko said: "We said in the autumn that a new review standards would be bought out, long before the BBC pulled out of Crufts. As far as we're concerned, we're looking for different broadcasters. We're currently under BBC contract, whether they choose to broadcast for the next year or not."
The revised standards will be used to judge dogs in Crufts 2009.
A BBC spokesman said Crufts would not be shown in March. He added: "We remain open to the idea that Crufts will return to the BBC and this is an interesting development."

Here in Canada we are not too far behind the ill breeding of pets but for a slightly different reason. Traditionally, dogs were bred to do certain tasks and bred into those dogs were physical traits that warranted doing the work asked of it. Here in North America primarily we are seeing physical traits of dogs that are only useful for simple esthetics. Super small dogs called teacup this and teacup that and superfat, long eared breeds that would certainly not be able to attack any task asked of them. The excellent nose on certain hounds are only as good as the short time it takes for the overly fat and loose skinned dog to become too tired to continue. Overheating on dogs unable to breathe through the folds of their nasal cavities simply because someone thought the face should be flatter is beyond comprehension!
Because dogs in the UK have often been bred in pedigreed kennels from Mother to Son and sibling to sibling bad traits are often exaggerated.
Here it seems to be an uneducated eye (read backyard breeder) that "tries" breeding a separate lineage into a family and finds unwanted results and therefor not truly "pedigreed" dogs being sold for serious dollars.
Interestingly enough.......the mixed breeds (NOT the designer dogs..ie:puggle,everything-doodle, etc) are living healthier lives because the right genes are taking up the stand and creating less health related problems.....yay!
Now.......I loves me all kinda dogs....whether mixed breeds or so called pure breeds...I just want to see them live for a loooong time without pain, health problems or chronic digestive issues.
Be careful what you ask for!
WOOF!!!

Woofles and Meowz Pet bakery and boutique.

2009-06-06T17:22:00.000-07:00

Having a super group of regular customers at the store as well as dedicated, returning travellers. (which amazes me that people come back each year to the same store for items for their pets...that ROCKS!!!) I love when people send me photos of their pets.
Christie Cameron recently sent me a pic of her and her dog "Rose" kayaking. There they were floating along cool as could be...what more could you ask for huh?!??
I'll post a pic of them on the right side of the blog.
Thanks for the pic Christie!

Spay and Neuter your pets.

2009-06-06T16:48:00.000-07:00

So there is a customer of Woofles and Meowz that came into the store with his wife and dog several months ago proudly displaying his remarkable new dog. This dog was already 9 months old and he was getting pressure from his wife and friends to get the dog "fixed" as there was some aggressive tendancies being exhibited. After a short conversation where I asked why he was against the procedure he suggested that by neuturing his dog it ..and I quote.."make him less of a man". "You mean..less of a stud dog" I countered. "Yeh, thats what I mean" he said with his wife rolling her eyes in the background.
"Well" I said.."it is fine if you plan on breeding this dog in controlled circumstances, with other pedigreed dogs in the hopes that you can offer the pups for sale after you have created enough space, time, vet prep, innoculations,community connections within that breed standard....."
"oh I guess it can't be that he does the business and comes back home?
At that point I took a hard look at him and said with full backbone up "you know, don't you that a stud dog has amny more needs and requirements than a neutered dog right?....it can be the dog will mark and be territorial towards male dogs and possibly aggressive to people who he feels the need to dominate...that includes your kids and wife right? Not to mention the stress of a dog that will be constantly in a state of need to mate right? The fact that the dog stills has it's "berries" has no connection or suggestion of lack of manhood in it's owner right?!??
He just looked at me.
"Seriously, dude, what is the deal? I went on..."what is YOUR connection to his balls...what makes his ability to breed..to carry on a line by amateur dog fanciers so important to you? Are you a dog show watcher?"
"No."
"Do you or have you ever bred dogs before?"
"NO"....he is starting to get angry now.....his wife is grinning ear to ear.
"See the babe behind you?? she's a total fox dude..and she picked you....yer ALREADY a stud! Get over it!! (sometimes being a redneck gay man lets me get away with murder)
Deal with the aggressive behaviour that your dog is showing and talk to a breeder (I gave him a name) and see what they say to do in regards to timing of the "fix."
I recommend that it is later than some other people say to do so providing you can adequately handle the emotional state for the dog up until then. Too early can also be a problem with regards to health factors.
Fast forward several months:
Here he is with his dog all grins and happy to report that his dog DID get some advanced training and he noticed that all the GOOD traits of the dog were kept and all the bad ones were for the most part culled after the neutering.
"Welllll DUH!!!! I couldn't resist as I fed the dog a big 'ol treat....good on ya!
"Yahhh " he said..."and I'm getting divorced!!
"WHAT?!??!??"
"Just kidding!"
well I was on the floor with laugher! He had let go of silly notions and was happy enough to zing me with a good joke.
Sometimes I love my work.....
The following is an article I read on this subject recently>>>

Bringing home a dog is the easy part. Taking care of and being responsible for the dogs in our care is the part that separates the responsible owners from the irresponsible ones. One of the most frequent topics that arise in alignment with responsible dog ownership is about spaying and neutering our dogs.
What I hope to accomplish in this short article is for you to determine when is the best time to spay or neuter your dog and the ramifications if you do not do this: both for the health of your dog and the responsibility you accepted just by bringing this dog home with you.
I really hope you'll read this all the way through and then understand that I am not against spaying and neutering but rather I'm about being responsible for all aspects of your dog's care. I've recently discovered from a veterinarian friend, that our animals are being spayed and neutered far too young for their long-term health and longevity. If we continue to neuter or spay them before they are fully mature the problems with immune-mediated diseases - due in part also to poor nutrition and overvaccinating – will only grow worse. Hormones are in our bodies and those of our dogs for a reason. Hormones play key roles in the overall health and longevity of the life of our dogs. Therefore it just makes sense that neutering or spaying too young could certainly lead to long-term health problems in our dogs.
What I am not saying here is to forgo the responsibility of spaying and neutering your pet animals. Really I think that breeding should be left up to the responsible, ethical breeders who care about the structure, health, temperament, and so on of the breeds they are breeding. I do not think the average person who has a purebred or mixed breed dog should breed their dogs. I also feel that the responsible thing to do is to neuter or spay our dogs to alleviate the needless euthanasia and waste of animals that end up in shelters. The only thing I am questioning here is when they should be spayed or neutered. I believe dogs need to mature fully before being spayed or neutered to insure their long-term good health. If we neuter a giant breed male dog at six months for example, rather than at eighteen months to two years, we are almost insuring this dog will have structural or joint problems fully manifested by age six or seven thereby effectively shortening the quality and length of the dog's life.

This does fly in the face of what we're being told now by shelters and rescues but again, part of that is propaganda being taught at all levels of animal husbandry. Rather than turn this article into a political statement I'd rather focus on the positive reinforcement of responsible dog ownership. Before bringing a dog home, determine the best possible age for spaying or neutering your dog in advance so you will be prepared to protect your pet prior to being spayed or neutered. For help on this subject go to Dr. John Symes, DVM website at www.dogtorj.net . He can help you to determine the best age for you to neuter or spay your breed of dog. Remember though, it will be up to you to make certain your dog is contained in an area where he or she cannot propagate their species: meaning not being able get out or loose to breed. Once your dog reaches maturity then spaying or neutering would be the right course of action on your part.

http://dogs.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_responsibility_of_dog_ownershi#ixzz0HhIInoNp&C

Top selling dog toys.

2009-06-06T16:25:00.000-07:00

At Woofles and Meowz we don't have alot of room to carry stuff that does not move. As one of Vancouver's first pet Boutiques and the first bakery for dogs in town we utilyze a wonderful old CP Rail caboose. This makes for space being a premium to say the least and it gives me a huge incentive to only have the best of the best and the most popular items I can find to maximize the merchandising options. If something does not move in this store, it is out!
One of the most often asked questions is "what is the most popular toys that you sell?"
I usually follow up with "what kind of dog do you have and what age is it presently?"
This makes, obviously, a big difference in what is "popular".
For big dog breeds the MOST popular toy we carry is "The Scrambler" an egg shaped toy mentioned in an earlier blog.
For medium sized dogs that are quite active and love to retrieve we have a super cool slingshot from "Hyperdog" in two sizes that will throw a ball 150-220 feet depending on the size....GREAT for those hyper dogs who love to chase.
For the active player/chewer we carry the firehose toys and one of my favourites called "Egg babies"..a cute and yet slightly macabre toy that has a plush toy with an opening that the dog can dig out squeeking eggs.....cute and saves the toy from being shredded..at least that is the theory. Remember. <<>>
and we proudly display that sign in the store

Cat harnesses and clothes....why bother?!?

2009-05-28T17:20:00.000-07:00

At Woofles and Meowz we spend alot of time chatting with other trainers, handlers and owners of dogs but the only interaction I have with Cat owners is to listen to what they like in the way of treats, equipment and toys so I can order for my store. In fact all the stock in my store for Cats is requested by my regulars who have 100% say in what I bring in. It makes my job a wee bit easier.
The oft asked question I get on one piece of equipment for cats is.."will my cat wear this?"
I always respond half jokingly........"what do YOU think?"
This usually gets the answer most people were looking for as the REAL question in the query is "will my cat take off my skin if I try to cram him into this $60.00 sweater and can you tell me that he will wear it having never seen my cat so to support my intent to torment my feline into wearing something even for the 5 minutes it will take to get the picture"
.....pretty much the truth in that.
"what do YOU think" always settles the matter.
This also goes for people who want to put Fluffy in a harness and go for a walk. Some will find it ok and most will not. The trick for harnesses is to put them on when they are kittens. It always seems far too foreign for older cats.
Bless all the little kitties in their own furry sweaters.
meowwwrrrrwwrwrw!

Dog life jackets.

2009-05-28T16:56:00.000-07:00

Last year I was told a GREAT story from a family that was purchasing a life jacket for their dog.
The dog being a pug was in sorry shape for cutting through the water being the dense body type it was.....and no don't send me emails saying "all dogs can swim and pugs are great swimmers". I know all dogs CAN swim but some are better at it than others and some are actually really poor swimmers in the water.....pugs, boston terriers, boxers....bulldogs are bricks in the water!!
So, the story goes that a gentleman and his dog head off from Horseshoe Bay here near Vancouver to their home on Bowen Island in their sailboat. This was a crossing that the well seasoned boater had made several times with his dog and was well known by the locals both on Bowen and at Horseshoe bay. He was and is a good boater and a sensible one who with some foresight put a lifejacket on his Labradore Retriever (GREAT swimmers). Heading west to Bowen the boat listed enough that with a silent splash unloaded a probably relaxed dog from the deck into the water. The boat carried on and one can only assume that the boater was either below for a moment or looking the other way. The dog finding itself closer to the dock at Horseshoe Bay headed that way.
As the boat came into harbour the baiter received a call on his cell "hey did you lose anything?"
"Ummmm no...did I leave the fenders down?" A typical jab at boaters from other salty dogs is the fender jab.....never leave the floats flopping along in the water while sailing...very lazy and tacky.
"Yeah, nooo yer dog just swam, barely back up to the deck here and is having a snack" said the caller. "We watched him swim from far off in the distance thinking it was a seal and saw him exhaustedly just float the last quarter mile in"
Needless to say the owner of the dog was surprised and embarrassed but happy that the dog was indeed safe and only due to the bouyancy of the floatation device did the dog survive.
Yes, dogs are great swimmers but like any animal not born to the water heat loss, exhaustion and disorientation are all factors in an easy trip to the bottom. This Lab had all but stopped moving and the wash from the ferry had pushed it the last bit towards the shore while the lifejacket kept its head above the water line.
The best part of the story is, of course, the dog lived and indeed I had sold the lifejacket to the dog's owner not 3 weeks before the event. I knew who they were talking about and let them spill the story. Admittedly each time I hear it the tale gets a bit more heroic but in the end the equipment worked!
Super WOOF!!!

Dog Bakery ...is it necessary??

2009-05-28T16:44:00.000-07:00

At Woofles and Meowz we are hard pressed to keep up with the manufacturing. It is the best problem to have trying to do all the baking that our four footed friends seem to desire and need.
Some people might ask..."NEED"?!?? The truth is a little more complicated than a smple yes or no. Does a dog NEED an organic, hand made treat with ingredients that most average people do not ingest? The simple answer is sometimes.
Sometimes the animal has developed internal problems that require dietary restrictions of certain ingredients.
Sometimes having a place that actually makes the recipes IN HOUSE lets people know what is in the treats.
Most times department store or grocery store brands are full of fillers (acceptable or not) whereas ours are not.
Sometimes people just want to be sure that what they are giving their pet will not make them barf at 3 in the morning.
Sometimes a well made treat with probiotics and/or good ingredients can add a healing component to the dog's diet.
Sometimes people just want a pretty, cute, well made, tasty looking, good for the pooch treat.
Most times it is really hard to find that elsewhere.

Organic cheeses, Lamb, chicken, vegetables etc are really NOT that more expensive to buy so I do and am happy to use them in our recipes.
Good stuff passed on to you and your dog and/or Cat in the case of our Signature Sardines (TM) and Shaved Smokin Tuna (TM).............mmmmmmm YUMMY!!!

woof!

Pet safety..keeping your dog and cat safe.

2009-05-28T16:20:00.000-07:00

We have all heard the stories of the dog that was left in a car without adequate ventelation or the cat locked in the metal shed in the intense heat and the prevention of such scenes seems pretty easy to implement. Even easier than that is the simple remembering of water.
Last weekend we were riding on a warm, sunny day out at the Iona spit near the airport here in Vancouver and we came across a gentleman with his dog that looked like a cross between a Corgi and a small Shepherd. Lots of fur and short legs on the trip out to the end of the spit (which is 4 kilometers long) saw to it that the dog was pooped and panting to the point of alarm...and there was still the 4 kilometers back. The distance did not seem to daunting for the owner or us who were lucky to have bikes but the dog was seriously in need of some relief. Lucky for me I have a thoughtful partner who after asking if it was ok gave the dog a drink from his water bottle (so thinking this man IS, I have to say)
It seemed like a simple thing but the truth is that all animals need some water on a hot day. We carry at Woofles and Meowz a great selection of water bottles that make it super easy for Fido to have a wee drink when in need............simple right?!??

Green pet toys and treats at Woofles and Meowz.

2009-04-16T17:28:00.001-07:00

Lately I have been asked the question "is this product made locally?" or "is this organic?".
I have seen, heard and felt the change in the market with regard to people wanting sustainable products.
Being a manufacturer of products as well as an owner of a pet boutique I have made it my special interest to buy from local producers, small companies that use organic ingredients, buy organic ingredients to make our famous treats and employ local producers as best as possible.
Right now Woofles and Meows is a store that carries at least 50% locally or Canadian content...which.........is REALLY hard to do let me tell you.
Now, do not get me wrong. I am no tree hugging fanatic bent on wearing rough woven clothes and never touching anything plastic.....I just believe that we can do as much as we can faced with the choice to do so if it is available. That is the tipping point for me.....if I have the choice between a regular bag or a biodegradeable one even if it is twice the cost (for now) I will go for the "green" option. I think my customers really appreciate that fact.
I KNOW that the organic nature of our biscuits is very much a selling point for many folks here so it makes sense that other avenues are safe to follow.
I have been diligent though in fact finding in what is actually green. Everybody is jumping on the bandwagon to get that dollar out of your pocket and into their till and being "ECO friendly" seems to be the way to go and makes for brilliant marketing. This is unfortunatley where people simply see that something is sustainable and go with the flow without finding the 5Ws of it.
My recent experiences go like this:
Yes that recycled paper from London Drugs is good...but it comes from Brazil so it took resources and oil to get it all the way here....so not good in the long run.
That pretty Japanese pastry is organic but it is wrapped in a plastic container with a plastic label then put into a paper then a bag......soooo not good in the long run.
My oven cleaner is supposedly CFC free! and that should make us want and need it right? well CFC were banned decades ago and so it is a moot point...though we all feel better regardless huh!
Lets not get all crazy on ourselves and jump on the martyr train but I am gonna do MY part by reducing packaging when I can here in the store and buy locally as much as possible and make good things with good ingredients.
There is also a great website you can check out .. www.ethiquette.ca They seem to have some good info...and thats a start right?!??
cheers,
MEOW!!!!

Spaying and neutering your animals.

2009-04-16T17:07:00.000-07:00

Recently I was reading in the "Bark" magazine that the BCSPCA puts out and it was explaining some reasons and facts on animal reproduction.
I particularly like the simple math equation that says :
At two litters a year and six kittens per litter an unspayed cat can produce in seven years....wait for it......420,000 cats!!!
I am all for taking care of your animals and if still undecided there are a few question and answers that the American humane society was very happy to answer:

WHAT IS IT??
Spaying is a general term used to describe the ovariohysterectomy of a female animal. Neutering is a general term used to describe the castration of a male animal. However, neutering is used in reference to both genders. The surgical procedure, performed by a veterinarian, renders the animal incapable of reproducing. Here are answers to some questions you may have about this beneficial procedure.
When can I have this procedure done?
Both procedures can be performed as early as six weeks of age. American Humane is a strong proponet of "early" neutering since this guarantees that the animals will not be able to breed and populate within a community.
Why should I have my pet neutered?
Animal shelters, both public and private, unfortunately are faced with an incredible burden: What to do with the overpopulation of dogs and cats that they cannot find homes for. Estimates across the country indicate that over 10 million animals will be humanely euthanized at shelters each year, due to the sheer fact that there are not enough homes. Having your pet neutered ensures that you will not be adding to this tremendous burden.
What are some of the health benefits?
Through neutering, you can help your dog and cat live a happier, healthier, and longer life. Spaying eliminates the constant crying and nervous pacing that is a sign that a cat is in heat. Castration stops the mating drive in males, reducing the urge to roam, which in turn, reduces the risk of fights, injury, poisoning, accidents, and contracting diseases. If you have more than one pet in your household, all the pets will get along better if they are neutered.
A long-term benefit of neutering is improved health. Early neutering nearly eliminates breast cancer, and totally prevents uterine infections and uterine and testicular cancer.
Isn't it true that you only need to "fix" female dogs or cats?
Absolutely not! A male animal can father thousands of offspring in his lifetime. Roaming tomcats fighting other cats are a neighborhood nuisance and are prone to develop infections and abscesses from their fighting. An intact male may also develop the bad habit of marking its territory by urine marking.
Neutering just costs too much!
The cost of caring for a pet, including providing veterinary care, should be considered before acquiring an animal. If you would like to provide a good home for a pet, but cannot pay for the neuter, call your local animal shelter. They will be happy to provide information on low-cost neutering. The costs of having a litter are often more than the cost of neutering. There could be complications requiring hospitalization or surgery. You will be faced with finding homes or keeping the offspring yourself or placing more animals into your local shelter. The cost of the well-being of not just your companion animal but of future generations should be considered.
Can't I allow my purebred dog to have just one litter?
Mixed breed or purebred -- there just aren't enough homes. Animal shelters receive purebred animals everyday. Responsible purebred breeders have homes for their dogs before they are born.
I don't even own a pet! Why is this my problem?
All of us are affected by animal overpopulation. Millions of tax dollars are spent annually to round up lost, abandoned, and unwanted pets. Much of that money is spent to destroy these animals when homes cannot be found. Health is threatened by the danger of transmittable diseases, including rabies, animal bites, and attacks. Property may be damaged and livestock killed when pets roam in search of food. Animal waste, proving a serious environment hazard, foul yards and parks. It is only when all of us assume the responsibility for pet overpopulation that we will see any decrease in the problem.
Isn't it wrong to deprive an animal of the natural right to reproduce?
No, it's wrong to allow these animals to reproduce millions of unwanted offspring that are eventually killed because there aren't enough responsible homes.
If I find homes for my pets' litters then I won't contribute to the problem, right?
Wrong. Only a certain number of people want pets. So every home you find for your pet's offspring takes away a home from a loving animal already at a shelter.
Shouldn't every female pet have at least one litter before being spayed?
No. In fact, your pet will be healthier if she never sexually matures. Her personality will not improve either. She is just as likely to become less social and more aggressive after having a litter, as she is to become calmer and gentler.
Shouldn't children experience the miracle of birth?
No. A more important lesson to teach your child would be responsible pet ownership and concern for life by explaining why their pet should not have babies.
Doesn't neutering alter an animal's personality?
No. Personality changes that may result from neutering are for the better. Not being distracted by the instinctual need to find a mate helps your pet stop roaming and become calmer; though not less protective of their territory.
Won't animal shelters take care of the surplus animals?
No. Shelters do their best to place animals in loving homes, but the number of homeless animals far exceeds the number of available homes. This leaves many loving and healthy animals in our community that must be euthanized as the only humane solution to this tragic dilemma. Only spaying and neutering can end the overpopulation problem.

I think there are probably many more questions but if in need please feel free to contact your local SPCA.

WOOF!!!!

Woofles and Meowz getting some print time!

2009-04-12T10:47:00.000-07:00

Recently the fine folks over at the Province Newspaper did an article in the "money" section that covers small businesses. As most of my friends and customers were asking about it I thought I would show a link to it below.

http://www.theprovince.com/Life/Bakery+truly+project/1268606/story.html

Since this small article came out I have noticed a huge boost in our already large sales of organic treats and I got some very valuable feedback to what people are looking for in fresh made items.
One of the things that I was reluctant to make was Birthday cakes for dogs as the ingredients used were usually either second rate or simply ones that people could do up in their own kitchen(like the popular use of mashed potato for icing) for much less money that is being charged at other locals.
Now, I understand the benefit of time saved being money saved as well so I have decided to add to our line-up of hand made organic treats...a "BIG BONE BIRTHDAY COOKIE".
This is an item that we will be able to personalize with a half hours notice (we prefer a call the day b4) to say Happy Birthday Fido or something like this.
The cool thing about this item is the lack of mess and the ability to dole out only parts of it as needed and it will be much better priced.
Fresh, storeable, great ingredients, organic, and totally yummy!
One more item for the part of us that is the Woofles and Meowz dog bakery now I just have to figure out how to make a delish sardine roll for the cats!

http://www.theprovince.com/Life/Bakery+truly+project/1268606/story.html

Easter Eggs on Granville Island.

2009-04-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

Woofles and Meowz is simply the coolest train caboose converted into one of Vancouver's first Pet bakery. Things have changed in the past few years as it was first opened as a Pet Deli that sold raw food for dogs and cats waaaaay ahead of the trend. Later it stocked toys and treats baked right here in the caboose and since I have bought it I have packed it with equipment, toys, treats, gifts and products for both cats and dogs. I love that we sell items for both cats and dogs as I sometimes think with all the purse doggies purchased in the past few years that retailers have forsaken our feline friends....not so here!
This morning another animal was busy at Granville Island and especially around the Kids Only Market and that was the EASTER BUNNY!!
As I left the parking garage to head to work I noticed a whole slew of easter eggs all over the island tucked into nooks and crooks. It was the most charming sight and one sorely needed on this very rainy day!
I could not help but open up one of these colorful toys so see that there was a wee sticker and a cute saying inside.
Whomever did the work for this project I have to say a BIG THANK YOU!!!! It was the sweetest thing and watching the young'ins laughing up a storm while searching for them was wonderful!

Happy Easter everybody from Woofles and Meowz.

Cat toys supreme.

2009-04-07T18:16:00.001-07:00

Some people like to give great feedback about what and how their cat will play with and won't touch when it comes to toys. We here at Woofles and Meowz absolutely LOVE this feedback as we order all our Cat toys and treats based on this feedback and what is asked of us by these fine folks. All I can say is that when it comes to cats...there is one constant and that there IS NO constant. Everybody seems to have a different case when it comes to their furry friends. Soooo we will keep ordering what people like and hope we get the best!

Dog bakery..Pet bakery....its all good!

2009-04-07T18:11:00.000-07:00

Theres NEW things baking at Woofles and Meowz here on Granville Island. Now that we are the closest bakery for the Kitsilano crowd we have decided to expand our already great organic baked goods line to include...Birthday Bones that say "Happy Barkday" and given enough time...usually an hour or so...we can put the doggy's name on it as well. As we use only organic ingredients we like to use a yogurt and cacao mixture to write with instead of the potato mixture some others are using.
mmmmmmmmmmmmm Dog bakery at its finest!

The hottest dog toy on the market!!!!

2009-04-01T17:03:00.000-07:00

At Woofles and Meowz I get an offer on a new item that is "guaranteed" to be a good seller at least once a week. I usually try to be open to the possibilites of certain items and I have been surprised a couple of times on things that go against my first impressions either way, good or bad, but.....not very often.
That is, until I came across the "Scrambler"....a toy that resembles what the old "Leggs" pantyhose containers looked like but more substantial...much more substantial.
"This toy is gonna be a hit" said the rep...."a sure fire seller!"
...yyyyeeeeehhhhhh suuuurrreeeee....I thought to myself. What is the attraction of these plastic eggs?...What gives?
Being not all knowing contrary to popular belief I like to keep the options open to the possibilites so I took a few of the Scramblers both small and large.
I think they lasted in the store about 14 minutes. I am not kidding!
Whether it was the bright colours or the shape I am not sure but I was ordering more the next day and continue to do so every two to three days. Damn!!! why did I not think of this thing!
I decided to take the large size to the Nelson street dog park in the westend of Vancouver to see what was the workability of this toy and I was met with a friend whos dog instantly started herding the egg shaped toy around and as it moved erratically it attracted at least 6 other dogs. This of course was not without its perils at a full dog park but because the gist of the toy being that it cannot be held or bitten there was no one dog dominating the item or any other dog for that matter.
"Hey..where didya get that thing...its great" was the first comment.
"Oh I think there is some at the caboose on Granville Island...Woofles and Meowz I think they are called" said I casually.
"Yeah my dog rips apart everything...that looks perfect" second offering.
"I can at least see that in the snow"...third comment.
"They really seem to like that thing" fourth said.......and the list went on.
I will go on record and say I was wrong in my skepticism on this product and of course it makes sense! Where was my foresightedness...why did I not see that a toy that cannot be bitten also cannot be destroyed???
Of course...there is NO SUCH THING AS AN INDESTRUCTIBLE TOY...but damn..this thing is the closest thing I have ever come across.
I am a fan to say the least and several hundred units later so are many of my customer's dogs.

Dog and cat treat safety.

2009-02-24T17:44:00.000-08:00

One of the things we take very seriously here in Vancouver is our health...at least for the most part we are not using bacon fat for buttering the toast as was the habit of certain relatives of mine while growing up on the prairies. (try it sometime though..mmmmmm baconnnnnn ughgughguhgughgu....)
Our healthy eating habits usually extends to our pets which is why our organic treats are so popular for both Dogs and Cats.
We do go a wee bit overboard sometimes when I am sourcing organic lamb meat from Granville Island for some biscuits or wild salmon from the local docks. I know.....crazy but in a good way I hope.
Lately I have been asked two big questions with regard to our treats and that is..."what is Melamine" and "is the peanut butter safe".
Firstly lets look at what Melamine is:
Melamine is an organic compound that is often combined with formaldehyde to produce melamine resin, a synthetic polymer which is fire resistant and heat tolerant. Melamine resin is a very versatile material with a highly stable structure. Uses for melamine include whiteboards, floor tiles, kitchenware, fire retardant fabrics, and commercial filters. Melamine can be easily molded while warm, but will set into a fixed form. This property makes it ideally suited to certain industrial applications.
Melamine resin is manufactured by mixing urea with formaldehyde under heat and pressure. The substances begin to polymerize and are forced into a mold which will create the desired shape. Under pressure, melamine releases water, which could make the plastic unstable if it is not removed. The materials finish polymerizing and create a finished product, melamine resin.
Melamine resin is known as a thermoset plastic, because the plastic is fixed after molding. If exposed to enough heat, melamine will melt. For this reason, melamine dishware should not be exposed to high temperatures like those in the oven and microwave. However, the plastic is able to withstand higher temperatures than other plastics. Because it is a thermoset plastic, melamine resin is difficult to recycle.
Melamine can be made into a foam product. Melamine foam has a distinctive structure composed of stacked bubble shapes, which are extremely hard and therefore can easily clean a wide variety of substances. Melamine foam is marketed under a variety of commercial names including Magic Eraser, a cleaning tool well known for removing scuffs and dirt from a wide range of surfaces.
Melamine resin is used in Formica and similar construction products made from composite materials. Formica is made using melamine resin, which is used to coat the fibers in the upper layer of the construction product. The melamine resin makes the end result heat resistant, so that hot objects can be set on the counter without concern. The surface of the material is designed to be easily wiped and cleaned, creating a long lived household product.
Melamine also plays a role in a wide range of flame resistant materials. These include textiles used in upholstery and the uniforms worn by firemen. Thermal liners, heat resistant gloves, and aprons to protect from splashback of hot substances are made using melamine. Melamine will protect a wearer from heat hazards, and will help to resist the spread of fire in aircraft and buses by providing a fire blocker.
Melamine is also used in the manufacture of some filters. The material is porous and will admit substances to pass through, but can be used to filter out particles of a particular size. Melamine filters are capable of handling a high capacity and can be used in hot environments due to the heat resistance of it. Melamine filters are also extremely efficient.
Aside from common commercial uses, melamine became a topic of much discussion in early 2007, when veterinary scientists determined it to be the cause of hundreds of pet deaths, because of pet food contamination. Prior to these reports, melamine had been regarded as non-toxic or minimally toxic. However, because of the unexplained presence of melamine in wheat gluten added to mass-produced dog and cat foods, it is the most likely cause. Pet owners report symptoms that are commonly associated with renal failure, which could be explained by the ammonia that may result from the digestion of the melamine.
Now...these were only manufacturers from China. We never did or ever will import food items from China mainly because we exercise due diligence in examining the sales and manufacturing sheets that accompany toys to keep certain materials away from our store..... but as we all know now with the FURTHER travesty of Chinese milk products having Melamine fillers in them it is almost impossible to comfirm quality of Chinese products.
Yeh, yeh. I know I will get comments about this but I direct those who do send them to read the obits of the children and unhappy pet owners who have suffered the loss of their pooch. nuff said!
As for the peanut butter scrae that is going on we do not use peanut butter from the plant that is in Georgia as we use a fully Canadian pruduct. I have also called up the supplier and/or manufacturer of any product that has peanut butter in it to confirm that it is not on the recall list.
Just a wee little thing to do for our tail waggin' friends.
I think they are worth it don't you?!?!?
Besides is is just too easy to KNOW what goes into the treats when we make them here right?

...just sayin'.............WOOF!

Stray cat strut......

2009-02-24T17:26:00.000-08:00

Here at the store I have found there are three different types of music that work wonders with the sales #s.
There seems to be only a vague common denominator in that they usually have the same BPM or beats per minute and within that, a happy tempo.
The first is Big Band music. Y'know those old band guys were really swingin' cats waaaay before we all figured it out. Even the most junior shopper seems to bop along to a post war tempo and tap their feet to Dorsey, Miller, Basie or Goodman. This music also gets a knowing smile from anyone with a snowy head of hair. "Nice music young man" I have heard more than a few times and the smile I get from being called young man at 42 stays with me until the next blood sugar ebb.
The next is ABBA. Say what you want about the popular foursome from Sweden but there is a continued following that spans a few generations now with the hit Mama Mia catching the ear of the young'ins and the lyrics are almost always lip synched by anyone feeling nostalgia for the 70s.
Its happy music for sure.
The third is a combination of sorts between The Spice Girls and Stray Cats. The two would seem far away in relation except that both appeal to the 30 smething crowd with the Spice girls getting the win from most girls and the nod towards the Stray Cats from the guys. Both these groups give good beat with toe tapping potential.
Pop music gets a bad rap sometimes simply for being popular which would be contraindicated would it not?! Someone has to be listening to this stuff right??
Evertime someone comes into Woofles and Meowz and sings along I think to myself .."yer busted!"....I'm not the only swingin' cat going.

Cat toys, cat treats, cat equipment

2009-01-24T14:01:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while I get someone in the store who is gonna take their cat for a walk on a lead and the cat is gonna like it, darn it!
I do sell harnesses for cats for those who are in the need of taking their cat out but there is a very distinct difference in who is walking whom when dealing with a cat.
A cat will only want to go as fast as they deem fitting...not you
Unlike dogs who are constantly in need of excercise and a place to piddle and poop, cats will never do so on command and rarely when you want them to so that option is out.
Puting a harness on the cat to tether them outside for fear of them running away is a good option as long as there is nothing to catch them up.
Most collars whether they are breakaway ones or not should be fitted properly so that will still allow the cat to slip out of them in the case of getting hung up..........a rare and often urban myth. I say often because I have only heard of it once. With a harness there is no possibility of slippage which is why one would want one I suppose.
We sell alot of the "breakaway" collars because someone, somewhere said "oh the cat will get hung up while climbing a tree"..........yeah cats are smarter than that.
As for toys the rule of thumb for our store is that a toy that your cat will play with is the right one for you.
Sometimes it is as simple as a rolled tinfoil ball that has some turkey fat that was originally on the thanksgiving bird, that will be Fluffy's favourite or some extravagant catnip laced, hand sewn pillow...you will never know!
As for treats......there is no such thing as a picky dog rather one who KNOWS that if he won't eat the hamburger you will give him filet Mignon...so more of an opportunist.
Multiply that attitude by 10 and thats a cat.
Trust me when I say....wait a good while when a cat will not eat a particular treat. Give it a few days. If then the treat is not eaten then they do not like it. Having said that I have to remind myself that cats I have had sometimes change their tastes as they grow.
So! the whole point to this blog???
Cats are VERY different, wonderful,loving, sometimes frustrating animals that are NOT dogs so ask yourself..."do I want a Cat or a Dog.............or maybe just a plant?
But I digress.

Globe and Mail top 10 pet stories

2008-12-31T14:33:00.000-08:00

10 TALES FROM THE WILD SIDE (AND ONE FROM THE FUTURE)
The humble beagle won big, human weirdness trumped veterinary advances and cuteness reigned supreme in 2008. Pets deserve year-end lists just like everyone else, so here are the topten animal stories of the year, followed by a not-so-psychic prediction for the biggest pet story of 2009. Rebecca Dube reports
REBECCA DUBE
December 30, 2008
ECONOMY GOES TO THE DOGS, DOGS ... GO SHOPPING?
What happened The economy tanked.
What it means For pets, not much - at first. The pet supply industry proved surprisingly resilient in a weak economy. Who would have thought that gourmet dog biscuits and rhinestone kitty collars were recession-proof? Unfortunately, when things go from bad to worse, pets do suffer. In U.S. counties that have been hard hit by home foreclosures, animal shelters are being overwhelmed with abandoned pets.
HAVE NO FEAR, UNDERDOG IS HERE

What happened A lively 38-centimetre beagle named Uno bayed his way into the hearts of millions when he became the first beagle to win the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
What it means Score one for Snoopy! Uno's victory over more rarefied breeds sparked unprecedented interest in the Westminster show as the general public cheered to see a "real dog" chosen as champion. Who will the Westminster judges pick to follow this act in February, when they choose a new best in show? A Labrador retriever would be a great people's choice, but no doubt poodles are out for
revenge.
THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE CLONES AND THE KIDNAPPER
What happened South Korean scientists successfully complete the first commercial cloning of a dog, a dead pit bull named Booger.
What it means Truth is definitely stranger than fiction. After photos of Booger's clones' proud owner, Joyce Bernann McKinney, circulated worldwide, she was quickly outed as the same woman who, 31 years earlier, was accused of kidnapping a Mormon missionary in England, handcuffing him to a bed in a Devon cottage and forcing him to have sex with her.
She skipped bail back then and fled from justice, only to resurface for the love of Booger.
OH, THE HUMANITY ... OF DOGS
What happened Scientists demonstrate that dogs feel empathy (through contagious yawns) and envy (they get sulky when other dogs are rewarded for tricks and they are not).
What it means Not much to dog owners, who don't need much persuading that dogs feel and express a full range of complex emotions. The research is pretty interesting, though, in context of the rapidly diminishing list of traits that were previously believed to exist only in primates (tool making, language etc.). We're just not as special as we like to think. Research on animal emotions may also lead to breakthroughs in our understanding of human emotions and conditions such as autism.
DROP THE LEASH, ROMEO
What happened The Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh banned the selling of dogs and cats, as well as walking them in public.
What it means The Saudi religious police finally cottoned on to what single people have known for years - puppy equals babe magnet. In the interest of preserving separation between the sexes, they instituted the ban, which is enforced by agents of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. Similar bans in the cities of Mecca and Jiddah have failed to curb pet buying and walking (and presumably the associated "ooh, what a cute puppy!" flirting).
My babies may look funny, but I love 'em
What happened Interspecies mothering was all the rage this year, with a golden retriever nursing white tiger cubs, a tabby cat nursing baby red pandas, and a pig nursing tigers.
What it means Lots of photos of cute interspecies snorgling, and proof that maternal instincts can trump biological ties (and perhaps common sense - my, what big teeth your babies have). And apparently tigers are the deadbeat mothers of the animal kingdom.
WE'RE NOT HAPPY UNTIL YOUR DOG'S NOT HAPPY
What happened A federal agency overturned Air Canada's ban on pets as checked baggage.
What it means In 2007, Air Canada banned pets as checked baggage, forcing customers travelling with pets to ship them as cargo. Then this spring, the Canadian Transportation Agency overturned the ban, saying the rule was "giving advantages to the carrier while exposing pet owners to many significant disadvantages." Air Canada is appealing that ruling in federal court, and expects a court date in the new year. In the meantime, pets can still travel in the luggage compartment except during certain summer and holiday blackout dates.
FACING THE FUTURE
What happened A veterinarian in Boston reattaches a cat's face after it cuddled up to a car's fan belt.
What it means Only eight more lives to go for Edgar, the four-year-old female cat, who is recovering quite well from her face-reattachment surgery. And her owners may want to look into pet insurance.
KILLER KIBBLES
What happened A U.S. judge approved a $24-million (U.S.) settlement for the Canadian and U.S. owners of cats and dogs who were sickened or died from eating pet food tainted with melamine, a chemical used to make plastics.
What it means Pet owners start scrutinizing the labels on their animals' food, and the once-oxymoronic notion of gourmet and organic pet chow moves into the mainstream. The settlement compensates owners for veterinary costs, but doesn't pay "pain and suffering" damages.
CUTE OVERLOAD
What happened Lots of cute stuff. A pig who refused to walk in the mud without boots made headlines, the Shiba Inu puppy cam racked up 13 million views, and the CuteOverload.com calendar shot to the top of Amazon's bestseller list.
What it means When it comes to finding ways to waste time at work, people's love of soft, furry and cuddly things knows no bounds. Words such as "smooshable" and "prosh" enter the lexicon. Meanwhile, Playboy Enterprises Inc. is laying off staff as its stock price suffers. Forget sex: Cute sells.
And the top pet story of 2009:
BARACK OBAMA AND HIS FAMILY CHOOSE A DOG
Will it be a so-called "designer dog," such as the hypoallergenic goldendoodle (a golden retriever-poodle mix) that his allergy-prone daughter favours, or a more image-friendly mutt from the pound? At the very least, Mr. Obama should be able to avoid the missteps of his gaffe-magnet vice president-elect Joe Biden, who purchased a German shepherd puppy from a Pennsylvania dog breeder whose kennel, it turned out, had been cited for multiple violations. With animal rescue groups across the country ready to shiv each other for the chance to supply a presidential pup, my money's on the Obamas finding a goldendoodle to adopt from a pound or rescue group. Cute and ethical - isn't that the Obama way?

Dog treats, cat treats...... what is best?

2008-12-05T16:44:00.000-08:00

So I was chatting with a woman in the store today who was wanting a "chew toy" for her Portugese water dog. I suggested, as I usually do, that while there is no such thing as a "chew toy" but rather toys that can be chewed on and then removed if they are being destroyed and then I went on to extole the benefits of the "bully sticks' we carry.
Now bully sticks are plain and simple a good, natural beef chew stick that will take most dogs a good long time to get through. They are tough and made to be be ingested without harm to the animal as they can only get small pieces of the bone/stick off at a time.......and the item is made of penis.
Yup....good 'ol penis, weiner, dick, all from a bull .."is this from a cow??"...."no cows don't have penises"...........I have that exchange at least three times a week.
I don't sell pigs ears or rawhide because they are usually too large and the dog can soften up a large enough piece then swallow it.....which then swells up and cannot pass. Owie!
Bully sticks don't do this for the most part. They also last for 99.999% of dogs at least a few hours.
Unfortunately....the lady who purchased the 10'' bully stick (no jokes please) for her dog was surprised that he went through it in 15 minutes and was more than happy to call me with that feedback. The feedback I Do appreciate actually because it reminds me in my shpiel of careful instruction for safety and what I believe (as a salesperson, store owner and dog trainer) to be a good product to ask "what do you think your dog will take to finish this off?"This immediately takes the onus off of me to being a psychic and knowing the traits and habits of a dog I have never seen before.
Mainly.....because HELLO!!!!...I don't know YOUR dog but I do know the many thousands of dogs that come through the store and training courses and those dogs that I have owned.
I can only give what I believe to be good advice.
I know Pitbulls that take days to finish a bully stick and a Jack Russell only a couple of hours.
15 minutes as she described is pretty darn fast and very unusual but not impossible.
The point I guess is to know your own pet and combine the advice on a product with what habits your pet has.
The final point that sticks out in my mind is that while super polite I felt she was put off that the bully stick which is NOT inexpensive at $8.98 did last 15 minutes and I dare ask what if ever in the past while she had purchased as a consumable lasted HER as long as 15 minutes. Not a 5 buck latte and muffin.....not a fast food experience.....and frankly...I bet the dog freakin enjoyed it so quit complain' girlfriend! I am super happy though to offer that same lady a great selection of our organic treats on the house free of charge. Now these we know he will scarf down but value is value and I like to give it as best as I can. With our huge clientelle we like to make sure they are taken care of as well as their pets. So c'mon by girl and have a snack for the pooch.
This also goes for any dog who comes to visit us. There is always a free treat for visiting dogs while in the store.
chomp!........WOOF!

Christmas for dogs and cats.

2008-12-05T16:34:00.000-08:00

Yay!! Its getting close to the festive season and the store here is packed...and I mean PACKED with everything that you would want to buy a dog or cat for Christmas.
I have noticed the trend in the last while to buy Christmas presents for people's pets in lieu of bringing a hostess gift or the traditional bottle of something whilst visiting.
I think for a variety of reasons this is a good thing.....well....mainly because I own a pet boutique...lets be real about that one but also because we all have so much stuff ourselves anyway.
Pets don't ask, "did you keep the receipt?"
Pets will usually like the shape, colour, or texture of most treats and toys.
People get a wee bit squishy and warm when you remember their animals.....especially if'n they did not themselves.
Pets will always remember the guy who brought over cool stuff but not expect it...unlike most kids.
Pets don't adhere to the rule that if they get something they have to give one back in what is usually an awkward exchange of phony altruism.
Most times...gifts for pets arte waaaaaaay cheaper than toys of presents for people.
ahhhhhhhhh the season it is...it just warms my heart.
.....just sayin'.......WOOF!!

Dog treats, biscuits, cookies, it should be all good whatever you call them.

2008-11-29T13:57:00.000-08:00

So I know that my store is well known for its "in house" made treats (unlike some other dog bakeries that just heat up already made formulas) and that there is a dedicated following to the treats made right here but I can't help but wonder what people have been feeding Fido over the past few years.
A gentleman walked into the store, looked at the fresh baked items and said recently "wow, dogs eat better cookies than I do".
I didn't take him to task on the issue too much as what he probably meant was "oh dogs now eat good food that is not filled with crap".
I try to do as much research as possible into food ingredients and as a cosmetic manufacturer in my other job I am privy to certain info that others may not be..and know the difference between what is ok to consume and what is touted as a "chemical" or a "preservative" which seem to be the buzz words of ill informed writers and "cause heads" who make like Chicken Little with regard to ingredients.
I try to remind people that everything is a chemical and a preservative most used in food is Tocopherals.....which is Vitamin E.
Without preservatives we would be dead by now from the history of how long we keep things around.............just how old IS that salad dressing or mustard in the fridge?!?!?
I came across a really good excerpt from a book recently that talks to the ingredients of dog food.
Now most people will no longer import food from China for animals and it looks like less is being imported for people especially with milk products in the item.
Here is the rub people...what makes you think that someone in another country like China is looking out for your well being and is adhering to the same standards as manufacturers here in this country or the US???
What makes you think that dog food or cat food is made with the same standards as human food?
There is an interesting dichotomy in that when I snack on a biscuit here in my store that is made with 100% organic ingredients, free range eggs, extra virgin olive oil, lamb, roasted chicken, peanut-butter, etc people are often quick to make a joke of it. "Ewwww..dog biscuits."
"What do you think I put in my treats?" I will respond.
More to that end..."what do you think is in YOUR dog's treats" is the subtext..and "why are you surprised when your dog has constant diarreha"?

The following is the excerpt from the book,
"Food Pets Die For: Shocking Facts About Pet Food." By Ann N. Martin. NewSage Press (1997).
I have placed my two cents in italics and bold type where I thought it necessary.
Television commercials and magazine advertisements for pet food would have us believe that the meats, grains, and fats used in these foods could grace our dining tables. Chicken, beef, lamb, whole grains, and quality fats are supposedly the composition of dog and cat food.
In my opinion, when we purchase these bags and cans of commercial food, we are in most cases purchasing garbage. Not so much these days as manufacturers have really stepped up their game...though I still agree with addition of vegetables and other things to keep the flora balanced in the gut.
Unequivocally, I cannot state that all pet food falls into this category, but I have yet to find one that I could, in all good conscience, feed my dog or cats.
Pet food labels can be deceiving. They only provide half the story. The other half of the story is hidden behind obscure ingredients listed on the labels. Bit by bit, over seven years, I have been able to unearth information about what is contained in most commercial pet food. At first I was shocked, but my shock turned to anger when I realized how little the consumer is told about the actual contents of the pet food. Yup..too true.
As discussed in Chapter Two, companion animals from clinics, pounds, and shelters can and are being rendered and used as sources of protein in pet food. Dead-stock removal operations play a major role in the pet food industry. Dead animals, road kill that cannot be buried at roadside, and in some cases, zoo animals, are picked up by these dead stock operations. I have not heard this to be true here in Canada as it just does not compute to be cost effective.
When an animal dies in the field or is killed due to illness or disability, the dead stock operators pick them up and truck them to the receiving plant. There the dead animal is salvaged for meat or, depending on the state of decomposition, delivered to a rendering plant. At the receiving plants, the animals of value are skinned and viscera removed. Hides of cattle and calves are sold for tanning. Dead animals are strictly forbidden to be rendered at least here in Canada and most plants would outright refuse.The usable meat is removed from the carcass, and covered in charcoal to prevent it from being used for human consumption. Then the meat is frozen, and sold as animal food, which includes pet food.
The packages of this frozen meat must be clearly marked as "unfit for human consumption." The rest of the carcass and poorer quality products including viscera, fat, etcetera, are sent to the rendering facilities. Rendering plants are melting pots for all types of refuse. Restaurant grease and garbage; meats and baked goods long past the expiration dates from supermarkets (Styrofoam trays and shrink-wrap included); the entrails from dead stock removal operations, and the condemned and contaminated material from slaughterhouses. All of these are rendered.
The slaughterhouses where cattle, pigs, goats, calves, sheep, poultry, and rabbits meet their fate, provide more fuel for rendering. After slaughter, heads, feet, skin, toenails, hair, feathers, carpal and tarsal joints, and mammary glands are removed. This material is sent to rendering. Animals who have died on their way to slaughter are rendered. Cancerous tissue or tumors and worm-infested organs are rendered. Injection sites, blood clots, bone splinters, or extraneous matter are rendered. Contaminated blood is rendered. Stomach and bowels are rendered. Contaminated material containing or having been treated with a substance not permitted by, or in any amount in excess of limits prescribed under the Food and Drug Act or the Environmental Protection Act. In other words, if a carcass contains high levels of drugs or pesticides this material is rendered. Before rendering, this material from the slaughterhouse is "denatured," which means that the material from the slaughterhouse is covered with a particular substance to prevent it from getting back into the human food chain. In the United States the substances used for denaturing include: crude carbolic acid, fuel oil, or citronella. In Canada the denaturing agent is Birkolene B. When I asked, the Ministry of Agriculture would not divulge the composition of Birkolene B, stating its ingredients are a trade secret.
At the rendering plant, slaughterhouse material, restaurant and supermarket refuse, dead stock, road kill, and euthanized companion animals are dumped into huge containers. A machine slowly grinds the entire mess. After it is chipped or shredded, it is cooked at temperatures of between 220 degrees F. and 270 degrees F. (104.4 to 132.2 degrees C.) for twenty minutes to one hour. The grease or tallow rises to the top, where it is removed from the mixture. This is the source of animal fat in most pet foods. The remaining material, the raw, is then put into a press where the moisture is squeezed out. We now have meat and bone meal.
The Association of American Feed Control Officials in its "Ingredient Definitions," describe meat meal as the rendered product from mammal tissue exclusive of blood, hair, hoof, hide, trimmings, manure, stomach, and rumen (the first stomach or the cud of a cud chewing animal) contents except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably in good processing practices. In an article written by David C. Cooke, "Animal Disposal: Fact and Fiction," Cooke noted, "Can you imagine trying to remove the hair and stomach contents from 600,000 tons of dog and cats prior to cooking them?" It would seem that either the Association of American Feed Control Officials definition of meat meal or meat and bone meal should be redefined or it needs to include a better description of "good factory practices."
When 4-D animals are picked up and sent to these rendering facilities, you can be assured that the stomach contents are not removed. The blood is not drained nor are the horns and hooves removed. The only portion of the animal that might be removed is the hide and any meat that may be salvageable and not too diseased to be sold as raw pet food or livestock feed. The Minister of Agriculture in Quebec made it clear that companion animals are rendered completely.
Pet Food Industry magazine states that a pet food manufacturer might reject rendered material for various reasons, including the presence of foreign material (metals, hair, plastic, rubber, glass), off odor, excessive feathers, hair or hog bristles, bone chunks, mold, chemical analysis out of specification, added blood, leather, or calcium carbonate, heavy metals, pesticide contamination, improper grind or bulk density, and insect infestation.
Please note that this article states that the manufacturer might reject this material, not that it does reject this material.
If the label on the pet food you purchase states that the product contains meat meal, or meat and bone meal, it is possible that it is comprised of all the materials listed above.
Meat, as defined by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), is the clean flesh derived from slaughtered mammals and is limited to that part of the striate muscle that is skeletal or that which is found in the tongue, diaphragm, heart, or esophagus; with or without the accompanying and overlying fat and the portions of the skin, sinew, nerve, and blood vessels that normally accompany the flesh. When you read on a pet food label that the product contains "real meat," you are getting blood vessels, sinew and so on-hardly the tasty meat that the industry would have us believe it is putting in the food.
Meat by-products are the non rendered, clean parts other than meat derived from slaughtered mammals. It includes, but is not limited to, lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, partially defatted low temperature fatty tissue, and stomachs and intestines freed of their contents. Again, be assured that if it could be used for human consumption, such as kidneys and livers, it would not be going into pet food. If a liver is found to be infested with worms (liver flukes), if lungs are filled with pneumonia, these can become pet food. However, in Canada, disease-free intestines can still be used for sausage casing for humans instead of pet food.
What about other sources of protein that can be used in pet food? Poultry-by-product meal consists of ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcasses of slaughtered poultry, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practice.
Poultry-hatchery by-products are a mixture of egg shells, infertile and unhatched eggs and culled chicks that have been cooked, dried and ground, with or without removal of part of the fat.
Poultry by-products include non rendered clean parts of carcasses of slaughtered poultry such as heads, feet, and viscera, free of fecal content and foreign matter except in such trace amounts as might occur unavoidably in good factory practice. These are all definitions as listed in the AAFCO "Ingredient Definitions."
Hydrolyzed poultry feather is another source of protein - not digestible protein, but protein nonetheless. This product results from the treatment under pressure of clean, intact feathers from slaughtered poultry free of additives, and/or accelerators.
We have covered the meat and poultry that can be used in commercial pet foods but according to the AAFCO there are a number of other sources that can make up the protein in these foods. As we venture down the road of these other sources, please be advised to proceed at your own risk if you have a weak stomach.
Hydrolysed hair is a product prepared from clean hair treated by heat and pressure to produce a product suitable for animal feeding.
Spray-dried animal blood is produced from clean, fresh animal blood, exclusive of all extraneous material such as hair, stomach belching (contents of stomach), and urine, except in such traces as might occur unavoidably in good factory practices.
Dehydrated food-waste is any and all animal and vegetable produce picked up from basic food processing sources or institutions where food is processed. The produce shall be picked up daily or sufficiently often so that no decomposition is evident. With this ingredient, it seems that what you don't see won't hurt you.
Dehydrated garbage is composed of artificially dried animal and vegetable waste collected sufficiently often that harmful decomposition has not set in and from which have been separated crockery, glass, metal, string, and similar materials.
Dehydrated paunch products are composed of the contents of the rumen of slaughtered cattle, dehydrated at temperatures over 212 degrees F. (100 degrees C.) to a moisture content of 12 percent or less, such dehydration is designed to destroy any pathogenic bacteria.
Dried poultry waste is a processed animal waste product composed primarily of processed ruminant excreta that has been artificially dehydrated to a moisture content not in excess of 15 percent. It shall contain not less than 12 percent crude protein, not more than 40 percent crude fiber, including straw, wood shavings and so on, and not more than 30 percent ash.
Dried swine waste is a processed animal-waste product composed primarily of swine excreta that has been artificially dehydrated to a moisture content not in excess of 15 percent. It shall contain not less than 20 percent crude protein, not more than 35 percent crude fiber, including other material such as straw, woodshavings, or acceptable bedding materials, and not more than 20 percent ash.
Undried processed animal waste product is composed of excreta, with or without the litter, from poultry, ruminants, or any other animal except humans, which may or may not include other feed ingredients, and which contains in excess of 15 percent feed ingredients, and which contains in excess of 15 percent moisture. It shall contain no more than 30 percent combined wood, woodshavings, litter, dirt, sand, rocks, and similar extraneous materials.
After reading this list of ingredients for the first time and not really believing that such ingredients could be used in pet food, I sent a fax to the chair of the AAFCO to inquire. "Would the 'Feed Ingredient Definitions' apply to pet food as well as livestock feed?" The reply was as follows, "The feed ingredient definitions approved by the AAFCO apply to all animal feeds, including pet foods, unless specific animal species restrictions are noted."
If a pet food lists "meat by-products" on the label, remember that this is the material that usually comes from the slaughterhouse industry or dead stock removal operations, classified as condemned or contaminated, unfit for human consumption. Meat meal, meat and bone meal, digests, and tankage (specifically animal tissue including bones and exclusive of hair, hoofs, horns, and contents of digestive tract) are composed of rendered material. The label need not state what the composition of this material is, as each batch rendered would consist of a different material. These are the sources of protein that we are feeding our companion animals.
In 1996 I decided to find out the cost of this "quality" material that the pet food companies purchase from the rendering facilities. Aware that a phone call from an ordinary citizen would not elicit the information I required, I set about forming my own independent pet food company. Stating that my company was about to begin producing quality pet food, I asked for a price quote on meat by-products and meat meal from a Canadian rendering company and from a U.S. rendering company. Both facilities I contacted were more than pleased to provide this information. As I was just a small company and did not require that much material to begin production, the cost was higher than it would have been for one of the large multinationals. Meat and bone meal, with a content of a minimum of 50 percent protein, 12 percent fat, 8 percent moisture, 8 percent calcium, 4 percent phosphorus, and 30 percent ash, could be purchased by me, a small independent company for less than 12¢ (Canadian) a pound. As for the meat by-products the prices varied:. liver sold at 21¢ per pound, veal at 22¢ per pound, and lungs for only 12¢ per pound.
The main ingredient in dry food for dogs and cats is corn. However, on further investigation, I found that according to the AAFCO, the list is lengthy as to the corn products that can be used in pet food. These include, but are not limited to the following ingredients.
Corn four is the fine-size hard flinty portions of ground corn containing little or none of the bran or germ.
Corn bran is the outer coating of the corn kernel, with little or none of the starchy part of the germ.
Corn gluten meal is the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm.
Wheat is a constituent found in many pet foods. Again the AAFCO gives descriptive terms for wheat products.
Wheat flour consists principally of wheat flour together with fine particles of wheat bran, wheat germ, and the offal from the "tail of the mill." Tail of the mill is nothing more then the sweepings of leftovers after everything has been processed from the week.
Wheat germ meal consists chiefly of wheat germ together with some bran and middlings or shorts.
Wheat middlings and shorts are also categorized as the fine particles of wheat germ, bran, flour and offal from the "tail of the mill."
Both corn and wheat are usually the first ingredients listed on both dry dog and cat food labels. If they are not the first ingredients, they are the second and third that together make up most of the sources of protein in that particular product. Perhaps the pet food industry is not aware that cats are carnivores and therefore should derive their protein from meat, not grains?
In 1995 one large pet food company, located in California, recalled $20 million worth of its dog food. This food was found to contain vomitoxin. Vomitoxin is formed when grains become wet and moldy. This toxin was found in "wheat screenings" used in the pet food. The FDA did investigate but not out of concern for the more than 250 dogs that became ill after ingesting this food. It investigated because of concerns for human health. The contaminated wheat screenings were the end product of wheat flour that would be used in the making of pasta. Wheat for baking flour requires a higher quality of wheat. Wheat screenings, which are not used for human consumption, can include broken grains, crop and weed seeds, hulls, chaff, joints, straw, elevator or mill dust, sand, and dirt.
Fat is usually the second ingredient listed on the pet food labels. Fats can be sprayed directly on the food or mixed with the other ingredients. Fats give off a pungent odor that entices your pet to eat the garbage. These fats are sourced from restaurant grease. This oil is rancid and unfit for human consumption. One of the main sources of fat comes from the rendering plant. This is obtained from the tissues of mammals and/or poultry in the commercial process of rendering or extracting.
An article in Petted Industry magazine does not indicate concern about the impurities in this rendered material as it relates to pet food. Dr. Tim Phillips writes, "Impurities could be small particles of fiber, hair, hide, bone, soil or polyethylene. Or they could be dirt or metal particles picked up after processing (during storage and/or transport). Impurities can cause clogging problems in fat handling screens, nozzles, etc. and contribute to the build-up of sludge in storage tanks."
Other tasty ingredients that can be added to commercial pet food include:
Beet pulp is the dried residue from sugar beet, added for fiber, but primarily sugar.
Soybean meal is the product obtained by grinding the flakes that remain after the removal of most of the oil from soybeans by a solvent extraction process.
Powdered cellulose is purified, mechanically disintegrated cellulose prepared by processing alpha cellulose obtained as a pulp from fibrous plant material. In other words, sawdust.
Sugar foods by-products result from the grinding and mixing of inedible portions derived from the preparation and packaging of sugar-based food products such as candy, dry packaged drinks, dried gelatin mixes, and similar food products that are largely composed of sugar.
Ground almond and peanut shells are used as another source of fiber.
Fish is a source of protein. If you own a cat, just open a can of food that contains fish and watch kitty come running. The parts used are fish heads, tails, fins, bones, and viscera. R.L. Wysong, DVM, states that because the entire fish is not used it does not contain many of the fat soluble vitamins, minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids. If, however, the entire fish is used for pet food, oftentimes it is because the fish contains a high level of mercury or other toxin making it unfit for human consumption. Even fish that was canned for human consumption and that has sat on the shelf past the expiration date will be included. Tuna is used in many cat foods because of its strong odor, which cats find irresistible.
In her book The Natural Cat, Anitra Frazier describes the "tuna junkie" as an expression used by veterinarians to describe a cat hooked on tuna. According to Frazier, "The vegetable oil which it is packed in robs the cat's body of vitamin E which can result in a condition called steatitis.'' Symptoms of steatitis include extreme nervousness and severe pain when touched. The lack of vitamin E in the diet causes the nerve endings to become sensitive, and can also induce anemia and heart disease. However, excess levels of vitamin E can be toxic. A veterinarian with an understanding of nutrition should be consulted.
One commercial food that most cats and dogs seem to love are the semi-moist foods. These kibble and burger-shaped concoctions are made to resemble real hamburger. However, according to Wendell O. Belfield and Martin Zucker in their book, How to Have a Healthier Dog, these are one of the most dangerous of all commercial pet foods. They are high in sugar, laced with dyes, additives, and preservatives, and have a shelf life that spans eternity. One pet owner wrote to me explaining that she had fed her cat some of these semi-moist tidbits. The cat became ill shortly after eating them, and even professional carpet cleaners could not remove the red dye from the carpet where her cat had been ill. In his book, Pet Allergies: Remedies for an Epidemic, Alfred Plechner, DVM., writes, "In my opinion, semi-moist foods should be placed in a time capsule to serve as a record of modern technology gone mad." They really are just flavoured playdough.
The pet food industry corrals this material, then mixes, cooks, dries and extrudes the stuff. (Extruding simply means it is pushed through a mold to form the different shapes and to make us think that these so called "chunks" are actually pieces of meat.) Dyes, additives, preservatives are routinely added and they can accumulate in the pet's body. According to the Animal Protection Institute of America newsletter, "Investigative Report on Pet Food, "Ethoxyquin (an antioxidant preservative), was found in dogs' livers and tissue months after it had been removed from their diet."
After processing, the food is practically devoid of any nutritional value. To make up for what is lacking, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and supplements are dumped into the mix. If the minerals added are unchelated (chelated means minerals will more readily combine with proteins for better absorption), they will pass through the body virtually unused. Most are added as a premix, and if there is a mistake made in the premix, it can throw off the entire balance. Veterinarians Marty Goldstein and Robert Goldstein have stated that the wrong calcium/magnesium ratio can cause neuromuscular problems. As an example, when I had the commercial pet food tested by Mann Laboratories for my court case, most of the minerals showed excess levels.
Well there ya go...some interesting facts on pet food and what it is made up of. The upshot is that as informed consumers you can read the labels and pick what you need for your pet. Recently a friend with a new puppy said "by-products are not too bad..are they?" wellllll here is your answer my friend in the best way I can see to impart that info. For a variety of reasons we make really good treats here...and I think I will ask people to read this blog whenever they ask why the dog treats seem sooo darn good.
Just sayin'.........woof!

President Elect Obama's new dog.

2008-11-19T15:29:00.000-08:00

So the USA has a new President in Obama...wonderful!!!
The interesting thing has been the overwhelming response from almost every blogger, infotainment program, newspaper, and anyone else with a minute on their hand weighing in on what KIND of dog is best for the Obama family.
Heck...some countries are even offering their own breeds (for free, Brazil) in the interest of good national relations.
I can't help but wonder a few things...One is that pop culture has now taken over as mainstream news in such a juggernaught of flashing lights and hoopla that we are distracted from other things that are really important.......when the Obama pet takes first queue in a news lineup over what is happening overseas during an earthquake and possible death toll in a collapsed school roof it is more than troubling.
Secondly.....the energy and interest for what will definitely be the "first dog" to the citizens of the US shows what little interest most people have for issues of the day and what can only be described as the fascination and adherance to the closest thing we have to royalty in the Americas. Whom do we admire? Politicians? Celebrities? The famous..the infamous?
Thirdly...although we have been barraged with what Britney and Paris are doing ad nauseum........and can I just gag on a simple oxygen intake everytime I see something on TV that broadcasts what little Dannielynn is eating now that her Mommy Anna Nicole Smith is gone I wonder just how much the "paps' will make on the first pics of said "first dog"........when did a dog get more important than people who move in and around it?!??!?
The only thing I can hope is that the two girls actually learn to be responsible with the animal and do all the necessary chores required....from what I hear about Michelle Obama I think that will probably be the case...she seems to be in touch reality.
Just sayin'..................woof!

Dog harnesses the pros and cons.

2008-11-15T15:04:00.000-08:00

Dog harnesses...why do people use them with their pets?
Harnesses, of course, are used in the pulling of sleds and small carriages...other small vehicles.
The benefit of a harness is to distribute weight the weight evenly over the neck, chest, shoulders and haunches of the dog so there is little if any pressure points.
The downside is that in the event of any leash training a harness is not recommended as there is little communication to the dog for which way he/she is to go and when to stop or start. The same holds true to using an extendable leash....the dog feels no instruction if they do not know they are even ON a lead.
I often suggest and will sometimes talk people out of the sale of a harness if it is to be used for a young dog who is learning to walk on the lead.
A regular collar or a "Martingale" collar is what I will usually offer as a good training tool used in tandem with 3 or 4 tips on keeping the dog learning what is expected of them.
Harnesses will not allow for any instruction to pass down from owner to pet if they are unable to FEEL the directions.
Having said that I also do not sell the typical harnesses at Woofles and Meowz as they are often ill fitting and will pull and tear the fur around the pet's from legs.
I stock the 3in1 vest harness that is superior to most makes in that it can also be used as the simplest seatbelt in the car...plus it is very comfortable for all dogs and particularily for dogs that are covered in very thick fur like Pomeranians and Sheba Inus.
Coupled with a good collar I also recommend the typical 6 foot lead.
Any questions..please feel free to contact us at our store.

Pet nutrition, vitamins and why!

2008-11-05T15:01:00.000-08:00

Many people who come into Woofles and Meowz ask for advice when it comes to nutrition for their pets and we try to give as best as we can however I know enough that I don't know everything.
What we DO know though is what hundreds upon hundreds of pet owners tell us when buying our organic treats that we make here in the store. We modify our recipes with regard to what people are needing and wanting for their dog and cat and have created a good line of treats that our four footed friends can eat with satisfaction and benefit.
There are some very interesting facts that have arisen in the very short past that I think are all linked to good pet health:
Dogs in urban area are much less healthy than their country counterparts.
Cats who eat the odd mouse and bird have far fewer digestion problems than those who have their food placed out in a food bowl everyday.
"Working dogs" who never have the opportunity to DO any kind of work or exercise will almost without fail experience a sort of auto-immune histamine reaction to particular foods usually starting with wheat proteins then chicken then....well its never ending.
Often these problems are treated by well meaning but clueless Vets with antibiotics which in most cases freaks out the dog's digestive system.
An animal that is given a varied diet with a balance of bacteria in all the right ways will be able to process food much better that those pets who have very nucleated diets.
Meat, vegetables, whole grains and low sugar and salt is the way to go with any dogs diet...sounds familiar does it not?!?!?
Sometimes people ask me about vitamins...like they are the be all sure cure for what is a poor diet.
When trace minerals are deficient in our food and water, the body's defense systems cannot function properly. Likewise, animals lacking proper amounts of copper, iron, selenium, and others, have been found to be much more likely to develop diseases and have shorter lifespans. Most animals are usually prescribed drugs, specifically antibiotics and vitamins, at times when they are ill. However, antibiotics kill all germs and rarely discriminate between good and bad germs. When the 'good' germs are constantly assaulted by antibiotics, the 'bad' germs can become super-germs which may then become impervious to drugs. Keeping the immune system healthy in the first place can vastly reduce the need for constant antibiotic treatment. Indeed, antibiotics are only indicated when the body cannot naturally fight against bacteria, not simply when you have a cold but are healthy enough to fight it off. Vitamins help to fortify the immune system and also control the body's appropriation of minerals. However, if there are no vitamins and no trace minerals, the body has no ability to use the vitamins to help fight disease and therefore the vitamins are useless. It is for that reason that replacing lost minerals in both your diet and your pet's diet is essential.Our pets need vitamins and minerals. Just like for us, vitamins and minerals are very important nutrients. In today’s environment, they may need them more than we had originally thought as current diets rob us of much beneficial nutrients. Vitamins perform many important functions for our pets. If your pets depend on canned or dried food, it may be necessary to consider supplementing their diet with vitamins and minerals.
...not to mention a big dose of vegetables. Our pets too live in a polluted world full of toxic chemicals. Besides, they live closer to the ground, closer to pollutants that emanate from synthetic carpets, or to cleaning solvents used on the floor, or to the herbicides and pesticides sprayed in the yard. Indeed, lawn fertilizers have been shown to increase the chance of disease in dogs that play on sprayed lawns.Pets eat highly processed food, possibly the most highly processed on the planet. Often the ingredients are of questionable origin. Though since the debacle of the Chinese food suppliers most food manufacturers have really stepped up their game especially in the Cat and Dog food arena. ........though....would you eat dog or cat food? Many pet foods are loaded with chemicals. Such as artificial colors that make the food look pretty to your eyes. Some of them are banned in other countries. It seems plausible that some pets are sensitive to such chemicals. The food may look good to you but it may be causing grief for your animal. Did you know that advertising claims of "complete and balanced" pet diets are based on uncertain minimum nutritional requirements designed for maintenance of barely adequate health, not optimum health? Also it is hardly comforting to know that many vitamins and minerals are lost in the processing or are simply missing to begin with.Vitamins are classified into 2 main groups: Fat soluble and water soluble. Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat soluble dissolved in fats. A is the skin vitamin. D is for healthy bones and teeth. E is the antioxidant vitamin and K is the blood clotting vitamin. Liver is an excellent food source for all these vitamins. Unfortunately you need to ensure adequate vitamin intake to stay healthy long term. The B vitamin group and vitamin C are water soluble. This means that they are easily lost through cooking and processing. However overdosing is not as big a concern as it is with the fat soluble vitamins. The problem is they flush out of your system regularly, so adequate intake is imperative.The B family of vitamins is for healthy muscle, skin and blood. Vitamin C, the stress, antioxidant vitamin is a popular vitamin for us humans. Carnivores can make their own vitamin C but lately it is believed that they may not be making enough especially in stressful situations. Again liver and kidney are good food sources for pets. This does not mean liver flavor though!How would we suspect a vitamin deficiency in your pet? Your dog or cat will show us the signs. For example: poor skin and hair coat when deficient in vitamins A and / or B; Your pet will be anemic and constantly tired if deficient in vitamin B; and will have cancer and heart problems if deficient in vitamin D. Hopefully, you buy your animal a premium quality food: food that has no preservatives and artificial colors. You also may share some nutritious extras with your pet, things like carrots, broccoli, whole grain rice, oatmeal, and yogurt. If you want to improve your pet's health you need to provide better than adequate nutrition. That means more than what is available in those bags of pet food. You need to fortify your animal's diet with extra vitamins and minerals......and veggies!
That will help strengthen your pet internally so it can fight off the effects of contaminants and stress. Supplementation may also help your pet compensate for possible genetic defects that are becoming increasingly common, particularly among pure breed dogs and cats. Animal breeders supplement their animals with vitamin and mineral supplements. They will tell you that pet food is not enough to protect animals or enable them to achieve optimal health. Well-meaning pet owners who supplement their animals' diets may, in fact, be helping them very little, and possibly causing problems. This is because many pet supplements contain low-quality vitamins and potentially allergenic ingredients such as brewer's yeast and artificial flavors and dyes.Minerals are vital to digestion, growth, repair of tissues, to strong bones, teeth, claws, skin and hair coat. Major minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium are often present in supplements, but often enough, trace minerals are often lacking. Yet they are equally important to our pets. Most pet supplements also lack vitamin C because dogs and cats, as do most mammals, produce their own vitamin C internally. However, dogs and cats are minimal producers compared to other animals. Vitamin C performs many critical tasks in your pets body. It is a natural pain reliever and detoxifier. It is a major antioxidant and contributor to immune function. And it plays a major role in the building of collagen, the connective tissue that literally holds the body together. It is, therefore, vital to your pet. Ensure adequate intake of vitamin c for your animal. You should consult your veterinarian on the most appropriate vitamin supplement for your pet and the recommended doses of the vitamins and minerals it needs, as each pet is a bit different. Now...be careful when it comes to going to your Vet for nutritional advice as most Vet's I know are seriously lacking in that regard. Not to say all Vets know very little about nutrition but many don't so try to do some research yourself. there is alot of info out there online and through other websites and blogs, chat rooms and pet forums. Always check out what has worked for other pet owners first and good luck!
WOOF!

Christmas dog accessories. Doggy Santa.

2008-11-01T15:50:00.000-07:00

Ok so Halloween is over..Madonna has left the building and the prospect of the Holiday season looms like a cloudbank over yonder ridge! (I heard that somewhere and always wanted to use the term "yonder")
Christmas is coming to Woofles and Meowz and THIS year we have even more doggy santa hats, kitty reindeer antlers and pet stockings aaaalllllll in readiness for the season of "ho-ho-ho".
Here in the caboose on Granville island we dont have a huge anount of room but we tend to have waaaayyy more than most other pet boutique stores and more than most simple pet stores. Our buyers are very good when it comes to the cool stuff!
Pet stockings for santa to fill up are gonna be popular as well as the usual santa hats and reindeer antlers (lighted or non)...anything for the pooch or kitty to look silly for the camera.
My dogs used to wear the Santa hats all day. I think because they were warmer and who does not get a wee thrill or smile when we see the white trimmed red hat on anyone!
THIS year though...and you can thank me anytime, I am NOT putting up the Christmas decorations or merchandise until waaaaay into November. This habit of retailors putting up the Christmas bling either slightly before or right after halloween is silly. I mean, I GET it...the news is all about how some retailers are betting on using their "new again" lay-a-way plans or plan on putting everything on sale right away..............ummmmmm here is the advice of one store owner to those who do that.
"Buy good stuff to begin with and mark it up only fairly..then you wont be stuck with it come January 1st"...right?!?!??!?
As I only have less than 400 sq feet in the caboose I have to have only that stuff that is demanded, requested and tried and true.
Santa hats and stockings will be gone by December 20th......yay. Come on by and say you saw this blog and get 20% off any Item up to Christmas of 2008.
HO-HO-HO!!!!

Cat Safety in Vancouver

2008-11-01T14:22:00.000-07:00

As I usually get dogs and their owners shopping in Woofles and Meowz for varous dog treats, dog toys or equipment but there is a good number of people here for what the "Meowz" part can provide.
Cat toys, catnip, treats etc are all here but I sometimes get accused of pandering to the Woofles especially in the advice or help arena so the following is a good 40 tips on cat safety that is a followup to the pet safety tips on a previous blog...all the best!
MEOW!!!

1. You know your cat. If she's acting strange, err on the side of caution: Take her to the vet.
2. Antifreeze is sweet but deadly. If your car leaks, get it fixed, and keep antifreeze far out of reach from your pets. Even one teaspoonful is fatal.
3. Do not underestimate your cat; it can fall out of a window, says Pat Coughlin, a cat owner in Norway. Install protective screens or storm windows to let your cat safely enjoy the view.
4. If your cat tends to chew electrical cords, keep her in a cord-free room when unsupervised, says Larry Lachman, an animal behaviorist in Carmel, Calif. Also, spray cords with safe spicy or bitter-tasting products.
5. If you use clumping litter, groom your cat frequently to remove particles that may accumulate and interfere with elimination.
6. Keep your cats indoors. They'll be healthier and happier, says Ceridwen Attwood, a cat owner in Washington. Outside they're exposed to other animals, risk getting run over by cars and are exposed to the elements.
7. Do not let in strays just for the heck of it, Lachman says. Having strange cats around can overstress your own cat, which may lead to fighting, biting and soiling or spraying around the home.
8. Never hit your cat. Use spray bottles with water if discipline is necessary. Physical punishment doesn't teach your cat appropriate behavior.
9. Consider using clay litter for kittens. If your cat accidentally ingests some litter particles, clay is nontoxic in small quantities.
10. Safely confine your cat when workmen or visitors are in your home [to prevent escape], Lachman says. A bathroom, laundry room, bedroom or cat carrier is ideal for this purpose.
11. Only use cat-specific flea preventives in vet-approved dosages to avoid triggering a dangerous reaction in your cat or kitten.
12. If at all possible, get your cat first, then add a dog to the household, not the other way around, Lachman says. This may reduce fighting over territories.
13. When introducing a kitten to your household, provide food, water, a litterbox, scratching post, bed and toys, and confine your kitten to a safe room (a bathroom or spare bedroom) for the first few days, and any time you cannot directly supervise him. A pheromone diffuser in this safe room can help keep a cat calm.
14. Keep all yarn, string, thread and needles in a secure cabinet. Yarn or string can become caught on a cats barbed tongue and may be swallowed.
15. Don't give cows milk to kittens or adult cats because it may cause gas and diarrhea.
16. Certain human foods and medicines are extremely harmful to cats. Do not leave chocolate, onions or medicines out on counters, Lachman says.
17. Keep your cats identification tag or microchip information current in case your cat wanders away.
18. Train your cat to stay away from the stove at all times, even if not in use, by squirting him with a spray bottle when he gets too close.
19. Do not feed your cat dog food. Cats require different nutrients and more protein in their diets than dogs do.
20. Do not attempt to pick up your cat when he shows signs of defensiveness or aggression. Although your cat adores you, he may still bite or scratch you out of fear.
21. Kittens love to explore, so block their access to the area behind the refrigerator, bookcase or couch so they won't get stuck or injured.
22. Before starting your engine, honk your car horn to scare away any cats sleeping in the engine compartment.
23. Gently handle your kitten on a regular basis to socialize her and prevent behavior problems associated with lack of contact.
24. Do not leave a cat or kitten [unsupervised] with a child under age 7, Lachman says. Kids under age 7 have poor impulse control and can accidentally or intentionally hurt the cat.
25. Cats will make a plaything out of any item, so keep blind cords out of your cats reach to avoid strangulation.
26. With your veterinarians guidance, assemble a kitty first-aid kit and keep this on hand for emergencies.
27. Never leave an iron, hot or cold, sitting on an ironing board. The cord may look like a toy to your kitten and she could pull the iron down on herself.
28. Although cats enjoy playing with the plastic ring from milk jugs, these can be chewed apart and swallowed very easily, says Scott Ransom, a cat owner in Oregon. [My] cat [was] in intensive care for a week once because of this mistake.
29. Cats love moving water, so keep the toilet lid closed to prevent drowning.
30. Don't give cats medicines that aren't intended for cats, says Rosalie Marley, a veteran animal shelter worker in Nebraska. Aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen can be deadly.
31. Keep the clothes dryer and dishwasher shut when not in use. Check inside these appliances before using. Cats love to hide in warm, dark places, but these appliances are fatal when in use.
32. When you pick up your cat, support his chest and legs so he feels safe and does not struggle. This protects you from scratches and bites, too.
33. Some plants are poisonous to cats, Coughlin says. The ASPCA website has a list of toxic and nontoxic plants.
34. Always check your cats whereabouts before closing drawers, closets or doors to avoid accidentally locking your cat in.
35. Your cat can be a danger to smaller pets such as reptiles, fish, birds and rodents. Keep your cat away from other pets when unsupervised.
36. When adding a second cat or kitten to your household, clear his health by your vet prior to bringing him home, so you do not expose your first cat to possible illness.
37. Check your garage door before closing it, to avoid injuring any cats perched there.
38. Install baby locks on cabinets where you keep bug spray, household cleaners or medicines. Your smart cat may learn how to open cupboard doors!
39. Invest in covered wastebaskets and garbage cans for your home to prevent cats from finding dangerous items such as chicken bones or dental floss.
40. Always use a carrier when transporting your cat. Even if your cat loves car rides, she may get underfoot or escape if startled.

Madonna in Vancouver

2008-11-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

Well a BIG thanks to Madonna and her crew who flew into town to do a concert at GM place on October 30th.
It was a great show (not her best...the Girlie Show rocked) but as this was a Vancouver gig it was great not to have to travel.
The best part though is that almost EVERYONE in the store has been happy-go-lucky concert attendees.
I have the Madonna tunes rockin' and the conversation is flowing..."oh you paid how much for your tickets??".
Lots of people are in from Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Victoria etc and I send out a big thanks to those who extended their stay enough to stop by Woofles and Meowz here on Granville Island.
Everyone seems to be in a good mood and getting cool stuff that they may not be able to at home.
For those who stopped by a big thankyou goes out to all you groovin people and I invite you to stop by www.yelp.com and do up a review of any place you may have stopped by while you are here.
Thanks Madonna!

Pet safety in Vancouver.

2008-10-31T11:28:00.000-07:00

Here in Vancouver we experience the setting sun as any Canadian would do....earlier with each passing day but we have a much more temperate climate that allows for much of the foliage to hang around.
This makes for some dark streets especially in our wonderfully treed neighborhoods. Some places in the west end are spectacularily shrouded by large maples and a blackening sky as early as before breakfast and at dinner time.....the most frequent times to walk the dog.
Safety for both the pet owner and usually dog (as most cat owners do not walk their cats) is really important this time of year.
It always surprises me when those people with strollers will push them out onto a roadway in a crosswalk as a "test of the waters" to see if people will stop or not. Similar to that, I always find dog owners who have those "extendo" leashes (which are not bad per se and have their benefits)
allow their pets to roam across other peoples paths on sidewalks...onto the roadway and have almost no control of their dogs until they snap them back when they finally realize fido is running toward the wheels of a truck. "yoink!!!!" painful and not fair to the dog.

The most important things to remember when it comes to safety are as follows:

1. Always have your pet in control. A "hard" leash which is just a regular leash attached well to a collar that will not slip off is your main tool to walking a dog.
2.Be VISIBLE...no can see your dog or you if you are dressed in your fashionable all black work clothes. Most cars have blind spots and people themselves are hard to see not to mention a dark coated dog. Light coloured clothing, reflective collars, blinker lights (my favourite) all make for a visible pet and can be fun and fashionable too!
3.Auto drivers cannot and will not stop if they do not see your pet. Do not assume there is anything visible about your dog. Most drivers cannot see anything close to their vehicle that is less than two feet high which is most four footed friends. This is where extendo leads are dangerous...if a car sees you he may not see
4. Nobody...NOBODY has "the right of way"...there is no such thing and one can debate the semantics of it but everything we do in regards to traffic and movement is a priveledge and even though someone might think they have a "right" a 4000lb vehicle has the inertia and physics that outweigh "rights". You can debate this later when your dog is dead and you were in "the right".
5.Clothing safety for your pet...this can work two ways for and against. Protective clothes on wet and cold days can be great and help if they are reflective. They can hinder if they are dark and block the pet's view of oncoming traffic.
6.Watch for excessive salt useage on snowy pathways...this can get on the paws and irritate which causes a chewing on the paws response....simple rinse paws after the walks for half a minute.
............ok so there a few more tips but more to the topic of darkening and wintery days are the previous ones.
Any questions?? please stop by the caboose here on Granville Island at woofles and Meowz.
Happy walking and be safe this autumn and winter.
WOOF!!!

Halloween costumes for pets.

2008-10-29T11:16:00.000-07:00

So...as probably mentioned, last year I said to myself..."nahhh I'm not gonna bring in any halloween costumes...nobody will want them most likely"........boy was I WRONG!!!
Every hour from October 1st to the All Hallows Eve I had people ask for costumes.
THIS year I looked around and ordered several types with decent construction and materials that would not be too fussy for the dogs to wear...........they are flying off the shelves to say the least. YAY!
Here in Vancouver which was once called "the no fun city" it seems we have turned things around dramatically. There are, again, festivals and fireworks and with the Olympic games in 2010 coming and the "International Out Games" in 2011 so many things that will make this city a fun one once again.
Halloween and parades of pets in costumes are big stuff here from what I have seen and heard as well.
I wonder if it is the trade off of children for pets or simply a nostalgia ride for many who have chosen not to have children and are past the dressing up stage??
I have always said that Halloween is an adult holiday and more truly an Gay adult holiday...after all the gays did create all the good parties and invited the straights to participate..."as long as you didn't show it" or "flaunt your heterosexuality".
Luckily with the excuse to wear your wives pantyhose...most people didn't....and we were all glad. It was a time to party and relax and not worry about labels or looking silly.
But I digress.
Halloween costumes for the pooches seem to be the thing this year for those too cool or can't seem to fork over the expense for an adult costume....a fun and interesting doggy costume can be had for a mere $20 or as simple as a witches hat for $4....anything to get the picture before it gets thrown off.
The major benefit of all this, of course, is that any healthy interaction between pet and owner is a good one.
Any and all fun play for a pet will keep them happy and healthy and if that means a spooktacular pet parade in your city or dressing the pet up as you trick-or-treat with the kids can be fun!!
WOOF!!!

Citizen canine

2008-10-25T11:41:00.000-07:00

Recently I joined a great group out of Victoria called Citizen Canine (http://www.citizencanine.org/) which started as a grassroots organization for the well being of pets and their owners. They seem to be a very well supported group and offer lots of assistance. Please check out their site and see what they have to offer.
One of the bits of info they share very clearly are the questions to ask yourself when choosing a dog......

Choosing a dog should never be taken lightly. Never buy a dog on impulse! And always consider adopting one of the many great shelter dogs

The first question you should ask yourself when considering becoming a dog owner is not "What kind of dog should I get?" but "Am I truly ready to bring a dog into my home and family?." Dog ownership can be a rewarding and wonderful experience, or it can be miserable for everyone involved. It is crucial to be absolutely certain that you are prepared to change your lifestyle to accommodate the needs of a dog BEFORE you get your heart set on any particular dog.
Are you ready to get up earlier every morning for the rest of your animal's life so that you can take him for a walk before work?
If you live alone and work long or unpredictable hours, who will make sure your dog gets fed, walked and taken out to the bathroom?
Bringing a canine companion in your life will mean sacrificing some of the spontaneity you may now enjoy. And don't forget - dogs live from ten to fifteen years or even longer. Dog ownership is a long-term commitment!
The most common reason for animal abandonment from even the most well intended owners is "I have to move." This is of course exacerbated in BC by lack of legislated access for pets, including dogs.
Are you in a stable living situation?
If you did have to move, are you willing to make a commitment to ensure that the dog will move with you?
All dogs need training and it's important to recognize that in the first year or so of their lives, you will need to make a commitment to train and your dog to be comfortable around other people and dogs and to know how to behave in public.
Are you willing to put in the time and effort to socialize your dog and give it basic obedience training?

Before You Start Looking:
The most important investment of time you can make for your dog should be made before you've even met the dog! You need to seriously consider what kind of dog you, your home and your lifestyle are suited for. Too often, people fall in love with a puppy or feel desperate to help a dog they've seen at a shelter - only to bring home a dog that's totally unsuitable for them. This can be devastating to everyone involved, including the dog!
Having clear parameters in mind about such things as age, expected size, coat type, activity requirements, temperament, and potential or known health or training problems will help you make a good decision about the dog that's right for you.
Here are a few tips to help you get started:
Age:
Puppies should be at least eight weeks old before leaving their mother. At five or six weeks old, puppies are barely weaned! They should also have had at least one set of vaccinations before you bring them to their new home.
Getting a dog doesn't always mean getting a puppy. While there are benefits to being the first owner of a dog - there are many benefits to adopting a dog that's not a puppy. Not everyone has time to raise a puppy; an adult dog may be the solution.
Older dogs need new homes for many different reasons, most of which probably have nothing to do with the dog itself.
It is not uncommon for even expensive, purebred dogs to be surrendered to shelters when their owners move or are no longer able or willing to take care of them.
Older dogs have known personality traits that make them an excellent choice for households with small children.
They may have already reached their maximum size, will likely be house and possibly, obedience trained, have probably graduated beyond the chewing-everything-left-in-reach stage and may already have been spayed or neutered.
The energy level of the adult dog is also likely to be more compatible with a household where everyone is in school or at work during the day.
By adopting an older dog, you will not only save a dog from being euthanised but will also make a statement about compassion and the value of all life at all ages, at the same time as bringing a wonderful addition into your family - a win-win situation for everyone!
If you think you might be interested in adopting an older dog, get in touch with the vets, groomers, boarding kennels and training centers in your area. Contact rescue organizations, visit animal shelters, and look in the newspaper. You may be able to negotiate a "trial period", particularly if the dog comes from a rescue organization to insure everyone is happy and getting along before a firm commitment is made.
If you do have your heart set on getting a puppy, here are a few tips on how to pick one from a litter.1. Confident?
Try and call the puppy to you by kneeling down, clapping gently and calling to him.A confident puppy will come readily, tail up and attempt to play with your hands.
2. Independent?
Stand up and walk away from the pup in a normal manner. Make sure the pup sees you walk away.Not following indicates independence, which may make training difficult later on.
3. Dominant or Submissive?
Crouch down and gently roll the pup on his back and hold it with one hand for a full 30 seconds. Fierce resistance, such as flailing and crying out indicates difficulty with submission Let pup stand up and gently stroke him from the head to back while you crouch beside him. Continue stroking until a recognizable behavior is established.The pup may try to dominate by jumping, nipping or growling, or may accept your dominance by cuddling up and trying to lick you.
Bend over and cradle the pup under its belly, fingers interlaced, palms up and elevate just off the ground. Hold it there for 30 seconds.Again, fierce struggling and growling are indications that the dog has a tendency to be dominant, and little or no struggle indicates submission.
Dominant dogs may have aggressive tendencies, both with people and other dogs. They do not make good pets for children or the elderly. There could be difficulties teaching the dog "its place" in the social order of your household. These dogs should only be considered by someone who has experience with dominant dogs.
Pups that submit readily and avoid eye contact may be overly submissive and aren't a good choice for a first-time dog owner. They will need special handling to build confidence and bring them out of their shells. These pups do not adapt well to change. They do best in very structured environment. They are usually safe around children but may bite if severely stressed.
Ideally, pups should struggle a bit, and then settle with some eye contact.
4. Retriever?
Crouch beside pup and attract its attention with crumpled up paper ball. When the pup shows interest and is watching, toss the object 1 to 2 meters in front of pup.There is a high correlation between ability to retrieve and willingness to work with a human.
5. Sensitive?
Take puppy's webbing of one front foot and press between finger and thumb lightly, then more firmly till you get a response, while you count slowly to 10. Stop as soon as puppy pulls away or shows discomfort.If the puppy starts squirming in less than a 3-4 seconds, it is very sensitive to touch. If you're looking for a "snuggle-bunny", this may not be the right dog for you.
Make a sharp noise a few feet from the puppy.Cringing and/or attempting to hide may indicate the puppy is shy. If the puppy ignores the sound, he may have a hearing problem. Ideally, the pup will try and locate the sound and show some curiosity about it.
Place pup in centre of room. Tie a string around a large towel and jerk it across the floor a few feet away from the puppy.Running away and hiding is not a good sign!
It requires a great deal of extra work to help a "spooky" dog adapt to new situations or sudden changes. Some dogs can become very aggressive if they are frightened, so delicate handling will be required to prevent this from happening.
Expected Size:
Dogs range in size from the tiny Toy Poodle to the very large Great Dane - and everything in between. Consider the size of your home, your yard, and your vehicle. But, don't be fooled into thinking any small dog will be content in a small living space. Some small dogs, Jack Russell Terriers for instance, require a LOT of exercise. Conversely, some very large breed dogs, like Mastiffs, are content to flop on the floor and do nothing all day.Are you interested in a "lap dog" or a dog big enough to protect you or your home?What about your ability to handle the dog, on leash or off?
There is generally a standard range of sizes for any given breed of purebred dog. It can be a little harder to predict the size that a mixed breed dog will reach. If the dog you are considering is a puppy - it may help to view the dog's parents, if you can. If not, you may want to ask a veterinarian to give you an estimate. If you are adopting a dog from a shelter, generally they will attempt to identify which breeds a dog may be and estimate a size for you.
Coat Type:
Almost all dogs have coats that shed to one degree or another. How do you feel about dog hair and dust bunnies? Does anyone in your home have allergies to dog hair or dog dander?
Many breeds of dog require regular coat care and grooming. This could mean investing in a dog brush, and spending time using it or it may mean taking the dog to a professional groomer. This can add up to quite an expense over the lifetime of a dog.
Dogs with oily outer coats can develop an unpleasant "doggy odor".
Dogs with short hair may not be suited to cooler, northern climates - particularly if they will be expected to spend a great deal of time outdoors.
Activity Requirements:
There is a huge variation between breeds and individual dogs as to how much activity they require. Some are very energetic and need almost constant physical activity and mental stimulation. Others are content to be companion animals and need very little exercise to stay healthy.
Are you looking for a dog to take running and hiking, or a couch potato to keep you company?
Typically Basset Hounds, Dachshunds, and Bernese Mountain Dogs don't make great jogging companions. Similarly, Border Collies, Australian Shepherds and Jack Russell Terriers are not ideal for being left alone for long periods of time.
How much and what types of exercise could you provide for your dog?
If your time is limited, you should look for smaller or less active dogs that can obtain enough exercise in your home or from short walks.
Ask yourself if you are willing to make a commitment to the level of activity and attention that this dog will require. Under and/or over- exercising your dog can have serious consequences on their health, happiness and your relationship with them. While most dogs tend to "slow down" as they mature, it may be several years before this happens!
Gender:
There are pros and cons to either gender-- all of which are generalities and may or may not apply to a specific dog. By all means, if you have a preference, get the gender you want. If you are not sure, it really doesn't matter -- look for the dog you hit it off with.
Temperament:
As with size, the general temperament of any particular breed of purebred dog is usually well known to breeders and veterinarians. Some terms used to describe dog temperaments include: aloof, loyal, dominant, aggressive, independent, gentle, intense. However, as with people, dogs can be quite individual!
Purebred or Mixed-breed?
If you are interested in a purebred dog, you do some research on several different breeds before making up your mind about any one in particular. Most libraries will have a good selection of books on this topic, as does the Internet. You should also consider attending a dog show where you can see adult specimens of the breeds you are interested in. Make sure you buy your dog from a reputable breeder and ask to see the parents as well. A reputable breeder will try to match the puppy's temperament to your family situation.
DO NOT buy a dog or puppy from a pet store ... responsible breeders never sell their puppies through a pet store. Even if the store tells you otherwise, it is likely that the puppies are from puppy mills. For a fantastic resource on the topic please see No Puppy Mills Canada.
You won't be sorry you made a little extra effort to make an informed choice, and you'll have a compatible, happy companion for years to come!
.............so these are some great tips on choosing a dog. We at Woofles and Meowz agree about the "not buying dogs from store"...there is too many other options.
Best of luck...WOOF!!

Facebook page for Woofles and Meowz

2008-10-24T17:39:00.000-07:00

So as I step into the blinding light of the new ages I see just how fast technology moves especially in the marketing arena.

Yeh I know that it sounds like a cliche.."everything is moving forward so fast" but I am not without a few skills in knowing what is cutting edge or at the very least semi sharp.

Lately I have discovered that there are some interesting ways to get people onboard the caboose.

One way is to pinpoint marketing towards your target buyers and I have found that most of my shoppers are completely computer savvy and navigate around a keyboard like nobody's business.

I have placed our address at http://www.yelp.com/ to add a completely unbiased review site as well we did up a new facebook page at the link below...if you like it become a "fan"...we'd love ya forever!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vancouver-Pet-Bakery-Boutique-Woofles-And-Meowz-Granville-Island/35776272241

Pet Euthanasia ...what can you say?!??

2008-10-23T16:20:00.001-07:00

Putting them to sleep...Pet Euthanasia...putting them down...anyway you say it, it can be a trying experience to say the least.
Recently I had the experience of watching my partner Cameron go through the ordeal of having to put his cat "Sandy" down.
One of the many, many questions people have to ask themselves before getting a pet of any kind is "Can I afford to care for this animal if they get hurt, ill or chronically sick?" or "What is my limit financially as to what I can realistically afford to pay to a Vet in the case of a problem with the animal?"
The first question is a simple one as any person who may be thinking of getting an animal should have some resources to care for an animal in case of emergency. There should be no question about it actually. If you have no money "in case" then you simply cannot....CANNOT afford to have an animal in your care.
It is only fair to the animal as harsh as it may seem to hear or read especially in this day of interbred dogs and poor backyard breeders that propagate sooo many dogs that almost immediately need some vet care.
These are not simple bills either.
Just walking into a Vet's office can cost you several hundred dollars for a minor checkup.
The second question is a very different one as situations change during the course of someone's life and a person's ability to pay for Vet care can change.
I am one who thinks that there should definitely be a set amount of money that one should be prepared to spend and not be swayed in the moment of stress and grief to go way beyond their means to sustain an animals life ...especially if it means the animal may not be in good health or life a compromised existence simply to passify an owner.
I know of a few people who have paid thousands and tens of thousands of dollars to help animals that were so far gone and sick that they are still paying for it years after the animal has passed.
I will undoubtedly hear from people who say "I'll pay anything for my baby...there should be no limit to save an animal"
ummmmm wrong. There is a limit when you don't have it. People should not lose their homes over the bills incurred from pet healthcare. Any smart owner should know this and I will go on record to say that MY limit is probably more than 90% of people out there but there is still a limit. 'nuf said.
Cameron did have a limit and unfortunately he did go past it in the efforts to find out that his cat did have cancer in several places in her body which was making it very uncomfortable and almost impossible to pass food and get any kind of nutrition.
This poor cat lost so much weight so very fast it was obvious she was pretty sick however Cam had a 'limit" and had her tested to find out what was wrong in the event that she could be helped.
This was not to be the case however and it was decided that after 14 years living a very healthy life she was now living a painful life and it was time to be a good owner and do the right thing.

Cam decided that it would be best to have his cat put down at home and not in a sterile environment like the Vet's office so he contacted a local Vet Dr. Joseph Martinez who was available to come to the apartment to administer the Euthenasia.
It is with utmost respect when I say that I would recommend this person in the event one needs to have an animal "put down".
Joseph was very respectful and careful in his instruction on how the procedure would progress. He allayed fears and was aware that some people would need to grieve in private and allowed a simple process to happen without fuss or stress to the animal and the owner alike.
Sandy was administered her meds and fell asleep without any unforseen circumstances...she was finally without pain and hunger and allowed to be peaceful. After a short time alone with his cat Cam allowed Joseph to take her away in her travel box to be cremated.
Today, her ashes were brought back into the store in a lovely little urn urn accompanied with a lovely card and poem.
The process could have been much, much more painful and it is with thanks that we pass on his contact information at http://www.untilwemeetagain.ca/
or you can email him at greencrossvet@yahoo.ca
Should you find that you are considering the options on your pet's healthcare I offer a simple test to ask yourself.
Ask yourself: What would be in the best interest of everyone concerned..pet and owner. If you ask the question with only one being being considered (the owner or the pet) then the other one always suffers.
All the best!!!!
WOOF!

Puppy Mills

2008-10-16T14:44:00.000-07:00

One of the things we are fully against here at Woofles and Meowz is the purchase of live animals from stores. The following info and link is from www.shutdownpuppymills.com. There is some interesting info on the site that explains the pitfalls of animal purchases from pet stores.
As you can see from our store at www.wooflesandmeowz.com we never have or would have live animal sales here. There are way too many options with the pet rescue organizations and reputable breeders. Tips of the day for picking a reputable breeder are this:
1. If the breeder has been in business for a good length of time that is longer than the recent boom in dog ownership in the last 4 years.
2. The breeder has exceptional stock that is well known and "papered"....that is the dog is not a mixed breed dog that they decided to breed from theirs and a neighbors.
3. The breeder has adequate and professional facilities and equipment.
4. The breeder has a good relationship with a Vet that will give a referral.
5. Other pet owners that have got an animal from the same breeder can give a referral.
6. The breeder has a portfolio of whom the animals were sold to and some contact with at least a couple or few of the owners.
7. The VIBE...if you are wary and it seems like the dogs are handled in a poor manner or the breeder is not forthcoming with information....walk away.
.............and of course...do your homework. Always pick a dog or cat for that matter that will fit your lifestyle. I cannot stress this too much.
There is also a great television show that I like very much and find the trainer to have similar style of teaching to myself...perhaps a bit abrasive but the message must be made to certain people that "you must do the work now that you have committed to an animal" its only the right thing to do. Check out that show host :

Brad Pattison
Brad Pattison has been professionally remedying dog behaviour for over 15 years. Brad uses revolutionary techniques derived from his studies of domesticated dogs, wolves and coyotes.
Brad’s unique methods involve communicating with dogs in a way they understand – through body language.
Brad founded the first Dog Day Care Centre in Vancouver, creating the concept that is now used around the world. He created the first Street Safety training program, and runs courses that teach other dog educators his skills. His ‘Six Legs to Fitness’, a workout program involving owners and their dogs, has been featured on Discovery Channel’s ‘Daily Planet.’
During the Hurricane Katrina disaster, Brad mobilized friends and created the Pattison Canine Rescue Team. The team spent several weeks in Louisiana and New Orleans rescuing dogs from the floods. Featured on Discovery Channel’s ‘Daily Planet.’
Brad has appeared on CBC’s Venture, Lifestyle Network’s Gentle Doctor, PBS’ Sesame Street, and the upcoming Three Takes for Slice™.
Brad was the host of Yuppy Puppy, his own radio show and is a frequent guest on radio stations across the country. He has appeared in newspapers and magazines such as Dog World, Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

...................and the show at http://www.slice.ca/Shows/Host.aspx?Root_Title_ID=105200

WOOF!!!!

Tainted Dog Food.

2008-10-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

Many people have been asking me about the possibility of tainted dog food coming back on the market especially with the Melamine scare in processed milk items from China and distributed products using such milk.
I always go back to the rule of thumb that "if you'd eat it then you can feed it to your dog...however SHOULD you is another story".
This means that if you would not eat it then nor should your dog..ingredient wise. If you shouldn't be eating it but you do anyway...then your dog should not be eating it too.
I only carry here at Woofles and Meowz food products that are either locally made or manufactured in Canada or the USA. I only carry food items that have ingredients that I can readily identify.
Right now..if it is from China..I just don't carry it...no apologies made here as the proof is in the pudding as the Brits would say...tainted pet products and tainted food products destined for child consumption. It doesn't take a detective to deduce the problems.
Keep to local and always...always add a variety of fresh food to any reputable dog food whether it be kibble or raw based.

Halloween dog costumes

2008-10-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

So THIS year I brought in a whole slew of costumes for Halloween for the pooches and a few items for the cats as well. Mostly for the cats I have collars that are festively adorned with tule cut in leaf and bat shapes and witches hats with or without scary hair attached...FUN!!
For the dogs I HAD to bring in the ever faithful "hotdog" costume which is nothing more than two soft buns that run the side of the dog's body with either a mustard or red "ketchup" along the back...tooooo funny.
Last year I thought "nahhhh nobody is wanting costumes for their dog and I may be stuck with them"....WRONG!!!! I was asked almost every hour from October 1st to the end of the month.
This month the shelves at Woofles and Meowz offer the Dinosaur...the skunk...the spider...the tuxedo and the cheerleader costumes.....plus a few other goodies.
I offer apologies to all cats who will be tormented mercilessly while Aunt Margerie tries to take the picture while they balance the witches hat on their furry head. OR
to the dogs who will be dragged through the neighborhood wearing a costume that will make even the most ferocious dog look like the skunk "Pepe LePew" from Warner Bros cartoon fame........TRICK OR TREAT!!!!

Freeze dried dog treats

2008-10-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

As a dog trainer here in Vancouver I get asked alot of times "what is the best reward for training purposes?"
Well...I usually say "as little as possible" as what you want to do is use the treats to start of the reward system and then it should be just for the patting and kind words that a dog will obey.
For the puppies...its a different story....like kids they can be bought!
I will often use a very simple freeze dried liver treat as it seems to be very gentle on the stomach and dogs can eat alot without getting the poops from them. If your dog is reactive to wheat proteins then this is a great alternative for them. There are several on the market and I carry a few lines from only the best suppliers here at the Granville Island store however there are alternatives...
A lovely customer of ours here at Woofles and Meowz makes her own treats with the liver doing both a dehydrated version and a freeze dried one.
For a great dehydrated treat you must start with either a good dehydrater or use the oven to dry out the product on a very low temp...almost baking the liver pate.
She says to take as much beef liver as you like and make it into a pate in a food processor. Some people will add salt and/or other ingredients to the pate at this time but it is not necessary.
Simply spread the mixture on a flat baking pan no more than an half inch high and bake at 275-300 degrees until the mixture has shrunk and completely dried out. You can not overcook this mixture too much as it is all about getting all the water out of the liver while the temp kills any bacteria. I have usually cooked it for 2-2.5 hours but your oven may vary. Just MAKE SURE the product is completely dry.
After it is done simply break up the dried pieces and keep in a freezer.
I am not sure on the length of time it can be kept as it only lasts a few days around here. Use your best discretion.
OH! and major tip....open ALL the windows in the house when doing this as it is a smelly project!!! fair warning!
The freeze dried method is:
Take any cow or calf liver and boil for 30-45 minutes until fully cooked. Let cool and cut into dice sized pieces and lay out on a flat baking pan and put in a very cold freezer. Often the freezer in your fridge may have to be made colder as they are not as cold as say..a deep freezer. There IS a difference and what you want is the DRY cold of a freezer set on the coldest temp. After a week or so the product will be dried out and you can test this by taking one piece out and letting it thaw. If there is any water in it you will see it leak out. Dont be afraid to see the liver turn white in the freezer..this is normal. Dont keep for more than a couple of months as it does get too dry and unappetising for even the biggest food-hound.
Hope this works and oh: Disclaimer of course...wash all utensils and hands after using with raw ingredients...dont keep product too long.....dont use old liver from dinner that had onions or other spices that may not agree with FIDO and use only fresh liver. If unsure there are a variety of packs her at the store!
Cheers! and enjoy your freeze dried dog treats

Fall in Vancouver and Granville Island.

2008-09-23T14:35:00.000-07:00

Ahh the leaves are changing and the air turns a bit clearer this time of year. Walks and talks and wrapping your hands around a nice cuppa something while you try to not spill it on the woolens you pulled from the closet are the things to do this time of year.
Woofles and Meowz sits pretty much at the entrance to our much visited Granville Island here in Vancouver and is often one of the first stops people will make while on those walks.
Often they are accompanied by one or more four footed friends in tow...or if we are baking here in the caboose just the other way around.
This is also the time of year when many people start thinking about some weather protection for their dog.
There are a few tips that I like to share regarding clothing for dogs:
1. If your dog is a purse-pooch who is used to wearing clothing for the fad and fashion of it then you are now at the time where warmth is the need and you will not notice so many smirks when taking FIFI for the morning constitutional.
2. Athletic people who take their dogs on extended walks and hikes need be aware that they will be clad in Gortex and fleece but REX wont be and a simple coat that keeps the wet off their back can make a world of difference.
3.As often as I talk to people about doggy shoes there are many times that I talk people OUT of buying these items for their dog. Dog shoes are great for those people who play in the snow or walk in areas where salt and calcium derivatives are used on roadways. This can be great protection against freezing paws and most sled teams use them in high snow/running areas but not so great if you are just running around the yard in mild temperatures.
4. Dogs lose their heat on their back so a simple coat can keep them warm even if not fully covering all areas.
5. There is a reason that many dog clothes dont cover the legs and lower extremities in that when wet a dog will get colder than if he can simple shed off the water instead of it being clad to his body from a hanging coat.
6.keep in mind that for some dogs an article of clothing will seem foreign and it may take a few times of wearing it inside for a few minutes to aclimate to it.
7. At Woofles and Meowz we like to ask about what the wee pooch is gonna DO while wearing said item so as to get the best use out of it.
8. Puppies and older dogs will benefit from a bit more protection than midlife dogs.
9.Clothing items that have some form of reflective or lighting in the make-up are well suited for running around the ever increasing darkening streets as the days get shorter moving toward winter.
........and finally......many dogs are imported here from very warm climes (like Chihuahuas) so clothes work well...while others simple can use their OWN fur coat if its just cold and not wet.

Ahhhh the "dog days" of summer all done with.

2008-09-04T15:49:00.000-07:00

Someone recently mentioned the "Dog days" of summer being here as we just finished with a long stretch of misty weather. I wondered what that actually meant so my fingers did the walking most literally across the keys to find:

Dog Days is the name for the most sultry period of summer, from about July 3 to Aug. 11. Named in early times by observers in countries bordering the Mediterranean, the period was reckoned as extending from 20 days before to 20 days after the conjunction of Sirius (the dog star) and the sun.

In the latitude of the Mediterranean region this period coincided with hot days that were plagued with disease and discomfort.

The time of conjunction varies with difference in latitude, and because of the precession of the equinoxes it changes gradually over long periods in all latitudes.

I thought that was an interesting tidbit for y'all.
Thanks to all the great feedback that I got on the last blog entry which was (eek) last month just over a month.
We were pretty busy here on Granville Island and especially by the Kids Only Market especially when school is out.
I could lament the slower reatil day but the truth is that we are pretty bushed by it all and looking forward to the reprieve until the Halloween-Thanksgiving then Christmas rush hits.
We will be celebrating our one year anniversary on October 1st although "Woofles and Meowz" has been here many years and was the first "Pet Boutique" here in Vancouver.
It has been a booming year and thanks to all who have stopped by and dropped a coin or two for some yummy snacks and toys etc for their kitty or pooch.
The all natural pet soaps have been such a fantastic sell that we are hoping to expand the line with a few more items.
more blogs to come!!
WOOF!

Why are kids so fucking misbehaved when in public

2008-08-01T12:34:00.000-07:00

I was trying to think up a witty and interesting blog entry today when I was interrupted by the Devil child and his Mom Helen Keller. I call her Hellen Keller because she was obviously both deaf and blind to the fact that her overly pudgy and loud child was ripping $60.00 sweaters off the hangers creating runs and tears and screaming "lets put this on Puddin!!!!!!!!"
I simply and calmly asked if he needed help...........no answer......."Damien" (I figured I'd make up an appropriate name for him myself) then proceeded to knock over a display of cat toys..shrugged and turned to the next rack..BUT!!!!!!!! not before Uncle Darren asked how fast he could pick up the toys he had strewn all over the floor...."is it faster than Mommy can get out her Visa card and pay for the damaged sweater?!?!???" of course the further subtext in my mind was "you little fuck!!"
At that point Mommy pulled her overly glazed french manicure from the earring display and turned to me with an equally glassy look from obviously too much meds and quietly said...."oh he's alright".
I levelled her with 42 years of "Cunty QUEEN" look and said...ummm yehhhhh...no he's not and either ONE of us does something because I can't afford to provide daycare for your kid while you fall asleep at the "parental wheel".
For a half awake zombie she responded pretty quickly with a "oh you obviously don't have children" followed by a condescending half lidded sneer.
"Girrrrrrrlllllllllll"....I started, but was interrupted by a butterscotch brogue behind me.
"Well dear, I have 6 children and 18 grandchildren and have considerable experience and I must tell you that your wee fat bastard could use a spoonful of "kick in the arse" as I've watched him destroy this man's store for the past few minutes and you let him!" Don't tell me you didn't notice because I saw that you did so you are to blame..maybe the kick in the arse should be yours!!"
I turned halfway through the short delivery to see what could only be described as a Zelda Sparks (short woman from Poltergeist) nanny 911 crossed with the lead singer from Aerosmith (Steven tyler) Earth mama with a party attitude stood before me.
I was startled and yet the support buoyed my next delivery.
"Sooooo thanks for coming in...have a lovely stay" as I tried to reblock two of the damaged clothing items. "and you Godzilla in cargo shorts..yer outta her!"
It was at that moment I spotted the catnip in fatty's hoodie.
"I'm being nice now.....and I you give me back what you've stolen from my store I won't call the police...I can tell by your accent that you are visiting Canada so lets keep it simple" I smiled.
Nothing was uttered. She held out her hand to him,he handed her the item and they left.
But..not before my new Scottish grandma gave me a stage whispered "Wait till he steals her car" loud enough for all to hear.
We were ON THE FLOOR howling with laughter! What a shit disturber! I LOVED HER!!
I gave her whatever she was buying for her Lab.
Marlene, come on back any time and the doggy biscuits AND drinks are on me!
So the sign on the outside of the store will read "ALL DOGS ARE ALLOWED...NOT ALL CHILDREN"

I waited for her to respond but the sound I heard next was from a

The "Ultimate" and simple dog biscuit recipe!

2008-06-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

We here at Woofles and Meowz are famous for our dog biscuits and I often get asked for the recipe or if I have a recipe book strictly for the treats.
We make over thirty different kinds of treats.....everything from Peanutbutter/Parsley dentabones with finely ground lava rock for fantastic teeth maintenance to our signature "Woofles waffles" with granola,parsley,cranberries, yogurt and carob topping.
One of our most popular yet simple to make biscuits is our Peanutbutter and Banana biscuits.
Here is the recipe for that one:
**we use organic ingredients but you can use what you have**
COMBINE IN A MIXER---
2 cups organic whole wheat flour
2 cups organic spelt flour
2 cups organic white flour
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
2 med to large bananas
2.5 cups peanutbutter
1/3 cup flax seed

MIX UP WET INGREDIENTS OF:
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
approximately 2 cups *or so* of water

MIX WET INGREDIENTS INTO THE DRY IN THE MIXER USING A DOUGH HOOK ADDING SMALL AMOUNTS OF WATER AS YOU GO TO MAKE A NICE PLIABLE MIXTURE.
WHEN COMBINED, ROLL OUT MIXTURE AND USE YOUR FAVOURITE COOKIE CUTTER TO MAKE SHAPES.
PLACE ON COOKIE SHEET AND BAKE IN OVEN AT 275DEGREES FOR 75 MINUTES. THIS LOWER TEMPERATURE WILL COOK THE BISCUITS AND REMOVE ALL WATER FROM THEM SO THEY CRISP UP AND LAST LONGER.
KEEP IN A COOL DRY PLACE...THEY SHOULD LAST 2-3 WEEKS DEPENDING ON STORAGE CONDITIONS(THE FRIDGE IS NOT THE BEST PLACE).

There you go..simple and healthy treats for your dog...and if you are feeling too lazy you can always visit us!!
cheers!!!

Honeysuckle, the new catnip!

2008-06-28T13:39:00.000-07:00

As a cat toy and treat store we sell ALOT of yummy things for your feline friends and the new hit has been for a while...HONEYSUCKLE!!!
Most cats will respond to catnip though not all will do so in the same way and honeysuckle has one common trait that makes for an interesting response: coveting the toy.
Many people have told of how honeysuckle prompts a protective response with drooling and carrying of certain toys around the house like Linus's blanket from the Charlie Brown cartoons.
My friend's cat "Purzz" does just that...a small pillow filled with the wood chips of the honeysuckle plant gets carried around and slept on everywhere...not so much drooling (yay)
Wikepedia defines it as:
Honeysuckle

Cultivation and uses
Wood cuttings from the species Lonicera tartarica, native to Eurasia, are sold as cat toys. The wood contains nepetalactone, which is the active ingredient found in catnip. Many breeds of cats react to the scent of the wood and will paw, lick or rub against it.

Honeysuckles grow best in partial sun to partial shade.

Lonicera japonica and Lonicera maackii (Amur Honeysuckle or Bush Honeysuckle) are considered invasive weeds in the United States and in New Zealand. Honeysuckle can be controlled by cutting, flaming, or burning the plant to root level and repeating on two-week increments until nutrient reserves in the roots are depleted. Honeysuckle can also be controlled through annual applications of glyphosate, or thorough grubbing if high labor and soil destruction are not of concern.

Honeysuckle is also edible; removing the blossom, one may suck at the sweet nectar in the center.

Cordage made from honeysuckle was used in the construction of Seahenge.

Honeysuckle flowers can be used to flavor wine, syrup, sorbet, and other sweet dishes.

Another name for honeysuckle is woodbine; and eglantine is used in Milton's L'Allegro.

...........there ya go...we learned something new...well at least some of us did. Give it a try and see how it goes..and let us know your experiences!

Canada Day at Woofles and Meowz

2008-06-27T14:28:00.001-07:00

Apparently Canada day is way bigger than most people know...at least it is here on Granville Island!
There will be a False Creek ferries ballet for free...Glass blowing demonstrations,free tattoos of the temporary kind from a few places including Woofles and Meowz, KVOS TV will be here as well,face painting,paper making demos and for what will probably go pretty fast a chance to dip into the chocolate fountain at Rogers chocolates...and way more. Who knew?!?!?
Have a great one and come'on by for a visit! All dogs and cats are welcome too!!!

Woofles and Meowz: Love in any language

2008-06-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I had the most interesting and rewarding sales experience. A lovely lady, her husband and what seemed like their adult daughter came into the store looking for some interesting or unusual dog equipment.
Now they spoke not one word of English and I not one word of the language they utilyze every day. They were from China and here on a vacation.
The conversation lasted about 12 minutes and in that time I learned through expressive body language,facial expressions and hand gestures that they were indeed visiting...they had a small to medium fluffy dog in need of a harness because he would walk well on the lead already but they needed to pick him up quickly in an emergency as traffic where they live is increasingly busy. It was a girl dog so they liked pink and she was a real chewer and often destroyed items close to her out of boredom. They were also looking for something that was unique and Canadian.
Bingo! Within the 12 minutes they were set up with exactly what they needed themselves and for their gift needs.
I wonder why it is that the communication was so easy in this case when sometimes getting a point across in so many other situations can be so arduous...the only thing I can think of is that a pet was the common denominator and that precipitated a friendly exchange. We all love our pets...right?

Vancouver dogs and cats.

2008-06-18T16:48:00.000-07:00

Here at Woofles and Meowz on Granville Island we get the opportunity to meet literally thousands of people who have pets of the dog/cat variety. Its always funny and cute when someone whips out their phone where the wallpaper is of their pet. People are often ready to tell a quick anecdote of their pet followed by a quick peek at their digital camera that has more than a few pics of Fido at home where they are hanging out.
People from other parts of the world are quick to remark that "there are alot of dog friendly people here in your city" or simply "there are alot of dogs here in Vancouver aren't there".
We are quite lucky here to have the dog parks and available facilities that make for a pretty sweet deal with regards to having a dog here and I often respond with :yeah its great and did you nitice that there is NO dog poop everywhere?!" Vancouverites really do a great job of picking up da poo!
Now if we could just get rid of all the damn PANHANDLERS!!!!!

Pet Peeves at Woofles and Meowz

2008-06-17T16:33:00.000-07:00

So I was chatting with a lady in the store a few weeks ago who I saw drive by not 5 minutes earlier with her dog perched on her lap. She came into the store and purchased some treats and a shiny new dog tag that said "princess". She obviously thought much of her dog with its gorgeous t-shirt and perfect grooming.
Except.....and here is the obvious "BUT" in the next sentence. Where was the safety equipment......where was the well being of the dog.....where did the needs of the "Mommy" end and the real needs of the dog start?!?!??
I casually mentioned our best selling "3 in 1" vest harness that we carry that is perfect for taking the pooch in the car. How it is really easy to use and how it saves lives of both doggy and other passengers.
"Oh she won't let me put that on her" was the response.
I waited......said nothing and just looked at the woman. I balanced the probabilities of whether she was just being lazy, stupid or was so entranced by the idea that she be loved by her dog at all costs that the welfare of said dog be damned that I was unusually silent.
Then.........I pulled out the picture of a woman in the operating room with bones of her dog being pulled from her chest as the airbag had pushed her "baby" into her fake boobs popping the inserts and puncturing one lung. The dog died.
Then I gave her a pic of a dog flying out of a half open window as a car made a quick left. The dog died.
Then I showed her the crash results of what a 10 pound projectile will do to the occupants in the event of a crash even at slow speeds. The driver usually suffers neck and head injuries as does the passenger. The pet will usually catch a leg in the steering wheel breaking it or catch itself on the shift lever often resulting in massive internal injuries...and....the dog usually dies.
"Sooooo.how about you lemme try one on your dog" I said. I think she was so grossed out by the pics that she just handed me her ball of fluff with legs.
"There!...easy peezy" I smiled as we watched the cute pink harness run around on the pooch in the store...."no problemo.......will that be cash or charge?"
"Do you take Visa?" she murmered.
"For you I do" I smiled.
I ALMOST felt quilty for what was an obvious and manipulitive manoever but nahhhhh!
She had to learn somehow.
.............now HERE'S the kicker!!!!!! two weeks after the conversation in walks Miss Thing with a broken nose and blacker eyes than Liza on a bender.
"IT WORKS!!! IT WORKS!!!!! THE HARNESS WORKS!" was the scream as she stumbled into the caboose..."Gabby (Gabrielle her dog) was saved!!"
"WOW..thats wonderful...and you just thought I was being an asshole didn't you" I laughed.
..."wellll maybe a little..but THATS OK!!!
"How's the car?" as I remembered it was a gorgeous 3 series beemer.
"Totalled!"
"What happened, girl?...spill!!"
"I slid off the road....they say it was gravel on the offramp" she said in a slowing tempo.
"But you only hurt one thumb from the airbag....Lucky you!!" I gave her.
"Oh I was on the phone".....and as soon as she said it, and looked at me..looking back at her....we both knew........she was indeed.........an idiot that really needed a safety harness for her dog.
A sweet idiot..........with a living dog...but an idiot nevertheless.
I swear if the dog could have given me a "high five" it would have.
True story!

Woofles and Meowz or Woofles and Meows either way its ALL good!

2008-06-11T12:19:00.000-07:00

As the webbing between my fingers and toes gets more dramatic with each passing rainy day I wonder when we are gonna see some sunshine here on Granville Island. The good thing is that people are purchasing alot of raincoats for their dogs as well as a variety of other equipment items for their pets.
Here in Vancouver we usually cling to the bragging rights to the best weather during the month of June however they are calling in "Juneuary" this year as it is freaking cold!!
A good thing to remind people is to keep the cold weather and wet protective clothing close at hand for those early morning walks. We sometimes forget that our pooches are closer to the ground and on a day that is wet and 8-12 degrees the heat loss is substantial especially if Fido is torqeing around the dog park for any length of time.
Speaking of the dog parks I have found a great item that rivals the "chuckit" brand of ball launchers in one that flings a ring..reaaaallllllyyy far. This is good for me as I can throw like a nine year old girl so this way there is at least some distance for the dog to run.
On the topic of chase toys our tip of the day is for those who like to toss the frizbee for their four legged pals: use an item that is not hard edged for midflight catches as this can put out a tooth and you'll not notice untill several hours after the adrenaline stops flowing through Spot. The other important tip is to make the toy easier to pick up. This is done by using specialty discs that use a soft rubber edge (good for the precious tip)or a flying item that is concave of has lifted edges like the "Flying Squirrel" brand that will allow the dog to pick up the disc once it is on the ground and not scrape his lower lip off on the cement of dirt. Nobody likes to have dirt on their faces...not even Woofles!

Porcupine Quills in a dogs face..OW! OW OW!!!

2008-05-01T11:24:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share a couple of interesting pictures that my sister Darlyn sent me about a dog who had a wee...ummmmm spat shall we say with a porcupine. The odd thing is that the vet ended taking out more than 1300 quills from the face,neck and body of this dog.
I understand that this dog is a pitbull and was jousting with the prickly critter in the back yard of their Southern California home.
Now....question...for ya....if a pitbull does not stop at 1347 quills in his face and eyes....what WILL stop it?!?!???
Nice puppy....NICE.....puppy.............!
The dog did have to be sedated and have the quills removed of course and if this ever happens to your dog I advise trying to remove the quills as fast as you can with a pair of pliers as close to the skin as possible as the quills are barbed and if left alone the dog will only push the quills into the skin in an attempt to scratch them away....which then could fester and become infected.
Of course, help from a vet is always warranted if there are more than a couple of quills to remove.............like bruiser in the pics on the right.
..did I mention "OW?"

The best customers buy the best toys!!!

2008-05-01T11:03:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about having a pet boutique here on Granville Island is the most wonderful people who shop here!
Not a day goes by where I don't meet someone who is interesting and has a cool pet that they are happy to tell about or show me pictures...I LOVE that!
I especially love when they send me pics of the cats or dogs with an item from my store......like Rico's owner who bought him one of our Tuff toys.
As a dog handler and retailer I REALLY try to give people the "skinny" on what is a good toy and what are simply just fun stuff.
Here in my shop where I only have a limited number of square feet I can only offer stuff that sells really well and is tried and true...stuff that is either requested or a constant inventory that I KNOW will move.
Keeping in that thought I got in a wonderful line of REALLY tuff toys that have many layers of material that is TOUGH and sewn together really well.
Now........nothing is indestructable...I tell people that all the time as a good salesman but these toys are great and Rico seems to LOVE his so kudos to Nik and her dog Rico! Thanks for the pic...you rock!!

The caboose on Granville Island.

2008-04-23T10:21:00.000-07:00

Alot of people come into the caboose here at the Kids Market on Granville Island and inquire about the caboose here.
The caboose pictured at right and way below was from what I have been told an old CP railcar that was used right up until Granville Island was set up. It has been a few different things like a daycare, a photo studio but most noteably a Pet Boutique..which is of course us Woofles and Meowz.
We are located right outside of the Kids Market which was a building that originally made paint for the commercial trade. If you go in that building you can still see remnants of the large round room that held the vat. If you look way up you can see the loft where they added the ingredients which is a "way cool" office/storage place.
Below is the history of the island:

The Granville Island Story

Granville Island is a forty-acre man made island created in 1917. For fifty years it housed heavy industry.

During the depression, hundreds of families lived on Granville Island, then known as "Mud Island". The shantytown settlement was called "Bennettville" after the former Prime Minister of Canada, Richard B. Bennett.

Families on the island operated small boats or sold salmon or buckets of smelt door to door to survive. They were basically self-sufficient and were left alone by city officials until 1949 when seven hundred people were given eviction notices. Most families eventually moved off the island by the late 1950's.

The Granville Island Museums run along Broker's Bay, once referred to as "Rat Portage". This was one of two entrances to the island during the 1930's. A second entry was a stairway leading from the old Granville Street Bridge to the shantytown settlement on the island. During World War II the stairway was closed for fear of sabotage.

In the 1970's, the Federal Government developed a plan, creating a partnership between government and private enterprise. The Granville Island Concept -- a recycling of old buildings and an orchestrated mix of tenants was designed to maintain an equally busy evening environment as it was during the day by local residents and tourists alike. Also, development was not to compete with other city zoning. Special features were kept or enhanced such as the metal or stucco siding, heavy timber structures, large doors, and mulit-paned industrial glazed windows and skylights.

The Sidney Roofing & Paper Company building, home of the Granville Island Museums, was built in 1936 by Townley & Matheson Architects, and then renovated in the 1980's - Art Deco.

Today, so commercially popular, some of the original low profit businesses are being squeezed out. There is however still a good representation of live theatre, marine stores, a wonderful public market, an art school and three unique museums that fulfil its original mandate. Since the islands new beginning 21 years ago, it currently sits in the middle of the newly developed False Creek area. This area occupies some 30,00 new residents who routinely shop at Granville Island along with the regional and international visitors, In total, Granville Island now receives over 12 million visitors a year. This number is calculated by the traffic flow from cars and the aqua busses that stop on the island though probably not an exact science.

Granville Island , now well placed, answers the various needs of the whole family. Dad can visit the sport fishing museum, Mom can go the the public market, while Grandma takes the little ones to the Kid's Market, or to the train museum. They can all meet for lunch or dinner at one of the restaurants such as Bridges or the Keg and then they can charter a harbour cruise. The options are numerous.

Behind the Scenes - Granville Island is one of the few, very pleasant destinations that offers more comprehensive activities for families than any other location in the province, and one of the few successful partnership between public and private enterprise.

For an economical investment of $19 million in the late 1970's, the Federal government now reaps over double that a year in taxes.

Adopting a pet

2008-04-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

So I was reading the cute magazine that gets sent around from the BCSPA and there was an interesting fact about pets in a sidebar story.
Did you know that each year over 40,000 animals enter the care of the BC SPCA-that's more than 100 animals a day!
No matter how thay end up at the SPCA,they need new forever homes and many people are unaware that you can adopt small animals like hamsters,guinea pigs,gerbils and rats from them.
Of course they are also touting the so called "designer dogs" which are really mixed breeds of course. Nontheless they are wonderful options for anyone who may be in need of a pet with some training already built in..like house training! Save the expensive carpets people!!!! Get a house trained pet...yay!!
You can go to their website at:

www.spca.bc.ca
...a great organization doing an often thankless but very important job for the community and the animals!

Pet Food Cat Food Dog Food...whats the dif?!?!?

2008-04-20T14:37:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest and most often asked questions is "what pet food is the best?" or "what dog food should I buy?"..or "will my cat eat this food?"
As a handler/trainer and pet store/boutique owner I have a pretty good idea of what I would feed MY pet and can only give advice on what I see is happening in the industry.
So called all natural pet food or "raw food" diets seem to be all the rage and as mentioned in previous blogs they are good for the most part. This is where the asterix comes into play cause HANDLED properly raw can be wonderful..and....contrary to popular belief there is no such thing as a truly all natural diet unless you grow the vegetables and grains and kill the animals used for feed yourself as once processed the all natural thing goes out the window with the use of chlorinated water and packaging in plastic or coated metal containers. Now using organic ingrediets or non medicated meats is fantastic but don't be fooled by florrid and abstract advertising.
My biggest peeve these days is the sales of pet food in Vet offices. Often these foods are the same product on the market in reputable shops but just packaged differently or made on the same lines as many other products. The down side is that they are tremendously expensive and often a single or simple food prescribed because the dog or cat cannot tolerate much else.
I don't know how OFTEN and how LOUD I can say this but "by nucleating your pets diet you can do more harm than good!!!!" Limiting to a small diet can be detrimental to health.
It's all about the bacterial count and a large variety diet. The healthiest dogs and cats are farm animals who are running all day getting their excercise and eating crap (sometimes literally) and mice and food....real....food.
Pets need REAL FOOD.
What makes people think that packaged food is the only food their pet should eat and still stay healthy??
It boggles the mind.
Give your pet vegetables,stinky cheeses,meats and more.
Some people are so afraid that their pet's poop will vary from the hard "tootsie roll appearing dried lump" that they are used to. POOP IS POOP! ummmm its supposed to be the same consistancy is yours....and yes it is supposed to smell.....yours does, why not your pets???
In answer to many of the questions regarding food I always ask how old the pet is and what activity level it is at.
That will determine what calorie count is needed however don't be fooled by manufacturers who make a "low calorie" food for older dogs. While some are good and effective most dogs will regulate their intake pretty well with regard to their activity and age. (having said that..some dogs have food issues and just pig out but that is another blog)
so before I fold up the soapbox for this one I say..try a variety of real food mixed in with a good dog or cat food and limit treats.......sounds like OUR diet huh?!

Woofles and Meowz at The Kids Market on Granville Island

2008-04-17T12:44:00.001-07:00

Here on Granville Island we have a huge number of specialty stores that cater to a particular clientel. You can get everything form fantastic fossils and crystals from the Crystal Ark to the best magic props from Clownin' around and if you want cool toys the Granville Island Toy Company has a wonderful selection. I always find it funny that people are surprised to find the "best kept secret in town" is the Kids market at Granville Island.
Shoppers from the cruise ships are often trucked here from the boat to take advantage of a really nice afternoon with everything you would need including a great market to have lunch.
Bringing the relatives here at this time of the year always incites the envious glances towards the mountains of strawberries and deliscious baked goods..yum!!!
Stop by the caboose anytime you are here. We'd be happy to see you!

Dog Rescues...a Bonanza!!!

2008-04-04T11:43:00.000-07:00

So a lovely lady walked into the store today with the most gorgeous Hungarian Vizsla which is a noted retriever and pointer. A working dog of nice proportions and gorgeous tan/red colour. These dogs are not inexpensive and not overbred in this area......and.........she was looking for a home for this 6 month old pup as her neighbor who actually owns the dog cannot look after it.
It always interests me to see just how many people blindly and without due care step into the role of dog owner with only the image of themselves running down the beach with sun glinting off the water and the dog splashing around happily just feet away or the thought of themselves with the pooch sitting at their feet on a cold winters day while the fire crackles merrily warming both the home and the bond between animal and owner.........yyehhhhhhhhhh.
Not to say that doesn't or can't happen and often it does, but there are so many other concerns that seem to escape the sober thought process that should be when picking a pet for the home.
I have said it many a time.
"DO THE RESEARCH!!!!!"
This was case in point with this particular dog. A beautiful dog in need of both work and exercise mentally and physically and I bet dollars to dog biscuits that this was not taken into account when she initially saw the cute bundle of fur that was this pup shortly after birth.
"Yeh..I'll take that one" often turns into "Can you take this one" about 8-10 months later when the reality of poop scooping, barfing, shredded couches,ever increasing vet bills,night howling,and my favorite..."oh I cant ever go out to a movie again cause the dog will ruin the house if left alone..." which I get from a friend these days....not mentioning any names, Suzi...oh oopsie......my bad!
Then there is the weekends that are spent in doggy obedience classes which..as a trainer and dog handler...are REALLY for the people and not the dog.
Why are so many people apt to farm out their pet responsibilities with dog walkers, pet sitters,trainers (like me),and more??? On the odd occassion is fine but more than twice a month for any of these services (which are BIG business these days) I believe means that you are NOT able to fully care for a pet at this time.If one goes into pet ownership with the excuse that they can use ANY of these services as a fall back on the odd occassion I believe, they will have to utilize them MUCH more than they expected.....one or two times is alway more like six or eight.
Sounds harsh, I know, but the reality is that there are more and more rescue organizations with gorgeous pets of all breeds and creeds who come from perfectly perfect homes with the exception that there was not enough time, energy, money or knowledge to keep a pet for their lifetime.
This means anywhere from 10 to 18 years for many dogs.
I know that people go into ownership with all good intentions and sometimes LIFE does creep into the equation and yes sometimes good pets are given to other good homes and there is nothing wrong with that in my opinion.....that is if the dogs or cats are not given away simply because the owner was not aware in the first place and it was simply a matter of say, a move, a new baby, medical, or some such occasion. Sometimes the pet is better off in a better situation. What I'm thinking here is a pet that has been with an owner for a significant time and not one who simply picked and then within the year opted out.
THAT just fuels the business of puppy mills and an increase in pet population.
Nothing makes me more happy than seeing a customer with a pooch that they proundly display as a "rescue" dog (a term that is not altogether accurate in its application)
Now...having said all that. Even I am not immune to the "situation" of having dogs that needed a good home.
9 years after I rescued them from homes I had two dogs go to a wonderful home that had requested them every so often "If ever I needed a break".
As it turns out I did and was fortunate to have the resource to get the pooches to a great home as I left the country for a few months. Lucky me, lucky dogs and lucky new owner who I believe loves them dearly...and no I did not go back and get them as that would have been selfish and uprooting the dogs once was enough.
Now I own a pet store, a place where having a dog at work is almost expected. I have the option of picking a home that allows pets and I am here in town with many resources and time to spend with a pet...and STILL.......I have to think about it.
I know though that when it comes time I will get a pet from a "rescue organization" simply because it reduces pet populaton and there are amazing pets available!
Below is a list of organizations here in BC.....if I've missed any feel free to email me!
...and.....good choosing!

Vancouver / Lower Mainland
1AtATime Rescue
— 1atatime Rescue is based in and around the Lower Mainland of British Columbia with volunteers all over BC and Alberta.
BC Enquiries: Tel. (604) 622-3250, E-mail: save_1atatime@yahoo.ca
Alberta Enquiries: E-mail: alissa@ultramutt.com
Website Addresses:
www.1atatimerescue.com
www.1atatimerescue.petfinder.com (BC Rescue)
www.petfinder.org/pet.cgi?action=1&pet.Shelterid=AB39 (Alberta Rescue)

A Better Life Dog Rescue
— A group of volunteers animal lovers who help abandoned, neglected and abused dogs find loving, responsible homes.
Surrey, BC
E-mail: info@betterlifedogrescue.org

Big Heart Rescue
— A volunteer-driven organization that rescues and finds adoptive homes for abandoned, abused, neglected or homeless dogs and cats in Greater Vancouver, Greater Victoria, Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, the Lower Mainland and the Central Coast areas of British Columbia BC Canada.
Tel.: (604) 583-3647
E-mail: spiritsmission@shaw.ca

BCSPCA — British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
— The BC Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is dedicated to protecting and enhancing the quality of life for the animals of the world.
BC SPCA Administration Centre
1245 East 7th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5T 1R1
Tel.: (604) 681-7271 or 1-800-665-1868 toll-free outside the Lower Mainland
E-mail: info@spca.bc.ca
— BC SPCA Branches — List of Branches and Shelters across British Columbia.

City of Coquitlam Animal Shelter
— A municipally run no-kill for adoptable animals shelter.
500 Mariner Way
Coquitlam, BC
Tel.: 604-933-7387
E-mail: shylton@coquitlam.ca

Cross Our Paws RESCUE
— A small group of dedicated volunteers who love animals and have joined together to help rescue, provide medical care, rehabilitate and rehome abused, abandoned, homeless animals.
North Vancouver, BC
E-mail: crossourpaws@yahoo.ca

Delta Humane Society
— A non-profit organization dedicated to rehabilitating and re-homing unwanted, stray and abandoned animals, and to promoting humane treatment of animals through educational programs for the community. Committed to providing quality veterinary care, as well as, socializing, training, behavioral modification where needed, exercise and daily companionship for all animals at the society.
Tel.: (604) 943-8320 or (604) 999-0286
E-mail: amber@icande.ca

District of North Vancouver Animal Welfare Shelter
— A government funded facility, which provides a temporary home for animals until a responsible life long home is found.
299 Mansfield Place
North Vancouver, BC
Tel.: 604-990-3711
E-mail: paws@dnv.org

Fraser Valley Humane Society
— A non-profit, registered charity, located in Mission, B.C. There to help their communities and their animals in need.
33103 N. Railway Avenue
Mission, BC V2V 1E3
Tel.: (604) 820-2977
E-mail: fvhumanesociety@telus.net

Furever After Small Dog Rescue
— A group of dedicated volunteers whose focus is to help small breed dogs who find themselves homeless.
Qualicum Beach/Vancouver
E-mail: fureverafter@hotmail.com

Langley Animal Protection Society (LAPS)
— The LAPS was formed by a dedicated group of volunteers due to the closure of the Langley SPCA. The Langley Animal Protection Society is a registered non-profit society with charitbable status.
26220-56th Avenue
Aldergrove BC V4W 1J7
Email: langleyanimalshelter@lapsbc.ca
Tel.: (604) 857-5055
Fax: (604) 857-5057

Royal City Humane Society
— New Westminster, BC — A no-kill shelter for animals in need.
E-mail: info@rchs.bc.ca

S.A.R.A. Society (Save Animals through Rescue and Adoption)
— A non-profit organization, completely run by dedicated volunteers. S.A.R.A. Society is a no-kill shelter located in Surrey, British Columbia.
Surrey, BC
E-mail: sarasociety@gmail.com

SAINTS - Senior Animals In Need Today Society
— An end-of-life sanctuary for senior and special needs animals that have nowhere else to go.
Mission, BC
E-mail: adopt@saintsrescue.ca

Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue
— Turtle Gardens is a no-kill, non-profit animal rescue located in Topley B.C. Canada. Dogs are predominantly adopted to the lower mainland and Vancouver Island area. See www.turtlegardens.org — This web site has a daily blog — or www.turtlegardens.petfinder.com.
Tel.: (250) 696-3188
E-mail: turtlegardens@gmail.com

Whistler Animals Galore Society: WAG
— WAG is the safety net for lost, abandoned, and harmed animals in the region. From Whistler to Lillooet, WAG offers hope to all animals in need.
8000 Nesters Road
Whistler, BC
Tel.: 604-935-8364
E-mail: jrussell@thewagway.com

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Vancouver Island / Smaller Islands

BCSPCA — Nanaimo & District Branch
— The BC Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is dedicated to protecting and enhancing the quality of life for the animals of the world.
2200 Labieux Road
Nanaimo, BC
Tel.: (250) 758-8444
E-mail: nanspca@shaw.ca

BCSPCA — Parksville- Qualicum Beach & District Branch
— The BC Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is dedicated to protecting and enhancing the quality of life for the animals of the world.
P.O. Box 1407
Parksville, BC V9P 2H3
Tel.: (250) 248-3811

Big Heart Rescue Society
— Works within the Province of British Columbia with a special focus on small First Nations Reserves, such as Bella Bella and Shear Water on the Central Coast and Kuper Island in the Gulf Islands. The Big Heart Rescue Society was formally organized as a non-profit charity in August 2002
Victoria, BC
Tel.: 604-583-DOGS(3647)
E-mail: spiritsmission@shaw.ca

Chelco Farms BC/BCX Rescue Rehabilitation
— A non-profit, registered charity, located in Victoria, BC, specializing in rescue, especially for the purpose of saving the lives of dogs considered, non-adoptable, hard to home, and those at risk.
Victoria, BC
Tel.: (250) 479-0911
chelco@shaw.ca

Dog Bless Rescue Partners
— A registered non-profit animal rescue group located in Victoria, BC, with a mandate to save the lives of companion animals who would otherwise be euthanized in US shelters.
Victoria, BC
E-mail: dogbless@shaw.ca

Faunadael Pet Rescue
— Located an hour north of Victoria
Duncan, Vancouver Island, BC
Tel.: (250) 748-3451
E-mail: faunadael@shaw.ca

Friends of the Animals - FOTA
— Primarily a dog rescue society, run entirely by dedicated volunteers.
Bowen Island, BC
Tel.: 604-541-3627
E-mail: info@fota.ca

Furever After Small Dog Rescue
— A group of dedicated volunteers whose focus is to help small breed dogs who find themselves homeless.
Qualicum Beach/Vancouver
E-mail: fureverafter@hotmail.com

Mosaic Rescue
— A registered non profit society dedicated to the rescue and adoption of small and medium sized mixed breed dogs who end up in US kill facilities.
Victoria, BC
E-mail: info@mosaicrescue.ca

Rest. Q Animal Sanctuary
— Provides permanent shelter to unwanted animals, provides temporary assistance to animals in need and to those assisting animals in need, and to educate the local community and visiting tourists about responsible animal stewardship.
Mayne Island, BC
Tel.: 250-539-5791
E-mail: info@restqsanctuary.org

Second Chances
— A not-for-profit animal rescue organization based in Parksville, B.C.
Parksville, BC
E-mail: koha17@shaw.ca

Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue
— Turtle Gardens is a no-kill, non-profit animal rescue located in Topley B.C. Canada. Dogs are predominantly adopted to the lower mainland and Vancouver Island area. See www.turtlegardens.org — This web site has a daily blog — or www.turtlegardens.petfinder.com.
Tel.: (250) 696-3188
E-mail: turtlegardens@gmail.com

Victoria Animal Control Services
— Providing animal control and poundkeeping services to the City of Victoria and the District of Oak Bay. The Adoption Centre finds new homes for animals that are left unclaimed in the pound.
564 David Street
Victoria, BC
Tel.: 250-414-0233
E-mail: vacs@shaw.ca

Victoria Adoptables
— Animal Adoption Information Portal — Providing a place for rescue organizations, shelters & pounds in Greater Victoria, Vancouver Island & the Gulf Islands to post animals in need of homes.

Victoria Pet Adoption Society
— A registered non-profit organization that operates through Shaw Pet Hospitals in Victoria, BC, Canada. VPAS' goal is to re-home unwanted pets to good, approved homes.
1782 Stellys X Rd.
Saanichton, BC
Tel.: (250) 652-4312
E-mail: vpas@wormers.com

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Kootenay
BCSPCA — East Kootenay Branch Cranbrook
— The BC Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is dedicated to protecting and enhancing the quality of life for the animals of the world.
3339 Highways 3 & 95
P.O. Box 2
Cranbrook, BC V1C 4H6
Tel.: (250) 426-6751

Creston Pet Adoption and Welfare Society
— The Creston Pet Adoption and Welfare Society (PAWS) is a registered, non-profit society committed to finding safe, comfortable homes for abandoned and unwanted animals in the Creston Valley.
Tel.: (250) 428-7297
E-mail: paws@kootenay.com

Homes4Animals.com
— Homes4Animals.com is designed to help find homes for adoptable, healthy animals in Nelson, B.C. and region. This is a free web site for all individuals, vet clinics, associations, societies, help leagues and anyone else wanting to advertise an animal needing a new home.
E-mail: homes4animals@netidea.com

Second Chance Animal Shelter

Giving animals a second chance to find a loving, forever home or help them to remain in the home they already have.
2124 Ymir Road
Nelson, BC Canada V1L 6Y9
Tel.: (250) 352 1232
E-mail: secondchanceadoption@shaw.ca

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Kamloops / Okanagan

BCSPCA - Kamloops Branch
— Serving Kamloops, Barriere, Savona, Logan Lake, Pritchard and Chase.
1211 - 8th Street
Kamloops, BC V2B 2Y3
Tel.: (250) 376-7722
Fax: (250) 376-7723
E-mail: kamloopsspca@shawcable.com

BCSPCA - Kelowna Branch
— Serving Kelowna, Rutland, Joe Rich, Peachland, Westbank, Winfield and Oyama.
3785 Casorso Road
Kelowna, BC V1W 4M7
Tel.: (250) 861-7722
Fax: (250) 868-2830

BCSPCA - Vernon & District Branch
— Serving Vernon, Coldstream, Lumby, Armstrong and Falkland.
4800 Haney Road
Vernon, BC V1H 1P6
Tel.: (250) 549-7297
Fax: (250) 545-2910
E-mail: vernon@spca.bc.ca

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Cariboo / Northern BC

100 Mile House BC SPCA
— Located in the South Cariboo region on Highway 97, 5 1/2 hours northeast of Vancouver, B.C.
100 Mile House, BC
Tel.: 250-395-5303
E-mail: onehundredmilespca@yahoo.com

Kitimat Community Humane Society
— The Kitimat Community Humane Society is a locally funded shelter that takes in all animals. We work for the animals, to get them into proper homes where love is always provided. We have a no-kill policy as well as a vaccination policy, so no one leaves sick. We have a new website to get their adorable faces out there to the world, www.kitimathumanesociety.piczo.com.
420 Enterprise Ave.
Kitimat, BC
Tel: 250-632-7373
E-mail: kchs@monarch.net or kchs@caring4animals.com

Northwest Animal Shelter
— An all-volunteer domestic animal charity working to build an animal shelter in the Smithers area, to provide income-assisted spay and neuter services, to promote animal welfare education and outreach and do what we can to prevent neglect and abuse of our animal friends in the Bulkley Valley of northern British Columbia.
Website: www.nwass.ca
E-mail: smithersnwass@hotmail.com

Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue
— Turtle Gardens is a no-kill, non-profit animal rescue located in Topley B.C. Canada. See www.turtlegardens.org — This web site has a daily blog — or www.turtlegardens.petfinder.com.
Tel.: (250) 696-3188
E-mail: turtlegardens@gmail.com

FAQs about Woofles and Meowz

2008-03-25T17:08:00.000-07:00

As we're constantly tweaking the wooflesandmeowz website I decided to put up a FAQ page and log it in here just for a "FYI" read.....

FAQ page:

1. Do you make your own treats?

answer: Yes! We bake our own treats inhouse using only the finest ingredients we can find. We source out organic and local ingredients like
100% whole wheat, spelt, virgin olive oils,roasted lamb and chicken, vegetables, and more! What we don't use is sugar or salt in the baking instead we favour using
molasses and carob and certain spices...yummy!

2.How do I get to your store?

answer: We are located on Granville Island which is just under the south side of the Granville bridge and can be accessed either by car or by the fun and funky
aquabusses running from the north shore of false Creek. Come summertime you can take the trolley from Science world righ to the Island too.
Located right outside of the Kids Market we are in the caboose...you can't miss us!

3.What products do you carry?

answer: We carry a variety of signature line products like our doggy soaps-shampoos-bed fresheners-dry shampoo that are all made by us as well as our famous
inhouse made treats. We also carry a large supply of dog and cat toys, products, clothing for fun as well as protective,collars, tags, poo-poo bags, gifts for the dog and cat lover, dishes and other treats and some food. We also are a distributor for many of our supplier partners for those who can't get to us as often as we would both like. We also try to buy as locally as possible with many of our producers within 100kms and/or Canadian.

4.Do you sell pets??

answer: No! we do NOT sell pets and our policy is never to do so. We believe that people should get to know and meet a good breeder and/or research the many
wonderful rescue organizations that are available. The SPCA also does a great job of finding homes for unwanted pets who can be just fantastic.
We think the first step should be sober and methodical research on the type of pet you may want and that would be suitable for your home and situation and then go from there. Pets should never be purchaced as gifts or simply because the are "on sale". If you look on our links page you will find some great links to some organizations.

5. Can you recommend a good Vet?

answer: Y'know..we could, but we don't. Simply for the reason that what will work for a cat may not work for a dog with regard to facilities. There are a vast number of great Vets here in Vancouver and with the internet a huge number of great chat rooms and weblogs that pertain to people's experiences. What we Do advise is to do your homework before you need one so you are prepared. Timing is everything!

6.Can I bring my dog into the store?

answer: Yes! all well behaved dogs are always welcome in our store (this does not always apply to all children though hee hee!) A good treat is always instore for our four footed friends. Sometimes we have Brodie (a boxer) here in the store to welcome everyone with a wagging tail.

7.We live far away and would like to get some items we saw in the store...do you ship?

answer: Yes! we have links to our suppliers with a huge catalogue of items and you can call us with your requests. All information is secure and items can be shipped across North America. We only charge the same as the local freight charges.

8. Is your store locally owned and operated?

answer: Yes. The owner of the store is Darren Monette who has a diverse history and quite a bit of experience handling and training animals.

Spring has sprung..the grass has riz, but why oh why is it my cat and dog's biz??

2008-03-18T17:08:00.000-07:00

Ok bad rhyme..but you get the point...why do dogs and cats eat grass??

Both dogs and cats can sometimes be seen eating grass....but is this normal ?

Grass is pretty indigestible for cats and dogs because they do not have the digestive enzymes necessary to breakdown the fibre content ..which is high. Apart from fibre and water, grass also contains some minerals, vitamin A and sometimes vitamin D.

The nutritional value of grass for cats and dogs is very poor...so there is unlikely to be a basic instinctive nutritional reason why cats and dogs would eat grass ...unless they have a need for dietary fibre itself which is thought to be unlikely. Cats in particular are known to be obligate carnivores and have no requirement for nutrients derived from plant material. However the nutrients in vegetables as well as the motility inducing properties of vegetables are invaluable in my humble opinion.

It has been reported (but not scientifically proved) that cats and dogs will eat grass if they have a digestive system problem such as gastritis or nausea. They will also eat unusual materials if they have a nutritional deficiency, or if they are hungry and do not have access to food. I have heard that if there is a deficiency of chlorophyl or nitrogen......the jury is still out but ya never know. On the other hand eating small amounts of untypical foods ..grass, wood, leaves ..can just be a normal behavioural trait and is not important providing the material eaten is not toxic - such as laburnum leaves or sticks. Grass is usually safe - unless it has been sprayed with herbicide or insecticides.
"Cat grass"..the kind you buy in the store is usually some familiar grain,rye,barley seed that while only six inches looks very similar to grass and cats seem to love..I mean LOVE to chew the heck outta it. It seems to help with some digestion problems or else my previous cats would have left it alone. Could it be the same as when we take a big swigg of beer and burp afterwards...cats like to barf a bit??? So no harm there I guess unless you find alot of little green barf balls all over the house..oh well they clean up easily unless you have a white carpet....!
The joys of pet ownership.

Humanizing your dog.....bad baby!!!

2008-03-13T16:01:00.000-07:00

I was going to do a blog about the dangers of humanizing your dog and why it is so prevelant with all the "purse babies" that are hanging off the arms of the post teenage women who are longing for their "doll" fix (PARIS!!!) and just as popular the older ladies who find themselves in an empty nest syndrome and transfer all the motherly instincts they have to a poor wee pooch. I see it time and time again in the store and not five minutes ago a woman complained that her dog eats all the toys to which I explained that "toys are tools and made to be played with and then taken away if the dog eats them in favour of chew sticks like the bully bones...then bring'em out when its play time....dogs think that by destroying them they are doing a job and what they are supposed to do"...she replied "well its his toy how is he supposed to know if it is his if I take it away...he'll feel like he doesn't own anything".
Ummmmm yeah.....I said nothing but in my mind I was thinking "he doesnt...hes a dog...dogs dont own things...they can inprint for a time on certain things but they dont OWN anything......stop making your dog into a child and then feeling pissed off when he acts like a DOG!!!" good thing I was only thinking it.
Some of the people have come into the store sharing dialogue such as "oh she/he says or feels or tells me" when refering to their dog. Or another person recently (I loved this one) said her dog "destroyed her $4000.00 couch because he needed an outlet for his anxiety by being in a new place".......?????????? or another said he was "afraid to move while sleeping cause the dog would get angry when woken up". This one I did respond to in a manner along the lines of "how about getting Rover's sorry ass off YOUR bed to sleep on his
own bed and let him know that YOU are the boss and not the other way around!?!?!?"
..I got back.."oh but he's my baby!!".....yeeehhhhhhhhhhhhh okaaayyyyyyyyyy have a nice day!

I absolutely LOVE the ideals and applications of one particular dog trainer who is getting alot of press these past few years but who really knows his stuff and can put into ink much better than I can so I have cut a bit from his teachings about the dangers of humanizing the pet....read on gentle readers!

Caesar Milan says:

I'm going to begin today's blog with a stunning revelation. It's a discovery that I made many years ago, and it has been invaluable in developing my human/dog relationship philosophy. Here it is:
Dogs are not people.

They are friendly, affectionate, and highly intelligent companions, but their mental processes are not the same as ours. A dog's fulfillment doesn't depend upon the cute outfits you buy for him. He doesn't remember with resentment the time you skipped the dog park because it was raining. And he won't love you more because you buy a more expensive brand of dog food. The keys to a calm, balanced dog are regular exercise, stable leadership, and affection given at the right time.

It makes sense that we should see a soulful glance from a dog and assume that he was mourning the loss of his toy, or that he understood and sympathized with the frustration we feel after a long, hard day at work. But our humanization often leads to what I call "issues." Issues can range from dominance and fear aggression, to phobias, anxiety, obsessions, or hyperactive energy. The mixed signals that result from treating your dog the way you would a human child may cause the dog to question his own role in your pack. This confusion can lead him to adapt erratically to ensure the pack's survival, and erratic behavior in any dog is a recipe for an unhealthy relationship.

Always keep in mind that your dog is what he is. He lives in the now and has specific needs. Make it your responsibility to know what those needs are and fill them, and you'll be able to maintain a strong, healthy pack.

.......so there ya have it from someone who can delicately wrap a message up in elegant prose to make it more palatable....makes it a wee bit nicer than."stop treating your dog like a child or small person who has the same screwed up mental afflictions that you may have...you are doing him/her a huge disservice and freaking them out buy not being a clear and strong pack leader/pet owner.
...my portable soapbox is now folded up for another day.
WOOF!!

Vegetables..good for us..good for your dog!

2008-02-26T14:29:00.000-08:00

How you feed your dog can have a significant impact on his overall health and his potential lifespan. Unfortunately, many standard and even premium dog foods have been found to be inadequate nutritionally and may contain harmful chemicals that can harm your dog. Not all of course but they are out there. reading the ingredient list sounds like a no-brainer and pretty easy for anybody. In addition, we're discovering that vegetables have powerful antioxidants that may help to reduce chronic disease and slow down the rate of aging. What about vegetables for dogs?

It seems likely that vegetables added to a dog's diet would have some of the same positive health benefits seen in humans, particularly since some of the studies showing the benefits of vegetables were carried out on dogs. In fact one of the world's longest living dogs named Bramble was raised in Great Britain on a vegan diet and is currently twenty-seven years old. Bramble's diet consists of a healthy bowl of rice, lentils, and a bowl of organic vegetables every evening.
Of course its only MY opinion but I still feel dogs...CANINES.. have insisors for a reason...to rip meat as well as other things...but thats MY opinion.

What are good vegetables for dogs and which should you avoid? Most vegetables, especially when cooked to improve digestibility, are safe for dogs to eat. The exceptions would be onions and garlic in any form. This is because these foods contain a chemical called thiosulphate which is known to be toxic to dogs. Dogs given this chemical develop hemolytic anemia., a condition where red blood cells circulating in the blood stream burst, reducing the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood. Onions are particularly dangerous vegetables for dogs as they contain higher quantities of this chemical. Having said that...a small amount of garlic powder in a biscuit recipe is perfectly acceptable as the chemical is changed with the heat. (a small amount...I said )

Vegetables that are good for dogs include green beans, cabbage, carrots, green beans, broccoli, squash, and most other green, leafy vegetables. Not only do these vegetables add healthy antioxidants to your dog's diet, they also are a significant source of soluble fiber and roughage which can promote intestinal health in your dog.

Fortunately, many dogs enjoy the taste of vegetables. Start by introducing small amounts of cooked vegetables to your dog's regular food, gradually increasing the quantity as your dog learns to accept them. A good rule of thumb is to have vegetables compose around 20% of your dog's daily food. If your dog is reluctant to eat cooked vegetables in his food, try pureeing them in a blender after cooking them and mixing them thoroughly with his regular diet. Vary your dog's antioxidant exposure, by adding different vegetables that are good for dogs every day to his food bowl.
It has been my experience that we have been limiting our dog's diet to almost one or two items that for the sake of conveniance have been screwing up their systems. Dogs cannot tolerate eating one type of food for a consistant time then changing to another type which is why most vets and people in the know say to slowly introduce food changes. can we not just iliminate this problem by having a really good all 'round diet that includes as many items as possible?? Seems sensible to me. It is so very interesting to me and noted in a previous blog that sooo many dogs are becoming allergic to foods. WHY??? The only common denominator after reviewing and casually interviewing several hundred dog owners is that there was a huge influx of wheat protein and/or a limited diet that the dog as a puppy or young dog was used to. This compounded with the same dog not having enough DUTY (More on that in a further blog) or excercise. Sounds like a problem for a rich dog huh.
It reminds me of Epstein Barr syndrome that everyone was coming down with in the 80s: a lethargy and lack of interest with accompanying muscle atrophy and depression...ummmmm thats called 'get off yer ass and DO something you lazy MOFO" disease in my household. and...our dogs are not far behind......BUT I digress.

Another advantage of vegetables for dogs is the role they play in controlling obesity. If your dog is overweight, reward him with some raw vegetable sticks such as celery or carrots in place of his regular cookies. To make the vegetables more appealing, add a small amount of peanut butter to give them additional flavor. Do this consistently in place of his higher calorie treats and you should see your dog's weight start to decline.

Vegetables for dogs can be a real asset to canine health. Plus, it adds variety to your dog's diet. Why not treat your dog to some vegetables?

AAhhh here comes the sun!!

2008-02-22T16:23:00.000-08:00

Hey happy blog readers1
check out the new website that will be up and running in the next day or so at www.wooflesandmeowz.com. The blog will probably move over there.

Grooming tips!

2008-02-15T16:21:00.000-08:00

Good day fellow pet owners!
Every day in the store I get people asking me about cheap and cheerful ways to help groom either their dog or cat.
I always like to offer a few tips for those in need and the following are a few of my fav tips:
1. trimming nails for cats....don't bother. Either give them a good scratching post infused with some catnip or if necessary have it done professionally. A cat will likely scratch the hell out of you, the furniture and everything close to you during the trimming event...hit a quick and you are hooped!
2. trimming nails for dogs...use a really sharp and capable set of clippers and never the ones with a hole in a piece of metal with a shearing action type (they just pull too hard on the nail) Often a good pair of human toenail clippers work really well. Always soak the nails in a bit of water and/or oil to make them as translucent as possible. This way you can see the quick easier. If in doubt as to where the quick IS with a dog who has maybe all black nails.....trim sparingly and then use a file if the dog will let you. It only takes one nip of the quick and your dog will be loathe to let you do it ever again. Letting Fido run around on cement seems to keep nails down to a manageable length.
3. Teeth....giv'em as many chew sticks like Bully sticks as you see fit. The downside of a dog who does not chew (especially in small dogs) is a propensity to have tartar buildup and stinky breath. Using a doggy toothbrush with canine toothpaste helps alot too. Bone meal also really keeps the dentin clean. Don't be a fraid to give your dogs knuckle bones to chew and remove them as soon as they get either splintered or small enough to injest whole.
4. Coat grooming...unless you are really capable and/or fine with a simple cut. Get it done professionally. Some people are simply great at using a set of clippers like my friend Matt but most are not..still....you'll find out not unlike the time you were in 5th grade and your Mom decided to trim your bangs at a 36 degree angle...just before picture day. (I'm not too bitter about it ;-))
5. Paws...kepp 'e m rinsed off for the salt buildup and trim out the centre fur when traipsing around slushy areas.
6. Bathing your dog too often will only stress him/her out and ruin the coat. Only when necessary. Many times a good brushing will remove dirt and oil on non-water dogs and keep the pooch happy and good looking.
7. Brushing the dog everyday will keep hair and dander down to a minimum and provides a nice bonding moment for you and the animal. use the right brush for the right coat type though!
...so thats it...just a quick note for today.
cheers! and Woof!

Brrrrr....Got Woof?

2008-02-06T15:21:00.000-08:00

Oh let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
Not unlike the tire service centres here in Vancouver that receive a rush of business when it snows, I get several people coming in with some poor sopping pooch that has a nice crust of snow on top looking for a wee bit of warmth. This is usually facilitated through a nice waterproof coat with some insulation on the underside.
Often people come into the store and if unfamiliar with modern pet products they will pick up a set of boots and just laugh at the idea.
I try not to take it personally but I do carefully explain that besides the obvious oddity of boots for a dog, they have merit in protection from "salt burn" to paws and compacted snow in the underpads that can be very painful for their dog. Most people will consider it and realize there was an assumption that was just surface and they learned something.
Sometimes if the people are diehard hikers or snowmobilers we offer them the option of one of our insulated sets of boots (for Fido) as it can protect and the pooch can run all day without sitting in the truck.

Now, I can be a great salesman but I have to say that if it is just for the esthetic of things I try to steer people away from getting boots if its just for the cute factor. Most people are pretty appreciative that we're not rabid sales people here.
While both a coat and boots can protect Fido from the elements it does take a good few minutes to get used to the boots. Coats are a snap usually and a welcome addition for the dog.
Boots take some getting used to...usually there is a stiff legged walk for about 5 minutes BUT going out in the snow a pooch will quickly see how much warmer it can be!

A while ago a lady wanted to buy a set for her dog that lives with her in Palm Springs.
I asked her "What the heck you need a set of boots for a dog in the desert for?" and she said "umm did you ever walk across blacktop asphalt in 100 degree heat"?
"Ok......gotcha... point taken..." I replied.."Cash or charge?"
She was cute and funny!
Never assume is the rule.....I'm learning all the time too.

Woofles and Meowz on Granville Island

2008-02-04T17:10:00.000-08:00

Being on Granville Island is the absolute best!
We get the most interesting people from all over the world and usually there is a common denominator of a pet involved.
I always love to ask where people are from and what kind of dog or cat they have. Many people have breeds of dogs that I have never seen and I have seen quite a few rare and unusual breeds.
People usually like to talk about their pets much more than themselves (I know interesting huh!) and are quite forthcoming about likes and dislikes of their furry friends. I learn so much about the type of pets people have and what traits are common or uncommon.

There are very specific ownership styles with regard to geographical differences.
People in the United Kingdom treat their dogs much more as family or farm/ranch type pets and usually have larger breeds.
The Labrador Retreiver is hugely popular over the pond and Australians love their herding dogs for obvious reasons.
Often a pet is owned by the family entirely whereas here often a pet is singularily one persons property and that is made clear to the rest of the people in the family.
I know that many visitors find it amusing how we treat some of our smaller breeds like family members rather than pets...and thats ok too.

Often men like larger breeds while women like smaller breeds but not always! The Jack Russel Terrier seems to be a small type breed that responds to men more favourably than to women (no this is not a stereotype..or maybe it is but it seems to be true....kinda like how gay men make great florists or hairdressers..which is it..a stereotype AND true??) The JRT definitely does well with strong leadership from the owner whether that comes from a woman or man makes no difference. A dog will always respond quickest to the dominating force..that just usually happens to be us big mouthed guys. The trick is to keep that type of dog BUSY! but I digress.

Our friends from the south have seen fit to follow the trend of "purse dogs" (think Paris and Britney) so they have different needs when visiting. Often they like the funkier clothes and toys. Booties anyone?
Here we like to keep 'em dry with a good raincoat or something warm for the short haired breeds.

Hopefully we provide a good range of merchandise to cover all bases and needs while getting the scoop on who owns what and where.
They said all roads lead to Rome but I say all people are eventually led to Granville Island....see you there!

Hurray for the SPCA and Anna Sewell

2008-02-03T22:49:00.000-08:00

I was thinking recently after being asked what my favorite book was and why. I came to the conclusion that it is, and was, one of the first novels that I ever read yet remember so vividly. The title was in my editon "Black Beauty" by Anna Sewell and while alot of books and movies have come and gone I think this one has touched me far greater than any. Not only was it wonderful escapeism but it led to a greater understanding and need of sentimental treatment for animals and what that really means. Not just simple nurturing but safety, discipline, shelter, good food AND nurturing. Of course all the others really are a form of nurturing in the end anyways aren't they?

Here's an interesting factoid:

In 1809 Lord Erskine (hurray for the Scots) first introduced a bill in the British Parliament to prevent cruelty to animals. Two years later, in 1824, came the world's first animal welfare society--the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). In 1866 Henry Bergh founded the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) in New York city.

The following snippet I came across on a site called believermag.com and were I not reading the ink myself I would think I may have wrote it for the most part indeed.
*
Anna Sewell was not exactly someone you’d want to sign up for a three-book deal. In 1871 she was already fifty-one years old, a first-time novelist, and she’d never shown any particular inclination for writing before. Lame since childhood, her increasing frailty had turned her into a shut-in; eight months before her hopeful diary entry, a doctor had predicted that Sewell had eighteen months left to live. To begin a book while halfway to her deathbed might have looked pointless indeed, especially when, as Margaret Sewell later recalled, “My aunt could never read or write for more than a short time at a sitting.” Sometimes weakness would so overcome her that days or weeks of enforced rest followed.

And yet her “life of a horse” was not such a strange goal. Her mother Mary was an established Quaker author of children’s verse and fiction, and horses happened to be a subject close to Anna Sewell’s heart; her disability left her dependent on them for getting about. Family members had noticed her intuitive knowledge of how to handle them, as well as her penchant for speaking gently to them as they rode. Having lived unmarried with her mother for her entire life, Anna also had the veritable room of her own, on the second floor of their home at 125 Spixworth Road.

There she convalesced, stared out over the fields, and would sometimes make it across the room to her desk. Writing progressed with agonizing slowness between long bedridden stretches. Her eighteen months came and went. She was still alive, though so close to death that she stopped bothering with doctor’s visits altogether: there was no point. But she lived another eighteen months, and another eighteen, and another still. In August 1877 she made one of the final notes in her diary: My proofs of Black Beauty are come—very nice type.

The completed story recounts the life and times of the well-bred horse of the title, and such stable companions as gentle Merrylegs and the angry and spirited Ginger; echoing throughout the book is the memory of Black Beauty’s mother Duchess, with her admonitions to stay gentle and mannered at all times. Surrounding these horses is a procession of good, bad, and indifferent owners: the well-meaning but inept rookie Joe Green, the drunkard Reuben Smith, the callous and cruel cabdriver Nicholas Skinner. Sewell sold this story, and all its rights, to the publishing house Jarrold & Sons for the staggeringly cheap advance of £20. But she was wise to get her cash up front.

The book was published in November: Anna was dead in April.

*
Black Beauty: His Grooms and Companions; The Autobiography of a Horse, Translated from the Original Equine by Anna Sewell is the most overlooked book in the entire canon of English literature: it is the 800-pound horse in our living room. Why, you’d think the smell alone would make us take notice. Black Beauty is one of the best selling books ever published; a century after its publication, Sewell’s dying work was estimated to have sold approximately thirty million copies. Several decades since have surely added many millions more to that total. Black Beauty has been translated into everything from Swedish to Hindustani, and made and remade many times over in both silent and sound movies, as well as a TV series. It has also generated sheaves of sequels—including Son of Black Beauty, which sounds like a swell idea for a book until you recall that Black Beauty was a gelding. No matter: he is an unstoppable force. Nearly everyone has heard of him, many have read him, and few have any notion whatsoever of his origins.

I cannot find a single academic monograph dedicated to examining Black Beauty. The book’s critical obscurity is matched by that of Anna Sewell herself; the only full-length biography devoted to her, The Woman Who Wrote Black Beauty, has been out of print for thirty years, and was more about mother Mary Sewell than about Anna herself. As biographer Susan Chitty readily admitted, Anna was almost impervious to biography: her one surviving diary is a tatty notebook of fourteen pages in length. Compare this to Sewell’s rival in the shut-in spinster-genius sweepstakes, Emily Dickinson: she, at least, left hundreds of letters behind. Of Anna Sewell we have little but what comes, so to speak, straight from the horse’s mouth.

But oh, how he spoke!

I read Black Beauty dozens of times as child. Whenever I was laid up with the flu, out of school on a snow day, or simply wanted to shut out the world for a while, this was the book I’d turn to. I had no idea, when miserably feverish, that I was reading it the way it had been written—in a sickbed. But I would not have dwelt long on this, even had I known: I set aside Black Beauty when I was twelve or so, as the approach of junior high school forced me out of childish things and, in their stead, into foolish things.

It was over a decade before I picked it up again, during a four-month purgatorial stretch of unemployment after finishing college; stuck in my old teenage attic bedroom, I stayed up until four or five a.m. every night reading through my childhood bookshelf. It was still dusty and untouched from the day I’d left for college, and composed solely of those books I had seen unfit to take with me, the castoffs spurned from my new adult existence. Eventually I made my way across the bottom shelf to the old copy of Black Beauty, still pristine in its slipcase, and I read it once again.

It was just as I remembered, even down to the smooth plate illustration of the young colt nursing at his mother’s side. But as I read the book, a curiously different sense of familiarity crept over me: and then, sheer disbelief. I rummaged my college copy of the Norton Anthology out of a duffel bag, flipped about halfway into it, and read it; then I looked back at Sewell’s tale incredulously. Her work, which I had absorbed unblinkingly as a child, looked utterly different now: for the first time I could see what she’d done. She had taken an American slave narrative and replaced the slaves with horses.

*
Now, why would anyone do that? Necessity, for one thing. A first-time writer on her deathbed, Sewell gravitated to a form she was already deeply familiar with. As a Quaker with relatives active in both abolitionism and antivivisectionism, she’d grown up in a sect that had published slave narratives throughout the nineteenth century. And it starts to make sense when one considers how similar their plights are, for horses and slaves are both thinking and feeling beings turned into things: they are bought and sold by a series of masters; they are beaten; their families are scattered; their labor is taken from them. All along, neither can say a word.

In case you missed the titular metaphor, Black Beauty himself is also called “Darkie” or “Blackie” by his masters—a detail not lost upon the apartheid-era government of South Africa, which banned the book as a seditious text. The narrative arc follows that of thousands of other slave writers: a hazy memory of a brief but naïve childhood when he is still too young to be put to work; then, once his body is valuable enough, the breakup of his family as he is sold to a new owner; the occasional relatively happy day or kindhearted owner; and then a succession of owners who abuse him, steal his feed, and house him in miserable quarters. He makes friends among his fellow horses, but cannot count on any of them to stay near for long, as they die or are sold down the river—the River Thames, granted, but it might as well be the Mississippi.

The primal scene of enslavement comes early, after Black Beauty witnesses a hunt in a nearby field that has gone awry. A horse falls down, killing its rider:

Mr. Bond, the farrier, came to look at the black horse that lay groaning on the grass, he felt him all over, and shook his head; one of his legs was broken. Then someone ran to our master’s house and came back with a gun; presently there was a loud bang and a dreadful shriek, and then all was still; the black horse moved no more. My mother seemed much troubled; she said she had known that horse for years, and that his name was “Rob Roy”; he was a good bold horse, and there was no vice in him. She would never go to that part of the field afterwards.
Later Black Beauty discovers that he has unwittingly witnessed the death of his own brother. It is an appallingly understated realization. Not only has his mother shielded Black Beauty from grieving for this sibling—“We are only horses, and don’t know,” she says meekly as she watches Rob Roy die—but more subtly, we understand that she had never even told him that he had a brother in the first place.

“It seems that horses have no relations,” Black Beauty ponders, “at least, they never know each other after they are sold.”

Not long after Rob Roy’s death, the strapping young narrator is sold for £150; at the end of the book, he narrowly avoids the glue works by being sold for a fiver.

In the intervening pages, Black Beauty has been broken upon the carriage wheel of Victorian London: knees destroyed by drunken and inept riders, lungs pocked by filthy stables, windpipe half-broken by fashionable “bearing-reins,” and his body weakened by cheap feed. By the penultimate chapter, he is given up for dead in a street on Ludgate Hill. That the book then manages a happy ending of sorts is not saying much: every fellow horse that our protagonist has ever known is dead or gone. Black Beauty is quite possibly the most relentless tale of degradation ever entrusted to the embrace of little children. And yet it is also one of the most beloved.

*
There are at least twenty editions of Black Beauty currently in print. There have been paperbacks and hardcovers, illustrated editions and Braille editions, Black Beauty coloring and pop-up books, and a gleefully malicious Spike Milligan spoof featuring a protagonist with “a lovely body with a huge cock.” There is a Black Beauty quilt pattern. You can also, if you like, listen to Black Beauty on CD, cassette, or as an online audio download.

None of this was exactly what Anna Sewell had in mind. When it was first published, Black Beauty was sold as a fictionalized instruction manual. Still assuming her role as a translator “from the original Equine,” at the end of the book, Sewell includes a note to stable hands: “The Translator would recommend to them to procure an admirable little book, price fourpence, titled The Horse Book.” Sewell was primarily writing for teenagers and adults; more to the point, she was writing for stable hands and cabmen. Like their modern automotive counterparts careening up Sixth Avenue, cabbies were notorious for the rough usage of horses. Sewell explained not long before she died:

I have for six years been confined to the house and to my sofa, and have from time to time, as I was able, been writing what I think will turn out a little book, its special aim being to induce kindness, sympathy and an understanding treatment of horses. In thinking of Cab-horses, I have been led to think of Cabmen, and I am anxious, if I can, to present their true conditions, and their great difficulties, in a correct and telling manner.
The book crossed over to children through both luck and design. Sewell’s unadorned Quaker aesthetics, along with very short chapters—which may well have been necessitated by an inability to write for long at one sitting—combined to make a book that was both compelling and easy to read. Sewell was not unaware of this; an edition to be distributed in Sunday Schools was already in the works when she died, and her publisher advertised it as part of a line of moralizing and temperance tales for children.

The early days were not promising, though. Initial orders of Black Beauty by London booksellers totaled all of 100 copies, and for its first decade it received little attention. But it had the potential to turn into something bigger—much bigger. It tapped directly into the outrage and compassion underlying the beginnings of the animal-rights movement; shortly after its publication, one magazine mused that “if the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals had published the Autobiography of Black Beauty we should have said it had published its best work.”

Unlike most book reviews, this one actually proved to be prophetic. In February 1890, days after receiving a copy of the book from a friend, the American SPCA activist George Angell began raising money to initiate a massive print run; as the editor of the SPCA magazine Our Dumb Animals, he posted this italicized call to action:

I want to print immediately a hundred thousand copies. I want the power to give away thousands of these to drivers of horses. I want to send a copy postpaid to the editors of about thirteen thousand American newspapers and magazines.
Incredibly, this is exactly what he did. Within months the entire printing was given away. Others enthusiastically took up the reins: publishers began selling it, magazines gave it away as a premium, and the Frank Miller Harness Dressing Company put in a bulk order for fifteen tons of customized copies: any blank spaces in the chapters were filled with pictures of horses proudly wearing saddle blankets bearing the company’s name.

By the end of the year, 217,000 copies of Black Beauty had been sold, and sales only accelerated from there. The book now caught fire in its homeland as well, and soon copies sold in Britain were stamped with the endorsement Recommended by the R.S.P.C.A. There was something else new in the book, too. Amid the publishing uproar, Angell had quietly inserted a new subtitle into the Black Beauty title page:

The Uncle Tom’s Cabin of Horses.
Now doesn't that just make you go "hmmmmmm"???
If ever in a second hand bookstore take the opportunity to pick up a copy of Miss Sewell's work...hopefully a dusty well used copy.
An interesting headscratching turn of events happened to me about this particular book too.
I had a copy that I had purchaced at what we called the "snackbar" library on CFB base Greisbach in Edmonton. I had previously read this copy as a loaner from the library and when they were clearing out some stock it went on the sale table. I bought it and read it again, at about the age of 8 or 9. The book went astray after that but not before I had put my name just inside the cover. Move forward a dozen years or so and I am at a "fleamarket" sale in a mall I worked in and there was a copy of the same book so I bought it. It wassn't until I got back to my store that a staff member said I had terrible handwriting and when asked why she showed me that my signature on the inside of the book proved so. It was then that I told her trying to blink back a tear that I had signed the inside copy of the book a long time ago and it was meant to be mine again.
Now that was a thing to make ME go hmmmmmm.

Dogs in stores.

2008-02-02T17:20:00.000-08:00

With more and more people bringing the smaller breed dogs around with them it is increasingly alarming to see how many people think it is ok to simply bring their pets into retail establishments.
Now, I have to say that I LOVE it when a pet brings his owner into my store and vise versa. I love to see who and what kinda dogs own which kinda owner...but thats because I have a PET STORE. Meeting people with their dogs while they are on a wee jaunt is fun for us and its always a great idea if in wanting a certain outdoor item to bring Fido or Fifi into the store to try it on...and there's ALWAYS a snack offered our four footed friends.
Having said that I have to say that almost (almost) all other retailers that I deal with say they either DO NOT allow dogs into their stores unless it is a service dog that is in training and has the service vest on at that time or one that is working for a person in need of assistance such as a seeing eye dog.
It is odd enough to see a dog in say, Home Depot where there is a vast majority of work related materials and cement floors but to see dogs in fashionable retail stores is awkward for the store manager/owner and usually annoying for other shoppers.
Watching a shitzu pee on a leg of a gorgeous couch in a furniture store in North Van just before Christmas (and the owner both saw it and ignored it) was enough to make me shake my head in disbelief! That couch is now unsellable and has to be returned at great expense to the store and time to the employees simply because the owner HAD to bring her dog shopping with her.
Bringing pets into food establishments or stores that sell food items is also, well, rude and very unthinking of the pet owner. Allergies and food safety aside some people are simply not comfortable with other peoples dogs and I for one, and as a dog person myself..truly GET that.
Instead, leave your dog at home or in doggie daycare....do NOT bring your dog to a store and tie the poor pooch up outside for any length of time.
I can't tell you how many times in front of the KIDS MARKET on Granville Island some uncaring owner will leave the dog tied up at the door only to have the dog go ballistic with howls and barks for the entire time the owner is in the store. This is really unfair to the animal and stresses out both the dog and people working and shopping around the near area.
Outside Urban Fare in Yaletown is another place people like to bring dogs to bark while tied up outside.
Lets be smart about this people...the dog obviously hates to be left tied up and "oh he'll calm down" coming from the owner just doesn't cut it. Its downright rude...and he doesn't hear it while shopping but everyone else trying to sleep or enjoy a cup of coffee does.
I guess it all comes down to being a "good citizen" for you, your dog, and the people around you. Remenber "Good Citizenship" lessons in school? I do although I went to Military schools.
Interestingly, most people seem to agree with the idea that dogs in stores and barking, frantic dogs tied up outside are bad ideas.
It really only takes a small few people to spoil it for the rest of the consciencious people who, for the most part, do a GREAT job of dog ownership here in Vancouver.
Its just a trend that we can nip in the bud right now!
I shall now fold up my portable soapbox until the next rant or rave.
P.S this topic propegated by my friend Colin who suffers more than his fair share of Urban Fare dog spazzes.

Dog parks in Vancouver.

2008-01-31T12:19:00.000-08:00

Here is Vancouver BC we are blessed with great weather all year round (its just a rumour that it rains here) and walking is more than a pastime and just short of a sport for some especially those with k9 friends.

For the most part Vancouverites really take care to pick up the poo, socialize and watch out for other peoples pooches as well as their own here. There are several parks that offer a confirmed timetable of coincidental meetings of those with leashes in hand. Its a nice way to socialize with other pet owners, get out of the house and get some excercise for both you and your dog.

The Vancouver Parks Board has some excellent info on available dog parks and most if not all of those are listed here as well.
We are lucky enough to enjoy the parks while other folks are freezing in parts of Canada. We get the cherry blossoms budding out very early and boots and scarf weather doesn't come along until December usually so enjoy the efforts of the parks that the City of Vancouver really does a great job of maintaining.
Don't forget to bring the poop bags!

-------------

37th & Oak Park 25 W 37th Avenue & Oak Street
The park is off-leash from 6am to 10pm.
Enquiries, Complaints: Queen Elizabeth District 604-257-8689

Balaclava Park 17 4594 Balaclava Street
Carnarvon & Balaclava Streets at W 29th & W 31st Avenues
The outlined area is off-leash from 7am to 10am and 5pm to 10pm.
Enquiries, Complaints: Queen Elizabeth District 604-257-8689

Charleson Park 2 999 Charleson Street
The grass bowl is off-leash 6am to 10pm, year-round. The waterfall pond is on-leash June to September, 10am to 7pm and off-leash at other times.
Enquiries, Complaints: Stanley District 604-257-8400

Coopers' Park 3 1020 Marinaside Crescent
The grass field east of the Cambie Street Bridge is off-leash 6am to 10pm.
Enquiries, Complaints: Stanley District 604-257-8400

CRAB Park at Portside 4 101 E Waterfront Road
The east side of the park is off-leash 6am to 10am and 5pm to 10pm.
No dogs are allowed within 15m of the playground.
Enquiries, Complaints: Stanley District 604-257-8400

Dusty Greenwell Park 7 2799 Wall Street
The park is off-leash 5am to 10am and 5pm to 10pm.
Enquiries, Complaints: Vancouver East District 604-257-8613

Falaise Park 9 3434 Falaise Avenue
The park is off-leash 5am to 10am and 5pm to 10pm except the area beside the school which is open to dogs between 5am to 8am.
Enquiries, Complaints: Vancouver East District 604-257-8613

Fraser River Park 18 8705 Angus Drive
W 75th Avenue & Angus Drive
The outlined area is off-leash from 6am to 10am and 5pm to 10pm.
Enquiries, Complaints: Queen Elizabeth District 604-257-8689

Fraserview Golf Course 10 8101 Kerr Street
Boundaries are from Rosemont Avenue on the north side to Kerr Street on the east side; Vivan Drive on the west; and as far south along Vivan Drive to just south of the lane.
The outlined area is off-leash - 5am to 10am and 5pm to 10pm.
Enquiries, Complaints: Vancouver East District 604-257-8613

George Park 19 500 E 63rd Avenue
E 63rd Avenue west of St. George Street
The park is off-leash from 6am to 10am and 5pm to 10pm.
No dogs are allowed within 15m of the playground.
Enquiries, Complaints: Queen Elizabeth District 604-257-8689

Vanier Park 24 1000 Chestnut Street
Chestnut Street at English Bay
The outlined area is off-leash from May 1 to September 30: 6am to 10am and from 5pm to 10pm.
October 1 to April 30: 6am to 10pm.
Enquiries, Complaints: Queen Elizabeth District 604-257-8689

John Hendry (Trout Lake) Park 14 3300 Victoria Drive
The outlined area is off-leash 5am to 10pm. Boundaries are from the north end of the lake only bounded by the ball field on the west; the football field on the east; and the lake to the south.
Enquiries, Complaints: Vancouver East District 604-257-8613

Jones Park 15 5350 Commercial Street
The park is off-leash from 5am to 10am and 5pm to 10pm.
Restrictions apply by the playground.
Enquiries, Complaints: Vancouver East District 604-257-8613

Killarney Park 6 6205 Kerr Street
The outlined area is off-leash 5am to 10am and 5pm to 10pm. During the summer from June 15 to Labour Day, dogs are allowed off-leash from 5am to 10pm. Boundaries are from the west side of the park between E 46th Avenue on the north and E 48th Avenue on the south; Raleigh Street to the west; and the walkway along the east at the parking lot.
Enquiries, Complaints: Vancouver East District 604-257-8613

Kingcrest Park 11 4150 Knight Street
Boundaries are between E 27th Avenue on the South;
King Edward Avenue on the north; and Dumphries Street on the east.
The outlined area is off-leash 5am to 10am and 5pm to 10pm.
Enquiries, Complaints: Vancouver East District 604-257-8613

Locarno Park Extension 26 NW Marine Drive and Trimble Street
1 block south of the beach between Trimble & Sasamat Streets
The east half of the park is off-leash from 6am to 10 pm. No dogs are allowed on the playground side of the park.
Enquiries, Complaints: Queen Elizabeth District 604-257-8689

Musqueam Park 20 4000 SW Marine Drive
Marine Drive & Crown Street
The outlined area is off-leash from 6am to 10pm.
Enquiries, Complaints: Queen Elizabeth District 604-257-8689

Nat Bailey Stadium 28 4601 Ontario Street
1 block north of E 33rd Avenue, on the west side of Ontario Street
The outlined area is off-leash from 6am to 10pm.
Enquiries, Complaints: Queen Elizabeth District 604-257-8689

Nelson Park 1 1030 Bute Street
The park is off-leash 6am to 8am and 5pm to 10pm.
No dogs are allowed inside the school yard fence.
Enquiries, Complaints: Stanley District 604-257-8400

New Brighton Park 30 Windermere & Nootka Streets & E Waterfront Road
The outlined area is off-leash May 1 to September 30: 5am to 10am
and from October 1 to April 30: 5am to 10pm.
Enquiries, Complaints: Vancouver East District 604-257-8613

Queen Elizabeth Park 29 4600 Cambie Street
Off E 37th Avenue & Columbia Street
The outlined area is off-leash from 6am to 10pm.
Enquiries, Complaints: Queen Elizabeth District 604-257-8689

Quilchena Park 21 4590 Magnolia Street
W 33rd Avenue & Pine Street
The outlined area is off-leash from 6am to 10pm.
Enquiries, Complaints: Queen Elizabeth District 604-257-8689

Spanish Banks Beach Park 22 4801 NW Marine Drive
NW Marine Drive at entrance to Pacific Spirit Park
The outlined area is off-leash from 6am to 10pm.
Enquiries, Complaints: Queen Elizabeth District 604-257-8689

Sparwood Park 12 6998 Arlington Street
The park is off-leash 5am to 10am and 5pm to 10pm.
Enquiries, Complaints: Vancouver East District 604-257-8613

Stanley Park 31 Stanley Park Shuffleboard Court Area
Vancouver’s first fenced doggy park for the more petite pooch. Small dogs only. The outlined area is off-leash from 7am to 9pm.
Enquiries, Complaints: Stanley District 604-257-8400

Strathcona Park 13 857 Malkin Avenue
The outlined area is off-leash from 5am to 10am and 5pm to 10pm. Boundaries are from Prior Street on the north; Hawks Avenue on the west; and Malkin Avenue on the south, with the approximate line on the east being at the tennis courts north to Prior Street. On the northeast corner, a small area north of the all-weather field at the corner of Prior Street and Raymur Avenue.
Enquiries, Complaints: Vancouver East District 604-257-8613

Sunrise Park 8 1950 Windermere Street
The outlined area is off-leash 5am to 10am and 5pm to 10pm. The sports field and playground are off limits to dogs; the rest of the park is off-leash.
Enquiries, Complaints: Vancouver East District 604-257-8613

Sunset Beach Park 5 1204 Beach Avenue
The bay behind the Vancouver Aquatic Centre east of the ferry dock is off-leash 6am to 10pm.
Enquiries, Complaints: Stanley District 604-257-8400

Sunset Park 23 300 E 53rd Avenue
Prince Edward Street & E 53rd Avenue
The park is off-leash from 6am to 10pm
Enquiries, Complaints: Queen Elizabeth District 604-257-8689

Tecumseh Park 16 1751 E 45th Avenue
The park is off-leash 5am to 10am and 5pm to 10pm. The playground is off limits to dogs; the rest of the park is off-leash.
Enquiries, Complaints: Vancouver East District 604-257-8613

Valdez Park 27 3210 W 22nd Avenue
Balaclava Street & W 22nd Avenue
The park is off-leash from 6am to 10am and 5pm to 10pm.
Enquiries, Complaints: Queen Elizabeth District 604-257-8689

What is CATNIP??

2008-01-30T11:18:00.000-08:00

Catnip is the popular name for a plant of Asiatic origin called NAPETA CATARIA. It has a chemical within the stem and leaves called NEPETALACTONE. The names "catnip" and "catmint" are sometimes used interchangeably. However, they are two different varieties of nepeta, a perennial groundcover and a member of the mint family. It is a hardy perennial groundcover that grows 2- to 3-feet high. Nepeta faassenii, better known as catmint, forms soft mounds about 2-feet high. Both varieties grow throughout North America.

It is thought that the ability to detect catnip, may be inherited. Only 2/3 of cats respond to it.Catnip was originally native to Europe and Asia. Over 2000 years ago Romans used it for cooking and healing. During the Middle Ages, catnip was used for the treatment of nervousness, colds, and gastrointestinal complaints. It was introduced to the New World by early settlers who cultivated the herb for medicinal purposes and food. As America expanded, so did the popularity of catnip.

Just how did cats become acquainted with it? Some theorize that the Egyptians, known for their worship of cats, were probably the first to offer catnip to their furry idols. Those who support this theory suggest that since Egyptians introduced domestic cats to the Middle East, they may have also introduced the pleasing effects of catnip on most cats. Whenever a cat comes across this growing in a garden, he will often rub up against it and roll around in it, in a sort of drug trip. Most members of the cat family [wild and domestic] react the same way, although not all of them. Young kittens don’t react this way though, and are often repulsed by it. They don’t learn to appreciate it until they are over 3 months old.

The responsive cat approaches the plant and sniffs it. He then proceeds to lick it, bite it, chew it and rub up against it repeatedly with head and chin, then purr loudly, growl, meow, roll over and even leap about. Many of the movements a cat makes mimic the movements seen when a cat is in heat, giving some people the thought that catnip is a [female] feline aphrodisiac, something that most cat scholars refute because it affects both male and female alike.

Feline catnip addicts are lucky though, because they suffer absolutely no side effects from this, unlike humans do when they smoke cannabis, a "kissing cousin" to catnip. Catnip is not the only plant to have this effect on felines. VALERIAN is another one, plus plants that contain ACTINIDINE.

The strange action of these plants though is the strangest thing of all to understand. If any of these plants were given internally, instead of putting FRISK back into the word FRISKY, the actually sedate the cat. It is strange indeed, when they are "uppers" when sniffed, and "downers" when swallowed.

Catnip is easy to grow, and the fresher the product, the more the reaction. Many toys for cats are sold as "with catnip", which supposedly encourages the cat to play. Unless the product is kept sealed in a plastic bag I rarely find these work, as they have been on the shelf for any length of time. I like, however, toys which are made with fresh catnip, as cats like this better, and even when they have ceased to carry the odor, the cats still play with them, but more from habit. For the catnip-loving cat, sniffing this herb is harmless and non-addictive.

One product we carry alot of and seems to pay back in spades is onr called pawbreakers which is a compressed ball of catnip in a very fresh state. Put this in an empty oval or round bathtub and watch Miss Mew SPIN as she bats it around and around like a roulette ball looking to pay out big time!

Designer Dogs

2008-01-29T18:05:00.000-08:00

Just recently a wonderful lady came into the store with the cutest wee pup named Spiker (named as everytime a small ball is thrown his way he "spikes" the ball down to the ground). She was very proud of her "designer" dog that she paid quite a bit of money for from a local family. There were no papers and no lineage trail to back up the claim of her sweet pooch but she was happy as a bug in that oft quoted rug. I couldn't help but wonder when it was that "Mutts" became "Designer" dogs and was it the blending of the best types of dogs, hopefully getting the best traits and characteristics that warranted the ever skyrocketing costs?
Now, I am all in favour of any dog that with, say, a poodle cross has a more manageable coat especially for shedding or allergy reasons....or maybe a breed mix that offers a more manageable size but I offer up that there seems to be a run towards the checkout counter with cash in hand for what is being merchandised as specific and special breeding with provenance and panache.
I knew that my customer paid about $1500 more than what she should have from a back yard breeder but I wouldn't be the one to tell her. I was just happy that she found a lovely dog with which to enjoy for a good long while.
The upshot of her purchase is that she probably got a quite healthy dog considering the insideous breeding practices of some puppy mills that are breeding smaller and smaller dogs without care to potential health care risks. As long as they have a paper trail people are willing to pay for these dogs as well.
I always suggest 2 options for those who are looking for a new addition to the home.
The first is to do a good amount of research online for types of breeds that would fit your personality and home life. A greyhound for a homebody is not a good fit as well as some breeds that will not suffer a family that has several young children. Find out what suits you and start with dog forums online for those breeds and ask around for reputable breeders that have impecable reputations and facilities and then wait. Always wait a few months before the actual decision to get a dog. Give yourself enough time to see if you HAVE the time. There's no hurry really. After all this will be a decision you will have to stick with for a while. Never, ever give a pet as a surprise gift without the person knowing about it first...it sounds romantic but its not....doggy barf at 4am...teething on your Manolos and pee everywhere runs flat pretty darn quick.
The second thing I tell people is that there are MANY excellent rescue organizations with perfectly perfect pets in every way (to miss quote a certain Miss Poppins).
I know several people who have the most beautiful pets from looking up pet rescue organizations. Some of these organizations deal with specific breeds and only them while others offer a variety.
I can't tell you just how happy and relieved looking some of these pooches are with their owners.
I know one woman who now owns the most gorgeous boxer featured here on this blog named Broedy that came from Boxers without Borders...a super group of people. I can bet that she also saved herself a good amount of money and got a perfect fit to boot!
Designer dogs...purebreds....happy Benji mutts (my fav) their all good just dont let someone market you into a corner without doing some research. Spiker is one lucky pup but I wish he wasn't being made out to be some super special anomaly....maybe when Louis Vuitton is tatooed on his ass I might think designer..until then hes just a gorgeous dog.

Food for thought.

2008-01-28T15:44:00.000-08:00

I've noticed alot of people are coming into the store with specific dietary needs for their dogs. Some of them sound quite logical and some downright weird.
What seems to be the trend is that dogs are now becoming "alergic" to just about everything and anything.
Wikipedia the free Encyclopedia defines "Allergy" as a disorder of the immune system that is often called atopy. Allergic reactions occur to environmental substances known as allergens; these reactions are acquired, predictable and rapid. Strictly, allergy is one of four forms of hypersensitivity and is called type (or immediate) hypersensitivity. It is characterized by excessive activation of certain white blood cells called mast cells and basophilis by a type of antibody known as IgE, resulting in an extreme inflammatory response. Common allergic reactions include eczema, hives,hay fever,asthma, food allergies and reactions to the venom of stinging insects such as wasps and bees......"
It goes on to say a bit more but the point I hope to make is that I'm afraid that there is HUGE difference between allergic reaction and simple reaction to certtain conditions.
I for one, absolutely love hot peppers and am not allergic to them but have a sometimes funny reaction to them with profuse sweating around the eyes..which is odd as eyelids don't have sweat glands....I also love cabbage but it doesn't love me if you know what I mean. The point I am vaguely trying to make is that there is a difference and some people are being taken to the cleaners by others in the pet wellness industry who are all too happy to do test after test on poor Rover only to find out that in almost most cases the crappy food he has been eating has upset his natural digestive capabilities and NOW he is being called allergic to almost everything except what comes outta the tap.
I am no vet or doctor..and will go on record to say that I only know what I see, read, experience and hear for other pet owners so my expertise only goes so far as the great many people I see every day and the materials I come into contact with from being in the pet business.
My biggest "pet peeve" (hey thats a great title for another blog) is the people who are convinced that their pet and ONLY their pet has special needs that must take them out of their everyday convention and into a spending frenzy like I have never seen before.
Perhaps I am a bad salesaman but when I ask what the particulars are (and I ask alot of questions before suggesting anything) I often offer a natural alternative to many of the problems. It often goes like this..."take your dog out for more walks...stop giving him/her crappy treats all day, integrate some vegetables into the diet..yes the poo will be stinkier...its POO...and cut back on food that labels wheat,corn, or "meal" as major or first ingredients."
Lemme tell you that I have had no less than a dozen owners in the past short while who have come back with happier dogs and a new respect for getting a second opinion on what ails the pooch.
Another tip I always offer is to go online and look for blogs or forums that pertain directly to specific breeds and their owners. Tips for your Golden Retriever or Italian Greyhound will come form the best sources..those that own them.
As an aside to the food problems I ask that people examine what "food" is before putting it in a bowl. We seem to have no problem doing this for ourselves (or we should at least) but we don't give a second thought to what bag Fido is eating from as long as it says "balanced nutrition" on it.
Balanced Nutrition means absolutley nothing! Its like our sugary cereals that we are offered but its only balances when you have another glass of milk one of orange juice and some more toast. Ever wonder about that?
Since the post war years when manufacturers were seeing a huge growth in pet ownership and the need to package pet foods when before that pets ate..ummmmm food to now it is a huge business...huge....but that does not always mean good.
Trends are changing fast and furiously these days too with many going to a "raw" diet which in my opinion if handled correctly is fantastic......cause...its food. But doncha have most of that in the fridge anyway?!?!? Just asking.
The big trend for peope these days is the "pro and prebiotic" additives to our diet that are hugely lacking. These are bacteria pure and simple. When we lived on farms and ate stinky cheeses and sometime older salted meats and raw food we had bacteria in our system in a normal and balanced state and the same is happening for our pooches. Its a wee bit too orderly and clean in the plumbing.
Some customers are also motivated by the '"tootsie roll" quest as I call it. This is the determined effort to have their dogs poop look like nothing more than a tootsie roll...dark....odor less and easy to pick up. Ummmmmmm its poop. If yours looked like that YOU'D be in the doctors all the time too complaining of digestive problems.
So! do your research get good advice put some REAL food into the diet (food is food) and dont let any one person tell you what will work for your dog (myself included)
Woof!

oh the toys and tribulations

2008-01-27T11:00:00.000-08:00

So...it has been an ongoing trend here in the store and with some of my cronies in the biz that people assume that dog toys are indestructable.
I usually try and make it as clear as I can for those big guys...you know the ones...with affectedly low voices and with a swagger that might suggest a bit more bulk and masculinity than is really hanging from his 5'2'' frame..the ones who really,really have to have as mean as possibly allowable looking dog...you know the ones. They are the ones who say as loudly as they can "oh Killer would go through that in 2 minutes..heh heh heh". To which I respond..."yeh for 50 bucks so can I" which usually gets a giggle from their friends or girlfriend.
All kidding aside...dogs for the most part are working animals. From the small breeds who take after the task of ratting and or other vermin control to larger breeds who herd or guard there is a work ethic inbred in our canine friends. This leads to a few types of play with regard to "toys".
First of all...Rover doesnt know that the pink rubber football that you spent a good amount of money on is any different than ....say a smart pink pump that you might wear on the weekend unless you train him to know the difference. (more on that in other blogs) He also does not know the difference between a toy and a chew toy...but you do. Dogs don't know toys from tools to play with. To some dogs everything is a toy. For some dogs nothing is unless its interactive.
I always suggest and ask my staff to explain that dogs will want to get somewhere with a toy. That means either a game is involved or they want to destroy the thing which is doing some kind of work with it. Sometimes that means a repeated fetching excercise or frisbee play time or laying in his/her bed and chomping away at something that vaguely smells of rubber and bacon.
Now some toys are meant to be chewed for different reasons...like "bully bones' or as we like to call them the "peepee" bones (often made from from stretched and dried bull penis {hee hee he said 'penis'} which made up primarily of the spongiform tissue which breaks down easily with chewing and in their system..UNLIKE rawhide chews)
Other toys that are meant to be chewed are the "kong" type which you can put biscuits inside along with other materials for them to chew and get a treat while massaging their gums as well as the other types of organic chews like 'greenies".
Toys that are not meant to be chewed repeatedly and disemboweled are anything stuffed, upholtered or furry with a face (most especially kids dolls or teddy bears with eyes or other bits that can be chewed off and swallowed) One of the fun toys on the market it called Skinneeez which is a non stuffed animal that looks something like a pelt a trapper just skinned..without all the innards that Spot would just rip out anyway...very popular this last Christmas.
Good stuffed toys that are fun to play with from reputable pet stores are made of materials that are much safer that actual kids toys.
Most other types of toys are to be played with...and then taken away from the dog until next play time as ......there....is......no....such...thing....as an....indestructable toy.
I'll probably reiterate that point in many blogs at later dates.
Any question on the subject or tips please don't hesitate to email or comment on the blog.
Cheers.

2008-01-26T14:09:00.000-08:00

Ok, this is turning out to be an easier excercise in blogging that I thought.
So heres the scoop on the poop. Here in Vancouver we seem to have an abundance of pet parks where there are many people who take their four legged friends to frolick. I understand that there are 30,000 dogs in the central core of the city and I have to say what a great job the people of this city are doing with regard to the pooper scooper actions. Now, I do sell alot of the biodegradeable bags for picking up the poo so I knew there was a conscious effort on the part of owners to be "green" but it was remarked by several people visiting the store "what a clean city we have especially with all the dogs...there is no poop anywhere". I wont tell you where they live exactly but suffice it to say its below the 49th parallel. I was pretty proud of that fact so good on ya Vancouver...keep it up.

Welcome to the first blog.

2008-01-26T12:53:00.000-08:00

Hey Y'all,
Welcome to the first blog for Woofles and Meowz.
This is a blog that will be attached to our website for Woofles and Meowz which is a Pet Deli and Boutique here in Vancouver Canada. We are located on Granville Island by the Kids Market in the coolest red caboose just as you enter onto the island.
We specialize in organic dog treats baked right here in the caboose as well as the best toys,treats,equipment,clothes,training materials, collars etc for both dogs and cats.
The new owner (me) is Darren Monette. I was a supplier of products for this store with another business of mine and am loving this location big time. As someone who has worked with dog trainers off and on since the first time in 1984 I hope I can bring a unique perspective to people who may have questions about the new puppy or kitty or who may have questions regarding training options, nutrition, whats new and cool and more.