Whatever time of year it is, it’s fun to sit outside and gaze at the constellations.  Especially fun for the lucky ones that don’t live in the Land of Light Pollution like I do.  The night sky is a remarkable, romantic, and wonderful show. 
For thousands of years people have looked up at the stars.  The [...]

Whatever time of year it is, it’s fun to sit outside and gaze at the constellations.  Especially fun for the lucky ones that don’t live in the Land of Light Pollution like I do.  The night sky is a remarkable, romantic, and wonderful show. 
For thousands of years people have looked up at the stars.  The [...]

Dogs sometimes vomit and there is nothing wrong with that if these episodes don’t occur very often. But the frequent episodes can be a real sign that the dog has a serious problem. There are a lot of causes for dog vomiting and here are the most common ones.

Things have been pretty slow over on our DogCars.com Web site since the economic meltdown. The car companies were too busy struggling for survival to give much thought to promoting their cars, so some of our ability to test-drive new cars was curtailed. Then, too, car-buyers lost much of their interest in replacing their old vehicles, and if they had to, they tended to buy used instead of new.

I took this to the extreme, passing on a last-model used car to replace my increasingly unreliable minivan and snaring two vehicles with lots of good service left for less money combined  than one-quarter of the cost of a new economy car. My Plymouth van got donated to charity, and in its place I have a ‘97 Toyota Previa van as my DogCar (one owner, 102K miles) and an ‘86 Mazda pick-up  as my daily driver and weekend farm truck (one owner, 65K miles).

Kim and Keith are still driving and reviewing vehicles — Kim has the Kia Soul this week, with review to follow soon — but I actually got tired of driving a new car every week (I know, seems funny even to type it!), so I’m not reviewing at all.

Seems some people are wading cautiously back into considering new cars, though. Of course, the Cash For Clunkers program really moved the merchandise, but even with that over we’re seeing traffic up on DogCars.com, and more e-mail from people asking about different models.

The media is showing increased interest, too, as evidenced by  in this piece from the Deseret News (Utah) about people considering their dogs when buying a car:

More than 30 percent of people consider their pets’ needs when picking out a family vehicle, according to a recent survey by LeaseTrader.com. That’s up from 12 percent in 2006 and 8 percent in 2003. The trend’s not lost on car manufacturers and auto insurance providers, who are making adjustments to make sure Fido stays safe and comfortable on the road.

[...]

Molle Hess, a science teacher at Hillcrest Junior High, for example, had a long list of things she needed to accommodate her five dogs. She wanted a van with rear air, double doors, removable back seats and enough space to fit four dog crates.

“I told the car salesman, ‘I won’t buy the van if the crates don’t fit,’?” Hess said. “I made him take out the seats and put in the crates right then just to make sure.”

Such demands are far from unusual, said Taylor Johnson, a sales manager for Ken Garff Honda.

“People bring their dogs in all the time to see if they ‘like’ a particular car,” he said. “Just the other day I thought I’d made a sale and the guy told me, ‘Oops, sorry. My dog won’t fit in the back of that.’?”

Car dealers, eager to accommodate doting pet-owners, which, according to a recent American Pet Products Association survey, represent more than 40 percent of the population, are starting to offer pet-accommodating add-ons for popular vehicles.

Check out the article here.

When you were little, did you imagine having a mysterious animal who would love and protect and understand you? A horse to carry you away from your problems, a dog to guide you through the forest, a cat who was really a familiar?

In the world of fantasy books, films, and television shows, that’s very often exactly what animals turn out to be — magical beings, or at least those with mysterious powers to help and shield us.

Brent Hartinger at TheTorchOnline.com takes a look at some of fantasy’s most memorable pets, familiars and animal companions, including one of my favorites, Xena’s horse, Argo, from the television series Xena: Warrior Princess:

Xena is no ordinary warrior — so why should she have an ordinary horse? Sure enough, hers is extraordinarily intelligent, sensing danger, responding to a number of different commands, being able to command other horses, and even once enduring having been turned into a miniature version of herself. Speaking of which, is Argo male or female? While referred to as “boy” in earlier seasons, she is eventually identified as female (and was usually portrayed by a mare). The horse died during Xena and Gabrielle’s Ares-induced 25-year sleep in the ice-cave, but gave birth to a daughter, Argo II, who, remarkably, had all of Argo’s abilities.

Incidentally, did you ever wonder why Gabrielle had no horse? According to the producers speaking at a fan convention, it took three horses to make it look like Xena had one horse. For Gabrielle to have had a horse, that would have meant having six horses on hand — something that was financially impossible.

He also takes a look at Scabbers the rat and Hedwig the owl in the Harry Potter series (although of course, I prefer Padfoot the dog, played by a Scottish Deerhound), and a host of others.

Check it out here, and then tell us: Did you have a favorite fantasy character from films, television, or books who isn’t mentioned in the article? For me, it was Preciosa the hawk from Marion Zimmer Bradley’s young adult novel Hawkmistress.

Dog health care means preventing disease before it starts. Dogs often seem to have limitless energy and robust constitutions, but don’t let this fool you: they are susceptible to all sorts of maladies, ranging from mild to life threatening. Dogs have the same similar needs and health problems of humans.

Dog food nutrition is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle for your pet. Dogs, just like everyone else, have specific nutritional needs. Dogs lack the ability to communicate their problems, so it’s up to their owners to determine how healthy they are. Diet directly affects your dog’s skin and coat, weight, energy level, and gastrointestinal function. Diet, environmental toxins, pharmaceuticals and stress all play a part in the health of companion animals. Dog nutrition influences overall health, including skin and coat condition.

Dogs don’t get to choose their own diet we do that for them. Our choice of food for our dog depends on our own education of what is best for our dogs, with our information predominantly gathered from TV commercials by pet food companies and vets who recommend certain products because of product alliance. These TV commercials on dog food fill your screen with plump chickens; fresh vegetables and a selection of grains and all show a happy, healthy dog on the advertisements. They are generally beautiful ads, emotional marketed to YOU.

Here’s the next installment of basic grooming gear for your Golden Retriever. Here’s where you get more of the basic gear needed to have your Golden looking…well GOLDEN!

This info gives you tips on using a leash for the first time on your Golden Retriever Puppy. Slip on the leash once he is comfortable having the collar on. Your dog may try sniffing or touching it out of curiosity but immediately stop him if he is trying to chew the leash. Distract him by giving a chew toy instead.