Don’t have a gift for your pooch yet? Check out some of these Christmas gift ideas you can give your dog! Some of these are also great gifts for your dog-lover friend

• Alpo Chop House – How about giving your pet a “special” meal this Christmas? Our dogs love Alpo Chop House, so every Christmas we try to give our dogs a can each. We usually mix the wet food with the dry kibbles, but for Christmas, we let them have something special — their favorite, all wet dog food!
• Beggin’ Strips – Another treat our pets can’t refuse! They go crazy over Beggin’ Strips. If your dog fancies these treats as much as my dogs do, I’m pretty sure this is a gift they would surely love.
• Customized dog tag – Your dog might not appreciate this as much as you would (since a pet tag is mostly for information purposes). But pets like Shantee — who enjoys wearing “things” — certainly will! It’s like having a custom “pendant!” You can get one customized for your pets (and even decorate it with charms!) from Will Wag for Tags.
• Doggie clothes – Perfect for dogs who like to dress up! Get them something new this holiday season, something they can even wear and show off during your parties. Dogs who love attention will definitely enjoy wearing new stuff (I know our Shantee certainly does). Check out Doodles Paw Couture, they even have holiday-themed dresses for your pooches!
• Pooch accessories – How about a new collar for your pet? Or a harness with a brand-new leash? Or maybe even a portable water dispenser? You can get these and more from Bow & Wow. They’ve got lots of stuff for your pets, and with your purchase, you could even help out a pet in need with their current Christmas program.
• Pet massage and Grooming – If you’re sure (and I do mean absolutely sure) your pet would like a massage from a stranger, then by all means get him one for Christmas. Same goes for grooming. But if the massage or grooming session would only stress your dog, it might be better if you give him something he’ll enjoy more. After all, you wouldn’t want your pet to be stressed out because of your “gift,” would you?
• Doggie day out – Got a very social dog? Take him out for a doggie day out! Dedicate an entire day just for him, visit pet-friendly places like Eastwood City or Bonifacio High Street where your pet can meet up with his fellow canines for an afternoon of fun!
• A Christmas “walkies” – Saving money this Christmas? Well, here’s one gift I’m pretty sure any balanced dog will love: WALKIES! Just make sure you give your dog his Christmas walkies before the usual Yuletide fireworks, or you’ll both end up stressed out instead of having fun

But you know what? Even if you don’t give your dog a gift this Christmas, he’d still love you just the same. He’ll be happy as long as he has you. Such loyal and caring creatures — that’s why we can’t help but love them!

Thanks to Bow & Wow, we were able to try out Gulpy Pet Water Dispenser for our Shih Tzu who loves going out: Shantee!

The Gulpy Pet Water Dispenser is best for pets on the go, especially those who love to run and play! Like people, pets get thirsty too. Probably even more so — after all, they’re covered in fur. But unlike us humans, dogs cannot buy drinks for themselves to satisfy their thirst — it’s the role of every responsible pet owner to bring hydration for the dog when going out with them.

There are places here in Manila, like in Eastwood City, that are so pet-friendly that water stations for thirsty dogs are provided. But, unfortunately for Shantee, the water dispenser was dry when we were there.

Good thing we brought her own drink!

The Gulpy Pet Water Dispenser is pretty convenient. I placed a filled one inside my bag, and because of its mechanism, my belongings remained dry. No spillage!

Now Shantee gets to enjoy the sun as much as she wants without me worrying about dehydration. You can get Gulpy Pet Water Dispenser at Bow & Wow stores in Shangri-La Mall (Mandaluyong) or Greenbelt Makati. For more details, visit the official Bow & Wow website.

Shantee and I were given a complete FURminator deShedding kit for review: FURminator deShedding Tool, deShedding Shampoo, deShedding Solution, Waterless deShedding Shampoo and Conditioner, and deShedding Dog Treats.

Shantee is a teacup Shih Tzu, and most of the information we’ve read about her breed say that normally their type shed less than the usual. But the thing is, they still shed. The hairs I collect in my dustpan whenever I’m cleaning the house can attest to that. According to the FURminator Tool fact sheet, the Tool can reduce shedding up to 90 percent in boht long and short-haird dogs and cats.

My sister and I are going to try these products on Shantee, Harry, and Coal and then see how they turn out. Coal is a black Labrador Retriever, the perfect example for a short-haired dog; while Harry is a native dog and Japanese Spitz mix. His hair isn’t as long as Shantee’s, but not as short as Coal’s either.

We’re all excited how our little FURminator experiment will turn out for the next few weeks. Stay tuned for updates!

Do you own a spoiled dog? Well, I do. Actually, all of our dogs are spoiled, in my opinion. All of them sleep inside the house. Harry gets a slice of loaf bread whenever he wants one from my sister, and Choknat even has his own Bonsai tree. Shantee has enough dog clothes to merit her own closet. My late Sheero has her own shrine in our garden. But none of them have Designer dog beds (Shantee has a dog pillow though, and all of the other dogs like sleeping on the sofa or on padded chairs).

If you’re a Filipino born in the ‘80s, you’re probably familiar with the TV commercial of Salem bed mattress for humans. There was this elephant in the commercial stomping on the mattress to prove that it’s really sturdy (the Salem elephant passed away already, by the way). Sorry, that was off-topic—but I just couldn’t help but remember that elephant when reviewing the Mammoth dog bed site… It’s like a dog version of that commercial (there’s an elephant on their advertising materials too!) Ah. Don’t mind me!

Well, moving on… Back to the review

I have actually seen a lot of dog beds from grooming salons, but they’re quite expensive. I can honestly say that I can create those myself using my mom’s scrap textiles and foam—kind of like the same way that it’s easy to create a pillow for a human. But the thing is, it won’t be orthopedic and the foam will eventually shrink through time and usage.

Same thing with dog beds. You can make one on your own, or buy a cheap one, but it’s not going to last (I’m actually preparing to make a new pillow for Shantee in case hers shrink and get too worn out). The Designer dog beds that Mammoth sells were made to last from non-balling high memory furniture upholstery fiber fill, which makes sure that the bed bounces back after every use. They also assure that their beds’ covers don’t shrink when washed, which is a good thing since you will eventually have to wash it so it won’t stink

The Designer dog beds sold at pet shops here are very expensive—especially for those large breeds like Coal, Scout and Crunchie who are Labrador Retrievers. The ones that Mammoth offers are actually half the price of those I see at local pet shops for large breeds. You’ll also have the convenience of ordering online, and having the dog bed delivered straight to your doorstep.

But like any other outside-the-Philippines online store, the only thing I have a problem with this is the shipping costs. It really is expensive getting products delivered across the globe. BUT, there’s still a “work-around.” If you got relatives in the US who are visiting the Philippines soon, you can always ask them to receive the delivery for you and just bring it here when they travel. The only risk there is when they have a lot of baggage and adding your dog bed will make them exceed their luggage weight limit.

I’ve slept on an orthopedic bed already (of course, the one I slept on was for humans not dogs!), and I have never slept as comfortably as I did on that bed. If you got some extra cash to spare, why not let your dog experience such comfort too? I would get each and every one of my dogs if only I had a lot of money! For now, all other dogs will have to just sleep on the coach and padded chairs and Shantee on her little home-made golden dog pillow

My dad is a photographer (he’s also a photographer for a local newspaper), and he likes taking photos of our pets a lot. Each one of them has their own portrait photo (even the fishes!), but he never really got into pet photography except for trying out a new camera or he just felt like making them his photo subjects. He said it’s hard to make animal pose in a studio setting especially when they’re untrained (I think he just didn’t want to risk his expensive equipment for unruly animals making a ruckus out of his studio).

Knowing how difficult animals are to photograph makes me appreciate Pittsburg pet photographer Vincent Strangio’s work even more.

The site offers Dog shirts, sweatshirts, mousepads and other merchandise with dog photos featuring the work of Strangio. But these aren’t just t-shirt transfers or any other those rubbery printing that’s easy to peel off, mind you. I’m not exactly sure what that type of printing is called, but I’ve seen printing like that and I can definitely say that they don’t peel easily (having a husband who does the laundry, it’s important that shirt designs don’t peel easily, else I’ll be stuck with plain old t-shirts!). I’m not sure if that’s exactly the type of printing they use, as I haven’t seen the shirts in actually, but I do believe the designs are worth it.

I love the designs. Ok fine, I’m biased. I love dogs. But having seen quality photos all my life, I’m able to discern what looks good and what doesn’t (that’s one of the perks of being a daughter of one of the country’s award-winning photographers). The photos on the shirts look good—one look at them and you’ll get an idea of what the dog’s personality is. And this, I think, is what makes the photos great.

“Photos speak a thousand words.” For me, that’s really important. I’m no photographer, but I try as much as possible for my graphic art to convey something: an emotion, a story, or a personality. Photographing dogs is no different—a photograph becomes truly beautiful when the artist gives the viewer an idea of who the dog is. This, is what I see in the designs of Dog shirts, sweatshirts, mousepads and other merchandise found on the site.

The section on White Westland Terriers is my favorite. But this is a real bias: the dogs look like my Sheero!

Sheero night-jogging at the Ateneo de Manila University campus

Except for a recent trip to Marc’s family’s house in Marikina last month, Sheero hadn’t been able to go out much. I’ve been very busy with design work ever since my husband resigned from his call center “day” job. Today was a very rare instance: I was actually awake in the morning. With all the work I needed to do for the day, I decided to take a walk going to a nearby store to get me some liver spread and corned beef before I tackled the pile of work ahead of me.

I took Sheero along. As I have said, it’s been a while since she had a walk (she usually just ran around our garden for exercise). Here are some things I’d like to share with you when walking a spoiled brat of a dog…

• Use a harness instead of just putting the leash on the collar. This is particularly handy if your dog isn’t very well-behaved. Spoiled brats have a tendency to want to walk ahead of you, trying to show you they’re the boss. Although Sheero considers me the “alpha female” in the house, she can get pretty excited during walks and tries to walk ahead. When that happens, the dog can choke on the pressure of her pull if the leash is attached to the collar. Other than that, if the collar is loose, the dog can squirm her way off the collar and get away.
• Bring a walking stick. There are quite a number of dogs roaming around our street (especially at night), and some of our neighbors leave their gates open in the morning. This can get pretty dangerous for your dog if they’re attacked. Dogs are very territorial, and when an unknown dog passes by, they want to show her that they own the place. A walking stick can come in handy when fending off other dogs if they try to attack your pet.
• Keep your dog close. If you got one of those high-tech adjustable leashes that can make the length easily adjustable, use it and keep the dog close to you. Sheero only has a chain leash, so I just shorten her leash manually by winding it on my hand. This gives you a degree of control over your pet while you’re walking, and makes it easier when crossing the street.
• Bring a poop bag. Even if your subdivision isn’t that strict when it comes to dogs pooping on the sidewalks, you might want to bring a poop bag so not to add work for the metro aids After all, it’s your dog. You should clean up after her if she makes a mess on the sidewalk!
• Head home when it gets too hot. I think this is quite self-explanatory. You wouldn’t want any of you dropping on the sidewalk because of a heat stroke

Hope that helps! I’ve been trying to fix my odd biological clock, so I might make this a regular thing for Sheero and me. Who knows? We might even lose some weight because of all the walking!