Did I hear a bell? Justin’s dog, Pacino, running for the door. Welcome back for Week 2 of Tuesdays with Justin, a dog training series from CBS-TV’s Dogs in the City star, Justin Silver. Justin helped us so much with our rescue, Jasper, that I wanted to share his philosophy and help other dog parents overcome frustrating issues. Justin and his partner, Dave Donnenfeld, also have a new book out, The Language of Dogs. I reviewed it in an earlier post (link at the bottom of this one). Each Tuesday, we’ll be giving away one copy to… [Continue Reading]

“‘Be Kind to Animals Week®’ (May 3-9) is the longest-running, most successful humane education campaign in America, and has been supported by several U.S. Presidents, movie stars from Shirley Temple to John Wayne, Eleanor Roosevelt to Betty White, and even Dennis the Menace and Porky Pig.”  This from a news release issued by the American Humane Association, which created the commemorative week back in 1915 to help teach Americans the value of kindness and compassion towards our animal friends. Those of us who love the furrier inhabitants of our planet know that being kind to animals is important every day, all… [Continue Reading]

  What’s that?? A low-flying bird, a crumb from a treat? No! It’s a BUG! Bugs are crawlers non-grata in our house.  Sophie and Jasper stalk, investigate, explore and chase. I thought cats did that, but Isabel can’t seem to be bothered. For this week’s 52 Snapshots of Life photo challenge, the theme is Below. I chose this picture I snapped of Jasper eyeing a creepy crawlers on the floor of our apartment. It was just a matter of time before that unwitting creature had a playdate with a puppy. Pet blogging friend and colleague, Christina Berry of The Lazy… [Continue Reading]

  We’re newbies. It’s our first Black & White Sunday and we’re excited to be joining Dachshund Nola and Sugar the Golden Retriever in this BlogHop!     This pic was taken shortly after we rescued Jasper. He had his harness on in the house because he was so unpredictable, and we needed to be able to capture him quickly, if someone rang the doorbell or he decided to go after our cats. Sophie and Jas were hanging out on the couch (it might’ve even been a Sunday), happily occupying themselves with bully sticks. Like many dogs, they’re suckers for… [Continue Reading]

Sophie may be a princess, but she’s one who isn’t afraid of getting her hands dirty. Or any other part of her, for that matter! A patch of soft, green grass is an open invitation to some Snoopy-style, back-rubbing happy dance. She’ll dig her spindly doe legs into the ground, shake her scruffy little head like a Mustang pony and refused to move on, if she gets the urge to roll. Jasper and I have to wait patiently for her to get it out of her system. And, running through the grass? Just as awesome! So, for this week’s 52… [Continue Reading]

Affiliate Links     Losing a pet is an awful, awful thing. For National Pet ID Week, I’m bringing back an older post I wrote, with tips on preventing pet theft from happening to you. It’s one facet of how we can lose our furry loved ones; there are more, of course. But in general, having your dog microchipped, having a comprehensive ID tag and implementing some common sense measures can help to protect them. Read on for our special offer for my Bark & Swagger family!     I use PetHub for our dogs… [Continue Reading]

Affiliate Links       Call me crazy, but some of the best training advice I’ve received are these three simple words: Keep it fluffy. That’s how dog trainer, Justin Silver, puts it when he talks about the energy we communicate to our dogs. The CBS-TV Dogs in the City star sat down with me recently to talk about how our dogs think and learn, topics he covers in his new book with David Donnenfeld, The Language of Dogs. What follows is how Justin helped us and his top dog training tips.   How Justin Helped Jasper Get… [Continue Reading]

I aimed for it; that spur-of-the-moment head cocked in full tilt,I’m quizzical pose. Maybe aimed too high today? Instead, we got a bit of Zen meets “mommy, take this thing offa meeee!”   I’m taking creative license; Sophie is, indeed, looking quizzical…meets Zen. ok. Whatever this is, it’s still cute. When I look at Sophie, my little munchkin, I want to eat her up! 🙂     I missed last week, where the theme was Blessings, so I thought I’d post a pic I love that says it all to me. This is my husband, napping on the couch, with the babies by… [Continue Reading]