My dog is crazy about dog sweaters for winter and because of that so am I. I don’t remember when we discovered it but one day we had a sweater that we brought home from the store and when we showed it to him he willingly let us put it on and from that time on he is always ready to get a new sweater on. The fun part of having a dog that loves dog sweaters is that there are some many different kinds to get him. They are available in tons of colors, lot’s of different styles, and a whole variety of different types of materials. My dog’s favorite is a blue knit sweater. He has literally worn it to death. The good part of having his sweater wear out is that it gives us the excuse to go buy more.

Vaccination of your dogs is crucial to their health. There are several, very real, diseases that your dog can contract. One of them being that Canine Parvovirus. This virus is transmitted through feces of infected dogs. Transmission is unfortunately, very easy. If your unvaccinated puppy or immuno-compromised adult dog in any way comes in contact with the infected feces, serious illness or even death can occur. The symptoms include diarrhea (often with blood), vomiting, lethargy, impedance, and the lack of desire to drink. If the puppy is not seen promptly by a Veterinarian when the symptoms occur, the mortality rate is very high. Once brought to your local Vet, your puppy still only has a 50-50 chance at survival. The only way to help prevent this virus is to vaccinate. The vaccination is called a DHLPP, or DHPP. If the puppy has 3-4 of these vaccines spaced 3 weeks apart, your puppy is protected. So, with a happy, healthy puppy, you can get your puppy a costume. Just make sure the label says large Halloween costumes for dogs to avoid any danger.

My dog, Jo, has decided that our king size, pillow topped, flannel sheet covered haven of rest is HER’S. Never mind that she has a wonderful elevated dog bed of her own. Oh no- Jo has declared that our bed is much more to her liking. Now if sweet, hairy, loveable old Jo was a small dog, I don’t think my husband and I would have such an issue with her taking over our supreme resting place. However, Jo is big. She is a good seventy-five pounds, and when she sprawls and stretches, she takes up a good half of the bed. We might be able to sleep around her, by being creative. Jo is after all, getting older and a very special part of our family. There is one other issue though- she snores. Loudly. All night long. Which in turn prompts me to encourage her to move off my bed, into her own. Most times however, Jo puts her pretty nose in the air, and stalks out of the room in a huff. We often find her in the morning, sprawled on the couch, snoring away. Which is fine- the couch is quite a ways away from our room, so we don’t have to hear her snore!