New Items For Humans

Here's the newest item in my Etsy Shop and on my Website....Hair Scrunchies!
I've been working on expanding my line of Dog Themed Items for Humans and these are the latest additions. They're cute, they're fun and they'd make the perfect work accessory for those who work in Veterinarian's Offices, Kennels, are Dog Trainers, or Volunteers for Rescue.

I've also just finished the painstaking job of reworking my entire website. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Happy Birthday Jingle!

It's Jingle's birthday!
We adopted her at three and today she turns 11 years old. Where did the time go?
She's always been the smallest of our gang, so she's nicknamed "the Peanut" but she's a lot of dog and a lot of love in one small package. She's still just as active as the day we brought her home and has enough Hound attitude for three dogs. She keeps us laughing and we couldn't love her more.
Happy Birthday Peanut! We wish you many, many more.

Gearing Up For Howloween

While I don't usually stock dog "clothes" per se as a regular item in my line, I've done some Costumes by request and decided this year I'd try a couple in my Etsy Shop to see how they do.

The costume in the top picture was inspired by a recent memory of my first Basset, Shirley. One year she was very angry with me for making her a witch costume when she had been a princess the year before. It just wasn't glamorous enough for her. :) So I tried to glam up a witch concept with this costume. But when it was all finished, it looked more wizard, sorcerer, alchemist-y to me, so given my love for a bad pun and a suggestion from DH, I named it Nose-tradamus after the famous French seer.

Having a costume for a male dog, of course inspired me to make another one more fitting for a girly dog. I decided to stay with a midevial theme and another bad pun, thus the birth of Damsel In Dis-Dress. I just couldn't help myself, what can I say?

Repose Interrupted.....by Today's Guest Blogger, Mabel

Waking up.


How many more pictures are you planning to take?


Ahhhhh.....she's finally finished. ZZZzzzzzzzz


So Mom's been busy sprucing up her Etsy Shop getting ready for the upcoming (hopefully busy, cuz I'll get more cookies) Howliday Season. She got a new cool banner, courtesy of the art4milkbones puppers, Morgie & Mully. She's also been adding lots of new howloween and howliday stuff to the shop.

So today she decides she wants a new avatar too. Ok fine, I thought, she'll just drag out some old picture of one of us and use it. But noooooo......she wants to take new pictures...of me!

I had just gotten settled for my usual morning snooze on "my" futon on the front porch. This is my mostest favorite thing in the world to do. Hey, when you're 14 you take your kicks where you can get 'em. Before long, Mom comes along with snood and camera in hand and starts posing me and snapping pictures. Needless to say, I was none too pleased as you can see.
What we dogs don't do for our humans. Sheesh...

A Little Taste of Christmas in July

As long as we discussed Howl-O-Ween the other day, we might as well just jump ahead to a preview of the upcoming Christmas/ Howl-i-Day Season.

Just listed these three new items in my Etsy Shop this week. A Holly & Pine Bough Snood, Red Holiday Bones Bandana and a Red Gingerbread Bandana. There will be more to come as we get closer to the season, so stay tuned.....

Howl-O-Ween Is Coming!

It won't be long and the air will be a little crisper, the leaves will be turning and the pumpkins will be ripe for picking.
Time for Trick or Treating....even for Dogs. It's not too early to plan your furkid's seasonal attire. Here's the newest addition to our Etsy Shop! It's a great Ghost print in dark blue and black with flying ghosts and bats, full moons and leafless trees. It's also accented with the word Boo! Someting a little different than traditional orange and black.

We've currently listed a Bandana, but we would be glad to make Snoods, Visors or Collar Covers too!

The Expanding Dog Theory

How do they do it? Bassets, but I suppose all dogs, seem to have this inexplicable capability to double, I swear even triple their size during sleep. They're a perfectly normal size by day, but at night they're able to activate their super powers.

As I went to go to bed last night, this is the sight that greeted me. Jingle, the smallest of my dogs, at a mere 37 pounds, was sprawled out and had tucked herself in among every available pillow, occupying almost 3/4 of our queen size bed. Mabel, as usual was curled up at the foot of the opposite side of the mattress. Somehow I managed to squeeze myself diagonally in what little space was left. Well, of course, I didn't have the heart to move them. :)

Hot Dawgs....Get Yer Hot Dawgs!

Crikey, it's HOT!

The daytime highs have been 94-96 degrees here in the Northeast for the last couple of days and the hounds and humans in this household have been moving at the speed of slugs and I think my brain cells are beginning to bake off.

The girls are allowed outside for 5 minute intervals only for business runs and then right back inside. They've both been giving me looks and barking at me as if to whine, "Mommmm DO something! With your infinite capabilities turn off the heat."
Well, I DID do something. While outside on one their quick trips this afternoon, I filled the garden watering can and gave them both a gentle sprinkle with cool water. After giving me several dagger laden looks for such a heinous assault, I told them they'd thank me in a few minutes.
Be careful what you wish for. :)

Sophie's Home.....Again

A week ago yesterday, our alpha and the dog we've had the longest (10 years), Sophie, had to make her journey to the Rainbow Bridge due to cancer. As we always do, we chose an individual cremation for her.

I received the call that her ashes were ready, and we picked them up today. Of course all the emotion of the moment came rushing back, but also a sense of calm. While everyone grieves in their own way, bringing the ashes home has always helped me work through the mourning stages. For me, it's another step along the path that brings some closure and comfort.

She's home again forever, where she belongs, with her family who loves her most and will take her place alongside her adopted "brothers and sisters" who've made the same journey before her.

Welcome home again, our dear Sophie. We love you always.

What The Heck is a Snood???

If you've never seen a snood, at first glance they probably look like something silly invented for the sole purpose of removing any shred of dignity a dog may possess. But, in actuality, they're an invaluable tool for the owners of long eared and long haired dogs, like Basset Hounds, Bloodhounds, Afghans, Cocker Spaniels and even Shih Tzus and Lhasa Apsos.

Pet and show dog owners alike will attest to the ear and face clean up time they save, after a meal or after a walk in the woods. You'd be surprised how much stuff a Basset's ground dragging ears can pick up along the way. Show people love them for keeping their dog's ears clean before a trip around the ring. There's nothing worse than after spending all that pre-show grooming time, to glance at your dog seconds before ring time and discover he's filthy again.

As functional as a snood can be, you gotta have a little fun with them too. They come in all fabrics and styles from basic utilitarian cotton to all manner of show ring glitz. Snoods.....where function and fashion meet. :)

We make a full line of Snoods from casual to glitzy, in five sizes or your own custom sizing.
Stop by our website , our eBay Store or our Etsy Shop and sniff around. You may find just the perfect one you and your Dog have been hunting for.

The Leaders (and Followers) of the Pack

I guess I'll start by introducing the cast of characters that share and have shared my life. I've had seven Bassets over the years, all of them "second hand dogs," one from her prior owner and the rest through rescue.

Here they are, in chronological order.....Drum roll, please.

SHIRLEY (atb)

I adopted Shirley directly from her previous owner at nearly a year of age. She was a human trapped in a dog's body. If she had thumbs, she would have ruled the world.



SOPHIE (atb)

Sophie came to us through rescue after two previous homes. Despite that, she had an amazing lust for life and food of any kind, but especially fruit. Bananas ruled! Her goofy happy demeanor are what made Sophie....Sophie. :)



BARNEY (atb)

Barney was another rescue who lived the first 11 years of his life outside tied to his doghouse, used as a stud dog for a backyard breeder. Once he made his way to rescue, his gentle soul could shine and he became a star. He made an appearance on the Today Show with Warren Eckstein while in foster care. After becoming ours, he was crowned King of the Allentown Basset Picnic and Grand Marshall of BoardWaddle 2002. He will always be King of our Hearts.



MAGGIE (atb)

Maggie was rescued at 9 years old. She came to us very angry and withdrawn, but soon blossomed into a well adjusted girl with a quirky sense of humor. She was deaf, so we always said that she marched to the beat of a different drummer because she couldn't hear the same one everyone else was marching to. :)



JINGLE

Jingle is the dog nobody wanted. In fact, her last home was so impatient to give her up, they returned her to rescue at the annual reunion picnic. We brought her home as a foster that night, and she's been ours ever since. She worshipped the ground Sophie walked on, and is the sweetest little cuddle bug you'll ever find.



ROY (atb)

Roy was picked up as a stray and estimated to be 10 years old when we adopted him. He had a wonderful sense of humor and loved tennis balls. If you were too busy to play at the moment, it was ok, he'd happily toss the ball in the air himself and fetch it. He also loved his bath more than almost anything....except his Mom. :) He'd moan in ecstasy while being scrubbed, rinsed and dried and when he was done, he'd shoot you a look like...."What? It's OVER???? He was also a thief and a master at hiding our stuff....shoes, gloves, etc. out in the yard. He knew where he'd stashed everything too and if you got too close to where his treasures were buried he'd have to move them to a new "safe place."



MABEL

Mabel found her way to rescue after her original owner had to go into a nursing home and the sister who took her in didn't want her any longer. She was turned outside for the day and kept in a finished basement at night. Mabel apparently wasn't happy with her situation either, because she kept escaping out a hole in the fence. She came to us at age 9, is now 14 and is an absolute joy and always a perfect lady. She's also very good at giving you a good slap when she wants your attention. :)

Arooooo!

Welcome to our little corner of the web. I hope to share some musings on my life with Basset Hounds, the Pet Accessories I make and whatever else comes to mind. Hope you enjoy.

You're invited stop and visit us at our website and our Etsy Shop listed in the column to the right.

Also, visit the Etsy Dogs Flickr Group and the Etsy Dogs Blog. We're a group of Etsy shopowners, who specialize in everything handmade for dogs and the people who love them.