PETEY UPDATE: they grow up so fast...

It's hard to believe, but our Puppy K days have already come to a close. Petey graduated with... some degree of honor. I won't claim to you that he ever effortlessly performed the Puppy Pushup during class.... in spite of the endless successful practice we did in the solitude of our home, thank you very much. Sack of Potatoes, sure. Hand targeting, sure. Overall adorableness, sure. But will Denise and Sebastian forever think I am a liar when I claim he can, in fact, lay down with some degree of command? Absolutely.

See below: In order, Petey hamming it up with his delightful classmates (from left, Roadie, Jackson, and Mattie); awaiting instruction; the infamous sack of potatoes act of submission....








Sigh. My love for Puppy K is endless.

www.empireofthedog.com

New products from GO!PETDESIGN

The word on the street is that GO!PETDESIGN (creators of the much loved, much blogged about eiCrate) have finally - finally! - released new additions to their line of local and environmentally conscientious products. And, surprise, they are awesome.

Behold... a smattering of dog feeders and bowls:

Urban driftwood dog bowl, handmade from locally reclaimed wood.

One pint or quart single, $29-$35

1 pint or quart double, $49-$69

UPcycled elevated dog bowls, made of reclaimed PVC pipe, $25-$30

("Hand spun aluminum bowls" coming soon...)

Behold... toys:



Phony bones stuffable dog toys, $9

("Chuck the Duck" coming soon...)

Behold... a glorious sherpa mat:



Sherpa mat, $32


Sign us up, please!

With all of this said, I feel compelled to mention one thing: A single disappointment I have experienced surrounding the eiCrate - and please note that I do lovelovelove this crate - is the fact that the door does not stay open. And when I say does not stay open, I mean slams shut. And when I say slams shut, I mean right in Petey's face. And loudly. Which, in our humblest of opinions, is ridiculous. A crate deserves to stay open from time to time, am I right? If only for the simple fact of the dog being able to willingly come and go and therefore grow to appreciate said crate. I actually emailed them about it - honestly I thought maybe we'd gotten a broken one or had failed at its simple assembly -but I never got a response either way. The good news? They have decided to address the problem and have noted on their website that a door stay of sorts will soon be available. The bad news is that it's not free. Or even that inexpensive, relatively speaking. As much as I adore this company, I'm just not sure that I agree with having to spend more money for the "luxury" of being able to keep a door open for an animal without opposable thumbs. But I do like that it's bite resistant.

All of the above are available on the GO!PETDESIGN website. And if you're in the Brooklyn area, keep your eyes peeled at such fine establishments as PS9.

(photos from gopetdesign.com)