Never Too Late to Shop Local

Odds, Ends and Wins

orbit holiday dog toys In today’s down economy, many of us prefer to seek out goods made in the U.S.A. That’s not always easy to do, but Planet Dog, a value-based pet-supply wholesaler, simplifies the process with a selection of 45 durable toys manufactured in the Lower 48. Look for them at your neighborhood pet-supply retail store. Before you go, check out Planet Dog’s “chew-o-meter” to help make an appropriate selection.

Most owners of dogs who like to fetch (or just chase moving objects) are familiar with Chuckit ball launchers. But you may not be aware that these popular throwing instruments can be loaded with much more than tennis balls. To rev up your game with Rover, try a specialty ball that floats, whistles, glows in the dark, bounces high, hugs the ground or acts erratically. There’s even an indoor version to help you keep your pup occupied on the rainiest of days. Look for them wherever Chuckits are sold.

paco collars are custom made If you frequent dog parks in the Bay Area or other places where humans gather to show off their tail-waggers, you’ve probably complimented someone on their dog’s extraordinarily beautiful collar. Chances are that handcrafted fashion statement came from Paco Collars in Berkeley. Each Paco collar is handcrafted from a base of latigo leather, often with rhinestones, studs, faux jewels, conchos and other bling worked into the design. Paco makes leashes, tags and goodies for cats and people, too. The company has a retail store in Berkeley, and its products also can be found in many Northern California dog boutiques.

For the Shredder In Your Life

Bumi flexible throw toy One of our DogTrekker staff dogs (call him Shredder) has a prey drive so powerful that anything stuffed that gets in his path can be considered dead meat. He confetti-ized half a dozen Costco dog beds (they’re a steal at $20 each) before being relegated to a blanket on the floor (it, too, ended up in tatters). We were poking around at Tuesday Morning a few months ago when we stumbled upon the Nap Kennel Pad, which is more akin to camping pad for humans than a traditional dog bed. This flat, 1-3/4” foam mat upholstered in tough, water-resistant poly canvas proved the magic-wand solution for Shredder. It may not be soft and cushy, but it keeps his bohunkus off the cold floor, which after all is the primary function of a dog bed. Works for him, works for us—and at $25 for the large size, it didn’t break the bank. (The Tuesday Morning website lists this item as an Allied Aero Foam Crate Mat, but as far as we can tell, it’s the same thing.)

Finding toys for shredders is also a challenge, at least if you want to move out of the indestructible Kong category. Last holiday season, the aforementioned Shredder received “the Ultimate Boomerang” toy from Tuffy. Made with four layers of fabric and seven rows of stitching, it’s rated tops on the company’s “Tuff” scale. For 99 dogs out of 100 this would be a long-lasting plaything, but with Shredder, it lasted, tick tock, about 8.5 minutes. We find it touching, however, that our ever-chewy companion has carried the tattered remains of this object around with him for a solid year now. Stuffing or no stuffing, squeaker or no squeaker, it’s his favorite plaything outside his Aqua Kong on a rope, with which he entertains himself endlessly.

This time around, we’re trying the Bumi from West Paws Design. A flexible throw-and-chew toy billed as “the energetic dog’s dream come true,” the Bumi looks strong, feels strong and intrigues us with its bouncy possibilities. All good. Just so it doesn’t get lost in the ivy on the side of the house, where five years’ worth of Kongs are in hiding.

Shed (Almost) No More

Furminator de-shedding tool Are you tired of sweeping up dog hair, vacuuming up dog hair, brushing dog hair off your clothes and furniture? Unless you have a poodle or other breed of dog that doesn’t shed, you know the tiresome drill. But you don’t have to resign yourself to constant combat with hairballs in exchange for the companionship of your best friend. A FURminator will help you win the war on pet hair and help you love each other all the more.

This heavily marketed de-shedding tool, essentially a hair rake on steroids, claims to reduce shedding by up to 90 percent. It takes investing in one for skeptics to become converts, and we count ourselves among the converted. We can’t believe how much undercoat came off our Brittany the first time we used it—or how much less hair now comes off in the house.

The FURminator is spendy ($45 at Petco for the long-haired, medium-size dog version), but if you use it for once-a-week grooming, you won't even toy with the thought of investing in one of those $600 Dyson DC41 Animal vacuum cleaners guaranteed to suck up household dog hair as fast and furious as a 10-year-old sucking† up a rootbeer-flavored Slurpee. The FURminator is not new, but it’s undergone some permutations and now comes in different versions for long- and short-haired dogs of various sizes. Two models for cats also are available. Think of it as a home improvement project, and you won’t bat an eye at the splurge. Need convincing? Check out the YouTube videos.