The Dog Days of Christmas, 2017 edition: 1. Collars Galore!

For a few years, a few years ago, DogEvals would publish The Twelve Dog Days of Christmas, with every day focusing on the best dog collars or dog leashes or dog toys or dog artists or dog books. This year we are resurrecting it a bit with today featuring the best dog collars. Our choices have not changed over the years, which means we selected wisely in 2014 and 2013 and before and since.

So, Here They Are!

In no particular order DogEvals loves Comfort Flex and Spiffy Dog collars for their light-weightness and dry-ability. For preppiness, we like Black Dog and for cozy comfort, Planet Dog. For style, we like the sporty and classic Preston collars if you can find them, and for saving the earth, the Good Dog Company. Finally for safety, nothing can beat the PlaySafe and KeepSafe collars.

Comfort Flex 

An excellent choice for both safety and comfort, this lightly padded nylon collar slips over Fido’s head. Reflective strapping makes this collar easy to see in low light, like at dusk. We like blaze orange, bright purple (the new color of the year) and, of course, burgundy but Comfort Flex calls their colors hunter orange, purple and red, neon pink, berry, saffron, kelly green, blue jay, mariner, raven and Bordeaux. This collar will last at $18.50.

Spiffy Dog

Spiffy Dog makes a quick-drying air collar that is lighter than air from $15.99. In 26 different colors and patterns, this Colorado company also has key chains to match the dog collars (or to function as zipper pulls or luggage identifiers).

My lab looks spiffy in his navy snowflake Spiffy Dog collar.

Born in 2001, Steamboat Springs serves as the perfect four-season testing arena for the Spiffy Dog products. Spiffy also make discs, dog beds and blankets, and three-foot leashes.

Black Dog

What would a black dog want but a Black Dog collar! The Dog on Dock collar can be either a standard collar or a limited slip collar ($28).

The classic collar ($28) has a plastic buckle and bones that shine when light flashes on them.

The striped collar features a black dog on the metal buckle for $32.

The Black Dog, founded in 1971, can be found on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts but Black Dog clothing and mugs are seen all over the world. Originally and still today a tavern, the Black Dog was named after a character in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island and the proprietor’s best friend.

Planet Dog, Eco-Friendly and Comfortable

Planet Dog uses hemp, a strong fiber that stands up to years of salt-water swims, mud puddle bathe, snowy romps and rolls in the sand – medium and large collars are fleece-lined. It softens with age like a favorite pair of jeans – just what you would want to wear if you were a dog.

The 17-year-old store is worth a side-trip to Portland, Maine, if you there for LLBean which also has classy classic dog stuff.

The Good Dog Company of North Carolina

Another eco-friendly Colorado-born and North Carolina-living company, The Good Dog Company has super soft corduroy hemp collars in nine luscious colors with matching leashes and key chairs. This chocolate lab on the right

is modeling a pink hemp corduroy harness and below, the pupster is wearing basic red.

And, Finally, . . . Safe Collars!

We all know that, for safety reasons, dogs should take off their collars when they play and when they are home alone, in case the collar gets caught on something. But how many dogs take the time to do that? With a break-away collar like the KeepSafe collar, below,

you need not fear: the collar will release itself. And every dog should also have a PlaySafe collar

(a bit harder to find online  but worth it), right, which is easy to remove by a dog day camp staff member with the quick-release Velcro release.

And Now, . . .

Go shop for your best friend. Doesn’t he deserve a spiffy new collar? 

Book Review: The Prince and the Pooch (Wishbone, kids)

The Prince and the Pooch (book 3 of 21 in the series, The Adventures of Wishbone) by Caroline Leavitt (Scholastic, 1997, 144 pages, ages 8 and up, grades 3-6)

Everyone younger than a high school graduate grew up with Wishbone, that lovable Jack Russell Terrier (Parsons Russell Terrier now) mutt who talks (but nobody listens), gets into trouble and out of it again, and saves the day, solving the mystery.

But, did you know that Wishbone also helps teach the literary classics? And makes them fun for kids (and a quick review for parents).

We picked up The Prince and the Pooch and can’t wait to get the others!

Two Stories in One!

In The Prince and the Pooch, Wishbone is the star – actually both stars – of Mark Twain’s fun story about a prince and a pauper who look so much alike that they can change places for a few days. Each soon learns a double lesson: there is no place like home, and one can improve the lives of others. Somehow we have no trouble with the fact that only Wishbone is a dog while all the other characters are human: they can all understand each other’s ‘speech.’

Wishbone narrates and acts in a currentday story of young Joe thrust into the position of coaching 5-year-old girls at T-ball, which drives him crazy. They run away from balls, they braid their hair during games (really? A 5-year-old can do that?), they get distracted and would rather pet Wishbone than try (and fail) to hit when it’s their turn to bat.

Or, Three Stories. . . .

Chapters alternate between the nowadays story of coaching the girls with the olden-day story of British royalty and poverty but they all manage to come to a successful conclusion at the same time.

Now, we can’t wait to read Hunchdog of Notre Dame, A Tale of Two Sitters, Be a Wolf!, Gullifur’s Travels, Digging to the Center of the Earth, Moby Dog, Robinhound Crusoe, The Pawloined Paper, Homer Sweet Homer, A Pup in King Arthur’s Court, Ivanhound, Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Dog, . . .

Bonus for Parents

Can you remember the actual title of the classic, after Wishbone has ‘modified’ the names of some of them? Even the front book covers are familiar.

All I Want for Christmas, Is You! (DVD with Mariah Carey)

Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You (Universal 1440 Entertainment [a production entity of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment]; November 14, 2017; 1 hour, 31 minutes, $9.99; Blu-ray^TM, DVD, Digital and On Demand)

New Family Holiday Classic! (Preview the trailer here)

Maria Carey sings three classic Christmas songs* as the warm and wonderful narrator: young Mariah is voiced by a talented Breanna Yde. Ms. Carey also was the co-executive producer and co-wrote the book – a woman of many talents, for sure.

A Girl’s First Love is. . . A Puppy!

What does a little girl want for Christmas? Every year? A puppy, of course.

Grandma Lucy takes little Mariah to the pet store (“just to look”) where Mariah falls in love with a Princess of a little white puppy. Too bad Dad is allergic to dogs.

But, wait! Dad brings home a dog for Mariah to take care of for a few days. Jack, the Jack Russell Terrier, belongs to Uncle Reggie who is on vacation. If Mariah does a good job, she can get a dog. Oh, boy!

But wait until you see the kind of trouble Jack gets in to right up to the surprising finale!

Mariah’s Christmas Story

All I Want for Christmas is a 90-minute long, delightful story with twists and turns for the whole family. Each family member will identify with at least one someone, or more – from little sister who tries so hard and wants to help but is rebuffed and ignored by her big sis, to little brother who acts more like a teasing big brother, to Grandpa Bill whom Mariah has to rein in to prevent his practical jokes from backfiring and getting them all into trouble with the neighbors. Mom is a perfect mom and dad just wants everyone to get along. From the smart little Jack-dog to Mariah’s pretty pink bedroom, even boys will love this movie and won’t be able to stop laughing at Jack’s antics – or guess what is to come.

Who is Mariah Carey?

Simply the best-selling female artist of all time with more than 200 million albums and 18 Billboard Hot 100 #1 singles (17 self-penned), more than any solo artist in history.

Mariah has been awarded several Grammies, 21 American Music Awards, Billboard’s “Artist of the Decade”, the World Music Award for “World's Best Selling Female Artist of the Millennium,” – with her distinct five-octave vocal range and prolific songwriting, Mariah is truly unforgettable. 

Singer, Songwriter, Producer

The picture book of Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You came out in 2015 and can be purchased here. And now you can even gift coffee mugs and sweatshirts - and more. Mariah also appears in the movies Precious (2009) and The Butler (2013).

A Congressional Award recipient, Mariah has generously donated her time and energy to philanthropic causes including the Make-A-Wish Foundation, World Hunger Relief, and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Mariah also founded Camp Mariah in partnership with the Fresh Air Fund, a retreat for inner city children to explore career development.   

I Predict. . . . It’s Puppy Love!

I predict that all little girls will want a dog or two – and long blond hair that swings! I predict that little boys will try to emulate some of the pranks they see so, beware! And I predict that families will watch this movie again and again. Ms. Carey has a lovely voice as the narrator as well.

To the grown-ups: if you didn’t recognize the voice of Grandpa Bill the first time through, you will want to watch the movie again and listen for The Fonz, Henry Winkler!

*The song ”All I Want for Christmas is You” dates from 1994 with more than 14 million copies sold. In 2016 it held at #1 on Billboard’s “Holiday 100” for four straight weeks and was the most streamed holiday single. Mariah also sings “Christmas Time is in the Air” and “Miss You Most (At Christmas Time)”.

It's So Easy. . . .

Ah, It’s so Easy to Procrastinate Once You Start!

Prosperous Pet Business Online Conference

In October we told you about a series of free webinars for dog business people (more business than dog or dog business) and wrote about three of them. The deal was that you sign up and receive an email invitation each day about a new conversation being released – some of which are from really excellent skilled and educated trainers and other helpful people.

This year’s series ran every day for more than two weeks, beginning October 18. It was the fourth annual event put on by Kristin Morrison, a former dog walker.

I was able to tune in to the first two webinars this year but since the coordinator lived in a different time zone and because so many people still get Standard Time and Daylight Savings Time mixed up (not me, of course!) and since I have so many email addresses and get way too many junk emails – I have to look several places each day to find out if the day’s webinar has been released yet.

And the third day I looked and looked and looked and never found the invitation – and the next day. I did manage to catch one later but not the two I really wanted to hear: Dr. Ian Dunbar (see DogStarDaily.com), veterinarian and PhD; and Victoria Stillwell, who needs no introduction.

The ‘conference’ deal is that each webinar was free only for 24 hours. You can, however, purchase the entire two week series: previous years are also available.

DogEvals’ previous three posts review three of this year’s webinars: Day Three – Kristin Morrison herself, Day Two – Paula Hansen and a conversation on goal setting, Day One – Wayne Pacelle (head of the US Humane Society) on The Humane Economy.

Keep tuned for a list of the previous years’ conversations. Some are well worth it!

Whew! That’s done. Now we can get back to reviewing mostly dog books and evaluating mostly dog stuff. Next: a new family Christmas dog DVD!