I’d like to share with you three Halloween dangers for pets! I know how our guards can come down during the holidays, and I want everyone to be safe, happy, and have fun!!!

Thank you to Life Gear for letting me know that there are options to the dangerous, toxic, carcinogenic glow sticks of old!

Congratulations the the winners, Paul, Cass, Kari of HoundGirl.com, and Amanda!

I have here four copies of a very fun book that I would love to give away to dog lovers!  It’s called SUNSPOT: The Best Ever Astrological Guide to Your Dog by Laurie Birnsteel. Readers have given it 5 stars on Amazon, and I absolutely adore it. Don’t know your dog’s birthday? This book would make a very thoughtful gift this holiday season for someone who does.

Although I don’t know the exact birthday of my dog, who was rescued by a friend of mine when she spotted him wandering on a road nearly getting hit by cars, I’ve always celebrated it in August. I don’t know why. This would make him a Leo, and I was shocked when this book absolutely nailed him based on his pretend birthday. Maybe there’s a reason why I chose August!

According to Birnsteel, my Leo dog’s positive traits are ambition, bravery, cheerfulness, passion, and proudness. His negative traits include being bossy, cowardly, nosey and pretentious. Huh? Both brave and cowardly??  Exactly. My dog is a Catahoula, a dog known for being headstrong. He needed a bit of rehabilitation when I first got him: he was apt to bark and lunge at people outside our car when he was in it, and lunge at other dogs. He would drag me around at the end of his leash, holding on for dear life.

But with training, I’ve discovered the real Mr. Blue. He used to bark and lunge because he’s a bit insecure, not mean. He’s very anxious walking in the dark. He’s easily startled. He gets nervous when dogs bark at him. A crack of thunder turns him into a shaking puddle of mush that only cuddling can cure. And even though the neighborhood Rottweiler broke free from her owner’s leash–twice–so she could charge Mr. Blue, attacking him and taking him down at the neck (luckily Mr. Blue was not hurt either time), Mr. Blue continued to stand his ground, looking her straight in the eye whenever they passed each other on the street. He is indeed both brave and cowardly, as well as almost everything else the author described. (I now work with him on every walk to ensure he pays attention to ME, not other dogs, for everyone’s safety.)

Rules:

The winner must be 18+ and have a US mailing address. The winner will be chosen at random via random.org and be notified via email. Winner will have 3 days to accept their prize. Entries accepted until 12 noon EST on Friday , Oct. 15, 2010. For up to four entries:

Four winners will receive a copy of this book. To enter:

1. Leave a comment letting me know you subscribe to this blog via a reader or email. (Mandatory, 1 entry.)

2. If you include in your comment that you now follow me on Twitter and “like” our Facebook page, you then get one more entry for each. Tell me your Twitter name so I can confirm and follow you back!

3. Tweet this for a bonus entry:
@LeighPeterson is giving away dog astrology books at http://www.GoFetchGifts.com/blog/

Good Luck! Woof!

This contest was sponsored by Turner Publishing, who supplied the prizes stated above.
No compensation was given to GoFetchGifts.com in relation to this giveaway.

Entries are now closed.  Thanks to all who entered!!

On the road with your pets? Bamboo has some fun and functional travel or day-to-day products for your doggie, and I’m giving them away this week!

One winner will receive a Bamboo product pack valued at $25.00 that includes:

• One Bamboo home Disposable Waste Bags & Dispenser
• One pink Bamboo Silicone Travel Bowl, BPA & PVC free, 3 cup size, and
• One blue Bamboo Silicone Travel Bowl, BPS & PVC free, 1 cup size

Bamboo’s disposable waste bags & dispenser attach right to your dog’s leash, so you’ll never be without a waste bag. This has happened to me and it’s not only embarrassing, but it makes me look like an irresponsible pet owner as there are waste pick-up laws virtually everywhere today.

The waste bags are infused with baking soda and scented to reduce odor! I know sometimes when I walk with the filled waste bags, there is a waft of odor surrounding my dog and I as we walk, making it quite unpleasant for those we pass on our way home! The Bamboo bags smell fresh and delightful (at least for now). They are extra large, with a reinforced seam and can even be used to pick up droppings in the litter box.

Bamboo’s silicone travel bowls collapse to fit in your pocket or purse, and extend to the size of a regular bowl. They are made of non-porous, FDA-compliant materials and are dishwasher safe. The 1 cup (8 oz) bowl is for small to medium sized dogs (or cats!), and the 3 cup (24 oz) bowl is big enough for medium to large size dogs.

The winner must be 18+ and have a US mailing address. The winner will be chosen at random via random.org and be notified via email. Winner will have 3 days to accept their prize. Entries accepted until 12 noon EST on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010. For up to four entries:

1) Mandatory: Subscribe to this blog via a reader or e-mail (top right corner).

2) Mandatory: Leave a comment on this blog letting me know you subscribed and using which method.

3) If you include in your comment that you now follow me on Twitter and “like” our Facebook page, you then get one more entry for each. Tell me your Twitter name so I can confirm and follow you back!

4) Tweet this for a bonus entry:
@LeighPeterson is giving away pet waste bags & travel bowls at http://www.GoFetchGifts.com/blog/

Good Luck!  Woof!!!

This contest was sponsored by Bamboo, who supplied the prizes stated above.
No compensation was given to GoFetchGifts.com in relation to this giveaway.

I’m a big fan of xylitol in my toothpaste and sugar-free gum. It’s actually good for your teeth. So my ears perked up years ago when I heard that just like chocolate, xylitol is toxic to dogs and cats, and I should never leave my gum or toothpaste lying around where my pets could get at them. Not a problem.

Then why on earth is Virbac Animal Health, a so-called “industry leader in the scientific research, development and manufacture of quality, proven pet pharmaceutical products” for OVER TWO DECADES, selling a product for dogs and cats that lists xylitol as the 3rd ingredient after water and glycerine!?  I am shocked.

The product is called CET AquaDent, and it’s a drinking water additive for dogs and cats. It’s supposed to help keep their breath fresh in conjunction with brushing.

The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center sees over 100 cases of xylitol toxicity annually. According to the center, dogs ingesting significant amounts of items sweetened with xylitol could develop a fairly sudden drop in blood sugar, resulting in depression, loss of coordination and seizures.”

With smaller concentrations of xylitol, the onset of clinical signs could be delayed as much as 12 hours after ingestion,” according to a 2006 press release from the center.

That was four years ago, Virbac. Shame on you.

In September, we’ll be giving away a pet oral health kit from Naturally Green Tropiclean, including a similar water additive and teeth cleaning gel, neither of which contains xylitol. Stay tuned!

First of all, congratulations to the winner of the FURminator, Jill of TheCatNetwork. Jill’s #2 was chosen by Random.org. Jill is part of a non-profit cat rescue in Florida, so a lot of hot kitties will be getting rid of their loose fur with the help of the FURminator deLuxe. Your FURminator is on its way, Jill!

Now onto our new giveaway for May, courtesy of WagAndBark.com. They have supplied us with two different safe, humane, pain-free anti-barking and training collars for dogs, as well as a Tic Taser so you never have to touch a tick again! That means with this giveaway, there will be THREE lucky winners!

In the past month, I have found a wonderful training method for my mischievous 8 month old kitten: a blast of cold air on her back from a can of condensed air. She hates the feeling, the sound startles her out of her behavior, and she immediately stops what she is doing. The training collars from WagAndBark.com work the same way. No jolts or painful electric shocks, no smelly sprays, no rolled up newspapers, no more cowering dog, afraid you’re going to reprimand him for something he doesn’t remember doing, whether it was ten minutes or three hours ago.

One lucky reader will win a complete JetCare System remote control training collar suitable for dogs of all sizes, over the age of 8 months. (Retail value $199.95!) One important element of dog training is to remember that dogs want to please us. They learn much better from positive reinforcement from the humans they love. This remote control unit allows you to train your dog without frightening him, and reward her when she stops doing something wrong and comes to you instead!

The JetCare^® System Education Pro Kit with Odorless Refill’s remote control has three buttons: 1) a sound button which alerts the dog it is time to cease his behavior; 2) a button providing a short burst of cold air (one second); 3) a button providing a slightly longer burst of cold air (three seconds). This training collar requires your participation. It is to redirect unwanted behavior and reward your dog when he is acting how you want him to act.

A second lucky reader will win a mini anti-bark collar for dogs under 17 pounds and over 8 months (retail value $119.95). This collar includes a microphone so that the harmless cold air spray will activate upon your dog’s bark.

A third lucky reader will win the very handy The Tic Taser™ with Piezo Electric System, “An effective and ecological method to eradicate ticks.” (Retail value $19.95.) This pen-shaped device uses no batteries. It works via the Faraday cage system of electrical charges. The ball at the end goes around the tick while it is attached to the body of its prey. Closing the “cage” around it creates a charge that destroys the tick’s neurological system. You can read more about the Tic Taser at WagAndBark.com.

Have I seen this Tic Taser in action? Thankfully, I have not as I have not yet seen a tick this year to test it on. But at such a great price, it would certainly be a wonderful gift to your entire family if you live in a wooded area and deal with ticks often.

How to enter:

1) Mandatory: Subscribe to the Go Fetch Gifts Blog via a reader or email (in the top right corner). This way you won’t miss out on all the awesome pet product giveaways coming up this year!

2) Mandatory: Leave a comment on this blog letting me know you subscribed and using which method. You also must include WHICH collar you would like to win: the remote control training collar or the mini anti-bark collar.

3) If you include in your comment that you now follow me on Twitter and “like” our Facebook page, you then get one more entry for each. Tell me your Twitter name so I can follow you back!

4) Tweet this for a bonus entry:
@LeighPeterson is giving away anti-bark & training collars at http://www.GoFetchGifts.com/blog/

Entrants must be 18 and older and items will only be shipped to addresses in the US. You may enter up to midnight Eastern time on May 27, 2010. Winners will be selected using random.org by June 1, 2010 and notified via email. Winners will have three days to claim their prize.

Good Luck!  Woof!!!

Comments & entries are now closed.

April 22nd is Earth Day! It is also the 40th anniversary of the environmental “holiday,” which was founded in 1970 following the grassroots efforts of Senator Gaylord Nelson.

In honor of Mother Earth, I’d like to introduce you to a line of eco-friendly and pet-safe cleaning products: CLEAN + Green.

CLEAN + Green is the only line of eco-friendly aerosol pet cleaning products on this beautiful planet we all share. The developers of these all-natural stain and odor removers, SeaYu (Twitter: @SeaYu), were kind enough to send us some samples so we could see and sniff the results for ourselves. We give it four paws up! The company offers a large array of products, including cleaners and odor removers for carpet and upholstery, concrete, wood and tile, autos and cages, as well as de-skunk cleaner, litter box cleaner, and furniture refresher.

I used to love using Febreze. I would “freshen” up the furniture and carpet with it and enjoy coming home to a fresh smell. But after my Persian cat developed some sort of growth on his liver, I started wondering if I might have contributed to its development. It occurred to me that my pets were constantly laying on the surfaces I had doused with chemicals, and their noses were much closer to the fabric and carpet than mine ever was. They were breathing in much more of these chemicals than I, and their bodies are smaller. I haven’t used Febreze since, and I admit, I miss it.

So, I tested Clean + Green’s Furniture Refresher and Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner.

The Furniture Refresher is a light, clean mist. Like all Clean + Green products,the ingredients are organic, biodegradable, non-toxic, non-flammable, non-carcinogenic, and contain no harsh chemicals or perfumes. You won’t enter the room to a perfumey smell with Clean + Green’s furniture refresher, but the spray smells much healthier. It smells very fresh, kind of like a mountain mist or morning dew. But that odor stays where it is sprayed, refreshing on contact. When you walk into the room, you don’t smell….well, anything. And that’s a good thing.

I tested the Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner on some very old stains and two newer stains (thanks, kitties) and couldn’t believe my eyes. I wish now that I had taken a before photo so I could show you how well this product works. I wasn’t expecting it, to be honest, because the ingredient list is so natural and seems so tame. I guess I’ve been trained to think that you need harsh chemicals to clean stains. But when I went to check on one of the spots I had sprayed, I could barely find it!

If you think like me (a child of the 80s and former big-banged hair spray addict), you might wonder how an aerosol spray can be healthy for the environment. So I asked a Clean + Green PR rep about that and it was explained to me as such: “Aerosol isn’t a chemical, it is just a ‘liquid suspended in a gas.’ So – Clean+Green uses a nitrogen-based propellant, and nitrogen is naturally occurring in 72% of earth’s atmosphere.”

Visit the Clean + Green web site for more reviews, coupons, rebate offers, and to purchase or use the store locator. Unfortunately, the locator doesn’t show that I can purchase the products near me yet, but you can purchase online and receive free shipping on orders of $25 or more.

You can also become a Clean + Green fan on Facebook.

(Psst, please become a GoFetchGifts Facebook fan too!)