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Another Stunt Puppy leash

After I published a post about a collar and leash I bought from Stunt Puppy, I was contacted by Stunt Puppy’s Ken Goldman, who very kindly sent me a replacement leash. The Everyday Leash for Smaller Dogs arrived today, and here’s what I think: Once again, this is a well-made and well-designed product, but it too isn’t meant for a really small dog.

Extended to its full length of 64″, the Everyday Leash is certainly long enough to walk a dog Chloe’s size comfortably — don’t get me wrong. And it has the same leash clip, swivel head and sturdy construction that I admired in the Utility Leash.

However, it has two key features that are really meant for a bigger dog, and they are both neutralized when the leash is extended to its full length. The end loop that functions as a handle can be widened so that it clips around your waist, for hands-free walking or jogging. And there is a built-in loop down by the clip that you can grab in an emergency to haul your dog in close to you. Both are terrific ideas, and nicely executed, but widening the loop makes the leash too short for a small dog and by the time you reach down to the grab loop you might as well grab the dog herself.

Stunt Puppy knows all of this — in the course of our conversation, it became clear that my idea of “small dog” is about 20 lbs. smaller than Stunt Puppy’s idea of “small dog,” and that’s okay. I’m content with my replacement leash, even though I can’t use all of its features, and owners of dogs, say, 30 lbs. and up will be very happy with the Stunt Puppy product line. Goldman pointed me to two competitors who are making good-quality collars and leashes for very small dogs, which I thought was super-gracious of him. They are bark + biscuit and tazlab, and when I’ve had a chance to check out their products, I’ll report.

Another collapsible dog bowl, Martha-style

In an earlier post, I reviewed a number of collapsible bowls and recommended ones that work well for small dogs. If you’d like to make one instead, Martha Stewart has directions and templates for you. In fact, she also provides a two-part video showing you how it’s done, starring Martha and actress Kate Walsh (click on the first two “Video” links, located just under the picture of the completed bowl).

A two-part video is necessary, it turns out, because the bowl is kind of fiddly to make. At one point, you really need four hands to make it work, and even Martha messed up a sheet of gorgeous faux-bois oilcloth in the process. The resulting bowl is attractive and shallow enough to appeal to a small dog. It unfolds completely to lie flat, so it would pack well. I’m just not sure it’s worth the time and trouble, but check it out for yourself.

Travel book review: Woodall’s Camping and RVing with Dogs

I bought this book partly because I yearn to travel in an RV, if only just once, but largely because there are plenty of dog owners out there who already do. I’m happy to report that it’s a practical and useful handbook that RVers will find very helpful — car- and tent-campers will also find it worth reading, but its main focus is on the logistics of traveling in an RV with one or more pets (the authors have two dogs and three cats).

I was particularly impressed with the sections that talked about how to monitor pets that are traveling behind you in a towed trailer, how to identify campgrounds that really welcome pets (as opposed to those that only allow pets), different ways of securing your dog at a campsite, and how to prepare yourself for hazards your dog may encounter in different natural environments (including the excellent advice to “stay away from javelinas“) but those are only a few of the topics discussed.

Amazon link:
Woodall’s Camping and RVing with Dogs (3rd edition)

Domain name for dog ID tag

In the course of learning about USB flash drive dog tags, I came across this suggestion for an alternative way of ensuring that your lost dog makes it home or is otherwise cared for: Buy a domain name for your dog (e.g., www.spot.com). The cost of a domain name varies with the ending you choose; the useful and appropriate ending .info is currently very inexpensive — no more than about $5 a year. Put the domain name on your dog’s ID tag — if there’s room on the tag, consider a phrase like “If I’m lost, visit www.spot.com.”

(Spot.com, by the way, is not available, and most one-word domain names are taken. Try just your dog’s name, but be aware that you’ll likely do better with something like spotthedog.com or spotthedog.info. Go to my husband’s favorite domain registrar, Dynadot, to investigate different possibilities.)

Then you can create a site for your dog that’s as simple or complicated as you choose. At the simple end, the site could provide your current contact information. You could write a form for a finder to fill out that automatically gets sent to your e-mail account. You could scan in all of your dog’s medical records, and add pages of your own describing her background, training, habits and preferences — all of the information you’d like someone else to have if they need to assume responsibility for her care. You could create a page for your petsitter or a kennel to access, with up-to-date instructions about food, exercise and medications.

You can create a site, in fact, that’s as informative as a loaded flash drive dog tag. So which is better? Cost is not really a deciding point, since in about six years your domain name fees will catch up to the cost of a flash drive tag. I have to say that the domain name option seems simpler and a bit more dependable, since it doesn’t rely on a piece of hardware to work. I’ve bought a domain name for Chloe, and I’ll report someday on what we do with it.

Extra leash and harness

I’m editing my master packing list today by adding “extra leash and harness” to it. On a recent road trip I misplaced Chloe’s leash, and although I eventually found it, the experience drove home the lesson that traveling with only one leash and harness is too risky. It would have been really difficult to get a leash-free Chloe safely to a pet store to buy a replacement — be warned!

Walker “Arm Gusset” for dog walking

I found my Walker pouch in the gift store at the Whitney Museum, of all places. They were offering what turn out to be the larger “arm gussets” (3″ x 4″) rather than the 2″ x 4″ “wrist pouches.” Both are rectangular nylon mesh pockets attached to a wide elastic, but the arm gusset is large enough to hold a roll of poop bags, a key and a goodly supply of dog treats.

It’s probably meant to cling to your bicep while you’re running, but I just stick my wrist through it when I need to carry it for any distance — it’s loose but stays on. When I want to dash out with Chloe for a quick bathroom break, I leave my big OllyDog Walker behind and take the Walker arm gusset instead. I keep it in my purse, so that I always have a poop bag roll with me — and the Walker keeps the roll from unrolling into annoying blue plastic spaghetti.

Seattle dog-friendly restaurant: Monsoon

We had yet another superb brunch yesterday morning at Monsoon, the high-end Vietnamese restaurant in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, but this time we had Chloe with us. Dogs are welcome on the patio in front of the restaurant — our server brought her a chef’s prep pan of water, along with our beverages — and it’s a comfortable spot for man and beast.

The brunch menu includes both Vietnamese options (congee with tasty toppings, dim sum, and more elaborate entrées like vermicelli noodles with grilled shrimp & crispy vegetable roll) and Western options (two examples: organic eggs benedict with dungeness crab, wokked chili garlic bok choy & crispy potatoes; and brioche french toast with grilled pineapple, candied peanuts & creme fraiche). Everything we’ve eaten there has been delicious, and the service is attentive and friendly.

Monsoon
615 19th Avenue E.
Seattle, WA 98112
T: 206-325-2111
Brunch Sat. and Sun. 10 am to 2:30 pm
Dinner 5 pm to 10 pm

Travel book review: Ella in Europe — An American Dog’s International Adventures

This memoir, written by Los Angeles-based author Michael Konik, describes his trip around Europe with his Belgian friend Sandrine and his white Lab/greyhound mix Ella Guinevere. Konik’s love for his dog is charming, as is his delight at seeing her in places she’d never enter in the U.S. — restaurants, high-end hotels and shops, an amusement park ride, and tourist attractions (including Beethoven’s Vienna apartment). His flights of fancy (could Ella be the reincarnation of Mozart?) can be wearing, but it’s hard to stay vexed with someone so crazy about his dog.

Lessons that I learned? Be a responsible owner — Konik was clearly a polite traveler, asking permission before bringing Ella into shops or restaurants, keeping her out from underfoot, and cleaning up after her. And ensure that your dog is well-trained before you take her abroad — Ella brings sophisticated waiters to their knees partly because she’s pretty (though between you and me, don’t let Konik hear, she’s just a nice-looking Lab mix) but mainly because she’s extremely well-behaved. She also has a couple of tricks in her arsenal (shaking hands; refusing a treat called “junk food,” then eating it when it’s called “healthy food”) that are utterly irresistible. Clearly, we have some work to do with Chloe before we take her to France — but the work will be worth it, if we all enjoy ourselves together as much as Konik and Ella did.

Amazon link:
Ella in Europe: An American Dog’s International Adventures

Yet another hip pack for dog walking

This is my third post about hip packs for dog walking — I still love the OllyDog Walker I reviewed back in May, and if I wanted more room to carry stuff I’d be happy with the WalkyBag I found a couple of weeks later, but the one I just found today is worth a look. (It was cunningly concealed in a website about Golden Retrievers, so it’s just a fluke that I stumbled upon it.)

The Hound Hipster covers the essentials: There’s a holster for a water bottle or a Gulpy, a pocket for your cell phone and another pocket for poop bags (the pockets have a flap that covers them in case of rain), and room on the supporting strap for extras, including a bone-shaped carabiner to clip your dog’s leash to while you’re picking up poop. There’s no place to keep treats, but you could clip a treat bag onto the strap.

The Hound Hipster comes in purple or green, but apparently the seller gets to choose which color you receive. At $28.50 plus shipping, it’s in the same price range as the OllyDog Walker and the WalkyBag Custom. It’s about $10 less than the DOOG Walkabout Waist Pack.

Stunt Puppy collar and leash

I just received the Everyday Collar for Smaller Dogs and Utility Leash I ordered from Stunt Puppy, and I love everything about them except that neither works for a small dog. Both products are well-designed and well-made. The leash clip — unlike the thumb-latch clips you see so often — cannot accidentally open if your dog’s collar turns just so, and it’s on a swivel, so the leash doesn’t kink. The strap is waterproof and, according to Stunt Puppy, odor resistant. The collar is absolutely smooth inside — unlike so many collars that look great but have abrasive seams.

And yet neither works for Chloe, and she’s a pretty large small dog. It turns out that her neck is 10.5″, so it’s no wonder that a 12″ collar doesn’t work. My bad. Stunt Puppy doesn’t tell you, however, how long its Utility Leash is. It turns out to be 44″ long, including the handle, and that’s just not long enough for a small dog.

My neighbor, happily, has a Lab and a Bull Mastiff, so the leash will find a good home, and I’ll take the collar to puppy class and find it an owner. But…darn it.