The Doggy Bloggy

Finally the product we’ve all …  wait, no one was actually waiting for this were they?  A doggy style chastity belt to keep them from doin’ it doggy style?   Okay, IF you were waiting, it’s arrived.  It’s called the PABS which stands for “Pet Anti-Breeding System” and it’s being touted as the greatest doggy birth control since fences.

For guardians who don’t want their pets permanently altered by surgery, folks like breeders with show dogs, this is actually a pretty good idea. It’s a harness with strategically placed mesh pads that disallow any canine copulation.   The company is Highly Favored Creations and their tagline: “Stop it, block it, lock it.”  Check it out at PABS for Pets

The American Humane Association are the ones who add the “no animals were harmed in the filming of this movie”blurb at the end of movies where, you know, no animals were harmed during the filming.  They have reps who monitor over 1,000 films per year.  A job I highly covet.  Can you imagine?  “What do you do?”  “Oh, I hang out with the animals on the sets of blockbuster movies and make sure they’re happy.”  Anyway, American Humane also does a very cool thing called the Pawscars: an animal version of the Oscars.

This year’s Pawscar winners:

Best Alien Animals: ‘Avatar’ The Na’vi “direhorses” (Pa’li) were six-legged horse-like creatures created using motion-capture technology, in which real horses wore miniature computerized motion sensors near joints and facial areas to capture their movements. The live action was performed in a motion-capture studio covered in dark fabric and carpet (called a “void”) and then recorded as computer animation data, which was then mapped onto a computerized 3-D model. Non-toxic, non-irritating silcone adhesives were used and washed off each evening after filming.

Best Newcomer Actor: ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ A Neapolitan mastiff named “Uno” had been adopted by her owners/trainers prior to becoming a rookie animal actor. Trainers speculate that she was abused by a previous owner because she initially would cower around noises and crouch to the floor upon being approached too suddenly. But, while working on the set of “Harry Potter,” surrounded by a patient owner/trainer and other affectionate cast and crew members, she gained confidence and trust and adored the attention everyone gave her. Trainers believe Uno is destined to be an admired movie star in no time!

Best Cameo: ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’ As he has done in other films, director Michael Bay cast his own dog in a role. His bull mastiff, playing the role of Mikaela’s (Megan Fox) dog, performed mild action on screen, which was effortless for the canine actor, considering his cinematic “human lineage.” And while the American Humane staff members were viewing a pre-release screening of the film as part of the disclaimer process, this massive mastiff made yet another cameo….by sitting at the staffer’s feet during the screening. One might say this dog loves to check out his own work (or kiss up to a Pawscar judge)!

Most Erotic Exotic: ‘The Hangover’ Yes, it is possibly the funniest movie ever and the tiger played a big part in that.  Wanna know how they created the more randy of the tiger scenes?
You remember, it’s when the guys are seen on video walking a tiger into a parked police car. As the tiger enters the car, one of the men pretends to “hump” the tiger. So, considering the ferocious nature of this exotic animal, how might a person do that to such a beast? To capture this scene, one trainer hid inside the police car while another trainer doubled as the actor and guided the tiger into the car. He then pretended to hump the animal as it entered the car. This same scene was then filmed again, only this time the actors were used along with the trainer. The actors held the end of a long leash, and a trainer held the middle part of the leash that actually connected to the tiger. In post-production, the trainer and his portion of the leash were digitally removed, making it appear as if the actor was really leading the tiger. The actors were then filmed walking to the police car and pantomiming the fake sexual motions, which were later combined with the footage filmed with the trainer.

Biggest Diva: ‘Did You Hear About The Morgans?’
Hugh Grant is a leading man in several films, but “Little Bart” the bear is a big star in his own right. One of only a handful of Kodiak bears to work in the film industry, this 1,100-pound actor has worked on numerous films and commercials. But has his fame gone to his head? Grant teasingly told the press that the bear was so demanding, he would not leave his personal trailer until he had “12 cans of iced tea and had been hosed down from head to foot” (which American Humane assures was not the case). Although the famous human actor joked about the famous animal actor, the excellent trainers and Certified Animal Safety Representatives were nothing but serious when it came to making sure this “furry diva” was well-treated and protected, along with his human co-stars.

Best Action Scene: ‘The Proposal’
If any scene in this film could leave more of an impression than the infamous naked scene between Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock, it would arguably be the scene in which the family dog is snatched up by an eager eagle, which flies off with the pup in its mouth. Thankfully, this intense-looking action was achieved using highly trained animal actors and some good old-fashioned “movie magic.” Thanks to great editing and a trained eagle that scooped up a sack made of green-screen material, viewers were left believing that this mighty bird gracefully sought vengeance on this yipping dog by flying him around and dropping him onto Bullock’s character below. In truth, the dog and eagle were never even in the same shot together.

Best Chase Scene: ‘Hotel For Dogs’
Dogs love to chase cats, balls, their owners…and sometimes, even a van driven by heroic teens. Near the end of this film, main characters Andi and Bruce release all the dogs from the shelter, which then chase the teens’ van down the street to the hotel. Trainers rehearsed the dogs for several weeks to master this well-choreographed scene, which involved the most dogs ever filmed in a single scene on an American Humane-monitored film. Trainers released the canine critters from their marks — the small dogs were released last, so the larger dogs would not accidentally run them down. The vast majority of these animal actors were rescue dogs, and they had a tail-wagging blast running around on set and being given so much attention and praise.

About American Humane
Founded in 1877, the American Humane Association is the only national organization dedicated to protecting both children and animals. Through a network of child and animal protection agencies and individuals, American Humane develops policies, legislation, curricula and training programs to protect children and animals from abuse, neglect and exploitation. The nonprofit organization, headquartered in Denver, raises awareness about The Link® between violence to people and violence to animals, as well as the benefits derived from the human-animal bond. American Humane’s office in Los Angeles is the authority behind the “No Animals Were Harmed”® end-credit disclaimer on film and TV productions, and American Humane’s office in Washington, D.C., is an advocate for child and animal protection at the federal and state levels. The American Humane® Certified farm animal program is the nation’s original independent certification and labeling program for humanely raised food. American Humane meets the strong, comprehensive standards of the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance, has been awarded the Independent Charities of America’s “Best in America” Seal of Approval, has met the stringent standards for financial efficiency and accountability required by the American Institute of Philanthropy to qualify as a Top-Rated Charity, and has received a 3-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s premier independent charity evaluator.

Shannon Bahrke is an Olympic bronze medal winner with a heart of gold when it comes to promoting good causes for our animal buddies. In addition to being a world-class skier, she’s also the co-founder of the Silver Bean Coffee Company and she’s using her Olympic fame to promote a great offer: Best Friends Animal Society gets $5 every time you buy a bag of her Best Friends Blend of coffee! You get delish, 100% free trade coffee and the critters get some fiscal love. So order here and drink up!

Coffee Purchasing Ideas:

• Keep extra bags in your glove compartment for bribing the police officer who thought you didn’t stop at that red light.
• Nothing says “Happy St. Patrick’s Day” like some Best Friends blend all Irished up
• Buy some for an ADHD kid – it’s way cheaper than Ritalin
• Buy a few bags for the officemates – and reference the “Irishing up” comment above
• Share them with the staff of your local animal shelter – no Irish for them, they’ve got real jobs to do.
• Give them as teacher appreciation gifts – the end of the school year is just around the corner and have you ever seen a teacher without a steamin’ cup of  joe?
• Get a few dozen bags to take to AA meetings
• If you’re planning on enjoying the Oscars, you’ll be needing caffeine.  And a bit o’ the Irish.

One of our very own local canines has recently become a national celeb featured in USA Today — and taking a look at Fritz I think you can see why. Fritz is a working dog, putting in hours of overtime as the personal assistant to Carol Brock, editor of Boulder County Home & Garden Magazine.

When Brock adopted Fritz from the Humane Society of Boulder Valley about a year ago, he was in sad shape. Now he is regularly featured in the magazine and has become quite the socialite. “Everybody knows him. It’s ‘Hi, Fritz’ wherever we go,” she says.

He earns his kibble by performing by performing tricks for his office peeps and adoring fans. “He learns things in a second,” Brock says. “I thought I’d teach him some tricks and he’s so smart — he learns after just one or two times — I ran out of ideas for tricks.” She went to the bookstore last week for help: a book of 101 dog tricks. She figures it’ll be a few weeks before he masters them all.

That’s what she gets for adopting a smart dog. Stick with Great Danes and you’ll work on the same six commands for the rest of their lives. Heaven help me, I do love ‘em big and dumb.

I am so in love with the newly crowned World’s Tallest Dog: Giant George the Great Dane! Of course, he’s a Great Dane, what’s not to love? But this guy has twice as much to offer as most Danes. He weighs in at 245 pounds (my teeny little delicate Ferdinand only weighs 107 pounds and my largest Dane, Norman, only weighed 180) and is 7′3″ from the tip of his handsome nose to the end of his billy club of a tail.

As much as I love Giant George, I don’t envy his people’s food bills. George eats more than my Great Dane’s entire weight every month — about 110 pounds in kibble, which costs a princely $250 to $300. I also don’t envy the amount of real estate they’ve had to give up in their home; George has his own queen size bed. But the joys of having such an enormous snuggle buddy to ride shotgun in the golf cart more than makes up for those minor inconveniences I’m sure.

See original story (and a video on page 3) here on Oprah’s website

Just found out I won the Examiner.com “Faces and Places of the World” photo contest in the professional category of Animals/Pets. Yea Me! Here’s the winning photo below, called Tango de Los Perros. Check out the article and slide show of all the winning photos here: Photo contest winners slide show

Sadie, the gorgeous black Scottish Terrier has won the Best of Show at Westminster! Here’s a look at Super Sadie:

Westminster dog show opened today. I have never, ever, ever picked the winner. Not even picked the winner of the breed or category or anything. But I love it anyway. I’m torn this year between Westminster and the Olympics but Bob Kostas’s new hair color is throwing me off so I’ve decided to stick with the dogs. Fave newly recognized by AKC dog of the year: The Pyrenean Shepherd. Check this dog out!

Get more info on the Pyrenean Shepherd here at Canine Coalition

Ever seen a camoodle? Or a Clydesdoodle? Thankfully these are not new cross-species designer dog breeds, they are poodles groomed to look like a camel and a Clydesdale, respectively if not respectfully.

A couple of these dogs actually seem to be enjoying themselves. Most of them are just enduring the humiliation. So while I applaud the groomer’s over-the-top creativity, I still feel really, really bad for the dogs. But not so bad that I could resist sharing these photos with you.

Buffaloodle. For the CU fans:

Keep in mind that the abominations sculpted and dyed into their fur will in most cases be shaved and washed away the next day. They don’t have to go to the dog park looking like that.

Eddie Van Halen’s new bride was escorted down the aisle by her venerable old Pomeranian. Gwen Stefani was escorted down the aisle by her sheepdog, Winston. Sir Elton John’s best man was his Cocker Spaniel, Arthur. Other celebrities who included their pooches in their nuptials are Adam Sandler, Tori Spelling and Gisele Bunchen and Tom Brady.

But it’s not just Hollywood where dogs are playing the role of groomsmen, bridesmaids, ring bearers and flower girls. It’s become an ever increasing trend in modern weddings all over America and Europe. Some couples even have their cats or birds participate.

Some couples choose full participation in the ceremony, some choose to just have their pets join them for the wedding photos or as guests at the reception. Snuffy, the lovely Saint Bernard pictured above, got to do both. First she was the ringbearer – she carried the rings in her cask of course — and then attended the reception and danced the night away with the newlyweds.

More and more churches, banquet halls and hotels are making allowances for pets to attend. But just because you can have your dog at your wedding, doesn’t necessarily mean you should. There are many factors to review when considering whether or not Fido should be one of your groomsmen.

“Some dogs get scared or aggressive in the midst of a lot of people and activity,” explained Jennifer Burgess, a clinical instructor of animal behavior and welfare at Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “A dog may be able to handle a crowd, but then add loud noises, strangers, children and a costume, and it may be pushed over the edge.”