Trick or Treat!? This week's Friday Funny...

BOO!! It's Howl-o-ween weekend Puppy Lovers!! Who's dressing up? Mr Buzz and Miss Hunbun have their Halloween bandanas ready and also a special treat for the 31st... a Vampire costume for Buzzy and a Pumpkin for little missy. Piccies will be coming, no fear!! We hope you all have a spooktacular time if you are going to a party or just staying in with a scary movie and popcorn. Remember to get those treats in for the trick or treaters! Here's a cute little Halloween themed Friday Funny for you from Little Guy who look like he could be Lubo's long lost cousin! Such a cutie! And clever too... Enjoy! x x

The best Friday Funny ever? Meet the Salsa Dancing Chihuahua ...

This week's Friday Funny really is just too p-awesome for words! One of our all-time faves! Prepare to squeal with delight.... Enjoy! x x

Cassie the UK's Fattest Dog Slims Down & a list of Doggie Poison Foods

Meet 7 year old Cassie the Collie.... 

Isn't she a cutie? She is one rather special little girl as just six months ago she looked like this:

Cassie has lost the title of UK's Fattest Dog by also losing half her body weight! Go Cassie!! When Cassie arrived at Dogs Trust Kenilworth earlier this year, she weighed a shocking 7 stone after being fed a diet of full sized portions of fish & chips, roast dinner, crisps and *gasp* chocolate!! The lady who really was killing her with kindess would even order double at the takeaway! Now, sadly, so often we hear animal abuse stories that chill us to the core, and although this involves no vile mutilation or violence, it is still a form of abuse. Poor Cassie could not walk for more than 3 minutes before she gave up the ghost and  it took 3 people to lift her in and out of the car. 

Dogs Trust Kenilworth manager Sandra Wilson said: "Unfortunately, when owners treat their pets as if they were humans and feed them the wrong food, they're simply killing them with kindness... She was at risk of heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis, but it's great to see the progress she has made in a relatively short time and a testament to the hard work of the staff here."

She has been working out on the treadmill and with hydrotherapy, which she loves, and is now ready to go to her new home. But her story is a warning to dog owners around the world... Most doggies will keep eating unitl they go off pop! Many a time I have commented that Buzz, left to his own devices would end up a little ball with legs...just like poor little Cassie looked earlier in the year. I decided to look into the pyschology behind a dog's relationship with food and what I found was interesting... Sarah of Sarah's Dogs comments:

"In the course of the history of humankind's relationship with the dog, the dog has come to look at people as being able to provide it with food. Since a dog is also a pack animal with a social hierarchy, the treatment of food by the pack is important to a dog. In the dog pack, the top dog will eat first... 

As the leader of the pack, you must eat before the dog eats. If you allow your dog to beg from you and to get a morsel of food before you, you are giving the dog a boost up the social ladder in your home... Once someone shares some of their food with the dog, the dog then not only realizes that its dog food is inferior in taste, scent and appearance to what its masters are getting, the stage now has been set for more begging. The dog will beg for another morsel, and once that begging behavior has worked, the dog will continue begging nonstop. At every meal, you will see the staring or blinking eyes that are entranced by every move you make...In that case, your alpha status has been weakened, especially if you give the dog a treat before you feed yourself. As the leader of the pack, you must not tamper with your leader status by interfering with whose food is whose..."

You can read more of her article here  and be sure to check out the rest of her site - it's very informative! 

This is exactly what happened with Cassie in terms of her then turning her nose up at the proper dog food - she even went on hunger strike for 3 days when first confronted with dry dog food. Of course, Cassie's story is an extreme case. Before dog food was mass-produced, dogs did eat 'human' food and obviously in the wild back in the day, they didn't pop to Asda's for a bag of Harringtons or tin of Pedigree Chum but they would have scraps (ie. small!) and raw meat. And of course, there is the raw diet so popular now. It's nice to give your dog a little treat sometimes by way of a chew etc and you have to be mega-tough to resist those puppy dog eyes at mealtimes but just be aware that by not giving in as much as you can, you are actually doing your best friend a favour. Just like us humans, being overweight puts them at higher risk of diabetes, heart disease, arthritis etc... and please check out the list of potentially poisionous foods for dogs after the jump! There are some that were real shockers to us, and we thought we were pretty clued up so please do look. 

We'd love to know what you think about Cassie's case, and the concept of doggie diet, so please do comment! x x

Spooktacular Halloween dog bandanas & this week's Friday Funny!

Wow...Friday again already! Is someone spinning the earth faster or something?! This week has flown by here at Puppy Love HQ where we have been busy making lots of spooooky skull and blood curdling bat bandanas for Halloween...which is only a couple of weeks away now! We still have a limited amount of fabric left, so if you'd like one get to our online eBay shop vampire-speed fast by clicking here. Prices start from £3.99 with free P&P and as always, come in all sizes from XS to XL.

Halloween is one of our favourite holidays and we will certainly be getting into the spooky spirit with a pumpkin, sweeties & a scary film on the 31st! What do you have planned? 

Dressing up is a must and if a spooktacular bandana just isn't flamboyant enough for you, check out this week's Friday Funny for some crazy costume ideas! 

Strictly Come Dancing & this week's Friday Funny

Happy Friday Puppy Lovers! We hope you've had a fab week in the sunshine? It's been absolutely wonderful! As the weather starts to cool down again from today, we are already getting ourselves ready for the winter hibernation... 

Tea, Coffee, Hot choccy - check

Munchies - check
Bunny slippers & Snuggie- check
Fab reality/competition TV - check!

Yay...we admit it... we are addicted to the Saturday & Sunday night goodness that is Strictly Come Dancing & the X Factor *blush*
All the beautiful dresses on Strictly send me into a tizwoz - esp as the seamstress in me stands up and coos over the hours of work and skilled quality put into each outfit and wonders about it's construction. Hosted by the legendary Bruce Forsyth (whose dad did the wedding cars for my Nana's wedding would you believe?!) and beautiful Tess Daly, this years line up includes footballer Robbie Savage, Neighbours & now Fosters ad star Holly Valance, Lulu, Russell Grant & McFly star Harry Judd. Now last week, they were all very good....especially Mr Jason Donovan! But we think if the judges got a look at this little chap, he would be stiff competition for even the professional dancers!! Check out this week's Friday Funny, featuring one very nifty little mover doing 'the Kibble'... Enjoy!! x  x

Dog Does Funny Dance For Kibble - Watch MoreFunny Videos