Closed for Christmas

Happy Holidays lovelies!! We will now be shut shop until the New Year! You can still order via our eBay store or the online shop here, but all items will be processed and then posted out from January 2nd 2012. We hope everyone has a fantastic festive period!! x x

Dog Fancy Dress Wins $6000!

There have been some really very upsetting dog stories in the news just lately .... so here is a nice change for you Puppy Lovers! Meet 18 month old Rufio...

Doesn't he look pawesome all dressed up for Howl-o-ween last month?! And we're not the only ones to think so! Rufio, a Plainfield Neopolitan Mastiff, has won $6000 in the PetSmart Monster Cute Photo Contest in the USA. And that's not all....he's won at least 25 other competitions! And, what makes it even more pawesome...his owner Kathryn Dunlap is using his winnings to help rescue dogs!! She has already bought an animal shelter food with her $500 giftcard. Infact, Rufio and Kathryn are on the look out for an agent to reperesent him and Kathryn says “My goal for him is to be a spokesperson for other dogs, especially those in shelters and rescues” and being such a rare breed and so utterly gorgeous, we are thinking he will be great at raising awareness of the importance of rescue centres and the plight of homeless dogs... you know, the only Plainfield Neopolitan Mastiff we'd seen before was 'Fang' in Harry Potter. Bigger dogs are often found in rescues due to becoming too much for their owners to manage as they grow...it breaks our heart! Hopefully star-pups like Rufio wil help raise awareness of these loving gentle giants. For more information about Rufio and his new line of greetings cards, visit www.rufiosrumblings.com or find the Rufio Ricardo Fan Club on Facebook x x

New Bandana designs! Twilight inspired ...*swoon*

OMG Puppy Lovers... it is now less than 2 weeks until Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part One is out at the cinema! Very excited indeed here at Puppy Love HQ! Next Friday we shall be staging our very own Twiathlon with our gorgeous friend Nicola and watching all 4 films in succession... I know, i know...lickle bit nerdy but it's only like the boys watching successive football matches on a Sunday afternoon right?! Lols. In honour of the Sparkly One and (not quite so much but still) the Furry One, we have a new addition to our bandana collection.... Twilight inspired Team Edward & Team Jacob designs!! 

Made with 100% cotton, and fastened with Velcro, each one is handmade and embroidered using our lovely embroidery machine with really nice, slightly sheeny Mettler embroidery threads. They are available now in our eBay store from £6.99 and as always come in all sizes. As an extra treat for you...scroll down after the jump for the Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part One movie trailer!! *SQUEAL!* x x

Puppy Love Petwear Bandana Review

We're famous!! Check it out...our very first review!! It's delightfully entitled "How to make your cute pets cuter" and written by gorgeous Mary at The Critter Sermon:

So very excited indeed...and very flattered! So many lovely compliments *blush* Here's a little excerpt:

" I came across a stall selling handmade Bandanas..they were SO cute! There was a little dog next to me who had just been bought one and he was sitting there proudly wearing it!...I was greeted with smiley helpful faces and more importantly dog lovers! I showed them photos of Darkley and said about how I was hoping to adopt Holly and all the issues we were having with that...

So with Holly home and more than happy to be dressed up I wanted to get some made for Holly and Darkley... The awesome thing is that if you want a particular colour or something extra snazzy for your pup they will try and do it if they can...As they are handmade they can be made exactly how you want for your pups and best of all at such a reasonable price- because dogs will be dogs and I knew full well that mud and all sorts will end up on them!... They can happily play in them too, they don't bother them in the slightest! They are also made with Velcro at the back so if the bandana gets caught it wont hurt them at all as it will just undo (which is good to know with my clumsy pups...but i haven't had any problems!)

...it is so nice to buy handmade things and not the same old stuff from pets at home! "

We met Mary and her Mum at the Dogs Trust Harefield Open Day back in August and we kept in touch through the Puppy Love Facebook page yet only discovered her wonderful blog earlier in the month.... I can't believe we didn't know about it sooner!!! Packed full of news, anecdotes and tips it's a fab read and I strongly urge push you all to go read & then of course follow/subscribe to The Critter Sermon... Now!! ;) And of course by doing so you also get to coo over pics of gorgeous rescues Holly & Darkley ... Adorable!! x x

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

In Memoriam & Save Lennox BSL

Brook. Crossed OTRB 28/9/2011. Run Free sweetheart

In honour of our dear & beautiful furriend Brook, Charlies Angel of Hilsider, who unexpectedly crossed OTRB this week, there is no Friday Funny this week. Instead, in her memory, we'd like to talk about BSL, Lennox & dangerous breed stereotypes. 

Dobie Brookie was the first Doberman I had actually had face to face contact with, and although loving all dogs big & small, I was a little weeny bit nervous incase she didn't like me! Now in the media, we hear about Pitbulls, Staffies etc as the 'dangerous' dogs, but when I was little, it was Dobies & Rottweillers. Of course though, my fears were completely unfounded!! The first time I met Brook I was confronted with a big, powerful, sleek barrel of love & soppiness :) We had lots of cuddles and kisses and I only wish there had been chance for more. I am truly heartbroken that the world has lost her beautiful doggy soul...BUT I do know she is rocking up a storm over in Rainbow Bridge right now with her brother Byron :) Our thoughts and prayers are with  her family, Karen, Neil, Kayleigh, Dino & Sox at this painful & sad time. Love you all!!

Today, a decision will be made on the fate of American Bull Labrador cross, Lennox, in Ireland. He is Micro chipped, Neutered, DNA Registered, Pet Safe Registered, Insured and Licensed every year with the Council yet on Wednesday the 19th May 2010 he was taken from the family home by Belfast City Council as they believe he falls under the dangerous dogs act for Northern Ireland. They declared Lennox to be a breed of "Pit Bull Type" and so wish to kill him simply because of the way he looks... Racism anyone?! Belfast City Council took Lennox from his loving family home using a wrongly addressed warrant and copyright ADBA (American Dog Breeders Association) breed standards guide which the Council were never authorised to use. Lovely  Lennox has never attacked anyone or anything yet the authorities have removed him from his home where he lives with his family kennel mate Juicy a 2 year old female boxer and various other foster dogs. You can find out more here. So, today, in memory of another doggie who would once have been looked at like she was a monster, everyone please join the #pawcircle of positivity for gorgeous #Lennox.

Breed-specific legislation, BSL, is, according to Wikipedia: 

"a law or ordinance passed by a legislative body pertaining to a specific breed or breeds of domesticated animals. In practice, it generally refers to laws or ordinances pertaining to a specific dog breed or breeds." 

We firmly believe each dog, like every human being on the planet, is different & should be judged individually. Yes, like some humans are born and are just a nasty piece of work, you do get some dogs who are more volatile or angry, but for 99.9%, we believe any angry behaviour is down to the owners & the way the animal has been handled. Dogs, by nature, are loyal and loving to the humans that they idolise and rely upon. We could talk for hours on the subject, but I think this picture sums it up perfectly....

We have shared this image onto our facebook page wall, please share it with your friends and help spread the word. 


Under BSL, this little pitbull Sharky could be seized just like Lennox ... does he look like a dangerous dog to you? Do watch these videos, they are just beautiful x x