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

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

Dogs Trust Harefield West London Fun Day

You know what? We are sooo lucky to be able to spend so much time with so many gorgeous dogs! This Sunday last was the Dogs Trust West London Fun Day at Harefield & once again we were there with our stall having a fab time! 

It was our first time at the Harefield centre for their Fun Day (we go there alot for books etc when we visit The Millers though as it's only round the corner!) and we were so impressed with lovely Sian's organising - the site looked pawesome! There were yummy pancake & donut vendors, a cake stall with the biggest muffins I have ever seen, a little funfair section for the little ones, a petting zoo, tombolas & raffles and much more! 

The Puppy Love stall 

We were so lucky with the weather - it was tropical! Lovely sunshine all day :) And the sun brought out the visitors, at one point the queue for the car park was over half an hour up the road and there was a real possibility the car park would have to shut altogether! Which is brilliant news for the charity and all those dogs needing care and shelter. And check it out, its a HUGE Site...Wooo!

As the site is so local to Lee's family, they all came up to visit us which was really lovely! Even 92 year old Grandad Ben came along in his wheelchair ♥  

Mum fell in love with 10 year old Lurcher William who is in desperate need of a new home as he is getting increasingly distressed & depressed in kennels and is refusing to eat. He would have been coming home with her had it not been that he needs to be the only dog in the household so if anyone you know is thinking of rehoming please please mention him to them!

Laura @mistew on twitter came to see us too which was a lovely surprise & meant we got to see scrumptious Min Pin LJ in real life! Check out his adorable photo in the gallery! Her new London based dog walking company, Fun on all Paws, is doing really well & she is a sweetheart so be sure to check out her facebook page here! 

More pics after the jump or check out the full album on our facebook page... www.facebook.com/puppylovepets ! >>

Dogs Trust Salisbury Fun Day

So last Sunday was the fabulous Dogs Trust Salisbury (@DT_Salisbury) Fun Day!! It was our first Dogs Trust event of the summer after we had to cancel Kenilworth last month due to that evil summer flu I generously passed around to everyone *oops!* The day was once again a roaring success with lots of lovely stalls for doggies and their bipeds...including a doggie bobbing for hotdogs stall, a timed doggie dash, bric-a-brac, pancakes, beer tent, fun dog shows, an attempt to break the world record for the biggest simulntaneous sit and MORE! *and breathe*...

Once again we had a fantastic time meeting all the gorgeous dogs and their wonderful owners. The total raised is an amazing £18,450.53!!! Wooooo!! A big paws up to gorgeous Leslie who organised the day and is a constant   supporter of Puppy Love *big hugs lovely lady!* 

World record attempt in Progress - Photo by Helen Smith

Unfortunately there just weren't quite enough doggies to break the record of 629 but an amazing 463 did take part! Wow!! And it was such a lovely sight to see - and sooo quiet! I think alot of doggies got ALOT of treats over those 3 minutes :) 

Photo by Helen Smith

Photo by Helen Smith

We also met up with our 'I'm Deaf' bandana muse & model, Jasper!! It was sooo lovely to see him & his family again and hear  how well he is getting along now. He also won a rosette in the show! GO Jasper! Kathleen, Becca & his fursis Poppy have done so well training him and making him feel happy & secure - you're stars! Again Kathleen and family have been great supporters of our products - thankyou so much lovelies! *hugs* 

Photo by Helen Smith

We also met Helen Smith of Reflectionz Photography who is an amazing photographer and took some wonderful shots of the whole day AND the Puppy Love stall! They are awesome - thankyou Helen! And not forgetting Artist Patricia Davies who is a brilliantly talented lady - see her fab pet portraits at www.patriciadavies.co.uk.

So all in all a wonderful day making new friends and catching up with old whilst spreading the Puppy Love... we can't wait for next year Leslie! Book us in! ;) And be sure to check out the latest additions to our customer gallery - some real beauties! x x

Photo by Helen Smith

More photos after the jump!! >> 

Swedish House Mafia's Doggie Heroes

Phew! We really have been 'working like a dog' the last few weeks here at Puppy Love HQ getting all ready & stocked up for the summer shows...which *drum roll please* start at Dogs Trust Snetterton!! Wooo! Now whilst sewing, always have MTV, Viva or one of the other wonderful music channels (oops, don't want to annoy any of them! Lols) on and love to sing along much to the amusement & maybe even annoyance of the neighbours I'm sure!! There are lots of great music videos out there, loving Jessie J's fun 'Nobody's Perfect' and the attack of the LMFAO zombie-dancers puts a big smile on my face everytime but this one by Swedish House Mafia really does take the bonio... I can't get enough of it & you may think silly, but it chokes me up everytime I see it...in a good way though! :) It perfectly depicts dogs' loyalty, courage & all round beauty. They really do save my world! Enjoy! x x

Dogs Trust Snetterton Fun Open Day on Sunday 12th June 2011

Another date for your diary Puppy Love-rs! We are delighted to confirm that we shall be at the Dog's Trust Snetterton Fun Dog Show and Open Day on Sunday the 12th June. The event starts at 12noon until 4pm and gates open at 11.30am for registrations into the show! More details to come on the Dogs Trust official site www.dogstrust.org.uk but expect raffles, tombolas, yummies and FUN FUN FUN!! For more information, you can contact the centre on 01953 498 012 or 01953 498 377.

Map data ©2011 Google, Tele Atlas - Terms of Use

Map

Satellite

Hybrid

DIRECTIONS

Take the A11 (Norwich to London). The turning for the Centre is situated two miles south of Attleborough and two miles north of Snetterton race track. Take the turning for Snetterton Village and follow the signs for Dogs Trust. Please note if you are travelling from Norwich you'll need to follow signs to Shropham village and look for the signs to Dogs Trust.

Dogs Trust Kenilworth Open Day

As those of you who follow us on Twitter may know, we have been booking our Summer 2011 events over the last few weeks... and our first confirmed event is.....

Dog's Trust Kenilworth's Open Day on Sunday July 10th 2011

This was our first event EVER back last summer and gives us the warm & fuzzies so we are so excited to have been invited back and to see all the Kenilworth staff and doggies again! We will bring you more details soon but be sure to expect lots of lovely stalls, raffles, yummies and a fun dog show x x

Dog's Trust Salisbury Open Day

Just heard that Sunday's Open Day raised over £15,000 for the doggies!! Yaaay!!! Such fantastic news!!! xx

What a lovely day! x

We had such a lovely time at the Dog's Trust Salisbury Fun Day yesterday! Loved meeting all our new customers & their owners :) HUGE big shout-out and thanks to Lesley from the centre who did an awesome job organising the day and making us feel welcome... she's fab! We saw Stormtroopers from Galactic Knights, big cool Harley Davidsons & tried yummy Honey & Ginger ice-cream. Great news that over 5000 people (!!) came through the doors and helped raise big money for the charity which really is so deserving. 

See our customer gallery page for Salisbury cutie-pies modelling their new accessories & there are more piccies from the day after the jump xx >>  

Barkin' Busy!

Phew... what a week! Have been very busy bunnies here @ PUPPY LOVE HQ getting ready for Sunday! Less than 24 hrs to go now until Dog's Trust Salisbury Fun Day!! Very excited!! We have lots of new products to take with us including a big new batch of bandanas in Sailor Jerry style tattoo (pink & navy), Nautical, Camo, Tinkerbell prints & lots lots more... also our new "Race Cars not Greyhounds" Shoppers! Plus our staples of Oilcloth Pegbags, cushions, collars, jumpers & coats :)

Not only are we looking forward to seeing all the gorgeous DT doggies & activities going on throughout the day, but a little birdie told us that Mr Anthony Head a.k.a Giles (!!!) of Buffy Fame will be there. Sooo excited!!! There is also going to be real life storm-troopers around! Really looking forward to it. All set now, just need to do our stringent quality control & get the car loaded up ready to go. Then going to have a nice girly (Lee is at Arsenal today helping his Dad on the market stall ... it's the Emirates Cup! Yaay!) relaxing afternoon with Buzz & Honeybun and catching up with everyone... including those doing the Saturday Blog Hop! xx

Dog's Trust Salisbury Open Day

NEWS!! NEWS!! NEWS!! 

We have some very exciting news... PUPPY LOVE will be at the Dog's Trust Salisbury Open Day on Sunday August 1st! At the Kenilworth Open Day last Sunday we met the lovely Lesley & Lucy (and Lucy's gorgeous little doggie who was rocking her DT bandana!) from the Salisbury Dog's Trust Rehoming Centre who so kindly invited us to their open day & we have now booked our pitch!! So Salisbury here we come!! The day starts at 11am and goes on all afternoon and is such a great day out for owners & dogs. There will be a fun dog show, lots of fab stalls & even pony rides!! Only £1.50 to get in... bargain! And all the funds raised go to such a worthwhile cause. Click the link below for more details xx

Dog's Trust Kenilworth Open Day

We had a great time today @ the Dog's Trust Open Day! Thankyou so much to Helen & the team there for being so welcoming & putting on such a brilliant show. It was great to see all the doggies out for the day and wearing their cute yellow Dog's Trust bandanas and OUR Puppy Love bandanas (!!!). It was fantastic to get such brilliant feedback from people - all of you that we spoke to... THANKYOU! Loved meeting our new customers & their owners... I have got some little stunners to add to the gallery too. Thankfully, the weather was beautiful (I was worrying yesterday about the prospect of soggy bandanas!) and it was such a lovely atmosphere - we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves meeting everyone and browsing and buying from other stalls. I also 'released' a Rainbow Brite sprite teddy from the Rabbit & Guinea Pig stall which was the cherry on the top of a gorgeous day... I have wanted one for 22 years...since I was 4!!  Lols. xx

Lots more pics after the jump!! >>

Less than 24 hours!!

Less than 24 hrs to go now...!!! I spent today putting finishing touches to my display & getting everything ready for the stall tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to the day & seeing all the gorgeous doggies & other stalls. And what tropical weather we have been having... sooo hot! Weather forecast says it won't be so hot tomorrow which is good for the dogs. I would take Buzz & Honey but I think that they will be happier chilling out at home than in the hot sun all day and little missy hates the car so much bless her. Am really excited to get feedback from  owners ... & doggies too of course!! ... on my products * fingers x-d everyone likes them!* :) xx

Just 2 days to go!!

"Tick tock.. tick tock... the time is counting down!!"

We are getting incredibly excited for Sunday's Fun Day @ the Dogs Trust! New items include oilcloth Peg Bags, a very cute collection of collars in sizes XS - XL (all on a special promotion of half price!!), Scotty Dog appliquéd tea-towels, & our special unique dog coat collection!

 

MySpace Icons