GollyGear is offering 10% off on all items until Sept 15. Code: dogdays.

Nina Ottosson Plastic Interactive Toys: These are incredibly popular and trend-setting interactive toys for dogs. The purpose is to get your dog to locate where the hidden treats are in the toys. They either have to move objects (Magic) or slide them (Brick), or spin the toy (Spinny) to reveal the treat!

Prices varies: Spinny is selling at 29.70, Magic (below) is $31.50, and Brick (above) is $40.50. These prices are already 10% off plus you’ll still get an additional 10% reduction with the coupon code.

EasyGo and EasyGo Sailor Harness & Leash Set: These aren’t just  your regular vest-type harnesses, they’re stylish and comfortable—the vest is made of soft cotton jersey material with slight padding and mesh on the other side. They come in two unique looks—EasyGo and EasyGo Sailor (seen on the right) and 8 different colors for EasyGo and 2 colors for EasyGo Sailor.

EasyGo is priced at $18.95 and EasyGo Sailor goes for $20.95. Both comes in 4 sizes—extra small to large. The leash is 3/8 inch wide. Go walk in style!

EntirelyPets is offering $10 off on small FURminator and $15 off on Medium and Large Furminators. Code: FURMSPECIAL10 and FURMSPECIAL15 respectively. Expires: Dec 31, 09

FURminator deShedding Tools: If you’re still contemplating on getting this revolutionary grooming tool, FURminator, to groom your dog’s double coat, think no more. With this crazy summer heat, your dog will thank you for getting the FURminator. Plus your hubby will stop accusing you of cloaking the bathtub and toilet drain with “your” hair!

Prices are $29.99 for small, $44.99 for medium, and $54.99 for the large ones. These prices are before discount.

Wysong is offering 18% off on ALL items. Code: Click here to get SDP exclusive coupon deal.

Introductory Pack: If you’re thinking of switching to BARF diet or just different brand for your dog, Wysong Introductory Pack is the best option to do so. It comes with both dry and raw food which make the transition less taxing on your dog’s digestive tract. Price: $17.99 (read my review here) for Dog Intro pack and $47.99 for Raw Intro Pack. Prices are before discount. Each Wysong Product Introductory Pack contains:

• 4 lb. bag of Maintenance
• 1 Small Bag of Dream Treats
• 2 Single Dream Treats
• 2 Pouches of UnCanny
• 1 Au Jus Turkey 5.5 oz can
• 1 Sample of Archetype™ (FREE)
• 1 Sample of DentaTreat™ (FREE)
• 1 Sample of Addlife™ (FREE)

Please do remember to check out my pet coupon and exclusive coupons pages regularly for more discounts and deals.

Most owners tend to overlook and allow their dog’s furry paws to grow incessantly until the next grooming session some time between two to four months later. It only takes 2 to 3 weeks to grow about half an inch, and that’s enough to cover the whole paw pad.

Think of it this way, would you be able to walk comfortably wearing a pair of shoes where the sole is made of cotton yarn—the material used on a mop head?

Very Important Note: Do not attempt to clip your dog if you have never handled a clipper before, let alone clipping your dog’s paws now—an area where most dogs do not like to be touched. Remember, home grooming is not without its risks especially for amateurs and if in doubt, always seek professional groomer’s help.

Clipper Blade Tips: The ideal blade size to use when clipping the paw is no.10 (1.5mm) or no.15 (1.2mm) either Andis (for example, Andis Super 2 Speed which I’m using) or Oster. I use no.15 for this job because I like getting it as close to the skin. For clipper, I much prefer using Andis to Oster as it is lightweight, has “cooler” motor, and durable. As for blades, both are just as efficient as they can be.

Safety Tip: Should the blade get warm, stop clipping. Either change blade or take a break.

Steps To Clipping The Furry Paws

1. Place your dog on a non-slip table or workbench.
2. Lean your dog against your body with his face on the opposite direction of your clipper. Suppose you use your right hand to hold the clipper, your dog’s head will be on your left. So you will have your left forearm to restrain your dog should he be fidgeting.
3. To open up the paw pad, you have to hold the paw firmly with your forefinger and thumb, and gently apply downwards pressure on the sides to spread open the pads for a better clip.
4. Hold the clipper at an angle (as you would be holding a pencil) against the paw while clipping. Do not clip with the blade at a right vertical angle to the paw. The sharp teeth of the blade can punctuate holes into the skin.

Clipping And Scissoring The Furry Feet

• Reposition your dog (facing the clipper) when you want to trim the top and side of the paw, and between the toes. If your dog is not used to clipping, you may need some one to restrain your dog while trimming those areas.
• If you are not going for a close clip, use a no.4 or no.5 blade or you could use a thinning shear instead of a clipper. The length of feathers on the feet should not be shorter than a quarter of an inch and trim no higher up to the first joint. For illustrations on how to use thinning shear to trim the feet, here’s the site.
• Top and side of the paw: Place your thumb a few inches away from the top of the toes and the rest of your fingers below the pastern. Clip it against the hair growth.
• Between the paw: Place your thumb a little above and between the webbed (apply gentle pressure to spread open the toes to allow the clipper entry) and the rest of your fingers around the paw pad and pastern areas. Use only the side of the blade to clip the fur. Do the same for the other two webbed.
• Use a small blunt-tipped scissors and trim the hairs that extend beyond the outline of the foot. What you want is a tidy appearance and a rounded outline of the foot.

I won’t deny it is a tough job clipping furry paws especially if you are new to clipping moving things! It does take a lot of practice and patience. If there is any consolation, I started out working on human heads! I still find it easier to shave heads than to clip dogs who aren’t used to being touched.

Honestly, the skill of tying great topknot isn’t that difficult. However it does take a few practices, a bit of creativity, some fashion tips not to overkill the look and for your dog to get used to.

For daily wear, a simple single topknot will serve its purpose of getting hair out of your dog’s face. But if you have that special party to attend or in the mood of dressing up, that plain topknot doesn’t deserve to be seen in public. The worst is when the topknot is poorly groomed, lacks the volume and glamour.

This is a special dedication to all small dog (Yorkie, Shih Tzu, Maltese, Poodle, and Lhasa Apso) owners who have difficulties getting that show quality topknot look for their pooches.

Before I begin showing you the steps, these are things you need:

• Grooming comb with both fine and wide toothed.
• Latex bands. Do not use any rubber band as they break hair easily. Plus you’ve to go many rounds to secure a knot. I personally use dental surgical latex bands which I got them from my dad’s clinic. Not many pet stores carry these bands so you may want to get them from your dentist! Just kidding! =D You’ll have more luck finding them in dog grooming parlors, concession booths at the dog shows or pet boutiques. Amazon sells them too—transparent and colored ones. For small dogs, use 4.5mm (best) but no larger than ¼ inch as it is sufficient to hold the amount of hair for top knot. The larger the diameter the more turns you have to secure the knot.
• Wax papers, perm papers or any paper product designed to allow hair to breathe. It’s optional; it’s commonly used on show quality Maltese’s topknot or long coat wrapping to prevent coat from breaking or hair from tangling around the latex band.
• Bows or ribbons or plastic stones or fake pearls for that decorative look.
• Hair spray. Optional, if you’re going to use it then you may want to have a makeup visor of in hand so that the chemical won’t get into your dog’s eyes. Now you know why those show dogs’ coat managed to look so glamorous and stayed intact after a long day parading around the rings.

Steps to Tying Single Topknot

1. Gather the hair from the outside corner of the eye to the crown of his head and smooth comb it out. From a bird’s eye view it forms a rounded corners triangle on the crown. For puppies or dogs with shorter hair length at the crown, you’ve to gather part of the hair above his eyes (usually half to three-quarter inches away from each side of the stop – approximately 1 to 1.5 inches width of gathered hair). In this case, it forms a rectangular shape instead of the triangular.
2. Gently back-comb the gathered hair to add volume. Depends on the length of the hair, if it’s more than six inches long back-comb half way through its length.
3. Again depend how much puff you want to create, generally about 1.5 to 2 inches from the above of the eyes secure the topknot with a latex band.
4. Alternatively, you may want to use a perm paper wrapped around the gathered hair before it doubled over and tying the topknot with latex band. This is commonly used on Maltese’s topknots as the paper blends with the coat color, and it also creates a little knot above the bow. This is great for those who fear of breaking the hair way too often. You’ve to precut the wrapper to approximately 1″ by 1.5″ in size.
5. If the remaining hair bothers one side of your dog’s eye, you’ve to redo by gathering more hair from the crown and tie the knot farther back.
6. If there is plenty length to play with, you may want to back-comb a few inches from the latex band, doubled over and secure it with another latex band. This is a very gorgeous classic 50s look – almost looks like an extension hair piece.
7. Smooth out the back-combed area with the wide-toothed comb so that it appears smooth, but still had the shape and volume of a glamorous topknot.
8. Tie a bow or any decorative hair clips around the latex band.

Step to Tying Double Topknots

It’s similar to single topknot, the two differences are:

• Part the hair in the center of the head (right above the stop) in step one. While you are working on the first knot, have a hair clip to hold on to the other part of hair.
• Letting the hair falls to the sides of the face instead to the back of the crown in step three. This adds more volume to the hair around the ears giving the head a lion’s mane look. If done well, it has a very mysterious look as the falling hair shades the sides of the face.

The only downside to the double topknots is that you can’t go for that 50s doubled over look in step six as the puffiness looks out of place at the sides. You don’t want your dog to look like he has four ears sticking out!

Now you have it, my biggest secret of tying great glamorous topknot is? That’s right, Back-Combing!

Next Issue: Secrets of dressing up topknots and more tips on how to get your dog to wear it with ease as if Fido didn’t know he’s wearing one; better yet he’ll be begging you to fuss over him more often.

If this scenario describes your current situation with your dog, then you aren’t alone.

One of the most challenging aspects of dog grooming is clipping dog’s nails.

I’ve countless occasions where my friends and neighbors and their friends/relatives would drop by unannounced with their dogs, asking me to clip their dogs’ nails. Though I don’t mind doing it, but this can’t go on forever. It’s a responsibility that dog owners have to abide.

Here are some informative tips on clipping dog’s nails.

Inside the nail, there is a vein (also known as nail bed) and for that reason, special care must be taken when trimming them. Any dog that does not have his nails properly trimmed is likely not able to walk well. It can hurt his paw and prolong neglect will result his inability to walk properly. Dogs with larger nails are more capable of doing damage to furniture, clothing or rugs as their nails will get caught on these and will ripe them.

If the nail is cut too short, it may begin to bleed. The best way to learn where to cut your dog’s nails is to have your vet or groomer show you at the next appointment. In many cases, the vet will handle this care procedure if you ask them to. Even if they do not, they will show you how to properly do so.

To cut them, you will want to use the guillotine type of dog nail trimmer that cut rather than the pliers type that crush. Crushing a nail can cause a great deal of pain to your dog’s nail bed inside. Also larger dogs will have thicker nails which are just too difficult to cut any other way.

Tips: Make sure the clippers are sharp and can be kept clean and sanitized between uses. I found this nail clipper to be the best and easier for small to medium sized dogs.

The best time to trim your dog’s nails is right after his bath time (once he’s toweled dry), as the nails tend to be much softer making it easier to clip. This is especially so for big dogs.

Dogs with clear or white nails, it’s easy to locate the narrow end of the vein (nail bed). However dog with black nails (especially dogs with darker coat), are less visible but one thing for sure is that they have longer nail bed than white nails. So do make some allowances for this.

To start, cut small amounts of the nail off until you see a dark circle in the center of the nail (roughly 45 degree angle off paw base). This is where the vein is or where the nail bed ends. Do not cut any further. If you do, you can cause your dog to bleed copiously that can be extremely painful for him. If by accident you do cut the nails too far in and they begin to bleed, use styptic powder to help stop it from bleeding.

If your dog have dew claws (on the inner side of the leg) that hasn’t had been removed during puppy stage, check if the nail needed to be trimmed.

After cutting the nails, use a coarse paper or pet nail file to help grind down the actual nail to make sure there are no rough edges on it.

How often you need to clip your dog’s nails is really up to your dog. Dogs that walk on cement, for example, those that go for walks, the cement will actually help to trim them down. Those dogs that have no exposure to these types of flooring will need more attention. Again, it depends on how much your dog’s nails grow. Some will need you to trim them weekly, while others are just monthly.

An easy way to know if it’s time for clipping your dog’s nail is when you hear clicking sounds his claws made against marble or parquet flooring. By this time, he is seriously due for nail clipping session.

Bite Tips: Dogs are less likely to struggle if they are customized to nail clipping at puppy stage. However, DO NOT attempt to do this if you’re neither confident nor have any prior experience. Bad encounters can traumatize the puppy into his adulthood making it impossible to trim his nails without having to strap him down with muzzle collar and leash.