The Gift Exchange

I was driving to work earlier last week and heard this fascinating story on the radio that I thought I’d share with the rest of you. In the U.K. there was a murder trial were a dog was brought to the witness stand. Apparently 2 years ago the police found a 59 year old woman, who happen to be the dog’s owner, hanging in her apartment and no one else was in the apartment but the dog. This automatically made the dog a witness. Any way’s back to the story, when the suspect was brought in front of the stand where the dog was, the dog began to bark furiously. Now the judge is in the process of deciding if this is enough evidence to proceed to a trial. Can you imagine, it’s 2 years from when the crime took place and the dog still remembers the killer. I guess now it’s up to the judge to decide if this dog’s reaction is an actual eye witness account.

With my recent move there have been a couple of things about my dog that are very disconcerting, and annoying.

The first, and potentially most serious development, is that my dog is experiencing intense separation anxiety when we leave the apartment for any period of time. He has always whined when we left, and scratched at the door a little, but it wasn’t a big deal. It never really mattered because, since we were out in the country, no one could hear him. I’m not sure if it is more intense now because there are more noises coming from the city, if it’s just from being in the new surroundings, or if it because we are now in a small apartment, and he is experiencing some sort of claustrophobia .

Since we are in an apartment complex it is not okay for our dog to perpetually whine, cry, and bark, unless I want our neighbors to hate us. So, I started researching this issue and it can actually be a very serious thing for the mental health of the dog to be so distressed. This scares me. I don’t want to be damaging my dog every time I go to work! Poor guy…

The other thing, which is equally frustrating, is that my dog ferociously barks and tries to attack at the other dogs that belong to our neighbors. There is no apparent reason for the outbursts, as the other dogs are not presenting any potential threat or offense. This has happened a few times in the past, but has never been quite so intense. My dog is a Cockapoo; a lover by nature, and to my knowledge has never wanted to hurt anyone.

We are so confused with these recent developments, and at this point, we are not sure what to do. To all the pet owners with well socialized, well behaved dogs PLEASE HELP! Does my dog just have a case of “Alpha Dog Syndrome”? Is it just severe separation anxiety?

Here we are with the last days of summer upon us. This is always a somewhat sad time of year for me, knowing that (at least here in the North West) we will only sporadically see the sun in the next 8-9 months. Like a lot of others, I’m determined to absorb as much Vitamin D in the next few weeks as possible. With the help of GiftTree I’msure we can accomplish that. For all you dog lovers out there summer is truly complete with the Cesar’s Way Gift Basket. A barbeque or picnic is instantly an event with the two selections of Dog Tail Vineyards wines; one red and one white, tennis balls, and gourmet treats for you and pooch. If that sounds good, and you have a picnic in mind then another great idea would be to invest in our Picnic Stix wine holders, which are a genius way to eliminate the problem of spilled drinks while picnicking at the park, beach or in your own back yard. Enjoy the rest of your summer, and if you are looking for any other last chance summer gifts, check out our Summer Gift Section!

My sister has two (adorable) children. Being the proud mom that she is, she has pictures of them everywhere! She even has their pictures on her travel mug and at one point she had a diaper bag that held their pictures, That’s not to mention her fridge and every bit of available shelf space at her house… I guess that’s just what you do when you’re a mom.

Well I don’t have any children but I do have a baby… He is my dog, Cole. He is a 2 year old cocker spaniel- poodle mix and my husband and I are very proud parents, so naturally we want to show him off. I was so excited when I saw our new Dog PawPrint Desktop Frame. It is just the perfect gift for proud pet owners! I want to get one for my home, and then one for my parents, and my in-laws. (The are very proud of their Grand-Puppy). If you like this gift idea, be sure to check out the rest of our Pet Gifts!

The warm summer weather is officially here in the Northwest. I am not a big fan of the hot weather. I prefer to spend my days inside with the AC cranked up with something cool and refreshing to drink. My dogs, however, will not allow that! They just love the sun and are sun worshipers through and through. They love running all over the yard, barking at the squirrels, birds and passing cars. One of their most favorite things in the whole world is to play ball. Though they’re not very good at dropping the ball once they bring it back. This is not my idea of a good time when it’s 90 degrees outside, but I’ve recently discovered something that will make the dogs and me happy. One of our new Pet Gifts at GiftTree is the Chateau La Paws Dog Lover’s Wine Gift. It comes with 2 bottles of the creatively named Chateau La Paws wine, which was created by veterinarian Dr. Kent Rosemblum. It’s creatively packaged along with three tennis balls. So maybe the next time it’s too hot to play, I’ll set the hammock up in the shade and enjoy a bottle of wine while tossing the ball for my dogs. Sounds like a good summer day to me!

The 4th of July has always been my favorite holiday but definitely not my pets. They absolutely hate the loud noises and the bright flashing lights. I read that more pets get lost on the 4th of July than at any other time of the year. With the 4th just next week, it’s time to start planning ahead.

Remember to keep a collar and ID tag on your pet. My dogs have a tendency to chew the fabric collars off of each other, so we make sure to have the chain collars on them. I have a friend who has her dog micro chipped so she can track him if he’s lost.

My dog, Frank is an expert at escaping. His nickname should be Houdini. So if your dog is anything like my dog, you’ll want to resist the urge to keep him tied up outside. If they get spooked, they may very well find a way to escape the loud noises.

Also, don’t bring your pet to the fireworks display. Dogs can hear three times greater than humans, so all those great big booms are going to terrify him. You’ll want to keep him in a quiet room with the curtains closed. I like to keep the TV on for my dogs if I’m going to be gone a long time. I’m not sure if it actually helps them, but I figure maybe it’s a distraction from all that’s going on outside.

And I always make sure they have plenty of food and water along with a chew toy so they can calm their nerves by chewing.

With all that said, Have a Safe and Happy 4th everybody!

My husband and I have a big old loveable black Lab we rescued about 5 years ago that we named Gunner. When Gunner looks at our garbage can he sees a giant snack bin, an endless source of exotic food that he has never tasted and will die if he doesn’t. He has gotten resourceful at getting to it too. A few years ago, we had to resort to putting the can on a high shelf in the garage because he was constantly raiding it. That didn’t stop him. We came home to a trail of eggshells leading up to him and an orange peeling stuck to his fang that he was desperately trying to shake off. He’s even tried framing our other dog by putting garbage in front of her and then running away. We tell everyone that he has food issues from his sketchy past before we found him.

Still, there are times when he will strut past the garbage can in an aloof manner as if to thumb his nose at his trash addiction. I know it’s killing him and he’s only putting on an act for our benefit, but we still give him a treat for exercising such amazing willpower. The Dog Bone Treat Jar in our pet gifts section is a perfect alternative to the “snack bin” we currently have. Maybe it will help Gunner stop looking in sordid places for the snacks that he craves? Maybe he will be cured of his food issues once & for all? Maybe I won’t have to store it on a high shelf in the garage? It’s definitely worth a try!

The GiftTree office is full of pet lovers. There are even a few employees here that bring their dogs to work everyday. Throughout the day I hear the rattle of dog collars and the sound of dog paws walking throughout the office. The fact that we have dogs in the office each day, really makes this a fun place to be.

We have a selection of some really great pet gifts and I think it’s because we have so many pet lovers here. We have gifts for cats, dogs, even gifts for the pets to share with their owner. The designers really do a great job and finding unique gifts that I’ve never seen. Like the Dogsmarts game, for example. It’s a game full of trivia about dog behavior, breeds and all sorts of fun stuff. Or the His & Her Stoneware Mug Set, which is a gift of two mugs with coffee, biscotti & cocoa for you and dog biscuits for your little friend. Maybe you can’t bring your pet to work. We do have some really cute dog and cat frames that you could put on your desk. So while you’re browsing for gifts for your mom, brother or co-worker, take a look at our pet gifts. I’m sure you’ll find something for Fido, too!

I want to tell you guys about my 2 dogs. Their names are Fritz and Frank and they are miniature dachshunds, but the miniature part went out the window years ago. They are spoiled rotten and do silly things that make me laugh nearly every single day. I think before they go to little doggy heaven I need to get some good pictures of them doing these humorous things. Gift Tree has this nifty picture frame called the Dog PawPrint Desktop Frame that holds a picture & their paw print. I may invest in one of those.

Anyway, back to telling you about my dogs…

Frank has little dog syndrome. He barks furiously at anyone or anything that comes near our yard. I really and truly think that he believes he is scaring everyone away. One time my husband and I were taking the dogs on a walk and a bigger dog was coming our way. Frank just barked and barked and barked, until the big dog came closer. Once the big dog was right next to us, Frank ran behind my husband, tail between his legs and peed himself. Poor thing! But it was quite funny!

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I’ve owned dogs my whole life and one of my least favorite chores is giving the dog a bath. But over the years, I’ve learned a lot and I thought I’d share with you some tips that I use to help things go a little smoother.

1. Get everything ready first. Towels, shampoo, cup for pouring water on his back, etc. Be sure to remove anything that could get knocked in the water. Especially when bathing a big dog!

2. Get your patience ready. This one is self-explanatory.

3. Take your dog for a long walk or play ball before the bath. That way he’ll get worn out and won’t fight you as hard!

4. Never ever say the word “bath” before giving the bath unless you want to chase your dog all over the house trying to get him in the tub!
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