I love dressing my dog up in red, white, and blue for the 4th. Granted, she isn't one for many frills, but she'll generally allow me to dress her in a cute collar or bandana.
If I had a smaller dog, though, I would totally get this adorable denim jacket, or one of the other awesome items from the Doggie Couture shop. From patriotic bikinis, to adorable ribbons, bows and jewelry, to great red, white, and blue collars and bandanas, they have a great selection. Browse the patriotic shop and enjoy dressing your dog up this weekend!
If you haven't seen the Good Dog Trixie merchandise on author, Dean Koontz's Trixie area of his site then you're missing out. Trixie is a dog eternal, playing with angels and other dogs on the "other" side and she has a wonderful store full of items such as books, calendars and blinging collars. You can even start your Christmas shopping early!
Throughout July and August, PetSmart will be featuring a line of licensed Good Dog Trixie items in all of their stores. Now you can get pet bowls and journals, as well as toys and picture frames.
All income from any sales during this event goes to Canine Companions for Independence just as all royalties from Trixie's book. So not only can you get some great products, you can help out at the same time.
As the mommy of a Puggle, I love finding cool mixed breed items that feature the fabulous new "mutt" dogs. I came across "A Breed Apart" by Amanda Jones, a sweet book featuring some of these fun new breeds.
From the Goldendoodle to the Sheprador, the Puggle to the Muggin, the Spollie to the Eskipoo, the American mutt is the most popular dog around. This book captures the faces, unique look and personalities of these dogs and also provides you a fun guessing game of what breeds make up the dog!
The author also has breed-specific books for Dachshunds, French Bulldogs, and Greyhounds. Check it out and happy reading!
FauxPaw Productions has the most gorgeous, custom designed products, including their gorgeous dog bowls. Each bowl is designed by artist Debby Carman with one of a kind original artwork. My favorite is Barnacle since I love seaside type art and trinkets. Not only do they have bowls though, they also carry trivets, treat jars, paintings, sculptures and even more. They also offer cat products as well. The dog bowls run about $45 for a large one but they are all hand made! So if you're looking for the perfect gift or just want something to spoil your pet with, check them out.
How about making a leash hanger out of it? That's what Diana from Carabella Studios does. She lives on the coast of Maine and often walks around looking for pieces of driftwood that she can then turn into beautiful pieces of functional artwork.
Since each piece of wood has been exposed to the sea and sand, it has natural characteristics of distress. Diana simply adds her artistic touch by custom painting on it whatever you want with non-toxic paints. In addition, she also adds as many hooks as you want to each piece.
My family has our driftwood leash hanger hanging up in our shore house. It's a perfect addition down there and we always know where the leashes are.
Behind this Collar is a new company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company offers a very unique gift for us, dog-lovers: custom-made shadow boxes!
These beautiful boxes display mementos of your choosing such as a photo, a favorite toy or a collar. The shadow boxes are a wonderful way to celebrate your dog (or cat) and are available in three types: custom, standard and milestone.
The custom option lets you totally customize your box. The options are yours on the custom shadow box! You might like a custom portrait by Behind this Collar's artist or a custom poem that tells your dog's story created by the poet at Behind this Collar.
The standard option (shown left) provides you with choices for its creation such as the type of wood, items, nameplate color (plus many more options!). This shadow box arrives fully assembled and all you do to complete it is insert your favorite photo behind the mat and your pet's collar into the box.
The milestone box is a great way to celebrate the your pet's accomplishments. Do you have a super swimmer? Consider the Water Dog box (at right)!
Check out Behind this Collar for unique, custom gifts that celebrate your dog! And right now Sherri Shawgo, founder of Behind this Collar, is offering a $10 discount on any shadow box to all Swanky Pup readers! Type "Swanky Pup" in the "referred by" option during checkout to get your discount $10 discount on any shadow box.
I love dressing my dog up in red, white, and blue for the 4th. Granted, she isn't one for many frills, but she'll generally allow me to dress her in a cute collar or bandana. 
