For Pets who Travel in Style: Sleepypod

If you always give your pet the finest things, check out Sleepypod—a carrier for Very Important Pets. Marketed as a mobile pet bed, Sleepypod is much more luxurious than your average pet bed or carrier.

What makes Sleepypod so indulgent?

To start—the super comfortable shearling bedding. Sleepypod.com offers a low wattage heater that slips under the bedding to keep your pet warm in winter. Or you can remove the plush bedding and insert a mesh hammock allowing cool air to circulate around your spoiled pet.

Aside from having these useful features, Sleepypod is the coolest pet carrier I’ve ever seen. The round, over-the-shoulder style is innovative and fresh. If you and your pet like to look good, you’ll appreciate the striking colors, flawless stitching, and tiny details like the little lamb on the label.

My favorite part of the Sleepypod is the optional Cloudpuff blanket. Made of the softest material, this pet blanket caused a spat between my cat and dog until they finally fell asleep on it together. It’s great to know that when my pets need to leave the house, they can take this little piece of home.

Sleepypod is a lavish everyday bed that goes a step further. When you zip on the dome top, your pet can take its comfy bed on the road. This carrier also has seatbelt loops for extra secure riding in the car. Sleepypod is the ultimate home away from home.

Head to Sleepypod.com to see for yourself. Use coupon code swank08 to get 10% off your order. Hurry! Offer expires January 31.

Licensed to Yap

Where I live in Philadelphia there is a law regarding all pets: they must be registered and licensed. This entails filling out a form and paying a fee in return for another form to prove that, yes, your dog is legal (yawn). The folks at YappyHappy.com came up with a resourceful and fun interpretation of pet permits. At this site you can order a unique kind of dog tag that is, in fact, a license.

These tags are charming and highly functional. They provide your pet with a lot more information than the traditional metal ID tags, which usually only offer a name and phone number. These miniature “barking” licenses give all the facts—breed, first and last name, address and phone number, height and weight, and of course, like any other form of identification, your dog’s picture. And, because these tags are made of durable plastic, they don’t clang against the metal fixtures on your canine’s collar. This then eliminates that annoying noise that accompanies your pet’s every step, a noise that is most likely even more bothersome to the collar-wearer whose hearing tends to be super-sonic.

But unique and original dog tags are not the only items Yappyhappy.com has to offer. Following the layout of your state's driver's license are also water-resistant pet mats. These are perfect to place under your dog's food or water bowl, as they make clean-up easy while adding a sense of humor to your kitchen floor.

Yappyhappy.com can also create personalized tote bags, magnets, key chains and luggage tags.

Also, check out http://yappyhappy.etsy.com/ for other unique ideas like custom dog collages, hand-made bird houses, and, my personal favorite, the Fairy Dog Bottle-Cap necklace.

These pieces are one-of-a-kind, and you have the freedom to choose your favorite colors and backgrounds. A great gift idea.

To order a Yappy Happy barking license, pet mat, tote bag etc. you’ll need to upload the most flattering head-on mug shot of your dog. Select the state you reside in (all are available), fill out all the pertinent information and send it. Your new dog license will arrive in the mail in a few days.

Check out my Pearl sporting her Yappy Happy license.

Smart Idea!

Rarely am I at a loss for words. Even rarer do I have so much to say I don't know where to start.

In this case, both are true. I am speechless at the idea behind Smartpaks and I have so much to say about it, I'm totally tongue (or in this case, finger) tied.

First, I'll try to explain what the heck I'm talking about.


It's all about portions. I have a seven pound toy poodle. (see below in his nice Smartpak bandana)







I have had to buy his food in bags that weigh as much as , if not more than, he does. See?

(the poodle is very photogenic, donchathink?)


Once that bag is open, the freshness seeps out. It takes TWO MONTHS for my little guy to consume a 6 pound bag of dry food. Needless to say, that bag is pretty much stale halfway through. I have tried keeping it in the freezer in plastic quart size bags, but I always end up muttering bad words because I have to keep moving these aside to fit other things (a little matter of people food) in there. What's a poodle mom to do?


Find a solution, that's what. But in this instance the solution found me - in the person of Rebecca Hall, representative of Rebecca Minard, founder of a company called SMARTPAK.

Rebecca's company offers a variety of solutions for the care and feeding of your canine kiddies. So, what was her life saving solution that has me foaming at the mouth with her prase?

Pre-portioned, individually packaged, completely affordable pet food!


I spoke with Rebecca on the phone and gave her the breed, age, weight, energy level, food and treat preferences of my little guy and any special medications and/or supplements he takes.


Within a few days, I received a package from SMARTPAK that contained individual 3/8 cup packages of the type of food my dog eats (in our case it's Wellness brand, but the company can package whatever brand your dog prefers), all hermetically sealed, fresh and ready to be ripped open and poured into the bowl. No stale food, no freezer stuffed with baggies, no two month old chicken mix! I cannot overstate how convenient this has been for me! Bags of food that are big enough to hide a mountain lion in have always been a concern for me. Not any longer!

These little blue packages have made buying and storing food for my dog easier than I ever thought possible. Smartpak can portion food in whatever amounts you dog needs, whether it's 3/8 of a cup or a whole cup. Here's how it works (not word for word, but taken from the catalog directions):

You select the food and daily portion that's right for your dog. If you're not sure call them at 1-800-326-0282. They have product specialists - most of whom have animal science degrees- ready to help you.

They create individual serving pouches in the exact portion that you request.

They ship them to your door every month in 28 day supplies -56 total packs, enough for twice a day feeding, so you won't run out of food or have to lug those big bags around with you anymore.

And you get a free storage drawer with your first order to keep those individual packs in.

In addition to the food, I received some pre-packed treats to sample (no pics of the treats, Poodleboy ate them all before I got the camera out), as well as medications and supplements. They are labeled with your dog's name and complete ingredient listings and are measured in daily doses. What could make your life any easier? Forget that. Johnny Depp is not coming over to wash your windows. The Smartpak Feeding System is as good as it gets! Shipping is a fixed total of $6.95, no matter how much you're having shipped. So go heavy, it will be a savings in the long run.

And if you're traveling with your dog, you are going to bless the day you found this blog! Traveling with the furkids has been made so much better for you by Smartpak. Sorry, I don't know any products that make traveling with children any easier. (Rope and some duct tape, maybe?)

Now, I'm going to continue to peruse the magnificient catalog I received with my food order. It offers everything from the Smartpak System to doggie clothes, beds, furniture, toys, all things fun and functional as well as medications like Frontline Flea and Tick Control and Sentinel Heart Worm Preventative, to name a couple (all at discounted prices). I'm trying to pick out a nice new coat for the poodle. For some reason, he doesn't seem too happy with the one I picked out for him last year.

Don't hesitate! Point your browser here: http://www.smartpakcanine.com/ and make buying, storing and feeding your dog easier and more pleasant for you both!

The Perfect Drink Of Water

I took my dog to puppy training class but I went unprepared. Everybody had their own personal drinking bottle for their puppy. Not me. I thought there would be water available in a bowl and all the dogs could drink from it. Silly me.

So the next week I went prepared with a semi-expensive small plastic bottle wrapped in red leather with a cute silver poodle-head charm hanging off the neck. When everyone whipped out their water bottles, so did I. Big mistake. My dog acted like I was trying to set his face on fire. I didn't know that dogs have to be trained to drink water out of a bottle. This is getting more and more complicated.

Last weekend, I was shopping in my favorite doggie boutique and I found the perfect solution: The Handi-Drink made by Guardian Gear. It's a water bottle made just for dogs that has it's own "bowl" attached. The "bowl" snaps down, the bottle is turned upside down and the tip is locked into a special socket. You then only have to squeeze as much or as little water as you like into the bowl part and hold it for your dog to take a drink. The flow valve will open and close automatically to control the quantity of water and prevent spillage.

When your pup is done drinking, the bowl snaps back into place so you can hook the bottle onto your belt and go on your merry way. I paid $8.99 for the bottle in the store. It's $9.99 on the from Amazon.com. It's a dollar difference but it's priceless if you can't find one in your area.It comes with a belt clip and a carrying strap so you can choose whether to clip it to your belt or carry it around your neck.

This is the best doggie travel item I have in my collection to date and it was a very timely find. Oh, and my dog is happy that he doesn't have to be wary of flaming whiskers.