Some Puppy To Love

The holidays are hectic. The shopping, the dinners, the packed living rooms and the variety of foods available, and the general sheer chaos of it all are a recipe for our pets to consume things they should not. Little fingers passing treats under the table and pups that help themselves to whatever drops to the floor can make your dog sick to her stomach, or worse. The following foods, which can cause afflictions in dogs, ranging from mild tummy distress to death, are seemingly innocent and mild foods that might easily be considered harmless. This makes it all the more important that these foods stay on your radar. Here are eight foods that dogs should not eat: Chocolate Luckily, many of us already know that chocolate is highly toxic for dogs. It’s the chemical theobromine that causes the distress. All types of chocolate are harmful. The worst offenders are dark chocolate, unsweetened baking chocolate, and chocolate mulch. Coffee Ok, so what dog is gonna drink coffee? Well

Image:  Flickr Creative Commons Dogs are naturally expressive creatures, and that’s partly why they make such wonderful companions. From the way they bark, growl or hold their heads, you can pretty much judge how they are feeling or even sometimes, what mood they are in. Often, we can learn even more about our dogs just from the state of their tails. Interestingly, a dog will not wag his/her tail when it is alone. Tail wagging, according to researchers, is a behavior that takes place exclusively when around others. A dog’s tail is an appendage of the vertebral column, and they typically contain between six and 23 mobile vertebrae. The direction in which they wag their tail is directed by either side of the brain, and depends on the dominant side of the brain in each individual dog. Moreover, how they move and hold their tails says a lot. Keep in mind that herding dogs move their tails less when working. As a whole, herding dogs also hold their tails lower than other groups

I admit that I enjoy receiving holiday cards with adorable puppies and dogs more than I do those with children. Is that terrible? The fact is that I just cannot resist a cute pup dressed up for the holidays. Last year, we dressed up our black lab, Django and our chihuahua, Hayley for Santa. The results were sickeningly cute. Having been there, done that with the kids’ holiday photo cards for years, we made some doggie cards last year. As I got to thinking of what we would do with our pups this year in terms of pictures, I realized how instantly I can become engrossed in holiday doggie photos, and decided to do a round-up of dogs waiting for Christmas and Hanukkah. Decked out in their favorite hats (and other gear), they are pretty gracious models (and I did already say how hideously cute they were, right?). I'm rocking this Santa hat on one ear.  Image: Flickr/  dee_r I promise I won't knock over the Menorah

Whether you’re giving a gift or giving back, check out the below list for some great ways to help our furry and feathered friends this holiday season, courtesy of the ASPCA: Adopt, Don’t Shop Make adoption your first option this holiday season! Avoid buying anything from pet stores that sell puppies because most of them come from puppy mills. Search for local adoptable animals. Help Local Shelters Help your local shelter by volunteering your time or finding out what supplies they need. You can also win a grant for your local shelter by entering our "Home for the Holidays" contest with Dogist and Subaru.