An entire decade...

*I've got a very important announcement for all our lovely readers! (Those of you following us on facebook got a hint a few days ago) SheSpeaksBark is moving...and after today (this post) blogspot location will no longer be where we call our online 'home'. I'm inviting you to join us in our excitement as we make this transition (our very own domain name!) to www.shespeaksbark.com  

Be sure to update your readers and/or bookmarks, re-subscribe by email (from the new site) and keep in touch with us. (Any questions on how to do so? Email me: shespeaksbark@yahoo.com)  All big announcements and technicalities aside, lets get on with today's regularly scheduled programming!

Bear's 10th birthday is quickly approaching, and I've been searching for various ways of celebrating such a special day. SheSpeaksBark just got our very own Pinterest account, and I've been using it to organize some ideas for his big day:

I love the idea of Bear in a bow-tie. I seriously need to get my craft on and make him one!

{Via}

I adore this four part collage! Those over-sized jars full of balls and bones are to die for! I'd never be able to give out bones to doggie friends...Bear is too much of a control freak. But it's a nice idea!

{Via}

I also really love the idea of making a little birthday gift basket, like this one from Etsy. A new bowl is already going to be a part of Bear's little birthday present so I'm going to have to give this idea some thought...

{Via}

Good 'ol Martha's done it again! I love love this meatloaf birthday cake made with mashed potatoes, peas and carrots and I know Bear would too! {Recipe is actually for humans, you'd have to eliminate the onions to make this dog friendly}

{Via}

Am I crazy to want to plan a little something for my furball? Do you celebrate your dogs birthday? What do you do to celebrate their special day? 


Psst: We'd so super love it if you'd connect with us by: following us on pinterest, liking us on facebook, and twitter. We're always looking to meet new friends!

How to: clip black nails

Why pay your vet $10-$15 just to clip your dogs nails? You can easily do this yourself. At home. Today. And I'm going to show you how...

Clipping your dogs black nails is not as hard as many make it out to be. With a little preparation, and a few deep breaths you'll be well on your way to success. You may want to start to prep your confidence by reading our basic guide to nail clipping. Then round up your pooch, a pal, and a pair of clippers to get started. Have your pal sit with your dog and pet them with long, calming strokes to keep your pup at ease for the whole process.

Start with the innermost nail, and work your way outward across the paw. I'd suggest trying to clip about 1/8-1/4 of an inch off during each clipping. I always recommend "cut less, more often" until you get the hang of things. Meaning if you clip off just the tiniest tip of your dogs nails the first few times, and then have to clip her nails again the next week, its OK! Going slow is the best way that you can build both your own confidence, and that of your dog. You'll both only get better with practice.

If you're concerned about clipping the quick and causing your dog to bleed, you can pick up a small vial of kwik stop (flour works absolutely great in a pinch). Kwik stop is a syptic powder that stops the bleeding when it's applied to the nail. Rest assured, a bleeding nail is not the end of the world!

If you're looking for a pair of new nail clippers for a medium/large dog, I highly recommend these. After using literally hundreds of different pairs of clippers over the years they're my absolute favorite. I prefer this style of clipper as opposed to the 'old school' or guillotine-style clippers. The old school clippers make it too easy to over-clip if your dog struggles or moves the tiniest bit.

With a smaller dog, you may find it easier to have them lay on your lap as I usually do with Scooter. I use (human) toenail clippers to clip his nails instead of traditional dog nail clippers which are simply too big for his petite feet.

Scooter also happens to have a few white nails mixed in amongst his black ones. If this is the case for your dog too, you can easily use their white nail to gauge how far to clip into the neighboring black nails. Since you can see the light pink color of the quick in a white nail, you're easily able to know when to stop. But seriously, it's as easy as that!

Don't you have some nails to be clipping? What are you waiting for?

Smart Tags

I bought these smart tags for Scooter and Bear from Fab.com while they were running a short sale, but they're also available here on amazon. The idea is simple. Each tag has its own ID # and password that comes printed right on the cardboard backing, as well as an individual QR code on the tag itself. Pet owners simply log on and create a free profile for their pet. There are no membership fees to maintain the online profile, and you can even use an old tag on a new pet. If Fido ever turns up missing his rescuer would be able to scan the tag using a QR scanner app on a smart phone, and pull the details to reunite canine and owner.

I think these scannable ID tags are wonderfully clever because cell phones are literally everywhere these days. As more people transition to using a smart phone device these tags become more relevant by the second.

Scooter & Bear are wearing their Lost 'N Found pet ID tags in addition to their regular name-tags, rabies tags, and city tags that are all required by law. Plus, the boys are microchipped too.

In my humble opinion this scannable ID tag has a bit of a leg up on the traditional microchip. Microchips are great, and I'm their biggest supporter. BUT the instant gratification provided by this new tag just can't be beat. The single downside to a microchip is that you must take the dog to a veterinarian or animal shelter for the chip to be read. These revolutionary tags take out the middle man, which will allow owners and pets to be reunited in a matter of minutes or hours rather than days. The Lost 'N Found tags are available in three sizes, and five colors to cater to dog lovers everywhere.

In other news... I've recently updated the amazon store! We're up to seven pages of awesome dog products that I either: own & love, or wish I owned. Be sure to check it out, there are links to tons of great stuff saved in one handy location!

Please note: I wasn't paid or perked to write this review. I came across these Scannable ID tags independently in my own search. I thought they were awesome and wanted to share the awesomeness with all of you. Also worth mentioning: I receive a small referral commission for any purchases you make by clicking through SheSpeaksBarks Amazon Store.

Mini-Me

I think Scooter probably needs this look-a-like stuffed toy. Don't you?

Have you heard of "Boo" the pomeranian? He's apparently the "World's cutest dog". Yah, he's basically Scooter's doggie-idol ;)

"Boo" may hold the title of "World's Cutest Dog"...but it's quite obvious the last vote was taken before Scooter was born....

 ^Someone's off to strut his stuff...He's got a new title to strive for now ;)

Wheremydogsat yo?

The array of social media sites available to dog owners has really exploded in the last few years. Your dog can now have their own Facebook page (mine do! Do yours?), dogster profile, or twitter account to name a few.

Well, here's a new one for you: Wheremydogsat.com

Started by three dog-loving friends, Wheremydogsat.com is a mobile web application for dog lovers who are seeking to connect with other dog owners in their area. Users simply set up a profile with some basic contact information and set their location (by zipcode) to get started. And its free!

As you can see from the screen shots, this app really is your one-stop shop for getting out and about with your dogs! Wheremydogsat allows users to search for locations in their vicinity, add dog lovin' friends (and send them messages), and 'check into' various locations from their smartphone (like foursquare and facebook).

But the fun doesn't stop there. Oh no. Wheremydogsat is even able to find a pet-store or veterinarian for you. I can see this coming in extremely handy if you were out of town and needed to pick up a few dog supplies, or heaven-forbid, to find an emergency vet. To me, its nice knowing that I've got a dog-oriented resource available at my fingertips. You can change your current location very easily, making this a very relevant app for those who travel with their dogs regularly.

On our next road trip I certainly plan to use wheremydogsat to find a dog park where we can get out and stretch our legs a bit. What social media sites do your dogs belong to? Any of you have a wheremydogsat profile set up already? How do you find dog-friendly areas in your town? We'd love to hear from you!