Following the latest trends and products for dogs, cats, and other pets
This particular product is for pet lovers (dog lovers specifically) rather than the pets themselves (unless your pup has her ears pierced):
Sit-Stay earrings.
They’re handmade by a crafter on Etsy and would make a fun gift for an earring-wearing dog person.
“Each sterling silver dog was hand sawn, polished and soldered on to hand made sterling silver hoops.”
If you want to give your cat something more exciting to do than lounging around on the window sill, perhaps some cat toys are in order. Toys can be a fun way for cats to stimulate their minds and get some exercise as well, and even older kitties enjoy something new.
While I haven’t seen the “Peek-a-Prize” toy box in action, it looks like a fun way to entertain your feline friends (and unlike the crumpled newspaper ball on a string, it doesn’t require you to be a part of the game–just load this puppy up and let them at it).
Made from wood, the toy box encourages cats to capture their toys by fishing them out of strategically placed access holes. The unit comes with two balls, and you can buy others to stuff in there in sets of three.
$29 through Amazon:
There are all sorts of pet carriers you can get if you like to take your small dog, cat, ferret, etc. with you when you travel (or just stroll to the shops), but most of them have a handle, so you end up toting Fido or Fifi around like a piece of luggage. Even a ten-pound animal can be tiring to carry that way after a while, so how about replacing your pet carrier with a pet sling?
The Sling-Go Pet Sling, perhaps?
“Over-the-shoulder hammock style carrier slips on as easily as a handbag. Elasticized opening cinches your pet in close, for the important contact he needs. Leaves your hands free for doing other things. Tough 600-denier nylon with padded bottom, zippered pocket, adjustable shoulder strap, and collar clip.”
The pet sling can be used with pets up to 20 pounds and is available in red, blue, black, and green for $30 from Doctors Foster & Smith.
Looking for something colorful and fun to entertain your bird?
The Bored Bird Buster has lots of beads, bells, and doodads to keep your feathered friends interested.
The toy measures 3″ by 13″ and is suitable for parrots and other birds who need a little something to do during the day.
Hand-made by CooCooLady on Etsy, the colorful toy will cost you $11. Check out her shop for all sorts of variations of bird toys, balance beams, and other items to keep your feathered pet occupied in a healthy matter.
If your kitties are batting around little plastic balls full of catnip (or don’t have any good toys at all), maybe it’s time to spoil them a bit with a luxury model.
This handmade catnip cushion is made from a soft and velvety animal-print fabric that cats will love to snuggle up with. And the certified organic dried catnip inside will make it a doubly desirable toy.
Here are some addition words from the maker:
“My catnip cushions are strongly stitched, machine washable and refillable and ethically made in the UK. The catnip used is pure and potent, grown especially for me by a Certified Organical medicinal herb grower deep in rural France :-)”
Order from SparkiPuss
If you’ve got somewhere you want to keep Fido out of, then a pet gate is a practical purchase. If you shop the aisles of your local pet store, however, you may find the offerings a tad bland. Perhaps you should consider one of these decorative wrought iron pet gates, which can be custom made to feature your pet’s silhouette along the top.
Not only are these pet gates a little more decorative than your usual fare, but they’re also made of sturdy wrought iron, which makes them suitable for use indoors or outdoors.
From Guilford Ironworks in New York.
If you’ve got active dogs, it can be hard to tell them that they can’t run around full-steam on hot days. Yet they still need to get some exercise, so it can be hard confining walks and jogs to dawn and twilight hours. Perhaps what you need is a “Canine Evaporative Cooling Vest.”
You’ve seen dogs wearing sweaters and other clothes to keep them warm in the winter, right? Well, this is kind of the same deal, but this type of dog clothing is built to keep Fido cool.
“This vest employs evaporative cooling to keep dogs comfortable during the warm summer months. The vest is composed of three layers of polyester that combine hydrophilic and hydrophobic fibers that, when soaked in water and worn, conduct a dogs body heat outward while retaining cool water which is released slowly through evaporation, providing cooling for up to two hours, depending upon temperature, humidity, and your dogs activity level. The outer air mesh layer dissipates a dogs body heat through evaporation, the middle layer absorbs and stores the cooling water, and the inner layer cools the dog.”
$60 from Hammacher Schlemmer:
Canine Evaporative Cooling Vest
This isn’t the kind of item your cats are likely to benefit from (unless they’re intrigued by the colorful sun rays that dance on the floor when the sun shines through this), but it could be a fun gift for a pet lover. The stained glass sun catcher is hand made by a glass worker on Etsy.
“The kitty’s face is made with white opal glass along with dark grey transluscent glass and grey whispy glass for the ears. The nose is a pale purple amber mix and the eyes are green glass nuggets (globs) with handpainted pupils.”
$20 from LivingGlassArt
