The Doggie Park

My apologizes for being late in announcing the Dog of Christmas 2008. I have been suffering from the flu and not able to handle getting on line to make the announcement. I want to thank everyone who has entered and all my readers that voted. Without further delay we are proud to announce the winner.

The dog with the most votes and ready to step up to the title of Dog of Christmas 2008 is Caillou. Caillou will be receiving a leather collar and leash set from Doggie Stylish , a custom T-shirt from ZoZo Tees and an award certificate from us.

Caillou is a Boston Terrier that sure knows how to sport the Santa Hat.

Alright everyone the entry deadline has come and gone. My children have reviewed the entries into the contest and they have spoken. So now it is time for the voting to begin and let the public decide who will be the Dog of Christmas 2008 winner. To view the pictures in full size just click the thumbnail for the contestant you want to see. Once you have decided who you are going to vote for all you need to do is scroll down to the voting box and cast your vote.

Voting Ends at 11:59 PM on December 31^st. The winner will receive a leather collar and leash set from Doggie Stylish , a custom t-shirt from ZoZo Tees and an award certificate announcing them as the winner. In addition the winning dog will get their own featured blog post here.

Dot:

Amazing Gracie:

Buddy Rahn:

Caiden:

Caillou:

Cast Your Vote Now
( polls)

In honor of Christmas I decided to bring you a little video joy. What better way to warm the heart and get into the spirit of Christmas than a video of a beloved pet enjoying Christmas. This video is really really cute. It is still pictures put into a slide show video with the song “ Last Night I Saw Santa Claus” by New Kids on the Block. The dogs in this video are done up in the spirit of the holiday and I swear some of them look like they are truly having a blast in front of the camera. So take a moment to let these doggies warm your heart.

It is time to announce the next contest here at The Doggie Park. Our next contest is The Dog of Christmas 2008. Below you will find the official rules for this contest, how to enter, prizes and how the winner will be chosen.

What we are looking for: Photos of your dog that says Christmas. Be creative with your pictures. Just let your imagination go and try to capture your idea of Christmas.

How to Enter: email your pictures along with some information about your dog to thedoggiepark@yahoo.com.

How winners will be chosen: Just like our last contest 5 entrants will be chosen out of all the entrants and then these 5 entrants will be placed on the site and up for public vote poll style. Since we have 5 boys we are going to let each child pick one entrant to place on the site for the voting. Another words our children will be the ones deciding who get to make it to the public voting part of the contest.

However if we have 5 entrants or less enter this contest like we did the Halloween contest, then those entrants will all be placed on the site for voting. Example: We only had 2 entrants for the Halloween contest and both of them were placed up for voting. But we are hoping this will not be the case this time.

Once we have the entrants placed on the site for voting the winner will then be the one with the most public votes by the deadline.

Contest Deadlines: The deadline for entering the contest is December 6^th at 11:59 pm Central Time. Voting will end December 31^st at 11:59 pm Central Time and the winner will be announced January 1^st.

Prizes: We have some great prizes for our winner for this contest.

1. A leather collar and leash set is being donated by Karen Friesecke from Doggie Stylish .

Doggie Stylish creates some of the greatest collars around. Unique beaded collars all the way to creative fabric collars. I want to thank them for donating a leather collar and leash set to our up coming contest winner.

2. A custom t-shirt is being donated by Shawna at ZoZo Tees

Sample T-shirt:

The winner will get to choose from one of their pre-existing fun slogans or create pne of their own.  These durable quality doggy tees come in various colors and sizes to fit your big or small dog, or even your daschund!  See www.zozotees.com for more information.

3. An Award Certificate. Along with a blog post dedicated to the winning dog.

Visit our prize sponsors:

Doggie Stylish 

ZoZo Tees 

Please make sure to use a valid email address is this is how I will contact the top 5 contestants who move on to the voting phase. I do not need your mailing address at this time, I will only need your mailing address if you are announced the winner.

Sorry it took so long to post this but I was having issues with my internet. We had a great contest going this Halloween with two great contestants. It was up in the air the whole time as to whom the winner would be as both contestants received an abundance of votes. But everything great must come to an end and the contest winner was chosen by public vote and is ready to be announced. So without further delay -

PLEASE MEET the 2008 Doggie Halloween Competition Winner:

Lassie

Lassie is a Rottweiler and Labrador mix who just turned 4 this September. Lassie loves spending time playing and being petted. Pigeons and cats beware as Lassie loves to chase you. In addition to all of this Lassie loves to eat. We are glad Lassie loves to eat as we have gotten Lassie the most scrumptious gift for winning the competition.

Puppy mills hurt all of us, not just the animals involved. They are a part of our society that operates in the darkest recesses of humanity. I have dedicated this blog to not only bringing you fun dog pictures and videos, contest and general dog information but also to bring you the worst part of what goes on in the world when it comes to our loving four legged companions. Ban Puppy Mills is a blog that is dedicated to helping stop this form of cruelty to dogs and puppies. It is there that you can find a wealth of information on the fight to stop puppy mills in their tracks. For those who view puppy mills the way that we do, head over there and learn more about this growing problem, get up dates on how towns are progressing in stopping this cruelty and also how you can jump in the ring and help out as well.

Hey everyone just wanted to post an update. There is only 19 days left to vote for your favorite Halloween Contestant so get your votes in. We are also currently working on a Christmas Contest for the blog. We still need to work out the details of the contest and what prize or prizes will be offered. At the present we do everything out of our pockets, we have no sponsors for prizes. We may look into getting some sponsors for the Christmas contest so that we can offer up some better prizes. We still haven’t decided on that yet though. Once we have that all worked out we will open the contest up for entry.  Just like the Halloween contest we do know that the winner will be determined by public vote. That part will never change because we value the input of our readers.

I want to also thank all my readers who have come and voted on the Halloween contest. You guys have made this contest great.

St Bernard dogs can be lovable and make great companions. However, if you have to deal with the massive shedding all over your clothes when you get close to your big hairy doggie this love can start to wear thin. More so for the ones that have a St Bernard for an inside dog with hair shedding all over the house. Today we are going to deal with grooming your St Bernard because with the proper grooming you can cut down the amount of hair that goes almost everywhere.

Brushing: This may seem tedious but if you brush your dog everyday you will cut down on the amount of hair that goes everywhere. I recommend using a designated spot to do the brushing that way all the hair that comes out during brushing is in a controlled easy to clean up area.

Bathing:  This should be done only as needed. If you over bath your St Bernard you will strip the coat of the oils that it needs. Normal baths will help to reduce the amount of hair that falling out all over the place. I recommend a routine of baths twice a month only for your St Bernard, unless your dog has found a nice mud puddle to play in. I have heard people who have used human conditioner on their dogs to keep the coat soft. So if you feel inclined to do this just make sure that you have completely rinsed all the conditioner out of the dog’s coat when done.  

Are you a dog owner who is single and trying to find that perfect match, not only for you but for your dog as well? It can be frustrating trying to find that perfect man or woman who will accept your furry companion as a packaged deal. Well there is a way that you can find a date that will not only be a good match for you but will also love your dog as much as you do. Datemypet.com is a dating site geared for animal lovers who want to get out there and date but want to only date those who they know will accept Rover as part of the deal. So why not give this online dating site a try, who knows Rover just may gain a new parent while you gain some human love in your life.

One of the great members of an online dog group that I belong to posted about a horrible act called “Trunking”.  The member gave some insight into this horrible act and with that I went to the search engines and looked around for more information. I believe that this is something that everyone should be aware of.  Please don’t turn away and ignore this rising problem.

Trunking: This is a new form of dog fighting that is sweeping the nation.  Two dogs are thrown into the trunk of a car where they will remain to fight till the death.

Those involved in dog fighting are being prosecuted hard and Trunking is a new way to continue to hold dog fights while avoiding prosecution. The owners are driving around with their music blaring while the dogs are locked in the trunk fighting. The music is used to drown out the sounds of the fighting dogs. When the fighting stops the owners get out and throw the dead dog out of the trunk and declare the living but seriously injured dog the winner.

Law enforcement is working hard to try and stop “Trunking” but with the nature of the crime it is hard to detect and make an arrest. Law enforcement needs our help in protecting these helpless dogs. Please if your suspect “Trunking”, dog fighting or any other illegal animal fighting, step up and help your local law enforcement out by reporting it.

To Report “Trunking”, dog fights or other illegal animal fights call: 877-TIP-HSUS