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Honda Element & your pooch

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

From Andrew Clark, Globe & Mail

Stopped at a red light, I turn to my right and catch a glimpse of the occupants in the adjacent car. There are two of them. The driver is a middle-aged woman with a glazed expression on her face; her lips drawn into a taut grin, her teeth the colour of brushed concrete. A small dog sits on her lap peering through the steering wheel. It could be a terrier. It’s tough to tell.

Though outwardly content, there is a tangible unease simmering beneath the canine’s furry exterior. What had this dog done in its previous life to deserve such a fate? Investment banking? Tech support? Mass murder? Imagine being a mutt and finding yourself stuck in a co-dependent relationship that involves “helping” your “mommy” drive her car? Usually such creatures are forced to wear colourful hand-knitted vests. This one, at least, has been spared.

It’s time to pause and savour the stupidity. Here is a person so dim that she thinks it’s a good idea to place a live dog on her lap and go for a drive (a not-living dog would also be a distraction). She is an awe-inspiring monument epitomizing the many shades of dumb that will eventually lead our species to extinction. The light changes and off she goes.

“Adieu and safe journey my animal-loving friend,” I say in a whisper as she pulls away. “It’s people like you who make writing a column about driving worthwhile.”

It’s a special moment, to be sure, but hardly a rare one. Pet owners love bringing their furry friends everywhere and that means loading them into the car. So far, so okay. But what goes through the mind of a driver as he or she places a small animal on his or her groin? Even dogs know dogs don’t belong there. Driving a car with a dog (or cat) on your lap (or anywhere in your lap vicinity) is a very, very stupid thing to do. Are these folks so psychologically dependent on their pets that they cannot bear to be separated from them? Even the back seat is too far away? Do these animal lovers think, “Hey, I’m just about to drive an automobile, to navigate roads and highways at high speeds in a rolling hunk of steel; maybe if I put a small mammal on my lap that will help things out?”

Picture the exchange between man’s best friend and his emotionally crippled driver/owner.

Dog: “WTF? Why am I in the front seat? Does my owner not know dogs don’t belong in the front seat of an automobile?”

Driver: (mouthing the sounds) “A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K …”

Dog: “If I had opposable thumbs I would grab the wheel, put paw to pedal, and pull a Thelma and Louise right off a cliff.”

Driver: “L, M, N…N…N…N…”

Still, if basic common sense is not enough for you and you’re the kind of person who is instantly hypnotized by the words “statistics show,” “experts believe” or “survey says” a new study has been released that shows empirically pets should not roam free inside automobiles. The survey of 1,000 Yankee Doodle dog owners was conducted for the American Automobile Association (AAA) and the pet-restraint maker Kurgo. It revealed that pets are a frequent driving distraction. Two-thirds of those questioned copped to having their attention diverted by their dogs. Half said they had petted their dogs while driving with 20 per cent admitting they kept dogs lap-side when driving. Seven per cent claimed they fed their dogs while motoring and 5 per cent said they played with their dogs. Dog owners probably do a lot of other even more unseemly things but they weren’t asked about those.

If you think having a pet in the backseat is okay, think again. According to Beth Mosher, AAA director of public affairs, an “unrestrained 10-pound dog in a crash at 50 mph will exert roughly 500 pounds of pressure, while an unrestrained 80-pound dog in a crash at only 30 mph will exert 2,400 pounds of pressure. Imagine the devastation that can cause to your pet and anyone in the vehicle in its path.” The AAA suggests putting your animal in some kind of restraint. The doggie version of light bondage gear, I suppose. Some car companies offer built-in dog accessories. The Honda Element, for instance, comes with a “Dog-Friendly” package.

Personally, I find it tough to imagine cooking up a canine safe word and “restraining” a dog in the backseat. It seems evil. A dog in the backseat, its head out the window, jowls flapping in the breeze, slobber staining the glass, is a happy dog. Even someone as awful as I am can’t imagine taking away that kind of pure joy. And, after all, what’s endangering yourself and others when a dog’s happiness is at stake?

Woof.

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Stem cells for doggies?

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

Super-expensive pet medical treatments revealed

Stem cell transplants, state-of-the-art image-guided radiation, sophisticated diagnostic procedures to pinpoint everything from cancer to lung disease. New and improved health care for the uninsured or underinsured? Nope. Medical treatment for the nation’s pets, some of whom have a better shot at being healed than people living in the same state.

Last year, Americans spent $12 billion to pay their vet bills, according to The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. That’s twice what pet owners spent just 10 years ago.

For many people, investing in an ailing pet’s life “improves the quality of a human life immeasurably more than, say, buying a luxury car,” Dr. Patty Khuly, a vet at Miami’s Sunset Animal Clinic, told the AP.

These days, vets are using increasingly sophisticated medical techniques on the 77 million dogs, 90 million cats, and all the other pets that live in the U.S. The treatments are neck in neck with what humans can expect if they fall ill. The reason for all the high-tech pet care? “The changing role of the pet in our society,” Khuly told the AP.

The Animal Medical Center in Manhattan is home to a half-million-dollar, cutting-edge 3-D imaging scanner that was a present from a client whose pet was saved there. The AMC, which is a not-for-profit research and teaching facility, has 81 vets. No fewer than 27 have certification in fields like endoscopy, neurology, oncology, radiology and cardiology.

The center treats pets like Alpha, a Bernese mountain dog with terrible back pain, who gets electrical neuromuscular stimulation via a light laser. He also exercises on an underwater treadmill and lies beneath a heat pack to help his lumbo-sacral disease.

Painful arthritis in a pet now can be healed with a $4,000 stem cell transplant not approved for humans, according to the AMC. And a surgical procedure to repair dogs’ torn knee ligaments at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine is proving to be so successful it is now used to treat NFL players, according to the AP. Also pioneered at this school is an image-guided radiation technique that targets pet tumors and leaves surrounding tissue unharmed. Called TomoTherapy, it’s also used on people – several hundred machines are used globally on human cancers.

The AMC sees 40,000 patients a year and not all are cats and dogs. They’ve also treated lambs, iguanas and even a ring-tailed lemur- a primate that hails from Madagascar.

Who’s paying for all this care? Some people have pet insurance, some have interest-free credit cards for vet bills, and hospitals offer payment plans. And for those who can’t afford treatment for pets with illnesses that could prove fatal, the AMC raises funds.

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On the iPad, nobody knows you’re a dog. Or a cat.

Monday, April 19th, 2010

iggy investigates an ipad

A Dog Tests the iPad – Tested.com

A pair of domestic animals put Apple’s latest creation to the test

The first, featuring Eric Rautio’s cat Iggy (3 million YouTube hits and counting), is the most interesting, especially when Iggy starts fiddling around with Smule’s Magic Piano. You never know when you start playing Magic Piano duets with strangers in cyberspace who’s banging on the other keyboard.

Will Smith’s Corgi Chloe (just under 1 million hits) isn’t quite as much fun, perhaps because, like so many Apple (AAPL) skeptics, she doesn’t see the use case.

The videos, via Geek System, are available on YouTube here and above.

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2010 Honda Element caters to dog lovers

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

My only regret with this past week’s test vehicle was that I didn’t have a dog to take along with me.

The vehicle was the 2010 Honda Element EX with the new Dog Friendly package (a $995 option), designed to allow your pooch(es) to ride along with you in relative comfort and safety.

I thought about borrowing a dog from my son, who has five, but my five cats voted down that idea unanimously.

When I introduced them to the interior of the Dog Friendly Element, the most persnickety one, a gray longhair named Lady (who rules the other four), gave me a look that clearly said, “This car smells like a big, stinky dumb dog.”

None of them seemed to be up for a ride so they went back into the house, where, of course, they all promptly went back to sleep.

But if I’d had a dog, as eager as most of them are to go for a road trip, I’m not sure he or she would have been content to ride in the nylon kennel (cage) that takes up the bulk of the cargo compartment.

Most of the dogs I’ve ever had in my car wanted to ride shotgun, at least if they couldn’t be in my lap. Just keeping them in the back seat was difficult enough.

The Element’s Dog Friendly package is a pretty good idea, nonetheless. With 39 percent of U.S. households owning dogs and the canine population totaling about 74.8 million, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, there is no shortage of four-legged passengers for our vehicles.

Honda first showed the Element with the Dog Friendly package at last April’s New York auto show, complete with the rear kennel and other features designed to help keep Fido comfortable and safe in the car.

The production version arrived this past fall, adding yet another dimension to the boxy four-passenger Element, which joined Honda’s lineup in 2003. Aimed at young men with active lifestyles, the Element has developed a larger following and can be seen being driven by men and women, young and old, and even being towed behind the motor homes of anyone who still can afford the fuel for one of those.

Among the features of the Dog Friendly package are the Water-Resistant FXC (Fabric for Extreme Conditions) that covers the front and rear seats — which includes a dog pattern — and the rubber, waterproof “Dog Bone” floor mats. The nylon and mesh kennel, which takes up almost all of the cargo space, includes a soft pad covered in the same fabric as the seats.

Missing from the production model, though, were the dog safety restraints that Honda included in the show vehicle in New York and had said would be part of the package.

But it does include a spill-resistant water bowl in the kennel organizer, which holds the kennel bed several inches off the cargo floor; an electric fan that plugs into a 12-volt outlet in the cargo area; and a folding aluminum ramp, which tucks way under the kennel and pulls out so the dog can walk into or out of the back of the vehicle without jumping. That’s great for small dogs and older ones with hip dysplasia (such as my old Lab had) and other mobility problems.

Paw-print badges on the front fenders and a Dog Friendly emblem on the tailgate let people know that the vehicle has the special pet package. Those who purchase the package also get a leash and collar, dog tag, doggie-waste bag dispenser and a tote bag.

The Element itself received a makeover just last year that improved on the already user-friendly interior and odd exterior design.

Built on the chassis of the popular Honda CR-V, the newest Element became boxier.

Changes for 2010 include the elimination of the manual transmission, which previously was available only on the SC model (and originally was standard on the base LX). Now, the only transmission is a five-speed automatic.

Prices for 2010 begin at $20,525 (plus $710 freight) for the base LX front-wheel-drive model and $21,775 for the LX four-wheel drive.

Other models include the midlevel EX, which starts at $22,635 with two-wheel drive and $23,885 with four-wheel drive, and the sporty SC, which starts at $24,320 and comes only in front-wheel drive.

Top of the line is the EX with navigation ($25,585), which is the model we tested. The Dog Friendly package is offered only on the EX model, but can be added to front- or four-wheel-drive models with or without navigation.

Under the hood of all Element models is the same 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine found in the CR-V, rated at 166 horsepower and 161 foot-pounds of torque. It sounds like there’s not a lot of power, but that’s deceiving. We tested the Element on a long drive that included interstate highways and two-lane mountain roads, and the vehicle never felt like it was lacking power.

The Honda Real Time 4WD system, which is always on and requires no driver input, is not intended for serious off-road driving as it doesn’t include low-range gearing. But it is suitable for limited trail use, such as the dirt road we tried in a state wildlife management area. The only drawback was the Element’s ground clearance, which is 6.8 inches — not enough to clear many rocks and other obstacles in a serious trail.

EPA ratings are 20 mpg city/25 highway for the models with front-wheel drive and 19/24 with four-wheel drive.

There are numerous storage bins and beverage holders inside the Element. They include a large three-bin tray above the glove box, a modular three-compartment overhead storage bin, seatback storage (in the EX and SC models), six hooks for strapping down bulky items in the rear, and storage pockets in all four doors.

EX and SC models are available with the Honda navigation system with voice activation and a rearview camera, included on our tester, and there is a USB connection for uploading digital media to the audio system.

The vehicle still has room for only four passengers. While the vehicle is intended mostly for single young men who probably would rarely need five-passenger seating, the reality is that lots of people like the Element, and more of them would buy it if it had room for three passengers in the back.

It still has the rear suicide-door arrangement, too, in which the small rear side doors can be opened to the rear only after the front doors have been opened. This allows for the loading of bulky cargo — and big dogs — through the side, although the rear hatch opens wide enough to accept large items, as well.

All models come with air conditioning, which also has a micron air-filtration system.

Standard on the LX is a four-speaker AM/FM/CD audio system; EX and SC models get an upgraded 270-watt system with MP3/WMA playback, a jack for an iPod or other device, steering wheel-mounted controls, seven speakers (including a 6.5-inch subwoofer in the bottom of the instrument panel) and XM satellite radio.

Safety features on all models include electronic stability control, four-wheel antilock disc brakes, seat-mounted side air bags for the front, roof-mounted side-curtain air bags for both rows and a tire-pressure monitoring system.

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Mandatory Insurance Proposed for UK Dogs

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

UK crackdown on dangerous dogs could make insurance, microchips mandatory for all – will Canada be next?

A chip for Spot? In a country where guns are tightly controlled and even carrying a kitchen knife can bring prison time, some thugs use dogs to menace their victims. Now the British government is proposing that dog owners be forced to get microchips and take out insurance for their pets.

Postal workers were delighted by the proposal announced Tuesday. But opponents complained it would impose a financial penalty on innocent pet owners — while criminals with violent animals would simply shirk the law.

The plan risks “penalizing millions of law-abiding dog owners with the blunt instrument of a dog tax,” warned opposition lawmaker Nick Herbert.

Home Office Secretary Alan Johnson said there was “no doubt that some people breed and keep dogs for the sole purpose of intimidating others.”

“It is this sort of behavior that we are determined to stop,” he told reporters. Use of microchips would help trace the owners of dogs involved in attacks, while insurance would mean that victims of dog attacks are compensated for their injuries, he said.

Hospital admissions and court cases involving dangerous dogs have been on the rise in Britain, a nation whose canine population numbers 8 million. In London, court cases have climbed, from 35 in 2002-2003 to 719 in 2008-2009, according to the Metropolitan Police.

Dog fighting complaints have also soared tenfold since 2004, according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which reported 284 cases in 2008. Some 6,000 postal workers are bitten each year.

Dog attacks that have killed at least five children since 2006 have also kept the issue in the headlines. Last year, a 4-year-old was mauled to death by a pit bull at his grandmother’s house in northern England and a 3-month-old was killed by a Staffordshire bull terrier and a Jack Russell at his grandmother’s home in South Wales.

Ryan O’Meara, chief editor of K9 Magazine, said the government’s plan would not solve the problem of dangerous dogs attacking humans.

“There is nothing in this that is preventative,” he said. “If you put a chip in a dangerous dog, the bite will hurt you just as much.”

“The focus should be on education, and stopping this at the source — the breeders who supply dangerous dogs,” he said.

Training for owners is essential, said O’Meara, noting that Switzerland requires prospective dog owners to pass a test. “The country says, if you want to own an animal, we will force you to be responsible,” he said.

Still, Britain’s proposal was largely welcomed by animal welfare groups. The RSPCA said it has long supported microchips — primarily as a means of reuniting lost pets with their owners. The devices, about the size of a grain of rice, are painlessly inserted between a dog’s shoulder blades and details about the owner are easily readable by scanners.

While microchips run between $15 (10 pounds) and $52 (35 pounds), insurance is far pricier — and could cost pet owners hundreds of dollars a year, especially for high-risk breeds.

Most pet insurers offer third-party liability insurance wrapped into larger plans that also cover vet fees and emergency care. Petplan, Britain’s largest pet insurer, said that for a Labrador in southeast England, coverage costs $34 (23 pounds) a month and would be pricier in London.

Sanctions imposed on those who refuse to comply weren’t spelled out. It was also unclear when, or even if, the proposed legislation would become law. It must undergo a consultation period — typically 12 weeks — which means it is unlikely to reach Parliament before Britain’s general election, which must be called by June 3.

A host of European countries — including Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Croatia, Italy and Portugal — have introduced mandatory microchips in recent years. Mandatory dog insurance is in place in parts of Switzerland and Germany.

Many Londoners supported the idea of microchips for their pets.

“You can find them easier if they get lost,” said Claire Stringer, 35, a professional dog-walker looking after miniature schnauzer Bibi, who has a microchip.

She also supported making people take out insurance against dogs attacking people or other animals.

“I’ve heard too many dog horror stories where some poor dog has been savaged by a pit bull or a Staff — dogs that don’t like other dogs.”

Fiona Terry, an actor and interior designer carrying bichon frise Pico, also supported microchips.

“Why not? It doesn’t hurt them and it means you can find them if they get lost or stolen,” she said. “If you care about your dog, you want to know where they are.”

She said the problem wasn’t with certain breeds of “dangerous” dog, but with the way the animals were raised.

Still, even fluffy Pico could be a threat, she said.

“I always tell people, don’t touch him, because his first instinct is to protect me. He looks cute, but he is still a dog.”

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Compost your Pet Waste

Friday, March 5th, 2010

We were so concerned about our dog poop contributing to water pollution for some of these reasons:

- Stormwater carries pet waste and other pollutants directly into waterways.
- Pet waste can release ammonia into the water which can kill fish and other aquatic life. At the same time, it can stimulate excessive growth of algae and other aquatic weeds.
- lllegal to send to landfills in many states.
- The typical dog produces 274 pounds of waste each year, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
- Unfortunately, if you put Lassie’s waste in a plastic bag, it takes up to 100 years to decompose.

So – what can you do? Here are three solutions for you to consider:

1> NatureMill Pet-Friendly Automatic Composter

- Specially tuned for pet waste: lower air flow, mixing, and heat than our other composters, to avoid drying out or over processing the compost.
- Compost automatically discharged when ready.
- Great solution for city living and apartment and condo residents who want to stop sending all that kitchen waste to the dump.
- Can be used indoors or out.
- Plugs into a standard power outlet.
- 50 cents a month to run. 10 watts of power.

2> Green Cone Composting System

- Stainless steel components for continuous heavy loads.
- Ideal for large families, gourmet cooks, offices, or small restaurants.
- Available in designer colors.
- Foot pedal for convenient hands-free operation.
- Security lock feature included.

3> Tumleweed Pet Poo Converter

- Handle droppings of 2 medium dogs
- Easy to use compact unit
- Worm Farm
- Power of nature to recycle pet waste
- Worms eat bacteria so odor free
- No chemicals used

So no more excuses – help the world and composte your dog waste!

Cheers,
Muttnik

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Canine cacophony: Dogs don’t like the ‘Law & Order’ theme. In fact, they hate it!

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Have you seen the multitude of YouTube clips of dogs absolutely freaking out whenever they hear the theme music to TV’s “Law & Order”? Apparently this is a rather common doggie reaction to the familiar and iconic song, judging by the sheer number of them. Do a Google search for “Law and Order” and “dogs” and you’ll get tons of video results. Clearly dogs do not like this song!

In the last week this story was covered on Boing Boing, “The Rachel Maddow Show,” Huffington Post and ABC News. I think this qualifies as a widespread societal problem (or at least a popular new Internet meme…).

But where there is a problem, there is often a solution. Fellow dog lovers, behold My Pet Speaker:

Designed to eliminate these unsettling frequencies, My Pet Speaker features an Omni directional speaker with a 4” drive unit and cone reflector which disburses the music in 360 degrees recreating how animals hear in nature. By producing limited frequencies and featuring a soft bass design for listening comfort, your pets will not be startled or disturbed by jarring volumes and piercing sounds that put them on alert. My Pet Speaker keeps these alarming frequencies within the comfort range of your pet’s hearing. This allows you to use your entire music library to fill you and your pets’ environment with a sense of calm and relaxation.

Admittedly my own pampered pooch tends to freak out whenever I play certain music. Unlike his owner, my Chihuahua seems to detest the music of Frank Zappa, for instance, and does an annoyed, frenzied pirouette every time I slap on a Mothers of Invention CD. Maybe I need to invest in one of these speakers, too, to keep the peace in our household.

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Rover’s woofs now limited to 140 characters

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

Just when you thought Twitter had broken the limits of stupidity with products like Twoddler, which lets tots send short messages, Mattel is making sure it really does go to the dogs.

The toy giant’s Puppy Tweets turns your pooch’s woofs into tweets so you can keep up with its busy daily schedule of eating, sleeping, and destroying your slippers.

Available soon from Amazon for about $30, Puppy Tweets consists of a collar tag with integrated motion and sound sensors that’s linked to your home computer via Wi-Fi. A USB receiver is included.

The tag will send a tweet to your dog’s Twitter account whenever the animal moves, barks, or naps.

Nope, making a mess on the carpet doesn’t merit a tweet. Needless to say, you’d have to really, really love your dog to crave this level of detail about its daily existence.

Mattel’s elves have programmed the 6-ounce canine communicator, which reminds me of the wacky Japanese dog translator Bowlingual from Tomy, with more than 500 tweet phrases like “I finally caught that tail I’ve been chasing and…OOUUUCHH!”

If you like Hallmark-grade humor, this could work for you. Also, it might be interesting to see who would actually sign up to follow your hound’s Twitter account.

Then again, an upstart cat named Sockington apparently has more than 1.5 million Twitter followers. Puppy Tweets may be your dog’s chance to even the score.

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Dog whisperer whispering with a Swiffer?

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Teaching Pet-Friendly Homes New Cleaning Tricks

In “Dog Whisperer” with Cesar Millan, now in its sixth season on the National Geographic Channel, several episodes have featured vacuum cleaners that send dogs into a barking frenzy. With tactics like placing their food bowls next to vacuums that are not in use, Mr. Millan helped reverse the behavior.

Now Swiffer, the 11-year-old Procter & Gamble brand, is hiring Mr. Millan to help with a different sort of behavior modification: getting consumers to forgo traditional floor cleaning devices and buy Swiffer products.

“Mops and brooms are really what we’re going after,” said Marchoe Northern, a Swiffer brand manager, adding that women were the target consumers. “It’s really about habit adaption at first — getting the Swiffer in her house — and then habit formation.”

“I was using the Swiffer long before they approached me, so for me it was a no-brainer,” Mr. Millan said in an interview by phone. “I came into my marriage with a pack of dogs, and my wife said she didn’t want the smell in the house, so I’m the one who cleans the house.”

Swiffer estimates that about half of the consumers it wants to reach have pets. That is consistent with findings from Packaged Facts, a market research company, indicating 49.7 percent of American households included a dog or cat in 2009, up from 45.4 percent in 2003.

Mr. Millan will be featured in online marketing, including providing dog tips on the Swiffer Web site and its Facebook page, but there are no immediate plans for him to appear in print or television advertising. For the next several months, he will primarily promote the SweeperVac, which sells for $39.99 and combines Swiffer disposable electrostatic cloths with a rechargeable upright vacuum.

“The vacuum allows you to pick up big stuff like kibble, and the Swiffer cloth on the bottom picks up hair,” Ms. Northern said.

In a television commercial produced by the Kaplan Thaler Group, part of the Publicis Groupe, that had its premiere this month, a woman discards her broom outside.

“Switch to the new and improved Swiffer SweeperVac, and you’ll dump your old broom,” a voiceover says. “But don’t worry, he’ll find someone else.” At that, the broom and a pink flamingo in the yard begin to sway to “Who’s That Lady” by the Isley Brothers.

Inside the kitchen, meanwhile, the SweeperVac inhales kibble near a dog bowl, making it the third of five current Swiffer spots that highlight pets. The two others feature the original Swiffer removing hair near a dog bed and the Swiffer Duster tackling cat hair.

Sales of Swiffer products, which also include a wet-mop system, totaled $325.4 million in the 52 weeks ended Jan. 24, according to Information Resources, whose figures exclude Wal-Mart. Swiffer spent $95 million on advertising for the first nine months of 2009, an increase of 21 percent over the $78.3 million spent in the same period in 2008, according to TNS Media Intelligence.

•

While cleaning brands have customized products for pets for decades, with Arm & Hammer introducing a carpet deodorizer with a “pet fresh” scent in 1981, marketing efforts are booming as more people consider cats and dogs part of the family and a beagle is less likely to be found in a doghouse than on the sofa.

Cameron Woo, publisher of The Bark magazine, said advertisements from cleaning brands had grown in the “double digits” in each of the last three years, growth he attributed both to increasing “germ phobia” and demand for less toxic cleaners. (One advertiser, PawSafe, markets a toilet cleaner free of harsh chemicals, so a dog can drink out of the commode more safely.)

Several vacuum brands offer models for pet owners, but none as extensively as Bissell, the 134-year-old cleaning products company whose offerings are sold at Petco and PetSmart.

Bissell’s five models of pet vacuums include the Pet Hair Eraser and the SpotBot Pet Deep Cleaner, a compact steam cleaner to be placed over an animal mishap to clean it unattended.

Bissell’s ShedAway, a metal-toothed tool at the end of a vacuum attachment, draws pet hair into the vacuum so it does not fall onto rugs and furniture. Another product, the Drool Cleaner, is for sliding doors and windows where pets keep watch exuberantly: a spray container has a small attached brush and squeegee to, according to the Bissell Web sit, cut “through drool, smudges and paw prints.”

Bissell, which also advertises on Petfinder.com and has a pet section on its Web site, runs an annual Most Valuable Pet contest, where pets’ photos are entered for a chance to be featured on Pet Hair Eraser vacuum packaging and win $10,000 for an animal charity of the pet owner’s choice. In 2008 and 2009, the contest drew more than 100,000 entries.

“We try to think of ourselves as pet owners and pet lovers, and then we become better pet marketers,” said James A. Krzeminski, executive vice president and chief customer officer of Bissell Homecare.

•

As part of Swiffer’s partnership with Mr. Millan, the brand will be featured on his Facebook page, which has more than 195,000 fans.

Mr. Millan said that in yet-to-be filmed videos on Swiffer’s Web site, he will demonstrate how to use Swiffer products to clean floors without agitating pets.

“To me it’s how can I help people make this cleaning tool pet-friendly,” Mr. Millan said. “A lot of people who put the dog somewhere else before they clean up don’t realize how to have a more harmonious relationship with the tools.

“Dogs have very sensitive ears, and I don’t want my pack to get nervous about this new tool that I’m using.”

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Puppy Tweets – turn your dog into a Twitter hound!

Monday, February 15th, 2010

Puppy Tweets is a new “toy” from Mattel. Don’t worry, it’s not the dog above whose lack of face is disturbing. It’s a device that attaches to your dog’s collar and monitor’s his or her physical activity all day long. When it detects new activity, or no activity at all, it will send out a tweet from your dog’s Twitter account about what the he/she is up.

This way you will know what your pooch is up to all day long. It’s available in pink or blue. The collar device runs on a wi-fi connection, and a USB receiver needs to be plugged in, and your computer turned on for the device to send out tweets.

Right now the system comes with over 500 different tweets, and more tweets will be available to download.

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