What is a dog show like for someone not competing:

1. If you don’t have a dog, you’ll still get to experience a lot. (And no stress.) You’ll get to be giddy as you walk around and see dogs quite literally EVERYWHERE. And while the smell isn’t always great, people are making sure there are no messes and that the smell isn’t too bad.
2. There are vendors everywhere, selling everything from jewelry, picture frames, to elite dog collars and beds. There are also dog show items for sale, such as special training accessories. While the dog-based jewelry is usually tacky, there are great deals on real gemstone jewelry going on.
3. The dogs at the dog show don’t bark. They are so well-behaved that they don’t need leashes (but they’re on them.) There are tiny, tiny dogs that you want to SMOOSH. There are also HUGE dogs that are so tall they seem like they could pass for a thin pony.
4. There is often a “meet the breeds” section roped off, at least there was here. And that’s a really great place, especially for kids. (Disclaimer: I have no kids but I still went in to pet the dogs!) The people are generally super friendly and open to talking about their breed of dog and giving you pointers if you want to buy a similar kind. They’re also just really interested in sharing their dog’s presence.
5. As people walk, I always asked if I wanted to pet a dog. Don’t just swoop in unless you don’t mind the person being annoyed with you. They might be busy, or have just groomed their pet. I think it’s always best to ask. And then don’t just pet. Ask about the name of the pet, acknowledge their owner!
6. There will be funny sights: from a giant poodle standing alone to a funny shirt that lights up. Be prepared for anything like that to happen. Try not to laugh unless you’re supposed to.

This woman was SO nice. And she had three pugs with her.

Here’s one of the courses.

I loved her shirt.

Friendly fido!

The girl behind the dog looks like Anna Popplewell, doesn’t she?

Isn’t this an adorable picture? Like owner, like dog!

Cutest lil dog!

ThinkGeek.com generously sent along this, one of their many interactive cat toys, for us to review with Frida and Posie. (Who are my cats.) This is an automatic laser toy that moves around, without making me have to do any of the moving. I know, you’re going to accuse me of being a lazy cat mom – but not before you judge me for thinking I’m a mom to my cats… But listen, sometimes I can’t engaged with the cats! Like when I’m doing chores, or sleeping, or watching important TV! That’s when it’s nice to have something that can keep the cats busy so they don’t knock over plants out of their vengeful. (And seriously, they do it to be vengeful, I’m certain of it!)

You put some batteries in this sucker, and can set the speed and the amount of time for the unit to be on. There are also 16 different “play combination” which is very important (but so far, still confusing to figure out.) I have the FroliBolt, but the problem is that the cats get bored of the automatic function since the one pattern seems to be pretty easy to figure out after a while. While I still recommend the FroliBolt, I recommend it more for the handheld use rather than the automatic one. The Dart is supposed to be a step up from the Bolt. I also love that it goes in 360 degrees, while the bolt only did about half that.

A  con with the Dart is that you can’t really use it with your own hand. I find the motor of the machine a bit loud, and the cats don’t really like to chase the laser the way they’ll chase the Bolt laser. I think it’s because it’s too fast, and the cats are more interested in attacking the unit since it’s the source of the light (they’re smart cats) and it’s moving around. No matter what, the cats are interested, at least. I think I might recommend the FroliBolt first. I hope this dart laser review has been helpful for pet owners!

The Dart is $29.99 at ThinkGeek.com, HERE and the FroliBolt is available for $19.99 from ThinkGeek.com, HERE

Disclosure: Item sent for review, there was no monetary compensation exchanged to reflect the outcome of said review.

I should have bought THIS years ago, instead of the 50 other useless cat toys that I brought home.

Even when this toy is turned off, Posie is in love with it, trying to get at it.

Fling Ama String Review

The installation is simple, three batteries, and you hang it from a door while attaching a cord to the back of the door. This sentence? Will make more sense when you have the item in front of you. Anyway, you have two speeds – which don’t seem to have too much variation, but maybe the cats sense it more than I do. A string basically gets flung, repeatedly. And cats love strings so much, they’ll watch it and grab for it, over and over and over again. Now, when the cat catches the string, the machine stops moving. But that’s the thrill of the game. It’s all about the chase.

My biggest worry at this point is that Posie is going to wear this particular unit out, or tear it apart (from LOVE) and I’ll have to get her another one. But I honestly wouldn’t mind that, because finding a toy that will keep a cat entertained like this is rare for me. And I’ve lived with cats for almost my entire life.

Of course, there are other little things that bother me. I wish there was a way to secure the entire thing even more than you can already, since Posie will sometimes drag the string far out and to the side (she’s a stubborn little moppet.) The noise is very slight, and actually lets the cats know when the toy is on so I like the noise. But the top of the toy has a large orange cat face with ears – it’s exceedingly cute, but a little too large. When I close the door, there’s not enough room for the entire thing to lay flat. It’s not a huge problem, though, and I actually find the cats like it when I leave the door open and they can hop to both sides of the door while trying to catch the string.

Gimie a break! Posie LOVED the toy, but I never saw this EXACT action. The string doesn't fling upward like that.

Another note: the pictures on the box show your cat flying in the air as the string moves. My cats … are not flying around like that. But they enjoy the string dropping down, and then they try to catch it. I think that’s more what is realistic to expect from this toy. Don’t prepare for your cats to jump into the air, unless your cat regularly does this already. That’s just my opinion based on my experience, though.

I recommend always watching your cat while this toy is on, as the box suggests. It’s not dangerous, but you can’t be too careful as far as this worry wort is concerned.

This is a great way to keep your cat busy if she’s lethargic and not interested in BORING, standard toys, or if you need to keep a kitten occupied while you do the dishes.

I have bought far too many cat toys that didn’t interest the cats at all, or got lost in a day. The Fling ama String is a real winner for me and my cats.

This is thee most gratifying cat toy since the invention of the string and I highly recommend it. Hours of cat-er-tainment cost just $19.99 at ThinkGeek.com, HERE

Disclosure: Item sent for review, there was no monetary compensation exchanged to reflect the outcome of said review.

Now… I am such a procrastinator that I’m not even going to tell you guys when these pictures were actually taken (uh, cough, last year!) just that they are of the cutest baby fawn. It was plopped out of its’ mama only hours earlier. Because these babies can’t walk very well at first, the Mom goes away and then comes back at dusk to feed it. Naturally, I didn’t get too close to it or touch it so there’d be no human smell. (Luckily, my camera has a zoom.) It’s crazy to think this was BORN the day these were took, and it looks so perfect and cute and omgadorableaheatsitup!

I love how it’s nestled into the foliage.

Even though it looked scared, and I kept being worried about if it needed water, I had to let nature take over and not intervene. The baby deer was gone later, so I think it’s Mom took it to another location. The sad part is that so many of these woods are getting torn down, the deers are running out of places to live and of things to eat.  That’s why I never yell at deers I see eating flowers, I encourage them! (How adorable is it that they eat flowers, btw? That’s not a myth or just a Disney cartoon idea.)

What do you think of that? The reason to adopt a pet is because you can change the world of that pet. (And that pet will change your world in turn, they’re sweet like that.) Changing the world is a huge deal. It doesn’t matter how big or small that world is.

Wouldn’t you hope that someone would adopt you and save your life? If you are able to do it, why not? The benefits of living with an animal are enormous and affect both physical health and mental health.

I am a big believer in adopting animals from shelters and supporting the shelters. You don’t have to have a million reasons to adopt a pet, you just have to have one good reason. Buying from breeders and puppy mills (and oftentimes pet stores – unless they are working with a shelter) is doing a disservice to the animal community most times.

I recently went to PetFinder.com to find the latest addition to our brood – a ShopKitty for ShopCat and ShopDog. I found a great shelter and adopted a 6 month old kitten, who is gray like ShopCat. As I type this, she is running back and forth, presumably hunting some dust motes. (And let’s be honest, there is some dust here. I’m new an expert cleaner.) My experience at this shelter was profound, and someday I might try to describe what it was like there. For now, I just want to tell you guys that we’ve got a new addition, and that to rescue a cat or dog is the most humbling and enriching experience you can find.

Hear our humble prayer, O God,
for our friends the animals,
especially for animals who are suffering;
for any that are hunted or lost or deserted
or frightened or hungry;
for all that must be put to death.
We entreat for them all Thy mercy and pity,
and for those who deal with them we ask a heart of
compassion and gentle hands and kindly words.
Make us, ourselves, to be true friends to animals
and so to share the blessings of the merciful.
- Albert Schweitzer

Picture Source: Ian Somerhalder’s Twitter

I thought about lots of flower names – like Lily and Poppy. But those weren’t right. So I decided to go with Posy / Posie. I don’t know which way I will spell it, and it can go either way. (I ended up with Posie!) Now, this worked out very well becuase my favorite word is bouquet, and a posy is kind of like a bouquet! It’s also called a “nosegay” and it means a bunch of flowers. This all works well in my theme, since I’d named her Annabelle after the Tasha Tudor book “A is for Annabelle.” Well, in the book, they also mention a nosegay, I believe! So now Posie is my own little bouquet of cuteness.

Also, one of the very first blogs I ever read was Posie Gets Cozy, and I still love it to this day. So it’s a nice reminder of someone I admire and of a beautiful life of beautiful things.

Her nickname is either going to be Rosy Posie, Cozy Posie or Posie Cozy. Which makes the most sense?

Anyway. Her personality is perfect. She is sweet to the bones.

I call her a celebrity cat because the first week I had her I talked to a bunch of celebrities on the phone for interviews, and that’s when I learned that, unlike Shopcat, she likes to sit right on me at all times when I’m at the computer or on the phone. She was purring into the phone as I asked Willie Garson about White Collar, Ashley Benson about Pretty Little Liars, and Heidi Klum about her new Lifetime show. Ah! So I am calling her a celebrity kitty. How many celebrity cats do you know?

In January she was 6 months. She is a rescue kitten, of course.

Three of her favorite toys:

1. FroliCat BOLT (This is her crack pipe, guys. Addiction is real.): Here at Amazon for $13
2. SmartyKat FlickerBall Light Toy (She loves it, and engages with it on her own, as she does with the feather wand below, but sometimes I can’t find it): Here at Amazon for $3
3. Cats Claws Teaser Feather Wand Cat Toy (The bell is something that can make her run to me, like I’m calling her. It’s just a little jingle.): Here at Amazon for $2

Included in this basket was: Four toys, a laser pointer, large bag of organic catnip, and three kinds of cat treats. The laser and the catnip/treats have been the biggest hit. This isn’t an official review, I just wanted to share some pictures!

As you might expect with cats, they both loved the large cardboard box the gift basket came in. ShopCat is old enough not to misbehave or act crazy, but Posie wanted to play/eat the colorful ribbon (I saved it, but not sure what for yet!) and the blue squiggly filling. I’ve had to hide them from her so she doesn’t eat them.

Gift baskets for cats are fun for new cat owners, cat lovers, or for new cats in the life of a cat owner This was definitely a great gift to have for a new kitten. (Posie is now 8 months old. She was adopted from a rescue site.) For my informal review of the Gourmet Gift Baskets: Pets (Cats) I’d say this gets a solid A.

Posie’s Best Habits: Not scratching furniture, being super affectionate, loving to play (especially with lasers like the FroliCat Bolt), using any liter box I tell her to (even the Litter Robot which I thought might intimidate her), likes to wake me up by purring into my face…

Posie’s Worst Habits: She’s a food monger – she loves people food and tries to steal/sneak it and carry it away, crawls into my lap whenever I’m trying to type (she uses the Kitt In Box but she has decided it’s too far away!)…

Note: The Font I used here on the cat pictures is “Gabriola” and it’s cool, so I’m making a note of it! Consider yourself noted!

Shopcat has been doing this funny cat pose (with several variations) a lot. I call it “The Jellyfish” because she tilts her head forward with a point at her nose, and then tucks her paws under while her back legs and paws stick out. It makes her look like, duh, a jellyfish! She can also be menacing like a jellyfish – raw! Well, I don’t know how menacing jellyfish are, but I feel like they probably are not super friendly… (Most of my knowledge on jellyfish comes from an episode of Friends where Monica gets peed on, and the movie Finding Nemo.)

So, feel free to share your funny cat pose pictures, or what you at least call different cat poses! Cats that look like different things are always funny. They are mysterious and shifty.

When the BIG cardboard box arrived (which Shopcat then loved playing within!), I was nervous. Getting it out of the box wasn’t that hard though, it’s in two pieces and they’re surprisingly light. I got the gray, eco-friendly litter robot. I stressed that I wouldn’t be able to put it together, but it turns out there was very little set-up other than plugging something in, putting in some litter, and putting the top part on the bottom part. Yup, it was that easy.

The more difficult part involves getting your cat to use the Litter Robot. If you have a cat that already doesn’t mind going into small areas (like little cat beds with tops on them) then you’ll have no problem. For more skittish cats like Shopcat, it can be a bit more of a challenge. Luckily, the Litter Box manuel includes lots of helpful tips, as do Litter Robot reviews online. If you can, get the additional bubble window in the back, we had that and that helps make the space seem larger.

Once your cat goes into the litter robot, five minutes later it activates to clean. It does a whole swirling process that ends up giving you just a tray of their mess that is already in a bagt, that you just throw out. And a major pro to this machine is that you just use 10gallon trash bags! You don’t have to buy any special kind of refill or anything. And the litter you use is just clumping litter that you can buy anywhere and most of you guys already use. I know I already used a clumping kind.

To get Shopcat to use it, I put some of her old litter right in the machine, and fed her catnip and treats near the machine while she saw it run. Then I left her other litter box there, but let it get dirty. Cats hate dirty boxes, so then they consider the clean alternative.

The only two cons: Your cat must be at least 5 lbs to activate the machine and the cleaning of the machine might be a pain. I haven’t had to try cleaning it yet, but I’m not looking forward to it since if you have any litter pieces left, water makes them turn into a gross muddy substance.

I love that they have an eco-friendly unit now. The ECO Litter-Robot is made of 100 % recycled plastic and you can use it with biodegradable litter and drawer liners so you can go totally green. These are amde in the USA and local purchases reduce energy and pollution that is used in transportation. So, go green already! (By going gray!)

Site: Litter Robot

Amazon: Litter Robot (The large amount of Litter Robot reviews and high star ratings speak for themselves.)

Disclosure: I received a review item, but the views expressed are my own.

CANINE CALMTM 2 fl.oz. / 60 ml $11.98

Calming aromatherapy for dog can work just like aromatherapy for humans. If you’ve been a fan of ShesSmart.com for a while, you may have read that I am indeed a firm believer in the sense of smell and think that lavender aromatherapy is very helpful to ease tension and stress. Likewise, I use citrus aromatherapy in the day to be motivated.

Canine Calm comes in in a small blue spray bottle. The smell is pleasant, and actually one that smells like a Bedtime aromatherapy scent my friend used to have. I tried this scent around Shopdog, Shopcat and two of Shopdogs friends (both dogs.) Shopcat was concerned by the smell, but as a cat, generally not a fan of seeing any spray of liquid. The three dogs were all interested in the smell. When I put it down, they’d walk over to explore it.

You can spray the scent in their beds, or behind their heads. You can also put it on your hands and massage it onto them. I don’t think it works like BOOM magic, but I do think I could see a change in the dogs. Every dog is different, and every dog will likely experience a different level of effect.

I’ve tried it on Shopdog several times this morning, but it hasn’t calmed her down much. I also have noted she hates when it is sprayed on her. My tip is to spray it close to your hand, and then rub that on your dog. I’ve also tried it on Shopcat (who hopped away furiously, at being petted with a damp hand.) Whether it works for my animals or not, I’m pretty sure the calming scent works on me. And I call that a win. And, for such a low price, it’s definitely worth trying for yourself.

Aromatherapy for dogs!

Buy: Canine Calm

Disclosure: The product was provided for review, but there was no monetary compensation.