What is this world coming to?

Of course, I have two dogs and 3 rats in my house. I just need a couple cats and we could do this same thing, but twice as strange.

Muttluks Dog Booties

We just got a shipment of something brand spankin' new to BaxterBoo: Muttluks. We were impressed by how nice they looked in photos when we ordered them, and are even more impressed now that we just received a shipment in our warehouse.

From the Muttluks website:

"Since the company began in 1994," says Marianne Bertrand, President and founder of Muttluks Inc. "we have constantly developed and improved Muttluks to make a better product. Muttluks today are even better than when we started because we listen to the comments and suggestions from people who use and sell our products."

I must say, from the looks of our first shipment, they're a long way beyond other dog booties we've seen.

Muttluks Mean More Mountain Adventure

Being a Colorado native, I try to get in as many fourteeners (fourteen thousand foot peaks) as I can every summer. Often, I'll take my dog Dexter with me. We often meet dogs on the trail who are wearing dog boots, but I've never seen any that would fit Dexter's small feet.

I certainly see the need for dog shoes. 14ers are covered with sharp talus (broken rocks) from about treeline, all the way to the summit. After a few miles hiking on that, most dog's are at serious risk for injury. Dog booties can solve that problem, and not just on alpine hikes. They're great for walks anywhere, and can seriously help even on city sidewalks where sharp objects can cut into your dog's soft foot pads before you know it.

I'm going to try these new Muttluks out and see how they do. We also got some Muttluks dog snow coats (also pictured above), which I'm going to have to try Dexter out on for an early spring snow hike. If Dexter gives them his seal of approval, we'll carry the Muttluks fleece dog jackets (to complement our Fido Fleece line) and Muttluks rain coats too.

I'll keep you posted.

There are lots of resources out there to help you pick the right dog breed for you. After you've made that choice, though, comes an even more important decision. How do you pick the right individual dog?

Sure, Golden Retrievers are loyal, amicable and popular, but how do you know the one you're picking isn't the mutant exception to the rule that will turn your life into a nightmare?

Here are some tried-and-true tips to help you pick not just the right dog breed, but the right dog.

Read more...

This Reuters photo shows celebrations of the Chinese new year a few days ago. Apparently, since 2009 is set to be the Chinese year of the Ox, they decided to give the Ox a day off and turn cart pulling duties over to these small dogs. That's a serious dog harness they have there. A dog couplet wouldn't do, obviously. Would you call that a sextlet?

I'm guessing the one second from the left is not a natural pink.

A super-precious, magic moment between a cute baby that can barely crawl and a giant boxer dog that is laying nearby. It's pretty neat when at this point in the kid's life, the dog is more intelligent. I think the dog in this video is perfectly aware of that, and sort of looks at the baby as a cute young 'un.

It's amazing to me how dogs are willing to adapt to new roles in their relationships with humans as those humans grow up. As the father of a good sized brood of kiddos, I've been able to watch our dog Dexter as our kids age from infant to toddler to mature kid. He's been nurturing when they're young, cautious when they get to be a bit abusive when they're about 2-3, and perfectly happy to cuddle for hours on end when they're older.

It's amazing how patient and accepting dog's can be of every stage of our lives.