If you’ve rescued or adopted a mixed breed dog, maybe you’re tired of having to answer “I don’t know” when friends or strangers ask what kind of dog you have.  Would you prefer to say, “My dog is primarily German Shepard & Samoyed, with traces of Clumber Spaniel, Labrador Retriever and Shetland Sheepdog.”?  Then we may have the perfect thing for you. 

There are at least two companies out there doing DNA testing of mixed breed dogs. 

Wisdom Panel MX Mixed Breed Analysis is available from Mars Veterinary.  For ~$200, you can go to a participating veterinarian who will take a small sample of blood for testing.  Within 2-3 weeks, you’ll receive a personal breed analysis for your dog.  Click here to see a sample breed analysis.  This method boasts the ability to identify 130 AKC breeds.  We checked a few zip codes in NY and there are a ton of vets who offer this service, maybe even your own vet.  Go to www.whatsmydog.com to check it out for yourself.

Or, if you looking for something a little less intrusive, you might want to try the Canine Heritage Breed Test from MetaMorphix Inc.  This test only requires you to send a cheek swab from your dog (no vet visit required) and the cost is $79.95.  Results are available 4-6 weeks after they receive your DNA cheek swab.  On the downside, MetaMorphix’s test can only identify 38 breeds, but if you suspect that your dog is one of the 38 common breeds in their database, then this might be a more cost effective option for you.

Check out this link to an article on dogchannel.com for more details on the two different techniques.  Either way, knowing what breeds your dog is made up of can help you to identify potential health risks.  It can also help you better understand your dogs behavior and identify what type of training and exercise might be most effective for your dog.

Everyone know that mutts are the most lovable dogs, but would it make them any less lovable to know what breeds are in their family tree?    I don’t think so…

We’re getting ready here in NY getting ready for the big game on Sunday! So for all you Giants fans - today’s post is just for you.

Now, your dog can support the Giants in the Super Bowl too!

You still have time to buy a Giants hat made for your dog over at Jake’s Dog House. When you walk your dog after Sunday, you can show off who won. And you can even hold them on a Giants leash!

I think that dressing up your dog is much less embarrassing than some alternatives:

We’d like to hear from you: do you think that the owners went too far by dying their dog blue for the Giants?

Go Giants!

Even if you’ve already made your travel plans for this holiday season, check out the great information that our Boston blog has compiled on traveling with your pet.

Our favorite tip comes from Edmunds…we highly recommend their advice in Tip #4. California now has a mandatory dog seat belt law, but even if it’s legal in your state, we highly urge you to buckle or restrain your dog in the car.

Since Oscar isn’t crate trained, we opted for the seal belt/restraining harness option. There are lots of car harness options available. If your dog already has a harness, you can just get a simple adapter to connect his harness to a seat belt - we got the BatziBelt a few months ago and it’s great! It’s pretty small so you can just leave it attached the the seat belt and then it’s ready to use whenever you need it.

Combine the BatziBelt with a comfortable harness like those made by Puppia for a practical way to keep your dog comfortable and safe in the car.

We wish you and your pets a safe and happy holiday season!

I know how important it is to make sure you keep my four-legged friend well-hydrated. And since we take Oscar with us almost everywhere we go, I’ve been on a search for a good travel water bottle.

We got the Handi Drink water bottle when Oscar was a puppy and it was okay, but I recently finally gave up on it. I could never get the bottle to snap in place like in the picture and the water didn’t come out fast enough. Then, after about 6 months, the rubber nipple at the top started to disintegrate and it started leaking all the time.

So, when my father-in-law asked me what I wanted for a holiday present (I always find that whole situation a little awkward) I requested some new travel water bottles for Oscar. My presents arrived last week and I was really planning on waiting to open them, but I couldn’t take the leaky Handi Drink one more day.

So last night, I busted into one present early and discovered the Thirsty Dog portable pet water bowl. I did a test run at home and was really excited about the functionality. It was very easy to use - just open the tab and the water flows into the bowl. When you’re done, you just stand it back up and any leftover water flows right back into the bottle.

Unfortunately, the water bottle didn’t fare so well outside the test environment. I felt something wet seeping through my pants in the cab on the way to our agility class and sure enough, the tab had come open and the entire bottle emptied into our backpack. Fortunately, the backpack held most of the water so we didn’t make a big mess in the cab, but I felt a little deflated - I was sure I had found the greatest water bottle ever.

I’m not totally giving up on the Thirsty Dog yet, maybe it was a fluke that it opened up, but I’m back on the search for the best dog water bottle. I have one last Christmas present to try - the Gulpy Pet Water Dispenser, but I’m trying to hold out so that I have at least one present to open on Christmas morning!

Does anyone have a travel water bottle that they love to recommend?

If you’re part of the 53.5% of dog owners who treat your pup like he or she is a family member OR someone who is part of this illustrious group is on your gift list, you might want to check out some great gift ideas put together by our Boston blog.

For the dog owner in your life, check out these cool gift ideas…Top Ten Dog Holiday Gifts Part One: Gifts for Dog Owners

And when you’re making your naughty/nice list, don’t forget the pooches in your life! Top Ten Dog Holiday Gifts Part Two: Gifts for Dogs

Oscar loves the new Bungee Loofa Dog Toy and he also drools over Flossies Tendon Chews by Merrick - yum!

Here’s the picture of Oscar that we used for our holiday cards last year…

Stay tuned for this year’s card! : )