Monday, October 11, 2010

Pet Interview & SUPER Giveaway!

Meet Clyde, proud owner of author and famous dog trainer Tamar Geller!

Is this cool or what? Famous dog-trainer Tamar Geller is giving away 20 copies of her NEW book, 30 Days to a Well-Mannered Dog, to Pets & Their Authors for a SUPER GIVEAWAY!

All you have to do to be eligible is become a Follower and leave a comment! Please leave contact info so I can contact you if you win. The 20 winners will be announced next Sunday, October 31--yep, on Halloween! You have until then to vote. Woof! Woof!

Only people who live in the US are eligible (sorry about that, but international postage is painful, you guys--nothing personal!)

Tamar is a bestselling author and amazing dog trainer. She has done dog coaching to the stars­. Among them are Oprah Winfrey, Ben Affleck Courteney Cox-Arquette, Owen Wilson, Natalie Portman, and Larry King.

Here to give us the inside scoop is her companion of 13 years, Clyde.

Hey, Clyde! When did you first find out your human mom, Tamar, was a dog trainer?

She took me hiking on our first date & then played games with me that she somehow knew they were my favorite games. I realized that she understood the wolf in me!!!!

Tamar is famous! I mean, she's been on Oprah Has this gone to her head?

If it were me, it would have gone to my belly.

But seriously my mom takes things into her heart not her head.

So I hear she has a new book out, 30 Days to a Well-Mannered Dog. Is
this true? Just 30 days? Isn't that being a bit too idealistic?

Dogs are smarter than most people give them credit for.... We need people to make it fun for us to kearn and it takes us no time to be their willing partners. When we feel empowered and heard you’ll be surprised what we will do

Where is the book available?

The book is available at book stores and online book retailers everywhere! In my opinion, it should be available at dog parks as well!

I'm a reasonably well-behaved golden retriever. I think my only bad habit is to stare longingly at my humans when they eat. I also bark of pure joy when we're ready to go out, which is twice a day. My mom wants to know how to stop this. (Okay, she forced me to ask this question!)

Tell your mom that when she's eating she need to give you a chew toy that you are especially fond of, one that isn’t always available to you. A nice uncooked marrow (soup bone) will do the trick. Now when it comes to barking before your walk, tell your mom you are a expressing pure joy and excitement for life. Tell her that I think it's cute to be so excited about such a simple thing.

I saw on your mom's website something about Operation Heroes + Hounds.
What's that about?

Operation Heroes & Hounds is a non-profit program to assist my canine buddies in the shelter as well as the brave men and women who have served our country in the military. They help each other to overcome anybad experience that they had in their past.

What do you love most about Tamar?

She cooks “real food” for me on a daily basis and everyday she takes me on at least one exciting excursion. I love to go to her friends who have dogs. But she also lets me know about 20x’s a day how much she loves me. I hear her say to me “I love my Clydie”. She plays ball with me too. I love that. I need that. Guess, I’m a loved dog, huh?

Did she take you to see Oprah?

Many times & btw…. I love playing with Oprah’s dogs. They are so much fun!

Okay, leave us with some words of canine wisdom………

As dogs we like nothing more than to know that our relationship with our human family is one of partnership and teamwork. We don’t want to be dominated by… or submissive to… the humans we love so much. We just want to be understood. We’ve got seven basic needs, ya know? (pssst…. read the book). And btw the way to a dog’s heart is through his stomach! Woof!


Thanks, Clyde! Send a BIG kiss to your mom. I think I have fallen in love (don't tell my mom!)

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Special Feature: The Lost Dogs


Woof! I want to feature a special book this week, THE LOST DOGS. Listen, people, this is important. This really happened. What's wrong with some humans? Why would they want to do something like this to dogs?

Thankfully, there are angels in the world like Jim Gorant, and for these dogs, there was a happy ending.

Basically, this is the story:

On April 26th, 2007, law enforcement officials descended on a sprawling white-brick house at 1915 Moonlight Road in Smithfield, Virginia. The home belonged to Michael Vick, who was the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons and one of the highest paid players in the NFL. Although the police were there on a drug search, they quickly found evidence of what appeared to be a large, well-financed dog fighting operation.

Fifty-one pit bulls were seized from the property and they sat in local shelters for six months as the ensuing investigation played out, leading to guilty pleas from Vick and his partners in an operation known as Bad Newz Kennels. In most cases, that would have been it for the dogs. Considered a public hazard, they would have been euthanized. But a tidal wave of public outcry inspired government officials to at least consider the possibility of saving some dogs.

The startling string of events that followed included a landmark legal decision, a never-before assembled team of expert evaluators, a leap of faith and a selection of rescuers who were willing to do whatever it took to help. At the heart of it all was a group of dogs that wanted desperately to overcome what had until then been a life of violence and deprivation.

Taken together, these tales showcase a resilience, dedication and commitment that have the power to alter the way society views pit bulls and to reinforce the essential nature of the human-animal bond. The Lost Dogs, for the first time, tells the behind-the-scenes story from the day of that initial raid until today.


Buy the book on AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Dogs-Michael-Rescue-Redemption/dp/1592405509/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1285188457&sr=8-1

Book website: http://www.thelostdogsbook.com/

Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=939tGP4h6Sw

Clip of the book on CBS Early Show: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6884146n&tag=related%3Bphotovideo.

Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Lost-Dogs/143499228996611?ref=ts