by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

The 30th Annual ARF (Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons) Garden Tour took place this Saturday in the towns of Wainscott and Sagaponack in the Hamptons.   I believe this is my 4th time going, I feel like this was the best year yet.

We joked at the first house, that we didn’t need to go to any other houses, because the Landis house was pure bliss, the gardens the pool, the view overlooking Georgica Pond, frankly I don’t even remember looking at the house at all!  It was exactly what you think of when you think of summering in the Hamptons – and why some people would just be happy staying at their homes – so much to do on that property, really no need to leave!

I have said it before, if you have yet to go, be sure to go next year – you will not be disappointed!  (And as a pet pro – it’s such a cool way to host a fundraiser for pets, because you tap into an entirely different crowd – not just pet parents. Wheels spinning yet with ideas?) 🙂  Enjoy the photos, link on bottom to access all pictures:

To see MANY more pictures of the amazing houses and gardens, CLICK HERE!

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Living on a Island we are crazy fortunate to be able to enjoy many beautiful areas of beaches with our four-legged friends.  It used to be, just bringing your dog to the beach was just that bringing your pup with you.  Now-a-days we are much more conscious about dogs and their needs while enjoying a day at the beach.

You may want to take your dog with you earlier in the day or later in the afternoon, one it’s not as hot or at those times and some beaches have specific beach hours when dogs are allowed.

Here’s my list of what I think you need while your pup is with you at the beach:

1. Fresh cool water – This is pretty obvious, but you would be surprised how many people don’t think to bring fresh water for their dog while out at the beach.  I have water with me, and a couple extra bottles in a mini cooler in my car so when we get back there I can give my dog a drink.  Dogs get extremely thirsty while having fun in the sun, swimming and romping around, and get dehydrated if you don’t give them fresh water. Bring a Portable drinking bowl – there are many collapsible dog bowls in many different sizes, as well as bottles that sport their own drinking tray.  Bring something with you that your pet will be encouraged to drink from vs. salt water in the ocean.  Be sure to keep your dog hydrated, if they ingest too much salt water it can give your dog the runs or worse.

2. Long leash – Not a retractable leash, but a cotton long lead or leash where you can get at most pet supply stores.  They come in different lengths up to 50 feet.  Your dog may swim perfectly, but anything can happen at the beach – he could decide to swim out farther, perhaps not hear you call, get caught in a rip current, etc.  In my experience is is not worth it for your dog to be loose in the water.  A long lead is a life line literally to your dog.

3.Lifejacket – some dogs need a boost swimming, take for instance my dog Cody, great swimmer but is also not built for swimming in that he is very muscular – and muscle sinks.  So if he were going to be in deeper water – he would 100% have a life jacket on to help him be more buoyant and for him to be safe while enjoying his swimtime.  (He has even wore a lifejacket while swimming in a pool.)  Make sure you get your dog fitted properly when buying a life jacket.

5. Limit the swim time – For my dog Cody I limit his swimming time to no more than 20 minutes.  Due to his breed, his mouth is wider than say a lab or golden and if he is carrying a stick or floating toy while he is swimming more water will go down that wide mouth than with other breeds.  My old dog Max would ingest a lot of water while swimming – so no more than 20 minutes and he was fine.

>> Another good reason to limit the swim time, is that dogs can get tired quickly in the water – and may not show it.  That’s where we as pet parents need to step in and make them come out of the water to take a break and rest.

6. Pet Friendly Sunscreen – you can find this in many pet stores, health food stores and even online.  Apply to the top of your dogs nose, on their snout, not the actual nose, and ears – dogs can get sunburn as well.  If your dog is white or light haired in color and has short hair I would apply it on his back as well.

7. Pet Friendly bug spray – again, you can find many brands of natural pet friendly bug spray that do work and are free from harsh chemicals.  The only time I use stronger bug spray is during a heavy mosquito season or when there are a lot of green flies.

8. Blanket – this may seem like what? My dog is going to get sand all over it – the sand may be hot after a while and you will want to have somewhere to have your pet rest – a great option is the Territory travel blanket which is a bag and blanket in one.  You can carry some of your pets items in it, and then unroll it at the beach.

9. Umbrella – this is really only necessary if you are spending the entire day at the beach – it’s important for your dog to have shade to lay under and not be in direct sun all day.  Same goes for you!

10. Extra waterproof collar – with ID! – My dog likes to go in the water so he wears a waterproof collar while in the water so not to ruin his regular collar. And an Extra regular leash – sand can easily get into the clasp of your leash and jam it making it not effective, you can knock the sand out but if your leash is exposed to the elements often, rust, salt water and sand do NOT make for a secure leash.  Bring an extra leash with you for an added safety measure.

Also you should Monitor your dog always while in the water – I prefer to keep my dog on a long line so he can’t get too far into the water and I can pull him back to me if I see him trying to eat something in the water or on the sand.  Yes, he knows leave it and drop it, but you know how quickly a dog can eat something he is not supposed to.

And Watch for wildlife – in many areas there may be wildlife your dog is not used to seeing, like deer, turtles, sea birds, crabs and so forth and if your dog is not leashed, it will not be a good thing if he takes off after a deer or tries to pick up a live crab!   So keep your eyes out, and in the water too.  If there are lot of crabs or jelly fish – don’t let your dog in the water, getting pinched by a crab or stung by a jelly fish is no more fun for our pups than it is for us!

You will also want to watch your dog and not let him eat anything on the beach. Haha, I know good luck -but there are many scrumptious dead things on the beach often, shells, seaweed, broken glass and sadly on LI, garbage – so train your dog the ‘leave it’ and ‘drop it’ commands!  These commands will come in very handy as your puppy is running with a dead crab in his mouth.  Yuck!

Lastly, it is good to rinse your dog off from the salt water when you get back home and thoroughly check your dog for ticks, and check again! Also look for any scraps or minor cuts, especially on the paw pads, that need attention.

Paw prints in the sand and great days on the beach with our dogs are a big part of island living – get out there and enjoy it with your dog!

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

On Sunday, June 12, LI-Dog Owners Group hosted a Pints & Paws Luau BBQ at Off Key Tikki on the water in Patchogue, NY.  LI Dog is a is a non-profit organization that works to create dog parks and increase access to public parkland and beaches for Long Island dog owners and their dogs so they can enjoy Long Island’s beautiful parks and beaches just like other Long Island families.

It is so much fun to be able to go more and more places with our dogs here on Long Island and much of that is due to LI Dog’s years of effort.  From opening more dog friendly beaches, to dog runs, making Nassau County, (nortiously one of the most unfriendly counties in the country to own a dog), becoming more dog friendly by opening up on-leash dog trails within parks in Nassau.  LI Dog has worked tirelessly over the years and their effort continues to pay off for dog owners on Long Island – especially now that dogs are more widely accepted as big parts of our families.

Cody enjoying himself at Off Key Tikki!

This event at Off Key Tikki was a fundraiser for LI Dog where you can come and enjoy the venue with your dog and friends, there were games like ‘Biggest Lap Dog’ (my dog pretty much came in 2nd place!), musical chairs for humans and their dogs, and a few others.  There were also door prizes, raffles and of course the step and repeat.  The staff at Off Key Tikki could not have been nicer and you could tell they loved having the dogs there.

Dogs dressed in their Luau gear of course!

LI Dog has many activities and events throughout the year that you can participate in, Pack Walks in various locations across our isle; beach days at dog friendly beaches; pints and paws where you can bring your dog with you to a local outdoor area of a bar or restaurant (like this one on Sunday); and regular meetings on how you can get involved in helping them continue the good work they do and make LI even more dog friendly.

Mocca! A regular at all dog events on LI!

On a total side note, you have to love all the palm trees at this venue – like we were swept away to a tropical paradise!

Cody and LI-Dog's Ginny Munger Kahn!

For more information on LI-Dog go to their website www.lidog.org and if you want to see many more Pictures – CLICK HERE!

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

June is adopt-a-shelter cat month and also known as kitten season, especially here on Long Island – where there are no natural predators (like coyote), and many feral cat communities across our isle.  We do have amazing groups of people, animal rescues and organizations that help with taking care of the feral cat colonies and do T and R programs (trap, spay/neuter, return).

However many of our animal shelters are very full with wonderful cats and kittens looking for their furever homes.  Recently we visited the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation, (SASF), in Hampton Bays, NY to see their ‘Catio’ and meet many kittens 8 weeks and under.

If you are a cat afficiando, a cuteness warning overload if you click on the video below:

However, if you are thinking about adopting, SASF currently has 2 for 1 match making promotion happening this month – which is just the purrfect way to adopt two cats that are in need of that furever home.  After a potential adopter picks out a cat they fall in love with, the shelter will match that cat with their buddy so you can bring home 2 cats and the cats will have a life long companion.  Such a cute idea!  See the video here to learn more about it:

For more information on how you can adopt a cat from SASF go to www.SouthamptonAnimalShelter.com or call (631) 728-7387.

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

7 picks from Global 2016!

6.2 miles of trade show floor this year at Global Pet Expo, 3,218 booths and over 1,000 exhibitors at those booths. So to narrow this down to 7 picks – well not an easy task – and maybe not fair as I saw a ton of pet products that I would love to share  – but we would be here forever!  So I choose 7 picks and few honorable mentions!  In no particular order, here’s some of the cool products that caught my eye while in Orlando 2 weeks ago:

Automatic Litter-Robot – So this may be a steep price at $449.00 but really – if you have a cat or cats, in my opinion the Litter-Robot by Auto Pets is the way to go.  Litter box cleaning is no fun and this is virtually hands free, and should make your life so much easier.  Another great thing, this pet tech product is fully made in the USA – how cool is that?  You can see my Youtube video about coming soon!

Tall Tails Authentic Dog Products once again had a beautiful booth with many new products debuting at Global this year.  A new collection, the Run Wild collection has a bold new pattern and design on many of their exisiting products and new products like the Flying Disc which is perfect retreiving games with your dog and it even floats.  The new 3-in-1 blanket is a great combo for those dogs who love to snuggle under the covers, find a comfy place to relax on after hours of play.

Jakks Pet Faces pillows – these stopped me in my tracks because of the sheer adorableness of them. And they were incredibly soft and the faces are lifelike and cartoonish all at the same time.  Perfect gift for the pet lover in your life or even your pets.  They had many cat face pillows including Grumpy Cat, and also for dogs, a Boxer, Bulldog, Rottie, Boston Terrier, Yorkie and Pom.

The Orijen and Acana booth where they were doing a food tasting with chefs making food for people with the same human grade ingredients that goes into the dog food – it was a big hit, there were a lot of people sampling their food and their display was incredible.  They had a display of all the ingredients that go into their foods – nothing like I have seen before (it’s usually just pictures of the ingredients).  Their pet food is made in Canada, but in a few months a brand new facility will open in Kentucky and all the food will be made and ingredients sourced in the USA.

Hurtta – If you are someone who likes to go on adventures with your dog, off the beaten trail, like me – then you will love the products from Hurtta – from Finland.  Especially the Sun & Bug Blocker – it may seem crazy to put your dog in this full body coat for lack of a better term.  But just the other day I walked my dog Cody in a relatively new county park, and was picking the tiny ticks off him as we walked (and he wasn’t in the brush).  This coat also provides a UPF of 40 blocking most of the UV rays from the sun.  The other coat they had that I absolutey loved is the Ultimate Warmer.  In looking for a coat for Cody, I could never find anything that actually fits him, covers his butt and goes up to his neck.  He is a wuss when it comes to the cold, so I can wait to try this for him.

Finding toys for my dog that he won’t destroy is nearly impossible.  Even the toys that say durable, puncture resistant – are usually no match for him.  Walking the trade show floor I saw a ton of really nice toys, adorable toys, super soft toys – non of which would last more than 3 minutes.  I know many of you can relate.  On my last day at Global I saw something that I thought, hmm, I bet this would be a good choice for Cody, the Virtually Indestructible ball by Hueter Toledo, Inc.   It comes in many sizes, some even have a ball within a ball and best part, made in the USA!  Hope to get one soon to try it with Cody!

Beco Bowl by Beco Pets – if you have a big dog, you know finding a collaspable water bowl that is non-toxic and well made is hard to find.  I literally have been searching for 6-months for a Large collapsable water bowl to no avail.  The majority are made for small or medium sized dogs – or the opening of the bowl is just too small.  On the last day, literally the last 15 minutes of the show I found the Beco Bowl (thanks Dana!), so I can wait for Cody to try it.  It is sustainable, toxin free, as are all their products.

A few other pet products that I loved was the PawFlex new series of tug toys, A Pet with Paws Vegan pet carriers made from recycled plastic water bottles, Einstein Pets 1 calorie all natural healthy pet treats, and the emjoi squeaky toys!  For more pictures of great products you can click here.

If you were at Global – what was your favorite find?