As if flying these days isn’t harrowing enough…high gas prices make for high ticket fares, we have to pay extra fees to check bags and the various stages of security could give a Valium have a full blown anxiety attack. So, when I said I wasn’t flying without my dogs, everyone thought I was nuts.

When planning a last minute trip to be with my family this week, I decided there was no way I was leaving the furkids behind - airport stress or not, I couldn’t imagine embarking on this adventure without them. For airlines that allow pets in cabin, make sure to call the airline as your doggie needs a reservation, just like you do!

Pre-trip, my husband and I headed to our favorite Miami locale for the latest and greatest in dog gear, South Beach’s Dog Bar and spent well over an hour deliberating on the best carrier for the pooches to fly in. The dogs were pretty good natured as we went about stuffing them into various bags to see which provided the optimum balance of comfort, space and stability.

While there were plenty of bright, stylish options, we decided to go with a classic Sherpa Bag. The officially approved soft-sided pet carrier for in cabin use by a variety of airlines, the bag is sturdy and in this day and age, the insurance of ‘official approval’ put my mind at ease.

Surprisingly, traveling with the dogs was the easiest part of the trip. They stayed, together, comfortably in their bag for well over four hours throughout the travel process and the Louis’ anxiety, scratching and howling couldn’t compare in annoyance to the disorganization of the airport’s check in system and security lines.

Airport security enjoyed giving Louis and Ella Bean a scratch behind the ears as we went through the metal detectors and I ended up seated on the flight with a dog obsessed couple who were so excited to get a peek of the wet noses inside my carry-on.

The Sherpa bag proved to be a great investment. The pups were restless due to the hustle and bustle of the airport and I made sure to administer some Rescue Remedy to sooth them. Ella Bean was cool as a cucumber but Louis was none to thrilled being confined and in an unfamiliar environment. He barked from inside the bag, howled and dug to try and escape - the bag is still in perfect condition! However, I think I’ll give Louis a mild sedative for the trip home.

Louis’ behavior not withstanding, the Sherpa’s functionality can not be overstated. The wheels are recessed, gliding smoothly over uneven airport flooring, there are mesh panels on all four sides, providing ventilation, but the panels include easy to use roll flaps to restrict the pup’s vision and give them a little privacy and security, which proved super useful.

The bag also has a few loading options, depending on your pet, you can help them into the bag from the top or side, depending on his preference. There are plenty of pockets to stow extras like travel documents and the inside has this awesome super soft faux lambskin liner creating a comfy environment for the pooch on the go.

After the harrowing process of checking my bag, getting through security and the disorganization of Miami International Airport, I have to say, traveling with dogs is not a hassle at all. It was by far the easiest part of travel.

Keep that in mind on your next vacation and let’s leave no pet behind!

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Off the Leash with Louis!

Ahh, sleep. Besides feasting and my tennis ball, sleep is my favorite thing to do. I can do it anywhere, anytime. I like to sleep stretched out in the sun, curled up on Mommy and under the covers with my head on the pillow. My mom clocked it and said I spend at least 12 hours a day honing my sleep skills.

Why am I so tired? Well, supposedly its normal for my canine pals and I to sleep that much, but there are many types of sleep. The best is tongue hanging out of my mouth, eyelid blinking, twitching, dreaming deep sleep! I also get a decent amount of exercise which makes me sleepy.

I have heard about some dogs being forced to sleep in a cage. I don’t know why, maybe they do stuff at night that upsets their humans. Meanwhile, according to my research some dogs prefer to have their own space while sleeping. Ella Bean often goes to the living room to sleep alone, which I don’t understand. I like it better to be next my humans on the big raised dog bed.

I spend my nights snuggled up tightly next to my mom or dad. Sometimes, Ella Bean will want to cuddle, but she doesn’t sleep nearly as much as I do. Its hard work being Louis. I have loads of responsibilities, a website, a little sister and my Mom and Dad. They are a lot of work. But, they always makes up for it with tasty snacks, ear massages, playtime and love.

Sleep is as important for dogs as it is for humans. Force us to stay up too late, or interrupt our napping schedule, we will get cranky, just like you. So, let sleeping dogs lie. We are happy to sleep, so long as you give us a soft spot and a full tummy.

Oh and Mom, can you please stop waking me up to snuggle? I appreciate the love, but when I am asleep, I prefer a gentle tummy rub. And keep the volume on that TV down. Thanks.

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Here on Cup of Dog, we have made previous mention of the addition of tripe to a raw diet, discussed its many benefits and praised it for its healthy range of nutrients.

While perusing in our favorite dog store, we came across something new. Louis’ eyes perked up, Ella’s nub of a tail began to wag. A new, fresh canned tripe! At least, new to us. We have used frozen tripe, freeze dried tripe, but never before have the dogs had the opportunity to feast on fresh, stinky tripe.

I looked at the dogs and back at the cool looking can. Ingredients: Beef tripe, water, garlic, vegetable gum. Nothing too flashy…it was worth a try! The only heat this product encountered is during the canning process, so its as close to raw tripe as the dogs have had.

Upon opening the can, the most foul smelling odor I have ever encountered met my nostrils. My 12 pound Louis leaped on me he as if he was poked by an electric rod. Ella followed, jumping toward it as high as possible (she reached mid-calf). Good thing I taught the dogs to ’sit’ while meals are prepared!

“SIT!” I commanded them. Both doggie tushes plopped to the ground, eyes locked on the can.

I carefully added it to their dishes, while trying to breathe through my mouth. Tripe is basically ground cow stomach. The green color is from the partially digested grasses and plants in the cows stomach. It is rubbery and absolutely disgusting.

The dogs were ecstatic. The rubbery, natural tripe texture slowed down Louis and Ella Bean’s normally frenetic eating pace and both dogs chewed happily, eyeing each others bowls. As I scrubbed the stainless steel bowls, après-dinner, I started to give some more thought as to why I should continue to assault my nose for the benefit of my beloved dogs.

It is actually instinctive for dogs to eat nutrient rich green tripe. No wonder I got such an explosive reaction! I ignited their doggie instincts. When ingesting tripe, the nutrients in grasses, grains, naturally occurring gastric juices, amino acids and other digestive enzymes that have already been processed by the cow’s stomach are easily absorbed by the dogs. The gastric juices and enzymes are excellent for dogs; the amino acids aid muscular development and gastric juices keep teeth clean and healthy. While they digest, those juices and enzymes assist the dog to pull the maximum amount of nutritional benefits from their diet.

So, it is worth it, though my husband will never feed them the stinky food, so its left to me. I checked out food’s website, which proved as cool as the packaging. Tripett, the new food, was a success. As the website lists, benefits of tripe include:

• Improved appetite and digestion
• Cleaner teeth
• Dry and itchy skin problems improved or eliminated
• Coats with richer color, shine and lower susceptibility to fleas
• Calmer temperaments
• Decreased waste in feces

Being that these are all great benefits, I suppose we have a new supplement to incorporate into the fur kid’s diet. Remember, Tripett is not a canned food to replace a portion of a current feeding program. It is a supplement to a balanced diet. Additionally, if your dog happens to be one of the many with beef allergies, there are formulas by the same brand made from lamb tripe and a duck tripe/ salmon mixture.

What a fantastic find for city dwellers, like us, who don’t have a proper butcher from whom to get fresh, unbleached tripe! Don’t be alarmed by the pure nastiness of this product. This is the real deal, so there may be clumpy pieces of white fat, ingested hair and a range in color and texture that may vary by can.

Gives a renewed meaning to a BARF* diet, huh?

*BARF - Biologically Appropriate Raw Food or Bones And Raw Food diet

For more information or to purchase, please visit www.tripett.com

Tripette image via www.tripett.com, cow image via www.primidi.com

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A two year old long haired, male Chihuahua named Conan has followed his master, a Buddhist priest’s lead and together, they pray.

Conan resides at a Buddhist Temple on Japan’s Southern Island, Okinawa. Conan sits next to his master, Joei Yoshikuni, facing a Buddhist deity and clasps his paws together in prayer position. When the priest chants and raises his clasped hands, Conan follows, raising his paws and joining them at the tip of his nose.

Originally the temple pet, and now the temple’s main attraction, Yoshikuni guesses that Conan’s unique behavior has raised tourist travels to the temple by 30 percent.

First a paragliding Chihuahua, now a praying one…What’s up with these Chihuahuas?

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The day before Christmas, I was in my first car accident. It was really not a big deal in the scheme of things, just superficial damage to my car and the car I hit (it was totally my fault), and thankfully, nobody was hurt.

The couple whose car I hit were on their way to a family Christmas party, and pretty peeved about the unplanned delay. Louis was with me (as per usual), he was safely belted in, but he seemed pretty jarred from the thud of the accident.

After we all calmed down, and I apologized profusely through tears, we exchanged information and began making the obligatory calls, the police (so I could get my ticket), our insurance companies, etc. While on the phone with my insurance company, Progressive, an extremely kind woman was taking down the information she needed for them claim when Louis let out a few whimpers from inside my car.”Is that your dog?” she asked. “Yes, he was buckled in and he is just a little scared,” I answered.

Then, the most unexpected thing happened. The woman on the other end of the line asked me to check my dog for injuries, as Progressive had recently added coverage for their customer’s pets. I checked Louis out and said he seemed fine and the woman let me know that if he or I showed signs of injury later and either of us needed to seek medical care, I should let the insurance company know as my policy covered us both.

As Lou is my soul-pup, my heart, my very hairy baby, I felt so very validated that my car insurance seemed to see it the same way! According to Progressive’s website, pets are indeed a part of our families and deserve collision coverage like we have. An article on MSNBC states, the Progressive benefit has been in place since Sept. 6, and it’s still too soon to determine if the company’s undetermined cost of offering it will be offset by better sales, Progressive spokeswoman Leah Knapp said.

Clearly this is a strategy to get an edge in the highly competitive car insurance market. If this becomes a successful strategy, other insurance companies may adopt the policy. There are over 150 million pets in the U.S., and Americans spend over $40 billion on their pets annually, according to a recent Insurance Information Institute study. Given that, it does seem a natural extension of our coverage, especially since pets traveling with their families is becoming more and more commonplace.

Pet Injury Coverage - Get to Know Progressive

Visit progressive.com for additional information on car insurance.

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Welcome to the new “CupOFdog.com” website (formerly “The Canine Bark“).

If you love dogs you’ll love CupOFdog!

Enjoy

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