PetSmart knows that your dogs are family and wants to help you get them ready for Christmas. Here are a few of my favourites:

Grinch!

It’s the snow monster from everyone’s favourite Christmas special!

And of course, the hero himself:

Keep your dog warm and in the holiday spirit!

Make your own dog biscuits

Every dog has that one toy that drives them crazy. For Paddington, it’s balls. Any ball, but preferably a tennis ball. Corduroy on the other hand, isn’t so picky, she will take anything that squeaks – especially if it’s small and she can carry it around and randomly squeak it.

Paddington’s favourite thing to do is play fetch, but her second favourite is tug of war, and always has been. From when she was a puppy, she just loved to tug and pull on ropes and toys. She has this thing she tries to get us to do now, which i think stemmed from her flyball days, where she fetches the ball and when she brings it back, she tries to get you to play tug of war with another toy, until you throw the ball again.

When I found out that there would be a new pet toy line by Shoppers Drug Mart called Amigo, I was intrigued. They had a lot of really interesting toys, and they all looked like a lot of thought was put into them. Whether the toy is made to make your dog think, work or play, they are well made and all seem quite durable.

We tried out the Lilly squeaky toy and the Plush & Rope toy. The Lilly is a small pink and white rubber toy that has pretty much the best squeaker I’ve ever heard in it. The dogs were interested before I even gave it to them because when I unpacked it, I had to (of course) try out the squeaker. Paddington was fascinated by the Plush & Rope toy and quickly included it in our evening fetch/tug of war sessions. She especially loves the rubber ball in the middle and likes to chuck it around while she plays.

We had some friends over last weekend and they brought their two dogs for a doggy playdate. Molly and Ernie are Shitzu/Poodle mixes and both dogs zeroed in on the Amigo toys and started playing with them almost immediately. These toys are definitely a hit!

Good news for you cat lovers, they also have a Cat Toy Line as well!

So next time you are out getting some bandaids at Shoppers Drug Mart – check out the new pet toy section!

(Ottawa Dog of the Week for August 17th/09)

“Maya is a Bernese Mountain dog and she will be 3 years old on October 14. We adopted her from her original family when she was 1.5 years old. Maya is a wonderful companion, you couldn’t ask for anything more. She helped us heal after losing our beloved Belle at just 5 years old of cancer in 2008. Maya fit in our family within hours. It started when we picked her up. She just hopped in the car as soon as the door opened and was ready to go. We haven’t looked back since! She moved from the city to the country and she is the happiest dog you have ever seen! Maya is very chatty and when she isn’t the center of attention she makes sure you know. She also does a pretty good impression of the Moonwalk too. She enjoys going for long walks in the woods and just being with her humans (even Buttons, our cat!). She must always have her toy “Moose” with her, she carries it around like her baby until too much fuzz builds up in her mouth and she spits it out. She lives up to her breed’s standard with her demeanour and intelligence. I could go on and on about Maya but most importantly she is the best friend we could have ever asked for.” – Maya’s Mom, Renée

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(Ottawa Dog of the Week for June 29th/09)

“Jiggs is a spunky, one year old British Bulldog. He loves kids, especially our two boys. He loves to run, play and sleep, and can’t get enough of his special toys: his pink rubber donut and his bones. His favourite place to hang is Conroy Pit, he loves playing with other dogs, although he often can’t keep up with them. The very best thing about Jiggs is that he is a very loving dog. He thinks he’s a lap dog, and loves to cuddle. My boys would say that his best trick is that he can give “props” on command, especially when there is a treat involved.

We all love our Jiggs!” – The Jones’ Family

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(Ottawa Dog of the Week for February 2nd/09)

“My name is Brady and I’m an 11 month old Siberian Husky. I favourite things to do are play in the snow, chew my toys and go to daycare at doggingit with all my friends because my daddy owns it. I have two Rottweiler sisters named Tia and Charley. I’m not like most huskies because I hear that many of them are independent dogs but all I want to do is cuddle and play with all my favourite people and dogs. This year was my very first Christmas and I couldn’t wait to dig into all the presents.” – Brady’s Mom, Amanda

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