The people we work with frequently have small children who are about to have their first puppy.  This is a great treat for a child and an amazing way to teach responsibility. But do you think your child will be ready for this upcoming bundle of joy?  I received a game for Christmas this year and I thought it was a cute idea to give kids just a taste of what owning a puppy may be like, Nintendogs for the Nintendo DS and 3DS system.

In this adorable game, you pick out your puppy from the kennel, take it home, and care for it.  Your puppy will recognize his own name called and learn tricks even!  What I like about this little “simulation” is that your dog will get hungry and thirsty, it will need to be walked, and it will need baths.  An added feature for the 3DS is that there is a pedometer on this hand held system and your counted steps count as walking your pooch, promoting outside exercise! If you stop taking care of your pooch, it will lose it’s ideal physique and become rebellious, after all, a real dog never takes a day off from needing to be taken care of.

I know that a real dog is something you can never really replicate, but I believe it can be an effective way to engage your child in the care of a puppy while you wait for your Manor Lake Labradoodle to arrive.

Is it just me or does that Toy Poodle look really familiar to you?

It’s a true winter here in the Northwest and our dogs are loving it! We got some shots of dogs enjoying the fresh powder and it is just too exciting for everyone!

We are always so happy to get updates from happy families! Lulu has grown up beautifully we think, and we thank the family for sending such a wonderful letter to us!

Hi Kim,

16 months have passed by so quickly since the day that we picked up our dear little Lula from your home!   She is truly a joy to have around and has become an irreplaceable member of our family!  Everywhere we go, and we go a lot of places! , people constantly remark on what a sweet and lovable dog that she is.  She loves to run, swim, play in the snow and is ball crazy!  She is like a younger sibling to our daughters and we can’t begin to imagine life without her!  Here are just a few photos so that you can see how she has grown!  Thanks again for such a wonderful little girl!

Manor Lake Brutus has been a hit in his new home and we have enjoyed many pictures and updates from him, we thought we should share!

Watch this video of Brutus playing in the waves at the beach for the first time!

Another Black Friday contest from Modern Dog Magazine

Modern Dog magazine

Our next Friday Freebie up for grabs is a tiny GPS AirLoom Personal Monitor with collar attachment case AND 1 month of wireless credits. Attach it to your pet, toss it in your car, luggage, or keep it with your family members to make sure they’re safe and sound! To win it, tell us why you want it!

Friday freebie from Modern Dog

Wall Photos

It’s Friday Freebie time! Our first Freebie of the day is a matching collar & le…ash set from Swanky Pet, custom made in the winner’s choice of fabric. To win it, tell us why you want it!See More

By: Modern Dog magazine

Hi Kim and Erin,

We have had a wonderful weekend getting to know our boy and we have all absolutely fallen in love with him.  We have decided to name him “Moxie”, since he seems to have just enough courage, curiosity, and energy to keep life interesting.  He is doing amazing on the potty training.  He has already learned to go to our back door when he needs to go outside and he is pretty quick about doing his business when we say, “go potty”.  Clearly, you have all done an amazing job with the training.  He is very gentle with anybody who has come to meet him and does not seem to be afraid of much, including the dishwasher, garbage disposal, and paper shredder.  He is sleeping through the night, though he definitely has some jet lag, so hours are a little off.  Something to work on..

My mother has fallen so in love, that she may be in contact sometime in the next few months to see about obtaining a dog of her own.  

In the meantime, wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We’ll be in touch with some updated photos soon.

Best regards,

Natalie

Hey Kim and Mollie,

Its been well over a year since we have written, if not two! We have had so much happen in the past year, I don’t even know where time has gone! Marley was born Oct 21 to Stella and (omg totally blanking on his dads name!). Anyways he just turned 3 last month and is hands down the best dog/child in the entire world. We were located in VA, but recently relocated to San Francisco – a huge change for us and Marley! We are now in an apartment, about half the size of our house (and twice as much haha) and no yard! So its has taken some getting used to and Marley has had to learn he can’t just ring his bells and run out the back door, but he has adjusted so fast – you would never know. We can’t normally go more than a block without out people stopping us to ask where he is from and laundry list of other questions. Our apartment is right between two very popular cable car lines, and people are all the time waving at him and taking pictures as they pass by! Its so funny. I say this in every email, but we just can’t thank you guys enough! We recently found a wonderful dog sitter here to help us and he just loves Marley and his personality! In fact he is working on learning to do dog training as well, and he loves working with Marley so much, he keeps him and walks him completely for free!!! crazy!

SF is a great place and so dog friendly! I know Marley has totally loved going to all the parks here and getting to go just about everywhere with us!

I have attached a few pics for you guys!

Take care,

Kelly, Cole & Marley