You guys.  Go to this.  You won’t regret the drive from Akron.

Ted and I will be there all day: In fact, my band is playing from 2-5.  Good Stuff.  Amazing Dog Folks, and just good times.

The Grateful Dog Bakery Presents

WOOFSTOCK FUN FEST
Sunday, August 1st from 10-5
PLEASE NO RETRACTABLE LEASHES/FLEXI LEADS

We are celebrating our 5 year Anniversay with one of the biggest bashes ever! This year we are proud to have as our very special guests:

“Groomer to the Stars” and Author Billy Rafferty
Mr. Rafferty, a nationally recognized, multi-certified and award-winning pet stylist and dog care expert, has a new book out called “Happy Dog—Caring for Your Dog’s Body, Mind, and Spirit,” and he’ll be signing copies of it at Woofstock.. In addition to being a Master Pet Stylist, Certified Master Groomer, DermaTech Specialist and Companion Animal Hygienist, he is a sanctioned grooming show judge and a highly regarded speaker and lecturer. Billy is also the owner and principal stylist at Doggy Dooz Pet Styling Salon in Chicago, IL. His clients include Oprah Winfrey, NBC News’ Tamron Hall and Chef Art Smith.

Barnes and Noble will be selling Mr. Rafferty’s books and he will be signing them.  From 11-2.  And…Mr. Rafferty will be offering a question and answer session at 12:45 under the Lecture Tent!

AND:
Renowned Pet Portrait Artist Michael Vistia
Mr. Vistia has been commissioned by Fortune 500 companies, entertainment and sports celebrities and politicians. Mr. Vistia’s lifelike renderings of family portraits, canines and thoroughbreds are on display in some of the most prestigious homes in America. His photos are also featured in Mr. Raffery’s new book (see above entry). He has also done some “Paint Your Own Pet Portrait” classes at the Bakery, and will be at Woofstock to share his talents with attendees.

New this year:

- Book Signing with Billy Rafferty from 11-2.
- A free lecture series featuring 30-minute workshops on various pet-related topics such as nutrition and grooming.
- Pictures with Merlinda “The Fairy Dogmother” to pets! from 11- 4 $10
- Pet Blessing for a donation at 3:00
- Kissing Booth…Kiss a Boston Terrier .50!
- Pet Acupuncture by Prickly Paws Accupunture &
Pet Accupressure – $10 for 10 mins.

PLUS:
- Wiener Races $2.00 entry fee at 1:00
- Dog Races $2.00 per dog entry fee by size. 1:15
Agility Course $2.00 per dog by North Coast Dogs
Dog Wash by Canine Companions- $5.00
- Pet massage by Pet Kneads $10 for 10 min.
Animal Reiki/Healing Touch $10 for 10 min. by Cheri Keller
- Nail trims by Designer Doggies $5.00
Micro-chipping by Happy Pet Vet – $55
Pet and People Caricatures by Art Attack $10 each
Doris Straka Animal Communicator $10 for 15 mins.
- Variety of Information booths,
- Paw print imprints & Paint your own Pet Picture! -$5.00
- Free Fly Ball demonstration by Fur in a Blur at 2:00pm
&  Fly Ball course open from 2:15-3:30 to try! $2:00 per dog
- Outdoor cafe for people and pets with Awesome Gyros and
Alyssa’s Cupcake Confections.
- Canine Skinny Dipping Pool!

Entertainment will be provided by the band iTex, featuring Plain Dealer reporter Chuck Yarborough &
the fab duo of BrookeLynn (Ahem, Teddy’s MOM!)!!

Proceeds from Woofstock benefit these 4 Animal Rescues:
- Love-a-Stray
- Fidos Companion
- St. Francis Animal Sanctuary
- Middleburg Hts. Animal Foundation

Other animal rescues & non-profit in attendance:
- Golden Retriever’s in Need – Ohio Pug Rescue
- Midwest Boston Terrier Rescue
- Skunkhaven Rescue
- Canine Companions for Independence
- Mini Mutts Rescue
- N. RIdgeville Friends of the Park
-Therapy Dog International
-Canine Advocates of Ohio
-C.A.R.E.
-Redcross

Plus:
- Camp Bow Wow
- JMT Glassworks
-Mixed Bag Designs
- Primal Pet Foods
- Natura Pet Foods
- Fromm Pet Foods
- Honest Kitchen Pet Foods
- Happy Pet Vet
- North Coast Dogs Training
- Pet Kneads
-Prickly Paws Acupuncture
- Designer Doggies
- Healing Touch Reiki for Pets and People
- Doris Straka Animal Communicator
- Fur in a Blur
- Art Attack by Kat
- Wholesome Pet Distributing
-DBF & Associates
-Amazingevents4u
-Diva-N-Dapper Dogs

Lecture/Demo Tent Schedule -
10:45 Therapy Dog International Demo
Dolynn Doyle
11:45 The Ins and Outs of Feeding Raw food to your pets…
Michelle Hall
12:45 Billy Rafferty Answers your questions about grooming your pet!
1:45 Ask the Vet – Dr. Dean from Happy Pet
2:45 Cooking Demo…Nurtitious recipes for your dog!
Tiffany Costanzo from Wholesome Pet
3:45 Holistic Practices for your Pet and what they do
Cheri Keller & Linda Mckenna &  Jennifer Bodgstad DVM,CVA

Contests: Entry fee is $1.00 per dog per contest
(Held in front of the entertainment tent.)
Largest/Smallest Dog- 10:30
Grooviest Dog – 11:30
Best look alike - (Wo)man/child and dog – 12:30
“Americas dogs have talent!” The most talented dog! – 1:30
Pie Eating Contest for man and dog – 3:30
Sponsored by Gray House Pies in Fairview Park

- Free goody bag with every in-store purchase (one per family).
Admission is free.
PLEASE NO RETRACTABLE LEASHES/FLEXI LEADS

Lolly the Trolley
(Sponsored by Natura Pet Food, Fromm Family Foods, Primal Pet Food & Wholesome Pet Distributing)

Chinese Raffles this year:
-Gift Basket from Wholesome Pet Distributing

-Holistic Treatments Package for your Pets …includes Pet Massage, Reiki and Accupuncture.  $130 Value

Other Sponsors :
K&W Distributing
Merrick Pet Food
Party Animal

PLEASE NO RETRACTABLE LEASHES/FLEXI LEADS

The tail is only one of many communicators on your dog’s body.  When folks tell me stories of a little tiff in behavior with their dogs, sometimes I will hear something along the lines of “BUT his tail was wagging…when he bit me!”

That is the trick of the tail! Somehow we silly humans have come to believe that a tail wag is THE sign of a happy dog.  Because we’ve bred our dogs to be very social, most tails you encounter will indeed be happy, but along the way, you will see some that are nervous, and others that are ready for a throw down (watch out!).

Here’s how to read that tail of the moment:

Happy Tail: This coffee table’s nightmare is accompanied by a loose, relaxed dog. Similar to a rubber band or cooked spaghetti, the body is wigglin’ and movin’. The tail can be high or level with the plane of the back and very widely and loosely wagging back and forth.
This tail is welcoming a greeting from you! Go for it! “HELLO DOG! I’m Dog Lover! NICE to meet you!”

Nervous Tail/Unsure Tail: Is carried below the plane of the back and maybe even tucked between the legs. Only the tip, if anything, is moving. This pup is slinking along either toward you or away. This dog is still likely social, just not sure what to quite make of you. Be gentle, go slow and be calmly reassuring. Let the pup approach you.
“Hey there Fella, it’s OK. I’m Dog Lover. Aww..good boy.”

A hunkered down body and obvious lifted paw is what I would consider an unsure greeting.

Aroused/Aggressive Tail: Is high over the plane of back. It is tightly waving, just at the tip, erratically. It is accompanied by a stiff dog, who’s body appears “frozen still.”
“Alrighty then Fido, let me give you a WIDE berth. I’m Dog Lover & I’m outta here.”

We should all know how to speak dog effectively. Increasing our ability to understand what dogs are telling us, keeps both us and them safe!
Be sure to pass on this information. Tell your tale of being fluent in dog tail!
Woof!

It can’t possibly be a boring weekend for you and your pup.  Not a chance.

Two biggies you pup fans:

For one, the Hudson Wine Festival is a big time fun time this weekend.  I mean, this is my favorite event of the year without a doubt.  Wine, Friends, and Ted. It can’t get any better.  You should check it out, and know that the proceeds are going to the Humane Society of Greater Akron.  Saaaa-sweet. More information is here  Hudson Wine Festival.

Another whopper is Tots N Tails in Hardesty Park:

Tots N Tails  is a day for celebrating pets as family members.  If you are ready

to open your heart and home to a rescued animal, many groups will be bringing pets available for adoption.  In addition, there will be opportunities to learn about several animal welfare programs in our community, and how you can help.  Animal lovers of all ages will enjoy food, fun activities (including crafts, inflatables, and face painting), and agility and training demonstrations.  Join us Saturday, July 17th at Hardesty Park in Akron.  The event begins at 10am and runs until 4pm, and admission is free!

And of course, there is the good ole dog park.  Whatever the case, there is no excuse to get out there this weekend with your best friend and have some fun in the sun.  Woof!

I am without Ted today and about in this beautiful weather sitting on a blanket in the sun.  A cool breeze whisps by as the air smells of a beautiful summer morning.   A pup goes walking past.  No lead, and his owner is 20 feet behind him.

I acknowledge the fact that the pooch is obviously loose and the man that is 20 feet behind is trying to catch him.  I don’t want to get involved just yet as the man is trying to corral his pup to a corner.  It’s no use.  He just can’t seem to get the dog’s attention: it is a little too obvious that this pup doesn’t listen to him.  Like absolutely, positively does not acknowledge his name or any command.  The man has a bit of a hobble, and I can’t seem to bare to watch as he limps towards the dog nearly catches him and fails.  And fails again. And again.  The man is sweaty, tired, and obviously in pain.

I tell him I will help.  I already can sense the dog is a bit stressed and if I reach for that collar I think I might lose a hand.

“Don’t worry, he won’t bite you” says the guy.  Haha yeah, right.  Listen, if a dog owner cannot even get the attention of his dog, what makes me believe he knows how that dog will react when caught off guard.  If this happens to you, keep that in mind so that you can walk away with 10 fingers.  The pup wants nothing to do with any of this, and I am trying to help with the deep sense that this pooch will attack if provoked enough.  Finally, he bolts down a long parking lot. The owner can’t possibly run.  So I do.  We make it to the street, and the pup flips around and looks at me.  Straight in the eye.  Now, I don’t know if you know this:  but a lot of times if you stare a dog in the eye, he will automatically feel threatened.  We were locked eye to eye.  He growls at me.  eeek.  I muster up a tough guy voice telling him to “sit down”.  LOL He bolts again and runs into a fenced in area of a neighbor’s house.  I shut the gate and knock on the door of the house.  No one answers.

The man has made his way to me, I tell him that the pooch is in the fenced in area.

“Great”, says the man.  “He’s home.  Thank you.”

“What do you mean?  This is your house?” I ask catching my breath from the run.

“Yes it is.”

And there you have it.  Fido ran back home and I still have 10 fingers.  I will call it a day.

Courtesy of CBSNews.com

It seems across America, more and more resorts and campgrounds are throwing a bone to their dog loving customers – hosting, for at least a week or two, dog summer camps.

Last week and his dog Scout spent a couple days at one such camp in upstate New York- for this inside look at the people and pets behind the movement.

David Kralstein and Janice Costa run the Canine Club Getaway. “You’ve got a whole changing demographic. The dog is becoming much more a part of the family,” Costa said. “We want to enjoy time with our dog. That’s what we enjoy doing and when we go places we want our dog to be part of that.”

Costa said her clients are people who see no reason to leave their dogs even for lunch – people tired of being told no by the vacation industry.

“Every time I go someplace I’m always treated like a second class citizen. What am I doing wrong, I got a dog. Is that a sin to have a dog?”" asked Rocky Caforio, who brought his Shiatsu from Brooklyn. “So when I heard about this place, and we can have fun together, and I can enjoy her and she enjoys me then I decided that’s what I want to do.”

“It’s the most fun you can have with your clothes on,” said Lynn Kiaer.

Like most dog camps, this one offers a full slate of activities – most of which did not initially appeal to Hartman and Scout – like chase the plastic bags on a wire (she saw no point in it), barely tolerated barks and crafts, and flat-out refused swimming lessons.

“I don’t speak dog but I think he’s saying this camp sucks,” Hartman said.

Tara Munnely said that the camp is for her Border Collie Haley, but also for her.

“It builds the bond of the relationship. You have 10 to 15 years with this glorious creature so doing things to give her the best life I could, that’s important to me,” Munnelly said.

Scout warmed up to the place – even ended up chasing those bags for a minute or two. But like any camp, it was more the unstructured activities that she enjoyed most: the being with nature and scaring the pants off it, the being with a good friend and bonding over shared experience. That’s what summer camp is all about – that and the ice cream, of course.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

There is so much going on for our canine counterparts this weekend.  Have you checked out our

Happenin Hounds Calendar?

We’ll be seeing you around and have a great weekend!  Woof!

Woof, here is a flyer that was sent to me by one of our AkronDogStuff.com readers!  For more information check out www.raftersbar.com!  Woof!

For gorgeous collars, check out this local bite:www.NolaAndSpencer.com

With all this gorgeous weather we are all out and about a lot more.  Woot!  With that, comes the chances of your pooch getting loose by bolting out the door, wriggling out of a collar, or even by jumping a fence.  Ted and I are out walking so much, we see something like this atleast once a week.

Yesterday, we were strolling along and watched a pooch across the street wriggle out of his collar because he was so excited to see Ted.  I saw this happening and checked the road because I knew the next move post-freedom was to dart after Ted.  No cars.  Ted and I booked across the street towards the freed Fido and little pup followed us.  There is one thing I do know:  if your dog gets loose, one of the easiest ways to catch it is to have another dog.  They automatically want to run to their canine counterpart to say hello.  This little guy wanted to do the same.

So Ted and I walked far into a yard, and Ted laid down.  Little poochie was running around like a little mad man, Ted just laid there.  LOL He is so used to being the docile chill-out guy, and he looked at the pup with a voice that seemed to say “dude, chill”    The owner and I were able to catch the little guy, and I showed her how to properly give her pooch collar space so that it is tight: but not too tight to wiggle out of.  This was a lucky break:  that poochie could have been in a worse situation for sure.

A good rule of thumb if you have a flat collar for your pooch:  You should be able to place two fingers underneath the collar to give enough comfort space without the collar being too loose for your pup.  Check the new collar frequently to see if any fur is rubbing off or any skin is getting irritated.  Adjust accordingly.

It hasn’t come just yet, as I close up the house last night fa-fa-fa-freezing and thinking to myself, is this really summer?  June, where are you?  We’ve all heard the phrase “The Dog Days Of Summer”, but did you know where it came from?

Don’t worry AkronDogStuff Readers, I’ve got you covered and did the Google search myself to tell you what this phrase is all about.  Warning:  This article contains tidbits of knowledge to help you with your next trivia game.

(Ahem)

As I am sure you know, The Dog Days of Summer occur during the hottest, ickiest, stickiest time of the year in our Northern Hemisphere.  This falls between early July and early September.  It also is a symbol for stagnation or inactivity.  But there’s more.

Back in the days of ancient times (prior to our nighttime atmosphere being full of artificial lighting, smog, and the such) people from all over the world would stare at the stars and create creatures or figures but connecting them.  Yup, I’m talking about constellations.  This included two well-known constellations that were dogs: Canis Major & Canis Minor.

Now Canis Major was the largest of the two and has one of the brightest stars affiliated with it.  The star named Sirius (I’m still talking Dog Days, not Harry Potter folks).  Now Sirius (AKA the Dog Star) is so bright in fact that the ancient Romans thought it emitted heat to Earth.  Not only that, in our summer months, this bright star rises and sets with the Sun.

Although it was thought that Sirius is not an extra heater for our planet, it was later discovered it is just the tilt of the Earth that causes us to have The Dog Days of Summer, all while in perfect view of the Dog Star.

Don’t say I didn’t teach ya’ nothin.  Class is Dismissed!  Wooooof!