Wag Reflex

Riverdance Dog

Mini is very talented. Sure, her owners probably spend a fortune on floor refinishing, but it's too cute to make her stop.

Via Buzzfeed.

--Spanno

Kung Fu Corgi

Cricket the Kung Fu Corgi is definitely ready for Halloween. If this isn't a cheap Disney cartoon yet, it soon will be.

Get your pup ready for Halloween with these dog costumes.

--Spanno

Dog Whisperer Magazine Launching Next Week

A new cult-of-personality magazine will launch next week featuring the affable Cesar Millan, called Cesar's Way. If you love Cesar Millan, you'll probably love this magazine. If you hate Cesar Millan, you can go back to reading O, Every Day with Rachael Ray, or back issues of Rosie and George.

Articles in the first spectacular issue will include "Can Your Dog Fix Your Marriage?" by dog and relationship expert Jada Pinkett Smith and "7-Day Doggie Detox", which will create a spike in veterinarian visits. You'll also find out what Sandra Lee is "cooking" for her dog. My guess? Something from a can.

Read more about the magazine at WSJ.com.

--Spanno

Kitten Mittens

Does your cat make too much noise? Try Kitten Mittens!

Ok, it's not a real product--it's a really funny promo for the upcoming season of one of my favorite shows, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

--Spanno

The Ultimate Tailgating Dog

If you love football tailgates and want your dog to participate with dignity you can find some cool college-theme gear here. If you love football and want to completely embarrass your dog, you can do this:

Photo courtesy of jessicaemily01's photostream.

--Spanno

Keyboard Dog Ups the Ante for Keyboard Animals

Words cannot express the level of talent this dog possesses. Mad keyboard skills? Check. Singing skills? In aces. Eat your heart out, keyboard cat.

--Spanno

To Boldly Wear What No Dog Wants to Wear

This has to be the most awkward costume I've ever seen on a dog. And I've seen a lot of crazy costumes. The Bud Light can nacelles are a nice touch.

Photo from popurls.com.

Sadly, Amazon.com doesn't have this particular costume but they do have a very broad selection of canine Halloween costumes.

--Spanno

Wag Reflex Going on Hiatus

After one year of news, photos, and veterinary information, this is Wag Reflex's final regular post. We hope to get back to a daily schedule in the near future, but, for now, we're going to focus our efforts on making Amazon.com's Pet Supplies Store (http://www.amazon.com/pets) the best online shopping spot for pet lovers.

I'd like to thank all of our readers, from the daily waggers to those who only stopped by every now and again. I'd also like to thank our content contributors, without whom this blog would have been pretty sparse.

On the bright side, Wag Reflex will still be available as a valuable reference tool. We have accumulated hundreds of informative posts from our knowledgeable vets.

Keep on wagging.

--Spanno

Pet Fennec Fox

This makes me want a Fennec fox. Do they make good pets? Anyone have one? One of the issues I could see is that they're nocturnal. Then again, my Beagle mix is essentially nocturnal. She sleeps all day. Oh, and all night. Really she's awake for only a few hours a day. Lazy dog...

Photo courtesy of deadstardo's photostream.

Update (7/29/09)

Here's Scout and Doggie (pictured above) playing.

--Spanno

Mystery Mutt Now Less Mysterious

Once again, here's my dog, Cassidy. If you had to guess, what mix of breeds would say Cassidy is? For reference she's 30 lbs.Take your time.

If you guessed Beagle and something else, you're right where we were. But what else is she? How would you find out? And maybe she's not a Beagle. Maybe she's something cool--like a Doberman/Mini Pin/Raccoon mix. It could happen...right?

To unravel the mystery of Cassidy, we got the BioPet DNA breed identification kit. It comes with a little paperwork and some cheek swabs. Here's everything:

All you do is swab the dog's cheek, like so:

Yeah, she's overdue for a teeth cleaning. You have to make sure the dog doesn't interact with any other dogs for a few hours. Otherwise you might get some really fun results. After the swabbing, I sent it off to the BioPet people for analysis. In the meantime we went back to our usual guessing. Coonhound/Chihuahua?

Two weeks later we got the results. They came with some documentation on understanding the results and a nifty certificate of ancestry.

Drum roll, please... The final results are as follows:

• 37-74% Beagle
• 10-19% Bichon Frise
• 10-19% Pekingese
• 10-19% Shih Tzu
• < 10% Brittany
• < 10% Saint Bernard

So there you have it, little Cassidy is a Saint Bernard mix. It was so obvious!

If you want to know what your mystery mutt is, check out the BioPet DNA breed identification kit. It won't tell you why your pet looks like it does or why it acts like it does, but it's kind of fun to know a little more about its strange parentage.

--Spanno

The Cutest Kind of Infestation

Is there a spray or some sort of collar for this?

Photo courtesy of buckandbronco's photstream.

--Spanno

Teacup Maltese

Scooter, a 3-inch-tall Maltese terrier from New Zealand, might be the world's smallest dog. He eats out of an egg cup and sleeps in a shoebox. Sounds like a children's story.

From Mail Online, via BuzzFeed.

--Spanno

Pet Airways Takes Off

Let's say you like traveling long distances with your Doberman and have plenty of extra cash. Since he doesn't fit under a standard airplane seat and you don't want him in the cargo hold, you've been out of luck. All that is about to change. On July 14, your pooch will be able to fly on Pet Airways, the only airline that caters to exclusively to pets. In fact it's so exclusive that you're not welcome on board. You'll have to find your own flight.

Here's their commercial.

Via the Huffington Post.

--Spanno

One Heck of a Dog Trainer

I can barely get my dog to sit and stay, let alone get into a conga line and jump through hoops. Happy Friday.

Try to replicate these results with this selection of dog training books, including:

My Smart Puppy: Fun, Effective, and Easy Puppy Training
"My Smart Puppy is one of those books you want to tell everyone about. The training exercises are short and simple (and fun!), and the training is done in stages (levels). Each exercise is prefaced with a Goal, then how to get there in beautifully explained detail."

101 Dog Tricks: Step by Step Activities to Engage, Challenge, and Bond with Your Dog
"All I can say is WOW!!! This book is very well done, the pictures are so clear and colorful. A great book for beginners or professional trainers. Each trick is detailed with easy to follow instructions. I have been a trainer for 30 years and have never found a book like this one! I am just very impressed!"

The Power of Positive Dog Training
"This is one of the best dog training books out there (believe me I've read lots). It's clear, concise, and covers a multitude of useful things, starting with a reasonable synopsis of the fundamentals of clicker training, then taking you through a 6 week dog training course, and then addressing a number of individual concerns seperately."

--Spanno

Have a Happy Fourth

On behalf of everyone at Wag Reflex, have a great Fourth of July weekend.

Photo from Somethin' Else's photostream.

--Spanno

Taking Cat Ownership to the Next Level

Riana Van Nieuwenhuizen of South Africa shares her home with 11 cats and two snacks dogs. The cats include four cheetahs, five lions, and two tigers. She bought  the cats to save the species' from extinction, so she's not completely insane. But still, I can't see this ending well.

Read more about the cats at Mail Online.

--Spanno

Basketball-Playing Dog Has Some Skills

I use to think that despite my poor basketball skills, I'm at least better than a dog. Now I'm not so sure. Zeke here might be able to teach me a few things.

Zeke playing ball with his dad. From With Leather.

--Spanno

Mystery Saluki from Saudi Arabia Found in California

It seems like it would be easy to find the owner of a certain dog discovered wandering about 30 miles north of San Diego. He's a Saluki, which isn't common; he's microchipped; and he lived in Saudi Arabia with the US military.

Unfortunately, the microchip revealed nothing about the dog's owner or even the dog's name. The Department of Defense denies knowledge of the dog, as do military veterinarians working in Saudi Arabia.

The dog is neutered and healthy, so someone was taking care of him before he was found. And with the dog's military service overseas, you'd think someone would know something. I doubt they've had THAT many Salukis working in Saudi Arabia.

My guess is that the dog is a spy.

Read more about him in the Seattle Times.

--Spanno

Great Upside-Down Smile

Shandi is a very playful Lab/Rhodesian Ridgeback mix.

Photo courtesy of tropic paws' photostream.

--Spanno

WETNoz Introduces High-End Design for Pets

If you have even a marginally modern kitchen, those cheap ceramic bowls you got a PetSmart a few years ago probably stand out like an NBA player in Tokyo. I'm not knocking the bowls--up until recently you didn't have much of choice and they did the job. Heck, even I have them. But now we have a choice. We can replace that mismatched set with some contemporary design.

A new brand of pet products called WETNoz is shaking up the look of bowls, dishes, and even treat jars. The designs are an eye-catching mix of ergonomics and aesthetics. They're like little pieces of art.

Everything is a tad pricey but, really, what did you expect for something that looks this good? The real shock is when you realize that your dog eats out of a nicer bowl than you.

--Spanno