Archive for October, 2009

While most people love Halloween and especially the candies that come along with it, it’s never a good idea to share your treats with your pup. While your family may enjoy anything that’s gummy or chocolate covered, these candies may actually be lethal to your pet. Even just a little bit can cause your pet to become very, very ill.

According to Dr. Susan Wright, a veterinarian who writes for Dog Fence DIY, it doesn’t take much to pose a risk to your pet. She writes,:

“The active ingredient in chocolate that is so dangerous to your dog is theobromine. It’s also found in caffeine, but because coffee tastes bitter and dog’s don’t seem to like it, caffeine poisoning isn’t common.

How much theobromine does your dog need to eat to be affected? The lethal dose is 100 – 150mg of theobromine per kilo bodyweight. So, the toxic amount varies with the type of chocolate eaten, and the weight of your dog. Dark cooking chocolate contains 1400mg of theobromine per 100g. This means that half a 250g block can be fatal to a 10kg, or 22lb, dog. Milk chocolate is much less toxic, containing only 150mg theobromine per 100g.

If your dog manages to eat enough chocolate, he’ll vomit, have diarrhea and appear edgy and excited. He’ll possibly stagger on his feet, and develop muscle spasms. This can lead to seizures, coma and death.”

Do your pup a favor this weekend and keep him away from the candy. Remember, only a little bit can cause your pet to have a problem. Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Halloween is everywhere! Eerie Orange lights glowing from housetops and skeletons and coffins are strewn about on people lawns. It’s amazing how people have adopted this holiday and have made it their own. Down the street from us we actually have a neighbor who starts setting up his Halloween display just after Labor Day. There are coffins, skeletons, spiders, giant cobwebs and so much more lurking about his yard.

 As I sit here at my desk this morning I am reminiscing of years past and my days trick or treating. I’ll admit I did ring a doorbell or two in my day and screamed trick or treat! Where I grew up, flexibility under the Halloween costume really wasn’t an option. You see my sisters and I grew up in upstate New York and it wasn’t always about being cute or scary on Halloween, it was about being warm because almost every year our first snowfall started on no other date but Halloween night! Yeah, Mom dressed us up like the Michelin Man and out the door we rolled! At least 1 pair of long johns, stretchy knit pants, jeans and if we were experiencing a warm Halloween; no snow pants! Our best costumes usually consisted of being a scarecrow or a mummy because it offered us the best opportunity to be toasty warm and still be able to tell what we were! Being from the country, we always headed into town to do our begging for candy and it was always an enjoyable evening out and when we came home we all had toasty hot cocoa and marshmallows waiting for us.

At Bisket Baskets, we have really enjoyed this year’s Halloween season. We designed several new Halloween gifts and they have been selling like hotcakes! Looking at all the candy included and having gifts that include everyone’s favorite candy like Reese’s and M&M’s it’s no wonder. I’ve actually been thinking of staying home this Halloween and let my Granddaughter and her Mom just go out. I’d be willing to stay warm at home pass out the candy at our house and enjoy a Halloween Gift Basket just for me instead!

Now that all those candy filled pillow sacks are about to be arriving home filled with suckers, candy bars, apples and more, we want to be sure you all remember that chocolate is dangerous for dogs! So if you want to spoil Fido this Halloween, Bisket Baskets offers safe pet treats – check them out at our Halloween Pet Gift Baskets page. So please remember to sort your candy safely and stash the really good stuff with chocolate up high so Fido won’t get into it. If you haven’t read the “Five Ways to Keep Your Pet Safe on Halloween Day, by Paul Mann” it’s not too late. Check it out at the All Dog Blog.

Pumpkin Eater Dog Gift by Bisket Baskets

We all love and cherish our pets. Sure, we may get frustrated at them when they munch on our favorite shoes and don’t always listen, but they’re a part of our family and give us so much love and warmth. We treasure our pets and work to care for them from being a puppy to an adult dog.

Nizhoni Pet Photography understands how important our pets are, and works to capture the unique personality of your pet in their beautiful pet photos. Amanda DeMarree is the very talented photographer behind these great pet photos, and Ken DeMarree is the assistant photographer at Nizhoni Pet Photography.

Take a look around the Nizhoni Pet Photography website, and the pet photos in their “Galleries” section are sure to have your eyes glued to your computer screen! The photos capture the nature of the pet in every snapshot, and their photos are so crisp and vivid. Check out their Blog for more pet photos and stories on the photo shoots! They’ve got our tail wag of approval!

We all lead very busy lives, and it’s sometimes hard to stay on top of dog-related news as much as we’d like. Doggy Blurb takes care of that – this very engaging dog and pet blog posts several times each day on dog events happening online and across the U.S. They also frequently post on important canine-related news stories that will surely spark some convo at the office watercooler, and are great to link to in your own blog posts!

Doggy Blurb does an excellent job of educating us on what’s going on in the dog world, a “dog newspaper” of sorts, and oh do we love it! Congrats Doggy Blurb on creating a space for us to read canine news, share our thoughts with other readers, and learn about events where we can meet other dog owners.

Kay’s K9s are some of the cutest and most unique dog collectibles you’ll see! Artist K. Stahler creates beautiful custom needle felted pet sculptures, brooches, magnets, keychains and more that just about perfectly resemble your pet’s look and features, and are so adorable.

These make great holiday gifts for all the pet lover’s in your life this holiday season (along with our pet gift baskets, of course!). They’re so unique, and the recipient will love that they’re handcrafted to match their dog, and not just another store bought gift. Kay’s K9s miniature replicas definitely have that “wow” factor when the recipient sees it, and they’ll remember your very thoughtful gift for years to come!

We applaud Kay’s K9s for creating such a unique canine collectible, and designing each and every one to be absolutely breathtaking!

We have yet another great dog blog to tell you about – the All Dog Blog! Erin is the author behind these wonderful posts, and her goal is to bring readers the most informative and interesting dog news, great dog products, and canine health information, and she won’t settle for a blog less than the best! She’s certainly attained “great” status in our book, we love her posts, and especially her dog “Books” section on the blog – an excellent resource for dog owners and perfect gifts for dog lover’s this holiday season.

Definitely check out “Five Ways To Keep Your Pet Safe On Halloween Day, By Paul Mann” – a very timely post for all dog owners to read before Halloween night! We hope you’ll check out All Dog Blog, and their Dog Shop, too.

Things just don’t change too much when you have a hit on your hands and our Halloween Reese’s gifts are disappearing in front of our very eyes.  It seems that kids of every age will be receiving Halloween gifts this year.  So don’t miss out on some fantastic Halloween gifting, check out our Halloween gifts for friends and family and we even have Halloween pet gifts for our brave four-legged friends as well!

In case you were still wondering about how I made out with that trade of bubblegum for Reese’s?  I didn’t!  So this year I’m sending myself my very own Boo-tastic Candy Bouquet loaded with all my favorites, Reese’s, Hershey Kisses, Butterfingers, and more!

Boo-tastic Candy Bouquet by Bisket Baskets And More

We love friendly dog blogs, and the Dancing Dog Blog is the epitome of a welcoming, friendly blog! This great dog blog is all about posting entertaining and inspirational dog stories, and working to raise awareness of crucial dog issues around the world. We love the personality and unique voice of the blog – writer Mary Haight’s posts are always fresh and engaging, and we’re happy we came across such a great blog.

We urge you to read the inspiring story of Ella in “A Dog’s Story of Loyalty”, and check out the Dancing Dog Lists for very useful information on our canine friends!

We hope you’ll check out the Dancing Dog Blog and say hello to Mary! Keep up the inspiring and creative posts – two paws up for you!

Fall is all about celebrating the season, so why shouldn’t your dog have the same chance to get to enjoy the fun? At BisketBaskets.com, we’re all about finding ways to include your dog in holiday festivities, especially when Halloween and Fall get closer. So don’t just let your dog spend the fall like any other season. Make sure that he’s part of the celebration. Give him something special – like one of the Fall Pet Gift Baskets from BisketBaskets.com.

Filled to the brim with yummy tricks and treats for both you and your dog like candies and biscuits, the Dog Gift Baskets from BisketBaskets.com make the perfect gift for when you want to celebrate something special with your dog – just be sure he doesn’t get into any chocolate.

All that’s left to do after you give him a gift is to take him outside to enjoy a run in the freshly fallen leaves!