Amy Shojai's Blog, page 131
July 4, 2012
Woof Wednesday: Patriotic Dogs
“Even if all friends desert you, the dog remains true…”
I’m hugging my dog today, and thanking God for all those who fight for the rights of the underdog. God bless us and keep our loved ones safe.
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter . Don’t forget to check out the NAME THAT DOG/CAT character in the forthcoming THRILLER, LOST & FOUND!
Filed under: Dog Training & Care Tagged: Amy Shojai, dogs, July 4, military dogs, patriotic dogs, puppies, tribute to a dog, www.amyshojai.com
July 2, 2012
Monday Mentions: Thriller Unveil, Chicken Soup-icity & Writer Beware!
COVER UNVEIL! You like? Boy, I do too–and click on the cover to learn more about the book as well as the ongoing NAME THAT DOG and NAME THAT CAT contest. By the way, a special shout out to the Magical-Dawg’s breeder Gillian Salling for sharing her gorgeous cover dog, USCHI VON FERNHEIM, TD. (That “TD” stands for Tracking Dog title this dog acquired at six months of age.)
LOST AND FOUND is about the future. My nonfiction books are the present, of course. But today’s blog also revisits the past.
Several years ago I was fortunate to be a co-author on two books, Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul and Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul with awesome peeps Dr. Marty Becker and Carol Kline. These books were incredibly popular and sold extremely well–authors LOVE books like that with great royalty payments! Unfortunately for the authors, though, the founders of Chicken Soup decided to sell the brand–the company became Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing (CSSP) in 2008. And when that happened–POOOOOOF!–all the co-author royalties suddenly disappeared. That’s because the first publisher Health Communications Inc (HCI). decided to sue CSSP, and so CSSP returned the favor–to the tune of millions of dollars spent on attorneys.
The kicker? They decided that the co-authors should foot the bill for their lawyerly shenanigans. In other words, instead of continuing to earn substantial income, suddenly our royalty indicated each co-author OWED the new publisher in excess of 5 figures. No, we didn’t have to pay them–this just meant they didn’t have to pay US as long as that column remained in the negative column. Funny how a simple contract can be re-interpreted the way they want. My friends Marty and Carol have many other Chicken Soup books, and there are a number of other authors in the same soup-y situation.
So I was pleased to see that the two companies finally settled their dispute. And I quick-like-a-bunny emailed ‘em to find out what this means for the co-authors. I first emailed Kim Weiss, director of communications for HCI and she said they’d been told to have us direct questions to Amy Newmark, the publisher of CSSP, and here is Ms Newmark’s reply:
Hi Amy.
We received no money in the settlement.We will start publishing the backlist books with new ISBNs in July and we hope to generate royalties for the coauthors later this year as a result.
Amy
I’ll give you three guesses (and the first two don’t count) how long I’ll hold my breath to see income on THAT new deal. The settlement means nothing for the co-authors. Nothing. It means NOTHING. It only means CSSP now owns the HCI backlist and gets to publish it and continue to perform creative bookkeeping to keep any/all income made possible by the blood-sweat-teeth-gnashing of co-authors.
Bitter, much? Uh…yeah. So from me to you–WRITER BEWARE OF HCI AND CSSP. They have in the past and most certainly will in the future interpreted contracts any which way that pleases them, to the woe of those who trust them to be ethical.
Monday Mentions is the mash-up-day of all the neato-torpedo links and videos, pet schtuff and bling and writer-icity crappiocca collected over the past week. Some of this “schtuff” can be hard to categorize and may fit more than one topic so I urge you to at least scan them all.
WRITER-ICITY SCHTUFF
Book Passages Mystery Writers Conference July 19-22, with some awesome speakers including the awesome Doug Lyle, forensic specialist
Types of Social Media Users–what type are you? (“Sparks” here…)
Publishing Syndicate call for submissions
Amazon Buys Dorchester Pub Assets
PET SCHTUFF
Our Animal Natures asks (and answers) the question, Why don’t we human doctors routinely cooperate with animal experts?
Pedigree Canned Dog Food Recall little blue plastic pieces in the food could choke your dog, please be careful!
Winn Feline Foundation Announces 2012 Media Award presented to awesome pet writer/author Darlene Arden!
Bark in the Park 2011, Image (c) Jennifer Mills – jennifermillsphotography.com
6th Annual Planet Dog Foundation Fundraiser to Benefit Maine Medical Center’s Therapy Dog Program. I love this company! Not only does Magical-dawg love their products, they do good schtuff for dogs…check out the video, below.
How Animals Talk–Vocal “Matching” in Animals and a related article on how goat moms recognize kid bleats even after they grow up!
Responsible Dog Ownership Day turns 10 Celebrate with your dogs on September 22.
Planet Dog Offers $25,000 In Grants. Since 2006, PDF has contributed over $875,000 dollars in cash and in-kind product donations to exemplary canine service programs. $25,000 in grants go to this year’s grant recipients: Austin Dog Alliance, of Austin, TX; Central Lakes Search and Rescue, of Garfield, MN; Champlain Valley Search and Rescue K-9 Unit, of Keeseville, NY; Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters, of Norfolk, VA; Freedom Service Dogs of Englewood, Colorado; New Jersey Search and Rescue, of Mahwah, NJ; Service Dogs of Virginia, of Charlottesville, VA; and Susquehanna Service Dogs, of Harrisburg, PA. Check out the awesome video.
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter . Don’t forget to check out the NAME THAT DOG/CAT character in the forthcoming THRILLER, LOST & FOUND!
Filed under: Cat Behavior & Care, Dog Training & Care, Writing Advice & More Tagged: Amy Shojai, cats, Chicken Soup, dogs, Lost And Found,
June 29, 2012
Furry Friday: Making Fireworks Fears Flee
Scaredy cats typically hide so your cats may disappear when the fireworks start booming. Copr. KrazyBoutCats/Flickr
The 4th of July celebration each year brings cookouts, family gatherings, fun-filled fireworks—and petrified pets. The noise turns some dogs into howling wrecks, and cats into reactive runaways.
SIGNS OF FEAR
Dogs show fear in various ways. Panting, shaking, squinting, yawning, a “worried” furrowed brow, and showing the whites of his eyes (whale eye) all indicate growing unease. He may whimper or come to you and seek attention, or flinch and yelp at the fireworks sounds. Cats more typically hide, tremble or make a doorway dash that sends them into the great outdoors to be lost or hit by cars. Some dogs and cats lose control of the bladder and bowels when they become frightened.
Up to 20 percent of dogs suffer from fireworks fears or other noise phobias. The statistics for cats are more difficult to know since they simply disappear and owners may not realize what set them off. Some dogs develop true panic attacks. Dogs in panic mode can’t think. Instead, they go into autopilot and display a fight-or-flight reaction.
Extreme fear prompts Poochie to do anything to get away from the scary noise: he’ll pull down window blinds, collide with screen doors or crash through windows, breaking glass and potentially cutting himself. If you are in his way, or he can’t hide, he may instinctively use his teeth to deal with the panic.
Even patriotic pups can be frightened of fireworks. Copr. Lisa Calvert/Flickr
PHEROMONE HELP
An innovative product designed specifically to help dogs deal with fear—especially noise phobias—employs a natural pheromone that dogs recognize on an instinctive level. Pheromones are chemical substances made by the animal’s body that act as a form of communication that, when inhaled by your pet, talks directly to his brain.
The product Comfort Zone with D.A.P. (dog appeasing pheromone) is an analogue of the pheromone mom-dogs produce to calm nursing puppies. It calms the fears of dogs of any age, from puppy to aging oldster. Cats benefit from Comfort Zone with Feliway, an analogue of the cheek pheromone that tells cats their environment and territory is “safe.”
Both products come as plug-ins from pet products stores, but it won’t “drug” your dog or cat into a magic cure. It instead helps put a damper on fear long enough to “think” so that your behavior modification/training techniques can work. You’ll need to have these plugged in for several days in advance for it to offer your dog or cat the best benefits.
AROMATHERAPY
You can also find help for dogs from Earth Heart products that use aromatherapy to sooth doggy angst. Canine Calm is designed to sooth dogs prone to distress due to thunderstorms, fireworks and other noisy or anxiety-producing situations. It contains pure essential oils of bergamot, tangerine, lavender, geranium, marjoram, and ylang ylang, all known to have a calming or even natural sedative properties. Earth Guard mists can be sprayed directly onto cloth, skin or fur without staining or leaving sticky residue and are said to be safe for puppies as young as 8 weeks old.
The company also has a “Share the Calm” promotion through June 30th to provide firework phobic, dog loving families with a buy one get one free offer with their Canine Calm purchase, so that they may have one bottle for their dog and share a second bottle with another dog loving family with a firework-phobic dog, or have an additional bottle to take with them on their holiday. Use the code ShareTheCalm at the time of purchase. Earth Heart also offers Travel Calm mist for dogs restless during travel. Luckily, that’s one that Magic won’t ever need–he thinks HE should drive!
GIVE DOGS A JOB
Dogs can’t panic when using their brain for something else such as “work.” Drill him on obedience commands and special tricks, or ask him to play fetch and carry around a favorite toy. That engages his brain into productive activity rather than thinking about the scary noises. Giving him treats and positive rewards for remaining calm also reinforces the benefits of controlling his emotions. For instance, puzzle toys stuffed with fun treats the dog–or the cat–must manipulate to get at the goodies can go a long way toward keeping their mind off the fireworks.
Ideally, pets can be counter-conditioned to the scary noises by exposing the fearful dog to recorded sounds of fireworks played at a very low volume, and rewarding him for staying calm. Gradually, you increase the noise level, to help the cat or dog “get used” to the noise and learn to tolerate it. Desensitization programs can take weeks and sometimes months to work, though.
Are your pets fearful of loud noises? What do they do? Have they ever damaged your house–or injured themselves or others during a panic attack? Is there a special way you handle the kitty or doggy panic attacks? Please share! Here are 12 more tips on relieving noise anxieties.
Being scared kills the fun. Help your pets turn the fearful whimpers and scaredy-cat hisses into joyful purrs and wags, so your whole family (furry and otherwise) enjoy the howliday.
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter for your chance to NAME THAT DOG character in the forthcoming THRILLER, LOST & FOUND, and pet book give-aways!
Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Amy Shojai, cats, dogs, Earthheartinc.com, fear, fireworks fears in pets, how to soothe pet fear, noise phobias, pets, puppies.About.com, www.amyshojai.com
June 27, 2012
Woof Wednesday: Hot Dogs, Heatstroke & Cool Tips
Summer time fun requires safety issues–even swingers like “Wince.” Photo copr Melissa/Flickr
Summer is here, and she’s in a nasty mood. Temperatures this week have soared into the mid-to-high 90s and yesterday reached 100 degrees. For hairless humans, the risk of sunburn becomes an issue and even the fur-kids (especially those with white fur) can develop burns on the thinly furred areas like ear tips and the bridge of the nose. Some dogs enjoy sunbathing on their backs and get burned tummies!
But the true risk for these hot days is heatstroke. That happens when the body isn’t able to cool off sufficiently. People sweat, but dogs (and cats, too) have sweat glands in their paws which aren’t particularly effective for cooling. Instead the dog relies on panting to cool off–there are also 9 other reasons dogs pant–while kitties only pant when in trouble and more likely lick-lick-lick themselves all over for an evaporative cooling effect. The problem with these techniques, though, is that when the outside air temperature rises to pet body temperature the panting air-exchange won’t work. And the pet overheats and can succumb to heatstroke. Learn more about signs of heatstroke and first aid tips in this heatstroke article.
Those of y’all who regularly read this blog know that the Magical-Dawg LOVES car rides. But cars become deathtraps in even relatively mild temperatures. On a 78-degree day, a shaded car reaches temperatures of 90 degrees but if parked in the sun, it will reach 160 degrees in minutes. Leaving the car running with the AC blowing is no guarantee–even police dogs have died when car cooling systems failed. So for the summer months, Magic’s car rides get limited to brief around-the-driveway morning excursions to pick up the newspaper, or after-dark trips to a drive-through ice cream shop (yes, he gets a taste). I just can’t risk my buddy at any other time.
Magic also adores games of fetch, but in this hot weather, one or two retrieves are enough to leave him gasping–even though he’d continue the game and collapse with a goofy grin and the Frisbee in his dying jaws if I let him. So we’ve had to come up with some alternatives for hot weather SAFE fun. Magic’s favs include:
Hose tag: chasing the water from the end of the hose
Pool digging: trying to “fetch” floating toys out of the doggy wading pool
Pup-sicle treats: chicken-broth “slushies” frozen inside Kong puzzle toys
Paddling in the tank: that’s the mud-hole yucky man-made pond, and means he gets a hosing off after
How do you keep YOUR hot-doggy a cool customer? Are there special summer time toys or games your pets really enjoy? Do they like to swim? Here are 9 more ways to keep dogs cool. And here’s a bit of video of the Magical-Dawg having some summer water-and-Frisbee-chasing fun. Please share your tips in the comments–and share this blog with others so their hot dogs stay safely cool!
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter for your chance to NAME THAT DOG character in the forthcoming THRILLER, LOST & FOUND, and pet book give-aways!
Filed under: Dog Training & Care Tagged: Amy Shojai, car safety, cool weather tips, dog care, dog games, dogs, heatstroke, keep dogs cool, swimming, www.amyshojai.com
June 25, 2012
Monday Mentions: Cat Books, Pub Tips & The Name Game
Monday Mentions is the mash-up-day of all the neato-torpedo links and videos, pet schtuff and bling and writer-icity crappiocca collected over the past week. Some of this “schtuff” can be hard to categorize and may fit more than one topic so I urge you to at least scan them all.
I’ll be sending out my Pet Peeves newsletter this next week so if you haven’t yet subscribed, here’s a gentle reminder. That’s where you’ll see the “sneak peak” of the cover for my debut thriller LOST AND FOUND–it’s awesome!–and learn more about the NAME THAT DOG and NAME THAT CAT character contest.
Today I catch up on some books languishing on my TO-BE-READ stack–and more thoroughly reviewed as time permits. But the delay is breaking my heart because these are books that YOU WANT TO READ! Truly. So with very brief blurbs and more to be posted to amazon to help out my fellow cat writer colleagues, please take the time to check out these awesome books.
CAT DADDY is the first book of what I hope will be more from Jackson Galaxy (with Joel Derfner). Jackson is the star of the Animal Planet show My Cat from Hell and Derfner is a New York pet lover and nonfiction author.
This is a hiss-and-tell-all memoir focused on Jackson’s come back from a life of drugs to offering cat advice to millions. The book might better fit in a self-help/memoir slot on Amazon but it’s understandable the marketing team would want to leverage his celebrity with the TV program. But while he credits one special cat with helping him save himself from…well, from himself…the book only peripherally addresses the cat behavior issues that make his show such a success. For fans of Jackson, that’s not a problem and the memoir is very well written and entertaining look into his private life. He includes some general cat care and behavior advice here and there, but the book is about Jackson. Period. I hope that Jackson will follow up this entertaining book with more prescriptive titles focused on his self-taught cat behavior successes.
No, Jackson does not have a degree or certification in cat behavior–but has graduated obviously from the “school of hard-case-kitty-knocks.” I’m delighted that the show, and his book, reaches millions of cat lovers who otherwise might not realize that a “cat problem” in fact can often be turned around.
Your Cat: The Owner’s Manual comes to you from awesome vet author Dr. Marty Becker (Good Morning America and Dr. Oz Show contributor) and pet journalist Gina Spadafori (Cats for Dummies and more)–you can’t find a more knowledgeable and FUN writing team anywhere!
Savvy cat owners will recognize lots of the advice in this book, which offers a prescriptive approach and tips for finding cats and adoption advice, home care and safety issues, some common behavior challenges, and healthy cat information. There are a LOT of cat care books out there. Marty and Gina, though, deliver with humor and trademark furry affection, and the format of the book makes it easy to find the tips you need. And yes, I can call ‘em Marty and Gina because I’ve known both of these folks for years and they’re just as thoroughly nice people in purr-son as they are on the page. 
There are two parts of the book I particularly want to offer as a shout out. The Acknowledgements offer a who’s who of the cat care/behavior world and, as the authors so eloquently point out, no book is ever the product of a single person. Kudos to this team–some I know personally and others by reputation, and listing these folks offers even more credibility to the material offered in the book. Further, readers will treasure the value-added Resources section listing Internet contacts for some of the best cat gear and problem solvers available–that alone is worth the price of the book!
MORE PET SCHTUFF
Inspiring Lost Cat Story from RomeoTheCat and Robin Olson
City Pays Panhandlers to Care For Puppies is this a good idea? what do you think? It’s raising some hackles.
Catalysta Musings, new blog from the Catalyst Council!
Kent Butler’s Awesome Catnip Chronicles this also could be a writing home for some of y’all yearning to publish some kitty schtuff.
WRITER-ICITY SCHTUFF
The Espresso Book Machine prints your POD book in minutes! Is this the wave of the future?
How To Get Love from Indie Publishers
Animoto Book Trailers, a kewl tool shared by my friend and awesome thriller author Karen Dionne
Free Program Spots Cliches & Overused Words
Writers Conference in Denton, Texas July 21-22
Nifty Keyboard Shortcuts from the awesome Jenny Hansen
Recommended Book Writing/Publishing Suppliers from Dan Poynter
Literary Challenge–Contest looks interesting. Be sure to always read all rules and conditions before entering any contest.
Should Writers Plagiarize Themselves? crap, I’m in trouble…
Short Term Profit Vs Long Term Readership? Interesting discussion about is it either/or …what do you think?
Author Solutions Intro’s BookStub a discussion of this awesome (expensive!) program from WriterBeware
OTHER-ICITY TOPICS TOO KEWL TO NEGLECT
Coffee Wards Off Dementia–hell yes, I’m there!
Meditation Changes Your Brain I need all the brain changes I can get (do we have a theme going here?) Wonder what meditation whilst drinking coffee would do?
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter for your chance to NAME THAT DOG and NAME THAT CAT character in the forthcoming THRILLER, LOST & FOUND, and pet book give-aways!
Filed under: Uncategorized
June 22, 2012
Feline Friday: “Kitty’s Corner”
“Let me OUT!!!!!!!!”
Announcement time–I’m pleased to be the new cat behavior blogger over at MrChewy.com where I’ll be offering a weekly post on all-things-cat. Oh, I’ll still be providing Feline/Furry Friday posts here as well. There’s more than enough kitty content to go around!
“You go first. No, after you. No really…be my guest. I think YOU should take the plunge…”
Since June is Adopt A Cat Month, the first posts over at Kitty’s Corner (doncha love that title?!) are about bringing a new fur kid into the home. Predicting Feline Personality offers a few guidelines for choosing the purrr-fect cat companion–or recognizing the ideal match if/when kitty chooses you!
The milk bar is open…
The second post is all about that SEXY CAT…and how and why to nip romance in the bud. Sure, kittens are cute. Of course, your lovely pets would make gorgeous babies. And KNOCK IT OFF already–just don’t go there. Instead, go here to learn about Cat Sex 101.
For more about Sex & the Single Cat, check out this in depth article with insights from professional breeders, originally published in another version in Catnip (Tufts University). You’ll find some SQUEEEEE cute kitten pictures there, too. 
Two days ago on Woof Wednesday I posted information about Pet Sitter’s International’s Take Your Dog To Work Day® (TYDTWDay)–and that’s TODAY! Why not include your well-socialized Christopher Columbus-type kitty, as well? Not all cats enjoy a change of scenery so you’ll know best if your feline friend is a candidate to go to the office. The annual event encourages employers to experience the benefits and value of pets in the workplace, and to support and celebrate the pet community. Pet Sitters, animal shelters, and business of all kinds join in this fur-tastic Friday event.
So what kind of purr-sonality is your kitty? At what age did you have him/her “fixed?” And is your feline a candidate for visiting you at work? I’m lucky, because Seren allows me to share HER office each day.
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter for your chance to NAME THAT DOG and NAME THAT CAT character in the forthcoming THRILLER, LOST & FOUND, and pet book give-aways!
Filed under: Cat Behavior & Care Tagged: Amy Shojai, cat adoption, cat behavior, cat books, cat care, cat personality, cat sex, cats, cute cat pictures, kittens, MrChewy.com, www.amyshojai.com
June 20, 2012
Woof Wednesday: Take Your Dog to Work Day-Week-YEAR!
“Whatcha doing? Can I help? Can I, huh huh huh?”
I’m incredibly fortunate that I get to share my office space every day with my cat Seren(dipity) and Magical-dog every day all year long. When I’m having a particularly hectic day, getting a purr fix, or doggy wag of encouragement does wonders. Surveys indicate that one in five companies allow pets in the workplace. People who bring their pets actually work longer hours! You can get started on this pet-revolution this Friday.
TAKE YOUR DOG TO WORK DAY!
Pet Sitter’s International’s Take Your Dog To Work Day® (TYDTWDay) was first celebrated in 1999, and created to spotlight what terrific companions dogs are, and encourage adoptions. The annual event encourages employers to experience the benefits and value of pets in the workplace, and to support and celebrate the pet community. Pet Sitters, animal shelters, and business of all kinds join in this fur-tastic Friday event—or bring cats or other pets any day during PSI’s Take Your Pet To Work Week™ June 18-22.
PSI offers a number of reasons why it’s a good idea to “go to the dogs” this Friday. TYDTWDay offers a positive, unique opportunity to increase community involvement and establish new community ties. Businesses can partner with a local animal shelter, rescue group or humane organization to host a special event.
DOGS IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY–I AIN’T A-WOOFIN’ YA!
Studies have shown that dogs in the workplace increase productivity and creativity, decrease absenteeism and improve co-worker relationships. Participation in TYDTWDay is a fun, low-cost “pet perk” to offer employees at a time when some businesses are forced to cut jobs and decrease benefits.
TYDTWDay is for a good cause—to promote pet adoption. This fun day of celebrating the great companion your dog makes could encourage co-workers to adopt a new best friend of their own. Besides, pet lovers love to show off their dogs!
ALTERNATIVE CELEBRATIONS
Even if you can’t have dogs in the workplace, consider alternate celebrations such as having employees bring photos of their pets. How about asking your company to host a fundraiser for an animal shelter in your community? Think about hosting contests, such as best pet outfit or owner/pet look-alikes (for pictures) or best trick (if dogs get to attend). Maybe a hot dog luncheon or a Pet First Aid “Lunch and Learn” session would be appropriate.
Ask a local shelter or rescue organization to join your event. Invite them to bring adoptable pets or information to your workplace. Maybe you could hold a silent auction or other fund raiser to benefit the shelter—or set up a “Good Samaritan” fund for people unable to afford emergency pet care during these times of financial challenge.
TYDTWDay is the perfect opportunity to educate employees about all things pets. Maybe a local veterinarian, PSI member or other pet professional could present a pet care session or offer dog-walking service during the event. Visit PSI to find a member in your area.
If you’re fortunate to be able to bring pets on Friday, be sure to handle the pet situation responsibly. Dogs should be kept on a leash, or otherwise confined in the employee’s office or area. Baby gates work well to cordon areas to keep pets confined. You can also designate “pet free zones” such as the lunch room or bathrooms.
For more tips how to convince your boss, set up a program, and celebration ideas, visit www.takeyourdog.com/get_involved. Now excuse me…I’ve got to go consult with my furry office mates.
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter for your chance to NAME THAT DOG character in the forthcoming THRILLER, LOST & FOUND, and pet book give-aways!
Filed under: Dog Training & Care Tagged: Amy Shojai, dog behavior, dog books, dog care, dog training, dogs, take your dog to work day, www.amyshojai.com
June 18, 2012
Monday Mentions: Blonds, Pirates & Two-Legged Cats
Fresh fruit right off the tree just tastes better than anything you can buy in stores. We had a bumper crop this year on our little peach tree. And last night I turned some of those peaches into cobbler–yum! Today’s blog also has some “fresh picks” that I hope will be just to your taste.
Monday Mentions is the mash-up-day of all the neato-torpedo links and videos, pet schtuff and bling and writer-icity crappiocca collected over the past week. Some of this “schtuff” can be hard to categorize and may fit more than one topic so I urge you to at least scan them all.
I also urge you to check out last week’s and blogs for a chance to have YOUR pet’s name featured in my upcoming thriller LOST AND FOUND.
WRITER-ICITY SCHTUFF
Desk Posture Conundrum–Sitting Straight “Bad” for Backs?
Class Action Suit Against PublishAmerica as reported by WriterBeware
Conan the Librarian from the fun blog of Myndi Shafer
Timeline Help from ScribbleCode when you have plot points that require detailed info to get it right! This looks awesome
World’s Smallest Artificial Heart should be great jumping-off point for you fiction authors
Dangerous Compassion–writing villains from real life experience. Scary blog post you’ll want to read!
Why I’m Trashing My “Blond” Card from the awesome writer August McLaughlin
Writing Treasures from Gene Lempp’s terrific blog, links to all-things-writerly
Facebook Friendly How to get FB to “pull” the right content in your posted links
Online Pirates & How to Send A Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Takedown Notice thank you Diana Capri for the link
PET SCHTUFF
PetFinder Is Hiring looking for a digital associate producer–love animals? love writing? Check out the link!
Litter Box Issues–Free Online Chat from certified cat behavior consultant Marilyn Krieger
National Dog Party Day June 22 from my colleague and awesome paw-ty animal Arden Moore. It’s also National Take Your Dog to Work Day sponsored by Pet Sitters International
Alley Cat Rescue National Feral Cats Survey
Golden Retriever Lifetime Health Study helps cancer issues, bravo to Morris Animal Health! Enroll your Golden today.
Training Bras–for Cats? lessons from a true cat-aholic!
Elephant Care & Protected Contact, thanks to awesome dog trainer Gary Wilkes for sending the links to this article.
Finally, two videos that bring a smile to my face, and I hope to you, too.
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter for your chance to NAME THAT DOG character in the forthcoming THRILLER, LOST & FOUND, and pet book give-aways!
Filed under: Cat Behavior & Care, Dog Training & Care, Writing Advice & More Tagged: Amy Shojai, blogs, cat behavior, cats, dog training, dogs, pets, publishing, writing advice, www.amyshojai.com
June 15, 2012
Feline Friday: Name That Cat!
A Maine Coon kitty plays a major role in the thriller!
On the there was a mention about my debut thriller LOST AND FOUND to be published this fall. This week has been full of thriller-icity because I not only sent back edits, but also scheduled a photo shoot for a possible “cover dog” representing one of the main characters.
Why do I talk about thriller fiction and dogs in a Feline Friday blog? While one of the main character in the book is a nine-month-old service dog, one of the supporting characters is a Maine Coon cat who helps nail the bad guy in the end!
Does your kitty friend have “star” power? (Copr. Missy/Flickr
How does the kitty do this? Aw c’mon, you have to KNOW that a cat could outwit, out-maneuver, out-do any bad guy on the planet, right? This lovely kitty, though, also has been trained by the animal behaviorist main character. You never know when a kitty “trick” can be turned to your advantage.
My blog followers, Facebook friends, nonfiction book readers and pet writing colleagues have been so much a part of this fiction journey, I want to include YOU in the book, too. This Maine Coon kitty has a major role in the book but there’s also a second feline mentioned as well as a number of other dog mentions.
Every cat is special…what makes YOUR cat stand out from the clowder?
I’d like to give y’all the opportunity to name those kitty characters–name them after YOUR furry wonder, for instance, or a beloved pet that has passed on, or a friend’s dog or even a human relative–your choice. Many of y’all already subscribe to my Pet Peeves newsletter, which hasn’t gone out in a while due to other deadlines 
. I’ll post a reminder in the next several blogs about this to subscribe to the newsletter for your chance to NAME THAT CAT in the forthcoming Lost And Found thriller.
Those who win the naming opportunity will also receive a free copy of the book, and a mention in the acknowledgements. Oh, and let me know in the comments–does your cat do tricks? My kitty hero in the book will sit, sit up, wave, walk on leash, leaps to the top of the refrigerator on command, and will “kill it” (a toy…or bad guy!). The cat was clicker trained.
So please suggest names. Tell me why YOUR cat should be the “hero” feline, or describe what makes your kitty name the purrr-fect choice?
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter for your chance to NAME THAT DOG character in the forthcoming THRILLER, LOST & FOUND, and pet book give-aways!
Filed under: Cat Behavior & Care, Writing Advice & More Tagged: Amy Shojai, cat training, cats, Lost And Found, Maine Coon, Thrillers, www.amyshojai.com
June 13, 2012
Woof Wednesday: Name That Dog!
Some of y’all know that my debut thriller LOST AND FOUND will be published this fall. Last night I sent back edits to my publisher and now we’re working on cover design. It’s a challenge because–well–it has to be right!
Why do I talk about thriller fiction in a Woof Wednesday blog? Because a main character in the book is Shadow, a nine-month-old German shepherd being trained as a service dog for a young boy. Like most authors, I truly KNOW what my characters look like, how they talk and act, and what they feel.
Even Shadow, the dog. Especially Shadow. He is, in fact, one of my viewpoint characters. At a recent writer’s seminar on pitching (a shorthand way of describing the book) I described the book like this:
“In LOST AND FOUND an animal behaviorist and service dog must find an autistic child lost in a blizzard in this adult thriller with the medical tension of Robin Cook and the heart of The Art of Racing In the Rain.”
Hey, I can dream that readers will agree!
Meanwhile, tomorrow I have a photo shoot with a potential cover-dog model for the book. You see, many of the stock photos available of German shepherds either aren’t the right color (black) or the wrong age. And nope, Magical-Dawg is too big/mature for the right look (shhhh, don’t say that out loud or you’ll hurt his doggy feelings!) but one of his relatives might have the right look. Get a load of this gorgeous GSD, already with a tracking dog title at 6 months old, wow!
My blog followers, Facebook friends, nonfiction book readers and pet writing colleagues have been so much a part of this fiction journey, I want to include YOU in the book, too. Shadow is already a main character in the story. But there is a second tracking dog featured, as well several other “relatives” of that canine that are mentioned.
I’d like to give y’all the opportunity to name those dog characters–name them after YOUR furry wonder, for instance, or a beloved pet that has passed on, or a friend’s dog or even a human relative–your choice. Many of y’all already subscribe to my Pet Peeves newsletter, which hasn’t gone out in a while due to other deadlines . I’ll post a reminder in the next several blogs about this to subscribe to the newsletter for your chance to NAME THAT DOG in the forthcoming Lost And Found thriller.
Those who win the naming opportunity will also receive a free copy of the book, and a mention in the acknowledgements. Oh, and let me know in the comments–have you ever won a similar “naming” contest? How’d that work out? I know that the Thrillerfest folks auction off naming characters as ways to raise funds for charity but this time around, I want it to be free–and fun for you, too. How should I pick the winner? Please weigh in with your thoughts.
I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, listen to the weekly radio show, check out weekly FREE PUPPY CARE newsletter, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter for your chance to NAME THAT DOG character in the forthcoming THRILLER, LOST & FOUND, and pet book give-aways!
Filed under: Dog Training & Care, Writing Advice & More Tagged: Amy Shojai, autism, behaviorist, dog books, dog training, dogs, german shepherds, Lost And Found, pet books, Thrillers, www.amyshojai.com
