CPR With Your Dog? New Pet Poll Results

Earlier this month, the Associated Press and Petside.com conducted a poll of pet owners, and it had some kind of interesting results. It found that many pet owners would consider giving their dog mouth-to-mouth, while many others don't have an animal first aid kit at home. (Luckily for me, I've never had to swap spit with my dog.) The most shocking? Only 30 percent of people have given their dogs table scraps. I mean, come on! I know it's not healthy, but a few people out there seriously had to have been lying.

Robin Loznak/AP

USA Today's Paw Print Post broke the results down as follows:

• 63 percent of dog owners would be at least somewhat likely to perform CPR on their pet.
• 54 percent don't have a fire evacuation plan.
• 41 percent have had at least one incident requiring an emergency trip to the vet.
• 30 percent of dog owners at least sometimes give their pets bones from table scraps.
• 20 percent have a pet first aid kit at home.
• 16 percent have pets who've had allergic reactions.
• 7 percent have pets that have eaten something poisonous.

To read more of the AP/Petside poll topline results, click here.

What do you guys think?

Warm Dog Coats for Winter

Red Riley reader Devon sent in a comment asking whether I knew of a place that sells warm dog coats that "don't look ridiculous or take 20 minutes to get on." I totally agree. There are countless styles out there that are just hideous (ie, embarrassing for both you and your dog), or they take an instruction manual to put on. Below, my absolute favorites in dog outerwear at a variety of price points. Almost all come lined with fleece or Polartec, and they're all available for every size of dog. (Click on the links to view.)

The Horse Blanket Quilted Coat
Canine Styles
$60-$100
(Riley has this one in hunter green. I can vouch that it's super warm and easy to get on.)

Polartec Puffy Parka OR All-Weather Metro Vest
Trixie & Peanut
$55-$69

Kodiak Coat
Doctors Foster and Smith
$19.99-$44.99

Zoomies Tec Coat
Zoomies
$70.00

K-9 Overcoat
Ruffwear
$59.95

Polar Bear Shawl Sweater
Ralph Lauren
$95

Just a quick note: If your dog is low to the ground, I'd recommend a coat with some belly coverage. And if you have a favorite from above or one of your own, please comment below!

An Amazing Pet Artist: Update!

In August, I wrote about a pet artist named Rory Mackay. His work is now on exhibit at the Grey Dog Cafe in the Village, and his new site is up and running, so please check it out! http://www.rorymackay.co.uk/

Riley Needs New Friends

Our "Meet New Friends" section has fallen by the wayside in recent weeks, so we'd love it if you'd send in photos of your dogs for us to post on the homepage and community page. And feel free to share information from the site with your friends!

If you have photos of your pets to share, or you'd like to ask a question to be answered in a future post, please email us at redrileyblog@gmail.com.

Have a great weekend!

Designer Dog Beds

My friend Ashley recently told me about a cool site for dog beds that I hadn't heard about. It's called PawDigs, and while some of their beds are a little pricey, they're definitely worth it.

Beds by Madison Avenue Mutts

They carry a variety of beds from two of my favorite companies—Harry Barker and Madison Avenue Mutts. You can choose beds by size, and they even carry orthopedic pads, mats for crates or traveling, and variety of eco-friendly designs.

Here's their site if you want to take a look! http://www.pawdigs.com/