You know that “new car smell” that every new car  comes with that let’s you know it’s a new car?  Well, it turns out that that smell is a mixture of toxic chemicals that YOU AND YOUR DOG should be concerned about.  This press release from the Ecology Center and healthystuff.org will fill you in on this environmental pollution:

Honda Rated as Top Manufacturer; PVC Reduction Efforts Hailed

(Ann Arbor, MI) – Today the Ecology Center released its fourth consumer guide to toxic chemicals in cars at HealthyStuff.org, finding the Honda Civic at the top of this year’s list, and the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport at the bottom. Over 200 of the most popular 2011- and 2012-model vehicles were tested for chemicals that off-gas from parts such as the steering wheel, dashboard, armrests and seats. These chemicals contribute to “new car smell” and a variety of acute and long-term health concerns. Since the average American spends more than 1.5 hours in a car every day, toxic chemical exposure inside vehicles can be a major source of indoor air pollution.

“Research shows that vehicle interiors contain a unique cocktail of hundreds of toxic chemicals that off-gas in small, confined spaces,” said Jeff Gearhart, Research Director at the Ecology Center. “Since these chemicals are not regulated, consumers have no way of knowing the dangers they face. Our testing is intended to expose those dangers and encourage manufacturers to use safer alternatives.”

Chemicals of primary concern include: bromine (associated with brominated flame retardants); chlorine (indicating the presence of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC and plasticizers); lead; and heavy metals. Such chemicals have been linked to a wide range of health problems such as allergies, birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity, and cancer. Automobiles are particularly harsh environments for plastics, as extreme air temperatures of 192 F and dash temperatures up to 248 F can increase the concentration of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) and break other chemicals down into more toxic substances.

“Automobiles function as chemical reactors, creating one of the most hazardous environments we spend time in,” added Gearhart.

The good news is overall vehicle ratings are improving. The best vehicles today have eliminated hazardous flame retardants and PVC. Today, 17% of new vehicles have PVC-free interiors and 60% are produced without BFRs.

Top ranking cars in this year’s release are: 1) Honda Civic 2) Toyota Prius and 3) Honda CR-Z. Worst ranking: 1) Mitsubishi Outlander Sport 2) Chrysler 200 SC and 3) Kia Soul. The Civic achieved its ranking by being free of bromine-based flame retardants in all interior components; utilizing PVC-free interior fabrics and interior trim; and having low levels of heavy metals and other metal allergens. The Mitsubishi Outlander contained bromine and antimony-based flame retardants in the seating and center console; chromium treated leather on several components; and over 400 ppm lead in seating materials.

To see the complete listing of cars, click here.

This gift basket includes an denim apron with a retro design, an organic dog biscuit cookbook, 3 dog bone cookie cutters, an organic cotton dog toy and a stainless steel mixing bowl.

This is the official blog of Happy Dogs Play, a website with toys, gifts and goods for dogs and dog lovers.  At Happy Dogs Play:

• We only sell safe toys.  Happy Dog Play’s dog toys are non-toxic, green, environmentally friendly and independently tested.  You don’t have to worry when you buy a dog toy from us.

• Our prices are already cheaper than most dog product websites on the Internet.  We always have good deals.

• We live dogs.  Happy Dogs Play isn’t just a business—we do this because we love dogs and want them to live long, healthy, happy lives.

• We only sell quality products, things we would buy for our own dogs or for ourselves.  No cheap junk.  No toxic toys.  We know the people who make the dog toys we sell.

• We make it easy to shop with us.  Happy Dogs Play still believes that good customer service is just part of doing business.  We ship quickly.  We’re here to answer questions.

• We believe dogs need to play.

• We believe dogs should be happy.

And on top of all this, we’re having a sale just for any last minute shoppers.  From now through Wednesday, Dec. 14^th, we’re having a 20% off sale on everything in our store.  Type in: “happiest” in the promo code box when you check out to get this discount.

That means you can get an organic holiday reindeer dog toy for $6.15  Or a set of wolf prayer flags for $28.08.  Or dog breed cookie cutters for $3.00 each.  Or a great gift basket for baking your own dog treats for $38.40 that comes with an organic dog toy too.  Or an organic medium-sized bumper bed for $80.00.

We hope we’re making it easier on you to buy quality gifts for the dog and dog lovers in your life.

Kath Quinn

Ike and Petey Playing with the Unstuffed Otter Dog Toy from happydogspay.com

The Drury household just welcomed a wonderful new dog named Ike, a Border Collie-Lab mix, to their home in Marietta, GA.  Ike and “King-of-the-House” Petey, the family Chihuahua,  have become fast friends by playing tug-of-war for hours with the Go Dog Unstuffed Otter Dog Toy.  The Otter is 34″ long and allows the two dogs to get used to playing with each other without being right in each other’s face.  Sometimes having the right toy can facilitate play between dogs, especially as they’re just getting to know each other.  Petey and Ike are now on their way to becoming best buds.

The Otter Dog Toy is available at happydogsplay.com.  The Otters only have stuffing in the their heads and the rest of their bodies are stuffing-free so there’s nothing for your dog to pull out.  There’s a squeaker in the tail and a “grunt” squeaker in their head. This dog toy was made for non-aggressive chewers who like to carry their toys around, whip them around,  tug on them,  shake them, roll on them or sleep with them. This is a giant toy–it’s almost three feet long–and is a dream-come-true for any big dog who needs big toys.  Or big dogs who want to play with little dogs.  Or little dogs who like big toys.

The Wolf, Squirrel and Otter are all available from happydogsplay.com

Along with the Otter, there’s also a Wolf and Squirrel Dog Toy that are made by Go Dog.  All three of these unstuffed toys are:

• Double stitched at stress points
• Run through a metal detector after production to insure safety
• Meets the Child’s Safety Standards
• Made from new material that is safe, non-toxic and machine washable
• Tested by happydogsplay.com to make sure there are no heavy metals or lead present

Owney the Postal Dog

With this Owney the Postal Dog (Forever®) stamp, the U.S. Postal Service™ commemorates Owney, the canine mascot of the Railway Mail Service. Beloved of clerks on mail-sorting trains at the end of the 19th century, Owney was hailed as a symbol of good luck. Today he is an icon of American postal lore whose story highlights the historical importance of the Railway Mail Service.

The stamp art features an original illustration of Owney, with many of his famous tags and medals gleaming in the background.

In the 1880s, during the height of the Railway Mail Service, clerks in the Post Office in Albany, New York, took a liking to a terrier mix named Owney. Fond of riding in postal wagons, Owney followed mailbags onto trains and soon became a good-luck charm to Railway Mail Service employees, who made him their unofficial mascot. Working in the Railway Mail Service was highly dangerous: According to the National Postal Museum, more than 80 mail clerks were killed in train wrecks and more than 2,000 were injured between 1890 and 1900. However, it was said that no train ever met with trouble while Owney was aboard.

As Owney traveled the country, clerks affixed medals and tags to his collar to document his travels. When John Wanamaker, Postmaster General from 1889 to 1893, heard that Owney was overburdened with tags, he gave him a special harness to display them all. During his travels, Owney accumulated more than a thousand medals and tags. Today Owney is on display at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Postal Museum in a case that includes some of his medals and tags.

Art director Phil Jordan worked with veteran stamp artist Bill Bond to create this special symbol of the United States Postal Service.

The Owney the Postal Dog stamp is being issued as a Forever stamp. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce rate.

Made in the USA.

Yoshi with his new Fidget!

Yoshi traded in his old Fidget with Chewguard Technology for a new one that his parents, Kim and Julius from Augusta, GA, bought for him at happydogsplay.com.

happydogsplay.com is the safest place to buy dog toys on the internet.  After the manufacturer tests their toys, we re-test them to make sure they’re free of toxins, heavy metals and lead.

happydogplay.com’s mission is to help dogs live longer, toxin-free and happy lives.  Yoshi is doing just that.

So while Birdie continues to search for hidden food at home, I just started taking classes in “K9 Nose Work” with Happy, my new Lab/Shepherd mix who I adopted in January, and we had our first class Tuesday night.  Here’s how the sport/game works:  there’s a large room with various-sized cardboard boxes placed around it and one of them has some of  the treats  that I brought from home that I know Happy loves placed in it.   After getting a verbal release, while either on or off her leash, Happy is allowed to start hunting for the hidden food and goes from box to box to see if she can find it.  Well, not “see;” I mean “smell” if it’s there.   Along with the certified K9 Nose Work instructor Jenny West Schneider from Camp Canine, we would watch Happy pick up the scent and make sudden U-turns to check out the box where she thinks the food is hidden.  After she would find the food, Happy was allowed to eat it and was also given another treat by Jenny to reward her for her successful “hunting.”

Happy learned the game quickly and I could tell she loved this new game because she wagged her tail the whole time she was playing.  Being happy isn’t unusual for Happy because that is how she got her name after all but she seemed totally engaged in the game and each time it was her turn, she was ready to search again.

There are no rules for “K9 Nose Work” except that the room is kept quiet while dogs are doing their searching so that they wouldn’t be distracted by anything.  When I held the leash on our first few hunts, I had to hold it loosely and just follow wherever Happy wanted to go even though she’s looked back at me a couple of times to see if I knew where the food was.

And I love this new game too because I enjoy  just being in Happy’s company so much and just seeing how quickly she picked up the game made me very proud of her.   “K9 Nose Work”  is a sport where dogs can win various titles if they perform various scent searches but there is no competition between dogs.  It’s a sport where there’s no stress, no contact with other dogs, no commands and no winners or losers.  It’s kind of the anti-sport for those of us who just like to spend  fun time with our dogs and don’t feel a need to make them do anything that seems forced.  It’s really just a big game of hide and seek with the food treats hiding and the dogs seeking.

During the week between classes, Jenny gave us an assignment to continue the box work at home.  Off we go to do our homework…..

If you’re interested in taking “K9 Nose Works” classes or if you need a dog trainer for individual lessons or classes, contact Jenny at Camp Canine.  She teaches only positive training techniques and has graduated from several of Pat Miller’s courses as well as many others.  I highly recommend her.

Duchess lives with Ronnie Poore in Greenville, SC.

Murry is a Boykin Spaniel who lives with Steve Christian in Greenville, SC.

Abita the elegant Greyhound lived with Ronnie Poore in Greenville, SC.

Birdie Quinn, one happy dog!