You might have spied this ad in the winter edition of Pawsh, “Heartsong” — but if you haven’t, why not pop on over and check it out now?  This wonderful product is called The Pet Loo and is basically an indoor, odour-free, easy to clean piece of turf in a box for your pet to do their business. Born out of necessity, this wonderful contraption was invented by Tobi Skovron when he and his wife welcomed a dog into their lives while living in a condo.

“We wanted a pet, but couldn’t afford a big house,” says Tobi. “So we created a backyard on our balcony instead. Space is a problem faced by millions of pet owners and The Pet Loo is a solution to help pets, and their owners, live more comfortably in condos and apartments.”

After three years of research and development The Pet Loo debuted on an Australian show called The New Inventors and the next day, according to Tobi, they woke up to over 500 awaiting orders! “It was unbelievable,” says Tobi. “We went from selling a couple of thousand products, to hundreds of thousands years later.”

What is truly incredible about The Pet Loo, beyond its easy-to-clean and compact design, is that it connects to a pet’s natural instincts and as a result has been successfully used by dogs, cats, rabbits and even pigs. As Tobi explains, all animals relieve themselves on grass in the wild, so it’s a natural progression to train them to do the same on a designated grassy area when domesticated.

Available in three sizes with a variety of clever accessories, one lucky Pawsh reader will win a free Pet Loo for their pet! To enter all you need to do is join Pawsh on Facebook. Easy as click, click! One member of our page will be then be drawn at random on April 20th and announced in our upcoming spring 2012 edition! Be sure to follow our friends, The Pet Loo folks, on Twitter too as a thank you for sponsoring that page!

The Dog Tack Shop is a lovely little boutique that creates leather sculpted collars, leashes and accessories. Uniquely engraved plaques add an undeniable ‘pawsh’ element and an air of distinction that will set your pooch apart from the pack while the soft supple leather, couture design and high-quality stitching results in items that are scratch resistant, water resistant and long-lasting. Aren’t they beautiful?

Photo by Laura L. Benn

To start the week, something I find hilarious. Above you’ll see my sweet ragamuffin, Rory, who was starting to look decidedly shaggy and wild. She tends to take a trip to the groomer at the beginning of every season and if any of you have a poodle-mix you’ll know what I mean when I say that a haircut is a BIG deal. There are so many options when it comes to a poodle ‘do’ it can be a little nerve-wracking to see what cut your pup has been bestowed (often times, the type of cut depends on how matted the dog’s fur is and comes down to the groomer’s discretion).

Rory has had some truly terrible haircuts in her day. One place shaved her all over, including her adorable ears, and she looked miserable for weeks, while another gave her such a huge pouf top-knot that she looked like a little old man. Luckily, Rory and I have found an excellent grooming salon now and even though her new do does make her look drastically different, her inherent ‘Rory-ness’ still shines through — wouldn’t you say? Click through for the dramatic after photo and let me know if you think it’s pawsh or not!

I can’t get over how much tinier she looks! Because there is still a little bit of chill in the air, she will be sporting her American Digs Nantucket Knit Sweater for the next little while, at least in the evenings. Do your dogs look different after a haircut? I would love to see their fun photos as well, so please feel free to post them here today!

What I love most about Pawsh is that it has become a way to connect with other pet owners on a daily basis to chat about important pet issues, laugh about our crazy canine friends and ask questions. I take great pleasure in finding other platforms that also foster this kind of connection and would like to introduce you to the Where My Dogs At app.