Huxtable doing the Tootsie Roll :-)
Here are the photos still by still of his little french circus dog trick :-)
The dancing poodle Huxtable, he's truly a "party" poodle!
Huxtable the Poodle. Toy Poodle Blog. Parti Poodles. A blog about Huxtable the poodle and his daily life. An all around classic poodle blog. (brown and white parti poodle, chocolate and white parti poodle, original poodle, preppy poodle, poodle history, classic poodle).
Dog Carrier Review: Bark N Bag Monaco Tote
Huxtable tucked away laying in his "Hermes Birkin" inspired Monaco Bag
Huxtable is literally my co-pilot. He's my right hand man and since he only weighs 6-7 pounds and is well-behaved there really is no reason why he can't come with me almost every where I go.
As a 3.5lb puppy he fit my medium sized Louis Speedy with room to spare, at 5.5lb he fit perfectly, and now at 6/7lbs he can still ride along when needed, but his head definitely sticks out and his long lean poodle body can't quite "lay" in there like it used to. I eventually moved him up to my larger LV Trevi (brown damier), but he (and I ) were putting too much wear on it so had to forgo that.
Hux at about 4 months; Hux at about 1 year 2 months
So, for the past 6 months or so I've been planning to either get the LV dog carrier, sweet talk the BF into getting me a Birkin that I could use for both Hux and I -or- just purchase a carryall tote of whatever brand (LV, Michael Kors, Coach, etc) and just put a piece of cloth/fabric covered cardboard at the bottom to give him better balance and support. But I've been putting it off... and Huxtable has just been placed in whatever large purse I could get my hands on.
You can imagine my happiness of running across an attractive stylish dog bag that looks JUST like a purse. Now I'll admit that I would like the purse even better if it was solid colored and didn't have tooled leather etchings on the front, but it's still an attractive bag all the same.
The dog tote I discovered at TJMaxx HomeGoods
Huxtable fits in this bag perfectly! He can lay down, sit, and actually stand on all fours. I've been using it for a few days now and so far so good. I don't know how straps will hold up over time, but I'm hoping they can sustain his almost 7lb body for years to come.
I've been thinking about changing my wardrobe to all black or maybe black and white for the summer (it's a minimalist creative type thing I may do), so I'll need a large black purse for my co-pilot Huxtable. I decided to search for the brand of my HomeGoods dog purse and low and behold they make this style dog tote in many different colors.... including black.
The different shades of Bark-N-Bag
Bark'N'Bag is an affordable line of stylish dog carriers. All of their carriers are "inspired" by many of the designer brands... this isn't on their website, but it's apparent in their design. And, I must day, I love them for it! I can't believe it's taken this long for someone to create a stylish affordable line of dog bags. I was actually make preliminary plans to create a line myself, but I can place that on the back burner now that I've discovered Bark'N'Bag.
DETAILED REVIEW: So far my Bark-N-Bag seems right on par, if not better, for the price. It's a medium to light weight low sheen "leather". The mesh on the side is simple thick black mesh with large enough holes for your dog to breath, but not large enough for him to really tear, get his nose into, or even get his nails through. It zips on top, then snaps on the side-- allowing you more than enough room to comfortably get your pooch in. Pretty simple hardware on the front in keeping with the " Hermès Birkin" look. The bag is able to stand on its own because of the 4 bottom feet, but does have a slight lean because of the pliable "leather" and side panels-- this could be fixed by stuffing the bags with tissue during shipping to maintain the shape. There is one zipped pocket on the inside, so you could store small things (credit card/id/lip gloss/doggie poo bags/tissue). Overall the bag has a good weight, great style, quality construction from what I can tell, and could easily retail for $150. As long as your dog is 8lbs and under this bag should last awhile, if your pooch is pushing 15lbs then it might not stand the test of time. I'll definitely do an updated review within the coming months.
DETAILED REVIEW: So far my Bark-N-Bag seems right on par, if not better, for the price. It's a medium to light weight low sheen "leather". The mesh on the side is simple thick black mesh with large enough holes for your dog to breath, but not large enough for him to really tear, get his nose into, or even get his nails through. It zips on top, then snaps on the side-- allowing you more than enough room to comfortably get your pooch in. Pretty simple hardware on the front in keeping with the " Hermès Birkin" look. The bag is able to stand on its own because of the 4 bottom feet, but does have a slight lean because of the pliable "leather" and side panels-- this could be fixed by stuffing the bags with tissue during shipping to maintain the shape. There is one zipped pocket on the inside, so you could store small things (credit card/id/lip gloss/doggie poo bags/tissue). Overall the bag has a good weight, great style, quality construction from what I can tell, and could easily retail for $150. As long as your dog is 8lbs and under this bag should last awhile, if your pooch is pushing 15lbs then it might not stand the test of time. I'll definitely do an updated review within the coming months.
FYI: "Bark 'N' Bag" is supposedly a play on the name "Birkin Bag", like, Birk-in-Bag hence the style of their main Monaco dog tote.
Get the Monaco Pet Carrier Tote, HERE.
Get one of the other Bark'N'Bag styles and colors, HERE.
Huxtable at a French Cafe
Huxtable, the toy parti poodle
Huxtable looking up at me wondering why he couldn't indulge in the goodness mom and dad were eating, lol. But not to worry, I always bring him something when we go out to brunch on Sundays. Usually I'll bring a bone of some sort, this time I brought a few morsels of his food and a greenie :-)
More photos to come
Poodles in Home Decor
Poodles will always be in trend ;-)
In my last post I discussed my ceramic poodle HomeGoods find. I am redecorating one of my rooms and will be using poodles as accents. The ones I purchased really are perfect, hmm... I might even paint them to match Huxtable's parti poodle markings.
Animals in general have always been used to add style to a room when it comes to interior decorating. Over the past few years we have all seen the ever so popular deer heads, antlers, and many of the wild and gorgeous African animals (gazelles, antelope, rhinos, etc) being used in every type of decor style you can think of. More recently, many designers, like Jonathan Adler, and people of the posh stylish and dog-loving variety have been using solid colored ceramic dog figurines to add a pop of whimsy or character to a room. You can see a few examples below:
Huxtable's Pinterest Page is filled with more examples, check out some of his boards below:
- Dogs Art
Dog paintings are a tradition that date back to the beginning of time, but dog figurines have had their rightful place in art history as well. Nearly all of old Hollywood owned a poodle and many many MANY poodle figurines were made of both the American and foreign variety. I think there will continue to be a gradual resurgence of dog figurines for home decor over the next decade or so. But instead of the heavy multi-colored pieces of the 50s, they will be modern yet classic-chic monochrome pieces.... like the poodle pair I was so lucky to find.
Sidenote: When dog/pet figures first re-hit the interior style seen a few years ago in 2010 they were on a large scale and were moreso floor pieces or quite frankly statues. Now they're becoming smaller which are perfect for bookcases, dressers, and/or console decor.
Want the look? Get poodle pieces for your home decor below:
1.) White Ceramic Poodle Comes in Two Sizes, 18 inches ($44), here. -and- 13 inches ($29), here.
2.) Urban Trends Antique White Poodle ($53), here.
3.) White/Black Poodle Lamps ($225), here
4.) Abigail Ahern Poodle Lamp (£195.00), here.
Take it a Step Further: Purchase a can of spray paint to personalize one of the above ceramic poodles to match your space. I plan to either leave mine as is, paint parts of it brown to match Huxtable, or spray paint them yellow, gold, or silver to add a pop of color to my decor. Rustoluem is one of the more popular spray paint brands that gets high reviews, you can check out a wide selection of their spray paint colors as well as get low pricing and free shipping, HERE. 
Check out the Metallics (copper, brass, silver, and gold), HERE.
TJ Maxx HomeGoods Happy: Poodle Decor & Dog Accessory Finds
I've been redecorating my front room area-- I went from a classic/traditional ivy/preppy native-inspired type den to a softer luxe peachy feminine oasis. Parts of the room are finished and all the main pieces are there (sofa, tables, chairs, large rug, etc), but I'm still in the process of switching out the accessories and adding those last touches. With my last decor style my bookcases were filled with items like-- vintage trophy, basketball, great grand father's first camera, vintage college paraphernalia, etc. But now with my more airy, soft and feminine decor I have to switch it up. One of the things I knew I wanted to put on my bookcase were poodles. I was able to order a bronze vintage poodle from online, and I found a ceramic one that matched perfectly, but it broke in the mail :-(. So I've been on the lookout for items to stylishly fill my shelves ever since.
Well on a recent trip to HomeGoods some of my prayers were answered. I went in search for pillows, but ended up with 2, technically 3 good unexpected finds. Next to the pillow aisle was a pet aisle. Not only was it filled with bowls and beds, but also a few handsome in-trend pet decor items. As my eyes glanced up and down the shelves I spotted not one, but two matching white ceramic poodles! They sat their poised and ready for the taking! I honestly felt like they would perhaps be too tall for my bookcase, but I couldn't pass them up. I also ended up finding a purse dog carrier, something I rarely ever see in Ross or TJ Maxx. It looked just like a regular purse and was the exact color of the purse I was wearing so I knew it was meant for me.
Huxtable is in the bag above, he fits perfectly
Long story short-- I went in for pillows to match my new sofa and came out with two ceramic poodles and a stylish cognac colored bag for Huxtable. Did I mention Huxtable was in the store with me too? Well, he was and I'm thinking he might have been my good luck charm. As usual he caught the attention of many, and I had about five 5-minute conversations that took what should have been a 30 minute shopping trip to an hour... but it was okay especially because of our great finds.
Like the commercial, I certainly walked away HomeGoods Happy :-)
Two more posts about the items above to follow.
American Apparel Dog Clothes: Hoodies and Shirts for Pets
Huxtable, the hipster poodle
I lucked up and got a Groupon for American Apparel. I believe it was $20 for $40 worth of items or something of the like. When I saw the deal I immediately purchased it because I had been eyeing a few of their dog items for Huxtable.
Ater searching American Apparel's website, seeing the instock and out of stock items, I finally decided to purchase 2 hoodies and 2 shirts.
The Package
The Goods
- Gray American Apparel Dog Hoodie
- Navy American Apparel Dog Hoodie
- Navy Blue and Red American Apparel Dog Jersey/ Raglan/ Baseball Tee
- Black and Red American Apparel Ringer/ Rib T-shirt
The Rockstar Dog
Huxtable's Mom Review: My little poodle has alot of dog clothing, and the pet clothing from American Apparel are amongst my favorite. The material for both hoodies and shirts are very soft, they fit well, easy to put on, and they are great basics that easily coordinate with a dog's wardrobe, lol. But best of all, Huxtable seems to really like AA jackets and tees. He'll curl up tight sometimes in a ball, then cock his head forward to put the hoodie up... poodles, lol, they're so smart.
Size: Huxtable was about 6lbs pounds in the photos above, he's about 7lbs now. While toy poodles usually wear smalls, I decided to get him a medium so that he would be comfortable fur and all. They fit perfectly! Poodles are slim, but they have long bodies so it's important to compensate for that by maybe going up one size, especially if they are very fluffy and furry.
When fur filled and wearing a continental clip, AA pet size medium fit best. After Huxtable got his short clip, a small would have definitely worked better. So make the decision based off the predominate clip/cut your pooch sports.
Size: Huxtable was about 6lbs pounds in the photos above, he's about 7lbs now. While toy poodles usually wear smalls, I decided to get him a medium so that he would be comfortable fur and all. They fit perfectly! Poodles are slim, but they have long bodies so it's important to compensate for that by maybe going up one size, especially if they are very fluffy and furry.
When fur filled and wearing a continental clip, AA pet size medium fit best. After Huxtable got his short clip, a small would have definitely worked better. So make the decision based off the predominate clip/cut your pooch sports.
"Mom said she put my hair like this too keep it out my face and to keep my ears from being chewed on while I ate my bone, but I hope she stops because it's embarrassing"...
Modern Poodle Grooming Chart Illustration
A very pretty modern poodle grooming chart.
It's actually more of an artistic poodle print illustration by artist Amelie Fontaine
http://www.ameliefontaine.fr/
A Touch of Masculine: Bow ties for Huxtable
Huxtable, the Poodle in his blue & white chevron dog bow-tie.
Let's face it, poodles are pretty... no matter how you slice it. And the more groomed you keep them, especially if you keep any part of their hair long, well, the prettier they're going to look. So to combat the "awww, she's so pretty" comments I get from time to time I decided to always keep my little guy bow-tied up. To be honest, I find that most people just tend to call your dog the sex of their own. I for one am quicker to say "he" than "she" because I have a he. Others ask and even look. But their are those who see those long pretty ears, that banded top knot, and big pretty amber brown eyes and can't resist telling me, "how beautiful and pretty she is", lol... so for them (and for me) (and for him) I keep little dog bow ties for Huxtable.
When I first got Huxtable, dog bow ties were unreasonably expensive. I would look for hours to finally find a nice patterned one for less than $25. Now you can easily find adorable ones for less than that, some even $5-$7. I tend to get most of them from one of my favorite online stores-- etsy.com.
My little dapper poodle, sitting in his car seat tentatively waiting for dad on a rainy Sunday morning.
Product Review & Giveaway: PetMatrix SmartSticks & SmartChips
SmartBone's new SmartChips and SmartSticks
The good folks over at PetMatrix sent us two bags of their new product to try-- SmartSticks & SmartChips.
General Info: "Similar to the original line of SmartBones, the new products, SmartSticks and SmartChips, are fortified with vitamins and minerals and are 99.2% digestible (much easier on a dog’s digestive system than rawhide treats and even the highest quality dog foods, which are only 85% digestible). Both SmartSticks and SmartChips are available in two flavors – chicken and peanut butter."
Huxtable's Review: 4/5 paws. My tail wags everytime one of my smart snacks is near! I like to eat the red part, so after a few chews I'll pull it out, eat it, then finish eating the outer part.
Huxtable's Mom Review: I often read and hear about how rawhide technically isn't that good for your dog, so it was great to be able to try out an alternative. We often go out to nearby cafes and restaurants and eat on the patio, so I've been bringing one of these along to give to Hux while we eat. The SmartSticks lasts longer and are shaped better for eating than the SmartChips. Sometimes the SmartChip gets stuck in the back of Hux's mouth (because of the shape)-- so definitely monitor your pup while he eats it.
Sometimes new treats or foods will temporarily change your dog's "potty remnants" (that sounds better than saying one of the many other words for #2), but from what I can tell they are pretty much the same, no looseness or anything, which is a plus.
Overall I like them, I wouldn't purchase the SmartChips again because of what I mentioned earlier, but the SmartSticks are a lovely alternative to traditional rawhide and would make as the perfect snack to carry in your purse or pocket when you're going to eat with your dog at an outdoor cafe.
DOG / PET GIVEAWAY: For a chance to win your own bags, please comment, email, or tweet us @huxtablepoodle. Contest ends midnight Sunday, June 16, 2013. Winner will be announced the following day.
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