Before you book a flight to England or Holland to pick up a four-pack, you might want to check Baltimore's own pet shop Dogma, which carries an almost-local version of dog beer called Bowser Beer.

In six-packs, no less.

It was the brainchild of former Baltimore resident Jenny Brown, who recently moved to the Phoenix area.

On the market for a year now, Bowser Beer, like the Dutch-made Kwispelbier we featured earlier today, is beef flavored (though a chicken flavor is in the works) and contains no alcohol or carbonation.

Brown, who is founder and president of 3 Busy Dogs, says the beer is now being shipped to 45 states. While the product has been out for a year now, the company is ramping up its marketing effort: "Watching sports on the couch or after a long, dusty walk. … Put some party in your animal! Dogs love Bowser Beer, and this one’s just for them."

Brown came up with the recipe in Baltimore -- to go with the doggie pretzels the company also makes -- but it's actually manufactured in Florida. They're also offering -- if you send in a digital image -- to put your dog's photo on the label of the Bowser Beer you buy, in lieu of the Brown's 13-year-old English mastiff, Maggie, who normally graces the bottles.

Bowser Beer is also available at Muddy Paws in Annapolis.

For more information, click here.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 5:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Had I known this product was in development, I would have tried to get them to use a photo on the label of my dog Ace (who loves licking beer bottles).

Then, instead of having to pronounce "Kwispelbier" (which, granted, somebody named Woestendiek should be able to do), I could have just called it "the beer that made my doggie famous."

Alas, we'll just have to wait for that, and for the beef-flavored doggie beer, too. Produced in Holland, it's only now made it as far as Great Britain.

What's in it? According to the company website: Water, Beef Extract, Malt Barley Extract, Lactic Acid, and Potassium Sorbate. It does not contain alcohol, and it is not carbonated.

They recommend, for a small to medium dog, one-half bottle per day (served at room temperature), while a large dog can handle a full bottle.

According to the company's website, "Kwispelbier has been brewed with ingredients which are also used in products for human consumption. It has the very high quality which your best friend deserves."

Despite the lack of carbonation, it can still be served frothy by shaking the bottle.

"The great taste of Kwispelbier comes from high-quality beef," the website says.

The dog beer recently hit the shelves at the Meteor Centre store in England, where manager Mike Hall said, "We've had quite a lot of repeat business - people coming back for more because their pets really enjoyed it."

"People are going to sit and watch the football and have a beer with the dog."

The Derby store was chosen as the place to test the drink's popularity before the retailing company Pets at Home launched it countrywide.

Kwispelbier - or "tail-wagging beer" - is being sold at £1.99 a bottle, which translates into almost four U.S. bucks.

According to a report in the Daily Mail, a spokesman for Pets at Home, said: "While initially people may think of the drink as a novelty, it makes a delicious treat for a thirsty dog. "It also encourages drinking, which is good for the kidneys, and is a great source of vitamin B.

"It means pets are even more a part of family life as they can enjoy a beer, too."

(Photos courtesy of hondenbier.nl/)

Posted by John Woestendiek at 5:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

The group trying to bring a dog park to Locust Point will host a benefit tonight at Little Havana on Key Highway, from 6 to 9 p.m.

The Locust Point Dog Park organization is more than halfway to its initial goal of raising $25,000 to start construction of a fenced in area at Latrobe Park where dogs can play unleashed.

The dog park would be only the city's second. Currently, Canton Dog Park is the only public ground in the city where dogs can legally be off leash.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 5:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

I try to limit myself to one good snarl a month, so forgive me for growling twice the same day.

But some big-dog discrimination has surfaced on the West Coast, and if there's one thing I can't abide it's big- dog discrimination -- possibly because I have a 130-pounder myself, possibly because I fear weight limits for dogs could lead to weight limits for people and then where would I be? (Probably at McDonald's.)

Patricia Tomlin was taking her Great Dane to the park at the center of Americana at Brand, a new and pretentiously named outdoor mall in the heart of Glendale, Calif. But her pleasant evening stroll was interrupted by a security guard who told her that her big dog had to go.

"He informed us that if you cannot carry the dog you cannot bring the dog in," Tomlin said in a letter to the Glendale News Press. "I feel by telling me my dog is not allowed that this is size discrimination. You either let all dogs in or no dogs at all."

What makes this extra snarl-worthy is that the mall surrounds a two-acre public park, the only entrance to which is through the grounds and privately owned roadways of the mall. The big-dog ban applies to pets over 25 pounds, according to this Los Angeles Times blog entry.

To see our archived "Snarls," and our collection of "Wags," scroll down the right side rail of this page and look in the "Categories" section.

(Los Angeles Times photo)

Posted by John Woestendiek at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Our snarl of the month goes to Kenmare, N.D., where the city council – which had already voted to keep the town safe from “pit bulls” – has now added American Staffordshire terriers, Doberman pinschers, Rottweilers and any cross of those breeds to the list of banned dogs.

All of this was precipitated by … absolutely nothing. The mayor and council say they were being “proactive,” according to this article in the Minot Daily News.

The council passed the ordinance April 14. Another meeting was held this week to hear from residents opposed to the law, some of whom have threatened to move out of town should the law be upheld.

“He’s our pride and joy. It’s like coming in and taking one of our kids,” said Brandon Peterson, who owns a 140-pound Rottweiler named Diesel. “They shouldn’t make somebody get rid of somebody in their family. I think we all need to work together to come up with something and not kick somebody out of town because that would be just crazy.”

Peterson said he will move before he gives up his dog. “He’s a good boy. I will never ever get rid of him.”

The city wasn’t taking action against dog owners before the May 12 meeting. If it upholds its ordinance, affected dog owners will have 10 days to remove their animals or face fines.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

See the dogs.

See the dogs wait.

See the dogs wait patiently in front of the portable toilets.

See how the dogs are causing no harm.

See how the dogs, when they are no longer thirsty, stop drinking.

See the dogs behave.

See the humans.

They are at a horse race called the Preakness.

They are not watching horses.

They are throwing things.

They are running on top of toilets.

See the humans misbehave.

The dogs are wearing leashes, but they don't act like they need them.

The humans aren't wearing leashes.

But they are acting like they do.

(Photo: No, they're not waiting their turn -- just waiting for their indisposed masters, who were among those taking part in the Animal Humane Society's 34th Annual Walk for Animals, in Golden Valley, Minn. earlier this month. By Jim Gehrz/Associated Press)

(Video: The Running of the Urinals, Preakness 2007. By Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)

Posted by John Woestendiek at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

Earlier this month, I spent an afternoon making house calls with John Slaughter -- a stockbroker turned veterinarian who started a private practice in Baltimore last year.

We started with a retriever in in Glen Burnie, and ended up with two Great Danes in Hampden.

In between, we dropped by the home of a beagle in Ridgely's Delight.

Slaughter, who works three days a week at the Banfield Hospital at the PetSmart in Bowie, devotes much of the rest of his time to his new practice.

The son of former University of Maryland Chancellor John Slaughter, he's also an author, having written about his extensive travels to Africa in the book, Brother in the Bush, An African American's Search for Self in East Africa.

The story in today's Sun (you can find it here) is about both his life as a house call vet, and the events that led up to his change to a slower-paced, kinder, gentler career.

Those include his adventures in Africa, the shooting of an intruder in his home, and watching the headquarter offices of the company he worked for, Morgan Stanley, go down in the collapse of the World Trade Center.

Slaughter's website for his private practice is www.camdeninnerharborvet.com

Posted by John Woestendiek at 7:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Seeking an edge over competing dog-walkers in downtown Seattle, Dominika Rosinski has named her year-old enterprise "Hot Chicks Dog Walking Company."

"Men," the platinum blond, 26-year-old dog-walker says, "love confident blondes." And apparently she is one.

"It's an attention getter," she explained in a Seattle Times story about the proliferation of dog-walkers that has taken place in the wake of new dog-friendly downtown apartments and condos opening in the past year.

For $20 per half-hour, Rosinski also feeds and cleans up after the dogs she walks.

In an increasingly competitive market, the report said, Rosinski and other pro dog-walkers are attempting to customize their services -- specializing in such things as taking dogs on walks in the country, being eco-friendly, promising to jog with the pet, or offering extra affection, premium treats, or distilled water.

Sticking out in a crowd has made a huge difference in landing clients since she started her business a more than a year ago. "I'm like a label to my clients," Rosinski told the newspaper.

To see a slideshow of Rosinski in action, click here.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 7:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

A British insurance company has put together a list of what breeds people spend the most money on, and the biggest bucks, it turns out, go to the smallest dog.

Chihuahuas -- the breed favored by Paris Hilton and Britney Spears (who reportedly once treated her dog Bitbit to a $180 steak at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas) -- cost their owners about $197,000 each, much of that presumably in clothing, jewelry and other luxuries.

The labrador, by comparison, has about $60,000 spent on it in the course of its life.

The study surveyed 3,000 dog owners in Great Britain and looked at the amount spent for vets, food, grooming, kennels and insurance, spread over the breed's average life expectancy.

On average, the study said, a dog owner spends about $62,000 during its lifetime.

"Today's household pets are treated more like members of the family and this attitude is reflected in the amount owners spend on their pets' lifestyle," said Mike Pickard, head of pet insurance at esure, which conducted the study.

The research found that vets' fees are the biggest expense of owning a dog, followed by food and kennels. Nearly 40 percent of dog owners had no idea how much their pet was costing them, according to a story about the study in the UK Daily Record.

Here are the top 10: 1. Chihuahua 2. Greyhound 3. Mastiff 4. Boxer 5. English setter 6. Doberman pinscher 7. Golden retriever 8. Poodle 9. Dalmatian 10. Great Dane

(AP Photo)

Posted by John Woestendiek at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Having a dog in the house reduces the risk that young children will develop allergies later in life, German researchers say.

The finding, based on a six-year study of 9,000 children, lends weight to the theory that growing up with a pet conditions the immune system and makes it less sensitive to potential triggers for allergies like asthma, eczema and hay fever.

“Our results show clearly that the presence of a dog in the home during subjects’ infancy is associated with a significantly low level of sensitisation to pollens and inhaled allergens,” said Joachim Heinrich of the National Research Center for Environmental Health in Munich.

To read more about the report, click here.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 6:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)