Dog Adoption Headquarters: Favorites | Dog Adoption Headquarters

City Dogs Rescue

In just seven short months, City Dogs Rescue has helped find forever homes for more than 30 dogs! Their mission is to rescue adoptable dogs from overcrowded and high-kill shelters where resources are limited. Sadly, many... Read More »

Shelter Directory

No matter where you live, there\'s sure to be a shelter or rescue close by. Check out our Shelter Directory to find the shelter closest to you! Read More »

Shelter Photography: A Movement

Ever wondered why all those dogs you see on your local shelter’s website look dirty and completely unappealing? While often times the dogs aren’t in their best condition... Read More »

Top Ten Reasons to Adopt

The countdown begins! Check out our top ten reasons to adopt a dog! Read More »

17 Shelter Facts You Need to Know

It\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s great to hear the heart-warming stories of a rescue dog being brought home to a new family. But not all shelter dogs are lucky enough to be adopted. This is a quick look at some of the cold, hard facts about animal shelters... Read More »

Featured Shelter: Blue Sky Dog Rescue

Blue Sky Dog Rescue is a non-profit, no-kill rescue group in Byhalia, Mississippi dedicated to the rescue, foster and adoption placement of dogs in need in the Mississippi/Tennessee area. The group is run entirely by volunteers and... Read More »

Ever wondered if that grape was OK for you pooch to eat? Or if that sip of your coffee will do any damage? Find out for sure what things you should NEVER feed your pup! Read More »

Ever wondered what the inside of a puppy mill looks like? Take a look at this piece by ABC and some interesting stats on puppy mills in the US. Read More »

A walk in the park. That’s all we were out for. Just a quick walk before dinner. On the way past the park, we happened to see a couple of pooches we hadn’t seen in the neighborhood before. Both looked pretty excited and Buddy and Hope were both at attention. So I kept walking, waiting to make eye contact with the owner to see if they wanted to say hi. He seemed a little hesitant to say anything..... Read More »

Favorites

We all have our own preferences, but who doesn’t like a little input from people with experience. Here we have some personal favorites that we have used and liked. Items vary significantly and we try to include a little blurb about why it is we liked them or what worked for us. If you have any you’d like to share, please leave a comment or send us an e-mail at contact@dogadoptionhq.com and we’ll include you on the site!

Dog Treats

One of the things my wife and I have started trying are these Mini Naturals Dog Treats from Zuke’s. We really like them because they are chicken flavor, which our puppies love, but they are minis. If you check out our testimonials page you will see that our 5(ish) year old cocker spaniel mix is build more like a baby black bear. So, we have been working hard to cut down her treat intake and keep her in good (OK decent) shape. The small size and taste they like has been a nice combination.

Dog Food

Our eldest dog, Hope, has struggled with weight loss since the day we picked her up from her foster home. To help combat the issue without starving her to death, we’ve been feeding her Hill’s Science Diet. She prefers the small bites (I think she just thinks she’s getting more!), but it comes in standard size as well. When we first started her on the diet food, she wasn’t excited about it and would actually boycott for 15 minutes or so (definitely not her style!) before she would cave and scarf it down just like normal. To ease her into it without feeling like she hated us, we mixed it with her sensitive stomach food for a few weeks. Now she is all diet all the time and has lost almost four pounds (she has a little work to do to get in to that itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini before summer!) in the last two months. We highly recommend the diet food in combination with the Mini-Naturals treats listed above if you have a pooch with a waist-line. It also comes in larger bags if you are looking to stock up!

Our other pooch, Buddy, is said to be in perfect shape (much to the chagrin of his older sissy) by the vet. To help keep him that way, we feed him Hill’s Science Diet Ideal Balance. This particular blend has chicken and brown rice. He loves the taste and has maintained a great weight. Hopefully we can get his big sister on this after she gets all fit and trim! Just like all the other Science Diet blends, this one comes in larger bags as well.

Training

We have an entire page dedicated to tips and tricks to train your new pup, but below are a few of our favorite products to help teach your dog to be a proper member of the family.

My wife and I were fortunate enough to adopt two dogs that were wonderfully trained to only potty outside long before they found a forever home with us. My parents were quite as fortunate. They bought a purebread from a breeder as a puppy so they got to spend countless hours teaching their pup not to go in the house and a few more hours cleaning up after the mistakes. One of their recommendations (after several trial and errors!) to help speed up the process the next time was the use of housetraining pads. The ones shown above, the Housebreaking Pads, are the ones they specifically recommended, but there are numerous different brands out there. Find the ones that are right for you!

Clothing

There are tons of clothiers all across the country doing some great things to give back, as well as help spread the word about dog adoption. One we stumbled across is Hendrick Boards. Hendrick is an Orange County, California company that designs eco-friendly, hand-crafted skateboard decks and apparel inspired by the Orange County lifestyle. What makes Hendrick Boards so special in our minds is their network of local animal nonprofits. Twenty to forty percent of every purchase is donated to a shelter or rescue to help feed shelter animals or take stray animals off the street. The really cool part? Hendrick uses your shipping address to donate to the group closest to you!

In addition, every two weeks, Hendrick Boards premier a brand new, limited edition shirt with double the donation. The Square It project is a great way to nab a one of a kind piece of clothing and make your purchase really count.

Hencrick Boards is doing some great things and we are the proud owners of a few of their clothing items. Be sure to read up on their full story, including how the company owned by three brothers got to be involved in animal rescue (hint: it might have something to do with the cute chi-mix to the right!) here. They also have a great blog to keep you up to date on new groups they are featuring and new initiatives with the company so be sure to check it out!

Have a nonprofit that you’d like them to consider adding to their network? They are always accepting new rescues and shelters. All you need to do is fill out some paperwork showing that your group is a 501(c)(3) and you are in! You can find everything you need here.