Woody and I have made big changes in the last few months. We left our downtown digs for the neighborhood life in Tremont. One of my main decisions for the move was to move in with my boyfriend, who Woody loves to pieces, but the other reasons were due to the walkability, green space and relaxing vibe a neighborhood like Tremont offers.

Today marks a pretty big day in our house. I adopted Woody 7 years ago today. I had zero clue what I was getting myself into, and we've definitely had some struggles along the way. But mostly owning a dog is one of the best decisions I've ever made and he's made me a better human.

The second big moment for today is the Cavs season opener. We still aren't over the Tribe's early exist from the MLB playoffs, but we've swapped out our Tribe bandana for our Cavs bandana (both courtesy of Paw Kids). Time to bring another championship home this year!

Congratulations on your decision to bring home a new pet! Whether your newest addition to the household will be a cat or a dog, a bunny or a gecko, or something else altogether, there are a few basic rules you should follow to help make the transition as smooth as possible - for you and your pet.

1. Help your pet acclimate to his or her new home
   When you bring a new pet into your home, regardless of what type of pet or how old your pet is, there will undoubtedly be an adjustment period. You’ll both need to get used to living with each other, and your pet will need time to acclimate to his or her new home. This is especially important for rescue pets because they are likely to be nervous or fearful at first.
   
   
2. Bond with your new pet
   Bonding is a critical step in the pet adoption process. Once you get your pet home, it is important to learn each other’s communication styles and establish a loving, trusting bond. There are many ways to do this - and some of them are specific to the type of pet that you are adopting. If you’re adopting a new dog, for instance, you may want to consider bringing him or her with you as you run errands. Many coffee shops, such as Starbucks, have dog-friendly outdoor patios and even serve “puppy lattes” - whipped cream in a cup, just for your pooch - free of charge.
   
   Some other fun activities to help you socialize your new pet might include a walk (or a frisbee game) in a dog-friendly park or taking your pet with you on a trip to the local pet store. Many pet stores will also offer free treats, making this an enjoyable experience for both of you.
   
   
3. Caring for a pet when you have a busy schedule
   If you have a particularly demanding job, or if your days are packed full of responsibilities, you may be wondering how you’ll find time for your new pet.
   
   That being said, it is important to realize that many cities have services in place to assist busy pet owners. For instance, if you find yourself extremely busy during the day, you might consider hiring a dog walker. On the other hand, if your job requires that you travel a lot, you might look into a boarding kennel that will take very good care of your pet while you’re gone. Hiring professional help from pet care companies can be a life saver, especially as you and your pet adjust to the new transitions over the first few weeks.
   

 
Although it can be a lot of added responsibility, bringing home a new pet can be one of the most rewarding and transformational decisions of your life. By taking the proactive steps above, you’ll be working to ensure a smoother and less stressful transition for your pet - as well as yourself. Good luck!

With spring approaching, many people begin to consider bringing a new dog into their home. There is conflicting evidence on when exactly the most popular time is to get a dog, but for puppies specifically it's common to bring one home in the warmer months since it's easier for training purposes. One thing I cannot stress enough to people when they are considering getting a dog is to remember that dogs are not objects and should be brought into the home with the mindset that they will be part of the family for life. Just like when preparing for a baby by making a registry to check off all the essentials, you should plan to prepare for a dog in the same way (minus the baby shower, of course). Below is a slideshow from Figo Pet Insurance that will set you up with a shopping list of all the suggested items to have ready for your new friend's arrival.

Disclaimer: I was approached by Figo about sharing this slideshow. I was not compensated, I simply thought it had good information and was worth sharing!

If you are a dog owner in Cleveland and haven't heard of The Dog Stop Plus, you're in luck - I've taken Woody here a few times and want to tell you how awesome it's been to have this place in the neighborhood.

Situated on Carnegie Ave. just past CSU, The Dog Stop Plus is ideal for anyone who lives downtown and needs to board their dog or wants to give him/her a break from apartment confinement during the day. It's also pretty convenient if you work downtown and don't live near a Camp Bow Wow or other suburban doggie daycare.

Location: 2640 Carnegie Ave.
Website: http://thedogstopplus.com/
Phone: 216-673-3641
Hours: 6:30 a.m. - 8 p.m. M-F, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sat & Sun

What The Dog Stop Plus Offers
The Dog Stop Plus offers full-service daycare, boarding, grooming and training. The dogs are separated by size and temperament, have ample room to run, and are supervised at all times during playtime. When boarding, they have spacious cabins, and pet parents can bring in anything from home to make their dog feel more comfortable. In addition, they offer retail services selling all-natural food and treats (kind of like what you would get at Pet People), toys, grooming supplies, bedding, crates, and more. They happen to sell Woody's food (Fromm's Salmon A La Veg), which is nice. And they even have a few things for felines.

The Dog Stop Plus vs. Camp Bow Wow
The two reasons I love Camp Bow Wow are that they are flexible in pick-up and drop-off, and that they split the dogs by size and temperament. Even though they are out in Westlake, they were the only place that I really liked that could accommodate these needs. Fortunately, The Dog Stop Plus does this. Taking Woody to Camp Bow Wow can take me about 45 minutes from pick-up to drop-off, so it's super convenient to have a similar place nearby. The only drawback is that The Dog Stop Plus doesn't have pick-up and drop-off hours on holidays. Woody's first time boarding there was New Year's Eve, so I would have picked up on New Year's Day. Luckily, since I was new they let me have two nights for the price of one, but this is a pretty big deal if you don't want to leave your dog an extra day. Since the customer service at both places is great, I'll still take Woody to Camp Bow Wow from time to time, but I definitely will be using The Dog Stop Plus more out of convenience.

All in all, it's a great place. Like them on Facebook to get updates on exclusive discount daycare days, events, and more and see what the dogs are up to.

If you take your dog to check it out, make sure you tell them Margaret and Woody the Jack Russell sent you! I wasn't asked to write this review, but I really wanted to get the word out there.

Last week I came across an infographic on rover.com with stats and figures of the most popular dog names of 2016. You can find the full graphic here, but below are some fun little nuggets of knowledge on how people are choosing to name their best friends/dog children:

• Classics like Bella and Max are still, well, classic!
  
• 53% of dog owners name their dogs after popular TV characters, celebrities or book characters. Such points of inspiration include Pokemon Go, Harry Potter and Game of Thrones
  
• Junk food and alcohol-themed names were on the rise while health food-themed names saw a decline. Sorry Peaches.
  
• Top animal names include Bear, Moose and Tiger.
  
• Surprisingly no major sports-themed names were called out.
  

As I shared a few months ago, I really love to try to get the Snapchat filters to work with Woody. Today I finally got a few more gems. I've heard quite a few people say they struggle to get Snapchat to work with their dog so I have some tips to share.

1. Make sure your dog is looking directly at the camera and their eyes, nose and mouth are facing forward. The feature is designed for human-looking faces so any angles will throw it off.
2. Make sure there is enough natural light. I've found these work best when the sign is shining bright in the apartment.
3. Keep them still. Like No. 1, any movement will throw the camera off.

If you've gotten the feature to work, comment and share below. I'd love to see them!

Better late than never, right? Happy #NationalPetDay to my wonderful dog, who will never read this but I'm going to wish it to him regardless. Also, there are way too many ridiculous social media holidays.

After what seemed like weekly vet visits and lots of anxiety on Woody's part, he is officially free of his ear infection. For anyone who needs to have their dog treated for ear issues, I highly suggest asking about the leave-in gel treatment. It was a bit pricier but so worth it since I didn't have to fight with him to put drops in. And the best part is that it cleared everything up pretty quickly after the first dose. Two doses is what they typically do to ensure they get it all - no different than an antibiotic.

If you're a Snapchat user, you've probably been having a bit of fun with the new face swap feature over the past couple weeks. Some are hilarious, some adorable and some will just haunt your dreams. As a pet mom, I figured the best use of this would be swapping with my dog. After all, people are face swapping with Starbucks cups, fruit and fake faces drawn on napkins. Why wouldn't Snapchat easily recognize that I'm trying to swap faces with my pooch? Fun fact: it is a LOT harder to get this to work with a pet than I thought. First of all, if your dog or cat moves at all while you try to take that selfie, forget it. Also, they need to be looking directly at the camera with their nose and eyes visible or else Snapchat won't recognize them as a face. Lastly, you need good natural light so the app can easily distinguish your pet's features.

After a week of trying, here was the official, hilarious and terrifying result:

Anyone else get this to work with their pet, or were you just too afraid of what the result would be?