Happy 2012!

Customer Spotlight: Marshall

Marshall is making up for lost time these days.
A 10-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, Marshall is one of 175 dogs rescued from a large Missouri puppy-mill last September.

Marshall is rescued. Photo courtesy of Susan R. Stoltz.

For most of his life, Marshall existed in a 2'x2' cage, alongside other terrified dogs, many had known nothing else their entire lives. No love, no play, none of them even had a name. 
Although rescuers arrived, Marshall wasn't supposed to get that second chance. You see, due to his old age, none of the rescues would take him. So the plan for Marshall and two other senior dogs was euthanasia. 
But their rescue angel, a wonderful lady Sandy was there that day and at her own expense, saved all three senior dogs.
That's how Marshall came to live with his new family at the home of author, journalist, and animal advocate Susan R. Stoltz.

Marshall and Susan. Photo courtesy of Suzanne Sylvester Copyright 2011.

Marshall faces a long and difficult road ahead but he has a wonderful family and friends who love and support him.
Marshall's story will soon be told in Susan's upcoming book, "I Survived the Puppy Mill Effect". We cannot wait to read it! 

Marshall's book "I Survivied the Puppy Mill Effect", by Susan R. Stoltz.

Keep up the good work and we love you Marshall and Susan!

Marshall wearing our Tri-Metal dog tag, which reads "Rescued With Love". Photo courtesy of Susan R. Stoltz.

For more about Marshall, visit his blog  and Susan's official website
Sirius Republic offers handcrafted products for dogs and their people. Visit us on our website (www.siriusrepublic.com) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/SiriusRepublic). 

Shorter is better: Sirius Republic 4' leashes

Recently we began offering 4' leashes in both the 3/4" and 1" widths after receiving requests for them. Ever since then we've been using and loving them!

Each leash length has its benefits. For us, a 4' leash provides more control and is more convenient.
One of my favorite things about it is that unlike with a longer leash, a 4' leash's short length prevents it from being stepped over by the dogs I'm walking and get caught behind or around their front legs. I'm always walking multiple dogs and constantly stopping to fix leashes is the last thing I want to do!

Chilly shows off her Hot Pink Zebra 1.5" martingale collar and matching 4' long 1" wide leash.

 But of course 6' leashes have their own benefits too. It all depends on your preference and use.
All our leashes are available in 4' and 6' lengths and 3/4" and 1" widths, and they match our collars. To see all our designs, visit our website at http://www.siriusrepublic.com and join us on Facebook.

Martingale Collars 101: how to choose the right size

Effective, practical, and comfortable, martingale collars have become very popular among dog lovers.

Originally designed for Sighthounds such as Greyhounds whose heads are narrower than their necks and can easily slip out of traditional side release or buckle collars, martingale collars effectively prevent escape. Their sensible design and effective use have made them a popular and preferred collar for owners of all dog breeds as well as many dog trainers in recent years.

Each martingale collar has 2 connected loops. The smaller, control loop attaches to the leash while the larger adjustment loop goes on the dog's neck. When the control loop is pulled, the adjustment loop tightens. When used properly, martingale collars never choke and work effectively to prevent escape and for training purposes.

Choosing the right-sized martingale collar is very important and different from sizing traditional collars. Below is our simple, 2-step method to correctly size your dog for a martingale collar:

1. Take 2 measurements - circumference of your dog's neck and the widest part of his/her head.

2. Use the larger of the 2 measurements taken in Step 1 as your guide to choose your collar size. For example, if your dog's neck is 17" and his head is 20", then you should choose size Large (18"-22"), NOT Medium (15"-18") even though your dog's neck at 17" falls within this category.

This is important as dogs vary greatly in size, weight and shape. Breeds like Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, Mastiffs have a wider head than neck (use head measurement to size) while other breeds like Dobermans, Whippets, Greyhounds have a wider neck (use neck measurement to size).

Now that you're an expert on martingale collars, check out our collection of martingale designs and order one for your pooch :)
For more info, visit our website and connect with us on our Facebook page.

Recycle for Free Collar

Besides offering dog lovers high-quality, handcrafted products, we're all about supporting animal rescue as well as responsible environmental stewardship.

We're excited to introduce our Recycle for Free Collar program, which allows us to recycle, reuse materials, reduce waste, and reward you with a FREE collar of your choice!

Here's how it works: when you send back 5 old Sirius Republic collars, we'll send you a free collar of your choice. Many of our customers have built up a collection of Sirius Republic collars for their pooches, but just like our clothes, collars get old, dirty, and/or damaged after some time. Instead of throwing them away or keeping them unused somewhere, why not send them back for a free new collar and at the same time help us recycle, reuse and reduce?! It's an awesome win-win situation, wouldn't you say?

So whenever you're ready, send your 5 old Sirius Republic collars back to us and get your next collar free:
Sirius Republic
P. O. Box 2075
Dublin, CA. 94568

Sirius Republic is a member of Bay Area Green Pets, a proactive network of professional, eco-friendly pet product and service providers. We also support various nonprofit animal rescue organizations by donating our hand-sewn collars and leashes, offering discounts, as well as donating a portion of our proceeds to our Rescue Partners. For more info, visit our website www.siriusrepublic.com, and be sure to join us on Facebook and Twitter.

Some news and goals for 2011

Happy 2011!
2010 was an awesome year for Sirius Republic, lots of learning and growing up. We partnered with many wonderful nonprofit dog rescue organizations through our Rescue Partners program, which has allowed us to support these groups by donating our hand-sewn collars as well as a percentage of our proceeds. We look forward to expanding our program in 2011 and helping more rescue groups and dogs.

We also plan to grow our Wholesale Program for our hand-sewn collars and leashes in the new year. We're very thankful for our awesome customers who have provided feedback and recommended our products to their local pet retail stores. We're thrilled that our products are now available at various fabulous shops throughout the country. If you would like to see Sirius Republic collars and leashes at your favorite store, please let them know about us. We appreciate and thank you for your support!

We are working hard to make available more great items for dogs and their people. In the very near future, you can expect to see Big N Tall 2" Martingale collars for big dogs, and breed-specific, high-quality gift items in a variety of categories such as boxed note cards, home decorations, apparel, and treats! Be sure to visit our website for new items, sign up for our newsletter, and join us on Facebook and Twitter for all the new happenings.
Happy New Year to everyone and dog! Let's make 2011 the best year yet!

Supporting animal rescue

As a long time animal shelter volunteer who has worked with and seen countless dogs being adopted into wonderful homes over the years, I believe in the work of our animal shelters and rescue organizations.

When I started Sirius Republic, I wanted it to be a partner and a friend to animal rescue groups and a year later, we have gained many.

We support nonprofit animal rescue groups in various ways - donation of our products (mostly collars and leashes), and most recenty donation of a portion of our proceeds.

This new program - Rescue Partners - allows us to donate 20% from applicable sales to participating nonprofits. It works like this: once a nonprofit partners with us, we create a unique rescue code for them and anyone who places an order on our website and enters this code helps that rescue group earn 20% from the sale. It's easy, absolutely free, and open to all nonprofit rescue groups.

We also support animal rescue groups by participating in various rescue events to help raise much-needed funds, most recently the Sacramento SPCA's Doggy Dash on June 5, in which they raised almost $200,000, their biggest event ever!

On August 1, we'll be returning to support our friends at the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society in their annual fundraiser Bay to Barkers. This year's event is especially important because of the recent tragic fire that destroyed its facility and the lives of 15 cats.

We also have events lined up supporting the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA, Humane Society Silicon Valley, Northern California Weimaraner Resue, Alameda Animal Shelter, etc. See a list of our upcoming events here.

Sirius Republic's New Cotton Fabric Collars

You may have seen some changes on our website recently - besides the weekly rotation of adorable cover dogs on our homepage, we have added a new category: Cotton Fabric Collars.

So far there are 9 designs, available in 2 widths (1" and 1.5"). Our 1" cotton collars are offered in both the Buckle and Martingale style and the wide 1.5" cotton collars are availabe as Martingales.

Just like our Ribbon Collars, they come in colorful, cute designs. They're perfect for dressing up any dog, especially if your pup is a heavy-pawed scratcher! We've found that the cotton material is a bit more durable and resistent to scratches compared to some of our ribbon collars. Click here to see all our cotton collars. More designs will be added in the near future, please check back often. http://www.siriusrepublic.com/

Martingale Collars 101

One of the most frequently asked questions I get from dog owners is about Martingale collars-how to use them, what are their benefits, etc. So I decided to share some info that may be helpful to people who are not familiar with this type of dog collars but are interested to learning about them.

History of Martingale collars:
Originally Martingale collars were used mostly on Greyhounds as well as other hound dogs that have smaller heads as they can easily slip out of a traditional buckle collar.
When wearing a Martingale collar, as the dog pulls or tries to escape, the collars tightens around the dog's neck. And when the dog stops pulling, the collar relaxes back to a comfortable state.
This prevents the dog from getting out of its collar and when paired with proper training, can slowly discourage the dog from pulling.
Martingale collars soon became popular tools among dog trainers and owners alike, and their use has expanded to all breeds of dogs.

What is a Martingale Collar?
A Martingale collar is consisted of two loops, a larger loop and a smaller loop that's also known as a control loop. These two loops are connected together by metal hardware.

How to put on a Martingale collar?
With the dog facing you, extend the large loop to its longest length and put it over the dog's head. Now adjust the collar back to a comfortable length around the dog's neck.



How to use a Martingale collar?
When you're ready to take your dog out for a walk, attach your leash to the D-ring on the small/control loop. Now when you pull on the leash or when your dog pulls you, the control loop will pull and cause the collar to tighten around your dog's neck. When the pulling stops, the collar loosens.
I recommend walking your dog on the Martingale collar and teaching your dog to heel and walk appropriately. Whenever you want to correct a behavior or get your dog's attention, gently pull and let go of the Martingale collar.
Never pull on the collar continously, always pull and let go immediately, and repeat.

I hope you find this information helpful. Martingale collars come in a variety of designs, sizes, and widths. Click here to see the Sirius Republic collection of Martingale collars. http://www.siriusrepublic.com/ Connect for more about dogs: