Cool Stuff: 5 neat things for apartment dogs (and their owners)

Co-existing with pets (not to mention children, spouses, and roommates) in tight spaces has its own special challenges, particularly in the realm of concealment, odor, cleanliness and exercise.

With our three-year-old Yorkie, Spike, on our minds, and our eyes peeled for innovation, my daughter Sophie and I visited the National Pet Home Decor Showcase at the InterContentinental New York Hotel this week.  

Here are a few of the doggie-oriented products (some good for cats too) that seemed particularly suited to apartment life:

• DenHaus endtables (Bowhaus model pictured, $599) are actually disguised dog crates, a great alternative to the traditional metal jail-cell we set up in our dining room during Spike's first year. Of course, as we explained to DenHaus president Sarah Pierce, what we want even more is a stylin' home for Spike's wee-wee pad. She told us that some customers have repurposed the DenHaus dog crates, which retail for $450-$600, as discreet litter boxes (not an option for wee-wee pads right now, which don't fit inside). Pierce seemed intrigued by our request though, so we are hoping to see some more innovation to come.  In the meantime, she volunteered a $50 discount on DenHaus dog crates to customers who enter the coupon code "brick" at checkout.
• Anti-Chew Strip Home ($17.95) from NurturedPets.com is a bandaid-like self-adhesive strip with a cayenne pepperish flavor that teething puppies apparently do not enjoy. Apply it to baseboards and other hard surfaces to protect from mutilation by teeth. (FYI, NurturedPets also makes a strip applied directly to dogs themselves to stop gnawing on wounds, potentially ending the reign of the Cone of Humiliation.)
• The Dart rotating laser light ($30, by Brilliant Pet) promises to get your couch-potato or bouncing-off-the-walls dog (or cat) moving while you enjoy the show with a nice glass of Shiraz. It also comes in a less expensive handheld version ($18) that looks like a curvaceous flashlight wearing a hoodie.
• Furminator's  "de-shedding" tool ($39-$74 for dogs; also available for cats) is a special comb that supposedly eliminates shedding. Nice.
• Also from Furminator, the Fur Dry wearable microfiber dog towel ($30-$50) slips on after baths and rainy walks and is said to reduce that wet, sour dog smell and reduce the post-H20 wiping and rolling on your furniture. 

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