Tracie Hotchner, Author and Talk Show Host

Many of you know I've been working in the pet industry for quite awhile. In fact over the past 13 years I've had the opportunity to work with a number of truly interesting people. For example, folks like Harrison Forbes, host of the syndicated radio show Pet Talk and author of pet book Dog Talk. Or Andi Brown, author of The Whole Pet Diet and founder of Halo, Purely for Pets. Or recently when I was a guest on Marc Marrone's show "Petkeeping" on the Martha Stewart Living channel, he was an interesting figure. Right now I have the opportunity to work with Tracie Hotchner, author of the Dog Bible and Cat Bible, who is also host of radio shows "Dog Talk" on NPR and "Cat Chat" on Martha Stewart Living Radio at Sirius/XM radio. Tracie is an interesting person with a terrific personality, and she also is very knowledgeable about dogs and cats. I've started listening to Tracie's radio program after having read her Dog Bible book. If you aren't familiar with Tracie, check out her website, or listen to her radio show on Sirius XM Radio. Maybe I can have one of these folks write a guest blog entry here one day with some pet advice for you. I enjoy reading these kinds of books and getting to know people within the pet industry like Tracie and others who help people learn about caring for animals. Do you have any favorite pet books or authors? I'd love to hear from you, maybe one day I'll write my own book about the pet industry or animal nutrition!
Here are the books by two of my other famous author friends:

If you are looking for a few good pet books, these are all some of my favorites. And if you ever want an personalized, autographed copy, just let me know.
-Rick Rockhill

Rick's Roadshow: Nashville, Tennessee

Welcome to day two of Rick's Roadshow: Nashville, Tennessee. It was a day full day of meetings, with no time at all to take more photos or have fun exploring. No matter, afterall this IS a work trip. However...early in the morning I ran into one of my famous author friends, the talented and charming Harrison Forbes, who has been busy promoting his book "Dog Talk" across the country. Harrison is also host of "Pet Talk", the nationally syndicated radio talk show about pets. Harrison is from the Nashville area and is a local favorite. He has a big new deal pending for something I can't talk about yet, but it will be blogworthy for sure, so stay tuned! On another note, thought I'd mention that I ran into someone else famous...

Reba McIntyre! She is so tiny...and very sweet too. My camera was packed away so I wasn't able to get a photo together- DARN! It's been a fun trip...stay tuned as Rick's Roadshow continues from St. Louis, Missouri.

-Rick Rockhill

"Dog Talk" by Harrison Forbes

A little over a month ago I was in Las Vegas, where I ran into my famous author friend Harrison Forbes. Harrison is the host of the nationally syndicated radio show "Pet Talk" and has been an animal behaviorist for over 20 years. He is an interesting fellow with a fascinating background; importing and training over 700 police dogs in his career. Last month Harrison was in Las Vegas promoting his new book "Dog Talk, Lessons Learned from a Life with Dogs". I finally had some time to sit down and read his book, which I am pleased to report is terrific. I am hardly a book critic, so don't expect much from me here, but I will say that it held my attention from the very beginning. There are some riveting moments when he describes encounters with a few dogs that would make the hair on your arms stand up. His insights and and perspectives provide practical advice and observations about dog behavior. The chapter on dogs "Bart" and "Tico" was just such a story, a vivid tale with an uplifting ending. If you are a dog person and enjoy stories about dogs, you will find "Dog Talk" to be a fun read.

above: Here I am with my famous author friend Harrison Forbes back in September in Las Vegas.
-Rick Rockhill

The Superzoo Trade Show in Las Vegas

The past few days I've been in Fabulous Las Vegas attending the Annual Superzoo Trade Show. Some of you may recall my post last year about the Superzoo show. This show is geared only for the pet trade, and is closed to the public, so it is all business and very little fluff like consumer pet shows. While at the show I ran into my good friend Harrison Forbes, host of the nationally syndicated radio show Pet Talk. Harrison was promoting his brand new book "Dog Talk", which is hitting bookstores nationwide on September 30th. Harrison gave me an autographed copy, which I have already started to read. I'll write a review about it in a week or so. In the photo above, I'm with Harrison in his Pet Talk booth. I predict great things for Harrison over the next 12-18 months, he is a really talented guy.

The Return of The Painted Poodles

Last year I wrote a post about a bizarre cult of Painted Poodles with the strangest hair colors. This year, the painted poodles were back at Superzoo:

above: This standard poodle has pink hair and purple tufts- kind of a cross between punk rock and glamour fur.

above: This one is just indescribable.

above: Just when you thought you had seen it all. This Poodle had been groomed with nothing but a stripe of hair to look like it was a giant snake wrapped around the body. Then the groomer painted the hair to look like a snake. It is weird looking but very realistic. My Sheldon isn't ever going to look like that, I can assure you. It was a great show with plenty of interesting sights as usual.

-Rick Rockhill

On Air with Syndicated Radio Host Harrison Forbes

On Saturday I was a guest on the popular syndicated radio show "Pet Talk, with Harrison Forbes". Harrison was broadcasting live from the Global Pet Expo at the San Diego Convention Center. I last did the Pet Talk show back on January 12th when Harrison broadcast live from Palm Springs to cover the Dick Van Patten star dedication on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars. During my segment on Pet Talk yesterday, we discussed how to choose a pet food and some of the special nutritional needs that dogs and cats have. (Photo above left: me during the live broadcast on Pet Talk with Harrison Forbes) In particular we discussed specialized needs of large breed dogs for hip and joint health. Harrison does a great job keeping the show interesting and relevent to his listeners. Harrison has been a dog trainer and behaviorist for over 20 years and has trained over 600 police dogs across the country. He is presently writing a book called The Leash That Binds, due to be published later. this year by St Martin's Press. If you live in the Los Angeles or San Diego area markets, check out Harrison's radio show. Photo above left: headshot of Harrison Forbes, pet expert and rising star in radio and TV.

Three Cute Pugs...

above: I saw these three super cute Pugs who were having so much fun together yesterday I just had to take their photo!

-Rick Rockhill