What if My Dog…?

Yesterday, we received the a factual dog book that I won from a dog magazine competition (which was to guess the parents of a two-crossbreed)! It is called 'What if My Dog…?' and is excellent!

It includes bundles of sensible advice, some witty humour, and loads of hilarious cartoon doggy photos! This book will entertain, and inform in the most friendly and inviting possible way. 

If you want you the perfect factual canine book, look no further!

Earl checks out the book - I think he understands that with this, I can know how to sort out any unwanted behaviours of him in more or less an instant!

Earl and I.

How to make a Doggy Scrapbook

EVERY dog owner has good memories of dogs in their life. So why not put all those memories and events into one BIG book?! In this very creative and crafty post, I will show you (with my 'Earl book' as a model), how to make a fun and lovely doggy scrapbook. If you get on now, you will have one just in time for Christmas, so that you can write all about your dog's festive time! You will also enjoy writing in it for the rest of time. You could even prepare one for a dog owning friend and include the name of their dog on the front. Pawfect! Enjoy!

Some words of warning before you start….

~ It costs hardly a penny to build up memories into a scrapbook, just some of your loving time.
~ A well kept up-to-date scrapbook can get LARGE in no time at all!

Our scrapbook:

Your scrapbook can be as crazy as you want!

Those events and motorise don't hesitate to build up!

Fill your book with loads of events, photos, info and anything you'd like!

So, to make your own, just follow these few simple steps….

1. Buy an empty book. It can be really any size but think reality. I would suggest larger than an average notepad!

Around actual size for the average notepad

2. Decorate the cover. With literally anything you'd like! Relate it to your dog(s) so that readers know what they are about to read about, plus more importantly, it is a pleasure to write in!

3. Make a blurb. Make this a little insight onto the scrapbooks purpose. E.g. "Hello! This is my doggy scrapbook. It will be completely on one subject - my dog (insert dog's name)!!! (Dog's name) is a handsome/pretty (dog's breed) and is aged (number). You may find events such as (insert popular events) inside, and a brief or huge explanation and hopefully a photo overload! Enjoy! (Insert your name and dog's)." You can make this as pretty or plain  as you wish to do so. You could even stick a sample of your dogs fur after grooming inside, a few pieces of his food (kibble probably the only thing that you can do this with without having a stinky scrapbook!) inside for memories sake! All your dog's milk teeth could also be firmly stuck down… plus any pieces of medical information or prescription stickers. Pack your book with puppy love!!

4. Start the scrapbook with an introduction, introduce you and your dog and maybe write about your dog's 'story', how you came to bring him/her home or what made you chose him. Print out a photo of you and him or just him and stick it in the scrapbook. You could make it look snazzy by sticking it down with masking tape at each corner, or drawing a bubble around it with glitter pen etc.

5. Now, every time you do something interesting with your dog, write and add photos about it! 

6. You are ready to show your family and friends the first few extracts. Keep writing, and you will have a loveable book including simply your best friend ever!

We hope you thoroughly enjoy making a doggy scrapbook!

Earl and I.

Tasty Tuesday - AG Mini Crunchy Bites

This Tuesday we are writing about the commercial dog treats, Arden Grange Mini Crunchy Bites. Unfortunately, there have been no recent homemade canine bakes sitting on a tray at Earl's household, but hopefully there soon will be! I feel that dog nutrition is a hugely important factor when it comes to the well-being of dogs, and all too often, people don't thin about what treats they pick up from the shops. 

So ask yourself these questions about your attitude towards buying treats:

~ When you go to the shop to buy dog treats, do you simply fling into your basket 'the usual'?
~ Do you read the ingredients before trying a new treat?
~ Are you aware of brands that may not sell very good quality treats?
~ Are you overly bothered about what treats your dog has?
~ Are you, honestly, one likely to say 'they're all meant for dogs, so what's the harm!'?
~ Are you imperative about the treats being the same brand as the brand you feed your dog his main meals?
~ Are you enthusiastic enough to make your dog homemade treats, or do you always buy commercial because of the time it takes to bake?
~ Can you name a treat that you would recommend?
~ Can you name a treat that you would NOT recommend, or even criticise to others?
~ Have you ever fed a treat because of recommendation from others?
~ Have you ever avoided a treat type because of something someone said to you?

Do you regret any of your reactions to dog treats, or do you think you choose and feed them perfectly?

Now ask yourself these questions about the treats your give your dog:

~ What treats do you feed your dog?
~ Is the brand the same as the main food you feed?
~ What form of treats do you feed?
~ Do you normally feed commercial or homemade treats?
~ Do you feed treats that are aimed at your breed/size/age of your dog?

Now answer these questions about your dog's treat reaction:

~ Do you know your dog's favourite treat?
~ Does your dog turn his nose up at any type of treat?
~ Does your dog even care what treats you feed?
~ Has your dog's health changed since feeding a certain type of treats?

It is vitally important that we feed the right treats to our dog. People have produced more and more types of new treats… yet their name is rightly what they are! It is nice to 'treat' our dogs with 'treats' from time to time… but do we know the healthy amount to give, and what treats are best to actually give! Some could argue that homemade treats are the best because we know exactly what's in them, when others could say that commercial treats are the better option because we may not know what we're doing as much as actual treat producers do! I do agree with the latter, however, it does depend on our knowledge of nutrition. Following a recipe is perfectly safe as the author of that recipe must know what he or she is doing to be allowed to publish a recipe! Confusing stuff isn't it!?

There are some treats out there that include the same ingredients as the healthy main food we feed our dog. E.g. Arden Grange's treats Mini Bones, include the same amount of good nutrients as the food. Burns is another one!

So a few words on AG Mini Crunchy Bites…

These treats are nutritionally balanced, and include all the goodness Arden Grange food does. There is hardly a comparison between these, and their dry food! The shape of each individual treat is a typical dog bone, but handy so the treats can also mould around the teeth, for promoting cleaner teeth. It includes fresh lamb, and is hypoallergenic which means it will suit most. There is usually a fairly large notice on the front of the treat packet if the treats will suit dogs with allergies, but you MUST read the ingredients before giving if your dog has an allergy or negative reaction to a certain substance. You would be out of your mind not to!

you can find more information on the treat if you click here.

The ingredients are:

Lamb meat meal (27%), rice (26%), fresh lamb (9%), maize, chicken oil, potato, beet pulp, whole dried egg, chicken digest, fish meal, brewer's yeast, whole linseed, fish oil, minerals, prebiotic FOS, prebiotic MOS. 

Healthy or what?

I hope our Tasty Tuesday has helped bring on your knowledge of doggie treats and how to be sure you are giving the best to your dog!

Hope everyone have a great tuesday!

Earl and I.

Thank you to today's hop hosts Sugar the Golden Retriever and Kol's Notes for hosting.

We hopped off Sugar the Golden Retriever

Another Agility Nuts, Remembrance & 2 weekly poll update

Today we went to our second Agility Nuts Agility Competition of the Winter league 2013. We had a superb day! We received the Judge's Special Award (which we were presented to in rosette form), won 1st in ABL Jumping along with a medal, rosette and clear round rosette, and one more clear round rosette for our last run! We also met and talked to Tracey and Oscar from Your Dog Dog Diaries, and we watched them compete! They also recommend Cani-Cross to us, and said Border Terrier's excel in the sport. So we may be having a look at doing a little of that in the future!

An amazingly proud Earl! (The funny neck position shows his sniffing the dinner air by the way!

And also, its Remembrance Sunday today… we are remembering all those soldiers and their dogs who would have been devastated when they finally realised their owner's return was a figure of their imagination. 

Earl wearing his full remembrance kit (poppy and poppy band).

We are sorry we are late with the 2 weekly dog polls. We are a very busy pair of dog and owner!

So…

Our Poll 7 question posed was: 'what collar do you think is best?'

We only had 2 votes on this poll, including me, so don't forget to vote every 2 weeks!

We had a tie on the only votes that were voted, which were:

1. Leather rolled (1 - 50%)

1. Fabric flat (1 - 50%)

Now lets start of the information.

Leather rolled collars

This type of collar is a nice little collar that is usually worn by a dog who has slightly longer fur, which does not make imprints as such in the fur. (Fur a bit like Earl's currently, not long, but tufty!)

What are the details?

To be brutally honest, there are no details! Move on!

More on leather rolled…

Well, they are known not to leave imprints on the dogs fur, however, in competitions like agility, you may be required to wear a fabric flat as part of the rules. This applies for Earl and his competing, so he has a special competing collar (and matching lead, actually, as you will have seen if you are a regular blog fan and reader).

What should you do?

If you think a leather rolled may be the collar for your dog(s), go ahead and invest in one… they are of good quality and are comfortable as they bend into shape with the dogs neck.

Fabric flat collars

This type of collar is an ideal collar for the show ring, and goes quite well with tags as it does not make imprints on the collar as the fabric is soft and more durable that other types. It does tend to leave fur imprints, but if that does not matter to you, and a durable, soft and nice looking collar is what you are looking for, this very popular collar type may really suit you and your dog(s)!

What are the details?

You can have writing sewn onto a fabric flat, with ease, which would be nice if you wanted to include your dog's name, and the other vital details around the circular shape of the collar.

More on fabric flat…

They are popular and are sold at most pet stores!

What should you do?

Again, if you feel this is your and your dog(s)'s type of ideal collar, go ahead and try the type!

The other votes were:

2. Leather flat (0 - 0%)

2. Glow/Flash (0 - 0 %)

2. Fabric rolled (0 - 0%)

2. Other? (0-0%)

The number. is where the vote has been placed altogether in the overall poll of the past 2 weeks.

Well done and thank you for voting! If you voted, you managed to get your opinion out there to the world of what you think should be in place in the dog world! Your making one of those minor differences that counts.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Our Poll 8 will be opening NOW! It will have 2 weeks as usual until it closes and information is given about the winning vote(s) after the closing date. Remember to share what you think should be in place in the dog world!

Our Poll 8 is on the subject of dog competing. The question posed is: 'Do you think competing or just-for-fun is better?'

Lets get voting! Thanks.

REMEMBER, POLLS ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BLOG PAGE!

Earl and I.

Wordless Wednesday, Pet Health Month and Give Cancer the Paw

Anyone for a ONEZIE PARTY?!

We would also like to share Earl with a highly improvised 'super-dog' cape…

I know what your thinking… maybe a little TOO improvised!

It is also Pet Health Month at Blog Paws. Below Earl supports the month with 2 photos of how to keep healthy:

Plenty of free galloping!

 

And just before we finish, we are going to take part in the Give Cancer the Paw Blog Hop. Unfortunately, cancer in dogs really is an issue and can 'be there' in different forms, one including tumours, which are often found on dogs after being announced by the owners as 'odd lumps' or 'weird bits' that seem to have just appeared. Can you imagine finding out that your beloved best four-legged friend has cancer? 

To join in the Hop, your dog(s) doesn't have to have been effected by cancer, but if we all pull together, we can help educate the people and support those in the unfortunate position who have found their dogs affected.

1. Cancer accounts for nearly 50% of all disease-related pet deaths each year.

2. Cancer is the no.1 natural cause of death in older pets.

3. Dogs gets cancer at roughly the same rate as humans.

4. One in four dogs die of cancer.

5. Over 50% of the dogs over the age of 10 will die of cancer. 

6. Just like in humans, cancer can occur in virtually any part of your dog's body.

7. Approximately one on four dogs develop a tumour of some kind during their lifetime.

8. The cause of cancer in pets, just like people, is largely unknown.

9. Common risks of obesity in pets include many forms of cancer.

10. While cancer is not as common in cats as it is in dogs, its often more aggressive.

But before you worry or get downhearted, many dogs, with great help from vets who care for them, will pull through cancer. I even watched once on the telly, a rat with a side tumour as big as his body! It was removed, and he recovered and led a great life. So before you fret about your DOG, remember that. With all the help, your dog stands a chance against cancer.

Earl and I.

We hopped off 2 Brown Dawgs Blog for Wordless Wednesday.
We were inspired by 2 Brown Dawgs Blog and BlogPaws for Pet Health Month.
We hopped off Peggy's Pet Place for Give Cancer the Paw.

Thank you to the hosts of each hop.
The linky lists go in order from WW, to GCTP. The hop for PHM is done within the WW hop.