It’s that time of year when it seems I find myself visiting the hardware store almost every weekend. Mom and Dad are always coming up with projects that need to be done around the house in the Spring. Mom says it’s the perfect place for me to tag along and practice all my “behaving in public” skills, as I inevitably get a little rusty over the winter.
I beg to differ on the “rusty” part, I mean just look how good my sit/stay is!
I’ve also got the healing next to the shopping cart down too!
And my self control (even when I smell critters in the garden center) is pretty good too (well most of the time!).
Over the weekend Spring arrived. Although it didn’t really feel like it (hence my bundled up self on the farm in the picture above). While my first Spring adventures didn’t involve weekend hiking trips, camping, or travels, I still got to spend time with my family – which is really all the adventure I need!
From good morning kisses with my best friend Trooper on the farm…
(even when he maybe found them a bit embarrassing in front of the ponies!)
….to waiting for mom to finish painting my basement playroom….
…and even napping on the couch after farm chores…
…the best part of every adventure is getting to share it with the ones I love!
I’m looking forward to many more “adventures” this year. How about you?
As dogs, we’re designed to be meat eaters, but did you know that adding vegetables to your dog’s diet can help them in many ways?
My mom’s favorite pet nutritionist, Rodney Habib, has lots of great information on why it’s important to add fresh vegetables to your dog’s daily diet. With the simple addition of veggies to your pet’s food, you could help prevent cancer! Now that’s pretty cool.
Lucky for me, I’m actually a vegetable lover, but many dogs out there hate them.
Not to worry, today I’m going to share with you one of my mom’s favorite recipes for getting picky dogs (like my pal Trooper) to eat their vegetables.
*this is not a sponsored post, but does contain some affiliate links
Here’s what you’ll need:
Fresh Vegetables (my favorites are carrots & broccoli)
Toys designed to be stuffed (I love these Kong & Pear treat dispensers)
Add a small amount of The Honest Kitchen to a bowl and add water as per the specifications on the package. The sample packs are great for making about 3 – 4 stuffed toys.
Add some fresh vegetables to the bowl, broccoli is great diced up into smaller pieces.
Then stuff a few mini carrots into your toys. These are great at making it harder for your dog to get the treats out quickly.
Fill the rest of the toy with your vegetable mixture until nearly full.
Finish off with a dab of peanut butter to really get your dog interested.
You can then either feed these veggie treats immediately to your dog, or even stick them in the freezer to give to them later (no need to thaw first).
Every night when my parent’s eat dinner I get my own special vegetable treat inside my crate. My parents are happy knowing I’m getting a healthy dose of veggies, and I’m happy because it tastes oh-so-good!
Not sure what vegetables to feed your dog? Check out this handy list for some ideas.
Do you feed your pet fresh vegetables on a daily basis?
Now you may recall that way back in July of last year I embarked on a big endeavor to help my mom and dad redo our family kitchen. You see, it wasn’t very pretty to look at from the start…
Closed off and cramped, there wasn’t much room for activities in there, so starting in July my family decided to change all that!
Over months of hard work I helped dad work on demo, electrical, plumbing, painting, and drywall, and I even helped to install the brand-new cabinets.
So while I can’t say the kitchen is 100% complete (is a DIY project ever complete?) as we still have a tile back splash to install, and a few last items to hang on the walls…..it’s done enough that I couldn’t wait to share the finished details with you (oh 8 months later!). So without further ado, here’s my brand- new kitchen!
Of course no kitchen would be complete without an ENTIRE CLOSET filled with all your dog’s gear (I’m pretty sure we all know who rules this household!)
So what do you think? Did my dad not do a super job building my brand-new kitchen? With the exception to the cabinets, countertops & new wood flooring everything was DIY’d, and I’m pretty sure with all the trips to Lowes I made over the past few months that I’m basically an expert in construction now!
Now I’ve got to hit the hardware store and pick out some tile for that backsplash! The work of a DIY Dachshund is never done!
Do you see this picture of me? While I’m super adorable and all (we all knew that), there is something missing, something really important on today of all days.
It’s a hat! Because today I’m told, is National Hat Day! And since I couldn’t just wear any old hat, mom helped me make a few fun paper hats so I could have a little dress up fun.
Pretty fun right? So go grab yourself a hat (or make one if you’re so inclined) and join me today for National Hat Day!
Disclosure: This post and giveaway is brought to you by Stardust Prints. All opinions are my own and I only share products that I think you and your pets will love.
Even though Thanksgiving hasn’t quite arrived yet, we all have the next big holiday on our minds, Christmas!
And as much as you don’t want to admit it, I know you’re all looking forward to one thing…..THE PRESENTS! (well and maybe all the holiday snacks too).
Since I love presents about as much as I love rolling in stink on the farm (and that’s a lot!), I’m so excited to share with you Stardust Prints! They’re an online shop that can help you “Unwrap Imagination” by creating your very own custom gift wrap.
See, if you look a little closer, you’ll notice that cute little dachshund in a Santa hat on my gift wrap is me!! How cool is that?
At Stardust prints you can upload your own photo and have it turned into wrapping paper!
Since Christmas is almost here, and I’ve got lots of goodies to wrap up for all my dog friends, I decided to use a photo of me from last year in my Santa hat. (but you can use any photo, even one that has a distracting background)
Then you can choose a wrapping paper design from Stardust Prints. They have several to choose from, and not just Christmas themed ones either.
I decided to go with the Hot Choc pattern, if only because it had an awesome polar bear on it!
Then the folks at Stardust Prints cuts the star of your photo (that’s me of course) out of it’s background, add it to your wrapping paper design, and mail you a 24 x 72-inch roll, which is enough to wrap 3-5 presents.
When it arrived it was almost too cute to unwrap….but that didn’t really stop me from sinking my teeth in!
Well that is until mom informed me that there would be no unwrapping of gifts until December 25th. Boohoo!
If you’d like to snag some of this super fun customizable gift wrap for all your friends this season, be sure to visit Stardust Prints!
And now for the best part….
TWO WINNERS WILL A FREE CUSTOM ROLL OF GIFT WRAP FROM STARDUST PRINTS!
Here’s HOW TO WIN:
No purchase necessary. To enter use the Rafflecopter widget below. You will be contacted via e-mail to claim your prize. All the winners will also be announced on this blog post once the giveaway ends. Open to USA readers only. Winners must claim their prizes within 48 hours of being notified or prize will be forfeited. By entering you are agreeing to the terms & conditions set forth in the Rafflecopter widget (see below).
So it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the reveal of my 2015 Halloween costume! All you Guardians of the Galaxy fans are going to love me as…..
Incase you didn’t catch the movie yet, don’t worry, I won’t give away any spoilers here.
Just know this…..
…with me on duty the Galaxy just got a whole lot safer! Pew! Pew!
Thanks to my mom and her handy glue gun I bet you would never have known that I’m not the real Rocket Raccoon from the Guardians of the Galaxy. I probably had you fooled didn’t I?
Probably a bit more convincing when my best pal Groot shows up to the party though!
Now if you’ll excuse me, me and my pals Star-Lord, Gamora, and Groot need to break out of jail so we can go defend the galaxy.
Disclaimer: this post is brought to you by Chewy. All opinions are my own, and I only share products I think you and your dog will love.
Raise of paws, who likes having their nails trimmed? Raise of hands, who likes trimming their pet’s nails? Just as I thought, no one.
It’s a necessary evil though, because having long nails can cause your pet to walk irregularly which can lead to skeletal problems. And we all know that us dachshunds don’t need any more reasons to have back trouble!
Now if your dog has black nails like I do, I’m sure you spend your life in constant fear of cutting them too short and hitting the quick (a soft cuticle rich in blood vessels and nerves that grows in the center of your dog’s nail). If you nick that tiny little quick your dog will scream out in pain, and yes, there may be blood!
My mom used to trim my nails at home, but over the years I got progressively worse at having them trimmed – so she started to take me to the vet to have them done every few months. Then a few months ago she decided it was high time I got better at having my nails done, so she set out to condition me to actually enjoy having them done!
Interestingly, this new nail trimming method was not with the traditional nail clippers, but instead with a dremel!
Over the past 2 months my mom has been working with me to make me more comfortable with the use of the dremel on my nails. While I wouldn’t say I LOVE it, I tolerate it. It saves me from having to make more trips than necessary to the vet or groomer, saves my mom money, and keeps my nails at a healthy length. It’s a win – win!
So since I’m sure you’re all curious just how my mom trained me to be better about having my nails trimmed, here’s how she did it….
Starting with the nail file, mom used it EVERY SINGLE DAY for 3 weeks to get me used to having my feet and nails handled. She started by picking up a foot and gently sanding my nails for just a few seconds at a time.
Each time I didn’t resist she would use the clicker and then reward me with a small (but yummy treat).
The great thing about these chews is that not only do I love the taste, but they’re also helping to clean my teeth while rewarding me for having my nails done at the same time!
After several weeks of practice with the nail file, mom moved onto the dremel. This time she “sanded” my nails without even turning it on. Again, each time I didn’t resist on a nail she would click and reward me. At the end of the session I’d get my jackpot treat, a Natural Balance Dental Chew.
After another week or so it was time to turn on the dremel. Using a low speed to start she’d do just a few of my nails, making sure to reward me quickly for not resisting at all.
Now once you start using the dremel with it on it’s important to note that you can’t just quickly sand your dog’s nails down in one sitting to the desired length, even if they are ok with it. The quick inside grows with your dog’s nail. So my mom likes to only work on sanding my nails once a week to allow time for the quick of my nail to shorten after the last trimming. (see diagram above for more details)
How short should you keep your pet’s nails? According to the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation they should be short enough that they don’t touch the ground when your dog is standing on a flat surface, but long enough to aid the dog when climbing up a hill or digging.
Hear that mom? I need them for digging!
While I still have a ways to go to get mine back to the ideal length, I’m happy to say that after weeks of practice I’m now much more tolerant of having my nails done by dremel. While I very much wish I had gotten a video of the “before”, here’s how good I am at it now…
How is your dog about having their nails trimmed? Have you ever trimmed your pet’s nails with a dremel? Do tell!
Handy Tip: If your dog is resistant to even having their feet touched start without the nail fail and just reward them for letting you touch their feet without pulling away. Also, using a treat that your dog goes crazy over helps too, the better the treat, the more willing they will be to try.
Disclaimer: This post is meant to be informative, but please keep in mind, what works for me may not work for your own pet. Please consult an expert if you are unsure about how to train your pet. Use caution when using a dremel around your pet, and we are not responsible for any injuries that may occur.
So I’ve finally decided what I’m going to be for Halloween, but you’re going to have to wait just a little longer until I reveal it! Why is that? Well, not only do I love making you sit in suspense, but I also always go the DIY route when it comes to my costumes. Every year mom breaks out the sewing machine hot glue gun and helps me custom make something super unique…and totally me!
So while my own costume is going to take some time to get ready, I thought you might enjoy these 10 Awesome Handmade Pet Costumes that you could make for your pet too!
Have you ever handmade a costume for your dog? Post the pictures to my Facebook page because I’d LOVE to see it! (maybe you’ll even make next year’s DIY round-up!)
Birthday Week isn’t over yet my friends! We’re just getting started! Today I’ve got a super fun tutorial for some DIY Art you can make to brighten up your own home.
This DIY Dog Bone Art is easy to make, and so fun and cheerful too!
Step 1: Choose 2 milkbones and spray paint with your favorite color
Step 2: Optionally you may choose to paint your frame the same color as well, or leave it as is.
Step 3: Once your paint is dry, remove the glass from your frame and add either a piece of colored mat board (which is what we used) or some colored paper. If you use colored paper make sure it’s glued down to something stiffer like a piece of cardboard.
Step 4: Using an adhesive, glue your milkbones in place on the frame.
Step 5: Hang and enjoy!
Just remember, even though your milkbones are now painted, they still smell like cookies to us dogs! So don’t display them anywhere your dog could get to them.
Mom has already told me many times I can look, but I can’t eat! (Apparently this art project isn’t interactive).
Despite the fact that this new DIY Dog Bone Art isn’t edible, I have to admit, it does add a little happy to my home!
Do you have any dog inspired art hanging in your home?
Check back later today for some super adorable throwback puppy photos and videos of yours truly. It’s so adorable, you’re not going to be able to stand it!
