One of the great things about camping is getting to explore the great outdoors! While I had many fun things planned for my weekend outside, the rain kept me from most of them, but the good news is I still got to visit the Beltzville State Park with Shilah.
The fun thing about Beltzville is that they have a lake! I was super excited to visit the lake because they also have a pet friendly boat rental (similar to the local lake I visit in the summer), and I was secretly hoping it had some speed boats because Beltzville has a 45mph speed limit (my local lake is much lower).
Sadly because of the overcast day the boat rental was closed for the day when I arrived! But I wasn’t going to let that ruin my fun.
Especially since there were so many things in the lake that needed saving! If you didn’t already know, when I’m around water I become Mr. Lifeguard, trying to save any and everything from drowning.
I tried saving people.
I tried saving lost shoes.
(this particular rescue attempt was a success).
And I even tried saving my pal Shilah!
Although truth be told, nothing I tried to save actually needed saving. But life guard skills need to be kept in tip top shape, so it’s always best to practice as much as possible. (although paws crossed no one ever ACTUALLY needs my life saving skills, because I’m not sure I could really pull anyone in from the water, but that won’t stop me from trying!)
Visiting the Beltzville Lake was the perfect end to our camping adventure, and I can’t wait to go back again when the boat rental is open!
Don’t forget, this week I’m giving away an awesome life vest from my pals at Ruffwear (as seen on me in this post). It comes in a variety of sizes to fit any dog, and is the perfect accessory for water adventures. Don’t forget to enter!
Wondering where to get any of my great camping gear? Be sure to check out my gear page!
P.S. Special thanks to Shilah’s mom from Mrs. Dailey’s Classroom for sharing some of her camping photos with me (the ones not watermarked with my website)!
Disclaimer: This post and giveaway is brought to you by Ruffwear. All opinions are my own and I only share products I think my readers will love!
Every summer I enjoy hitting the lake, sometimes kayaking, most of the time Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP), and always practicing water safety by wearing a floatation device. While I’ve owned several life vests over the years, I’ve finally found one that fits me PERFECTLY, the Ruffwear K-9 Float Coat.
Being a Dachshund means that sometimes I have trouble finding harnesses, coats and even life vests that can accommodate my unique body type. Thankfully the Ruffwear Lifevest is adjustable in all the right places making it the best fitting one I’ve ever worn.
This floatation device has a sleek design making it slimmer fitting than any of the other vests I’ve tried, but don’t worry it’s still full of plenty of “float”!
This life jacket is not only a great design for Dachshunds, but it is also designed for dogs of all shapes and sizes. It even includes thoughtful details like a strong handle, optimally positioned to lift dogs out of the water, and reflective trim for enhanced visibility in or out of the water.
I enjoyed how the front of the vest was adjustable, but once set is easy to slip over your pup’s head, and the belly straps are also fully adjustable.
The design of this vest allowed me to have great free-flowing movement of my front legs, which is fantastic for swimming (and for all those occasions when you accidentally fall in!).
A fun little fact about me, while swimming might not be my #1 favorite thing to do, I do on occasion like to swim voluntarily, but I’ll only do so if I’m wearing a life jacket and the water is bath water warm!
I’m a big fan of the Ruffwear K-9 Float Coat, and I can’t recommend it enough for all those water loving dogs out there! It’s now my go-to summer accessory that I never leave home without.
You can fetch your own life jacket from Ruffwear for $79.95. (and incase you’re wondering, I wear a size XS and I’m 20lbs).
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 residents 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). Good luck!
Since today is the start of a long holiday weekend for Independence Day so I’m taking off early! You better believe I’ll be doing a whole lot of this too…
Sometimes when you’re a dog you just feel like you’re not being heard. Maybe it’s because humans and dogs don’t always speak the same language, and maybe it’s because they just CHOOSE not to listen to what we’re saying. Regardless, every once in a while I need to make a little noise about it….
So next time your dog “yells” at you, you better pay attention, because we have LOTS TO SAY!
Does your dog bark/yell at you too? What do you think he’s trying to say?
If you’re unfamiliar with BlogPaws, it’s essentially a community of pet enthusiasts who write about and support pets via social media! Their annual conferences bring together hundreds of pet bloggers, pet enthusiasts, shelters, rescues, and brands for social media education, networking, and promoting.
I’m pretty much a newbie when it comes to BlogPaws, and I decided to attend this annual event for the first time after I found out I was a finalist for the Best Dog Blog and Best Pet Photo of 2015 in the Nose-to-Nose Awards.
Honestly I had no idea what to expect at this conference, and pretty much all I knew was that it was a pet friendly event, which meant I would be doing a whole lot of butt sniffing!
At first I was a little nervous when I entered the conference. There was a lot going on, tons of dogs, lots of chatter, and so so much to look at. But after about an hour I quickly realized this was a safe place to be and I was with MY KIND OF DOGS. (friendly, adventurous, and ready to sample lots and lots of treats).
To give you a little better idea of what a BlogPaws conference actually looks like, check out this video:
At 15 seconds in you can actually see me and my mom & dad walking around the BlogPaws vender area (bottom right corner).
The BlogPaws vender area was packed with brands that are interested in working with bloggers, and that’s good news for you, because it means I’ll hopefully be able to bring you even more fun product reviews & giveaways with some great new products in the coming months! Which P.S., if you’re ever interested in hearing my honest review about a product or brand or you’d love me to host a giveaway with them (so you could potentially win!) – just shoot them (or me) an e-mail and let them know about my blog!
I had a blast sampling products, and talking to companies about some of their new product lines.
While I’ve been to expos before, this was the liveliest one, and I couldn’t believe how much there was to see and do! And did I mention the swag? There were so many wonderful sponsors that donated products to the event, and I gotta send my thanks to them (because this was only a small potion of it)! And since I’m just one small dog, I will be donating many items to my local animal rescue!
One of the exciting things was getting the opportunity to attend some of the lectures and talks at BlogPaws. I have to say before this, I had never attended a lecture before, unless you count the times I visited an Elementary School.
While mom and dad were busy learning about SEO, monetization, pinterest marketing, and so much more, I was busy catching some Zzzz’s! Because honestly, all of it was a bit over my head. I’m much more the “talent” behind this blog anyway, and I was more than thrilled that mom and dad were there to take notes for me. Mom found some of the lectures very interesting and picked up some new skills she’ll be helping me apply to not only my blog, but my regular 9-5 business at the frame shop.
While the lectures were quite serious in nature, I made sure to liven them up some with a few of my silly tricks…..like playing dead! (It’s no fun to be serious all the time!)
Guess what, I wasn’t the only Dachshund with the silly’s there either! This is Fiona McSnuggles, a long haired sweetie who was actually blind and is a therapy dog just like me.
I also met Dolly the Doxie, a dachshund mix! Surprisingly (or maybe not so much) those were the only other dachshunds I spotted at BlogPaws.
I did however get to meet the infamous Prissy and Pop! They are celebrities on instagram, and even have jobs working as mascots in a first grade class. And yes, I’m super jealous that they are on summer break right now!
With all the excitement of the BlogPaws conference I made sure to take as many nap breaks as I could squeeze in, especially since my poor mom caught a nasty cold the day we left for our road trip adventure and spent most of the week trying her best to get through all the fun activities we had planned.
Speaking of fun, I became the recipient of my very own Busy Bee while at BlogPaws! If you’ve ever watched the movie Best in Show, then you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about when I say I was FREAKING OUT every time my Busy Bee from PetSafe (one of the sponsors of BlogPaws) got out of my sight! And if you haven’t watch the movie…do it….do it now!
After all the excitement of the week there was one last thing to do….attend the 2015 Nose-to-Nose awards! Of course I dressed to the nines since I was a finalist for Best Dog Blog and Best Pet Photo awards!
This was my first time walking a red carpet, and hopefully I worked it!
Here’s a group shot of most of the 2015 Nose-to-Nose Finalists. In case you didn’t get a chance to catch the live streaming event, you can watch the video here:
Sadly I did not take home any awards this year, but hey, I’m just honored to have been a finalist – my very first year too!
You know who did win though? My fellow dachshund adventurer blog, You Did What With Your Wiener? Congrats to Jessica, and I’m thrilled that dachshund adventure seekers are taking over the World! (well at least BlogPaws).
After 3 days of BlogPaws I was royally beat! I had so much fun, and hopefully I’ll get to attend again sometime soon (I’m thinking it may be an every few years event for me).
For now though it was time to make my trek back home to Pennsylvania where my ponies were anxiously awaiting my return!
And don’t worry, incase you were thinking this was the end of my adventures, I still have one more fun stop I made on the way home in Knoxville, Tennessee! Check back next week for the full details on my visit to the Sunsphere.
P.S. Don’t forget, for you local Pennsylvanians, I’ll be at the Ryerss Family Fun Day this Saturday from 12 – 4pm with my friend Minnow the famous Painting Pony. Hope you’ll stop by and meet me! I’ll be performing some of my favorite tricks too!
If you’ve been following along with me on Facebook then you know I went on a super fun road trip last week to some amazing pet friendly locations. Yesterday I shared my first stop along the way, the National Mall, and today I’m going to share my next pit stop, the Shenandoah National Park!
The Shenandoah National Park is over 200,000 acres of protected lands that is home to deer, birds, black bears and more!
Within minutes of pulling into the park I had already seen a newborn deer cross the road in front of us with it’s mom, and if that weren’t exciting enough, you’ll never guess what I spotted next!
Oh yes, that’s right, I spotted a Black Bear! And not just one black bear, but I saw two….one of which had bear cubs with it (unfortunately my camera crew missed that shot!).
And in case you were wondering what I did when I spotted the bear….I just took it all in. No barking, not one peep, because I may have been safely in my car, but there was no way I was going to give that bear any excuse to eat me! I’m no dummy!
After all that black bear excitement I took a breather to eat my dinner overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains on Skyline drive. Best dinner ever!
After I finished up dinner I checked into my pet friendly accommodations at the Skyland Resort for the night.
My room for the night was pretty basic, but the views were so breathtaking.
Within walking distance of my accommodations was a nice little restaurant that had a pet friendly patio for “to-go” orders. I was lucky enough to eat dinner and breakfast overlooking the blue ridge mountains.
As a bonus there was a nice little bluff that was perfect for watching the sunset from.
After a restful nights sleep it was time to pack up and head out on my next adventure. But before I could hit the road, there was one last thing to do.
It had a few nice overlooks of the mountains, and was a relatively shady trail, which was nice on such a hot day.
As I headed out from Shenandoah I enjoyed taking in the scenery along Skyline Drive which runs 105 miles along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Shenandoah National Park. It’s the only public road through the park, and honestly makes a road trip that much better with it’s views!
And of course I had to stop to take a few selfies along the way!
The journey ahead to my next destination was long…
…but thankfully my meals came to me!
Make sure you check in on Monday where I’ll share my next big adventure in the Smoky Mountains and visiting the town of Gatlinberg!
What do you think your dog would have done had it spotted a black bear like I did?
Typically on my Friday Fetch posts I like to share a cool pet product I’m lusting after, but this time I decided to share something different. Today I wanted to talk about the new pet adoption program with Ruffwear (one of my favorite adventure-dog gear sites) and the Best Friends Animal Society.
Check out the video below to find out more about this fantastic program:
You can find out more about the available dogs through the RAD Adoption Program by visiting the Ruffwear Facebook Page.
Even if you aren’t in a position to adopt a dog, you can still help! Share this post with your friends and spread the word about the amazing adoptable dogs out there!
Help dog’s find forever homes with the RAD Adoption Program.
Disclaimer: this is not a sponsored post, but it does contain some affiliate links as I am an affiliate with Ruffwear. All opinions are my own, and I truly think this is a great program to help rescue dogs!
You know, sometimes it’s the simple things in life that can bring you the greatest joy.
For example, a few weeks ago I happened across a field of buttercups while on a walk with my mom and dad. And what I did next instantly put a smile on my face…
And to get the full effect you have to run like no one’s watching.
Happiness is a field of buttercups to run through! What brings your dog happiness?
I have a secret to tell you about my parents. Something that not everyone knows……they have GREEN THUMBS!
And apparently not the good kind of green thumbs…because they’re experts at growing weeds! Yes, it’s true. My landscaping at home was looking a little sad. But don’t worry, this year I whipped my parents into shape and helped them add a little curb appeal to our home.
It was no easy task though, and took a lot of effort on my part – including trips to Lowes.
Before we get to the recap of all the exciting adventures I’ve been on in April, I wanted to give a shoutout to my special sponsors & affiliates! Thanks to them I’m able to bring you exciting posts, so make sure you give them some love and check out what great products they carry!
Barkbox is a monthly subscription service for your dog. Starting as low as $19 a month (shipping included) you can get a box of the finest treats and toys sent right to your front door every month! Choose from packages for small, medium, and large dogs and as a bonus 10% of their sales go to supporting rescue groups! You can check out just what goodies your dog could be getting every month by reading my reviews!
Ruffwear carries performance dog gear designed to enhance and inspire outdoor adventures for dogs and their human companions. Totally my kind of company that carries anything from dog hiking packs, harnesses, camping essentials and more! You can check out my review of their dog boots (that even work for dachshund’s too) as well as the Ruffwear Swamp Cooler to keep your pup cool in the summer and one of my favorites, the Ruffwear Front Range Harness!
Wolfgang was created to celebrate the unique relationship between a dog and his people. They offer American-made leashes and collars for your pup using only the finest American leathers and textiles, plus a distinctive collection of wallets, belts, t-shirts and hoodies for you too. I personally love their collection of natural leather collars and leashes. You can check out all the fun goodies from Wolfgang by visiting their shop.
EzyDog makes a line of products encompassing the rugged outdoor lifestyle dogs love along with the comfort and style pet owners prefer. All EzyDog Products are designed to help both owners and pets get more out of the great outdoors. I’m currently digging their collection of life vests and rash guards – because summer is almost here! Shop EzyDog and get FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $75!
If you would like to find out more about advertising with me, click HERE. And thanks again to all of my wonderful sponsors, I couldn’t do it without you!
I got a new carpet. I bet you can’t guess what I did on it.
April just flew by! It’s already starting to get really warm here in Pennsylvania and I’m so excited for May because I have a big trip planned for the end of the month to BlogPaws!
Just when you thought my week long road trip might be coming to an end, I’ve got even more to share! I’ve already visited some amazing places like; 
