BarkBox Unboxing November 2014 Hit or Miss?

such cute wrapping paper! 

We were so excited to get home from work and find our Barkbox on the front porch yesterday. I will share what was in this months box and then our reaction and what the pups thought.

 Wagatha's Kitchen Sink treats, all organic , GMO free ingredients including bananas, pumpkin, cooked apples, carrots, roasted ground peanuts, flax seed, honey , sunflower seeds, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, ginger and allspice. Everything but the kitchen sink.
We are pretty picky about the treats we give the dogs and usually stick to the same brand as their food (Iams) but I did sample everything from the box and the littles did seem to like these treats. DJ wasn't a  huge fan but I think he wasn't feeling good yesterday. I like that they are small treats and can be broken up so I don't have to worry about the little dogs (miniature dachshunds) choking on them.  The Labs inhaled them and didn't even chew.

The next treat was a chew stick type thing. Dakota inhaled this and I guess she liked it. I'm pretty sure the Labs don't even taste their treats because of the way they eat them, I could give them a cardboard bone and they would probably react the same way.

 Sorry for the poor quality photo here, i was trying to get pictures without the dogs seeing what was in the box. I gave this chew to Scout because it said it was good for the hips and joints and Scout being our oldest dog , needed it the most.. It sounded like hard plastic being broken when Scout ate it and I saw some blood on his gums, so I would not do this "treat" again. They are freeze dried beef trachea treats and are topped with liver sprinkles...yuck. Maybe I should have read all of that before I gave it to him.

This turkey leg toy is my dogs least favorite type of toy. Dakota did use it to torment Dexter (our toy hoarder) but that was about it. These types of toys usually get chewed into pieces pretty quickly so they don't squeek any more, and then I worry about the dogs swallowing the pieces of plastic. It was removed by the end of the night.

The carrot plush toy was the favorite for Dexter. He loves plush, soft , stuffed toys and if they have stuff sticking out like ears, legs, eye balls that he can chew off that's even better! It only took him five minutes to chew the green leafy things off the top and swallow one so Vic had to cut them off (see picture below). It was also removed by the end of the night because he turns into a very over protective dog of all toys and he just isn't very nice to be around (for the other dogs)

The Bigs couldn't wait to see what was in the box!

April 9 2014 WOW Another weekly update

I am pretty impressed that I'm updating weekly again. Not that there is a ton to update on but I like looking back week to week to see what has been going on.

The work started on our house this week. Today is the third day. The dogs are about to drive us crazy with all the barking but it will be worth it. The front of the house already looks amazing. I kept thinking I would get pictures so i could do a before and after but of course I didn't, and when i came home Monday it was already too late. FAIL

We started watching Game of Thrones this weekend. We have now watched all three seasons and it's only Wednesday if that tells you anything. Awesome show!! Many late nights because we had to watch just one more. As if we needed one more show to be totally addicted to!

Another week of spring breakers brought on some excitement. Tenants locked out right after we've left the office of course so we had to drive back up. Late night parties with complaints by the neighbors , causing a late night trip to the key to check things out. Everything was under control..over cautious (nosy) neighbors. Fun times. 

And...an almost tragedy. Vic got back home from the late night trip mentioned above and our baby D.J. (the spoiled rotten favorite miniture dachshund of ours) ran out the door to chase our cat (both solid black) in the dark of the night. After nearly having a heart attack DJ decided he was afraid of something across the street and turned and ran right back into Vic's arms! (thank you Spirit!!!) For the rest of the evening he stayed glued to Vic. Ever since we brought DJ home as a puppy when ever he was scared or hurt he found comfort in Vic's arms. The rest of the time he's 100% mommas boy and can be found in my lap.  

That's about all the fun that's fit to print.

Have a blessed week. 

Friday Night Date Night With The Fur Children

What a fun night! We started out at the beach and ended the "date night" at the dog park with the dachshunds!

My youngest turns 3!

Tomorrow (October 16th) my youngest fur baby turns 3!  
Happy Birthday D.J. !!

Camp Bow Wow!

Today we took the littles (Dj and Dexter, our two miniature dachshunds) to Camp Bow Wow for the day.
We are planning a few long weekends away this summer and just have not been comfortable with the idea of leaving them with friends or having them home alone while someone came over to check on them. There are too many things to worry about (them escaping between someones legs when they come in the door, the lawn guy not shutting the fence all the way and the dogs running out into the busy street, the bigs stepping on the littles, and the list goes on and on)

We asked a few of our friends for suggestions and the name Camp Bow Wow came up a few times so we checked them out. They have locations all over so check your area for one near you ...I promise you'll love them just as much as we did! The nearest one to us was in Sarasota (about a 40 minute drive from home according to mapquest) Since we work in Sarasota this was fine. Today we filled out all the camp applications and got copies of our vet records and headed up for the day.

First impressions were awesome. The place smelled so good and looked so neat and tidy. The girl at the front desk was very patient with DJ as he sat and barked at her while she tried to take his picture. For their first time you have to leave them a minimum of 3 hours so they can observe them with the other dogs. We dropped them off and rushed right to the office so we could watch them on the camper cam and see how they were doing. Vic paid close attention to their tails and if they were smiling. After about an hour we saw them running outside together and looking very happy.

Camp Bow Wow separates the dogs by size. They  have a small area, a medium area and large dog area. I felt sorry for the big dog today because he was all alone with no one else to play with. The little area and medium dogs were very full of "campers" (that is what they call the dogs in day camp).

We lasted almost four hours before we just had to go pick them back up and see for ourselves that they were not traumatized or anything. When we got there we had the camp counselor show us the "cabins" the dogs will be staying in when they stay over night. Dj and Dexter will share a cabin that is about 4' x 8' , it looked very comfy and I think they will like it almost as much as our king size bed! (and we will actually get some leg room with no worries of rolling over on them)

Within minutes of the drive home both dogs were crashed ! They are very excited about going back to camp next week!

Silence!

A few weeks ago a neighbor that is trying to sell his house came over and told me that our dogs (mainly the dachshunds) were hindering the sale of his house. His realtor told him that at least three times she had shown the house and the constant barking made the people turn away. He was very nice but also pretty direct in that he would like for us to do something.

Of course this was upsetting to us. It's one thing to be annoyed when we are home and they bark at the neighbors or the lawn guy, or each other. But to know that they do it when we are not home made it even worse. We had become "those" neighbors and were not too happy about it at all!.

We had some friends tell us about shock collars but  neither one of us wanted to do that because we just don't think it is the most humane way to train and after googling reviews it just took one story about a little dog that had it's neck get burnt that sealed the deal for us, we would NOT be going that route.

I took the dogs to my friend Tracys one evening and her sister kept saying "you need bark off" but never really explained what it was or what it did. I wasn't even aware that it was a product until I came home and looked it up online. I loved what I was reading, if it worked it was just what we were looking for.

Bark Off is an ultrasonic training aid that is portable, inaudible to humans, and is safe and humane! It says so right on the packaging! lol

So I ordered one online for $10 but wait there was a special buy one get one free offer...only I messed it up and didn't realize if I clicked one more time it would add another device...oops I ordered three...and then the doubting Debbie that I am ordered two more because I wasn't sure my first order really went thru...yes stuff like this happens to me a lot...following directions isn't my strong point (must have gotten that from dad!)

So about a week and a half later two boxes arrived at our door! We went out and bought some 9volt batteries and gave them a whirl. And what a perfect time to experiment, 4th of July!!

The dogs still start to bark but quickly stop after one or two barks! Dexter is a little screamer when it comes to letting the dogs out, he has to be the leader and he has to be loud. We have tried water bottles and scolding him and picking him up...nothing worked..until Bark Off!!!

Today I am going to leave the ustream feed up so I can watch from work and see if the babies continue to behave while we are not home but so far so great with this little gadget!!!

(I have not been paid for this review, in fact I paid much more than I should have by miss-ordering!)

Dog Days Of Summer

Each of our four dogs have very different personalities. We are just seeing DJ develop into his and not so sure it is the sweet boy I remember from his puppy days. DJ is a miniature dachshund, he is our other dachshunds (dexter) son. We brought him home at 8 weeks old and he has been the sweetest little thing. He cuddles with us, runs to Vic when he's hurt or scared and runs to me when he's getting in trouble or needs to be picked up. I've posted videos of him loving up on the bigs, he does all of their dental cleanings and makes sure they get their faces washed up all good.



There is Dakota, our only female dog, that gets her feelings hurt. She totally pouts as shown here.



Dexter is our toy hoarder. This video was made before we got DJ. Dexter feels it is his job to gather all the toys up and keep an eye on them. Unfortunately  he has passed this on to DJ, but DJ takes the job to a different level and gets "ugly" if dexter comes near the toy DJ is protecting at the time.



Thank goodness for the most part they all get along great and love each other!

June 24 Love And Movies

June 24 :21 Day Summer Challenge Topic: Summer Blockbusters








I had to google what the blockbuster movies of this summer were. I've only seen one so far and from the list google gave I think I saw the best one! Bridesmaids! I did a blog after I saw it over HERE

I do want to see the Harry Potter movie when it comes out too!

June 24th Photo of the day: LOVE

Dog with a job

I"m up early thanks to my darling fur children. I love how they wake me up so I can let them out and feed them and then they run back into bed with Vic and sleep for a few more hours! Unfortunately, once I am up, I am UP...so thanks guys! grrr

It's been a pretty good week I suppose. We have made  several reservations at work this week (http://www.findsiestakeyrentals.com/) *shameless plug* and picked up a few new listings which is always nice! We are really loving our new office and the energy we feel there.

My visit to the dentist went well yesterday...my mouth is still a little sore but over all I can live with it. I have a temporary crown on until the real one comes in. Hey I have a question for ya'll...does it bother anyone else when the dentist and dental assistant sit and chat while they are working on your teeth? Not just how is the  weather, or anything about my teeth but a personal conversation about what they did and with who the previous weekend and stuff like that. I get annoyed at grocery stores with the bagger and check out person have conversations with each other also while ringing up my groceries so maybe it is just me.


Time for a dog story. Dexter is our almost 3 yr old Doxie. He is the smartest of our four dogs (i can type that because the others can't read..but I have to be careful not to think about it too much because I swear Dakota reads my mind!) so anyway...dexter has a toy obsession. It is almost as if he feels like it's his job to gather and watch over all of the toys. Ok more specific, mostly two kinds of toys..ugly doll toys and the wiener dog looking toys. He is so patient too, if one of the labs has  one of his toys he will sit in front of them and just wait for them to either get tired of the toy or to get distracted (DJ helps by running around to get their attention) and then Dexter will slowly get the toy by the ear and drag it off to his pile of protected toys.


Dexter waiting at Dakotas feet while DJ runs interference so the green toy can be rescued.



DJ holding Dakota down so Dexter can slip the toy out

Dexter with the toy!

Fur Love from DJ

Out of our four dogs our youngest (DJ) is by far the most affectionate with everyone. He cuddles with us, he cuddles with the labs, he cuddles with his daddy Dexter. This little guy just makes my heart want to explode with love !

Chillin

DJ turns ONE!

Saturday was DJ's first birthday!

The Dog Park

Today we took the littles to the dog park for the first time. There were a few dogs in the big dog area but we were the only ones in the small dog area. It was very hot and humid but the dogs LOVED it. We will definately be returning with them.

Making Themselves At Home: The Fur Children