Happy Birthday, Kitty!

Today is Kitty's 5th birthday! She is a little upset we didn't do anything special.. in fact.. don't tell her, I'm the worst doggie mom ever.. I only JUST remembered it's her birthday! whoops! Here's a crappy cell phone pic of my beloved birthday girl. I'll try to get some good ones of her later. :)

Do Aussies Shed?

Meee? No, never!!

Review & GIVEAWAY: VitaCost Pet Products

Hi guys! We were offered the opportunity to review a couple of items from Vitacost.com, so we jumped at the chance!

First up, Happytails Sleepytime Tonic.
http://www.vitacost.com/happytails-sleepytime-tonic-1-fl-oz-1

This is a natural tonic meant to help calm nervousness. Kitty and Breeze both get a little antsy during thunderstorms, and we've had a couple of them lately! I went ahead and gave them some of the Happytails Sleepytime Tonic to see how it would work.

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures, but overall they did seem a little more capable of calming down. I noticed less pacing with Breeze, and Kitty didn't seem as insecure.

Overall I would recommend the Sleepytime Tonic for thunderstorms, car rides, vet or groomer trips, or any other potentially stressful situations. The results aren't magical but I really like that my dogs aren't drugged, and the ingredients are natural.

Keep in mind that tonics and medicines are sort of "bandaids" on problems. If your dog has anxiety issues I highly recommend counter conditioning using positive reinforcement, however the Sleepytime Tonic could help your dog get to a relaxed state so that training can begin!

The second product we got to try out was Happytails Fur Butter (or fur worse!)
http://www.vitacost.com/happytails-fur-butter-or-fur-worse-8-oz-3

Before we get into this I would like to point out that it's really important to feed your dog a high quality diet, whether that be a kibble, homemade, or even raw food diet. My dogs eat grain free food and I find that this has greatly improved their skin and coats.

That being said, even dogs in good health can occasionally get dry, flaky skin! Breeze is especially prone to dandruff and itching when the weather changes due to her environmental allergies, so the Fur Butter arrived at a great time!

The unsuspecting victim

I wrangled up the Border Collie and opened the jar-o-butter. It has a pleasant, natural scent. I kept thinking it smelled almost waxy, and then I looked at the ingredients- beeswax! Well, no wonder! 

Mmm, beeswax and shea butter!

Once Breeze was clean I dug into the 'butter. It kind of has a Crisco-ish feel to it. Almost a tiny bit greasy, but it doesn't leave that feeling on your hands once its rinsed. It doesn't lather, as it's not a shampoo, but I worked it into her skin and coat and let it sit for a few minutes.

Marinating!

I think I may have used a bit much as it wasn't the easiest to rinse out completely, but I did grab a big ol' dollop of it when I was working it into her coat. Anyway, it rinsed out fine and I towel-dried our model here. To my surprise, she actually dried pretty quickly. Normally I find that conditioners leave her overly-oily (I'm assuming they aren't really soaked up by the coat) and it takes her forever to dry. This was not the case. 

Breeze is normally a VERY rough-coated dog, borderline wirey even. Now, though, her coat is feeling soft and "light," which is great! I will definitely use this product again. I'm excited to use it on Aero, with his loooong hair. 

Now for a GIVEAWAY! 

I am so excited to be able to host a giveaway thanks to Vitacost.com! 

To enter to receive a $25 Gift Card to Vitacost, just comment below! I will assign each person a number. On Monday, June 3rd, I will put the numbers into a random number generator to select the winner! Good luck!!

Disclaimer- All of the opinions in this blog post are my own. I was not compensated for this post in any way other than given the samples to try out. 

Black and White Sunday 3

Sibling Saturday

We hope everyone is having a great weekend! 

I'm Going to be a Star

This ball doesn't squeak, but it sure is fun to nom on! 

On Saturday my aunt and uncle came over. Uncle Jason is entering a video contest and he wanted a dog for it. Well, hey! I'm a dog! So, just under a month ago, he sent a "basic list of behaviors" to my mom, and we worked on learning them. I don't know as many tricks as my siblings, so there was lots to do. Mom said that even though I knew the least, she picked me for the role because of my steady temperament.

I had to learn to play dead, to bark on cue, and a few other things. Mom says she wishes she had taught me a "marker" spot, because it turned out we needed to do a recall with a standing stay before I got to a certain point. She said teaching a marker would have been more simple, but we sure made do with her just asking me to come, then saying "wait!" before I got there. I was a little confused at first, but I did great! Oh- did I mention it was at night?

Hopefully we will be able to show you the video soon. Uncle Jason is doing all the editing and shooting some more scenes. I hope he wins the contest!



-Riot

Black and White Sunday 2

SNACKurday 1: Minty Peanut Butter and Banana Cookies

Welcome to Kitty's Kitchen! Today I'm supervising Mom as she attempts to make cookies! We are going for peanut butter and banana, with a touch of mint for fresh breath (parsley also works great for this!). 

Step one. 

Mom cut a few mint leaves from the plant and snipped them into tiny pieces. She mushed up a super ripe banana, and combined those ingredients along with a big dollop of homemade peanut butter in a bowl. Then she added an egg from one of our chickens, and enough flour to make it into a dough-like consistency. She also preheated the oven to 325 degrees!

The Dough

Step two. 

Mom rolled the dough out on a floured cutting board and then put some more flour over top of that. She said this helps it to not stick. Then, she took the bone-shaped cookie cutters and set to work. 

These are all for me, right?

The cookies!

Step three. Mom stuck 'em in the oven. Apparently now, we wait! We weren't sure how long they were going to take because mom said she "pulled this recipe out of her butt." One time, Aero ate some string and she had to pull THAT out of his butt. Hopefully the cookies are way better! 

Waiting for them to get done baking!

After about 15 minutes, we flipped them over and then stuck them back in the oven.

Another 15 minutes later, they were done!! Woohoo! But, we had to wait for them to cool. Darn it. 

Yuuuum!

They were a hit with all of us. I am still a little bit outraged that mom didn't give them ALL to ME. I mean, come on, I did all the work! 

Can we have moooore? 

Thanks for stopping by! 

-Kitty 

Wordless Wednesday

Saturday

Happy Saturday! I'm just kicking back and relaxing today. Mom took care of a pesky rooster that had been tearing up my beloved chickens pretty bad. Did I get anything? No! Fear not, he's in the fridge "resting." I bet Mom is gonna cook him up, just for me! (She says she isn't, but maybe it's a surprise). It's because I'm going to be a star, you know. My Aunt Erin and Uncle Jason are coming to shoot the video next Saturday. Mom has some sort of announcement so I'm handing the blog over to her- see ya later! 

- Riot

I've been thinking of doing rotating themes for Saturdays- here are a few that I'm thinking about. There might be more in the future! 

Sibling Saturday: a photo of all four dogs together

SNACKurDAY: the chronicles of homemade dog treats- recipes, pictures, doggie reviews, etc

Silly Saturday: A goofy picture of one or more of the dogs (kind of like the one above, but I don't have the heart to tell Riot it's a silly picture!)

Learnin' Stuff

We adopted Riot from the BARC animal shelter in 2009. I spent a lot of time working on things such as sitting for greeting rather than jumping on people (he was a terrible jumper), walking nicely on the leash (talk about pulling!), and potty training. I taught him some really simple stuff, like sit, stay, down, and shake, but other than that didn't do much with him in the trick department. (Kitty: "He's a dummy!")

This is the first picture of him!

Recently I was asked to train one of my dogs for a few simple things for a video. I can't give a bunch of details just yet, but I chose Riot for his steady temperament. Aero would have been first choice in terms of ease- he already knows all of the cues I needed- but Riot better fits the bill aesthetically. It's been really wonderful working with him. To be honest, I was in a bit of a "training funk," where I didn't really want to work my dogs much. Riot and I are really enjoying the bonding time, and he's doing great.

I needed a bark cue, so here he is with that. We've already added the standing stay (another new thing) and a bit of distance.

We have another week before shooting, so I'm very confident that he's going to do just great! I will continue to work with him even after the video is done, as we are having a lot of fun. He's a pretty creative dog! I feel like I'm learning things about him that I hadn't noticed before, and he's been with us for 4 years. 

The Ugly Stool

Kitty here. Mom enjoys re-purposing things on occasion. Grandma bought her this ugly stool at an estate sale thinking she could spiff it up and turn it into a milking stool. Mom says she's going to tear the tattered fabric off of it, sand it, and paint it to look "distressed." You know what's distressing? Me, having to sit on this UGLY stool!!

Mom, really? This is not fit for a princess.

Did you say "treat"?

I'll pose on it again when it's more acceptable to look at! (P.S. that's Sheba the cat. She's okay in my book.)

The B.A.R.K. Dogs

I figured my first post could be an introduction!
We'll go in order of the acronym, BARK.

Breeze
Female
Border Collie
D.O.B. 7/4/2009

Breeze is a very ball-driven, busy dog. She doesn't believe in down time and has always got something to do. She can be a bit insecure but is confident when it comes to offering behaviors to get rewards. 

Aero

Male

Chinese Crested

D.O.B. 3/29/2010

Aero is a sweet heart. He loves people and is a very soft-tempered dog. He has a good amount of drive, enjoys toys and loves food. He's the little guy of the bunch, but he keeps up with the big dogs just fine. He even helps out with small chores like herding the chickens!

Riot

Male

Australian Shepherd x Border Collie

D.O.B. Unknown- approx 2008

Riot is a complete goof. He loves people and dogs alike, is fairly soft tempered, and is easy to please. He is just as happy to go-go-go all day, as he is to curl up on the couch and laze the day away. 

Kitty

Female

Australian Shepherd

D.O.B. 6/29/08

Kitty is the ringleader around here. Nothing goes on without her say-so. She is the quintessential "Bossy Aussie," and she's not afraid to show it. She is mama's favorite (don't tell the others!) and sleeps on the bed every night. Kitty had a rough start to her life, she came to us at about 5-6 months old completely unsocialized. She's made a lot of progress but still gets stressed in new situations and doesn't particularly enjoy having people over unless she knows them (and they bring her gifts of food!)

She gets along great with the boys but has a tendency to pick on Breeze. 

We are a positive reinforcement, clicker training household. This blog is mostly for the dogs but might occasionally include snippets about the cat and our mini farm. I hope you enjoy it!