Treat Time!

Waiting for a goody from Daddy...

and Zappa tries to speak.

(on Youtube)

My apologies for the little tiff hubby and I had at the end of this.  I posted it without realizing it was on there and my editing software won't let me edit for some reason.  We get into it over the silliest things.  lol

Dog Socializing Catch Ups

We've had some great socializing going on around the 24 Paws of Love and I thought I'd catch you up on it.

So proud of this guy!!

First up is Brut.  The bad boy of them all let my friend walk Silver while I walked him and it went great.  We walked a couple of miles and when we went into the garage for treats and undressing their harnesses, Brut was friendly to my friend walking right between her and Silver.  Mr. Territorial didn't pay any attention to the fact that she was on his property, in his garage, he was just ready to go out in the backyard like after every walk!!  It was so awesome!!

And if that wasn't enough, we walked all the dogs that night, my friend walking one while I had the other, in their respective pairs.  So Zappa and Blaze were walked by my friend and did great!  Blaze was a little worried at first, but she got right down the sniffing and didn't look back!

I don't want to be nice!!

Then last night my friend and I walked Silver with her dog Callie.  Silver was pretty ruffled about it for about half of the walk, but eventually started to settle down.  When Silver was able to turn and look at Callie without making a bee line towards her, we were doing good.  

Callie girl

And if it wasn't for my good friend and her nonchalant dog Callie, we'd have never made it this far.  Dogs can sense the difference between a real dog lover and a dog owner and this friend is definitely a dog lover.  It is obvious by the way all the dogs have instantly took to her.  And I want to let her know how valuable her friendship has been to the dogs and I.  She'll never know what a chance she took on that first walk with Fiona, her dog Callie and me.  It's like having a live version of all of you dog lovers out there who have been there for me when I didn't have any dog loving friends and I thank you for that.

The Versatility of the "Find It" Game

If you have food driven dogs, then this game is for you.  We call it "Find It."  I hide small treats around the house and tell the dogs to "Find It."  They can be placed just about anywhere, in, on, and under things to be found.  It is a great nose work game.

What you may not realize and that I just discovered this past summer is what a powerful ally the game "Find It" really is.

All it took was another night of fixing dinner with Chance clinging to me and Blaze right under my feet when I took a handful of treats and tossed them all over the floor.  "Find It!"  And as they scurried all over gobbling up treats, I finally had my work area clear.  And I did it again and again.  When their noses were "turned on" I started making the treats more difficult to find.  When they ran to the tossed treats, I would hide more in the other direction.  It worked out great!  I got my kitchen back and they got fun treats by using their noses.

My second discovery for using the "Find It" game was with Chance and Blaze again.  Both being keepers of the front yard they charge the fence and bark intensely at people and dogs that passed by.  This discovery was a happy accident as we were playing "Find It" out in the yard and both dogs took less interest in the walkers and their dogs.  It didn't stop their barking, but it did curb the intensity and length of it while also paying less attention to the passersby which meant they didn't charged the fence.  HUGE improvement for Chance and Blaze.  JUMBO!

My third discovery for playing "Find It" is to get stubborn Brut in the house when he knows I am leaving.  I have tried everything to get him in the house.  I have to bribe him with a milkbone.  So I tried the game on him, leaving the door open and dropping treats all over the room.  I had Brut at hello the first drop.  :)  At it is still working like a charm.

I have a few ideas about using the "Find It" game when I'm walking the dogs and we run into others and their dogs.  I'll let you know if it works.  Or maybe I could use it on our socializing walks with Callie and my friend, L.  The uses are endless.

What I love about it is all it takes is a handful of small yummy treats (we use a cheap, off brand dog kibble that is tiny bits and the dogs love) and some imagination.  Nothing else.  And we all have a little of that!  You can make it as easy or difficult as your dog can handle for the situation.  Doesn't take a lot for your dog to learn and is as simple of finding a fallen treat.  You can do it inside and outside and their is no end to the fun.

Do you play the "Find It" game?  What are the ways you have used it?    

Treat Time!!

Every night Daddy get special treats ready so we can all have a snack together while we watch TV.  

Here is Fiona, Silver and Zappa of the Back Dogs with their rendition of Treat Time!!

(or see on YouTube)

Hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend!

True Chews Bully Sticks from Chewy.com

Chewy.com asked us to review another one of their tasty products.  Bully sticks are a special, special treat in this house, so when I saw the package True Chews for six, I thought, COOL!

Seconds later...

I knew they were small, but they are BULLY STICKS!

They gobbled them up so fast and that's when I noticed this:

FOR DOGS UP TO 20 POUNDS!!!

GOOD GOING MOM!

Ordering was easy, our package arrived in a couple of days, you saw how easy it was for the dogs to eat.

Regardless of how small they were for our big dogs, they still loved them.

We give True Chew 24 Paws UP!

*Disclaimer*  I was given one bag of True Chew Bully Sticks for my honest review of product.  
All views are 100% mine.

So how many drawers/cupboards/cabinets does your dog have?

 Aren't we about due for another drawer, Chance?

Is your dogs treats, games and toys taking over every extra storage space in the house?  My husband is a treat fanatic.  Every night the dogs have an evening snack with us and that means stocking up on and storing treats.  Half of the kitchen is dedicated to the dogs.  The dogs have TWO of my drawers and part of one cupboard. 

Then they have THEIR OWN three drawer plastic storage stacker and if that's not bad enough they rule the top of the fridge. There are also three treat containers on the kitchen island and one in the living room. But let us not forget the garage where there are jumbo bags of large crunchy bones and mini-puppy sized ones and a few secret compartments with emergency stashes.

Is it getting a little crowded in here or is it just me?

   

Chewy.com-Orijen review-they should have fired us by now

An Understanding Company-Chewy.com

If there is a great company to do a review for, it has to be Chewy.com.  This is our second time working with them and they have been quite gracious with us.  The first time was when our two puppies from our litter died and we were in such grief that we put off doing the review for a couple of months and Chewy.com understood.

This time I prepared early, had my husband shoot our little review video only to find out a couple of days later that he never hit the record button.  Which he swears he did.  So me of course knowing that I would never do something like that, set up the recorder without him, did my review with the dogs only to find out I went through all the whole shoot to do the same thing.  No video.

So the Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb that we are find ourselves once again a month behind from when I wanted to share this review.  And rather than go one more round with the camcorder and stupidity, I figure I'd better quit while I'm ahead.  BOL!

The Product- Orijen Freeze Dried Dog Treats

O.M.D!! I thought Blaze was going to tear the bag out of my hands!  And you know it's ravishing if Brut starts snarling and fending the other dogs away!

They had several delicious treats to choose from, like Bison, Duck (which we clearly stayed away lest one of the dogs get any ideas with Luigi.  BOL!)  And plenty more.  You can check all of them out HERE.

We decided to try something new for us, Tundra Dog.  Vension, elk, quail and trout all in one treat!

And this was what made Brut growl and drool:  all natural meats and that is it!

One thing I loved about the treats is that were soft enough to break into two, but didn't crumble like most freeze-dried treats we have tried.  By the look and feel of them you couldn't tell they were a freeze dried treat.  The treats were soft, not hard and dried out.  

I loved the ingredients.  (very easy to read) and of course because of the real meat in them, the dogs went crazy for them.  I ended up having to separate them because it triggered off their food protective instinct.

Yes, this stuff even smelled good to me.

The 24 Paws give Orijen Freezed Dried Treats 24 Paws Up!!

Thank you to Chewy.com for giving us this opportunity to try Orijen Freeze Dried Treats and in return I gave this review with my honest thoughts and opinion about the treat.

Two Walking Miracles

We came, we walked, we kicked some A$$!

Had a great walk with Brut tonight using his no pull EZ Walk Harness.  Man, I can't believe how great the harness and our training is working hand and hand.  I'm still using treats through the whole walk and learning how to utilize them even more to my advantage.  Now when Brut just gets to the end of the leash he automatically turns and I click and reward.  I've been clicking and rewarding for him walking by side and turning his head at me as well.  I can't believe how well this is working out.  If I hadn't taught Brut a mark point at the end of the leash, I would be pulling against him to turn, but this way teaching him that mark means he is turning on his own.  And when he does pull a little ahead or to side, he turns willingly when I tug on the leash.  It is better than I could have dreamed.

We have also been practicing when we pass dog houses I make him walk next to me by making a feeding tube out of my hands.  A handful of treats that he has to work for to get while still walking right along.  We have yet to encounter a loose dog in their yards, but I am feeling ready for the test.  I think we have got our routine down pretty solid and I feel confident when it happens if nothing else I will be able to handle it.

We did have our first encounter with a person walking down the road. I slowly reined in Brut who too busy at first taking treats to notice our neighbor.  Then the closer we got to each other, I grabbed a handful of treats, but didn't get enough, and as I chain fed Brut I was trying to make the treats last, but it was beginning to aggravate him.  Thriving on his body language as I grabbed more treats and just as the walker was across from us, Brut took the opportunity to move towards the man.  I felt it before it happened.  I tugged on the leash the second he flinched, then shove more food in his mouth and we passed without incident.

Finally she's catching on... 

IT. WAS. PHENOMENAL!!  I handle the whole situation with a calm, cool demeanor.  I was prepared and felt very collected.  It was an awesome feeling.  I used to make a big deal when people were around.  Brut would be at the end of the leash and when I saw people coming towards us I would reel him in next to me and hold the leash in a death grip.  One, because I am so nervous and self conscious around people that it would shoot my anxiety through the roof and two, because I was walking this powerful, aggressive dog and I didn't always know what he was going to do.  In fact most of the time I would just turn around in order to avoid the whole thing.  But this was the first time that I watched Brut encounter someone and not escalate with each step.  He actually stayed fairly calm and responded so quickly to my tug it was like a reflex that he took the treats.  It was fascinating to watch and be part of something I never thought would happen.  

Now I know running into a loose dog would create more fight response in Brut than a human and I know our day is coming, but running into the walker was great practice.  I think Brut is noticing a difference with me too.  Not only are my anxiety levels down and under better control, but we can walk further this way not fighting each other.

I have always been afraid of breaking Brut's spirit by hard discipline, which for a long time seem the only

way I could find in research of how to handle an aggressive dog.  And Brut is quite a strong willed dog.  I've been working this "out of love" angle for some time and this is the proof it is coming together.  I have given up with him so many times when it comes to leash training that if it wasn't for my body taking the brunt of his pulling, I may have never changed to this new way with the harness and clicker training.  It's an accomplishment for both of us on so many levels and I am so humbled to be a part of it.  It is truly an honor to work with this magnificent dog and watch him blossom to a higher state of mind than that which he started with 6 years ago.  I am so very, very blessed to have Brut, who has shown me over and over again that all things are possible with a little love and time.        

Where's That Smell?

"Find It"

Nose work is fascinating.  I have been working with Chance and Blaze since discovering the game "Find It."  Putting a treat in a plastic jar or container and having them "find" by successfully getting it out of the jar.

Recently, I upped the stakes by placing the the treat in a toy and then hiding the toy in a room while they stayed in another.  I then rub the treat on my hand, ask them to smell my hand and tell them to "Find It."  Chance's nose is strong, especially when it comes to food.  Blaze takes a while to warm up, but she is also a slick and will go back and forth between looking for the treat and staying close to Chance in order to snatch it out from under him when he finds it.

I have done this in the house a couple of times, the results were something like this:

The first hide, easy out in open:  They each find toy with treat

The second time, this time out of plain sight:  Chance realizes he not going to just 'find it' and his nose turns on so loud you can hear him sniffing hard.  Blaze is also aware she can't just see and find it and keeps close tabs on Chance for any indication he is close to treat.  Even so much so that she will slide up by his side and grab the treat at first sign he has found it.

The third time, toy is place inside something or up high:  Chance is wearing down and Blaze takes advantage of this as her nose begins to warm up.  They each find a treat.

After the third time, Chance looks like someone bonked him on the head with a silly stick.  Blaze seems no worse for wear.  She is proud of herself for her slick moves and outmaneuvering Chance and is ready to go again now that Chance is wearing down and feels she has the upper hand. 

ZONK!!

The whole event was hilarious and fascinating.  I was intrigued the most when Chance realized he had to use his nose and 'work' to find the treat.  When he begins to comprehend this, his entire demeanor immediately changes to that of sheer concentration and focus.  I'm sure that using both dogs together helps to spur on the competitive nature of the game.  Chance is about following the rules and pleasing me.  If I ask him to find it, he is going to do everything in his power to do that.  For Blaze it is about beating and outsmarting your opponent.  She isn't doing this for me, she is out to prove how her wit and clever intelligence will win the game.  And it is all about winning the game. 

Each style is unique and compliment the other. I have praised both of them for the strength and skills.    Although if I was ever lost in the woods, I think I'd rather have someone send Chance to find me!

Are you sure about that?? 

He couldn't last more than three rounds!

 

Brut's Birthday Bash Give Away!!

In honor of Brut's upcoming 5th Birthday, we've teamed up with Terra Paws in celebration of the 24 Paws of Love's first give away!  From now until midnight of Brut's birthday on Oct. 11, 2011 you can sign up to win one bag of Terra Paws Freeze Dried Treats!  

For those you who haven't tried these tasty treats you can check out our review of them HERE.  Or you can check out Terra Paws HERE at their website and click on freeze dried pet treats. 

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Here's all you have to do:  

Leave a comment with your choice of Terra Paws flavor along your email address so that I may contact the winners.

And that's it!
(Sorry, only US residents eligible.)

Brut will pick 4 winners from all entries at random and winners will be notified by email.

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So pick out your dog's favorite flavor and sign up to win!

Beef Liver

Beef and Chicken Liver

Sweet Potato

Sweet Potato and Beef Liver

Sweet Potato and Chicken

Sweet Potato and Chicken Liver

As an extra bonus, Terra Paws has also thrown in a special promo just for our readers.  

If you order from their website, enter promo code: OCT30 at the check out, you'll receive 30% off any order for the month of October!

How great is that??

                                    

The Brut Puzzle

Brut actually goes into a panic when food falls on the floor or under the furniture.  Like he has found the last morsel and he's been starving for days.  If you try to help him get the food, he almost screams like he's in physical pain and makes attempts for your hand.  I do my best not to spill kibble or treats, and pick up every morsel I can find before Brut is in the room.

 Brut and I were playing with what I call the puzzle cube today, just him and I, and while he pawed and rolled this little cube spilling treats all over the floor, I was following behind him making sure none were missed.  A light bulb went off, why not work on his food issues with this game?  So I got on the ground, close to him and began picking up the remnants of chewed plastic while keeping a lookout for any wayward treats while still playing with him.  I began inching closer to him on all fours, until I was eventually in his space.  I'd even brushed up against him to get the cube when it was stuck against the wall.  He was doing great and having fun.

Then I began playing with the cube, by crawling back and forth after it and hitting it around.  As the tempo increased, so did Brut's excitement.  His eyes, widened, his heart was pacing and all his fur began stand.  There was no doubt his adrenaline was rising.  As we took turns with the food toy, I was conscious of his body language, he was excited, but he also had a look that said, he didn't know what to think.  This was fun, but these were his treats and he didn't know what to make of me messing with them.  He was caught between wanting to play and wanting to guard.  I began to slow my actions, while I wasn't scared, in his semi-heightened state any quick movements would be interrupted as hostile.  My goal was not to aggravate him, but to keep this level of play safe for both of us.   I let him guide me.

When the cube rolled just out of easy reach, he came up to me and nibbled on one side of my lips, licked my face like crazy and then repeated this several times.  I couldn't have been more thrilled!!  I have seen Fiona do this very same action with Silver, a boundary line that says, "Stop.  I don't want to hurt you.  Please don't go any further."  I stayed in this same position, I didn't move forward or backwards and I didn't freeze.  He continued to circle and walk back and forth in front me, every so often licking my face, while I sat in place.  Eventually he laid down next to me, I touched his paw with my finger, and he gave me the signal again, only this time the nibble on the lips was even lighter than the first time.  I continued to let him calm, until he was certain that I wasn't making a move after the cube and continued to acknowledge his boundary line.  After a few minutes I got up and he got up with me.  I thanked him profusely, while having him sit and gave him a treat.  The game was over, I picked up the cube to put in it's safe place and then he went outside because that was his safe place.

As I sat down to absorb what had just happened, I was overwhelmed by what Brut had shown me:  Himself.  Not just "dog behaviors," but his actual true being.  There is no way to explain the amount of trust he had given me and I was humbled beyond words.  The mysteries of this dog went far beyond labels or insights into them.  It was Brut sharing with me how and why he is Brut.  There are no words that will ever justify the moments of being that passed between us, only to know they are forever imprinted on my heart.  A being who took a chance to open to me.  Our communication was beautiful.  It was like walking through Brut's world and experiencing it first hand.

Trust

Zoomies and Toy Rewards

 Zoooooooom!

I have been guilty of not training the Back Dogs any new tricks for some time.  With Brut's food and toy obsessions, I haven't quite figured out how to reward the dogs without separating them.  Treats are out of the question if all four dogs are around and I wasn't sure if I could use the toys.  But my wheels were still churning... 

With the cooler weather the Back Dogs have also woke up from their summer comas with zoomies everywhere!  I just happened to start rummaging through the toy box, which caught Brut's attention, when he suddenly grab this old, nylon lobster that's been in there for ages, but he didn't care it was suddenly the best toy ever!!  So I got it from him and practiced him weaving through my legs.  He caught on quick and then we played tug-of-war for a few minutes and did it again.  After he tore all the stuffing out, the toy became unimportant and I tried with Silver and Fiona.  All of this happening in between chasing games and subtle attacks.  I used balls, sticks or other toys that would hold their interest long enough to weave through my legs a couple of times and then would throw for fetch or tug-of-war.  It was great!  I'd been trying for so long to figure out a way to use toys so Brut wouldn't become so crazed that it would cause a disaster.  Letting him choose the toy and wear it out as he saw fit, took off all the pressure off of the other dogs.  And we haven't bought new toys for so long, they don't have any high value to Brut and that keeps his toy insanity in check.

I don't know why it took me so long to come up with the idea, because it is the same thing I do when I brush them.  I let them play and run around and brush them in between.  I am beginning to see some great possibilities!!  What a sweet blessing!!

What the Front Dogs did on their Summer Vacation

Bobbing for treats

As the Dog Days of Summer wind down and the unofficial end draws near, one of the highlights for the Front Dogs was their first pool, something we have always wanted to get them. Chance has always had a thing for water, but Blaze has that Husky respect for it and won't even go in a lake.  So I was rather surprised when Blaze got in with all four paws.

On your mark... get set...

 
For the most part the pool was a gigantic water bowl, but after a hot walk, they surprised me by getting their paws in the water for a cool drink. I helped things along with playing "bob for treats," a game they both loved.  When some of the treats sunk, Chance tried his best to paw the treat out.  He decided early on, he wasn't going to get his pretty little nose wet.  That's when Blaze surprised me even more by sticking her whole face in the pool to get that goodie.

Now she expects me to go scuba diving for the darn thing!  That woman is crazy!!

Show off!!  

Wimp Dog!!

So what did you do that was fun, new and exciting this summer??

My Kind of Baking

Zucchini, Peanut Butter and Wheat Dog Treats

When we just had the Back Dogs, my husband kept talking about making our own dog treats.  While I can bake, it isn't my favorite thing, but I found a recipe, got the ingredients and even bought a new cookie cutter as I didn't have one and whipped up a batch of dog cookies.

All of the dogs turned up their noses at these treats that I had slaved over, just for them.  They wouldn't even take a bite.  That said I never baked for those mongrels again!

So when I went to the Farmer's Market today, I found a young girl who had made these mini muffin-like dog treats.  6 for $1.  How perfect is that?  Three dollars to taste test and no mess or fuss.  That's my kind of baking!  AND the dogs loved them. :)