"Find It" Game in April Snow

or watch on YouTube

Brut Magic

I had one of the best walks ever with Brut today!  We were both so calm and lucid we just flowed together.  With a little bit of treats and a short leash we passed by a gentleman on a bike, two older children playing, and the grand daddy of them all, my neighbor down the road going up to her house with her dog! 

It was fantastic!  Brut didn't even try to lunge and make any inklings to do so!  No dirty glares.  No lowering of the head and getting in attack stance.   HUGE progress!!

He was being such a sweetheart.  He was being the dog that he is when we are alone.  Which proves he has it in him to do it. 

I'm so proud of my boy!  He made my whole day.  ☺

 I'm just full of surprises!

Winter blahs

I don't know about anybody else in the Northern Hemisphere, but I'm hitting my breaking point with winter.  We're just starting to hit the mid-way point (fingers crossed) and I've really been struggling with the winter blahs.  It sucks being inside too long as well as outside.  I don't know what happened in the last few years as winter used to be my favorite season and it was summer that I dreaded, now it's the exact opposite.

So were doing the best we can to survive.  Dog sledding and walks help, but it can be so limiting.  So to try and pass the time, I've been working with Fiona and Zappa on some behavior training.  Especially "Leave It."  Seeing as the last time we worked on it was when they were like five months old and Daddy has "trained" Fiona to steal his food anytime he leaves the couch, I figured it was a good place to start.

 

So every night after dinner when it is just the two of them in the living room we practice.  I place a treat in front of them, tell them "leave it" and then when they give me eye contact they get a different treat than the one I placed down.  Zappa is so adorable to watch.  He works so hard not to look at the treat and get his eyes up to mine that he bobbles his head up and down as if physically trying to lift his eye up to meet my gaze.  It is hilarious.

They are both catching on quickly, but I am still working on being able to walk away from treat while in front of them.  That one is a little too tempting.  So I scaled it back to just standing up and sitting back down again.  It's hard to catch them sometimes before they eat the treat, the little buggers are quick!

But I'm already seeing results, especially with Fiona and Daddy's snack time.  Which is quite a bonus for just a little bit of work.  And Zappa who likes to try and steal my juice cups.  I've been saying it when I leave the room whether they know there is anything or not and if they are in the same spots, I reward them.

I never had enough time to really work with Zappa and Fiona when Chance and Blaze were returned.  Between Brut, Chance and Blaze the three took up almost all my time.  So it is always a treat and sweet reward for me to be able to really work with them as we continue on this journey of getting to know each other a little better.   And the more the household settles down and gets in routine the more Zappa and Fiona  are enjoying the extra and well deserved attention they are getting.

So how do you and your dog get through the winter blahs?  

Lacey's Barkery Taste Test

Let me awaken you on a journey where you can eat your dog's food at Lacey's Barkery.  OK, no I didn't try it, but I could have.  It was that good. Homemade cookies that looked like that came right off the baking sheet.  They smelled good, they looked good and the dogs went crazy over them.  All 100% human grade food.  All natural and delicious.  I have proof.  Believe me, the dogs may go crazy for almost any kind of food, but I've never seen them act this nuts over any treat like this before.  I'd been giving them some today for their howling sessions and when Daddy and I went to shoot the video, they remembered, Lacey's Barkery.

See for yourself.  

(or watch on YouTube.)

(My husband the advertising writer!!  BOL)

Lacey's Barkery -No doubt 24 Paws UP!! 
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My name is Daddy and I have a problem...

Daddy is a dog treat junkie.  If there were such thing as the dog training police he would be busted and thrown in dog treat rehab over and over.  Only to hit the nearest pet store once he was released to bring home a bag of goodies for his "starving" over cute dogs.

 Here is a typical scenario:

   Daddy:  Sit, Stay, Lay Down, Sit (all in one sentence.)

Dog: "what for?"  giving those cute puppy eyes while standing and staring at hand

Daddy:  Laaay Down, Laaaay Down, Laaaay Down

Dog:  Stands, staring at food. "how about I just give you that super cute, I love you look you can't resist?.   

Daddy:  Good Boy! (Gives dog treat)

Dog:  "Works every time!" 

Rinse, lather and re-treat!!

We are pretty sure that Daddy is a lost cause and suffers what is known as Doggie Treat Addiction.  Can anyone else relate to this?  

 

Just don't tell Mommy!   

Show Us Your Treat Jar Day!

The Cybersibes are having their second annual, "SHOW US YOUR TREAT JAR DAY" to help spread the word about donating treats to your local shelter. 

We have a few of these jars around the house.  And no...not with all the goodies scattered around.  BOL!  How long do you think those would last scattered on the table like that??  :)

But these two "Cookie Jars" are extra special and drive the dogs wild!  Check them out...

Thank you Cybersibes!  And remember, when donating to your local shelter, don't forget the treats!!

(We have shown these before and had asked where we got these cute cookie jars.  For those who are wondering, we got them at Walmart about 8 years ago.  Not sure if they still make them or not.)
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BUSTED!!

 OK, admit  it.  You've thought about too.  

You're hungry, looking for something to munch on and you keep eying your dog's cookie jar.  

All those delectable goodies that you can pop right in your mouth.  

They are irresistible looking.

Some crunchy, some soft and chewy

You know you want to.

So you open the lid...

Busted!
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Now bust over to the Blog Hop hosted by Life with Dogs, The Two Cavaliers, and Confessions of the Plume.  

No Treats???

Chance at his watch post

What do you do when you don't have any treats for training and such?  I am trying an experiment with the Chance and teaching him to be less reactive when my husband is walking the Back Dogs.  I have Chance in his fenced area while my husband walks each Back Dog by us one by one. 

I have been playing with different ideas with this scenario and I never have treats on me nor do I really think about it. Then one time when my husband was coming back with one of the dogs and Chance sat watching, I knelt down and began to pet him which lead into massaging his back.  Up and down his spine, gently working my fingers in, when I noticed he was turning his attention towards me.  All the while talking calmly with him while he communicated back to me what he was witnessing and feeling.  I have found through our walk training that sitting is very productive for him, not just for calming down, but where he can safely witnesses and express what he is seeing, thinking and feeling and I listen.  This helps him ground himself when he is over excited, yet he can still take in what is going on around him.  Having Chance sit has been a valuable tool when we come across dogs, people and wildlife on our walks and since he was already sitting I utilize his position.

Most of the time I don't use treats, not for any other reason than I usually don't have them on me.  And if I do have them I use them sparely because I usually don't have many.  I don't use toys or other objects because they have very little value to the dogs, so I am left with just me and my dog.  What do I do?  The massage seem to work.  Out of the four Back Dogs, Chance only has a slight reaction with three of them and when I began massaging him with one of the less threatening dogs, I had great results.  Not only did it work, but we did it together.  By feeling him we were able to speak to each other as well as listen to each other.  Something I have found so pertinent with my dogs and being able to acknowledge how they are feeling.  Sometimes all it takes is that little extra understanding of where they are coming from that they can turn around and give what I am asking of them.

It was an awesome moment with Chance and we were able to do it again with the last Back Dog, Silver, another easy practice, and once Chance was confident all was safe and sound, we had a round of play for reward.  It was simply beautiful watching this fascinating dog feel so validated and secure and I was simply amazed to be a part of this wonderful dance we have together, never knowing where the next note will take us.

So how about you?  What do you use when you don't have treats?  And if you don't use treats, what do you find works for you and your dog?      

Product Review-Terra Paws

 We are doing our first product review on Terra Paws- All Natural Freeze Dried Treats and the 24 Paws of Love, loved them.

Here are the ingredients:

 

Simple.  Beef, Chicken and Sweet Potato.  You can't beat that.

The treats were light and had a hard foam like texture.  They did break easy, but that just made more treats for everyone.

  Beef and Sweet Potato 

So you want some proof that the dogs like them?

The real test was Blaze, my picky eater and she ate them right up.  When I ran out of samples and was still doing tricks with the dogs, they would have nothing to do with their regular treats and keep sniffing and trying to grab the Terra Paw bags.  Yep, I'd say they were hooked.

SPECIAL OFFER

All of our readers that place an order during the month July at http://www.terrapaws.com/ can enter the promo code BL20 at checkout and receive 20% off their order.

Terra Paws will have new products coming for this Summer.  New, smaller pouches with one ingredient, such as: Turkey, Chicken, Sweet Potato, Beef Liver and Chicken Liver.

All in all we were very please with the product and we are always up for trying new treats outs.  Most importantly the dogs loved them and really that's all that matters. 

**All opinions for Terra Paw products are 100% our own.**