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Sadie Masters “Kyjen’s Treat Wheel” Puzzle Toy: The Video

Sep 27th, 2010 by

There’s ordinary run-of-the-mill conference schwag, and then there’s Blogpaws schwag. It’s positively pawsome. Thank you BlogPaws for your kind generosity.

BlogPaws West ended two weeks ago and I’m just now sorting through all the goodies. I’m going to give a lot of it away—the first of three giveaways is today. See below for details.

Of course, Ms. Sadie had first dibs, and she coveted the Kyjen Treat Wheel Puzzle Toy. I was delighted with her choice because although I’ve long been intrigued by puzzle toys, she and I had never played with one. Well, it didn’t take her long to find her way around the Treat Wheel. We’re having lots of fun with it.

Here’s how it works. First you fill the compartments under the yellow paw print caps with yummy treats. We’re using Etta Says! 100% Natural! Lamb Liver, a sample bag of which I brought home from the conference. Etta Says! was one of the many vendors I visited between workshops.

As Sadie’s proficiency with the Treat Wheel grew with each successive session, my videography unfortunately deteriorated. To spare you the agony of a truly terrible video this is one of our early efforts. It’s Sadie’s third, I think. Our next challenge? I’ll use a clicker and treats to shape the behavior of Sadie putting the puzzle back together after she takes it apart. I’m a beginner at behavior shaping so it might be awhile before you see that video.

THE  GIVEAWAY

How do I enter to win the giveaway?

Leave a comment to this post by midnight MDT, Thursday, September 30, 2010 and you will be entered into the giveaway.

A winner will be selected by a random number generator.

I will notify the winner by email and ask for their address. The winner will have 24 hours to reply. If they do not reply within 24 hours, I will notify the second person on the list created by the random number generator, and so on.

Due to shipping logistics, only residents of the Unites States and Canada will be entered into the giveaway.

What’s in the giveaway?

NOTE: The PEDIGREE Adoption Drive sponsored me to attend BlogPaws. PEDIGREE gave their sponsorees schwag bags and the leash was one of the items in the bag.

Good Luck!

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Posted in BlogPaws, BlogPaws West, Clicker, Etta Says!, eww Pawsitively Clean, Giveaway, Kyjen Treat Wheel Puzzle Toy, Lisa Spector, Pedigree Adoption Drive, Through a Dog's Ear, Wellness Welbites | 26 Comments »

Adopt this Awesomely Adoptable Dog!

Sep 26th, 2010 by

Without any further ado, let me introduce you to Gerbil, a gorgeous brown and white Australian Cattle Dog/Dutch Sheepdog

Awesomely adoptable Gerbil

Mix. She’s currently residing at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley in Boulder, Colorado. She’s only 2 1/2 years old. She’s spayed and up-to-date on all her shots. She loves people and is full of spit and vinegar! She’s very atheltic and strong. One of HSBV volunteers noted “she is a big swimmer and rock climber. And, she has very sweet temperment.” Visit Gerbil’s page on the HSBV website.

You’re probably thinking Wow! She’s a great dog! Why hasn’t someone snatched her up? Most likely it’s because she has three legs. Her right hind leg was amputated. But, so what? This dog is awesome!

If you adopt Gerbil, she is the sort of canine campanion that will inspire you and others to love life and live it with gusto. I don’t know for sure, but I have a feeling Gerbil could have a stunning career as a therapy dog. She’s healed herself and, I believe, she has the potential to help others to heal.

Enough of my blathering on. See for yourself! And, PLEASE contact Humane Society of Boulder Valley if you are interested in helping Gerbil find her forever home. Just call (303) 442-4030 or click here to go to Gerbil’s page.

Just one more thing, even if you can’t adopt her, you can help support Gerbil until she finds her forever family. Just go to Gerbil’s page. On the right side of the page you’ll see “If you can’t adopt me, sponsor me!” I did!

This post is part of  the Adopt a Less-Adoptable Pet Campaign sponsored by BlogPaws and Be the Change for Pets!

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Posted in Adopt-a-less-adoptable-pet, Be the Change, BlogPaws, Humane Society of Boulder Valley | 6 Comments »

#FollowFriday Fab 4: September 24, 2010

Sep 24th, 2010 by

This week’s Fab 4 is an eclectic mix of bloggers. One I ‘met’ through my recent involvement in the Never Shock a Puppy coalition. The other three have long been among the Blogs We Love and it seems it’s about time that I tell you why.

First up is Susan McCullough. Her blog is titled the Allie Chronicles named after her seven year old Golden Retriever. If you don’t recognize Susan’s name you might know her best-selling book, Housetraining for Dummies. Susan’s tone is conversational and personal, and her posts are informative, spot-on in their advice when she gives it, and down-to-earth. And, I don’t know about you, but I’m painfully aware of what’s happens with animals on

Allie

TV shows and in movies. If you watch Mad Men you might recall the total jerk who relegated poor Polly, the sweet Golden Retriever, to the basement in the new season’s opening episode. I felt alone in my outrage until I read Susan’s Poor Polly post. “See?” I told my oblivious friend. “I’m not the only one.” Susan also writes The Positively Well-Behaved Dog at K9Cuisine and don’t miss her on Facebook.

I had never heard of a Hovawart until I met Kenzo the Hovawart from Copenhagen. As far as I can tell, Kenzo and Viva, the other Hovawart, actually write the blog since I can’t find the name of a

Viva and Kenzo

possible human author. Kenzo is totally into social media. You can find him on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. He’s also outraged, as well he should be, and so am I, and so are many others, about breed specific legislation in Denmark (and Denver and so many other places). Thirteen breeds are outlawed! The law went into effect earlier this year. Kenzo writes about it in “How BSL Can Bring a Whole Country into Madness.” And, Viva, bless her hova-heart, is progressing nicely with her BAT training. No, she’s not into baseball, she’s learning to manage reactivity to other dogs using Behavior Adjustment Training, a process of desensitization and counterconditioning (actually it’s much more than that) developed by Grisha Stewart of Ahimsa Dog Training in Seattle. Here’s a lovely post about Viva’s progress: Viva into BAT. Brava Viva!

Dogloversdigest.com

Dog Lover’s Digest written by Kevin Myers has been listed in Boulder Dog’s Blogs We Love (see the tab at the top of this page) for ages, but silly me, I’ve only recently been checking in on Kevin’s posts regularly. What a treat! Kevin is smart and funny. One of my favorite combinations. Take this post for example: “Doggie Digression: A Barking Mad Article from Dog Lover’s Digest” in which Kevin kvetches:

“One of Gavin’s favorite games is one I like to call “Now I Remember” and illustrates premeditated displays of digression. This game usually initiated by Gavin and is more likely to take place under one of the following conditions…

  • I am trying to take a nap.
  • I have just been to the gym and I am stiff and incapable of movement without pain.
  • I have a work deadline to meet and need peace and quiet.”

Kevin also tackles serious topics with equal aplomb including, for example, behavioral medication in dogs and some of the nuttiness that passes for wisdom about dogs in our hyped-up media in “Cesar Milan and The Principle of Parsimony.” You can follow Kevin on Twitter and Facebook.

Do you feed your dog raw meaty bones? Have you considered it but don’t know where to begin? No? Maybe you’re just generally interested in doggie health issues? In any case, pay a visit to Doggy Bytes: Serving Up Byte-Size Info for Dog Lovers. Jim McBean writes Doggy Bytes and in addition to RMB’s, he’s passionate about dog rescue and adoption. Doggy Bytes initially caught my attention because I did switch Sadie to a mostly raw diet (“What’s a Dog to Eat?“) when she was about a year old, but I never could bring myself to go whole hog, so to speak, and feed RMB’s. Even so, I have a burning question. Look at these pictures. Where on earth do you buy this stuff? Okay, the poultry, sure, that’s not a problem. And, I even have a source for raw green tripe. But pork stomach and beef kidney and pig’s head? At your local supermarket? Really? Maybe Canadian grocery stores are more adventuresome than those in the US. Regardless, like I said there’s a lot more going on at Doggy Bytes than yummy pig snouts. Consider this critical health note: “Why Not Brushing Your Dog’s Teeth Could Kill Him,” and this bit of sage advice, seriously: “Why It’s Not a Good Idea to Eat Dog Poop–A Salmonella Story: The Series.” You can also find Doggy Bytes on Twitter and Facebook.

That’s it for this week. See you next Friday. It’ll be October already!

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Posted in #FollowFriday Fab Four, Allie Chronicles, Dog Lover's Digest, Doggie Bytes, Jim McBean, Kenzo the Hovawart, Kevin Meyers, Susan McCullough | 12 Comments »

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