Tasty Tuesday | Treat Review | Purina Delibakes stars.

A few weeks ago I promised you guys I would do a review of a few new treats I had brought Lottie.

Things have been a bit hectic due to my upcoming surgery. But here is the review of one of those treats.

From our local Pets at Home store I purchased Purina Deli bakes stars although they are available in most pets stores/supermarkets.

They cost £1.29 which is more than I would normally spend, but with the tempting packaging I decided to give them a go.

Once I opened the packet the smell hit me straight away, and they certainly do smell baked. In fact they nearly smelt good enough for me to eat!. Cheese and beef were prominent as stated on the packaging. Inside there were 11 deli baked stars which are about the same size as a 50p piece. For the price I was a little disappointed with the quantity. Lottie would soon get through 11. We do purchase similar treats with double the quantity for half the price. So for me to repeat purchasing them they would need to be good.

Mum do we really need to take all these photo before I try them! 

Lottie was extra keen to try one and could hardly wait she even tried to get into the closed packet! She eat the star in under 1 minute. And seemed highly impressed and gave me a paw to indicate she would like more! They must of tasted extra good as once we had finished the taste test I had to put them away in the cupboard as she just wouldn't leave the them alone.

Yum!

Needless to say Lottie is trying to pursuade me to buy more! All things said and even though Lottie really liked them I think I will be waiting for the stars to be on offer before I purchase them again. The main factor is the price which I just don't feel is appropriate for the quantity of treats. But for a extra special treat or if you don't mind spending a little extra once in a while these will definitely be for you!

Unfortunately this will be my last doggy post for a while. My surgery is going ahead on Thursday and I will be in hospital around 2 weeks. Lottie is looking forward to her extra long sleepover at grandmas which is where she will be staying while I am in hospital. I will be sure to keep you guys updated on Facebook on how everything goes.

Jessica (And Lottie)

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Black and White Sunday - Play Time

I think in every dog they always have a favourite toy type. Some dogs enjoy balls, whist some prefer the soft cuddly toys.

When Lottie was around 6 months old we brought her a Good Boy Space Lobber toy. From the day they first met she has definitely picked it as her favourite.

After one of her many play dates with Jack, who doesn't play so gentle it tore.

My doggy spending has been minimal recently so today I decided to treat her to a new one. Needless to say she was highly impressed with my purchase.

Does your dog have a favourite toy that they chose above the rest?

Jessica

I am joining the Black and White Sunday blog hop hosted by Sugar the Golden Retriever and Dachshund Nola. 

Please do not try this at home!

Lottie wants to warn all of her doggy friends not to try this at home! Here she tells you why...

A big hello to all my doggy friends. Listen up now, what I am about to tell you is really important and please don't make the same mistake I did. The humans have been doing some home improvements in the last few weeks ready for when mum goes in for her surgery. Some don't affect me at all and I let them go about their DIY business as normal. Replaced gravel however, is high on my list of priorities to check out. After all it is the area I use for the toliet. Only the best for me!

They had decided on some lovely plum slate which was a big improvement on the annoying tiny little gravel they had before, getting a piece of that between your pads is honestly worse than stepping on a plug (trust me I know!).

I was let outside for a few minutes while mum cleaned out the Chinchilla, unfortunately she is not by best friend and I can get a bit jealous when she gets all the attention. To make sure they were aware of how disapproving I was of the situation I decided to cause a bit of mischief. Imagine suddenly lying there one minute and the next you see a big black thing crawling across the gravel. I obviously leapt to my feet and went to investigate. The damn thing moved too quick and by the time I got there it had disappeared. I used my amazing sense of smell to see if I could find the little pest. That method failed so I used the only method I had left. I started to dig and knew I would get in big trouble for this, but that annoying part in my brain just took over and I just couldn't stop. I kept thinking to myself I only went to the dog groomers yesterday I am going to need a dreaded bath again, but my paws just kept digging uncontrollably.

This is the result of my moment of madness. Even my little garden friends took a hit! 

Before I could get any further the back door swung open and there stood a very angry mum. She shouted very loudly and I was immediately taken in! Straight into the bathroom and placed in the bath for the inevitable to start!

I really am sorry mum! 

I daren't look!

All clean now. 

That ten minutes of trying to find that pest was definitely not worth it! Mum has been a bit cross with me ever since. A special treat is certainly off the cards for tonight! If any of you get the urge to dig I advise you to take up another sport that is equally satisfying. I find chasing my tail is just as fun and from now on that is what I shall be doing instead.

Why of why did I do it?

Jessica (and Lottie)

Wordless Wednesday - Hair one mintue, gone the next!

               

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Mondays mischief - Coming mum...maybe

I hear so many dog owners talk about recall. Many of which end with 'my dog just won't come back so I don't let them off'. This always saddens me so much. 

Lottie's recall was pretty good until I had a hospital stay and off lead exercise didn't happen for a while. When it did resume Lottie had suddenly 'forgot' her recall. 

Now the nice weather has returned. I really want to enjoy seeing Lottie run around the field again. 

After seeking advice from many of our doggy friends, we ventured to the local football field which is a very popular spot for so many dog owners.

I invested in some really yummy treats and was armed with Lottie's 10m tracking line which I decided to use this time. It has been a few months since she was last let free!

Lottie was such a good girl and her recall was great. She came back every time (with a little encouragement). She enjoyed a game of fetch which she just wants to let you know is not just for retriever breeds!

 

Come on mum throw it again

All ready for home.

 

We will be doing plenty of practice and I will be sure to let you guys know how we get on.

Does your dog come back when called? 

Jessica 

Doggy ice cubes

Now the hot weather is here I could finally try out an idea I heard of a few months ago. 

I saw in a magazine an article about making dogs yummy ice cubes to keep them cool on those hot summer days. 

There were several ideas some of which seemed a bit too bizarre. The one that caught my eye was wet dog food which is something Lottie is not used to as she has a dried kibble diet. 

I purchased a separate ice cube tray (I'm not keen on dog food flavoured water) and brought my first packet of wet dog food. There are so many on the market it was difficult to choose but eventually I went for the wet verison of the kibble she already has. 

I filled each hole with a spoonful of wet food and popped it into a freezer bag so it woud not make a mess of the freezer. 

Three hours later I checked to see if they were done and they were. Lottie could not wait to try them. 

I think it's safe to say Lottie was extremely grateful of a tasty alternative to plain water ice cubes and they were definitely a hit! 

These are something I will certainly be making again and am now on the look out for other ideas to try. 

What yummy frozen treats do you make in summer for your dog? 

Jessica 

Double Trouble

Lottie gets on with any dog and is always so keen to say hello.

Today Lottie made another new friend which led to a play date!

During our normal morning walk we meet another lovely westie called Jack who had a few years on Lottie at the age of 12.

This let to an invite round to Alan house (Jack's owner) for a lovely cup of tea whilst the dogs played. This is something new for Lottie and me. I don't know how you guys find other dog walkers but for us most of them are happy to stop for a quick hello but usually want to get their walk finished as quickly as possible. There are, however, a select few who are more than happy for a chat which in this case led to a friendship between both the dogs and the humans.

As you can see Lottie had a great time playing, and found lots of new smells to investigate. As well a new lawn to roll on!

Hey let me roll in it too! 

This was originally Lottie 'st treat but she decided that running around was much more fun so Jack seized the opportunity for seconds!

The very handsome Jack

I think it's really important for dogs to socialise and it's always something that has been high on our list of priorities. Far too often we see a lovely dog that doesn't know how to behave around other dogs which causes unnecessary aggression. I do however understand that sometimes this is through no fault of the dog but unfortunately the negative start it had in life.

Lottie has made it quite clear she wants the play date to become a regular thing.

Do you meet up with other dog owners? Are play dates a regular occurrence for you and your dog?

Jessica

Wordless Wednesday - hey that's my chair!

Monday Mischief - Sock thief

As I have mentioned to you guys before, Lottie really has a craze on socks at the moment. She just can't get enough of them. She likes to pinch them out of the washing basket, stand there with her bottom up in the air as if to say "come on then run after me!". Which I always do. We run around the house for a while until Lottie knows I am starting to get angry. By this time shouting "Lottie I'm not playing, give it here!" has failed and I turn for the fridge for help! Normally a small piece of cheese does the trick!

Right on cue for Monday Mischief blog hop. I caught Lottie in the act.

As you can see she had pinched rather a collection! No wonder I can never find any socks to wear.

I think somebody is trying to hide!

Does you dog like to pinch things they know they shouldn't have?

Jessica

Watch out!

Having a puppy is a challenging time for anybody but being in a wheelchair and having a tiny ball of fluff running around can add a whole new dimension that you guys may not of even thought about.

Imagine waiting nearly 2 months to collect a white ball of fluff, and the day finally arrives. Obviously you would be overcome with excitement as I was certainly was. What I had not accounted for was that this tiny innocent little dog has now got to get used to a moving object ten times bigger than her!

My every move now needed to be thought of first "Where's Lottie'. This was definitely a challenging time for us and some times frustrating. Lottie was never scared of my wheelchair it was more me terrified of running over her tiny little paws.
After around 3 months things seemed to settle down and Lottie soon realised if she got to close to the big round wheels it hurt (a lot!)

Nowadays we are both much more used to one another and she doesn't bother how close she gets to my chair in fact she  regularly uses under my wheelchair as the ideal place to lie (even though she has a lovely cosy bed) , or as a sun shade on a hot summers day.

Jessica

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Get a grip!

It's been delivered!

I arrived home from a shopping trip and there on the door mat was a parcel, I was hoping it would be the Grippy lead I ordered and it was!

Before I even unpacked the shopping I just had to give it a go. I ordered a pink 5 loop 19mm Grippy lead.

The first thing I must say is the delivery service is fantastic I ordered it late on Wednesday night and it was delivered today.

As I have mentioned before I have struggled with so many different types of leads. I normally end up with half of it wrapped around my hand, and the blood supply really feeling the pinch by the time we get home. So I was praying the Grippy lead would answer all my prayers.

And yes, it answers my prayers and so much more! It has a D ring on the end, near the handle so I am able to clip it to my chair meaning I only need to hold one of the loops lower down.

With the lead having 5 loops (they also do a 6 loop option) it means that Lottie can he held at any length along the lead and it's even great for close control.

The material is so soft and won't cause any rubbing on my hand even if Lottie suddenly decides she wants to desperately look at something a few feet away! (Which she often does)

Being the girly girl I am means everything must be pink, and Lottie very much shares this thought too (Pink makes the boys wink, right?). So evidently I ordered the cerise pink option which more than deals with our pink requirement! The colour is so vivid and bright and it even matches her harness to!

In my eyes Grippy leads are an essential for any dog owner but for us they hold that special place, and have solved so many of our dog walking problems. Walks from now on will be a complete pleasure with a Grippy lead in hand!

Jessica