Thursday Barks And Bytes | Walkies

In the summer, long country walks are definitely on the agenda. Today we decided to visit a local attraction Trentham Gardens, it has things for all the family to enjoy including a shopping village a garden centre but most doggy friendly for us is a mile long walk around the lake.

If you are anything like us we make the most of the great weather. So we packed up the car and set off ready for our new adventure around the lake. Doggy free, we have been several times before but have never taken the plunge to include Lottie. She did not let me down one bit and was extremely well behaved and walked to heel right around the lake. She meet some great doggy friends (and humans) and was loved and admired by many.

Waiting in the queue patiently

 

This is just one of the new doggy friends we made. This super cute little chap is called Mush he was so much fun.

My little legs are so tired, time for a sleep.

Who else loves a long summer walk with their dog?

Jessica and Lottie

We are joining the Thursday Barks and Bytes Blog Hop Co-hosted by our friends at 2 Brown Dawgs blog and Heart Like a dog Grab the badge and join

 

 

Tasty Tuesday | Kong Quest Review.

Lottie loves food. What dog doesn't? So for her birthday which was the 12th July I decided that most of her toys would be food orientated as that's what she seemed to like best.

After much debating in our local Pets At Home store I settled for a Kong Quest Bone. We love the Kong brand in this house and Lottie nearly has the full collection. From our experience they are durable, fun and can really come in handy when us humans are not around. Lottie is very used to a stuffed kong either frozen or unfrozen. So when we saw another product that can be filled with treats I just had to buy it. Boy am I glad I did.

Over the weekend we had some really high temperatures with some parts of the UK reaching 30 degrees. Dogs and heat are just not a good combination and Lottie really suffers as the heat rises. Luckily her frozen treats come to rescue and I only have to open the freezer and she knows exactly what she is getting.

On Saturday morning I decided to use Lottie's new Kong Quest to see if it reached up the normal standards we expect. Needless to say it reached them and higher

To fill the Kong Quest I used the wet variety of the food Lottie's normally eat and a few strawberries (Something which Lottie had not tried before). The holes at the end of the bone are surprisingly big and I fitted at least two spoons of food in each one. I popped it in the freezer and waited for it to set.

About two hours later I looked to see if it has frozen, and it had! As soon as I opened the freezer door Lottie came bounding through in excitement. Once I actually had the toy in my hand she rushed outside and waited patiently on her bed until I came through. After I few photos she could finally do the taste test.

Her normal frozen Kong will last her around 20 minutes depending on what we stuff it with. The Kong Quest however lasted her a good 45 minutes and even once it was virtually empty she kept going back to it to empty that tiny little last bit (Something she doesn't do with her normal kong, often there is some still left at the bottom).

As you can see Lottie had great fun with her new Kong toy. It definitely gets 5 out of 5 in our woof rating. It's a great toy with so many advantages it's easy to use, durable, reasonable priced, stimulating and dishwasher safe making cleaning really easy! The only thing I would say is that if you do decide to use wet food or something similar it may be best to give your dog the toy outside as it can become quite messy once the food starts to melt. For an indoor version I would just swap it for dry treats or biscuits.

Jessica and Lottie

We're participating in the Tasty Tuesday Blog Hop kindly hosted by Sugar The Golden Retriever and Kol's Notes If you are looking for tasty ideas, take a look at what other dogs are baking and eating!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday's Mischief | Pool Time.

Well summer is officially here so that means only one thing. It's pool time! As I mentioned in my Summer Safety Series one great way of keeping your dog cool in the hot weather is a small paddling pool.

Lottie's having her summer groom tomorrow so we thought its best she gets some pool time today (We tend not to let her in after she has been groomed).

Come on mum fill it up!

How does this thing work?

Previous times when Lottie has been in the pool she hasn't been 100% sure. She goes in for a few seconds then jumps out. This time I decided to place a treat inside the pool and here's the results.

Don't worry guys the thing floating in the pool is just a treat!

 

She spend at 20 minutes trying to get the treat out which she eventually did do. I highly recommended this for dogs that are not sure of water. It sure has worked with Lottie and she even kept going back for more long after the treat had gone.

Jessica and Lottie

We've taken part in Monday Mischief blog hop hosted by Snoopy’s Dog Blog, Alfie’s Blog and My Brown Newfies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Safety Series Part 1 | 7 tips to keep your dog cool this summer.

I live in the UK and we are currently in the grip of a heatwave which could see temperatures reach up to 30 degree this weekend. You may think looking after dogs in summer is common sense but with so many dogs suffering unnecessarily it really does not harm to go back to basics.

Dogs are great at many things but keeping themselves cool is certainly not one of them. So it's best us humans give them a helping hand. Here's how: 

1. Keep them hydrated. 

I know you are thinking, yeah obviously dogs need water. But it's really important to keep their water bowls topped in the summer with clean cool fresh drinking water. Especially as it's goes down quicker! During the really hot days we also like to add some ice cubes to keep it cooler for longer. I know there has been several suggestions of the possible harm ice cubes can bring to dogs. Personally, Lottie loves them and we feel they are just a myth. There is however always this handy Rosewood Cooling Bowl which needs no ice cubes what so ever. We also like to use our travel water bottle to take some with us on those summer evening walks.

This is great for travelling and we don't leave the house without it. 

2.  A child's pool for your furry children. 

It's definitely summer in this household when Lottie's pool comes out. She loves it and it's a really cheap fun way to keep her cool. It's doesn't need to be anything fancy just a cheap children's one will do fine (Ours was under £5!) I am aware you can buy proper doggy pools but personally feel they are over rated and definitely over priced!

Lottie loves the hose pipe. 

3. Make some yummy frozen doggy treats. 

If your dog is anything like Lottie they will love eating more than anything on earth! Until this summer we had not tried frozen treats, needless to say we are hooked. It's a great way to use your dogs love of food to your advantage by feeding them treats that are cool, high in water content or both. Lottie's favourites are a frozen Kong stuffed with lots of yummy treats, frozen Popsicles, peanut butter ice creams and an easy no need to prepare treat of frozen cucumber which has the added bonus of been full of water. 

Lottie's favourite frozen Kong. 

4. Provide a nice cool spot. 

Whether it's indoor or outdoors don't forget to provide your dog with somewhere nice and cool to lie. Lottie will often be seen sprawled across our kitchen floor tiles. We also leave the curtains and blinds shut in one room all day so it's keep it extra cool, we both then have the option of going and cooling off in there if the heat gets to much. If you don't have a cool flooring or your dog is outside soak a towel in cold water and let your dog lie on that instead. It's also handy for cooling your feet on too!

Cooling her belly on the kitchen floor tiles. 

5. Don't forget the shade. 

We have a lovely back garden but unfortunately not many shady spots. If your dog is outside don't forget to provide a shady spot so they can escape the hot rays! We like to set up a few umbrellas or a table which makes a shady spot underneath. There is also the option of a little pop up tent which could provide the ideal spot. 

Here's Lottie favourite shady spot! 

6. Less hair is not always best. 

As tempting as it may be to have your really furry dog cut extremely short in summer, DONT!. Your dogs furs is actually providing a barrier which stops them getting sunburn and acts as an insulation against the heat. This does not means your dog won't benefit from a summer cut (Provided by a professional dog groomer) the undercoat is actually there natural cooling system, if left it can become matted and prevent air flow to your dogs skin. 

7. Never leave your dog in the car! 

It's sad to have to keep repeating this, but time and time again people just don't seem to listen and more dogs end up suffering! Only last week a dog had to be saved from a hot car in our local are when the owner decided to leave the dog for the day whist at a theme park. Many people will response with I left the windows down. In fact leaving the windows down has very little affect on the overall temperate of the car. I always live by the motto of "if your dog can't get out at your destination don't take them'. It's much kinder to leave them at home than leave them in a red hot oven! 

These are just a few ideas to keep your furry friends cool this summer. Do you have any others you would like to share? 

Jessica and Lottie. 

Disability Awareness Series Part 1 | Thursdays Barks and Btyes | Such a precious game of fetch.

Lottie is such a playful little dog and loves nothing better than a game of fetch with her favourite ball.

I had the idea of a dog blog for a while before I started but never had the courage to take the plunge. I wrote an article for a dog's magazine with the angle of how much Lottie had changed my life due to my disability. I then realised I could start a dog blog with the aim off showing of Lottie and combining my disability. I will be doing a series of posts labelled. What it's really like to be a disabled dog owner.

Many of our followers will know I have just had a major orthopeadic operation to replace a tibia nail in my leg. (There will be an upcoming post with more details of this soon). Because of the seriousness of the surgery it means I have a long recovery ahead of me. After my two weeks in hospital I couldn't wait to come home to see Lottie. However this wasn't quite the experience I had envisaged. At the moment I am basically bed/sofa bound and can only spend around half an hour a day in the wheelchair with my leg rest. This means social time with Lottie is very limited.

There is also the huge problem with regards to physical contact with Lottie. Pre-op she is used to cuddles on my knee every night whilst we watch television (after all that's what those human knees are made for!) This is no longer possible at the moment due to the plaster on my leg as it is separated at the knee which leaves my knee scar uncovered! Something Lottie can definitely go no where near! We did however find a way for our important cuddles which you guys will be able to find on our Facebook page.

Yesterday I started to feel a little better and for the first time manged to spend half an hour in my chair. On the plus side for us its summer at the moment and we are having great weather which is ideal for a great game of fetch we even had time for Lottie to practice one of her new tricks of tidying away her toys. She did really well although one ball was more fun to play with than put away!

As you can see Lottie was over the moon that our usual routine had nearly resumed to normal.

Please mum throw it again! 

I really don't want to put this one away, its so fun. 

Look mum I put them all away! 

Head over to our Facebook page to see a video of our first game of fetch in over two weeks! You wont be dissapointed!

Please don't take for granted a game of fetch with your dog (even if he/she doesn't bring it back) as some of us would give anything for that special time!

Jessica and Lottie

This post is part of the Thursday Barks & Bytes Blog Hop, hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like a Dog. Go pay a visit to the hosts and check out other hop participants.

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