Category Archives: Dog

What to Pack in Your Dog’s Overnight Bag

September 3, 2015

Product Sample: A complimentary travel pet bag was provided to me in exchange for being included in this post. All opinions are my own, of course!

We were really fortunate to have been able to have gone on one of my dream vacations this summer, which really only sparked even more thoughts of new dream vacations. We have a lot of thoughts and ideas (Dave says Spain, I say Ireland, but we both agree we’d like to go to Greece too. Oh and back to London. And the English countryside. And maybe Italy. Oh nevermind…)

The only problem? That’s expensive. And we have a dog to worry about.

Luckily, we have a fantastic support system of dog lovers (my mom is Rigby’s #1 pick for pet sitter) but sometimes even she isn’t available. I came to this realization a few days ago that we were both invited to a wedding out of state, requiring me to figure out new travel plans for the little man. Because Rigby is Shiba through and through, I can’t just drop him off and hope for the best.

He requires a lot of planning, and one of the things I always plan at least a day in advance, if not more, is what to pack for him. I’ve come up with an extensive list that I thought I’d share just in case you have any vacations coming up where your pup will be enjoying a “vacation” of his/her own too.

What to Pack in Your Dog’s Overnight Bag & a Travel Checklist

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Rigby Reviews: Bravo Pet Food {& Giveaway!}

August 27, 2015

Complimentary Product: A two month trial of Bravo Pet Food was provided for me in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own, of course!

While it’s no longer National Dog Day, it feels like every day is around here celebrating this dog of mine, Rigby. To say Rigby is spoiled would probably be an understatement. When I first got Rigby, I knew we wanted to feed him a higher quality pet food then what can be found at say Target or Walmart. We started with a high quality and highly recommended kibble made for puppies, then transitioned into an even better quality kibble for all ages, but noticed he had horrible, horrible gas. Like deathly.

It not only was odorous, but what came out the other end wasn’t looking quite right either. I won’t get into specifics, but it seemed that he wasn’t properly digesting the kibble and it wasn’t making his digestive system too happy. After reading a lot, I made the switch to a raw diet. We have tried a couple over the past two years, but our recent switch to Bravo Homestyle Complete Freeze Dried Raw is probably the best for us and for him.

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July Favorites: Rigby Edition

July 31, 2015

Product Sample: Complimentary product samples were provided to me in exchange for this review from Chewy.com, Martha Stewart Pets, Bravo, and Earth Rated. All opinions are my own. Affiliate Links: If you click on a link in this post, I may make a very small commission.

It’s been awhile since Rigby’s was last on the blog, and I figured it’s about time I round up some of his absolute favorite products. In general, Rigby’s a pretty easy customer. He likes most toys, at least long enough for me to feel okay about spending the money on them. He’s past the destroy-all-the-things puppy phase, so he’s not really into the stuffed toys so much. Instead, we try to grab things that will keep him entertained for longer than the time it takes to chew through a toy. And he’s a cookie monster, and rarely does he meet a food item he doesn’t like. However, there are some that seem to spark and keep his interest longer than others.

And to be totally fair, some of these are things Rigby could care less about, and are my favorites. You’ll see why. Now onto the favorites!

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How to Photograph Your Dog

June 1, 2015

Sponsored Post: I am being compensated by Look Who’s Happy for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The last time Rigby was hanging out on the blog, a few commented about how well-behaved he was for photos, and how their dog would never pose like that. I thought sharing a few of my “trade secrets” and tactics to get my challenging dog to pose might be helpful! Read on if you’re curious how I get Rigby to pose for my shutter snapping.

How to Photograph Your Dog

1. Teach commands
I’m assuming most of your dogs know sit and down, but if they don’t, that’s just where you should start! Once they’ve mastered those two commands, I started working on “leave it”, “stay”, and “look”. For leave it, I taught by first placing tasty treats in my hand. Rigby would sniff at it, and as soon as he stopped he would get a click and a treat. (We train new tricks with a clicker, which if you’re unfamiliar with clicker training, check out this article!) We worked up to putting treats on the floor and letting him sniff at it with my hand over the top until he left it, and then was clicked and treated. We worked on this over and over until he would leave the treat pile alone for extended periods of time.

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How to Groom a Difficult Dog

May 4, 2015

Product Sample: A complimentary brush was provided to me from Chewy in exchange for this review.

I don’t know about your pet, but mine is a nightmare. Well, when it comes to grooming at least. How to groom a difficult dog like Rigby has been a challenge, and I’ve spent the past two years trying to figure it out. With many epic fails under my belt, I think I’ve finally figured most of it out. It may not be perfect, but these tips keep us both sane and, for the most part, happy, throughout the grooming process.