Have You Been To A Pet Dog Show?

This was a fun event and we're happy to be apart of it. Rover Rescue, out of Aurora IL is a great dog rescue organization and they are the one's that put on this great fundraising event. Pet Dog Show is for all breeds mixed included and all money raised is for Rover Rescue. The dog events held were Fastest Recall,  Best Trick,  Most Catches,  Fastest Eater,  Bobbin' for Dogs. They even had a prettiest category like Best Mixed Breed,  Best Purebred,  Best Senior,  Best Puppy,  Best Costume, Best Longhair,  Best Short-hair and  Ears to You. Our favorite event is best costume contest. Below is the first place winner! 

Have you been to a dog show like this one before?

Dog Howls at Fire Truck on Wordless Wednesday!

Miss Daisy lets us know shes hearing sirens. She always howls at the sound of them. It could be a fire engine or police car it doesn't matter. She also howls at the ice cream truck. It's cute until we try to watch TV. She will hear the sirens on the television and guess what? She will howl at them too. It's just hard to watch a show that has sirens. Scooby doesn't seem to care about the noise he just reacts to Daisy howls. Do your dogs do this? 

Farmers Market

We love this time of year. Farmers Markets will be in full swing by next month. We will be working our booth in Huntley Farmers Market on Saturday and Sycamore Farmers Market on Sunday. Selling our full line of dog treats and cat treats  along with natural pet supplies. It's a great time to give us a try. All dogs that come to the market get a free sample of our homemade dog treats. We also provide a watering station so your dogs won't go thirsty. It's nice to meet everyone in person. Folks have a lot of questions and we provide the answers for living a healthy lifestyle with your pets. 

There are so many great local vendors at the markets. Like our friend Gene with South Street Coffee. He roasts all the coffee he sells. Let me tell you it's the best coffee around and doesn't compare to the coffee you buy at the local grocery store.  You will find a lot of local folks selling their home grown plants, homemade cookies and baked goods. You have a great variety to choose from and won't be disappointed. So give your local farmers market a try, you will be supporting local businesses in your area. 
Do you shop at your local farmers market? 

Natural Flea Control and Tick Repellent

It's flea and tick season once again. Folks have asked me for a natural flea and tick repellent. Upon testing  Alzoo Flea & Tick Repellents, we have  found a natural solution for everyone. We love and recommend  Alzoo repellents and would never go back to chemicals. It's effective and natural.  Alzoo flea and tick repellents are made with oils that naturally repel fleas and ticks. Alzoo products are 100% natural using plant based ingredients, geraniol, peppermint oil, cinnamon oil, lavender, almond oil & citronella. The ingredients are safe for your dog and effective at repelling fleas, ticks and mosquitoes. This products Does Not contain PVC, Bisphenol, Phthalate or Synthetic pesticides! Alzoo stands by its products and believes that repellents should not have pesticides or any unwanted and dangerous chemicals to be effective. That makes Alzoo products safe for children, pets and the environment.  Ledfoots Pet Bakery also makes Fleas Be Gone Dog Treats and should be used in conjuction with the spot on treatments. This will give your dog added protection from the inside out.

For more information go to Natural Flea & Tick Repellents 

Cat Hairball Remedies

Rascal and Ozzy (pictured above) are best friends and they are our best friends. That's why we do what we can for them. They often throw up hairballs. We don't like when they have this problem and don't want to see them get sick, but it happens. We have found a way to keep this from happening. We give them a tablespoon of Vaseline and allow them to lick it off my finger. Rascal seems to like it but Ozzy doesn't want anything to do with it. So with Ozzy I put the Vaseline on his front paw.  He will lick his paw clean. We do this once a week to help the hair from getting stuck in their intestines. Don't want to use Vaseline? You can also mix a tablespoon of olive oil in their food. It will do the same thing. Just do this once a week to be effective.

Dog Adoption or Puppies for Sale?

Looking for your next best friend? I recommend you look at your local animal shelter. There are so many good dogs and cats waiting to find their forever home.

 The best part is the low adoption fee which includes shots and clean bill of health. You can't get that from buying a dog or cat from a pet store.   A pet store will charge you a high fee just to purchase the pet. Then you have to take them to the vet for exam and shots. Which can add up real quick. The adoption fee is used to offset the expense of taking in and caring for the animal. So you will be helping, not only giving a pet a good home, but you will also help other animals that need a space at the shelter till they get adopted.

Where to find animal shelter in your area? Check out PetFinder. Here you will find shelters in your area and you can see a picture with description of each pet at the shelter. When you find a pet you like, set up a meet and greet to see if the pet is a good fit for you. You will also find answers to your adoption questions on PetFinder. It's a great tool to use. This is how we found Miss Daisy (pictured above).

Dog Training

Last week a lady came up to ask me if we carry repellents. I told her yes, we carry the Natural Flea and tick repellents. But she said she is looking for a repellent to keep her dog out of her flowers. If your a dog lover then you know there is no such thing. I asked her if she was looking for a repellent for fleas and ticks she said no.  I listened to her explained to me she couldn't keep her dogs from chewing the wood chips around her flowers. As I realized she had no interest in a flea repellent, I told her you can train them not to do that. She wasn't interested. There was nothing further I could do but recommend a dog trainer for her. Not everyone trains their dog. Folks just don't have the time. We didn't have a lot of time but if you have pets you can always make time. We bought a puppy training book when we adopted Miss Daisy. From reading the book the lessons are easy, short and to the point. Miss Daisy could sit on command after the first day. Potty training took a little longer, but it was well worth the time spent. She knows where to go now. 

Do your dogs chew your shoes? Miss Daisy loved shoes when she was a puppy. So I took her with one shoe in one hand and her toy in the other placing both on the floor. She went right for the shoe. NO! I exclaimed. Then she stopped and went for the toy and I praised her while giving her a treat. Guess what? Daisy no longer touches our shoes. After using this method it didn't take long and I was impressed. So if you can't afford to go to a dog trainer, there are other options. Pick up a dog training book, with a little time you can train them yourself. We trained Daisy while reading the book and working each lesson as we went. I have to say what a nice bond we have made together and that was just the short time spent on her training.

How do you train your dogs?