Dog Tag Taglines

Mr. N's new tag from Fetching Tags (that he won in a contest) arrived last week and I think it suits him perfectly.

Props to anyone who can guess the origin of the tagline!

Does your dog's tag have a tagline? If not, what would it be?

Rocco & Roxie Supply Company Jerky Review

The dogs set off for the beach armed with a bag of turkey jerky from Rocco & Roxie Supply Co (provided by Chewy.com). The seven-inch jerky sticks are made in the USA and has a savory meaty smell. Mr. N approves and he fancies himself a gourmand.

Mr. N and the pile of jerky. The sticks are scored and can be torn into smaller pieces fresh out of the bag but if it sits overnight, it hardens and becomes difficult. The first ingredient is meat with some small amounts of  salt, sugar and garlic powder. The jerky sticks are not greasy and don't leave residue on the hands.

Mr. N thinks they're a just reward for a speedy recall.

Sage thought it was desperately unfair that Mr. N was posing with treats and being rewarded and was drooling next to him for most of the shots. She got to participate in the end and gobbled down part of a jerky stick.

This post was sponsored by Chewy. They are not responsible for the contents of this article. All opinions expressed are our own. 

Tug-of-war over Sticks

Mr. N is not normally into tug but he loves stealing Sage's sticks. He runs away with them and then Sage's human has to go get them back because Sage won't. 

He is very fierce about maintaining his grip on the stick. On occasion, Ann will pick up the stick with Mr. N still clinging to it, four paws off the ground. She always threatens to throw Mr. N into the water along with the stick. So far that hasn't happened.

Do your dogs like to play tug?

Flight Delay

No Dog Left Behind

Mr. N fervently believes in no dog left behind and that he should be able to go everywhere I go. Sadly that isn't possible and sometimes he has to stay home. He has very strong opinions about the wrongness of this.

This past weekend, we were at a musical festival so Mr. N went and stayed with his foster family. After the first excited greeting, Mr. N is snubbing me and deliberately ignoring me as punishment. Tomorrow he'll forgive me... How does your dog feel about staying home alone? 

Exploring the Detroit Riverfront with a Dog

We decided on a trip to the Detroit Riverfront for tourist purposes and so Mr. N could have an urban walk. It's amazing how much it has changed. Looking at it now, you can't imagine how uninviting the place looked before. We ran into a multitude of families, joggers, bikers and a couple of dogs on the pathway.

We strolled along the riverside and waved to our friends in Canada.

The William G. Milliken State Park is Michigan's first urban park and has a 52-slip harbor. 

And a 63-foot lighthouse which is a smaller replica of the one at Tawas Point State Park.

The central plaza has a carousel and several map sculptures and a cafe.

A group of kids were playing in the fountains by the GM Renaissance Center. I dunked Mr. N in the water because he was getting hot but he wasn't nearly as gleeful about it as the children.

On the sidewalk are pictures of various city scenes around Michigan. Mr. N is sitting on the Ann Arbor one.

Mr. N decided he was ready for a nap after dodging all the bikes and people and walking in the heat. Mr. N is an urban dog through and through. He likes cities with all the bustle and people and smells. Does your dog like country walks or city walks?

Boat Dog

It's the Humidity

It's actually cooler here in Michigan than it is in Portland but both Mr. N and I are struggling with the humidity. Mr. N thinks that little Northwestern dogs are not made for Midwestern humidity. He's been drinking a ton of water and plopping down in the grass for breaks during walks which is his cue for he simply can't walk any further and must be carried home. I frequently tell him he's lucky he's not five pounds heavier. 

One more long walk for him and then it's back to Portland. He has missed all his toys including his beloved bear and his dog friends and he has a lot of mail to catch up on. I think he'll miss having three extra humans to fuss over him though. 

Canoe Fan

Canoeing with a Dog

Mr. N loves peering down at water so I figured he might like being on a boat. I haven't been able to test that theory until this week when we took him on his first canoeing trip. We decided on a canoe instead of a kayak for his first trip because we figured he would stay dry better that way.

He wore his Ruffwear life jacket and we brought along a towel for him to sit on, a water bowl and snacks. I hoisted him into the canoe and off we went. He was content to sit on the towel and watch all the water fowl (herons, swans, ducks and geese). The ducks came right up to us and trailed behind our canoe, hoping for handouts. The only readily available food we had were Mr. N's treats and those had duck in them so they missed out.

Mr. N didn't try to leave the boat at all and settled nicely. He didn't like it though when we bumped into rocks in the water and there was a horrible grinding noise and the boat shook. He left the towel and came to sit in my lap for a while and then sat at the boyfriend's feet.

There were also people on tubes floating down the river. One woman had her spaniel on the tube with her and as the ducks drew near, the dog kept trying to jump off and the tube looked like it might capsize while the woman kept yelling "sit! stay! sit!." This is why obedience skills are important!

Overall though, I think Mr. N had fun and we'll be trying it again with him. Mr. N stayed dry (except for the tip of his tail) so he considered that a victory.  Have you tried taking your dog on a boat? How did it go?

Lunching at a Detroit Brewpub

Have you entered our giveaway for a Stibbar leather leash?

Leaving on a Jet Plane

We're leaving on a red eye to travel to the Midwest. With any luck, Mr. N will sleep peacefully through the flight. Wish us luck! 

This is the happy face of a dog who hasn't seen the suitcases yet!

Update: We made it in one piece! Mr. N whined a little bit during takeoff but slept for the rest of the ride and was very good on the shuttle and waiting in the airport. Going through security though we ran into a new TSA guy and he wanted me to set Mr. N on the floor and have him follow me through the metal detector (no collar/leash). Crazy! Mr. N totally would but I can see a lot of pets getting lost that way. Another TSA person corrected him pretty quickly.

Have you flown with your dog before? Any tips?

Side-eye

Neither of the dogs resource guard and they usually figure out how to share aka Sage steals it back after Mr. N is tired of it.

Have you entered our giveaways for Caru treats and a Stibbar leather leash? 

Blogiversary Review and Giveaway (Stibbar Leather)

Some women love leather handbags. Some women love leather leashes. I'm quite fond of both. I'm still on my quest for the perfect bag but I think I may have found a leash that comes close to perfection. We were sent a leash and collar from Stibbar to review.

Mr. N acting as a display case for the collar and leash.

They coordinate with Mr. N's coloring perfectly and are buttery soft in my hands. The leash required no breaking in whatsoever and people have been complimenting his leash on walks. 

Cathy and Peter Soldan of Stibbar have been making leather leashes and collars for over eight years. Peter does the leather-work and Cathy designs them and interacts with the customers. She patiently put up with the scores of emails I sent and helped me throughout the design process (the color scheme was her idea). I like the degree of customization that is involved. You can pick the specific length, width, hardware kind and color and of course the two colors that make up the braided leash.

Mr. N has their six-feet ultralight leash  which is made with two pieces of 3/8 buffalo tanned bullhide (tobacco and metallic turquoise) and the ultralight collar with a quick release snap. The metallic leather is higher maintenance and not as rugged as the regular leather but I couldn't resist the shininess. They're both super light but sturdy and all the hardware is small and light as well. Ideal for toy dogs.

Stibbar also makes a variety of other leashes (extra long, short, snap, martingale and unbraided), couplers, and other leather goods (bracelets, lanyards, straps etc). Cathy often travels to dog shows and agility trials to sell. 

It's our second blogiversary tomorrow and they're generously offering a four-feet braided leash to one of our readers! Winner's choice as to the colors. 

This post was sponsored by Stibbar. They are not responsible for the contents of this article. All opinions expressed are our own. 

Sharing is Caring

The Three Secrets to Positive Dog Training

Listen to your Dog

If your dog isn't listening to you, there's probably a reason. They're not doing it to be stubborn or malicious. They may not know "sit" outside of the house or they may be sick or stressed or you haven't managed to be more interesting than dirt. When we were taking Rally Fr-Ee classes, Mr. N totally shut down because he was so overstimulated due to the environment (outdoor classes) and frustrated because I was frustrated and it was a vicious loop. With our trainers' guidance, I focused on asking for engagement and play in the new setting and for behaviors he already knew well. And our last class, he made it around the course and did about half the exercises. 

Photo by Kolu Photography

Reward Good Behavior. Liberally.

A mistake that people often make is not rewarding good behavior enough especially outside of designated training times. Mr. N regularly gets "maintenance" treats when we're not actively training. He gets treated for being calm when the neighbors' dogs walk by our window, for cooperating with grooming and other house manners. 

If we only notice the bad, we're missing excellent opportunities to train and reward our dogs. Think about it. If only your mistakes were noticed and highlighted and your progress ignored, would you want to continue with whatever you were doing? I actually stopped taking a dance class for this reason. It was a small class and the instructor pointed out my mistakes and only mine for the entirety of the class. I know I made plenty of mistakes. It was my first class. But when you only hear criticism, it doesn't make you want to progress any further. 

Have Fun

Nobody brings a dog into their household to add sorrow to their lives. At least I hope they don't. We bring dogs into our lives because they bring us joy and laughter and entertainment. Training your dog should be fun, not arduous. I will let Mr. N take the lead in training sometimes and his tiny brain comes up with the most interesting things. 

His stomping trick came about because one day he decided that he was going to stomp at me if he thought I was being obtuse or not giving him a deserved treat while training. I thought it was hilarious and then I decided to put it on cue. 

I was trying out a training idea where you train with another dog in order to amp up your dog and/or create training interest. Due to a lack of dogs to experiment with, I made do with a stuffed panda. I started talking to the panda and asking for behaviors and treating the panda and Mr. N was like what is this? Those are my treats and my tricks and my person! I was asking the panda for a high five and Mr. N decided he did not want to be left out and started high fiving the panda.

Thus. 

What is your secret to being a good trainer?

Welcome to First Monday's Positive Pet Training Blog Hop hosted by Cascadian Nomads, Tenacious Little Terrier and Rubicon Days. Please share your responsible pet owner positive pet training tips by linking a blog post or leaving a comment below. Any positive reinforcement training posts or comments are also always welcome. The Positive Pet Training Blog Hop goes all week long. Our next hop will begin Monday, Sept 7th and continues for a week. 

One of the things that Mr. N considers a fitting reward (because he is a terrible food snob) is Caru treats and we're giving some away! 

A Portrait of the Dog who Loves his Barkworthies Pretzel Bully Stick

Mr. N is in love. With his Barkworthies Pretzel Bully Stick to be exact. When he saw it, he abandoned all other bully sticks and has remained constant since. 

When Barkworthies asked which chews we wanted to review, I asked for the Butcher's Cut (handpicked for color and thickness and odor-free) and the pretzel for sheer entertainment value because I wanted to see Mr. N chewing on a pretzel. It positively reeks and I have to make sure he doesn't drag it into the bedroom but he absolutely adores it. 

Mr. N has still not touched the Butcher's Cut stick. I don't know if he likes having more surface area to grip or if the aroma appeals to his senses but he has decided this is the only one that he wants. 

This post was sponsored by Barkworthies. They are not responsible for the contents of this article. All opinions expressed are our own.