Puppy Play Date or Where Mr. N Meets a Puppy Smaller Than Him

Mr. N rarely encounters dogs smaller than him. It's even more uncommon that he meets a puppy smaller than him. Mr. N's foster mom invited him over to play with her new puppy who is this teeny tiny Maltese who weighs two pounds soaking wet because she thought Mr. N might be a good playmate.


I was uncertain how Mr. N would react because I don't know if he has ever met a puppy smaller than him. Mr. N doesn't like big boisterous puppies (which is the usual kind he meets) so I was curious to see how he would handle the tiny puppy.

As it turns out, Mr. N and the puppy play similarly. They bounce about and wrestle and chase each other around and had a blast running around. He was extremely tolerant of the puppy and didn't correct him at all even when the puppy tried to hump him. None of the other dogs in the house really play with the puppy because they get annoyed by him or they're too big.

But Mr. N and the puppy were a great match.

 Mr. N wants to know if we can borrow him and take him home. But only if I promise that he still gets the lion's share of the attention!

Aren't You a Little Short for a Stormtrooper?

Wreath Making Workshop and Holiday Cheer

A local store held a workshop for people to make holiday door wreaths for an assisted living home. Mr. N accompanied me to supervise crafting activities. He was a bit distraught that the room was full of people not paying attention to him. He was thrilled when two little girls came in and made a fuss over him. 

The instructor set up several different stations and people set to work making bows and cutting boughs and assembling and decorating the wreathes. I mostly helped by cutting boughs but I did some decorating and assembling as well. 

One of the women had worked in retail and was an expert at making bows. 

Mr. N has good company manners but I was a little concerned that all the discarded boughs might tempt him to mark indoors. He doesn't normally but he adores "decorating" fallen branches outdoors. Luckily there were no incidents. He stayed out of the way and didn't bark or try to run outside and was a good little boy. He eventually settled down in his carrier for a nap.  

We left before the end of the workshop but the group successfully made one hundred door wreathes (one for each resident) and will be delivering them on Monday. I hope it brings a little holiday cheer to the people there. 

Some of the wreaths I made.

Whirling Banshee

Sage looks unperturbed to have a whirling banshee tailing her every move. Mr. N seems to spend half the time running airborne. Chasing after athletic bigger dogs is one of Mr. N's favorite ways to keep fit. Sometimes he outruns them and then the bigger dogs look quite confused. As one of the other dog owners at the park put it, "it's the first time he's seen a rabbit chasing a dog!"

The Magic Whispers of Old Trees

Canine #ChristmasCreep and Moving Santas

Over the weekend, I took Mr. N to a church Christmas bazaar where we got an early start on Christmas presents and took some lunch to my friend who owns a shop. Mr. N was very suspicious of the moving Santas behind him but he reluctantly agreed to pose for a photo. One of the volunteers told me that the previous day, someone had brought their two Lhasa Apsos and they had a barking fit at the Santas. Mr. N was wary but did not bark. I guess he's staying on the nice list!

How do your dogs feel about Christmas decorations?

Training Your Dog During a Hike

Whenever we go out for a hike, I make sure to have plenty of treats on me. Each hike offers lots of opportunities for training especially off-leash ones. Recall is the big one. 

Sometimes the dogs like to go running after prey. And two dogs get into more trouble than just one right? I thought that after a couple weeks of no off-leash time, he might be stir crazy and run wild but Mr. N was good. He had an immediate speedy recall every time he was called. And every time Sage was called as well... he responds to all of her recall cues. He also gets rewarded for checking in with me and he makes sure he knows where I am at all times. 

Mr. N investigating what Sage is up to.

He did roll in some horse poop (his favorite!) ... but he left it when I told him to. His jacket got the brunt of it thankfully. I thought about making him swim in the river to wash it off but it was too cold for him in the water. Sage has a much thicker coat and didn't care. She didn't roll in the horse poop but found some coyote poop to roll in instead.

He was polite with the other dogs (sometimes he is a little too exuberant at the beginning) and had a lot of fun chasing a Frenchie around. It was hilarious watching the two of them play because they looked so different. The Frenchie was stocky and very sturdy looking and Mr. N is lithe and all fluff and legs. 

Needless to say, he got a lot of treats for being good despite the myriad temptations. The dogs burned a lot of calories running around so I wasn't too worried about that. Mr. N was rewarded with Primal Pork Nibs from Chewy.com. They're pretty small and high value (almost pure meat) and Mr. N is very happy to work for them. Their only flaw is that they have to be refrigerated after opening and used within two weeks.

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

Don't worry. He did share some treats with Sage. Sage was very worried that she might not get her fair share. She thinks a treat in the hand is worth two in the bush!

How do you train your dogs during a hike? 

Stick Monster

I Can't Take Him Seriously

BF: I can't take him seriously like that.
Me: Is it the "waiting for Santa" pajamas or his stuffed animal looks or the tongue sticking out?
BF: Mostly him sticking his tongue out.

Can you take Mr. N seriously?

The Changing of the Season and Fall Walks

Fall has rapidly swooped in and the rainy deluge has begun here in Portland. Mr. N enjoys the crisp weather and playing in the leaves but he is a soggy wet mess a lot of walks. His paws are getting washed every time he goes for a walk. I'd like to try to squeeze in a couple more hikes before the year is over.

He recently acquired a tiny skateboard in a raffle so I've started training him how to skateboard. So far he will get on the skateboard (two paws and four paws) and stay on it while I move it. We may also work on either a rebound or a handstand as our indoor project this year.

Any fall activities planned with your dogs?

#BootTheScoot with Glandex® and Be Rid of Anal Gland Issues #Sponsored

Mr. N was hanging out on the pet store counter and receiving petting and treats when he suddenly started scooting on the counter. I was mortified. It was the pet store's anniversary so the store was full of people and dogs too. The employee ringing me up didn't bat an eye and calmly recommended a new supplement they had in stock for dog anal gland issues, Glandex®. 

This post is sponsored by Glandex and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about how Glandex – Natural Supplement for Anal Glands but Tenacious Little Terrier only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Glandex is not responsible for the content of this article.

Glandex is an supplement that guarantees results within 3-5 weeks to help "boot the scoot!" and treat anal gland issues. It is veterinary formulated and made in the USA with all natural ingredients. We were sent Glandex to try and I added it to Mr. N's food for about four weeks. It comes in a powder form (beef liver) and chewable (peanut butter and only for dogs). Mr. N prefers the powder and ate his food with the powder sprinkled on it with no issues. Dogs his size get 1/8 teaspoon per day.  

Dogs normally release anal gland fluid every time they poop but if they don't for whatever reason (soft stools, digestion issues, allergies, infection, obesity, anatomy issues or a combination of several issues), their glands get over full and cause the dogs to be uncomfortable. Severe cases require surgery.

The supplement helps to solve the anal gland issue because of the precise amount of fiber to help bulk and firm up the pet's stools to naturally empty the glands. I've seen reviews that mentioned an increase in stool size but I did not see a difference. Mr. N's are tiny to begin with. It also contains natural anti-inflammatories to target underlying inflammation as well as probiotics and digestive enzymes to support a healthy gastrointestinal tract which is an added plus because Mr. N has a delicate stomach sometimes. 

After adding Glandex to his food, I haven't noticed Mr. N scooting at all. He usually scoots once or twice a month (although usually not in public) and I would have to take him to get his glands expressed but I haven't had to do that.

Glandex is the only product that addresses all of the underlying causes of anal gland problems and works from the inside out to help maintain healthy anal glands. Their scientific formula works in multiple ways to keep the anal glands healthy and is a more effective alternative to frequent anal gland expressing which can further irritate the anal glands. Their product may also spare you public mortification! 

If you're interested in trying Glandex with your pets, you can purchase it here. The trial size chewables are $12.99 and the smallest bottle of powder (2.5 oz) is 17.99. For more information, you can find them on:

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Monitoring your Dog's Health and Exercise with a 'FitBit' for Dogs

Exercise and dog training go hand in hand. You can't expect a pent-up, under-stimulated dog to focus on training and pure exercise won't cut it with dogs, they need mental stimulation to work their brains too. Mind and body.

Mr. N is very firm on making sure he gets both. He enjoys his regular hikes with Sage and his daily outings. We also play with toys in the house, do conditioning work with his FitBone, and dabble with dog sports. For mental stimulation, he learns a wide variety of tricks and shows them off during therapy dog visits. I also take him with me all over the city so he is exposed to a wide variety of different things and smells. He is fascinated by the taxidermy store.

I received a FitBit for Christmas last year and have often thought that Mr. N could use one of his own. He would rack up those steps in no time. I've seen several different ones on the market for dogs but they're usually huge (at least on Mr. N) and/or not waterproof which is a necessity in the rainy Pacific Northwest. 

AMPT Animal reached out to us and their monitor fulfilled both requirements. It's 10 grams and Mr. N had no trouble bounding about with the prototype on his collar during an epic rainy weekend. You can use the monitor to track, analyse and set daily walk and play goals for your dog. It also comes with a wireless on-collar clicker and no, your dog can not self-reward. Mr. N tries with normal ones.

Credit: AMPT Animal

If you're interested in monitoring your dog's activity and health, AMPT Animal is offering a deal where the first 500 people can sign up to purchase a heavily discounted monitor as soon as it is available in exchange for product feedback. The monitor is an one time purchase with no contract or fees.

Mr. N wearing the AMPT prototype

Tenacious Little Terrier was offered a free AMPT Animal monitor in exchange for spreading the word about AMPT Animal.Tenacious Little Terrier was not otherwise compensated for this review post. All opinions expressed are our own. AMPT Animal is not responsible for post content.

Will the Real Dog Please Stand Up?