#BlogPaws Swag Bag 2016

This year the swag bag came with something special. 

The Odd One Out

Generalizing Dog Behavior and Tricks with #Sojos

I usually ask Mr. N to perform some tricks during spare moments while we're out and about. Mr. N often does tricks for people on store counters, while we're waiting in line, and in the middle of walks.
Generalizing (responding to cues in environments different from the one that it was learned in) can be hard for dogs so doing this exposes Mr. N to practicing his tricks in a variety of settings and among different distractions. Your dog may sit in the living room but not outdoors in a park with squirrels which is why we're always practicing to build up fluency and improve on the three D's (distractions, duration and distance).

The tricks we practice tend to be ones without props and those that can be done in tiny spaces while being mostly stationary.  Due to Mr. N's compact size, space is not a huge concern but for bigger dogs, you don't want them knocking into things and people. Some of the tricks that we practice:

• Touch
• High five/shake/fist bump variants
• Take a bow
• Cover your eyes
• Sit/down/stand
• Are you sad (down with head on the ground)?
• Cross your paws
• Wave
• Lick your nose

Mr. N believes that work well done should be rewarded appropriately and he has strict standards for what an appropriate reward should be. I took him to the pet store and out of the treats the employees offered him, he rejected half, spat out 1/4 and ate 1/4. The other dogs in the store were happy to eat his rejects. 

I like to make sure the treats I am giving him are healthy so if I have to adjust his food intake due to a lot of training that day, he's not filling up on junk. We only have so many calories a day to work with and raw food is not the easiest to use for training.

We like Sojos treats because they are single-ingredient protein treats, easy to stick in my purse and carry it around, and meet Mr. N's exacting standards. He likes raw food and people food the best of course but these run a close second. And they fare much better in my purse for long periods. Like all freeze-dried treats, there tends to be some crumbling. I save the crumbs and toss them in with Mr. N's regular food as a topper. They come in a number of  different proteins too which is nice for dogs with allergies and for variety's sake.

We are doing a giveaway for Sojos treats for two lucky winners. What sorts of tricks or behaviors will you be practicing with your dog?

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

Get Rid of Fleas and Tapeworms with #SentinelSpectrum

But have you known a dog to praise his fleas? - W.B. Yeats 

If Mr. N had to rank the world's evils, he would probably categorize them as one, not being able to go with me everywhere, two, fireworks and three, fleas. His flea allergy send him into a licking, biting frenzy and then we have to cone him and give him allergy medication. He shows his disapproval by using the cone as a weapon and jamming it into our legs. 

The fleas that you see on your dog are a tiny percentage of the actual population while the rest can survive in a home for up to a year before finding a host. Even in cold climates, they can survive as adults on dogs, cats, wild mammals or in a pupal casing in protected environments. 

And they breed like... fleas. Female fleas start egg production within 20 to 24 hours of their first blood meal and they can produce 40 to 50 eggs per day. And under normal circumstances, the majority of adult fleas generally live for two to three months. If you do the math, that's a lot of fleas crawling around your house and on your dog. 

Mr. N is bathed regularly due to having hair not fur. The payoff for barely shedding means high-maintenance grooming and frequent baths. It's a price we are willing to pay. Mr. N has his own opinion on the matter. Such regular water exposure can be a problem when using topical flea treatments. 

Virbac® SENTINEL® SPECTRUM® is a chew which means that it can't be washed off (which is good because it is long lasting but side effects may be harder to eradicate) and is evenly distributed. Sentinel brand products work through an unique ingredient, Lufenuron which prevents fleas from maturing. The majority of fleas are flea eggs and maggot-like flea larvae. By stopping them from developing into adults, you can prevent re-infestation and infestation before it becomes a problem. Prevention is the best medicine.

Mr. N has found dead fish, rats, a raccoon, birds and more. 

The unholy trifecta for contracting tapeworms include ingesting fleas during self grooming, chewing and licking at a flea bite, and eating dead animals. Mr. N rarely gets the chance to eat dead animals and he's more inclined to roll on them but he does enjoy a self-grooming session and flea bites mean lots of chewing and biting at the base of his tail where he tends to get bitten. 

If you see small white worms on your dog's rear end, in their feces or where they live and sleep (i.e your home), your dog may have a tapeworm infection. And who wants worms in their house or bed? Mr. N is on year round flea and parasite prevention for precisely this reason. As few bugs as possible in the house.

Last month's survey's results were turned into an infographic. The majority of people stated that heartworm and flea protection were a high or very high priority. 79 percent said their dog is on flea prevention all year long while 20 percent said they only apply protection during the spring and summer. Survey participants were well-informed on tapeworm infestation with 70 percent saying a dog can contract tapeworms from infesting just one infested flea and 90 percent saying tapeworm segments can be found near a dog's rear end, in feces and where the dogs lives and sleeps. 

Is your dog on a regular preventative? If you're looking for a reliable parasite prevention method, ask your vet if SENTINEL SPECTRUM is right for your dog. 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Virbac® SENTINEL® SPECTRUM®. The opinions and text are all mine.

St. Johns Bridge

He Thinks He's People #Kuranda

Mr. N thought chewing on top of the un-assembled Kuranda bed would be helpful.

Inspector Bones would have a very easy time solving the mystery at our house. He is the Kuranda detective who visits homes to solve pet mystery cases involving pets who are having an "identity crisis." Mr. N pretty much thinks he's people. Open and shut case! 

Kuranda Dog & Cat Beds creates orthopedic, chew-proof dog and cat beds used in numerous shelters and rescues across the country including several shelters here in Portland. We will be donating the one that we were sent to a shelter here. I deliberately asked for a medium-sized bed (which is huge for Mr. N) as I wanted to donate the bed.

We haven't tested out the chew-proof capabilities as Mr. N does not chew on furniture. They're very sturdy though. Mr. N likes to leap onto the bed in a full sprint as he's chasing toys around the house. Mr. N who is a connoisseur of softness (he likes silk and down) finds the bed agreeable and likes to chew on top of the bed. The boyfriend informs me that it is also relatively easy to assemble and he was done in a few minutes. 

Kuranda's photo contest, Fido Files invites people to share those special moments when they catch their dogs sleeping in human spaces without the humans. The lucky winner will win a free Kuranda dog bed in the fabric and color of their choice. If Mr. N is napping, he is almost always curled up on the couch or a chair or the bed. 

Pet owners can submit photos of their dogs for a chance to win at this link. June 14th is the deadline and the winner of the "Identity Crisis" contest will be announced on Kuranda's Facebook page. 

The company is also donating five percent of all sales made through the "shop here" link on the Fido Files page to Service Dog Project, a non-profit in Ipswich, Massachusetts that has donated over 100 Great Danes as service dogs to individuals who are mobility impaired.

If you wish to enter, don't delay! The deadline is fast approaching. 

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

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!

Ahoy! Avast ye. Mr. N is recruiting crew members to sail the seven seas and bring back pirate booty. No landlubbers. He promises lots and lots of edible treasures and pungent dead things to roll on. If you misbehave though, it's the plank for you! 

Not getting seasick, getting along with parrots and monkeys (and not eating them!), a taste for beef jerky, being an adept thief of food and having a flair for crazy adventures are all welcome qualities.

Would your pet make a good pirate for Mr. N's ship?

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (The Canine Version)

Personal Play with Your Dog

I usually use food or life rewards as motivation for Mr. N. I've been slowly trying to use more toys as rewards (usually paired with food) and we've also been working on our personal play skills (play without toys or food). Denise Fenzi's play class can't get here soon enough. 

Apparently Mr. N has taken this lesson to heart. He woke me up from a nap to play "wrestle bitey face" and this is a dog that loves napping as much as I do! As Mr. N has a considerable size disadvantage, he uses his full body in play while I use one hand to bat him around. 

Emphasis on the bitey face. 

He also likes playing chase. We take turns being the chaser and chasee. There are differing opinions on whether chasing your dog in play will hamper their recall but Mr. N is so super velcro anyway that he will circle back and check in with me if I'm too far behind. 

Run, run as fast as you can. You can't catch me!

We will also occasionally play spider hand where I creep my hand on the floor and he chases it down. 

What kind of personal play games do you play with your dog?

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.  Our theme for this month is reporting back on trying new training games and play. but 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  Tuesday, July 5th because of the holiday and continues for a week. 

Rotation Feeding Raw Food with Raw Paws

Mr. N has insisted on eating raw for several years now but I'm always interested in finding new proteins and new things for him to try.

Raw Paws, a dog food company based in Indiana, offers a customized meal planning service so we tried it out to see what they would recommend for Mr. N. I was asked about what Mr. N was currently eating, our experience with raw and how much he weighed. Jamie gave me a list of recommendations for meals, raw meaty bones and treats/chews appropriate for Mr. N's size. 

Meals:

Complete Beef (5 lb chub)

Complete Turkey(5 lb chub)

Complete Duck (5 lb chub)

Complete Goat (comes in a 4 lb tub with a lid)

Complete Lamb (comes in a 4 lb tub with a lid)

Complete Beef Patties

Tripe Patties  

Freeze dried tripe treat (can be used as a meal or treat)

Freeze dried tripe topper (sprinkled over food)

Raw meaty bones:

Turkey Necks

Goat Meaty Bones

Goat Ribs

Beef Meaty Bones 

Treats/Chews:

6” Bully Sticks

Bully Stick rings 

Beef Liver Nuggets

It's hard sometimes finding the right size bones for Mr. N to chew (although he thinks there is no bone too big) so Jamie's guidance was helpful in determining what would be the best fit. I think this would be especially helpful for people who are just starting to feed raw. I know I was super confused at first.

We practice rotation feeding which basically means that we switch protein types on a regular basis. Different raw feeders approach it differently (balance achieved daily, weekly, monthly etc). I just switch proteins every bag which for Mr. N is every couple of weeks. He gets a wide variety of treats and chews though so I'm not too worried that he's missing out on anything vital by not switching more often. 

Why is rotation feeding important? It gives dogs a more balanced diet as each food has different nutrients and ingredients. It also creates more excitement around meal time especially if your dog is like Mr. N and gets bored with the same things. It can also reduce risks of food intolerance. Also it's helpful if a food is recalled so you have something you can switch to without worrying about if your dog is going to like it or not tolerate the food. 

Raw Paws sent us the raw duck food and duck jerky to try as Mr. N doesn't get duck very often. Duck is a little hard for me to source regularly. He gets a lot of beef, turkey, pork and some venison and rabbit among other things normally. 

The duck jerky was an instant hit and we used it up pretty rapidly for recall exercises and tricks training. It's on the harder side texture-wise but it's pretty easy to break up into small pieces (a little hard to break into tiny pieces) and Mr. N thought it was worth a speedy recall.

The duck food is a little messy to portion out especially as Mr. N eats pretty tiny portions (about 3oz). I thaw the chub, divide it into smaller chunks (two day's worth of food), separate them with wax paper and re-freeze. Usually we buy food that comes in nuggets or smaller portions. The chubs are more economical though especially for larger dogs.

It took a few days for Mr. N to get accustomed to the new food but now he eats it with gusto. He doesn't need any toppers in order to induce him to eat but I made up a special plate with a tiny bit of yogurt and cheese as a special treat. 

Do you practice rotation feeding with your dog(s)?

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