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| Feet wrapped and ready to race |
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| Jacketed up and ready to rest |
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Tasty Tuesday: Merrick Backcountry Jerky Treats
Working with Chewy.com is one of the highlights of my month. I get to try out some great new products with my dogs or cats, and then I get to share them with all of my readers. Yes, I get a product provided to me in exchange for writing a review. But the opinions of those products, those are all me.
With that said, this month, I tried out Merrick Backcountry Jerky treats, in the Pacific Catch Real Salmon variety. Now, in interest of full honesty, I will tell you straight off that these treats stink. Bad. I mean, they don't smell off or like something is wrong with them. They just smell very, very fishy. So if you are super sensitive to smells, you might want to skip these or try one of the other flavors. However, stinky treats certainly have their place. Super stinky treats are a great high value, attention getting treat for dogs who need extra motivation to engage in training. The dog can smell the treats extremely well, and may work harder to earn them since they smell so good.
The texture of these was really nice. It was easy to rip into smaller pieces to use a small treats. I brought them along to a flyball tournament this past weekend, and used them for Koira's warm up routine, which involves both static stretches as well as active stretches and warm ups, like touching nose to hip on each side, using a treat to lure the behavior and encourage length of time on the stretch. She also bows, sit pretty and waves, backs up, spins both directions, and does a few other tricks. The point is both to warm up to prevent injury, and also to distract her enough that she doesn't lose a bunch of energy barking impatiently to go into the ring.
Overall, I'd recommend these treats. They aren't super expensive at $8.99 right now, though they aren't a rock bottom price either. But they are made with good quality ingredients and are a pretty high value treat for most dogs. I tried them on Koira, of course, but also a few of the other dogs on my flyball team, and everyone loved them. And despite the strong smell, I didn't feel like they left my hands smelling nasty after handling them, which is a plus.
And sorry for the quality of the pictures from the tournament. These ones were grabbed with my cell phone, because Koira was being just so cute.
With that said, this month, I tried out Merrick Backcountry Jerky treats, in the Pacific Catch Real Salmon variety. Now, in interest of full honesty, I will tell you straight off that these treats stink. Bad. I mean, they don't smell off or like something is wrong with them. They just smell very, very fishy. So if you are super sensitive to smells, you might want to skip these or try one of the other flavors. However, stinky treats certainly have their place. Super stinky treats are a great high value, attention getting treat for dogs who need extra motivation to engage in training. The dog can smell the treats extremely well, and may work harder to earn them since they smell so good.
The texture of these was really nice. It was easy to rip into smaller pieces to use a small treats. I brought them along to a flyball tournament this past weekend, and used them for Koira's warm up routine, which involves both static stretches as well as active stretches and warm ups, like touching nose to hip on each side, using a treat to lure the behavior and encourage length of time on the stretch. She also bows, sit pretty and waves, backs up, spins both directions, and does a few other tricks. The point is both to warm up to prevent injury, and also to distract her enough that she doesn't lose a bunch of energy barking impatiently to go into the ring.
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| Koira chilling in my chair after racing |
I didn't actually get a chance to grab pictures of the treats themselves. They just look pretty much like jerky, and the strips are about as long as my hand. The bag has a good number in it, plenty for warm up and cool downs all weekend, plus some extra treats here and there because she looks so cute.
Overall, I'd recommend these treats. They aren't super expensive at $8.99 right now, though they aren't a rock bottom price either. But they are made with good quality ingredients and are a pretty high value treat for most dogs. I tried them on Koira, of course, but also a few of the other dogs on my flyball team, and everyone loved them. And despite the strong smell, I didn't feel like they left my hands smelling nasty after handling them, which is a plus.
And sorry for the quality of the pictures from the tournament. These ones were grabbed with my cell phone, because Koira was being just so cute.
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Water Fun
We're enjoying a bit of a last surge of summer here this month. We still have days in the upper 70s and lower 80s, but the nights are cool. We've been starting to get some rain, which is desperately needed. The entire Pacific Northwest is in a drought this year, and we can only hope that we get enough rain and snow this fall and winter to make up for it, and enough snowpack in the mountains to keep the reservoirs full and rivers running strong next summer.
In the meantime, though, we are enjoying the warm weather while it lasts, and getting in plenty of time playing in those streams and rivers that have enough water to be fun.
Koira really loves the river. Even a dinky little stream like this one is enough for her to get excited. She'll fetch sticks all day if you throw them (though she may just stand on the other bank and chew them up instead of bringing them back).
She does love deathing a stick. I think it must be a breed trait. And while she loves to fetch, she sometimes isn't all that great at bringing the stick back, or giving it back if she does bring it.
Even little tiny sticks are a source of resistance.
Since she enjoys chewing up the sticks so much, she often won't even come straight back. Which means I don't get any fun pictures of her leaping through the water back to me. So instead of sticks, I throw a few rocks. She can't get them in the deep water, so she comes straight back to me, giving those awesome picture opportunities.
Unfortunately, she does have a thing for rocks. I don't mind her chasing them, but I try to keep her from picking them up. Sometimes easier said than done, since she will dive underwater to grab them.
Of course, then she gets water in her ears and the shaking starts.
Once Koira gets obsessive about rocks and starts picking them up, we leave pretty soon. I don't want her breaking teeth on them. And while you could say me tossing rocks into the river to get a good picture contributes to this (and it might a little), Koira gets obsessive about rocks at the river easily and all by herself. And at the beach, for that matter. She loves picking up and carrying around rocks. Silly girl.
I will say that the gentle shaded light at this stream was amazing. I just love the photos I was able to get of Koira having fun this summer. As she gets older, I value the great pictures of her more and more.
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| Throw it! |
In the meantime, though, we are enjoying the warm weather while it lasts, and getting in plenty of time playing in those streams and rivers that have enough water to be fun.
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| Hi mom! |
Koira really loves the river. Even a dinky little stream like this one is enough for her to get excited. She'll fetch sticks all day if you throw them (though she may just stand on the other bank and chew them up instead of bringing them back).
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| Stick! |
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| Om nom nom |
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| Must. Chew. Into. Tiny. Bits. |
She does love deathing a stick. I think it must be a breed trait. And while she loves to fetch, she sometimes isn't all that great at bringing the stick back, or giving it back if she does bring it.
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| Dis mine |
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| You cannot have. |
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| Teeth. (I find her missing canine totally adorable, though I hope fervently that she doesn't lose any more.) |
Even little tiny sticks are a source of resistance.
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| Mine! |
Since she enjoys chewing up the sticks so much, she often won't even come straight back. Which means I don't get any fun pictures of her leaping through the water back to me. So instead of sticks, I throw a few rocks. She can't get them in the deep water, so she comes straight back to me, giving those awesome picture opportunities.
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| Boing! She loves bounding through the water. I think she likes the splashes she makes. |
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| So much happy. |
Unfortunately, she does have a thing for rocks. I don't mind her chasing them, but I try to keep her from picking them up. Sometimes easier said than done, since she will dive underwater to grab them.
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| Snorkeling away. |
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| See the rock she managed to snatch? |
Of course, then she gets water in her ears and the shaking starts.
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| This way. |
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| And every way |
Once Koira gets obsessive about rocks and starts picking them up, we leave pretty soon. I don't want her breaking teeth on them. And while you could say me tossing rocks into the river to get a good picture contributes to this (and it might a little), Koira gets obsessive about rocks at the river easily and all by herself. And at the beach, for that matter. She loves picking up and carrying around rocks. Silly girl.
I will say that the gentle shaded light at this stream was amazing. I just love the photos I was able to get of Koira having fun this summer. As she gets older, I value the great pictures of her more and more.
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| My little baby girl. Seven years old, but athletic, in shape, and ready to enjoy life for many years to come. |
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