Sunday, December 31, 2017

Ziwi Venison Rewards #chewyinfluencer

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Ziwi Venison

This month, we had the chance to try Ziwi Good Dog Rewards Air Dried Venison Dog Treats. These treats are made from New Zealand Venison, and have additional ingredients like green mussel. They aren't freeze dried, so aren't crumbly. They are easy to break into smaller pieces for training.

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With great ingredients, it is no surprise that the dogs absolutely love these. Actually, the cat is pretty interested in them too. At around $10 for a 3 oz bag, they aren't super cheap, but you get a surprising number of treats in the bag for that. I would be happy to buy these again in the future.

We were provided with these treats in exchange for our honest review. We were not compensated in any other way, and all opinions are entirely our own.

Saturday, December 30, 2017

Tidy Cats #chewyinfluencer

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Easy to use instructions on the box

Do you ever travel with your cat? Or set up your cat in a room/part of the house while you have visitors over? This Tidy Cats disposable litter box is perfect. It comes prefilled with clumping cat litter, and the entire box can be thrown away when no longer needed.

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I've stayed in a hotel with my cat before, and it isn't the easiest thing ever to carry a litter box with you (gross if you bring the one from home, even after cleaning it completely, or you buy a new one just for the trip), plus litter. This easy-to-use litter box makes it easy and clean to transport a litter box with you on a trip. Or, it can be an easy additional litter box for your home when you add a new cat, temporarily need to seperate your cats, or set up a cat in a room different from normal due to visitors coming over.

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I wouldn't hesitate to buy one of these if we travel in the future.

We were given this product for free in exchange for our review, but all opinions are entirely our own and we were not otherwise compensated.

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Crater Lake in the Snow

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Squinting in the bright sun


The day after Christmas, we headed up to Crater Lake National Park for the day. It is a long drive for a day trip, especially with icy roads in the mountains, but I have been wanting to go to Crater Lake while there is snow on the ground ever since I went in October a few years ago (gorgeous, but well before any winter weather hit that year).

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The view over the Rogue Valley (apparently Shasta was visible in the distance, but I couldn't pick it out)


Crater Lake in the winter is pretty hit and miss, with more misses than hits. The lake is often covered in clouds and mist and either fully or partially hidden. I got super lucky when I went in October a few years ago, and lucked out this year as well. The weather was clear and sunny, with just a few high wisps of clouds.

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Posing in front of Wizard Island


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The larger dog kind of blocks Wizard Island from view while posing in front of it...


The snow was gorgeous up there. It had melted and refrozen, so had a solid layer of ice as a crust, which made it less than ideal for snowshoeing, hiking, or skiing. But with the use of snowshoes, we were able to enjoy the rim of the lake without breaking through the ice crust and stepping knee deep into the snow with every step. (There are snowshoes for rent up there if you don't own any, and there are free ranger guided snowshoe hikes all winter long as well.)

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The three of us, staying well back from the edge, keeping the tiny dog warm in my jacket


The dogs aren't actually the biggest fans of cold weather and snow. Koira tolerates it, and actually enjoys the snow a certain amount, but Ptera thinks that cold is stupid. She rode around tucked inside my coat about half the time, despite it being a balmy 38 degrees while we were there.

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Tucked in where it is warm


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We play now?


A few hours at the lake, then we turned around and headed home. It was a long day, especially for so little time actually spent at the lake, but still well worth it, and with only two iffy ice encounters while driving (one being turning around in the parking lot, where we watched a few other people have issues as well).

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This sign wasn't kidding. Especially with the ice on top of the snow, it was slick, and the drop into the caldera is steep. You would not want to slip or fall


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The day just kept getting clearer the entire time we were there


Dogs are only allowed in the parking lot and the viewing areas right near there, so it isn't an ideal destination for traveling with dogs. But it was warm enough that we went ahead and brought them and just bundled them up in their crates in the car when we went places they couldn't go, and they stayed plenty warm. Overall, with or without dogs, Crater Lake is certainly worth visiting.

Monday, December 25, 2017

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Countdown to Christmas

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The dogs are looking forward to the holidays. Or at least, to their presents.

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Fancy Shmancy ribbons

I put together Ptera and Koira's title ribbons with miniature portraits I had painted of each of them. The portraits are meant as Christmas ornaments, but they ended up fitting perfectly on the ribbons. And, of course, they are simply amazing paintings as well. The artist does amazing larger work as well (I have pretty much no where to display artwork, but keep trying to figure out a place to put a larger painting so I have an excuse to order something larger). When NAFA finally gets around to sending title pins for Ptera and Koira (they only just sent certificates for titles earned in July, so not holding my breath it will be any time soon) I plan on adding those to the ribbons as well. I'm debating if I should add Koira's FM pin as well as her FMX pin when it arrives (or her U-Fli title pins?), but don't want to make the ribbons look too cluttered.

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Ptera's FM ribbon, and Koira's FMX ribbon, with custom miniature paintings done by Before the Bridge Fine Art. https://www.facebook.com/btbfineart


I'm sure the artist isn't taking any more orders for delivery before Christmas this year (her work is amazing, and painting takes time), but I think she has gift certificates available if you are still looking for the perfect present for someone. I paid full price for these ones to be done, and would happily pay again. I am sharing her work only because it is amazing, and works so perfectly paired with the ribbons my dogs and I have worked so hard to earn.

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One last thing, if you are ever the one in charge of ordering ribbons for a dog event, choose bridle hooks on the rosettes, instead of cord. The bridle hooks make the ribbons easier to hang, and easy to hook to the dog's collar for a ribbon photo. Bridle hooks all the way!

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Sunday, December 10, 2017

Happy Birthday Koira

Koira turned 10 years old today. The weather is freezing cold but clear today. We probably should have taken advantage of the sun shining with a hike, but instead, we snuggled up inside with a flannel comforter and a roaring fire and enjoyed some movies.

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Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Koira FMX, MBDCh

Last weekend, Koira raced in Multibreed with the Portland TailBlazers and earned her Flyball Master Excellent (10,000 points) and Multibreed Dog Champion (500 multibreed points) titles. She is going to mostly retire from flyball at this point, though she may come out to play a time or two over the next year if she is feeling good, and race one more time next year (again, if she is feeling good) to try to earn her Iron Dog.
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Credit to Big Air Photography


She was a really good girl, and did her job great. She had a really good time too. I think she would be perfectly happy without the long car rides to and from Canada, though. 

We happened to be getting Christmas photos done by a photographer at the tournament, and she took a picture of Koira with her fancy new FMX ribbon while we were there as well.