Chewy's Rules of Dog Etiquette, Part 1

Chewy lives by his own particular set of rules. Some of his behaviors evolved from things we taught him to do, while others he just decided were proper for a pup!

Rule #1: Sit and you shall receive.

When Chewy was a puppy, we taught him to sit for food and pats. Now, he sits and stares at you to signal that he wants something, such as a treat from the treat jar, a toy from his toy bin (that he's too afraid to dig through on his own), or a bite of what you're eating.

I am sitting. Please share!

Rule #2: Counter surfing is prohibited, but sniffing is allowed.

Chewy has stolen 2 things off the kitchen counter in his lifetime, both when he was a young pup. The first was a single cooked chicken tenderloin from a whole plate that was meant for him, and the other was a ginger root freshly dug from the garden, which he chewed up and hid behind various pieces of furniture. He wasn't reprimanded for stealing from the counter because we didn't discover the thefts until later, but we did train him to stop standing up to check things out. Since then, he has reformed his pilfering ways and now sticks to only sniffing. He'll get his nose as close as possible while keeping all 4 paws on the floor, and if he smells something he thinks is for him, he'll apply Rule #1 and sit and wait.

I smell yum yums!

Rule #3: Don't overstay your welcome.

Nature's Variety Instinct Raw Market Meal Blends: Beef Recipe - chewy.com Product Review

This month we received Nature's Variety Instinct Raw Market Meal Blends from chewy.com to test out. The Instinct Raw Market Meal Blends are freeze-dried, raw complete diets. We chose the Beef Recipe for some variety, since so many dog food products are made with chicken (the other option).

Nature's Variety Instinct Raw Market Meal Blends, Beef Recipe

I like that the packaging actually has a picture of what the food looks like. Most dog foods just have a photo of a dog frolicking in a field or some generic drawing, so it can be nice to know what to expect when you open up a new food. 

The meal blend consists of freeze-dried veggies, fruits, and little meaty nuggets. I like that the fruits and veggies are minimally processed and actually identifiable! The freeze-drying process locks in nutrition and flavor, which is a plus.

Inside the bag

Chewy thought the food smelled delightful and couldn't wait to try it.

Smells yummy!

Chewy looked on in anticipation while I attempted to rehydrate the food.

Food!!!

The serving suggestion says "Crush pieces and wait 10 minutes if full rehydration is desired." I didn't crush the pieces because it seemed counterintuitive - they made them into little nuggets, and now I have to un-nugget them? 

After soaking the uncrushed freeze-dried food for 10 minutes, there was still quite a bit of water left in the dish. I even flipped the nuggets over halfway through so that both sides could get soaked. 

+ 0 minutes                                                                                        + 10 minutes

Chewy didn't mind that there was extra water - he probably likes the fruity/meaty/vegetable-y taste. He happily lapped up everything in his dish every time I gave him some of the Meal Blends.

Hoovering at full speed

The suggested feeding amounts chart on the bag only lists up to a 40 lb dog, which is not so helpful when your dog is much larger than that. Chewy only got to eat it as an addition to his regular meals. If I was to feed Chewy the Meal Blends for entire meals, he'd probably go through an entire 1 lb. bag in a day or less! Considering that, I find the Meal Blends to be NOT cost effective, but of course you often pay a premium for healthier foods!

Overall, Chewy and I were pleased with the Raw Market Meal Blends because of the nutrition, visible whole foods, and taste, but I do not think it is an economical diet for a large dog. For us, it would be more of a treat than an actual meal.

Disclaimer: We received a free bag of Nature's Variety Instinct Raw Market Meal Blends Beef Recipe from chewy.com for review purposes as part of the chewy.com Blogger Program. We did not receive any monetary compensation for this post, and all opinions shared above are our own.

Sharing Fruit Smoothies with the Dog

I don't like the taste of yogurt, so I always make smoothies when I feel like consuming some healthy probiotics. Now that summer is here and many fruits are in season, I make smoothies more often. In our house, Chewy always gets a serving, too! While it is unclear whether dogs benefit from the same probiotics that people do, the pureeing of the fruit ingredients should make them easier for digestion. 

If I'm the only person in the house that wants a smoothie, making an extra serving for Chewy fills up the blender more, helping it blend much better. Win-win!

Smoothies for two

Chewy is always on standby once we start prepping fruits and filling up the blender.

For me?

The prospect of food is always exciting for a Chewy!

*slurppp*

A few Chewy-approved smoothie ingredients: plain yogurt, strawberry, blueberry, banana, peach, mango, pineapple

Chewy-DISapproved smoothie ingredients: MINT!

Chewy will eat almost anything, but if you give him a mint leaf, he will spit it out and go "blegh!!!" He will also reject smoothies with a strong mint flavor.

I wonder if Chewy would enjoy drinking green juice. I'm waiting for my spinach to grow out to give it a try!

Dr. Tim's Kinesis Dog Food 30-Day Challenge, Day 30: chewy.com Product Review

For the last 30 days, Chewy has been eating Dr. Tim's Kinesis Dog Food.

He still thinks it's delicious and hasn't gotten bored of it, chomping it up with lots of gusto. Chewy has gotten bored of some kibbles in the past and refused to eat them, so this one must taste pretty good!

You want me to wait?? But I'm hungry!

Om nom nom nom

His fur is nice and shiny and possibly softer than ever, probably thanks to all the fish oils in the food. His energy level is also excellent. We brought the kibble with us on a week-long beach vacation, and Chewy had the energy to swim and run along the shore every morning, happy as a clam. He never wanted to leave! And even after all the swimming, rinsing off, and bath-time, his fur was still very soft and healthy.

After trying this food for a month, I would definitely consider purchasing it in the future and adding it to Chewy's rotation of kibbles. The 44-lb bag option is a great value, especially at chewy.com's price of $64.49. I would recommend Dr. Tim's Kinesis for the regular house dog - it provides fuel for the daily dog agendas of walkies, snuggling, playing, napping, and zoomies, with the benefit of healthy skin, coat, weight, and poops.

Searching for more goodies in the chewy box!

Disclaimer: We received a 44-lb bag of Dr. Tim's Kinesis All Life Stages Dry Dog Food from chewy.com to conduct a 30-day food challenge and provide an honest review. We received no monetary compensation for this post, and all opinions shared above are our own.

Dr. Tim's Kinesis Dog Food 30-Day Challenge, Day 16: chewy.com Product Review

So far, Chewy is really enjoying his new Dr. Tim's food. The kibbles are a nice, small size: perfect for the dog that hoovers kibble without chewing all that much.

Chewy's morning routine used to be: go out for walkies, go home and run upstairs, solicit pettings from people still in bed, then lurk around at the top of the stairs waiting for breakfast to be served. Now, he skips the soliciting pettings part, because he is SO ready for breakfast! He runs to his bowl the moment he hears those first clickity-clacks of his kibbles hitting the stainless steel.

Dr. Tim's kibble time!

Om nom nom

After he's finished his kibbles, he picks up some water with his tongue and then washes out the empty food bowl. It must be super yummy if he wants to get every bit of flavor!

It was Chewy's birthday yesterday and I used some kibble to top off his frozen yogurt cake, and he ate all the kibbles before digging into the yogurt. Chewy is the type of dog that eats the best stuff first, so that says a lot for this kibble!

On Dr. Tim's Kinesis, Chewy's energy level has been good: playful but not crazy hyper, content to lounge around for a few hours at a time, yet with enough energy for hiking. His poops have been regular and firm, which is a necessity when you have to pick them all up! 

I think it is still too soon to tell if this food has had any effect on his skin/coat, weight and other health aspects, so those updates will have to wait for Day 30.

Disclaimer: We received a 44-lb bag of Dr. Tim's Kinesis All Life Stages Dry Dog Food from chewy.com to conduct a 30-day food challenge and provide an honest review. We received no monetary compensation for this post, and all opinions shared above are our own.

Dr. Tim's Kinesis Dog Food 30-day challenge, Day 1 - chewy.com Product Review

This month we will be doing a 30-day challenge with chewy.com: Chewy will be eating Dr. Tim's Kinesis All Life Stages Formula Dog Food, and we will share our thoughts and experiences along the way.

Food? I like food...challenge accepted!

The Dr. Tim's line of pet food products are formulated to provide all-natural, quality nutrition. They offer diets for varying degrees of activity, from dogs that compete in sports to those that "prefer to scale the couch," as well as grain-free and weight management formulas. Dr. Tim's dog foods contain probiotics, prebiotics and natural antioxidants for healthy immune systems, are made with mostly animal-derived proteins, and are slow-cooked in small batches in the USA. They are free of corn and soy products.

First ingredient: chicken meal

The Kinesis All Life Stages Formula is min. 26% crude protein, for the average not-super-active dog. While Chewy does like to run around and feel the wind in his fur, he also likes to be a couch potato for most of the day. The protein sources in this kibble are mostly chicken meal, eggs, and various fish meals, suggesting high digestibility. 

Dr. Tim's Kinesis comes in 5-lb, 15-lb, 30-lb, and 44-lb bags. Have you ever seen a 44-lb bag of kibble? It's humongous! But a better value, of course.

*sniffff*

Our 44-lb bag ripped a little on its journey to our house. I bet it got thrown around a bit between truck rides. Chewy found it to be a perfect hole for sniff-vestigating the contents, and was also pleasantly surprised to find a few loose kibbles at the bottom of the box. He quickly cleaned those up, of course.

Edit: Because of the ripped packaging, chewy.com speedily sent us a brand new bag of Dr. Tim's at our request, because their customer service is truly stellar!

Don't mind if I do!

The food looks and smells like regular kibble, with the same stinky oily smell that Chewy is fond of.

Chewy seems to like his new kibble, but only time will tell if it's a good fit for him! We will post an update in another 2 weeks to share how it's going.


Disclaimer: We received a 44-lb bag of Dr. Tim's Kinesis All Life Stages Dry Dog Food from chewy.com to conduct a 30-day food challenge and provide an honest review. We received no monetary compensation for this post, and all opinions shared above are our own.

Pineapple Harvest!

Chewy and I LOVE pineapple. Did you know that you can grow new pineapples from the tops of the fruit? Although they are tropical plants, they do well in pots and therefore can theoretically be grown anywhere in the world (with some effort and much patience). Googling "how to grow a pineapple" will bring up plenty of instructions, tips and tricks.

Two years ago, I prepared a bunch of pineapple tops for planting, and this spring one of them flowered! It looked like a miniature pineapple, but covered in little purple flowers. After flowering, pineapple fruit takes about 6 months to mature.

A few months later, it looked like this:

Green pineapple

And another month later, it was pretty much yellow all around:

Yellow pineapple!

After 2+ years of waiting, our pineapple was finally ready to eat! You could smell it from about a foot away, but of course Chewy had to get his nose way up close:

 Chewy, being the food fanatic that he is, was very excited.

Can we eat it now?

You can see just how tiny our pineapple was compared to Chewy! Sorry I don't have any pictures of the inside of the pineapple...we were too busy eating! But it was wonderfully golden, sweet, and DELICIOUS!

 

Preparing for a Snowstorm with Your Dog in Mind

We're expecting a blizzard this evening in our part of New York, with an accumulation of 20+ inches of snow by tomorrow night. All the humans here are scurrying about preparing for the big storm, stocking up on food, gas, and shovels, but don't forget about necessities for your pups! These are the things that Chewy always has on hand when a storm is rolling through:

1. Food and water

When the roads are treacherous or you are snowed in, you don't want to have to make a trip to the store because you ran out of your dog's favorite kibble. It's always good to have some potable water on hand, as well.

So many yum yums! You've been hiding ALL of these?!?

2. Toys

When you are forced to stay inside, boredom can ensue. And that's why Chewy has lots of toys! They can provide mental and physical exercise for your pup to ease the cabin fever. This is a moot point if your dog does not like toys, though. Instead, you can play games like hide and seek or find the treat, or perhaps just snuggle. Or even do some training.

Did you spot Chewy? He kinda blends in.

Shaky shaky!

3. Dog boots

The outdoors can be a horrible place for paw pads during and after a storm. Strong winds may scatter tree branches and debris, and jagged ice may form after cycles of sun during the day and freezing temperatures during the night. Road salt and sand can be irritating to doggy feet, and frolicking in the snow tends to dry out Chewy's paw pads. For these reasons, Chewy usually wears dog boots when he goes out in inclement weather. 

This is how Chewy feels about dog boots...

...but they help prevent icicle foot...

...so he can focus on this!

Snow prance #goldenretriever

A photo posted by Chewy (@itschewytime) on Feb 5, 2014 at 2:00pm PST

4. First Aid Kit

In case your dog cuts his paw pad on something (because he wasn't wearing boots!) or sustains some other non-emergency injury, it is good to have some basic first aid supplies on hand. We have anti-septic sprays, bandages, styptic powder (to stop bleeding), and paw pad moisturizers, among other things. Also make sure you have enough supply of any medications your dog needs.

5. Flashlights & batteries, candles & lighters, charged electronic devices

Strong winds could potentially knock down trees and take down power lines, so we always have multiple flashlights and fresh batteries, as well as candles and lighters. You don't want to accidentally step on a tail because you were wandering around in the dark! 

Have your electronic devices fully charged so that if there is a power outage, you can still receive alerts, report emergencies, and contact concerned family/friends. You never know when your dog will get into something they shouldn't and you need to call the vet for advice! We also have a battery-operated radio so we can stay up to date with the latest storm news. 

[Be sure to keep pets away from open flames!]

6. Extra blankets or dog sweaters/coats

If the power goes out, we have no heat, and it is COLD in the middle of a snowstorm! While Chewy's higher core temperature (compared to humans) and fluffy double coat makes him a nice footwarmer, it may not be enough when it is truly cold in the house. Because he does not like to get too hot, I give him a blanket when I think he looks cold, and he can shake it off himself when he gets hot.

Comfy, cozy!

A smaller or less furry dog might appreciate a sweater or coat to keep warm.

After Hurricane Sandy we had no power/heat, so I put my old kitty fleece on Chewy in case he was cold. He looks like he's ready to break out some hip hop moves with his uneven pant legs and bling! ~6 months I think #goldenretriever #throwbackthursday

A photo posted by Chewy (@itschewytime) on May 29, 2014 at 7:38am PDT

Stay safe!

Outtakes, because Chewy is sometimes a distracted model:

Wordless Wednesday

A Chewy Thanksgiving Feast

Last year, Chewy and his doggy friends shared a roasted chicken on Thanksgiving. This year I bought a 12-lb turkey for Chewy's feast, but since his doggy friends couldn't make it, he got the whole bird to himself! We woke up early to roast his turkey, and he was still a bit sleepy...

*squeaky yawn* It's too early for cooking!

But he knew that yummy foods were in the making, so he was happy to be on standby in the kitchen. I washed his turkey and removed as much fat as possible, then patted it dry with paper towels. I placed the turkey on a wire rack over a bed of carrots, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, sprinkled parsley over everything for added flavor, and poured a little water in the pan for added moisture. I wrapped the wing tips in foil to prevent them from burning, and after pre-heating the oven to 325°, it was ready for roasting.

Can't wait!

I roasted the turkey a little bit longer than the conventional 15 min/lb to ensure it was thoroughly cooked, and it was ready in the afternoon. This left plenty of time to let it cool before dinnertime.

Yay, turkey!

Chewy knew it was HIS turkey, and kept waiting by the counter in hopes of being fed. There was an even bigger, more aromatic turkey for our people guests a few feet away, but he kept his eyes on this one.

I can smell you...

So close, yet so far!

Finally, at his 6:30 pm dinnertime, he got his Thanksgiving plate! He had a few slices of skinless turkey breast, potatoes, carrots, sweet potato, and pumpkin puree. He also got some fruit for dessert later on.

...can I eat yet???

Om nom nommmm

Chewy has a lot of leftovers, but I'm sure he is happy to eat turkey any day of the week! I cut apart the turkey meat and froze it to preserve freshness. They are labeled "Chewy's turkey" to avoid confusion.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Chewy Goes Apple Picking

It's apple season! Over the weekend, we took Chewy upstate to Wright's farm for his first apple picking adventure. 

(The circle at the top right is an apple cider donut- at first I thought it was a sad representation of an apple!)

They have a farm stand and bakery, as well as 453 acres of land (so many apples!). There is an admission fee of $10 per adult, which includes a 1-peck bag for you to fill with apples. You drive your car directly into the orchard, and there's a large grassy parking lot where many visitors set up picnic blankets and BBQ grills. Interspersed in those groups were lots of doggies! It was slow going through the parking lot because Chewy had to greet all those pups!

The orchard was full of rows and rows of apple trees, in many different varieties. 

There were golden apples, so we had to pick some of those! 

They're all for me, right?

Chewy really enjoyed the lush greenery on the edges of the orchard. Thankfully, we didn't have a problem with ticks or other bugs.

There were "scenic wagon rides" through a small section of the orchard. Chewy loved the wind in his fur, and licked his chops when we were close to the apple trees.

There was also a resident doggy that rode around in a golf cart with his orchard-tending daddy. Naturally, he and Chewy had a few pee battles. His daddy was busy talking to customers, so I didn't get the dog's name, but he was a real snuggle bug!

I liked how welcoming the farm was toward doggies and the extensive variety and abundance of apples. However, some sections had a lot of powder around the trees that I assume was either pesticide or herbicide. The apples also felt powdery throughout the orchard, so I didn't let Chewy pick up any. (That's also why Chewy's leash is different colors in these photos. We changed from long leash to short leash to keep him away from bad things more easily)

As we drove out of the orchard, an attendant checked our car to make sure we weren't taking more apples than we paid for. She even wanted us to pop the trunk, but then Chewy stuck his head out from the back, so she was like "Oh, nevermind!" 

Next, we checked out the farm stand. They had all sorts of fall goodies, including flowers, gourds, pumpkins and squashes. Chewy thought everything smelled delicious. We bought some grilled chicken legs for lunch, and since they had an unseasoned option, we got one of those for Chewy. 

***Don't let your dog eat the drumstick bone!
It is a choking hazard, and may cause all sorts of internal damage***
I rip the meat off to offer to Chewy.  

After collecting lots of apples, getting some exercise, and filling up his tummy, Chewy was all set to head home. I wonder if he thinks all those apples are for him!

Ready to go home!