September and October update

Happy Halloween, y'all!

*the pumpkin's original artwork is a sketch by the talented funaek, slightly edited, redrawn and painted by me*

My, it's been a long time since I've posted! We've been so busy lately, the main thing being WE MOVED! And you guys, I totally don't recommend this moving thing at ALL. It sucked. However, it looks like we'll be at our current apartment for about 16 months, then we'll move again. I'm already dreading it but! we love our new place!
We're no longer in a small studio apartment. We have things like DOORS and our own furniture! It's kind of amazing. (Live in only your living room for 3 years, 1 1/2 years with a guy and 2 dogs and you'll understand my amazement) Which brings me to my next point: y'all, I feel like an adult now. I've slept on a mattress on the floor for 3 years. My dad bought Mike and me an actual bed with nightstands, I sanded down an refinished a 40-50 year old dresser, and we have the world's biggest couch along with the world's coolest coffee table. (The thing is made of driftwood). We accomplished all of this in the month of September and moved on October 3. I spent the rest of October cleaning the old apartment (there were things in there that needed to be removed that weren't my property), working, and unpacking.
I really do think Ares and Luna love the new space although the new bed is so high that Luna can't get on the bed by herself anymore. She pops her head up and stares at me until I pick her up. She has me trained - she doesn't even bother going to Mike's side if I'm in bed. She also knows if she wants to bring a toy up there with her, all she has to do is hold it while she's staring at me then drop it, I'll pick it up and put it on the bed before putting her on the bed. I'm wrapped around that curly little tail of hers but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Ares was very apprehensive during the packing and unpacking process. I think it was just a lot of confusion and mess for him and he had a hard time figuring out where he belonged/what was going on. He got a lot of cuddles from Mike, Luna, and me.
The actual moving day, since we only moved about 30 minutes from our old apartment, we chose to put them in daycare all day. They were there for about 11 hours and completely approved of that decision. Unfortunately, we are now far enough away that the daycare they went to (which is also where they go to get their nails trimmed) and their dog park isn't really a logical option for regular visits. I've already found an awesome new place for them to go to get their nails trimmed and teeth brushed for less than $20/month and I'm working on the dog park dilemma. I know of one pretty close by which they've been to in the past but it's always empty. We tried a new one on Wednesday which I really liked but I've heard conflicting reports on how easy it is to pay to get in (it's in a neighboring city and while their signs and website say they just have to have a city tag for where they live, I've heard from people that they have to have a tag for the city where the park is located but somehow it's possible to get one? I really have no clue but I suspect that it's going to be a major headache). The other dog parks in our city aren't really anywhere near us so there's that. It's upsetting to me only because, as much as I love where I live, it was my second choice. It was Mike's first choice and he absolutely HATED my first choice so I gave in. The best thing about my first choice was that the complex had its own little dog park. The complex we're in now doesn't have anywhere where the dogs can be off leash so while there's more room inside for everyone to move around, they don't get the exercise they need outside. And I have to pick up poop. I haaaate picking up poop.

But that's why I've been MIA. I hope to have my October BarkBox review up in the next few days. We got it nice and early in October but I didn't give them anything from it for a few days and didn't take any pictures until a few days after that! We got September's BarkBox but with moving and all of that, I didn't even bother trying to do anything with that aside from giving them their treats and toy.

And as for Pawalla: In case you missed it on my instagram, Pawalla went out of business at the end of August (hence my lack of Pawalla review since July). They did a very classy thing and decided that everyone who still had a subscription left wouldn't get their money back but instead would get all of their boxes at once. I got 6 boxes in less than 2 weeks. It was leftover inventory from past boxes I had received. There were only 2 or 3 new items and one of the new items was a spray shampoo that leaked all over the box. Like, the post office gave it to me and it was wet and smelling like blueberries. That was fun. Anyway, I'm really sorry for anyone who purchased from Pawalla based off of my reviews and ran across the same problem that I did. I'm still completely bummed about their stunt and will never endorse nor purchase from them again (if they ever get up and running again).
As for our BarkBox subscription, it is getting renewed in 2 days and I can't wait to continue getting more boxes. I did make a slight change on it and I'm going to try getting the small boxes for the next few months instead of the medium boxes to see if I like one size better than the other (I've been mostly happy with the medium treats and toys but sometimes, they get toys which are completely out of Ares' and Luna's size range).
Stick with me, y'all and I'll be posting regularly again soon!

Ox tails and beef knuckles

Let me venture back into controversial territory and say that ever since Ares was 3 months old, I've wanted him to be on a raw diet. The ex-vegetarian in me thinks it's absolutely disgusting, yet the way I see it, kibble is like eating McDonald's every single day of your life and eating raw is like eating fresh, home cooked meals. In my mind, it's just better. For various reasons that I won't get into right now, we haven't made that leap.

But I have made an effort. I've bought marrow bones for them instead of rawhides, I buy a few various smoked or slightly cooked bones from local pet stores, let them eat the meat and take them away (eating cooked bones is a HUGE no-no!). I also bought a dehydrator, as you know, to make jerky treats for the dogs. Mike thinks it's absolutely disgusting, which some of it is. We don't allow the bones on the bed because they're still meaty but the pups absolutely love ripping off the meat and licking out the marrow. It seriously keeps them entertained for hours. When I first gave them a marrow bone, I have them eat it outside - my apartment is entirely carpeted and I can't risk them staining it. After the meat comes off, the bones are allowed inside. I have a huge balcony that I can block off since they're leashed when we go downstairs and they just go to town.

Lately, the idea of raw feeding has grown more and more inside my head. I've done my research - I've figured out how much of each type of meat the dogs need to eat a day, I've even started pricing out how much it costs to feed the dogs a day in kibble ($0.70 for both) vs how much it would cost to feed the dogs a day in raw meat ($1.40 for both). Needless to say, unless I can find cheaper sources, it'll be awhile before I can convince Mike we should take the leap.

But Mike has been out of town the past few days and while the cat's away the mice will play, right?

We started out with beef knuckles (yum?) These particular ones I bought frozen from a local pet store and thawed out the day before giving to them. We have The Ginger again so she got in on the action! I was worried how the dogs would react with sharing but they did remarkably well. (In the beginning at least!)

 

 After awhile, they started to get possessive of the knuckles and started growling at each other if they looked at each other wrong. I learned from my trainer last year that this type of aggression, as long as it doesn't progress, is fine - they're telling the other dogs to back off of their food.

They did still share though and have been taking turns chewing on it.

The next night I bought some ox tails at the grocery store. In the picture below, Ares was chewing on a super tiny bit of tail and swallowed it whole! You can see his tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth while he worked it down.

I gave Ares another, really big piece and he and Luna spent a good 30 minutes chewing their bones. Ginger also ate hers whole immediately so I don't have any pictures of her eating her raw bone.

Ginger did a really good job of moping around while Ares and Luna gnawed on their bones. The reason she didn't get another one while Ares did is because dogs have trouble digesting bones on a kibble diet. I'm prepared if Ares gets an upset tummy because of the bones, but I'm not going to do that to a dog that isn't mine.

Eventually, Luna gave up completely on her bone. Her mouth was tired! Poor Ginger though, when Luna gave up, Ginger tried to get it to eat the rest and Luna went right back to it and took it from her! Luna did let Ares have it and I took it away from him. 

When they had dinner, I gave them a smaller portion than they would normally get to account for their appetizer. Also, as with their regular food and bones, I make sure that they will let me come up and take the food from them or their mouths. Ares has always let me, but Luna had to be taught. It's really important to make sure your dog isn't going to bite you if he has food! (We had a dog growing up that did that! And poor us as kids, thought it was great fun to play in Webster's food!)

Coming up next: adventures with green tripe. (Blegh!)

Picture dump

I'm totally slacking in the blog department, I know. Life is getting in the way of my pugs. Stupid life!
A quick update on them:
Ares is mange free! And if you remember my post on mange and my cousin's story about Otis, you'll be thrilled to know after a long battle, Otis is also mange free! Both dogs are on one more month of medicine and need another negative skin scrape but I think it's safe to celebrate now!
Luna keeps me on my toes! She's been so funny at the dog park lately - the other pug there, Nicky, likes eating the dirt from holes that other dogs have dug and Luna has decided all of the holes are hers. This results in him sniffing and her going over and flopping on her back in his hole, batting her paws in his face! They're tiny, shallow holes but she's definitely gotten stuck in one by wiggling too much!

pollen allergy part 2

Ever since Ginger visited the vet a week ago, I realized that Ares and Luna have been very sneeze-y and had a sudden increase in reverse sneezing. There was no doubt in my mind that they were suffering from mild pollen allergies. At the time, I knew that Ares had two weeks before he was going to go back to the vet for his mange recheck (which, by the way, he doesn't seem to have lost more hair but I haven't noticed the hair growing back so I'm curious as to what the vet will say), so I really wanted to wait until that visit to discuss allergy treatment options for Ares and Luna.

Benadryl is always an option for allergic reactions but never give animals medication without discussing it with your vet first. You don't want to give your dogs too much! (For reference, my vet said that in a pinch, Ares at 19 pounds can have one pill and Luna at 10 pounds can have half a pill.)

Unfortunately for Ares and Luna, as each day passed, they were sneezing and reverse sneezing more and more. By last night, I could hear the Ares' congestion as he was laying on me, breathing, and poor Luna would have reverse sneezing fits that would leave her literally gasping for air.

My amazing vet managed to get me in before I had to work today to see someone today to give them relief. It will take 24-48 hours for the medicine to work its magic on them but at least we've started the clock on it.

A quick note on reverse sneezing: 

it's mostly a squishy faced dog thing. One video I saw on YouTube said that it is a result of an allergic reaction to something (in Ares' and Luna's case, they were having respiratory problems from the pollen). There isn't really anything you can do to stop your dog from reverse sneezing but there are a couple of things that can help. One is to rub their throat and the other is to hold their nostrils closed. The idea behind these techniques is to make them swallow and calm down. I took a video this morning of Luna's reverse sneezing fit. She usually does it for quite awhile and like I said above, she is gasping for air when it is over. It's a scary thing to see but don't be worried if it happens.

monthly review: April BarkBox!

I think that this BarkBox is my favorite so far. In the letter I got with my product descriptions, the team at BarkBox stated that for our April showers, they wanted to make sure that our pups got fun indoor things to keep them occupied, which is great because my pups and I hate the rain! Ginger is visiting us again and this time, she has learned to join in our box opening fun!

Now first, about BarkBox: it's a company that sends you four or more products every month to try out with your pups. A portion of each months proceeds help doggies-in-need (a different cause every month). The price of the boxes range from $19-$29 a month, depending on the plan you choose (a 6 month subscription is $19 a month, a month to month subscription is $29 a month).

Only my boy is sweet enough to pose for pictures for his mama.

 Ginger and Luna were so excited to get the box open.

Their lovely haul. So many fun goodies to explore!

First things first: They got Licks liquid vitamin. Strangely enough, it's not on the sheet of goodies to explain what they are and why I should give them to my pups. Licks is a canine health supplement and treat. There are 3 super easy ways to administer the vitamins from these packets: 1) feed to dog directly from packet 2) pour over food and 3) pour into their water dish. The joint and heart formula we received is packed with Omega 3 fatty acids, vegetarian Glucosamine, and Vitamin E. They also have formulas for athletes (to maximize energy) and zen (to calm down anxiety-ridden pups). You can find them here.
If you remember, I got a couple of these in their Bugsy's Box back in January. I haven't used those and still haven't used these so I don't have an opinion on them. I am very intrigued by them and will probably add them to Ares and Luna's water dishes in the next few days to see how they react to it.

The next thing is my absolute favorite from the box: The grooming mitt. This is by ABO Gear. BarkBox says "The GroomMitt is handy for times when your pup could use a bath, but you don't feel like dragging sad puppies to the sink, or enduring a wrestling match in the tub (advantage: dog.) You stay dry, they stay happy and clean." They are sold for $6.99 and you can find them here.

I naturally had to pull one out to try it. They have the same cloth feel that baby wipes do but it's something that you can just stick your hand in. Ares and Luna were both pretty clean but it didn't stop me from wiping them down! The best parts about it: it smells yummy and it's amazing for cleaning those pesky pug wrinkles! I am a happy mama!

The lovely Etta Says also sent us a few things. BarkBox says "Etta says makes treats with the highest quality, USA sourced duck. They're all natural - no fillers, coloring, preservatives, grain, gluten, or by-products - and come enthusiastically recommended by our R&D team." The duck jerky retails for $9.50 and can be found here.

They got a crunchy duck chew which I haven't given to them yet because I'd rather that World War III didn't start in my apartment and they got duck jerky treats.

One piece easily broke apart for me to share among the three of them. They barely sat still for the pictures and they more or less inhaled them when I finally let them have their piece of jerky.

We also got a Barkworthies bone. BarkBox says "Nothing sates a four-legged chewer quite like a bone. These stuffed shins are filled with brown rice and ground bully sticks, which makes them doubly appetizing and entertaining - it takes skill to get all of the filling out!" They retail for about $6.50 and can be found here.
I thought Ares was going to go nuts, trying to get the bone before I was done taking pictures of it! Unfortunately, due to my dog's inability to share, they aren't getting it until I can get something comparable to keep everyone happy.

And finally, their toy. BarkBox says "Whether your best friend is a chewer, a retriever, or an avid tug-of-war enthusiast, this rope toy is made for all types of play. Best of all: you can partake in puppy playtime! Rough-housing pups, rejoice! It retails for about $7 and can be found here.

Ares usually LOVES ropes but tonight he happily let Ginger play with it by herself. This is the perfect toy to take to the dog park though - they'll have so much fun with it!

Want your own BarkBox? Clickity-click this link for $5 off your first subscription!

homemade jerky

I recently got re-obsessed with pinterest and have been looking up dog treat recipes on it. On Wednesday, I found a few recipes for different jerkies that seemed easy enough to do since I have a dehydrator and chicken in the fridge that I needed to use.
In a large bowl, I mixed 2 cups of water, 1/2 cup pure pumpkin puree, and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. I then cut the chicken breast into thin slices (and cut off all of the fat) and threw it in the bowl. Marinate for at least an hour - I'm lazy so I let it marinate in the fridge overnight.
Thursday morning, I put it on the dehydrator racks (cook at the temperature your dehyrator suggests!) and left it running while I ran errands. My chicken took about 8 hours to cook. I'm not a fan of jerky but it didn't taste bad to me and the dogs loved it!

When I was running errands while the dehydrator was doing its thing, I picked up some pre-sliced beef liver. Since it was already cut thin, I sliced it into smaller pieces and put that in the dehydrator when I took the chicken out.

This ran for 6 hours before I shut it off. This is what it looked like after 1 hour.

And when it was done.

I took it out and let each pup try a small piece of it before packing it up. They loved it. Luna loved it so much that when I tried to give her another piece, she bit my fingers that were holding the jerky until I let go which is something she's never done before! I think it's safe to say that she approves of this treat and I can't wait to experiment with different marinades and meats for jerky for them!

Bark for Life

I recently learned that the American Cancer Society has a fundraising event in my area every year called Bark for Life. It's $15 per dog to pre-register and there were different tables and such (raffles, shirts, and our local humane society was there, just to name a few) to visit. There was even a small petting zoo there! Of course, I had to take Ares and Luna there! My sister and @adotlane (Her instagram name) came with me. We had so much fun! Because the event was held the day before Easter, the Easter Bunny came to take pictures with the dogs. Ares and Luna took the most amazing picture!
There were also several contests that took place throughout the event. Poor Ares won the ugliest dog contest! Luckily, he won a frisbee, two bags of treats, and a squeaky fire hydrant toy so he's not at all sad about it. :)
Check your area to see if you have a local Bark for Life event. We had one in a small town and we're going to have one in our local big city so if I'm not working, I'll probably take Ares and Luna to that one as well - I'm sure there will be a lot more stuff to see and do at a bigger event versus our local one and all of the money goes to the American Cancer Society!

This is Ares with his "ugliest dog" prize.

Ares and Luna with the Easter Bunny!

Ares got to meet the baby ducks.

He also met a lamb!

Luna wanted to be best friends with the alpaca. The alpaca wanted to spit on her.

My sister with Luna.

 Ares, Luna, @adotlane, and I with the alpaca.

Luna in her Bark for Life bandana.

Ares and Luna meeting the pig named Blueberry.

My sister with the goat.

If you have a Bark for Life near you, GO GO GO! We had so much fun! I only wish that I had taken more pictures!