monthly review: February BarkBox!

We got our first BarkBox today! They were SOOOO excited to open the box as evidenced by this video:

They completely failed at opening the box themselves but Luna was convinced that she could eat her way into the box!

Here's their haul. I'm thrilled with everything!

 The BarkBoxes come with a sheet that explain all of the products that come inside each months box.

The first item I gave them was the Aussie Naturals. BarkBox describes it as "Durable and eco-conscious, our friends at Aussie Naturals craft tough toys with jute, wool, cotton, coconut fiber, and natural gum rubber. They may have a more extensive R&D team than BarkBox: all toys are tested with Atlanta rescue dogs! If I had opposable paws, I'd give them two thumbs up."
We got the large dolphin which retails for $12.99. You can get your own dolphin here. These have water bottles inside them for squishy fun!

Ares and Luna are fans of their dolphin!

They also received two different types of treats from Wet Noses. BarkBox says "The Wet Noses company hails from the Pacific Northwest: Washington, to be exact! Delightful and scrumptious, their treats are free of corn, wheat, and soy. Did we mention they're organic? What's not to love?!"
They're $7.95 each and can be found here. We got Carob & Mint flavor and Dogranola. I've only opened the Carob & Mint one but they're a fan. I'm worried about giving Luna the Dogranola one though - she's always had peanut butter when we give her plain peanut butter and I'm scared she'll get it from eating a treat with peanut butter in it. I'll probably try it on a day I don't have to work, just in case. I would love if she could try them!

The next thing I saw was the N-Bone. BarkBox says "I like chewing, and I hate when humans complain about doggy breath. Dental chews kill two birds with one stone (or in puppy-speak, two chew toys with one set of teeth). Good breath and a pair of shoes left untouched? Everybody wins."
Luna and Ares haven't tried them yet but they love things like this so I'm really excited! They're about $6 and you can read more about them and find an online retailer here.

Ares and Luna were DYING for their treats. You know they want something when they're being good dogs!

The last product that they got is a Jolly Pets Monster Ball. BarkBox says "Not much can keep me away from a toy stuffed with treats, but the look of this Monster Ball has me reconsidering...sort of. It's too fun of a treat toy to stay scared for long! I still think his goatee looks funny. May I suggest that he find a better groomer?"
They're about $6.50 and can be found here.

I immediately put in some of Ares and Luna's bacon treats and let them have it! nomnomnom!

Luna is a huge huge huge fan and wouldn't let Ares have it!

Last but not least, we got a wag.com coupon (not pictured). BarkBox says "Hate hauling pet food home, humans? Our friends at Wag.com now feature overnight shipping so you can spend the evening doing something productive (Here's a hint: belly. Here's another hint: rub.) Visit their site with the included coupon for $10 off!" Go to wag.com

The dogs love their stuff and I love the price (and the descriptions of the products)! BarkBoxes start at $29 a month and go down to as low as $18 a month, depending on the subscription that you sign up for. The toys and such are based on the size of your dog - you can select small, medium, or large. We signed up for the medium sized box only because Ares and Luna tend to gravitate towards the larger toys. The monster ball, luckily, is made for small/medium dogs. No matter how much you pay a month, you can't beat the deal you get - we got just over $40 worth of toys treats not including the wag.com coupon!


Want to try your own bark box? Use this link to get $5 off of your BarkBox order: You know you want a BarkBox!

dreaded vet visits

The first year with Ares has been a roller coaster of vet visits. I've been an overly anxious, overly cautious mom and he's had a couple of mishaps (accidentally getting kicked by a 12 year old who was playing tag with her brother and eating about 10 vitamins one night). He's fine and we've learned from our mistakes but each visit made him more and more apprehensive at the vet. He was great in the beginning and loved going but after getting a couple of fecal samples taken, going into the exam room made him cower and tuck his tail in between his legs.
I've actually worked really hard to keep the dogs from being afraid of the vet and I think I've succeeded because I try really hard to make it a positive experience. The biggest positive is that they LOVE car rides. They share the passenger seat in my car and sleep while I drive.
The other thing that I've done, mostly for Ares, is that I take him whenever Luna has to go. He gets to come and hang out with us and it's purely love and hugs for him from everyone. The first time at the vet for Luna's wellness check, he actually jumped up on the exam table and refused to get down! He waited calmly for his turn to get pets and hugs from the vet and left a happy little man.

It's a mute point now that I'm going every month right now for Luna, but I also get Ares' heart worm medication in 3 month supplies. He comes with me every time I pick up his medication even though we don't normally even weigh him (unless I request it). This will continue in the future because Luna won't be able to get huge supplies right now as she's still a growing puppy and they'll both continue coming with me as I pick up their medication.
I do this so they don't associate the vet as always being poked and prodded and being made to feel uncomfortable. I want them to continue to enjoy the vet so none of us dread the visits. It helps A LOT. (It may also help because there's a pet store nearby so we usually stop after we're done with the vet visit!)

Does anyone else have any tips for happy vet visits?

let's talk about poop

Everyone knows that pugs are notoriously hard to housebreak. I had Ares for 3 days before he pooped outside ONCE. (If anyone else has that problem, the vet recommends moving some of their poop if possible outside to help them learn.) Luckily for me, although I didn't realize it at the time, it was much easier for me to take him outside because I got him in early spring and the weather was nice. I also got really quick at throwing clothes on to run outside with him. I live in a small studio above garage apartment and kept him in a puppy play pen so that I could easily see accidents. With treats every time he went potty outside, it only took a few months for him to stop peeing in the house.
He does have a vicious streak though. He's so attached to me that when I went on a cruise a few months after getting him, he was very upset. He would look at me while squatting to pee in the house. We went back to the basics and the problem didn't take very long to resolve.
Luna is a pee monster. She likes to pee ON things. She'll pee on my laptop bag, on my bed in the middle of the day, on my bathroom rugs, on my clothes, etc. If it's on the ground, it's going to get peed on. She's stopped it. Kind of. But she's still nowhere near housebroken. It's not entirely her fault though. I've gotten lazy. I don't like going out in the cold. It's hard to take them both out in the dark. I have so many excuses!
And now Ares is joining in the fun by regularly pooping inside! He just wakes up in the middle of the night and decides he has to poop.
As much as I love Ares and Luna and I adore the fact that they're so close in age (9 months apart), it was a horrible idea to get a puppy right when I got one dog house broken! I only started the vicious house breaking cycle all over again! All I can think of is that it's a good thing they're so darn cute and lovable or else I would have lost my mind by now!

We have to get out of our rut. I have reevaluated the situation and my goal is to get a ribbon and bells this week and train the dogs to let me know when they have to go out (currently, they have no cues). I am also going to stick with giving them treats to potty. I will not have dogs that pee and poop in the house when they are perfectly capable of 1) holding their bowels and 2) learning to go outside. They have no excuses! And now, neither do I.

Pug Meet Up

It's not a secret that I absolutely love taking the dogs to the dog park. Lately, I've been trying to branch out though so that they can go to different parks and see different dogs. One of the things I've been attempting is to take them to the pug meet ups in our area. Someone picks a different dog park every month and everyone takes their pugs to play together on the first Saturday of every month. Ares and Luna usually play with really big dogs at our normal park so it's great to see them play with "their own kind" and to meet and talk to all of the other pug lovers in my area. One guy comes every month with his 5(!) pugs.
I like to take a lot of pictures of all of the pugs interacting. They love going from person to person for lots of love and Ares gets to taunt so many dogs into chasing him around the park! Luna spent most of her time eating mulch and greeting people.
Here's a really cute video of Ares and Luna playing with some other pugs. Ares is wearing the blue collar and Luna is wearing a pink collar.

And an obligatory picture dump:

 

 

bacon bark sticks

My dogs eat a fair amount of treats a day so the basic treats lasted just longer than a week. I decided for the next batch, I would try Bacon Bark Sticks (it's not my recipe so please click the link to get it!) They were super easy to make and an absolute hit with the dogs. I was vegetarian for years and I'm not a big fan of meat, so I don't even make bacon in my house (blasphemy to some people, I know). Anything for my dogs though. If you're like me, then the measurements for the recipe are a tad confusing so I'll help you out - 1/4 cup of crumbled bacon is roughly 4 slices of bacon and 4 tablespoon of bacon fat is just under 1/4 cup.
Instead of rolling out the dough and cutting it with a pizza cutter like the recipe states, I went crazy with cookie cutters so that I have a lot of tiny treats instead of 24 "sticks."  I will definitely be making these on a regular basis.

monthly review - Bugsy's Box

Hi, my name is Jes and I'm addicted to fab.com. For real though. I love their pet Thursday's because they have so many fun, cute things I wouldn't necessarily find around me. And it's all on sale!
In December, fab offered a coupon to Bugsy's Box for $14 instead of it's usual ~$30. This is a company that was formed over a pug owner's love of his dog, Bugsy.
I've heard about Bark Box but never Bugsy's Box but for that cheap, I might as well try it. So I bought it and immediately signed up for one month so Ares and Luna would be getting their first box at the beginning of January.

I want to go over my experience before I bring in Ares and Luna's reaction to what they got.
The box was (and still is) advertised as going out on the first of every month. I received an email on January 6th, asking me to confirm the size of my dog to ensure they receive the right box.  I immediately responded and on the 10th, I received an email that my box was on its way to us. I should have received it in 3 business days. And I did - because they didn't actually mail it out (according to my tracking information) until January 15. Yes, folks, I got my 1st of the month box on January 18. I was not a happy pug mama. And according to the facebook page, I wasn't the only one.
My other issue with them is that you can only cancel your monthly subscription (and yes, signing up for one box means they will automatically renew you every month) is via email. It makes me nervous that there is more room for error this way but time will tell.

I did contact them prior to January 18th and was told that they are a new company who didn't expect this much popularity. Because of the quickness to respond, I'm inclinded to forgive them. But they're not getting my money anytime soon.

Now onto the dogs' thoughts!

They got a lot of fun stuff.

1) Safemade Newt Chew Toy

It's made of food grade silicone, tastes like chicken, and is dishwasher safe (for cleaning). Luna grabbed the newt, package and all, immediately when I opened the box. Ares got ahold of it out of the package and while they both obviously love it, I threw it away within minutes. The newt is only made for light chewers. Light chewing has never been in Ares or Luna's vocabulary and Ares immediately ripped off the newts foot and tried to eat it. Not good. Major thumbs down.

2) Pupchips

I got 3 small bags in the different flavors. I guess they're meant to give to the dogs as snacks but I spaced it out and gave it to then like regular treats. And they don't have preservatives in them (my favorite quality!). Ares and Luna loved them! 

3) Licks Liquid Vitamins

This is a small packet of a blend of all natural vitamins. You can mix it with water or in their food and they supposedly find it yummy. I have no opinion on this because they haven't gotten it yet.

4) Raw Bistro Stix

These are made from grass-fed beef liver and flaxseed. They are made from animals raised in the States without antibiotics, hormones, or grains. The flaxseed benefits the heart, skin, and coat. Again, we haven't tried it yet but I am very excited for these!

5) Whole Life Pure Beef

These are freeze dried beef. They are protein based, low fat, low calorie, and low carb. You can give it to them as is, or put it in warm water to give it a meatier texture. Ares and Luna are HUGE fans.

6) Barkworthies Bully Stick

Bully sticks = very happy puppies. This was made from 100% USA beef. Bully sticks are fully digestible, high in protein, and low in fat. The chewing promotes healthy teeth and gums. I'll keep everyone who doesn't already know blissfully unaware of what exactly a bully stick is. They're kind of pricey to buy which Ares and Luna never had one before but they thought it was the best thing ever and shared it until it was gone.

Overall, the dogs loved the products although they couldn't have the toy. I wasn't too thrilled with the company which is why I cancelled my subscription.
I have officially switched to the Bark Box and will post reviews of them once a month when they start coming to me in mid-February.
If you're interested in trying a Bark Box, follow this link to get $5 off of your first month: clicky-clicky

buster bone

I stopped by a small shop in town today for lunch and browsed quickly through the pet section. In it, I discovered what is quite possibly the best thing ever - Buster Bones.
According to the label, these are country cured ham bones with meat. And they are very meaty. They are cured with salt, white sugar, brown sugar, sodium nitrate, pepper, and sodium nitrite.
Ares and Luna have been outside for an hour working on their bones and they're nowhere near done (the natural oils in the ham may stain carpets. It's best to give it to them outside). But let me tell you, these dogs are in LOVE. I'm also in love because when I was done with the dogs chewing on them, I bagged them up to bring back inside (I have to worry about wild animals here) and I suspect that they have another few hours chewing on the bones, depending on how long it takes them to break them apart. Luna would take hours upon hours if Ares hadn't switched bones with her after he ate most of the meat off of his.
The greatest part is chewing the bones will help keep their teeth clean!

Here's a video of my monkeys chewing on their bones. Lots of snuffling and a bit of growling going on. (YouTube and blogger currently hate me. A longer, cuter video is on my YouTube channel - twospoiledpugs)

You can buy these bones online at www.smithfieldmarketplace.com but they're $25 for 3 bones. I got 2 in town for $8.40. If you would like me to mail you some, email me at ares.the.pug@gmail.com with Buster Bones in the subject (so I don't think it's spam!) and we can work something out (actual price +shipping).