Review and Giveaway: Zuke's Supers are Super Great!

Rocco can't wait to sample Zuke's Supers in every flavor!

Rocco's about to jump out of his chair, because he's SUPER excited about today's review and giveaway! 

We've used Zuke's treat for training for ages, and I've always loved that they are nutritious, made in the USA and soft enough to break into even smaller pieces so we can give LOTS of treats!

And, my pups have found Zuke's to be super tasty too, providing plenty of motivation whether we are training for agility or just working on simple manners.

So when we heard about Zuke's new Supers dog treats we couldn't wait to try them.  Zuke's sent us all three flavors to try out:

• Super Betas - with betacarotene-rich veggies like pumpkin, carrot, sweet potato, butternut squash and apricot
• Super Greens - with antioxidant-rich greens like green beans, spinach, broccoli, peas and asparagus
• Super Berry - with antioxidant-rich berries like cranberry, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry and cherry

Rocco accidentally dives into a bowl of Supers meant for our photo shoot!

Wow! With ingredients like these, I should be snacking on Supers. They even smell good too! 

They are shaped like tiny Z's and are soft enough to break easily. Rocco's a small pup, and we train a lot and give LOTS of treats, so we were able to break each Z into six tiny pieces, making each one go even further!

Rocco reaches for a  Yummy Zuke's Super!

Not only are Zuke's tasty and nutritious, we like the Zuke's philosophy too. They say:

"Supers help your dog’s energy soar every day with the naturally powerful nutrients. Whether it’s an afternoon of high-flying jumps or running circles in the backyard – dogs need superfoods to keep them going. The special blend of superfood berries, betas and greens, and low-gluten oats, along with a delicious taste make all the difference. So live a healthy lifestyle, get plenty of outdoor play, and feed Supers every day."

Rocco dances for Zuke's!

Rocco would agree with feeding Zuke's Supers every day!

All the Supers are also low in gluten with superfood oats and never any wheat, corn or soy.

Zuke's also supports a cause dear to our hearts, donating a portion of every sale to the Dog and Cat Cancer Fund, so that needy families can get treatment for their cats and dogs suffering from cancer.

Now for the good stuff....

Rocco loves giveaways! Win Supers in all three flavors! Dog not included.

Enter to win Zuke's Supers in Berry, Betas and Greens

That's three packages of Zuke's to one winner! The giveaway is open to U.S. residents over the age of 18 only. The winner will receive one bag of each flavor of the Supers.  Enter via Rafflecopter below for a chance to win. Giveaway open until July 2 at 12 a.m. ET.

Good Luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: Zuke's provided the Supers for us to try and giveaway. All opinions expressed herein are entirely our own.

 For more taste treat adventures, join our pals at the Tasty Tuesday Blog Hop hosted by Kols Notes and Sugar the Golden Retriever.

How Crate Games Can Make Your Dog a Great Dog

Rocco waits patiently in his crate, exactly what he should be doing
in Stages One and Two of Crate Games

It's another FitDog Friday and K9 Kamp doubleheader, so why is Rocco sitting inside in his crate when his pals are outside in the sunshine?

Well, first of all it's 90 degrees in Atlanta and it can get pretty miserable when you have a permanent fur coat.

And second, we're taking advantage of the nice air-conditioning while we're playing crate games, specifically Susan Garrett's Crate Games for self-control and motivation. This was the activity that we signed up for at K9 Kamp, brought to you by Kamp counselors Peggy at Peggy's Pet Place and Jodi at Kol's Notes.

We chose crate games as our activity because it promises great foundation training for the agility we want to do -- encouraging things like control and enthusiasm. Crate Games also offers a variety of benefits for any dog, like training behaviors that can be really important for your dog's safety such as teaching him to wait patiently at the door without bolting out and allowing you to grab his collar quickly whenever you might need to.

Skills learned in crate games can also translate to:

• Making your dog a more welcome guest
• Building a great relationship with your dog
• Getting your dog comfortable in any crate or carrier, including an airline carrying bag
• Adding an element of safety when unloading your dog from a crate in a car
• Decreased stress when you have to leave your dog

This week, we watched the Crate Games DVD again and practiced the first three stages:

• Stage One: I Love My Crate -- this is where Rocco learned to sit patiently in his crate -- even when I kept opening and closing the door -- while treats fell from the sky were fed by my hand high and in the back of the crate. Stage One conditions your dog to love his crate.
• Stage Two: Are You a Gambler -- this is where Rocco learned to choose to stay in his crate even while I left the door open and provided distractions like picking up his leash and attaching it to his collar. Stage Two helps your dog learn more control and starts teaching useful skills like being patient while you attach their leash. 
• Stage Three: Yer Out Yer Out and the Collar Grab Game -- this is where Rocco learned to enthusiastically fly back into the crate after being released. He also learned to allow me to grab his collar, something that can come in quite handy in an emergency. Stage Three is all about building enthusiasm for the game. 

We shot a couple of short videos to show you Rocco's progress. However, since these games really take two hands I'm going to need to get a tripod or a camera man to help me next time! I think you'll at least get a good idea though!

Here Rocco shows his skill at staying in the crate, even when he hears the door unlatch. He also waits patiently with the door open. At this point, we had trained Stage One and were progressing to Stage Two.

Good boy Rocco!

In this next video, we've progressed to Stage Three. I release Rocco from his crate and then grab his collar (it looks like a hunk of fur, but I really did have his collar!). And then watch Rocco dive back into the crate!

You'll notice I haven't named any of these behaviors yet or actually told Rocco to go to his crate. That's because he's still learning and we want to make sure he's perfected these skills before naming them. Otherwise, he might associate the name with some early mistakes made and carry those into the more advances stages of the game.

In her DVD, Susan Garrett says you might perfect Stages One and Two in an hour, but that you should stay at Stage Three for quite some time -- anywhere from a week to about a month. Since we've barely put in more than an hour at this point, we still have plenty of work to do before progressing to Stage Four.

This week, we'll work on building more enthusiasm for flying in and out of the crate. When we're ready, we'll move to Stage Four where we'll start naming behaviors and learning more advanced skills like adding distance and distractions.


Today also is FitDog Friday, the weekly Blog Hop brought to you by To Dog With Love, SlimDoggy and Peggy's Pet Place to promote a healthy active lifestyle for pets (and their people, too!) and to help combat pet obesity. Join in every Friday by linking up your FitDog story or visiting the blogs in the Hop.

Wordless Wednesday: Pool Time

Rocco beats the heat with some pool time last weekend!





Review and Giveaway: New Orijen Freeze Dried Dog Treats from Chewy.com

Rocco and I recently discovered Orijen's new freeze dried dog treats, so when Chewy.com offered us some to review and giveaway, we jumped at the chance! Read all the way down to learn how you can win some of your very own!

Orijen dog food has been in our feeding rotation for years. We found the 6 fish formula to be perfect for a pup with allergies and Rocco enjoys the regional poultry, fish and whole eggs formula too. 

The Chewy.com pup knows how
to enjoy a treat!

Now, Orijen had a selection of freeze dried treats made with 100 percent fresh regional meat, poultry or fish, prepared in their own freeze-dry kitchens without cooking or preservatives. We think that's pretty cool.

Recently, we picked up a pack of the Tundra -- made with venison, elk, quail and steelhead trout --  and Rocco loved them. Who wouldn't!  So when Chewy.com offered up another flavor we chose the Free Range Bison, made with the triple-crown of bison delights -- bison liver, boneless bison and bison tripe.

Rocco says these treats are lip-smacking delicious!

Did Rocco love the Free Range Bison as much as the Tundra? See for yourself!

Each treat is a bit on the large size, but the Bison treats have only seven calories each and are super easy to pinch off into much smaller pieces, making them a great option for training.

The Bison treats pass the sniff test

The entire line of Orijen freeze dried treats are available at Chewy.com for the current sale price of $6.49 for a two ounce bag... that's a full $2 less than we paid for them at our local store. Stock up on them and other goodies and you can take advantage of free 1-2 day shipping on orders over $49!

Win some Orijen Freeze Dried Treats for Your Pup!

Enter via Rafflecopter below to win a pack of Orijen Freeze Dried Treats in the flavor of your choice from Chewy.com. Entries open to continental U.S. only. Giveaway is open until June 25 at 12 a.m. ET. 

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: Chewy.com provided Orijen Freeze Dried Treats for review and giveaway. All opinions expressed herein are entirely our own.

 For more taste treat adventures, join our pals at the Tasty Tuesday Blog Hop hosted by Kols Notes and Sugar the Golden Retriever.

FitDog Friday: Our K9 Camp Agility Challenge

 In another special addition of FitDog Friday AND K9 Kamp, today's the day we update you on our Kamp activities for the past week AND fess up if we've been sticking to our goals!

In case you missed it, last week, our K9 Kamp counselors Peggy at Peggy's Pet Place and Jodi at Kol's Notes, issued our camp challenge for the next three weeks:

Get active with your dog, 30 minutes extra, 3 or 4 times a week

We took it one step further by choosing a specific activity that we'd enjoy -- working on our agility foundation skills. We ordered the DVD "Crate Games" by Susan Garrett and it came this week! So here's what we've done so far:

• Watched nearly all of the 90 minute video
• Told our agility instructor we ordered the video (at her suggestion)
• Yup, that's about it

That might not sound like much, but before we actually start training, the foundation work to prepare FOR the foundation work is even more important. REALLY! We're not just procrastinating. 

Here's why it's so important:

• You want to be clear on your criteria -- or exactly what behavior you want -- before you start training, OR
• You might inadvertently train a behavior you're not looking for (because you rewarded the wrong thing at the wrong time)

So since I'm trying really hard not to break Rocco before I start, our agility instructor suggested these brilliant tips -- watch the DVD three times and then use a stuffed animal and practice on it first! BRILLIANT! 

So this week, I'll watch and re-watch the DVD, practice by putting a stuffy (not Rocco) in a crate, and then once I get really clear on the timing and behaviors I want to reward, Rocco gets to start playing crate games!

In the meantime, however, it's not like we've been sitting around eating bonbons! We've taken plenty of long walks, attended agility class AND yesterday received our new Kyjen Agility Kit from Petco! 

Rocco tries out his new Kyjen Agility Tunnel. Wheeeee!

Head over to yesterday's post and you can find out how to win one for yourself and pick up a few more  fitness tips!

My top dog!... Rocco wears the 1st place ribbon from the Kyjen Agility Kit!

Today also is FitDog Friday, the weekly Blog Hop brought to you by To Dog With Love, SlimDoggy and Peggy's Pet Place to promote a healthy active lifestyle for pets (and their people, too!) and to help combat pet obesity. Join in every Friday by linking up your FitDog story or visiting the blogs in the Hop.

Why Your Dog is Your Best Workout Partner #Agility #Giveaway

Last week we got the chance to chat with celebrity fitness trainer Gunnar Peterson, an animal lover and Beverly Hills-based personal trainer who helps his clients look and feel great! While Gunnar's clients typically are of the two-legged variety, he shared some great tips with us on ways to work out with your pup!

Learn about Gunnar's tips in the video below and then be sure to read all the way down for a fantastic fitness giveaway that both you and your pet are sure to love!

To help you get both your and your pup's fitness goals on track, we have a great giveaway today courtesy of Petco. 

You may already know how much we love training for and competing in agility and so we've been eyeing the Kyjen Agility Kit for quite some time. We got our agility kit this week and now you have the chance to win your own via our Rafflecopter giveaway below!

Rocco gives the Kyjen tunnel a try. I think he loves it!   

The kit comes with six weave poles, a jump, an open tunnel and a pause box. They're a little different from regulation agility obstacles, but they are perfect for playing with your pup and seeing if they like the sport of agility. 

You'll also get a lot of extras in the kit to help make the game even more fun, including a start/finish line, stop watch, award ribbons, instructions, game rules and stakes for securing obstacles into the ground. All you need to add is a grassy area and a willing pup and human!

Our neighbor pups all seem to want to try agility, so now we can have an agility play day in our own backyard! 

Enter to win a Kyjen Agility Kit

Enter via Rafflecopter below to win a Kyjen Agility Kit from Petco.  Giveaway is open until June 20 at 12 a.m. ET. U.S. only.

And, don't forget to come by and visit us at the FitDog Friday and K9 Kamp Blog Hop tomorrow!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: Petco provided the interview with Gunnar Peterson and Kyjen Agility Kits to review and give away.  Our opinions expressed herein are entirely our own.

Wordless Wednesday: Have a Coke and a Smile!

Rocco Havanese, like Coca-Cola, is delicious and refreshing 

In addition to reminding us to pause and refresh, this sign also motivated Rocco and me to bring you these trivia questions today!

• In what year was the slogan "Have a Coke and a Smile" introduced?
• In what year did young people from all over the world gather on a hilltop to appear in a commercial to sing "I'd like to bring the world a Coke"?
• Extra credit! Where was the hilltop?