Fido + Fluffy's #FreebieFriday Shops Chicago

Rocco shops in the Old Town district on Wells Street in Chicago

Last weekend we were in Chicago for Thanksgiving, and while the weather was pretty dreary, we still  fit in some good urban walks.

One day we headed down to Old Town to escape the Michigan Ave., crowds and on another rainy day we met up with Dolly the Doxie and her mom at Nordstrom on Michigan Ave.

Rocco and his pal Dolly the Doxie shopped Nordstrom shoes on Michigan Ave.

Nordstrom is located in the dog-friendly Shops at North Bridge so we were able to walk the mall and get a bit of exercise even though it was raining outside.  

Rocco found a nice pillow puff to hang out on in the towel department

Now, it's time again for  Fido + Fluffy's  Freebie Friday, the weekly blog hop for pet-related giveaways!

Check out the goodies in the Fido's Freebie Friday giveaways listed below. You can enter them all or add your own! We make it easy by linking them up all in one place.
If you're a blogger with a pet-related giveaway, be sure to link up! Please link directly to your giveaway, not to your home page. We post a new blog hop every Thursday afternoon at 4 pm ET. 
We hope you enjoy the Fido + Fluffy's Freebie Friday blog hop that we co-host with DogTipper and CatTipper!

Good luck!

Individual rules of entry and guidelines for winning may apply to each listing. DogTipper, CatTipper and To Dog With Love take no responsibility for the legality of the rules governing the listings on other sites and giveaways that are posted here. We simply provide this forum as a gathering place for pet products to be offered. Fulfillment of each giveaway is done by the blog conducting the giveaway, not by the hosts of this giveaway hop; please contact the giveaway host with any questions regarding a giveaway or giveaway prize.

Chicago Dog Walk to Oz Park

Last weekend we were visiting family in Chicago and we always like to meet up with our Chicago dog pals while we're there.

We also love traveling to Chicago because it's a great walking city and Rocco and I love our morning walks along the lakefront.

This time we took a different route to meet up with our pals Sugar the Golden Retriever and Dolly the Doxie. 

We planned to meet up at Oz Park, a lovely little city park with a Wizard of Oz theme. Even though the park is fairly close to Lincoln Park, my usual place to walk in Chicago, I had never been there.

And, since it was the weekend of the annual Chicago Air and Water Show (with loads of people and traffic), we knew we'd have to walk there, because driving from my mom's location is out of the question.

The bird's eye view of the air show from my mom's place

It's only a 1.5 mile walk to Oz Park, but still long enough to work up an appetite! We enjoyed watching the air show along the way and cutting through a few neighborhoods we don't typically walk though. We also had the added incentive of meeting up for brunch after our Oz Park walk!

Behind the scenes of our photo shoot at the Dorothy and Toto statue with Sugar, Rocco and Dolly

Rocco's close-up with Toto and the ruby slippers!

Next, the pups posed with the Cowardly Lion!

We took a nice walk around the park and then headed to Chez Moi for brunch. Yum!

Sugar visited with Rocco on our side of the table and Dolly was on the other side. We had a great brunch and visit! Rocco wore a purple hair band in honor of Sugar's purple shoes. Heehee!

We love finding new places to walk AND meet up with pals along the way. It's the best combination! Have you found a new place to walk recently?

The fun and games continue every Friday with FitDog Friday, the weekly Blog Hop brought to you by To Dog With Love, SlimDoggy and My GBGV Life to promote a healthy active lifestyle for pets (and their people, too!). Join in every Friday by linking up your FitDog story or visiting the blogs in the Hop.

Beneful Play Date at Chicago's Grant Park with Arden Moore

Rocco walks in like he owns the place and then practices his jumping
skills. Uh oh, he may have photo bombed a pic or two! 

Last Wednesday while we were visiting Chicago we had the chance to attend the Beneful Play Date Tour at Grant Park, a super fun event that Rocco enjoyed along with his pal Sugar the Golden Retriever!

Designed to inspire more play, the tour is visiting eight parks across the country to celebrate the special relationships people share with their four-legged buddies. At the Chicago tour stop, pet expert Arden Moore also made an appearance and we had the chance to chat with her about the importance of play!

In addition to Chicago, events have already been held in New York Ciy, Nashville and Kansas City. But if you're in Denver (8/21), Los Angeles (8/26), Austin (8/31) or San Antonio (9/1) you can still check out the fun and track the tour at Beneful Play Date on Facebook.

Rocco and I had a blast, but then Rocco doesn't need a whole lot of encouragement to get out and have some fun! 

In addition to checking out the agility equipment, water misters, and a photo booth, Rocco and his pal Sugar participated in some of the special activities like the Toss and Fetch game, Spoon Race obstacle course and Squeaky Toy Pit with hidden treats! 

Check out Sugar's blog to see how much fun he had with the activities, all inspired by childhood games and designed for dogs and owners to play together.

Sugar and Rocco first headed to the pit filled with squeaky tennis balls and hidden treats! Rocco caught on quickly, sniffing out the treats and gobbling them up fast as he could! 

Next, Rocco headed over to the obstacle course where he showed off some of the agility skills he's learning.

Then, there were some dogs that were just plain showing off, all in good fun, of course! Look at these mad ball catching skills.

We took a short break to chat with Arden Moore about the benefits of play for both dogs and owners. Take a look...

Arden is the creator of Four Legged Life and host of the popular show "Oh Behave!" on Pet Life Radio.  She was terrific with all the pups and interviewed us for her radio show!

All the pups had so much fun and their humans learned more about the 4th Annual Beneful Dream Dog Park Contest. The contest awards a $500,000 renovation of a dog park in the Grand Prize Winner's area and the winner will receive $10,000 cash and a one year supply of Beneful brand dry dog food. If you're thinking of entering, don't wait too long. Entries close Sept. 17.  More details on how to enter, here!

Now, go out and play! It's good for you!

FitDog Friday: Traveling Edition

Today 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 or visiting the blogs in the Hop. And be sure to comment and you'll be entered into a giveaway for great FitDog prizes!

Rocco chills out in his travel bag at home

We encourage you to join our Blog Hop by sharing your own FitDog adventures every Friday. And we want you to know it can be as simple as a photo, a quick tip or just some type of activity you like to do with your dog.  Then link up your posts to our Blog Hop below to share the inspiration! 

Our post today is about the adventure we're looking forward to this weekend as we head to Chicago for Mother's Day and  Rocco's first trip on an airplane!

Rocco has been preparing for this trip since he was a young pup... not too long ago! ... by getting comfortable with his travel bag and learning good manners!

While we're in Chicago I'm hoping to introduce Rocco to the beautiful walks along the lakefront and through Lincoln Park that Cosmo and I enjoyed so much.

Looking north at Lincoln Park and the Lake Michigan lakefront

A windy day at Oak Street Beach last year

Cosmo seems to be meditating during a peaceful Sunday morning near North Avenue Beach last year

We hope to see some of our bloggie pals in Chicago too! Stay tuned for more fun and adventure!

FitDog Friday Giveaways and Blog Hop

For a chance to be entered into our weekly FitDog Friday giveaway, link your FitDog Friday post to our Blog Hop or just leave a comment on one or all of our co-hosts posts -- SlimDoggy, Peggy's Pet Place and To Dog With Love!

Each comment (one each per co-host post) and each Blog Hop link counts as one entry, so you have many chances to win! (Winners will be chosen at random.)

This week's prizes are:

1. A cool waste bag dispenser with refill rolls for dogs on the go and a colorful pet bandana from Pruven by 3M
2. Dieting with My Dog bookmark & magnet
3. SlimDoggy food scoop

Grab a badge from our sidebar and come on and join the FitDog Friday Blog Hop!

Chicago Canine Cruise

Last week we had a great adventure to Chicago and traveling through Wisconsin and Michigan. And one of our favorite outings was the Canine Cruise from the Mercury Chicago Skyline Cruiseline. If you live in the Chicago area or you're passing through with your dog, we highly recommend taking a trip on this 90-minute river and lake cruise.

Cosmo and I enjoyed the breeze during the portion of the cruise that heads out onto Lake Michigan

From July 8 until September 30, 2012, the Canine Cruise departs every Sunday at 10 a.m.  from the Southeast corner of the Michigan Avenue bridge at Wacker Dr.

The boats depart on the south side of the Chicago River

Once humans and canines board the boat, it heads down the Chicago River past the Wrigley Building, the Merchandise Mart, the Civic Opera house and on to the Sears Tower.

A narrator/tour guide provides lots of interesting history about  the buildings and Chicago architecture.

Cosmo makes new friends with a Boston Terrier and his humans. I think he's really looking for snacks

Along the way, there's also plenty of time to make new friends!

And take in the smells as well as the sights!

Then the boat heads out through the locks to Lake Michigan for a spectacular view of the city.

The dogs seem to thoroughly enjoy the ride. This was our second time on the cruise and we were surprised there were only four dogs on this particular tour and lots more humans.

Cosmo doesn't mind getting a little extra attention from the humans on board!

When we met Steve Dale a few years back, we learned he had a hand in launching the Chicago Canine  Cruise on his WGN Radio Show.  We may need to make this a yearly tradition, and hopefully next year there will be even more dogs on board!

Anchor's aweigh!

Wordless Wednesday: Cosmo Havanese in Animal Print and Tangerine

Always a stylish doggie, Cosmo takes a break from shopping at Neiman Marcus in Chicago last weekend.

Wordless Wednesday: D & G Doggie!

Feel free to add your own captions!