How To Put Your Pet Photo Addiction To Good Use! #petdaysapp

I am addicted to taking photos of my dog.

There. I've said it. Out loud.

If you have a similar affliction, here's the perfect solution for you! There's a new app in town called PetDays, and it makes you feel GOOD about your pet photo-taking obsession.

In fact, it will even give you prompts to encourage and remind you (as if you NEED reminding!) to take a photo of your little darling doing something adorable, or mischievous or super smart!

This way you'll never EVER miss an adorable moment again! We love that!

Here's how it works

First, you'll need to download the PetDays app from the iTunes store. It's absolutely free and available on iPhone and iPod Touch, iOS 8 and higher.

Once downloaded, you'll start receiving fun prompts directly to your mobile device. The PetDays team created more than 300 prompts to help inspire you to capture all those adorable pet moments that you'll want to remember forever.

You might get a prompt like this one...

Then you can take a photo or choose one from your library. Or, you can explore the entire PetDays library of prompts, use the ones that inspire you most and share your creations in the built-in PetDays social feed. 

I started by customizing Rocco's page with his photo, and then I took a look through some of the fun categories of prompts.

For example, under Events I found a variety of Travel prompts like "Postcard Perfect!" and "Pet Tourist" and under Everyday I found fun prompts for pets both at home and out and about like "Cute Chaos" and "Favorite Stop". Take a look at some of the fun photos we created and saved to the PetDays feed.

The messages on the photo are all part of the app. So it makes it super easy to make your cute photos even more adorable!

You can also save your photos directly to your phone so you can post them on your social sites like Twitter and Facebook and share them with your friends.  Those photos will look something like this!

It's so fun, you won't want to stop! You can also use your PetDays photos to create personalized books, magnets and more right in the PetDays app.

Want to know more? Take a look at this quick video, and then download the PetDays app and start having your own PetDays fun!

Learn more about PetDays:

• Download on iTunes
• Follow on Facebook
• Follow on Twitter
• Follow on Instagram
• Check out the PetDays App Blog -- Submit your own pethood story and photo and your pet may be featured! 
• Find out more on the PetDays website

This post is sponsored by PetDays. As always, we only share products that we use and believe in! All statements and opinions are entirely my own.

Tricks for Treats with #NaturalBalance

This post is sponsored by Natural Balance® Pet Foods. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about Natural Balance treats, but To Dog With Love only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Natural Balance is not responsible for the content of this article.

Rocco is a dog who undeniably LOVES his treats and chews. If he could fill up his shopping cart with tasty treats, you can bet it would overflow!

So when we heard that Natural Balance had some new tasty and nutritious treats in its lineup, Rocco couldn’t wait to try them!

Rocco loves to do tricks for his treats, and since he does them A LOT, we like to use tiny treats so he can get plenty of them! Natural Balance’s Mini-Rewards seemed like a great choice for Rocco, and he couldn’t wait to get at them!

Rocco waits for his Mini-Rewards... and then THIS happened!

We tried the Mini-Rewards Chicken formula, made with high-quality chicken as the first ingredient. At less than five calories per treat, Rocco can do lots of tricks for lots of treats.
Better yet, these treats are soft and super easy to break into even smaller pieces. I was able to break each treat into four smaller pieces for even more treat fun!

Rocco LOVES these treats, and he will do ANYTHING for them!

It turns out Natural Balance has a huge selection of treats worthy of Rocco’s unique character, so Rocco was more than happy to try a few more.

Rocco can’t live without his daily dental chew, so Natural Balance’s Dental Chews were a natural choice. These come in some tasty flavors, and the Fresh and Clean Formula is brand new!

This chew is scientifically formulated to encourage your dog’s natural chewing instinct to help support healthy teeth and gums and help reduce tarter. Made with spearmint and parsley to help freshen your dog’s breath these are available in medium, small and mini sizes and single serve trials.

The Natural Balance® L.I.T. Limited Ingredient Treats® 
 also made Rocco’s shopping list. The L.I.T. Limited Ingredient Treats® Jumpin’ Stix – Venison & Sweet Potato Formula are made with Venison as the first ingredient, and they are formulated with glucosamine and chondroitin to help support healthy hips and joints.

Perfect for high flying Rocco!



The best thing about all of these treats is that they’re formulated with high-quality proteins, with no artificial flavors or colors and are backed with Natural Balance’s Buy with Confidence guarantee.

Learn more about Natural Balance: Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

Find Natural Balance near you using this store locator.

PAW5 Rock 'N Bowl Review: Rocco Says it Rocks! #PAW5Launch

Rocco digs right into the new PAW5 Rock 'N Bowl

Anyone who thinks small, fluffy dogs were bred to be lap warmers, doesn't know Rocco!

Rocco may be small, and he may be a fluff ball,  but he's all dog, just like his ancestors who had to forage and hunt for their own food.

That's why I was pretty darn sure he was going to love the PAW5 Rock 'N Bowl, even before he tried it. Rocco loves his enrichment activities. Agility, hiking, playing hide 'n seek... these all make Rocco a happy and well adjusted dog.

The PAW5 Rock 'N Bowl makes Rocco smile. But don't let his sweet face fool you. Take a look at him in action!

Rock'n the new Rock 'N Bowl from @paw5.us! Find out more #ontheblog and at #paw5launch Twitter party!

A video posted by Diane Silver (@dianesilver) on Jan 10, 2016 at 10:20am PST

Rocco loves to attack this bowl, working for every last drop of food. And that's what it's all about.... giving your dog an entertaining, enriching experience at mealtime that enhances their overall well-being.

How many ways can you say this bowl rocks!

Here's what's rockin' about the Rock ‘N Bowl

Part Bowl. Part Puzzle

• Simply Challenging with an easy-to-fill and fun-to-use design
• Easy to Clean: Design breaks down to 3 dishwasher-safe parts
• Easy on the Eyes: Vibrant and modern colors complement any home
• Perfectly sized: Holds up to 4 cups of food, for any meal and any breed
• Durable construction

Grounded in Sustainability

Every PAW5 Rock 'N Bowl is made in the USA, with FDA-compliant, recyclable plastic that is free of BPA and phthalates. PAW5 is committed to sustainability and uses a manufacturing process that results in almost zero waste.  Learn more about PAW5's approach here.

Backed by Research

Dogs are wired to forage and hunt for food -- it's in their DNA!   The Rock 'N Bowl adds environmental enrichment to their daily routine, building off their natural behaviors and instincts, and turning a 30-second, mindless chow down into an engaging, thought-provoking, playtime puzzle.

And most of all, Rocco says it's super fun to make the bowl rock and roll, causing every last tasty morsel of food to drop out!

Rocco gives the PAW5 Rock 'N Bowl a high five!

Win a Rock 'N Bowl!

Learn much more about the Rock ‘N Bowl at Wednesday’s #PAW5Launch Twitter party! Please bring your questions about the bowl and enrichment activities to the party; an expert from PAW5 will be on hand to answer your questions. You’ll also have the chance to win your own Rock ‘N Bowl (and some great gift cards) throughout the party as we give them away every few minutes.

To RSVP for the party or to enter the pre-party giveaway (you don’t have to attend the Twitter party to enter), be sure to check out our #PAW5Launch RSVP post!

We are working with PAW5 through our partnership in Event Barkers to produce this Twitter party and share product news with our readers. Prizes will be provided and shipped by PAW5. At To Dog With Love, we only share information we believe in. All opinions expressed herein are our own.

First Look: Healthy Pet Simply Feed from PetSafe

We've been talking a lot lately about the steps you can take to make sure your pet is a healthy weight.  And with more than half the dogs and cats in the country classified as obese or overweight, healthy eating -- and in the correct amount -- is an important topic.

Wild Calling! Dog Food Review: Our Wild Life! #TheArtofNutrition

This post is sponsored by Wild Calling! and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about the Wild Calling! Pet Food, but To Dog With Love only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Wild Calling! is not responsible for the content of this article.

If there were Havanese in the wild, I think Rocco would be plenty comfortable being one of them. Rocco loves a great adventure, whether he's hiking in the woods, competing in agility or playing with his pals in his own backyard.

#FueltheHolidays with healthy Zuke's Treats!

We're busy getting ready for the #FueltheHolidays Twitter party with Zuke's pets on November 28, and Rocco is having a great time getting involved in the preparations.

That's because preparing for #FueltheHolidays means trying out a terrific selection of yummy Zuke's treats including Lil' Links, Genuine Jerky, Mini Naturals, Z-Filets and Z-Bones! These are all part of #FueltheHolidays prize packs we're giving away -- a value of $750 in all. To join in the fun, and a chance to win, don't forget to head over to our RSVP post for all the details.

At #FueltheHolidays we'll be chatting about how to have a happy pup during the holidays. And for us that means having plenty of healthy treats on hand as well as continued training (Rocco thinks that's fun!), exercise and outdoor adventures (we both think that's fun!), interactive toys, love and attention, and some quality time for rest.

Bring your questions, photos and your own tips for keeping your pups happy during the holidays. We'd love to hear and see them!

A little more about our Zuke's Prizes!

We love that Zuke's treats are made in the USA and that they contain lots of healthy wholefood ingredients that help keep Rocco running faster and jumping higher!

Lil' Links are Rocco's newest obsession and we're both loving them for high-value treating during training.

"Can I have the entire bag, please?!!"

What I love about Zuke's Lil' Links 

• They are grain-free with real meat, apples, potatoes, carrots and antioxidant-rich herb like rosemary, turmeric & sage
• No artificial colors, flavors or added animal fat.
• Each Lil' Link is about 15 calories, and I can pinch off tiny little pieces to give Rocco LOTS of rewards from just one Link without adding too many calories.
• Rocco goes crazy for these!

What Rocco loves about Zuke's Lil' Links

• They smell amazing.
• They are tender, moist and delicious! 
• They come in tasty Rabbit, Chicken, Duck and Pork for lots of variety and goodness.
• When I get them out, it means we're going to do something fun! 

We recently reviewed a few other Zuke's treats in our prize packs and you can read about more about these on those posts:
Genuine Jerky Fuels Rocco
Z-Filets and Z-Bones

"Let's see what else we have here to nom on!"

We've also used Mini Naturals for YEARS! With flavors like Wild Rabbit, Pork, Duck, Salmon, Peanut Butter and Chicken and wholefood antioxidants,  there are plenty of quality protein options, many of them great for dogs with allergies. And, because these are less than 3.5 calories per treat, they're a great choice for a reward while keeping your pup fit, trim and happy!

Ready for #FueltheHolidays?

Before now and Friday, be sure to:

1. RSVP for the #FueltheHolidays party. Even if you can’t attend on Friday, you can enter to win a pre-party prize from Zuke's!
2. Pick out a photo of your dog to share during the party, bring your questions and happy dog holiday tips, too! Sharing a photo or any kind of engagement will enter you to win prizes!
3. Mark your calendar for the Friday, November 28 party from noon - 1:30 pm ET…see you there!

We are working with Zuke's through our partnership in Event Barkers to produce this Twitter party 
and share product news with our readers. Prizes will be provided and shipped by Zuke’s. At To Dog With Love, we only share information we believe in. All opinions expressed herein are our own.

Review: Abound Dog Food and Treats #AboundPet

Remember this yummy looking dish? It's the pan roasted chicken I made during my recent blogger trip to Kroger, where the folks behind the ABOUND brand unveiled their brand-new line of dog and cat food and treats available exclusively at the Kroger family of stores.

Rocco keeps his head in the game in a bag of delicious
ABOUND dog food. 

So what does cooking with healthy, natural ingredients for you and your family have to do with dog and cat food? Plenty, we learned!

The folks behind the ABOUND brand believe that our dogs and cats should have access to the same kind of quality nutrition that the rest of our family members do.  (And so do we, by the way!) So they set about developing a line that includes all-natural ingredients, high-quality proteins, wholesome whole grains and nutrient-rich fruits and veggies. 

A few more things we like about ABOUND:

• Contains NO wheat, corn or soy fillers, NO animal by-product meal and NO artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. 
• A commitment to rigorous quality control in sourcing and processing foods to help ensure food safety.
• Lamb, chicken or salmon is the No. 1 ingredient in ABOUND's dry food
• Available at a great price at Kroger stores where folks shop for their family everyday

We also love that ABOUND believes that every cat and dog deserves a loving, forever home. That’s  why they are partnering with Best Friends Animal Society (BFAS) to help spread the word about BFAS's  Save Them All  mission, printed on all ABOUND pet food packages. 

For 30 years, Best Friends Animal Society has been focused on saving the lives of homeless dogs and cats. 

Rocco got the chance to sample ABOUND Chicken and Brown Rice dry food (it also comes in Salmon and Sweet Potato and Lamb and Brown Rice) as well as wet foods in the same flavors.

He loves both the dry and wet food and the dry food is motivating enough to use for training treats! (So is the wet food, but that would be kind of messy in my pocket!)

Rocco says, "more yummy food please!"  

Rocco also eagerly sampled the ABOUND Grain Free Jerky Bites dog treats that come in three flavors: Duck and Potato; Salmon and Sweet Potato; and Turkey, Pea and Berry.

Rocco snags a treat after waiting patiently

You can easily tear the Jerky Bites Treats into tiny pieces, making them a great option for training. Rocco LOVES these treats!

You can read more about ABOUND dog treats in this DogTipper review and about ABOUND cat food at CatTipper.

Join us at #AboundPet Twitter Party Sunday Night! 

On Sunday night from 8-9pm ET, we’ll be co-hosting ABOUND’s #AboundPet Twitter party, a great way to learn more about the whole line of pet food and treats – and enter to win some of the over $750 in prizes!

Please:

• RSVP for the #AboundPet party. Even if you can’t attend Sunday night, you can enter to win one of three pre-party packages from ABOUND!
• Pick out a photo of your dog or cat to share during the party! Sharing a photo or any kind of engagement will enter you to win prizes!
• Mark your calendar for the Sunday night party from 8-9pm ET…see you there!

We are working with ABOUND through our partnership in Event Barkers to produce this Twitter party and share product news with our readers. Prizes will be provided and shipped by ABOUND. To Dog With Love only shares information we believe in. All opinions expressed herein are our own.

Merrick Dog Treats Review: An Occasion to #TreatRight

In our household, there are LOTS of occasions to give a dog a treat!

• A reward for good behavior
• Coming inside when called
• Playing hide and seek with treats
• Learning a new trick
• Relaxing after a vigorous hike, or during a hike or walk
• Getting brushed out
• A bedtime snack

I could go on and on!

So we were really excited to learn about Merrick's new line of grain-free and gluten-free treats that includes FOUR different types of treats in a total of TWENTY different varieties and flavors.  That's a lot of variety to keep a pup interested and motivated!

I love switching up Rocco's treats to KEEP him interested and I also think it's a good idea to look for these qualities in treats:

• Made in the USA, with no ingredients from China.
• High quality ingredients with real meat, fruit and veggies.
• Grain- and gluten-free with no corn, wheat or soy (none of the fillers your dog doesn't need).
• Nothing artificial or scary looking in the ingredient list. So we look for treats with no artificial colors or preservatives.

What we love about Merrick's new treats is they're all these things and more.  So I couldn't wait to see what Rocco thought of them.

Rocco patiently awaits to perform his treat test duties

The new lineup includes biscuits (Kitchen Bites), soft & chewy training treats (Power Bites), Dental Chews and dog cookies (Jerky Chip Treats) – all grain-free and gluten-free.  So how to decide what to treat when? Here's how we do it.

First let's talk dog cookies and biscuits. I like these for Rocco as a special treat, a bedtime snack and a reward for coming inside after he goes potty outside. You do want to treat responsibly by choosing healthy treats and accommodating for the calories in your dog's daily diet. I typically break a cookie into about four (or more) smaller pieces since Rocco's a smallish pup.

Rocco not so patiently dives into the Kitchen Bites!… and devours the cookie!

He moves on quickly to the Jerky Chip Treat with equal gusto! 

Rocco LOVES both the Kitchen Bites and Jerky Chip Treats and I love that they both are filled with quality proteins and other healthy ingredients. Here's a bit more on both.

Merrick Kitchen Bites: These are oven-baked biscuits made with deboned meat as the first ingredient, and inspired by Merrick’s award-winning classic cans in six flavors – Wingaling (Applewood Bacon and Hickory Smoke), Turducken, Brauts N Tots, Cowboy Cookout and Grammy’s Pot Pie.

Merrick Jerky Chip Treats: These are the newest addition to Merrick's line of grain-free and gluten-free treats. These oven-baked all-natural dog cookie treats are filled with protein-packed jerky chips, in four flavors including chicken, beef, lamb and salmon.

Next we tried the Merrick Power Bites. These are soft and chewy treats with deboned meat as the #1 ingredient. They're small enough to use for training where we typically use LOTS of treats. AND, they're soft enough to break even smaller so we can treat even more.

We used this training opportunity to proof Rocco's down/stay. The Power Bites provided a HUGE distraction!

I'll use Power Bites for our agility and tricks training, and when we're out walking to keep Rocco focused on me when distractions come by. 

It didn't take much encouragement to get Rocco to inhale these treats too!

Power Bites come in Beef, Turducken (turkey with duck), Pork, Salmon, and Chicken. And, these are one of the only soft and chewy treats made without artificial preservatives. 

Finally, Rocco loves a good chew and I like giving him dental chews to help with his dental health. 

Rocco's a bit "over" having to stay and wait! He LOVES these too!

Merrick Dental Chews clean dogs’ teeth and freshen breath with all-natural ingredients. These chews come in five different shapes & textures and, unlike some other dental treats, do not contain grain (like wheat) or gluten. Available in three sizes of brush bones (Mini, Lil and Big) as well as Flossies and Texas Toothpicks.

It's time to grab one and run!

ALL these new treats from Merrick are:

• Made in the USA with no ingredients from China
• Grain free and gluten free
• Made with no corn, wheat or soy
• Made with all-natural ingredients: No artificial colors, preservatives, sorbic acid or sodium copper chlorophylin

RSVP for #TreatRight Twitter Party for a chance to win from Merrick Pet Care!

We hope you'll join us at the #TreatRight Twitter Party this Sunday, Oct. 26, 8-9 p.m. ET. There will be plenty of chances to win yummy prize packs from Merrick and lots of fun too!

Here's what you can do for a chance to win before Thursday's party:

1. Mark your calendar for Sunday, 8-9pm ET for the #TreatRight Twitter party 
2. Be sure to pick out a couple of cute photos to share of your dog during the party to share the fun (and sharing photos–or any kind of engagement in the party–makes you eligible to win prizes!)
3. Visit the RSVP post to enter the three pre-party giveaways. (Even if you can’t attend the party, you’re eligible to enter the pre-party giveaways!)

Hope to see you Sunday!

We are working with Merrick through our partnership in Event Barkers to produce this Twitter party and share product news with our readers. Prizes will be provided and shipped by Merrick. To Dog With Love only shares information we believe in. All opinions expressed herein are our own.

Review: Look Who's Happy Dog Treats #MyHappyDog

Nothing makes Rocco happier than a tasty treat, so we were anxious to try new Look Who's Happy treats, made right up the road from us in Gainesville, Ga.

Created by Big Creek Foods co-founders Jeff and Tommy Gay, Look Who's Happy treats are produced in small lots in their own family-owned plant which they operate according to FDA food safety production guidelines.

And that means that the Gay brothers can keep track of every ingredient from start to finish, and ensure that every morsel meets their rigorous standards for quality, safety and flavor.

We put these treats to Rocco's rigorous taste test and we'll share those results with you in a minute!

But first a little more about safety and quality.

• All the meat and poultry in Look Who's Happy Treats is sourced from the United States, Canada or New Zealand (never China) and is USDA inspected
• Every treat is made in their family-owned state-of-the-art facility in Gainesville, Ga.
• Every lot is independently tested for safety
• The bison and venison used in these treats are grass fed, beef is naturally raised and the poultry is cage free
• All the other ingredients like blueberries, pumpkin, carrots and sweet potato are grown in the USA

Now on to the good stuff!

Rocco got the chance to taste test two different types of treats -- Tempt'n Tenders in chicken with blueberry and Fetch'n Fillets in chicken jerky.

The biggest difference between these two lines of treats are the Tempt'n Tenders are crusted with garden veggies and fruits and are softer to break into smaller pieces while the Fetch'n Fillets are more of a jerky consistency that can still be cut into pieces if you choose to make them a bit smaller.

Both are grain and gluten free with no by-products, hormones, artificial preservatives, flavors or colors.

Rocco takes his taste testing very seriously. He stops for just a moment to peruse the texture of each treat and to take in the aromatic goodness of the USA-raised, cage free chicken. 

Next, Rocco dives into the bowl of Fetch'n Fillets. Uh-oh! He wasn't supposed to eat the entire bowl of them at once! After he polished off the Fetch'n Fillets, Rocco moved on to the Tempt'n Tenders.

Yup! Those were every bit as tasty as the Fetch'n Fillets! Rocco works on licking the bowl clean to make sure he gets every last morsel! 

WARNING: Don't try this at home unless you have very quick hands! These treats are VERY savory and your dog may WANT to polish off a WHOLE BAG in a single sitting. But I'm sure you know that's not a great idea! You CAN feed up to 10 percent of your dog's daily energy requirements from between-meal treats and the rest should come from a complete and balanced pet food.

We love using high-value treats like these to train, and mixing it up makes Rocco even more motivated. So we recommend figuring treats like these into your pup's daily allotment of calories so they stay fit, trim and happy!

Want to learn more about Look Who's Happy?

We hope you'll join us at the #MyHappyDog Twitter party on October 9, 8-9 p.m.

We'll have more than $1,000 in prizes, including plenty of chances to win new Look Who's Happy treats!  Wow!

Head on over to our RSVP post and enter via the giveaway widget at the bottom of the post. You'll  have the chance to win one of three pre-party prizes before the party even begins.

You also might want to start collecting your happy dog photos now so you can share them with us during the Twitter Party! We can't wait to see all your smiling pups there!

#MyHappyDog Rocco!

Want to know more about Look Who's Happy? Check them out on their website and these social media sites:

www.LookWhosHappy.com

www.Facebook.com/LookWhosHappy

www.Twitter.com/LookWhosHappy (@LookWhosHappy)

www.Pinterest.com/LookWhosHappy

www.Instagram.com/LookWhosHappy

We are working with Look Who’s Happy! through our partnership in Event Barkers to produce this Twitter party and share product news with our readers. Prizes will be provided and shipped by Look Who’s Happy! To Dog With Love only shares information we believe in. All opinions expressed herein are our own.