Archive for June 2012

Last week, Best Bully Sticks stumbled upon a great treat recipe from a vegetarian blogger, Shelly West. Shelly is the proud Boxer mom of Tuko, who just turned 6 months old not too long ago and in honor of her boy growing up, she decided to make him a simple but yummy ½-year old treat: Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits. With only 4 ingredients, these little dog cookies are the epitome of easy and all-natural.

After seeing Shelly’s great blog and the adorable Tuko, BBS just had to feature this recipe!  Here is Vegetarian Venture’s (a.k.a Shelly’s) original post.

"Although we have only had Tuko (also sometimes referred to as Taco, Teekee, and Tofu) for 4 months, I can hardly remember not having the little guy around. He is always right there whimpering for attention, sleeping in my lap, licking my face, or begging to go outside. Although he was a real handful at first, he has already mellowed greatly since the bewildered puppy that first arrived at our door step from the farm-like upbringing he was born into.

Although this is a bit late, he turned 6 months last week and I felt like we had to celebrate his excelled maturity in some way….so I made him some dog biscuits! I thought about cutting them out with cookie cutters and finding a frosting recipe but he was whimpering for me to play with him the whole time I was making these things. Needless to say, I figured my attention to him was more important than making his next snack look pretty."

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup oats
1/3 cup all natural peanut butter
1 cup warm water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix all dry ingredients together. Add in the peanut butter and slowly add in the warm water while mixing together.

3. Roll out into 1 inch balls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for an hour to firm up.

4. Feed to your puppy as a reward, for a snack, or just to see the excited tail wag!

Thanks for sharing, Vegetarian Ventures! To find out more about Shelly, Tuko and their vegetarian ventures, visit their blog, vegetarianventures.com. 

 Make sure to check out all of BBS’s Weekly Drool Recipes! Bone Appétit

To help you gear up for the First Day & Week of Summer, Best Bully Sticks is giving away products to help your pup beat the heat!

Enter to win Cool Summer Products from BBS like Freezy Pups Frozen Dog Treat Kits, Mr. Barksmith’s Cool Smoothie Treats, Premier Fido Float Life Vest & West Paw Hurley's! We’ll give away products to one lucky winner each day! Enter on the BBS Blog or Facebook with the PunchTab giveaway! 

Best Bully Sticks Contest Rules & Regulations

Only U.S. Residents are eligible to win contests.

We do not condone cheating. Any suspicious activity will be monitored by contest managers. If we in the least are suspect of any person, we will remove the entry. We reserve the right to remove any derogatory comments. No purchase necessary to win. You must meet the requirements of the contest to be eligible. If you, or an organization you represent has won a Best Bully Sticks contest in the past 6 months, you will not be eligible for any prizes.

Because of Facebook Policy, any comments that appear to be votes and are outside or our PunchTab App on Facebook, will be deleted to comply with Facebook Promotion Guidelines.

Contest begins Tuesday June 19^th and ends Friday June 22nd @ 5 pm est.

Best Bully Sticks is the sponsor and administrator of this contest. Best Bully Sticks is located at 1221 Admiral Street, Richmond, VA 23220

How To Enter
1. Sign up with the PunchTab App to qualify for a “Cool Summer Product” from BBS.

2. Enter multiple ways using the PunchTab App to increase your chances.

3. Every day, a BBS contest manager will pick a winner at random to receive summer products from BBS!

Participation & Release

Upon entering the contest, each entrant is releasing their information for use to Best Bully Sticks and is held responsible to Best Bully Sticks contest Rules & Regulations.

In 1999, Pet Sitters International figured out a fun way to bring your furry best friend to work, while raising awareness for adoptable dogs across the nation.  Slated for this Friday, June 22nd, Take Your Dog To Work Day has now expanded to the full week leading up to the event (June 18-22).  TYDTWDay has been going strong for over ten years and Best Bully Sticks wants to help you plan a successful dog-friendly day at work. Even if you can’t plan an event for this week, use these tips to plan your own TYDTWDay!

The Checklist of Approval
Before you load up Fido for a full day’s work at the office, you’ll need to go through the proper channels of approval to make sure TYDTWDay is even welcome. You’ll need to ask:

1. Human Resources: Start with HR to see if there is a TYDTWD event being planned already or if there might be restrictions against it. If not, show HR the takeyourdog.com website to see if there might be any objections to this type of event. If not, ask HR the right channels you would have to go through to begin approving this type of event. (Your BOSS!)

2. Your Boss: Each boss is different, but one thing all bosses have in common are the need for contingency plans. You’ll want to be fully prepared when asking your boss about a TYDTWD event. Your boss will be impressed and ready to make a decision. Remember; think about the questions your boss might ask about dogs being in the office. Consider these things:

Plan ahead what you will say. Have you ever had to give a presentation at work? Put TYDTWDay in the same context.

Consider contingency plans. Where will the dogs stay? Where will the dogs eat? Where will the dogs go the bathroom? What if dogs are aggressive? Think of all of these things and have ready answers for your boss.

Suggest having a pet sitter or designated pet handler there for the day. This can be a hired professional, or just a dog-friendly and eager intern! Show your boss this can be a great way to allow work to happen because the dog’s needs are being taken care of. Read more

Last week Best Bully Sticks talked about reconciling the relationship between your dog and your garden. If you love both, but your dog seems not care for your garden patch or flower beds, read Gardening With Your Dog Pt. 1 from last Monday. After you’ve worked hard to create a beautiful and blooming garden and instill respect in your dog for that same garden, don’t let it go to waste by putting your dog in harms way. 

An overly curious dog or an accident in with garden equipment can be hazardous! Here are some quick tips on keeping your pup safe in the garden. And remember; if you’re not a green thumb, still pay attention to these tricks and tips. You never know when Fido will be around a friend’s garden or what he could possibly pick up in the outdoors.

Poisonous Plants
Obviously, plant choice is a big decision in your garden, however some plants are very toxic to your dog.  Sago Palm and other types of palm in the Cycad family as well as mushrooms can cause liver failure in dogs. Rhododendron, Azaleas, Foxglove, Lily of the Valley, Oleander and Rosebay all affected the heart. The ASPCA has a full list of names and photos of plants to avoid.

Chemical Fertilizer & Insecticides
Chemically laden fertilizers and pesticides are usually an easy and quick fix to feed, weed and kill bugs, but a there is no easy and quick fix for a dog who has serious intestinal or digestive issues or worse. All gardens need to be fed and treated, but whether a dog accidentally or intentionally gets into garden chemicals, it’s never a pretty picture.  The first step in avoiding this common mishap is simply reading the manufacturer’s instructions. These will let you know how long the chemicals are in the environment. It could be only a few days or even weeks, but either way your dog could be affected. Making these fertilizers and insecticides inaccessible to your dog is a good measure to take. If you do use these chemicals, leave your dog inside when applying them to your garden.

Compost
Compost is a wonderful, natural alternative to using chemical fertilizers. Composting natural kitchen waste (egg shells, coffee, fruit and veggie scraps) is a great way to give your garden vital nutrients while also creating less waste. However, make sure your dog doesn’t take your compost bin for a “second-helping” bin. Make sure your compost is where your dog cannot get to it, simply for the reason that certain people foods aren’t good for Fido. Read more

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel exudes kindness, a gentle nature and playfulness. You can almost see it in their eyes; the Cavalier is simply loving and sweet. Best Bully Sticks takes a look into the Cavalier’s past this week—it’s origins and it’s journey to being a modern dog.

History & Background: From their beginnings, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel has been a dog of comfort and companionship. Depictions of this dog can be seen all throughout English history in tapestries and paintings.  However to understand the origins of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel their history has to be traced through it’s predecessor, the King Charles Spaniel.

The King Charles Spaniel was a favorite of the court of King Charles of England and his court. These little dogs were called “Spaniel Gentle” or “Comforter” and were even believed to be able to keep fleas and sickness at bay. King Charles even was said to have his “little dogs” everywhere he went. These dogs had longer noses, and when King William III & Queen Mary II took the throne these longer nosed dogs were going out of fashion and pugs were beginning to grow in popularity. The long-nosed spaniel and the pug, or other flat nosed dogs, were bred together and a new type of King Charles Spaniel was created.

This “down-grade” of the breed appalled many and in the 1920’s an American, Roswell Eldridge set out to find a King Charles Spaniel most like its ancestor. Eventually, a male and female that met Eldridge’s requirements were found, however he died before he saw his plan come to fruition. Yet, a group of dedicated fanciers had grown behind Eldridge’s plan and the first breed standard set by this group and was called, “King Charles Spaniel, Cavalier Type” to set it a part from its ancestors. Not too long after, the breed became known as the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. It wasn’t until the mid-1950s that this breed came to America. The AKC didn’t recognize this breed until 1997. In pop culture, this breed is known to be the dog of the “Sex and the City” character Charlotte York.

Height: 12-13 inches

Weight: 13-18 pounds

Coat: Cavaliers have a medium length coat that is silky and can be wavy, but never curly. This breed’s coat feathers on the ears, chest, legs and feet. The breed standard by the AKC states that this dog shouldn’t be trimmed or clipped and should only be shown in it’s natural state. The only exception to this rule is for the hair that grows between the pads of this dog’s feet. Read more