Archive for July 2012

The Dog Days of Summer are tough. If you’re relaxing inside to get some relief from the summer heat, why not have a little fun with Best Bully Sticks!

Come along on the Dog Days of Summer Scavenger Hunt! You might just win a $200 Gift Box from Best Bully Sticks full of great summer products!

Read the contest Rules and Regulations before you begin! Then starting hunting for those Summer Suns!

How it Works
Follow each clue to where you think it's leading. All wording in clues is very important. All answers to clues are found within bestbullysticks.com. You'll know you got it right when you see a numbered Summer Suns within a product posting! Summer Suns can be anywhere on the page!

Submitting Your Answers
Submit your answers in numbered format (1-12) IN ORDER. We won't take unnumbered or misnumbered entries. Answers should be the web address of the page where the Summer Sun appears! Email your entries to callie.bestbullysticks@gmail.com by Friday, July 13th @ 5pm EST! Only one entry per person. 

Winning
If more than one person finds all 12 Summer Suns, we'll pick a random winner. Winner will receive a $200 Summer Gift Box! We’ll announce and contact the winner personally on Friday, July 13^th as soon as the contest is over.  If you are not contacted, please assume you have not been selected for the grand prize. We will also announce the winner and the correct clues here on the Blog and on Facebook.

Example Clue & Answer
#1 Clue: “Easy Enough: Just Go Home!”

Your submitted answer:
1. Homepage: www.bestbullysticks.com

DOGS DAYS OF SUMMER SCAVENGER HUNT CLUES!

#1 Clue: Dog’s can’t have sugar! But this is one Little Lollipop they’ll LOVE!

#2 Clue: Want to know the very latest way BBS can spoil your dog? You’ll find out here.

#3 Clue: If you have a groovy dog he’ll say, “This is one cool pad, man. Coool.”

#4 Clue: Have you ever heard of the rare species the Happy Wooly Dinosaur?

#5 Clue: That’s a bunch of Mumbo Jumbo! That stick isn’t smelly or little!  

#6 Clue: It’s a perfect Fit, and it keeps vacuuming the couch down to a minimum!

#7 Clue: Don’t let pollen get your pooch down! Check out this group of treats!

#8 Clue: Not the same ole watering hole. Quite on a Platinum level, actually.

#9 Clue: It’s Large, Jolly and Red but it’s not Santa!

#10 Clue: Make dinner for your dog’s “inner wolf.”

#11 Clue: Where you get on board with Best Bully Sticks bi-weekly insider bargains!

#12 Clue: It’s not grilled veggies and Meat on a Skewer for you! It is the summer treat of your dog’s dreams!

Remember! You must submit your answers as web addresses and in numbered order! Good luck and happy hunting!

Sometimes called the Kishu Ken or Kishu Inu (Inu and Ken meaning “dog” in Japanese), this dog is very rare and isn’t seen often outside of its native homeland of Japan. Best Bully Sticks wants to share the beauty and sprit of the Kishu Ken in today’s Breed Spotlight. We think you’ll enjoy reading about this ancient, stealthy and beautiful breed!

History & Background: Bred for 3,000 years in Japan, the Kishu is an ancient breed. Originating in the southern most island of Japan, (Kyushu) the Kishu line has stayed pure simply because of the geographical limitations of living on an island. This dog was first used as a hunter of deer, boar and sometimes bear. This dog’s hunting skill is sometimes described as “one dog, one shot” describing the Kishu’s ability to stalk and keep the prey at bay until the hunter could approach close enough to kill the prey with one shot.

The Kishu was named a “Memorial of Nature” in 1934 by the Japanese and because Japanese culture truly appreciates their national treasures, exportation of this breed is severely restricted. There are only two breeders of Kishu’s outside of Japan—the Netherlands and Texas. The AKC has the Kishu listed on their Foundation Stock Service list and recognizes this dog in some of their agility and obedience trials.

Height: 17 to 22 inches

Weight: 30 to 60 pounds

Coat: The Kishu’s coat is short, straight and coarse. The undercoat is very dense and makes this dog have a downy looking coat.  A Kishu’s fur feathers on the back legs and cheeks and the tail is plumed. Read more

Happy Fourth of July! Today we celebrate the independence of our country, barbeque with friends and family, and have a day off work! As you’re preparing to go to your family get-together or barbeque down by the lake, don’t forget Fido! Today’s drool-worthy recipe comes from Yuki + Rocket, and of course their mom, Melissa. She’s shared this perfect blueberry cookie recipe that is perfect for your pooch’s taste buds! We know your dog will enjoy this star-spangled dog treat!

Blueberry Stars
Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbsp flaxseed
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup applesauce (unsweetened or naturally sweetened)
1/2 cup frozen blueberries, defrosted (preferably organic)
1 tbsp honey
Non- fat milk 

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, flaxseed and oats. Add the applesauce, blueberries (setting aside the blueberry liquid that forms after the defrosting), and honey. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough just begins to hold together.

3. Knead the dough on a floured surface. Roll out the dough to desired thickness and with whatever cookie cutter shape you have chosen, cut out the cookie.

4. Place cookie cut-outs on a silpat or lightly greased baking sheet. Put in oven for about 30 minutes. You need to flip the cookies over halfway through the baking time and also rotate the pan. Let cookies cool completely before icing.

Blueberry Yogurt Icing
Ingredients
One 4 oz., individual serving of non-fat yogurt (I used an organic vanilla yogurt, sweetened with organic sugar)
Reserved blueberry liquid

Recipe Note: If you don't use a sweetened yogurt, you might want to consider adding a little honey to the yogurt.

Directions

1. With a small whisk, mix the yogurt until there are little to no clumps. Slowly add the blueberry liquid, teaspoon at time. Careful not to add too much, you don't want it to become runny.

2. Pour yogurt into some sort of icing decorator. I spooned the yogurt into a plastic squeeze bottle.

3. Store cookies in the refrigerator, icing will set better if left in for a few hours.

Recipe Note: I suggest feeding your pup the cookies the same day they are made or you can store the cookies and yogurt icing separately, if you want to feed them to your pups the next day. If you leave the cookies with yogurt overnight, the yogurt will dry up.

Your dog is sure to see fireworks with these festive treats! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe and the photos with us, Yuki + Rocket!

Dog still hungry? Check out all of Best Bully Sticks Weekly Drool Recipes! 

It's that time again! TODAY ONLY Best Bully Sticks is holding a 1-Day Animal Shelter / Rescue Giveaway! These giveaways are open to those shelters that haven't won a donation from BBS in the last six months, and have actively participated in giveaways. Visit the OfferPop App on our Facebook Page to find out if your shelter made this list! The rescue with the most votes by 5pm est on July 3rd (today) will win $500 of BBS product! 

If your rescue doesn't appear on the list, please leave a comment below nominating your favorite Animal Rescue or Shelter. We will add your favored organization in our next giveaway. 

Simply put, Best Bully Sticks loves dogs. That is why BBS hold fun and engaging giveaways not only to giveaway our products to needy animals but to educate our fans on local shelters and their missions. 

On the Fourth of July, Americans think back to the revolution in our great country and the independence it gave us. As Americans, we should appreciate the freedoms our country offers and that’s why the Fourth is so special. However, some Americans are still not totally free—disabled Americans. Yes, Americans with disabilities have all the same constitutional freedoms as the rest of us; yet, imagine having a disability that keeps you from being free in the day-to-day world. Being blind, deaf or even having mental ailments such as PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) limits many Americans.  Today Best Bully Sticks salutes those dogs that return freedoms that most Americans take for granted every day—assistance dogs.

The American Disabilities Act of 1990 defines an assistance dog as “any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including, but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing to intruders or sounds, providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items."

Assistance dogs are usually used in three different ways: hearing dogs, guide dogs, and service dogs.

Hearing Dogs
Hearing dogs assist deaf and hearing-impaired Americans with day-to-day tasks by alerting them of noises that need attention, such as an alarm clock, a baby crying or a doorbell.  These dogs interact daily through physical contact and are usually marked by their orange collars or vests. Hearing dogs can be selectively bred dogs or mixed breeds taken from a rescue or shelter.

Guide Dogs
Blind and visually impaired Americans use Guide Dogs to help them navigate the world. Tasks like stopping at curbs, stairs and generally avoiding obstacles are some of the main functions of a guide dog. These dogs wear a harness with a U-shaped handle for communication between the dog and the handler. Guide dogs are most commonly selectively bred as Labrador and Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds.

Service Dogs
Service Dogs are used to assist many different types of impairments or ailments. These can include mental disabilities such as PTSD or “alert” dogs, which are trained to sense a diabetic’s low blood sugar, or an epileptic’s oncoming seizure.  Service dogs can even be trained to work with people in wheelchairs to open doors or retrieving an out of reach object. Service dogs are can be bred selectively or rescued from an animal shelter.  A backpack or harness usually denotes a service dog. Read more