Tag: Bully Sticks

Best Bully Sticks has the opportunity to highlight a very special animal rescue who’s main goal is to save “Death Row” dogs. Eleventh Hour Rescue starts many days like this:

Our day begins with logging onto our computer, only to find we have a mere 161 emails to read before finishing our morning cup of coffee. Some of the subject titles read, “Senior Hound, last day is today,” “Overflowing with Puppies,” “13 more left, please help,” “Shy girl, and 3 legged beagle due to be gassed Tuesday.” Imagine having such a death sentence being held over your head, opening email after email, seeing the faces of fluffy, highly adoptable puppies, a scared little Shepherd curled up in the corner of a dirty kennel, a Labrador with just a blur behind him where the camera couldn't capture how fast his tail was wagging.

Sometimes, well... no, most times, our eyes are welled up with tears, and the thoughts of: Where are we going to put them?  How will we pay for the transport?  What if one is heartworm positive, how will we pay for the treatment?  This is when we take a deep breath, email our volunteers, start brainstorming about fund raising ideas, rebalance the checkbook, and just end the morning with an emailed response of 'We'll take them all', backed only with one thought...

'We'll figure it out'.

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We talked with Elyse Langsett, EHR's Fundraising Director, after they won BBS’s most recent 1-Day Animal Shelter/Rescue Giveaway on Facebook. She elaborated on how this New Jersey rescue was started, their struggles and their successes. Read more

What’s a dog’s favorite thing to do other than eating and sleeping? (And maybe belly rubs?...) PLAYING! Your dog’s energy level and tenacity while playing can be quite amazing. Best Bully Sticks knows nothing gets between your dog and his toys, but sometimes that means destruction. Dog playtime can get a little messy and sometimes dangerous with stuffing and bits of plastic.

Best Bully Sticks has a ton of great environmentally friendly dog toys to share with dogs everywhere. We don’t just carry any willy-nilly toy on our site and our most recent addition to the toy line is definitely Grade A! Check out Ruff Dawg Rubber Dog Toys! Whether you have a sheltie or a shepherd, a boxer or a bichon-frise, Ruff Dawg has the right toy for your dog. These 100% superior-grade, rubber-retrieving toys are made in the USA and are great for any size pooch. Founded in 1999 by dog enthusiasts, Ruff Dawg is your source for premium dog toys.

BBS carries a Ruff Dawg becaue we know you want to give your dog a great playtime, while still being economical and environmentally friendly. We take all the guess work out finding that perfect toy by offering Ruff Dawg.

Ruff Dawg’s Fetch Ball comes in vibrant colors and we offer two sizes for dogs above and below 60 pounds. The regular Fetch Ball measure 2.5” in diameter and the XL Fetch Ball measures 3.5” in diamter.  Both of these great balls float in water, are near indestructible and might just become your dog’s favorite ball!

Ruff Dawg Toy Bones come in three sizes to fit your dog—Mini (3”), Regular (5”) and XL (9”). These bone-shaped rubber toys are great fetch and pull toys that are truly tough! However, these bones are a play toy, not a chew toy.

Flying Fish and Minnows are great water retrieval toys for your dog! The brightly colored, fish-shaped toys are floatable and fun! The Flying Fish is the large version for a bigger pup and the minnow is the small variety. These fish even include a hole to attach a rope for easier retrieval for you!

For the ultimate way to “catch some air” try out Ruff Dawgs line of K-9 Flyers! These flying discs are flexible rubber that come in vivid color combinations and really soar. If your dog is a Frisbee lover, then this toy will easily become his favorite and longest lasting disc ever! K-9 Flyers come in standard sizes as well as a Junior size for smaller pups.

Just to prove how tough these toys are, especially the K-9 Flyer, check out this amazing video! Three dogs taking on 1 K-9 flyer? Does this Ruff Dawg toy have what it takes?

Check out the rest of the Ruff Dawg line including Rocks, Supertugs, Fetch Sticks, Fetch Twigs and more at Best Bully Sticks.com! We even have a complete line of Frisbees for Dogs!

Scottish in origin, intensely loyal and loving by nature; the Sheltie is a great addition to just about any family! This “Miniature Collie” is an agile and highly energetic medium-sized dog that is a constant joy and surprise.  Read more about this dog in the Best Bully Sticks Breed Spotlight on the Shetland Sheepdog below!

History & Background: Like it’s larger counterpart the Rough Collie, the Shetland Sheepdog is a descendant of the Border Collie. However, unlike other miniature breeds, the Sheltie wasn’t developed by selectively breeding continually smaller sizes each generation. When Border Collies were brought to the Scottish isle of Shetland, they were bred with highly intelligent, long-haired, small dogs. Some of these breeds could have been King Charles Spaniels (not Cavalier), Pomeranians, and the now extinct Greenland Yakki. The first Shelties were more Spitz-type working dogs and then were bred with other Collies and taken to England.

When first developed, breeders called this dog Shetland Collies but Rough Collie breeders didn’t like the name association with their breed.  It was then this breed was given the name Shetland Sheepdog. The Sheltie was used as a herding dog, watchdog and general all-purpose farm helper. Shelties were first recognized by the AKC in the early 1900s.

Height: 13-16 inches

Weight: 16-20 pounds

Coat: A Sheltie’s coat consists of two layers, both very abundant with fur. The outer coat is long, straight and rough. The undercoat is fuzzy, downy and very dense, which gives the Sheltie have a puffy look. The outer coat is water repellent and the undercoat provides relief from temperature extremes. This breed does have a lot of frill and feathering, particularly in the form of a mane and on the fore and hind legs. Sheltie tails are thick with hair as well.  However, Shelties have smooth hair on the face, tips of ears and feet.

Color: There are typically three colors or combinations recognized for the Sheltie; black, sable and blue merle. Black coloring can be present with white or tan, ultimately making this tri-coloring. Sable coloring can range from golden to deep mahogany color, also combining with colors of white and tan. Blue Merle coloring consists of blue, white and tan in combination. Read more

You just got a new dog. Congratulations! He’s so cuddly, cute and he’s got that funny but strangely wonderful puppy breath. You just can’t get enough of him. It’s Puppy Love.

Best Bully Sticks knows that this beautiful beginning is full of “Aww, how cute!” moments. However, the unspoken danger is that cuteness can also lead to oversights in development. Those, “Aww, how cute! He’s trying to put my shoe in his mouth!” moments soon become, “Aww! Why does he always chew up my shoes?”  New dog owners can’t forget that the first years of a dog’s life are developmentally important to train and teach your dog. Many dog owners overlook important training opportunities, or train incorrectly. Read about these common dog training mistakes below.

Procrastination & Inattention
Of course you don’t think of it as procrastination at the time, but as we said before, if you don’t introduce positive behaviors to your dog immediately, it could be too late. Walking on a leash, basic commands, house training and socialization all need to be a part of your pup’s life from day one.

It also needs to be said that behaviors you think are cute now, may not be so cute later. It’s important to always think ahead to when you dog is full grown. For instance, if you have a large dog, you don’t want to allow certain habits to form, such as sitting in your lap, or jumping up on people.

One Eye On The Puppy
When you have a new dog, it’s very important to keep an eye on him at all times. Young dogs are full of energy and curiosity and you have to remember, they don’t come preloaded with a sense of what items in your house are off limits. Zero boundaries are set, so you have to set them. Thus, the importance of having your eyes on him at all times.

The best way to correct a dog is while he is in the act, and not after. If a dog is chewing on a shoe and you only find it after the fact and scold him for it, that dog has no idea why he’s getting in trouble. You can only positively set boundaries if you correct mistakes as they happen. Your dog doesn’t “grow out” of chewing and jumping. They’re bad behaviors, not a life stage. Read more

Summer is fully upon us and many areas of the country are going through early heat waves! Best Bully Sticks headquarters in Richmond, VA has experienced first hand the hot and humid temperatures and we’re soaking up every bit of air conditioning and cool drinks as we can!  Now imagine this: what if you had to deal with all the heat, and you were covered in a thick layer of fur! Sounds pretty uncomfortable right? That’s what your pup is putting up with right now!

To help your pup beat the record setting heat this summer, make sure you give him plenty of water, keep him indoors and to be extra nice, make him a cold treat! This week’s Weekly Drool Recipe comes from an ingenious reader and customer, Deb Eldredge! Deb, a DVM, lives with three Belgian Tervurens, with whom she participates in just about every dog sport! She writes about Belgians for Examiner.com, which is where her recipe first appeared. Thank you so much Deb for sharing this recipe and the great photos of your Belgians! Deb used this recipe for her Belgians, but any dog will love this icy and tasty Bully Stick Popsicle recipe!

“This recipe is easy to make with ingredients you may already have at home and gives your Belgian the added benefit of some chewing exercise. By using organic yogurt and bully sticks from grass fed South American or US beef you are also providing a chemical free treat.

Make up 2 cups of low salt beef bouillon. Because Belgians tend to cool off by panting and only sweat via their paws, they don't lose the large amounts of electrolytes that people and horses do when sweating. Low sodium is healthier for your Belgian.

Mix this in a large bowl with about half a large container of organic low fat plain or vanilla yogurt. The low fat version is healthier than the no fat versions that generally contain some additives. Stoneyfield is a good and readily available brand. You can add more or less yogurt in the future as you see what consistency your treats end up and what mix your own Belgian prefers.

Put about 1/2 cup of the mix into small bathroom cups. You could also use popsicle molds. Then add a four-inch bully stick (Best Bully Sticks is a favorite brand). Put the cups into a pan to hold them upright and set on a shelf in your freezer. Leave overnight.

The next day, the cups will have hardened but aren't as hard as ice cubes. It may be easiest to simply cut the cups and pull them off before feeding. Ideally your Belgians will eat these in their bowls but that is not always the case, so be prepared for a little mess. This makes a great "cooling off" treat for Belgian of all ages from seniors to puppies.”

Thanks, Deb!

If you have your own version of a bully stick recipe, we’d love to hear more about it! You could be featured in the BBS Weekly Drool Recipe as well!

Check out all the Best Bully Sticks Weekly Drool Recipes!