Happy Halloween, from our two little pumpkins! They celebrated their 6 month birthday yesterday, and their first Halloween today! So it was the perfect time for Maizie and Sophie to do a new review for Chewy.com. What item were they sent to review? They were sent a Busy Buddy Bristle Bone, and oh my dog were they excited!
This toy is more than just fun to play with, it has bristles and nubs to clean their teeth while they chew. The puppies really enjoyed chewing on the Busy Buddy Bristle Bone, and because it's fun to chew on, Sophie and Maizie didn't even realize they were doing something to help keep their teeth and gums healthy!
The bones come in 4 sizes, so you are sure to find the perfect size for your best friend. It is not recommended for puppies under 6 months of age though, so we wouldn't suggest giving it to young puppies. And since it is made from plastic and rubber, we suggest you closely supervise your dog when he or she is chewing on the bone. It's dishwasher safe, so it can be cleaned and sterilized in your dishwasher, just be careful as not all detergents are safe for dogs.
Maizie gives it a try!
Sophie's turn!
If you are looking for a toy that will fulfill a puppies need to chew, while cleaning their teeth, you should check out the Busy Buddy Bristle Bone by PetSafe. As you can see by the videos, both Maizie and Sophie really liked this toy, and they hope your dog will too!
We were sent the Busy Buddy Bristle Bone from the awesome folks at Chewy.com. We did not receive any monies for our review, we were sent this product for free, for our honest opinion, as Chewy.com cares about customer satisfaction!
Today the puppies turn 6 months old, so I thought it would be the perfect time to share this post. Happy birthday puppies!
Breeding dogs is not an easy task. You choose the stud dog carefully, do all the health screenings, and watch over your expectant mama dog vigilantly. You pray for an easy birth, and for all the pups to be born healthy. The day finally comes, and the new puppies arrive, blind, deaf and defenseless. And now the hard work begins…
Newborn Sophie
Newborn Maizie
There is more to breeding and raising a healthy litter of puppies than just choosing the right stud dog, the best foods and determining when to vaccinate and de-worm the puppies. Equally important is raising puppies that are well-socialized and fearless in new situations. To ensure that our puppies will adapt quickly to life with their new families we began using socialization protocols, some we created ourselves, and some we learned from other breeders following “Puppy Culture.”
The key to early socialization is to present new stimuli to puppies each week in a fun and gentle way. We didn’t want to scare our puppies, so each new experience was introduced in a positive manner. Right from the beginning our puppies began learning that new people, noises and new objects were good things. We started out socializing our puppies with people before their eyes or ears opened, when their entire world was discovered through the sense of touch and smell. They were held gently, cuddled and even had their tiny paws rubbed.
2 weeks old
Then as they grew, and they could see and hear, we introduced new toys into their whelping box. We also began introducing new textures through blankets and bedding. And with the help of our family, they began meeting new people. Each new experience was presented in as positive a manner as we could make it.
When they were old enough, they were taken outside for the first time, and that is when the real fun began. Each week we would present them with new toys and new objects to climb on, over and in. And we had people of different ages, and wearing different clothing, meet our puppies for carefully monitored playtime. They met seniors, children, men, women, people in uniforms and people wearing hats. They were introduced to new sounds like when the neighbors mowed their lawns, when a motorcycle would drive up the street, or when the garbage trucks came to collect the garbage. Everything was new to them, and everything was made into a positive experience.
5 weeks old
6 weeks old
What did following the “Puppy Culture protocols” accomplish for us? It helped us to raise puppies, that are confident and fearless. I can’t imagine raising puppies any other way. Well-socialized puppies learn quickly, readily adapt to new situations and the adjustment to life with their new families goes much more smoothly. They are almost immune to fear, and recover from stressful situations that other puppies may take a while to overcome. At even a young age, these puppies are much more focused, and easier to train. It's this greater resiliency and retention of early training lessons that help them to connect to their human families.
The puppies at 7 weeks old
The puppies at 8 weeks old
We will definitely be using Puppy Culture protocols in all of our future litters, as we want to give our puppies the tools to live happy lives.
Halloween is right around the corner, and Chewy.com has a treat that will have your dogs doing tricks! They have Blue Buffalo Halloween Boo-bars on sale, and they are a perfect way to celebrate Halloween with your best friend!
Holly loves Halloween
They are made with pumpkin and cinnamon, so I guess you could say that these treats allow your dogs to celebrate pumpkin spice season in their own way!
We thought about having the collies dress up in costumes, but they don't really enjoy costumes, with one or two exceptions. But they are always ready to pose amid the Fall decorations and the Autumn leaves. (especially if there are treats involved!)
Holly thought these treats not only smelled good and tasted yummy, she thought they came in fun shapes!
So we know the collies loved the taste of these treats, let's see what's in them!
Ingredients: Oatmeal, Barley, Oat Flour, Pumpkin, Flaxseed (source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids), Cane Molasses, Carrots, Salt, Canola Oil (source of Omega 6 Fatty Acids), Cinnamon, Calcium Carbonate, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Oil of Rosemary, Vitamin E Supplement
We loved seeing this healthy list of ingredients, which means these Blue Buffalo Mummy Morsels aren't just good tasting, they are also good for our dogs! So we are giving these treats four paws, our highest rating. If you are looking for a tasty treat for your best friend, head on over to Chewy.com and order a bag. (or two)
The fine folks at Chewy.com sent us the Blue Buffalo Mummy Morsels for free, for our honest opinion. (But don't tell the collies, they believe the cookies were sent to them because they are awesome and take such good pictures!)
And in the spirit of the season, the collies wanted me to share one of their favorite Halloween songs!
It's still National Walk Your Dog Week, but more importantly, today is also my Abby's 10th birthday.
It seems just like yesterday that Abby and her sister, CC, were born!
Where have the years gone?
I am not prepared for you to be a senior already. You are the one who loves me best, my shadow, my devoted friend, my heart and my first champion. Without Abby, there would be no Ryder, Kori or Scarlett. There would be no Maizie or Sophie either. Happy birthday Abby, may you live a very long, happy life!
