Fall Bark Box

Our favorite package of the month arrived just last week!!! It was another off the charts hit! Here's this month's Bark Box Breakdown.

SCORE!

P.L.A.Y:
This zucchini is both healthy AND fun! Mom liked that it was made from recycled materials, and we like that it was tough enough for us to play tug-of-war...for a couple of days. This awesome toy is starting to get holes and lose it's stuffing. But we still find it very VERY fun to play with! Hey, Mom...does this count as eating our vegetables??

N-Bone: 
 This really did help with our stinky breath!! We had to be supervised when we chewed on these because when you get near the end, these treats tend to come of in choke-able chunks. It only took us about 10 mins to eat a whole treat, but we did have to work at it a little bit. And our breathe was fresh for a couple of days!

Bocce's Bakery
 These super yummy treats were a hit. Both of us love these. Mom takes them to work with us and gives them to us as treats for going potty. Mom loves the simple ingredients; Organic Barley Flour, Cheese, Nitrate-free Turkey Bacon, and Truffle Oil...that's it! 

Happy Howie's:
Another HUGE Happy Howie's home run! These turkey sausages had both of us wagging not just our tails, but also our butts! These are the favorite treat of the month in this pack! Maggie would take hers and gently chew off pieces, while I, Katie, inhaled them as quick as I could. 

Etta Says:
This deer treat was a tasty, and far less stinky, difference from the typical bully sticks that we get. It didn't last but 5 mins, but it sure was yummy!

Can we please test the products now?

That's it for this month's Bark Box! We hope you all have a wonderful time playing with your toys and a belly full of treats! Until next time our faithful Woofers!

November Bark Box

BARK BOX! BARK BOX! BARK BOX! BARK BOX!

We sure do love our Bark Box! It the most exciting day of the month! For those who don't know what bark Box is let us tell you. It's a special box that comes once a month filled with goodies and toys! Ours usually comes in the 3rd week of the month.

November's Bark Box

Here's a list of what we got this month:

Pet Qerks: What a fun little toy!!! We've been playing with it pretty rough for the last couple weeks and it seems to have held up for the best part between our tug-of-wars. And best of all, the squeaker still works!

Your Dog's Diner: Organic goodies in a packet to make puppy meatloaf?! You better believe it. We haven't had this yet.. Mom says she's going to make it for us for Thanksgiving. :-)

Baker's Best: These were some of the best, and yummiest treats we've had! They were a big BIG hit with both of us. We loved the goat flavor. The only drawback? They were stinky!

Fruitables: These were 8 indiviual small bags of treats of different flavors, including blueberry, bison, pumpkin, and apple. Since I have higher food standards than my garbage disposal of a sister Katie, I only liked the bison ones. I turned my nose up at all the other flavors. But her, she inhaled all of them. Such a weird dog she is.

Superior Farm: yum! yum! yum! Another huge hit from this bark box. Mom felt safe letting us eat these since they weren't greasy like pig ears, but she watched us carefully. She didn't have to watch long....we both finished our ears in less than 10 mins.

Katie's Big Day

Wow! What a fun, adventure filled day I got to have last week! Daddy came home from his night job and sister just wanted to sleep in bed next to him, So I got Mommy all to myself for the whole day!

We started off by going to the local farmer's market. I wasn't allowed in the food isles, so Mom left me with a friend who tends to a booth on the outside of the food isles. Mom doesn't know that I got a few extra treats and a ton of attention. 

At the Farmer's Market in my cute sweater!

After the Farmer's Market, we went to North Rim Adventure Sports  to check out some clip-less pedals and clip-less shoes. Mom said she was going to let Santa know which ones she wanted. Gosh, I sure hope he brings me some extra treats for being such a good girl!

Then we strolled all around downtown Chico, checking out the sights, ate lunch, and talked to tons of people. They came up to mom telling her how cute I was and how much of a good girl I am (did you hear that Santa? I've been good!!). 

And perhaps the best part of the day, was going to Dutch Brothers! Mom always lets me sit in her lap when we go to the drive up because they give me cookies. It was a super fun-filled day! I hope I get to do it again really soon. 

Where's my cookies?

A little whip cream, please.

October BarkBox

WHAT?! We're actually posting this on time?! We should get a treat for this!

October BarkBox

So, this BarkBox wasn't a Grand Slam like our past ones, but hey, you can't catch every ball that's thrown your way. We still were thrilled by it's usual yummy contents, but found it a little lacking in pizazz. Here's what we think so far.

Aussie Naturals:

This is an interesting concept toy. It's like a stuff-less plush toy, with a rope down the middle of it, and a squeaker in the tail. As the ever present toy aficionado, I can tell you this will stimulate all of your pups senses the same way it did mine. Oh boy, I have had so much fun with this toy. And it seems fairly Boston proof with that rope down the middle of it! This was my favorite thing in the box this month. 

Wagatha's:

Oh, BOY!!! Organic biscuits?! That taste like PIZZA?! YES, PLEASE! These are super yummy and smell great! our mom really likes the fact that they are organic. And we sure love the taste! We even create puddles of drool when we see these come out.

Plato:

We used to get the salmon strips in our breakfast every monring, but now our food is a higher quality, so we don't need it. But when we saw the duck treats, we were happy. Be warned: They stink. They have a 50/50 success rate in our pack.

VetraCare Pet:

Gosh, we hope we never have to use this liquid bandage spray. But Mom put it in our travel bag just in case the time ever comes.

September BarkBox!

IT CAME! OUR SEPTEMBER BARKBOX CAME!

We love getting our BarkBox in the mail. September's BarkBox held up to its usual awesome expectations!

What we get? What we get? What we get?

 

Here's our reviews of this BarkBox:

Quaker Pet Group: (the blue squeaky toy)

We enjoyed this toy, while it lasted. Which wasn't very long. We were able to completely de-stuff it within a week and tear it totally in half within 4 weeks. So while it says "Chew Guard Technology", it wasn't rip/de-stuff proof. It also had a ultrasonic squeaker that didn't bother mom and dad's ears. However, the squeaking device was very very small and could have easily become a choking hazard if your pups weren't supervised while destroying their new, fun toys.

Barkworthies: 

These were a big hit with the pickier eater between the two of us (Maggie), however, I (Katie) seemed to develop an allergy to something in the treat which resulted in a swollen eye that ultimately got 2 scratches on my cornea from me scratching at it. Maggie LOVES these treats, they are nice and soft and full of flavor. These have become special treats just for her.

The Honest Kitchen:

We haven't tried this yet, but it can be made either hot or cold. I think we might save it for a nice cold, rainy day.

Primal Pet:

These were another huge success in our pack! Even the picky one LOVED these. Just be sure that if you're small like us, you're mom and dad break them in half as they are a little on the big side and a potential chocking hazard.

Barkworthies (AGAIN!)

These bullystick flakes were PERFECT for topping our food. For me, Maggie, it gave me an extra special reason to actually eat that boring old kibble mom and dad insist on feeding me, while the quality of the food is superb, it is far below my princess requirement standards. But with a little of these sprinkled in, I was fast to gobble up my food!

BarkBox 1 & 2



BarkBox? What in the world is a BarkBox one might ask? It's a wonderful box that comes once a month that is full of treats, toys, and surprises for us pups! It's available in 3 different sizes (Small, Just Right, and Big & Bold) and you can be billed once a month, every 3 months, or every 6 months. OH, THE OPTIONS!!!! Get your parents to click on this link: HERE and use the biggest, roundest puppy eyes you have to get them to order these boxes for you!  Everything in the boxes is either natural or organic AND made right here in the USA! We held out posting about our first BarkBox, in case its awesomeness was a fluke. It wasn't a fluke at all! It's really awesome! Here's what we got in our first and second BarkBox.



Opening our first BarkBox



What did we get?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Month 1:

1. Heartland Premium.  This was a HUGE hit with both of us. The vertebras were small enough that we didn't crack our teeth. We were supervised at all times while we enjoyed this yummy, meaty vertebra. Also...this was an "outside" only treat because it was slightly messy (not to mention slobbery afterwards).
2. Bowser Beer: Beer for pups?! It actually isn't really beer, it's a beef based drink with vitamins in it. And while I liked it, my picky sister Maggie didn't enjoy it.
3. Puptato Chips: Well OF COURSE you need chips when you have beer! But these  were better than chips, they were dehydrated sweet potato slices. Again, it was a 50% approval rating by the same tasting crew (us!)
4. Whole Life: What else goes great with beer and chips? If you answered "burgers!", you're right!!!!! These are bite size dehydrated sirloin burgers that are the perfect snack size. These were a HUGE success in our pack.
5. Calm K9 Wafers: These came in handy during the forth of July. While they might be a little stinky, they are all natural and really seem to work...even for a super energetic Boston Terrier, such as myself.

We love our BarkBox!

Month 2:

1. R2P Pet (Squaker Toy): It squeaks! It bounces in all directions! I LOVE IT! This is a really fun toy that I, Katie, really enjoyed. My sister isn't a big toy playing dog, so she doesn't care. There is one issue, the velvet on the exterior of the ball comes off kinda easily in my mouth. It's not a choking hazard or anything, just kinda messy. At least Mom and Dad can easily find where I went potty! That's gotta be a good thing, right? (pssst.. I really like my grey one..it matches all my other toys and my food dish. Pretty cool, huh?!)
2. Barkworthies: Who doesn't love a good bully stick?! These guys are made from grass fed cows and without antibiotics! We both absolutely love these! Sister, Maggie, often doesn't like to give hers up when Mom and Dad take them away. Again, we are always supervised when we have these, make sure your parents supervise you too!
3.  Max&Ruffys: Organic training treats that again have about a 50% approval rate in this pack. Can you guess which one of us didn't like it? Yup, Maggie didn't like it. She only likes meat and cheese. But I loved these organic banana and coconut treats! More for me! Yippeee!
4. No Grainers: Yeah! Another treat that both of us love! Maggie likes the fact they are soft and made from chicken. She tends to like softer treats....and chicken...she really likes chicken. These do have a little bit of a stinky odor in the bag, but they tasty super yummy.
5. Mr. Barksmith's: It was nice that while Mom and Dad enjoyed their ice cream on these hot Chico, California days that we got to enjoy frozen fruit smoothies. We really enjoyed our banana flavored one. We even shared the same smoothie nicely.  The other really neat thing about these is that your parents don't need to put them in the freezer until you are ready to eat them. So if you're going on a weekend trip to Grandma's, make sure they throw a couple smoothies in your duffle bag, ok?
6. Safemade: The PERFECT flexible bowl for water or food. And the great thing?? It's made from human-safe SILICON, not plastic! So if you're like me and break out in puppy pimples after being around soft plastic, this is the bowl for you. It's also FREEZER and OVEN safe! YES!!!! You read that right. Your folks can even go onto the website for free oven and freezer treat ideas...make sure you supervised by your Mom and Dad's internet use...too much time on the computer or smartphone isn't healthy. If they've been on there too long, go get a slobbery ball and roll it under their feet.  Hey, everyone has to be healthy and play, right? We thought so.

Month 2 goodie haul.

So that's BarkBox! We'll be sure to let you know what we get every month and tell you what we think. We really REALLY encourage your parents to sign you up for BarkBox. Until next time, make sure your water bowl stays full, you have treats on the shelf, and most importantly, have fun every day! <3 Katie and Maggie

Hikes in Upper Bidwell

We did a lot of hiking this last Winter and Spring in Upper Bidwell Park. Here's some photo highlights from the hikes.



Nothing like a great roll session after hiking.



Headed home



A collection of photos from Upper Bidell




It's our favorite hiking spot.



A nice little lake to cool off in after hiking.



The trail is steep and rocky.

Random Photos

We thought we'd put some silly pictures of us up.


Our friends Sophie and Sammy.

Chasing the ball

Nap time in the back of mom's car

Playtime!







Maybe I don't have this bed thing down correctly...

 

Can I please have the treat now?

 

Little dog, long trail

So, this hike happened back in March, but I'm just now being able to sit down and tell you about it. Mom and I had a special Mommy/Dogter hike. It was just our human friend Emily, Mom, and I. We left sister at home because we didn't think she'd like to  hike the entire 10 miles. Yup, you read that right! This little 8 year old dog hiked every step of the 10 miles. It was 4-paw drive for me. I got to smell some new, interesting things, and got a little dirt in the pads of my feet. And some great exercise!

Hittin the trail!

 

 

We hiked up to a place called Feather Falls. It's a 640 ft waterfall outside of Oroville, California. Mom made sure I wore my special hiking harness to keep me safe on the occasional unsafe sections of the trail. She had me clipped into her weight bearing harness with a 200lb load bearing carabiner . I tell you this so you know that she would never put me in danger.

 

Me in my harness, looking adorable.

 

 

After we visited the overlook, which had amazing views, but was a little high for my taste, we hiked further up the trail and had lunch at the top of the waterfall (in the picture below). Mom brought some kibble for me, but I talked her into giving me some of her turkey and carrots.



Taking a break at the overlook.

 

Even though it was early Spring, I did end up with a couple ticks. But Mom spotted them right away and flicked them off.  I swear, she must have checked me every 15mins all day long. Because of my flea/tick medicine, none of them actually bit me. They were just walking around my fur checking out possible real estate to grab a snack. But we wouldn't have ANY of that business!

Time to play catch up

We know we haven't posted as much as we should. We've just been having too much fun living life in the big city and playing at the dog park. We're going to try and catch up as best we can..starting..NOW!

Yummy Tummy Treat Time!

 

 



So, we know it's been awhile since we blogged... we had some (ahem) techincal difficulties with the website. SO! We thought our first post should be about our favorite treat: LuckyDog Baker's Lip Smackin' Liver Biscuits! These are paws down our absolute favorite. Even the picky eater loves them. And on the plus side: THEY'RE ORGANIC! No nasty chemicals for us. 

 

Ingredients: Organic Oat Flour, Organic Barley Flour, Organic Chicken Livers, Filtered Water, Organic Eggs, Organic Canola Oil, Organic Flax Seed, Organic Pumpkin Seeds, Organic Sunflower Seeds, Organic Sesame Seeds, Organic Powdered Ginger, Organic Rice Flour

 

 

Can we please have a treat?



soo close to yummy!

You can buy them from a local supplier through here or you can buy them straight from the bakery here. Just so it's known....we're not getting money or anything from the company for promoting their product, we just want to share with our fellow pups what you should convince your Mom or Dad to buy you because they are so good!

From Country Pups to City Dogs!

That's right, we have traded our country dirt mile for the feel of urban concrete beneath our pads. We are now living in Chico, California were the dog park is only a couple miles away. And there are daily walks in Bidwell Park! The sights and smells of the city are something we still need to get used to. We're still not to sure about walking next to those big things on wheels that fly past us and make noise, they kinda scare us. BUT, on the up side, the majority of shops in Chico allow dogs to come into the store. Most of them have healthy treats and snacks for us when we go in (we often beg for a little more when mom or dad aren't looking) and bowl of fresh water for these hot days.

 We are even participating in a charity walk this upcoming weekend (click here to donate to us) to support the Butte Humane Society. Just a quick 2K to raise a little money and show some support for a great cause.

Stayed tuned for stories, tails, and adventures of two snow lovin', dirt rollin' little country dogs who face life in a big new town.

Big Hike for Little Dogs

On the trail

It might not sound like much, but when you are tiny like us (even though we THINK we are bigger dogs) a 5.5 mile hiking trip sure is a lot! We had a great time hiking with Mom today (check out her blog here) that we just had to share our excitement! We even got to take a little swim in a lake, and sit on a rock and listen to the wind blowing through the trees.



A quick dip to cool off

The trail was a little rough, and steep, but we sure had a blast! We saw some bugs, smelled some new things, and just enjoyed spending the time outside. The thing we didn't like? All those mosquitoes!! Mom used some of her DEET free repellent on our bodies, carefully avoiding our head, and the relief from the biting was more than welcomed!





Evelyn Lake, our destination.



Staying Hydrated!





Play time!

We love to get outside and play. Our mom and dad tried to make sure that happens every day. But occasionally, we don't get to play as long as we would like too, but today! Oh! Today!!  We got to play for a long time! We chased balls, chased each other, and even played in our little pool. It was such a great time! After a long time playing, we got our chewies for a bit, and then finished up with a nice long nap. This is the life!

All smiles after a couple laps around the yard

Happy, wet dog

We love our pool!

A day of run and fun!

We got out the other day and enjoyed a lovely June day. We started our day with a 2.5 mile walk, then Mom took us for a 3 mile run while she rode her bike AND we got to go swimming in the lake! We sure got our workout in, but it was FUNtastic! Our tongues flapping in the wind, the breeze through our coats, it was a perfect start to our busy, adventure filled summer.


Break time after a 3 mile run

We ended the day with a dip in the lake and sunbathing on the shore. We couldn't have asked for a more wonderful day. (we could have, but mom limits our treats...)

A great end to a wonderful day

Fort Funston

It's no mistake that this place has FUN in it's name! Fort Funston was an amazing place with a ton of dogs playing together and running around off leash. We've never seen anything like it! 35+ acres of happy, playful dogs!

Fort Funston (notice Gold Gate Bridge in the background)

We got a chance to stretch our legs and run, and with over a mile of beach, it was easy to do. The waves were gentle so we even got to play in the Pacific Ocean. And what's better than rolling around after being all wet? Um, nothing! well, maybe some treats, but you get our point!

Getting down and dirty at Funston!

There were well over 100 dogs, but we only got the chance to meet a couple dozen. The dogs who can get a bit testy worse either soft muzzles or caged muzzles so everyone still got to play and have fun. After all, isn't that what dog parks are about? Having safe fun? We were sad when we headed back up the hill and to the car, we would have happily stayed all day.

Headed back.

Bay Area Pups!

Walking thru the sands of time.

That's right! Mom put us in our kennel, strapped us in, and headed Southbound on 1-5 to San Fransisco!!!  We vistied some family, strolled Pier 39,  enjoyed the wind in our face as we coasted down the twists and turns of  Lombard Street, but most important from our trip was the incredible 35+ acres dog park Mom and Dad found! It's ones of the best dog parks we've ever seen called Fort Funston.(we'll do a separate blog about that place! It deseves its own space!) We had a HUGE stretch of beach that was for dogs only with tons of sandy routes to take to get down to the water's edge. We even got to meet dozens of new friends! We even got to chase a ball with a pack of dogs. Can you tell we were excited about our new find?!

What's that fishy, loud thing?

We took in the stinky smells of the sea lions of Pier 39, and even shared some of Mom's yummy chowder. We even flew a kite with Mom and Dad and thought it was just the greatest! We were bummed when they took over the controls and didn't let us have them again.

Winter Time Fun

Well, it looks like winter has finally arrived for us! We actually got enough snow last night to allow us to romp and frolic for a few minutes.





Winter fun!

 Here's a few photos from our snow filled day!

We sure hope you get out and have fun!