Monday, June 30, 2014

Bacon's Show & Tell

Our buddy Bacon has a Mom who loves to collect old toys and they decided to have a show and  tell day where we can all flash back to old toys we had growing up.  Now Mom tells me that one of the great things about being 'old' is remembering what toys use to be like, when you could ride your bike all day and wander every where, build cubby houses and use your very own IMAGINATION to have fun. Personally - I the Reilly dog - wouldn't know because I am not ancient like she is but I did have my own special and most favorite toy - My Blue Moose. I had him for many years and he was sewn up and patched up constantly until the destuffinator (Denny) came to live here - then poor old moose just got chomped beyond repair. Okay - you can eww and ahhh over how cute I was as a pup back then :)

Now Mom didn't have a lot a toys when she was young but one of the things she did remember was a scooter she got for Christmas We couldn't find an exact match for the scooter she had but this one is pretty similar. Mom's was a pretty dark blue a bit more fancier than this one in the picture, had the pump up tires, a foot brake, a kick stand so it stood up by itself and a little carry rack on the back.  It was the most expensive gift Mom ever got (back then it cost $39.00).  Mom remembers riding it for years she especially loved whooshing down hills on it.

The other toy she remembered was game called Creeper Critters. It was a dice and pieces game. You rolled the dice and each number corresponded to a part of the critter - when you built the whole critter you won. Mom wanted the game so badly but  that year she only had $2.50 to spend (in Moms family the kids got given a certain amount to buy their own present) The game cost $3.00 and Mom only had $2.50 was so upset...but the nice lady at the store saw how much Mom wanted it and let her have it for $2.50.  Mom always remembers that even though she was like 8 years old at the time. Mom even remember the dice - body numbers - the legs were 1, body 2, tongue 3, head 4, eyes 5 and antennae were 6.  You had to throw 1 six times to get all the leg, and get 5 and 6 two times to get the eyes and antennae.

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Sunday Snippets # 7

Snippet 1 - Blueberry Coleslaw. Mom and Dad loved this and we noticed a few people mentioned they don't like cilantro - neither does Mom so she just swapped it out for plain parsley or you can jut leave it out.  Mom also made a second batch and added some apple too - totally yum! Sugar suggested using a Greek yoghurt as a dressing which would also be delish!

Snippet 2 - A few of you asked why I was having Cold Laser Treatment - well I have bad arthritis in my feet, leg joints and back and the treatments help lessen the inflammation and make me feel so good :) Mom says she often wishes she could get a treatment too. Mom has been looking around and has bought me my own hand held Cold Laser Therapy 'thing'. Now we know this is not going to be as good as the one MY Dogtor W. has - but those machine cost around $3000 -$6000 and we can't afford that - so we are going to give this small hand held one a try and see if it will help on the days between treatments.  The treatments I have cost $240 for 6 treatments. Our vet is pretty expensive so they are probably cheaper at your own vets. You can find a cold laser hand help device on Ebay - search for "Cold Laser Therapy"

Snippet 3- Quite a few of you mentioned how lucky we are to have a Layes factory in our town, we also have a Post Cereal Factory - we love driving by there and smelling all the cereal cooking. We also have a Nestle plant which makes many of the frozen Stouffer meals and is the only plant making the new Mac 'n' Cheese Cups. These are small cups of frozen Mac N Cheese and what my Dad has been working so many hours getting ready for production.  Psss these are made with fresh made pasta (they make it and cook it right there), real cheese, real butter and real bacon. They are only just coming out in stores now so it might be a few weeks before you see them in the freezers and there are three flavors - white cheddar and bacon, cheese burger and traditional.

Snippet 4 - We also mentioned the new Planters Salted Caramel Peanuts. Now Mom doesn't normally like peanuts - she's a Macadamia gal.....but she does love these peanuts so give them a try because they are pretty darn yummy. Mom also tried the cocoa and the smoked but she didn't like those and there is no way she would go near the chipotle one because she can't have spicy stuff.

Snippet 5 - It sounds like lots of peeps have the same problem with the "mosquitosaurus" that we have. The ones we have in Arkansas are particularly nasty as we are in a huge rice growing area with rice paddies full of water. When they bite, the itch beyond belief, swell up like a tennis ball, form a huge blister which eventually turns into a welt and continues to itch for at least two weeks - Mom speaks from experience about this. Did you also know Mosquito's prefer with an "O" blood group - they are also very fond of anyone who has alcohol in their system as this increases the carbon dioxide that we breathe out and is what really attracts the mosquitoes around us.

Snippet 6 - Thank you for all the wonderful comments asking how Mom is doing. She is feeling a lot better but has to  be super careful about she what she eats and drinks and what medications she takes. With Mom's chronic back pain this has been a real issue but her rheumatologist prescribed Lidocaine Patches and these have been really helping.

Snippter 7 - Our buddy Bacon is having a "show and tell" day tomorrow - here is what he says

"I am putting together Bacon’s Show and Tell scheduled for Monday, June 30th, 2014.  Post a blog this date to share a toy(s) from your childhood and tell us a little something about the toy.  What it meant to you.  Do you still have it?  When did you get it?  Do you have a picture of it?  Whatever you want to share.

Let’s see how many people we can get to post on June 30th, 2014 and participate in Bacon’s Show and Tell.  Mark your calendars and share with your friends – let’s relive some childhood memories!

NOTE:  You don’t have to still have your toy from your childhood.  Talk about what your favorite toy that you had, describe it and why it was your favorite :)


Saturday, June 28, 2014

Just a reminder

We just wanted to remind everyone that Mom is still doing pet portraits - so if you need a really unique present for a birthday, anniversary, Christmas etc please order a head of time so it will be there in time.

The paintings are done in Acrylic and are 20" x 16" on stretched canvas (this is ready to hang as is or can be framed) The cost of the paintings is $35.99 - plus shipping (which averages around $10.00 in the USA). We are happy to ship overseas but please be aware it is very expensive (usually between $25-$35).

Mom doesn't have an commissions at the moment so is twiddling her thumbs - not that we mind - it means more walkies:) Rest assured - she has excellent quality control too - here I am am dogervising one of the paintings - it's a tough job but someone has to do it :)  Now about half of the paintings Mom has done are of doggies who have crossed the rainbow bridge and we love being able to help keep their memories alive. Mom can also do two pups in one painting and any breed of dog. (Just a note - Mom is part of a Sheltie Group on Facebook which is why there are so many shelties but she has done all breeds of dogs).

You can check out more paintings on our website and you can either email Mom to order or you can now order direct from her ETSY store.  Please remember though - Mom needs VERY good photos to work from (the better the photo - the better the portrait) - and details of how to get the best photo are also on our website.

Our Portrait Website is http//www.cowspotdogs.com






Friday, June 27, 2014

Rangers Sunglasses Day

Growing up in Australia which has the brightest and clearest sunshine in the world - Mom knows  only too well the importance of sunglasses to protect the eyes and she can barely remember a time when she hasn't worn them. She decided it was time for us to join in too and she found us each a pair of these cool kiddies sunnies that fit us just perfectly - plus it is  Ranger's Sunglass Day and what better excuse do you need to wear some stylish shades?   Now something we do want to point out - many doggies love to hang "1" (as in one nose) out of the car window while driving. (You should ALWAYS make sure your pup is tethered so they can't jump or fall out the window) Hanging "1" can actually be quite dangerous for our eyes too. A small stone flicked up by a passing car or even a bug can hit us in the eye and cause serious damage. There are special sun glass goggles for doggies you can get now - they cost around $12.00 but are well worth it - compared to a vets bill. So let the wind flow through the furs, the ears flap, the tongue lolly goggle and be safe wearing some pawsome goggles.



Thursday, June 26, 2014

Out and About

We have been taking Mom for little walks at the park - SHE says we are taking small walks because of  MY arthritis but we really KNOW it is because she is just an old slow poke. As with most places we seemed to have got about two week of spring and now we are straight into summer with temps in the 90's and humidity at 70%. We try to walk early in the morning and stay in the most shady parts of the park but that is also where the mosquitosaurus live (giant prehistoric mosquitoes big enough to slurp the blood of a dinosaur in one gulp!) 


Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Bacon and Fozzies Shipping across the World

It is time for Bacon and Fozzies Shipping across the World again. This months items are:


Price of cable services for one month – what do you get for that price? - Our cable includes the internet and basic tv and cost us $119 a month - YIKES!!!!

A 12 ounce box (360 grams) of Cornflakes - $2.99 for the real ones and $2.49 for the generic brand

A 15 ounce package (432 grams) of Oreos or other cream filled cookies. - $2.99 for the real ones and $1.99 for the generic

A 7 ounce bag (225 grams) of Lay’s potato chips. - $3.99 for Lays and $1.99 for the generic. We actually have a Lays factory right here in our town!

1 pound of real butter. - $3.99 for the branded version and $2.99 for the generic

A 6 ounce can of peanuts. - $2.49 - Have you tried the new planter salted caramel peanuts - YUM!

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Fuel The Cure - With Oz and Zukes

We are joining in Oz's "Fuel the Cure" blog hop which is helping raise money and awareness of pet cancers in conjunction with Zukes pet treats who donate a portion of all their sales to research in this area.

Now PLEASE do join in as Zukes is donating $5.00 for every blog hop entry PLUS you have a chance to win to win some yummy Zukes too - what could be better. The Contest and Fundraiser Blog Hop will be open from Tuesday, June 24 through Saturday, June 28 - so you have NO excuses not to join in as the contest is open to USA, Canada and the UK !!!!!  But anyone anywhere can still join the blog hop in support of pet cancer!

Now we must admit we have been EXTREMELY lucky for over a life time of having pets, dogs, cats, birds, fish etc -  we have only ever had one dog with cancer. He was a beautiful doberman/greyhound mix by name of Tinto that developed bone cancer of the leg. Even though they thought they were able to catch it in time - he did eventually develop a brain cancer too and passed away at the age of 4. Sadly some 30 years ago when this happened there was little if no real treatment for pet cancers.

What these things do more than anything...... is remind us to live life in the moment and enjoy every second for all it is worth as all to easily it can be snatched away from us in a blink.  Now Oz wanted us to include some photos of us enjoying life and we couldn't think of anything better then seeing Mr Dweeb Denny playing with his favorite tennis ball and ME just smiling  because OCCASIONALLY I like too :)



Monday, June 23, 2014

That HAPPY buzz

I got to go and have my cold laser therapy this morning and it was wonderful !  The treatment actually causes the body to release endorphins that make you feel good and it also helps relieve inflammation and pain.  I was so excited about getting it - I jumped up on the chair and then the table without even waiting for them to pick me up! (Mom was not happy I did that as I could hurt myself). I had 15 minutes of a wonderful happy buzz...Mom and Peggy (the technician) were laughing because I was making all these happy grunting sounds. I have 5 more treatments to go and can not wait!

Sunday, June 22, 2014

What to do with cabbages and blueberries

Mom says things are plodding along in the garden - we lost a few plants while she was sick cause she forgot to tell dad to water them - but overall most things survived. What we do have though is an over abundance of cabbages and blueberries  (we planted 2 blueberry bushes last year and they gone CRAZY) Now thank fully dad loves corn beef and cabbage and Mom mamkes awesome stuffed cabbage rolls but today we found something different to try - Blueberry Coleslaw! Now we know you are going to want the recipe so here it is.

BLUEBERRY COLESLAW
Ingredients
1 head Savoy cabbage
1/2 onion
1 carrot, julienned
1 pint blueberries (about 2 cups)
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Kosher salt

Method
Shred the cabbage and thinly slice the onion, preferably using a mandoline on its thinnest setting. Combine the cabbage, onion, carrot and blueberries in a large bowl.
Add the mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, cilantro and 1 tablespoon salt and toss to combine. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Thank you Mr Chewy - You Made Our Mom Smile

Mom got a wonderful surprise today - there was a ding dong of the doorbell - followed by lots and lots of woofing and barking. When she opened the door there was a lovely person with a beautiful vase of flowers and those flowers were for Mom!!! They came from Chewy.com - can you believe that - Mom doesn't know how they knew - but they do ! There was also a lovely message saying they hoped Mom feels better soon.  Of coarse the Dweeb was just terrified of the balloon - seriously we just shake our head at that boy! Anyway - Thank you Chewy.com - they made Mom smile and she needed that. Best of all there was two of her favorite flowers in the bunch - Asian Lilli's and Roses.




Friday, June 20, 2014

Well about time!

Finally - after a week I got to go to MY park. Now the Mom isn't up to much walking but we sat and fed the pesky ducks and just enjoyed the sunshine for a bit. Looks to me LIKE MY park has been invaded by the feathery pests and check out the ducky family - really - we don't need any more of you guys even if you are cute. At least I got a couple of "good chase them into the water barks in" Mr Tuffy and is mate are back together again - sadly no babies. She sat on the nest a long time but we guess the eggies were not fertile. And now - after the long long long winter - we get to start complaining about the heat - phew 91degress at 7.00 am - YES summer has arrived !





Thursday, June 19, 2014

Woof It From The Roof Tops

MOM IS HOME - MOM IS HOME  - After abandoning us for days and days and DAYS with no reason - Mom is FINALLY home! Dad told us she at the big peoples vet hospital and even though I knew what that was - Dweeb had no idea. When she came in I bounced around woofing my head off - Dweeb hid a corner all shy wondering who this person was - it took a good 15 minutes before he realized it was Mom. They didn't really want to let Mom go but told them she had to get home to her boys. As for an answer as to why she was sick - they found one but still can't explain some of the other issues she is having. Yesterday Mom has and Ultra Sound and a EGD scope of her stomach which showed the ulcer she has is now 3 times bigger than it was was they looked at is back in November and this was probably the cause of her stomach pain and not being able to eat. She has some follow up appointments with specialists in the next month and hopefully they can sort out the rest of the problems. Thank you thank you every furbody and their peeps - we KNOW you all sent her lots of healing vibes.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

A huge thank you

Mom (Bree) here. I just wanted to say a huge thank you for all the wonderful support and prayers. It has been a very scary and worrying few days........especially as we are no closer to an answer yet....but knowing there are wonderful friends out there praying for me and sending lots of positive thoughts has given me courage and strength to keep fighting. Tomorrow is another day and hopefully an answer will come...but until then I am sending everyone a big old hug and many heart felt thanks. The boys are getting lots of extra cuddles from their dad but I will be so glad when I can get home to them all. Hopefully in a few days I will be be able to start visiting you all again and please remember to keep P.O.T.P going for all those that need it.

Monday, June 16, 2014

An update

We just wanted to send out a huge thank you for the power of the paw for mom. Apart from Dad  - mom doesn't know anyone else so blogville and all of you are her family and it means so much when she is feeling scared that she isn't alone. Mom is still in a lot of pain but sadly they still don't what is causing it.  Mom is still keeping Frankie in our thoughts and anyone else who needs some loving. We will try to keep everyone up to date when we have more news...thank you so very much everyone.

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Power of the paw for mom

Reilly's dad here. Reilly's Mom is in hospital ...she's been in a lot of pain the past two weeks and we just found out she has a bowel obstruction. Please send lots of good thoughts that it resolve itself and she won't need surgery. The boys and I are very worried. Dad, Reilly and Denny.

Sunday Snippets #6

Snippet 1 - We were so happy to be able to share the Sojos - we sent out 8 boxes of it on Wednesday so they should be arriving this coming week. We still have some more to share so keep watching.

Snippet 2 - Some of you were worried about me being in pain with the arthritis - well being the stoic old dude I am - I would never let on....but yes I do have some pain medication I take every morning and evening and it helps a lot. Mom says she is going to take me for some more cold laser treatments which I totally loved and that will help too. Even though I don't let on when I am pain - Mom knows and is ever watchful.

Snippet 3 - Mom is half way through the next rug already - or coarse she couldn't do it without my dogervising - Can you guess what it is?

Snippet 4 - We have a swallow/swifts nest right by our front door, it is unfortunately too high to see into but we found all the shells yesterday and figured the babies must have hatched. Can you believe the cheeky buggers dive bomb us every time we go out the front door. Luckily we don't go out that way very often but really - after I LET them use MY porch!













Snippet 5 - Mom and I are super happy as it is Saturn Peach time. Have you tried these......Mom and I wait all year for them as they are so sweet and juicy. Sadly they are only ever available for a few weeks :( Mom, Dad and I also went to Farmers Market yesterday and we had such fun - especially as the 'dog cookie lady' was there and she gave me free samples!  Cheddar and Bacon bites - those were totally delish! She thought it was so cute when I put my front feet up on the table and pushed the treat jar with my nose - it worked - she gave me another one!!!  Dweeb of coarse - doesn't go to the farmers market as he would be trembling shaking terrified bundle of nerves if he saw all the people - but Mom bought ME him home a bag of cookies.





Saturday, June 14, 2014

Chewy.com - Orbee-Tuff Sport Ball Review

14 June 2014

Today thanks to Chewy.com - I THE DENNY am getting to do a review all by myself. See the other day Mom was mowing the lawn on the "Red Beastie" (ride on lawnmower) when she ran over my most favorite ball - it was devastating !!!!!!!!!!  Now admittedly with all the rain we have had the grass was so long she didn't see it but she heard it as it squeaked it's final squeak, flew around under the mower and then got spit out and hit the fence in bright yellow fuzzy pieces.  I know - the details are gory ....and I think I am still in shock!

Well thankfully Chewy.com and Mr Andrew came to the rescue because one of this months review items was "Planet Dog" balls. Mom quickly sent an email and said we would be happy to review a the new Orbee-Tuff Sport Ball.

Here Are The Basics

  • Durable
  • Buoyant
  • Minty flavored
  • Bouncy
  • Has space for treats inside
  • Made in the USA
  • Cost $9.95 (Sale Price)

The Play Test
Now this looks like a tennis ball but it isn't fuzzy and I was a bit scared skeptical of it  to begin with. It also smelled different too and I wasn't sure about that either.

Mom pondered for a moment - then she washed the ball and rubbed it all over ME !  What kind of strange ball game is this oh my DOG ...I didn't like that at all !!!!!

BUT - then Mom did something totally AMAZING with it - she put YUMMY treats inside it..... nice smelly stinky salmon treats - my most favorite and that Orbee ball suddenly became irresistible ! Mom would throw it and I would chase it and little bits of freeze dried salmon would fall out - what a wonderful magical ball it is.


Positives
I do like this one being a soft rubber - it means I can leave it outside and it won't get soggy when it rains. Of coarse it might get run over with the "Red Beastie"  if I do that.

Rating
Now as much as I LOVE playing with this ball - I am only going to give it 3 paws rating. It loses a point because it doesn't squeak and I love me a good squeaky ball and also because the treat section seems like a good idea - but it is so small that it is hard to find treats small enough to go in it and if you crumble treats up small enough to fit - they also fall straight back out again. Now even though I am a BIG STRONG boy - I found this ball is also a bit to heavy for my little mouth.
Disclaimer 
 Chewy.com sent us an Orbee Ball in return for an honest review. We were not paid or compensated for our review in any other way and our opinion is purely our own.



Friday, June 13, 2014

Advice for Dui

We heard that the newest addition to blogville  - little Dui - is in need of some training tips. Now as a supremely intelligent dog .....I am only too happy to share my wealth of knowledge - just don't let the peeps read this as these are TOP SECRET training tips!
  1. Use all that puppy cuteness to the FULL advantage, ear rubs and tummy tickles will follow
  2. Practice the "big sad eyes" look - the peeps can't resist it
  3. Learn the fine art of blaming "some doggie"
  4. Begin training your human immediately - don't go easy on them - they can be stubborn but persistent cute tail wags, lolly-gogging tongues, puppy yaps and funny antics will melt the hardest of hearts and treats in abundance will follow
  5. Give your Peep lots to do - pooping and peeing occasionally indoors will keep them busy as will digging up their favorite plants in the garden, emptying the indoor trash cans and spreading the laundry around.
  6. Make them teach YOU new tricks - It is really a way of teaching them to give you treats! 
  7. Give them lots of exercise - while on walkies - don't come when called - it will make them chase after you.
  8. Learn the fine art of "Hide and Seek" hide some of their favorite items so they have to go searching everywhere for them. It also gives them lots of exercise.
  9. Teach the peeps not to be greedy - they need to learn to share - especially cookies and other yummies we are not supposed to have.
  10. When being accused of doing something VERY naughty - LIMP - feign a paw injury - trust me - this one works like a charm - irritable peeps will all of a sudden become a cooing "poor baby - did you hurt yourself" peep. All naughtiness will be forgotten. As soon as they mention a car ride to the vet - start walking around happily on all 4 feet again :)
So there you have it Dui - our little Aussie cousin - MY top 10 tips for training your human :) :) :)

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Annual Check-up

Yesterday I went to MY favorite Dogtor for my annual checkup and shots.  They stole my blood, pocked me with needles and put drops in my nose and zapped me with an x-ray machine. Mom says they will help keep me safe for the next year so I guess it is worth it. My thyroid levels are holding steady with thanks to my medication but we did get some not so good  news.

Dogtor W says I have the doggie equivalent of rheumatoid arthritis and it is now affecting all my joints and even my spine. Mom had noticed me getting stiffer and she was very worried about me slipping on the wood floors which I seem to be doing more and more.  I have some new medication to try for the arthritis and will be getting a shot every 3 months that will also help. After the dogtors visit Mom said we needed to go to  Petco to get some PAWS boots for me. Needless to say I wasn't at all interested in those - not when there was so many yummies to sniff and YES - we got plenty of those too :) :)  Dogtor W said it was still okay for me to go adventuring but no really long ones anymore.