Spencer the Goldendoodle: January 2014

Friday, January 31, 2014

FitDog Friday: Snow Fun

While mom works hard to shovel all the snow,

I get to play!

What is all this white stuff on my face?

I don't know what it is but it sure taste good!

But mom, I don't want to go in!

I love going outside in the snow, especially in this heat wave of 6 degrees.

*Note: While I'm outside during the winter time my mom monitors my paws to make sure they don't I don't get any frostbite. Also, I am monitored and supervised the entire time I out anytime of the year.

I am joining the FitDog Friday Blog Hop hosted by

Slimdoggy, Peggy's Pet Place, and To Dog With Love

Thoughtless Thursday: PoopBuddy-Valentines Edition

PoopBuddy

(Photos courtesy of PoopBuddy)

What you need. What your dog loves. Don't let your Valentine's day stink. Order your subscription by February 10 to guarantee a wonderful Valentine's themed package.

(Photo courtesy of PoopBuddy)

PoopBuddy is convenient, affordable, and helps our environment.

All you have to do is choose from three different plans:

Monthly - $10 per month + Free Shipping
3 Months - $9 per month + Free Shipping
6 Months - $8 per month + Free Shipping

Not only do you receive enough fun themed poop bags to last you a month, you also free treats and goodies.

*Note: These images are just promo pictures of their Valentines package - it's just a mock-up, we wouldn't want to give away the surprise.

I am joining the Thoughtless Thursday Blog Hop hosted by

Ruckus the Eskie and Love is being owned by a Husky

Wordless Wednesday: Toys

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I am joining the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop hosted by

BlogPaws

I'm happy to introduce the Three Dog Bakery back to Spencer the Goldendoodle for a Special Valentines product review.

In 1989, three dogs, two guys and one 59 cent biscuit cutter joined forces to create Three Dog Bakery - the world's original bakery for dogs. Thanks to dog lovers everywhere, they have grown from a bare-bones tabletop beginning to one of the nation's leading producers of the best all-natural foods and treats for dogs.

The products in this review are the Honey Hearts and the Puppy Kisses To Go.

Honey Hearts Wafers

Baked with Cinnamon and Honey

Cost-$6.99

Description

It is love at first bite with their Cinnamon Honey Hearts! Their classic vanilla wafer cookies sweetened with all-natural honey and nose-tingling cinnamon. 8oz of drool-worthy goodness packed in an adorable dog house-making it the sweetest gift for you sweetest Valentine!

Ingredients

Wheat flour, honey, canola oil, dried whole egg, dried cane molasses, cinnamon powder, vanilla powder, baking soda, baking powder, citric acid (preservative, mixed tocopherols (preservative)

Puppy Kisses To Go

Carob and Strawberry Flavor Mini Wafers

Cost-$6.99

Description

Tail-waggin' strawberry and carob flavored tiny soft-baked wafer cookies. 9oz of sweet puppy kiss in a too-cute, collectible take-out container. Paw-fect for your furry little valentine!

Ingredients

Wheat flour, canola oil, carob powder, dried cane molasses, dried whole egg, baking soda, baking powder, citric acid (preservative), mixed tocopherols (preservative)

It is finally time for the taste test!

I made mom take off this silly hat for the taste test!

Spencer gives these products 4 paws up!

These treats are the perfect size for any dog and so yummy my mouth drools just looking at them! Your Valentine is sure to love them!

Three Dog Bakery has so many other products to chose from and they are reasonably priced! You can purchase these products off of their website. They have lots of other yummy seasonal treats that you can only find in their store! Click here to find a store near you!

For specials, sign up for their Tummy Rub Club on the homepage of their website. They send out weekly email except at the holidays it's slightly more than weekly. You will not regret it, neither will your dog!

I encourage you to check them out on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterst, and their Blog.

Disclaimer: I was provided these produces free of charge for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own and no other compensation was given.

I am joining the Tasty Tuesday Blog Hop hosted by

Sugar the Golden Retriever and Kol's Notes

Mental Health Awareness & The Lola Project

This is a topic near and dear to my heart. With my mom being a mental health nurse and my grandma working as a social worker with children with behavioral health disorders, I want to continue to spread awareness on this topic.

Did you know that 1 in 4 adults experiences mental illness in a given year, that is roughly 57.7 million people ages 18 and older (1). And 1 in 17 live with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar (1).

While medications are the main course of treatment, more and more of my furry companions are being trained to support and help those with mental health disorders.

Psychiatric service dogs are a specific type of service dog trained to assist their handlers who struggle with psychiatric disabilities, such as, but not limited to post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, and autism spectrum disorders (2).

Here are some of the many tasks that these dogs can be trained to do for their handler (2):

Assist handlers within their home and in public.
Remind their owners to take medication.
Wake their handlers for school or work.
Assist in coping with emotional overload by bringing handler into the "here and now."
Provide a buffer or a shield for the handler in crowded areas by creating a physical boundary.
Extinguish flashbacks by bringing handler into the here and now.
Orient during panic/anxiety attack.
Search dwelling.
Stand behind handler to increase the feelings of safety, reduce hyper-vigilance, and decrease the likelihood of the handler being startled by another person coming up behind them.

Psychiatric service dogs provide so much more then what can be trained such as (2):

Relief from feelings of isolation.
An increased sense of well-being.
Daily structure and healthy habits.
An increased sense of security, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and sense of purpose.
Mood improvement and increased optimism.
A secure and uncomplicated relationship.
A dependable and predictable love, affection and nonjudgmental companionship.
Motivation to exercise.
Encouragement for social interactions.
Reduction in debilitating symptoms.
Around the clock support.

Lola from The Lola Project
(Photo courtesy of The Lola Project)

With that being said I would like to introduce to you

The Lola Project.

The Lola Project works on raising awareness about mental health and the benefits of psychiatric service dogs.

Meet Lola! Here she is on the left at 10 weeks old and her this past summer.
(Photo courtesy of The Lola Project)

Due to the negative stigma associated with mental health most people with mental illness go unnoticed, untreated, and/or looked upon as taboo. It is their goal to help people understand the importance of banding together to support education and the resources necessary to shine the limelight on mental health and stomp out the stigma.

By working together and utilizing these resources, it is their hope that we will be able to work as a nation wide community to educate, treat those in need and prevent/deter tragedies that may stem from the misunderstanding of mental illness or lack of treatment.

Lola in her harness that reads, "Psychiatric Service Dog."
(Photo courtesy of The Lola Project)

Here is their mission statement:

"Our mission is to raise awareness and educate as many people as possible about mental health and illness, the significant benefits of psychiatric service dogs, and leave paw prints on the hearts of those we have the privilege of helping and educating, while first handedly developing a module for training psychiatric service dogs especially for our Veterans."

Lola helping train the next generation.
(Photo courtesy of The Lola Project)

The Lola Project wouldn't be possible without their sponsors supporting this important and wonderful cause. Their sponsors are: Paws of Distinction, Dirty Dogs Pet Services, 1800-PetMeds, and Robibero Family Vineyards. The more we are able to educate the public, the more organizations like The Lola Project can be funded. Giving individuals who suffer from a mental illness access, not only to psychiatric service dogs, but to other resources they need to be successful in life.

I encourage you to learn more about The Lola Project: Website, Facebook page, Twitter account, or Etsy Shop.

If you would like to help support The Lola Project you can either donate or purchase fundraising merchandise.

(Photo courtesy of The Lola Project)

*Side Note: Check out video of Lola at work and some of the different tasks she is trained to do at their Facebook page.

(1) National Alliance of Mental Illness
(http://www.nami.org/factsheets/mentalillness_factsheet.pdf)

(2) Mental Health Assistance Dogs
(http://www.mentalhealthdogs.org/Psychiatric-Service-Dogs.html)

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Black n White Sunday: Blizzard in Minnesota

Happy Sunday!

Once again, Minnesota is in a blizzard. So it looks like I will be staying in and playing with my toys. Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday and stay warm.

Please follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram.

I am joining the Black n White Sunday Blog Hop hosted by

Sugar the Golden Retriever and Dachshund Nola

National Peanut Butter Day

Did you know that it takes 550 peanuts to make a 12 ounce jar of peanut butter? Peanuts are cholesterol free and an excellent source of protein. In fact, it's the high protein content that causes peanut butter to stick to the roof of your mouth.

Enjoy this sticky day!

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Thoughtless Thursday: Couponing for a Reason

So this week my mom hit up one of her favorite stores for some amazing deals and discounts!

This is what she ended up getting:

*6 cans of dog food

*4 body washes

*2 deodorants

*2 hand soaps

*1 toothpaste

*1 dish soap

*1 bag of dog food

She got all this for $14.48!

That is $0.85/item!

The dog food that we purchased will go into our donation box for our local humane society. Couponing is a great way to stock up not only for yourself but organizations in need.

I am joining the Thoughtless Thursday blog hop hosted by
Ruckus the Eskie and Love is being owned by a Husky

Wordless Wednesday: Spencer Warhol

You can call me: Spencer Warhol

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I am joining the Wordless Wednesday blog hop hosted by:
BlogPaws

Monday, January 20, 2014

#ScoopYouPoop: Walking down a "poop" free memory lane!

Thank you for joining me as I take a walk down memory lane.

That is a "Poop Free" memory lane.

This campaigns is about:

Being a responsible pet owner.
Paying it forward and picking up after others.
Setting a good example for others .
Leaving the trails, parts or town cleaner then you found it.
Making sure dogs in the future are still welcomed with open arms.

"Be A Scooper Hero"

Be the "Super Hero" your pet knows you are and scoop that poop. It is every owners responsibility to clean up after their pets.

There are many reasons why it is important to pick up after your pets, here are some of them.

"Poop Patrol"

More and more cities are starting to fine pet owners who don't pick up after their pets.

So would you rather pay a fine or spoil your dog? I know what you dog would pick.

Signs like this are popping up more and more to remind pet owners to be responsible and pick up after their pets.

"Poop Poetry"

Did you know that on average a dog drops 3/4 pound of waste daily? That adds up quickly and you would want to fertilize your roses with that.

You can follow the continued efforts of the #ScoopThatPoop Campaign on their website or follow them on Twitter.

I am joining the #ScoopThatPoop Blog Hop hosted by Sugar the Golden Retriever. There are many other fantastic blogs participating, so make sure to check them out as well by clicking their links below.

Black and White Sunday: 100th Post

We have just hit a big milestone, our 100th post! Thank you to everyone for their support, encouragement, and guidance. This has been a fun and exciting journey and can't wait to see where this takes us. Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday full of football.

What does the fox say?

By now most of you have had this song stuck in there head at one time or another. Since getting two new fox stuffed animals for Christmas I hear my mom singing, "What does the fox say? SQUEAK, SQUEAK, SQUEAK, SQUEAK, SQUEAK!" In case you have never heard this song before here is the video. Happy Saturday!