The cutest, sturdiest dog toy: PrideBites™

Leela and I spent a week in Vegas, to visit our furryends at Super Zoo, a trade show for people who are in the pet industry: distributors, manufacturers, groomers, shop owners and more.

We had so much fun, made some awesome new furryends and got to see the coolest products ever.

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Leela is as particular about her toys as she is her treats. You see, my little lady is picky. Very picky. Or as she puts it: she knows what she likes. period. BOL.

Which is why we were so very impressed when we came across PrideBites™...

Image courtesy of PrideBites™

She normally prefers her stuffed "mousies" (meet Lola, one of her faves), but she absolutely adores her new PrideBites™ toy. How could she not?!? The bright colors are so awesome, they come in different sizes (the small bow is perfect for her size), soft, washable and it squeaks! And you know this momma is happy when she comes across a company that values quality & workmanship as much as I do. These toys are well made folks. Really well made.

How cool is this Glow in the Dark toy? Source.

Made with DuraBite™ fleece, two layers of super durable material, soft foam and encased squeakers, they are durable. I love me some durable toys! Because let's be honest: Leela is not always gentle when it comes to play time.  I love it that even after she pulls on it, chews on it, beats it to death, it returns to its original shape.

I also love that I can use it to distract Leela while giving her a bath. It floats! And it doubles as a cool accessory. Trust Leela and her furryonista tendencies!

They current offer 2 lines: PrideBites™ and PrideBites™ Custom. The PrideBites™ consists of 25 different characters made up of animals and symbols. The PrideBites™ Custom line gives a company or retailer the ability to create any PrideBites™ design they want, whether it’s their own logo or their very own dream toy!.

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And our absolute favorite reason for supporting these guys? For every toy sold, PrideBites™ donates to animal shelters and other organizations that help dogs in need, through their Buy a Toy, Help Save a Dog program. How cool is that? 

 You wanna know more, don't cha?

PrideBites™ was founded by 4 furryends who are avid animal lovers. While playing with their dogs, they realized that none of their toys could withstand the rigor of everyday playtime. In their quest for dog toys that would survive hikes up the canyon, muddy park outings, and swimming in the lake, the PrideBite™ was created.

 The Pack: Sean, Ting, Steven and Sam, image courtesy of PrideBites™

(Fun fact: Sean secretly told us that he would love to be an invisible bear so he could steal beef jerky from campers in the woods and not get caught - BOL)

To learn more about the PrideBites™ pack & meet their best furryends, click here.

Maybe you can even use it as a Howl-o-ween costume? BOL 

If you would like to purchase one of these toys, you can do so on their website (they are back-ordered until mid Oct). For every toy sold on their website they donate $1 towards their social movement, Buy a Toy, Help Save a Dog. 

Be sure to enter coupon code "Oohleela" for 10% off!

You can also find them on Facebook, You Tube and Twitter. 

Disclaimer: Leela received her toy free of charge, but all opinions are 100% our own and we truly do love this toy!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Linking up with BlogPaws.

Leela and Sebastian go on a date

Leela and I met some very spawcial people at BlogPaws this year: Sebastian and his mom Erika, from Sew Doggy Style.

We share so many common interests and we became instant furryends. You see, Sebastian loves fashion just as much as we do and Erika makes beautiful dog apparel and comes up with the most adorable craft tutorials for pets.

They came to visit us this weekend. We had so much fun!!!

Leela spent all day Wednesday licking the floor and putting her toys away. She also made a list of all the places she wanted to show her furryend Sebastian. She was so excited.

Sebastian and his mom arrived Thursday afternoon. Both Moms were a bit stressed out, so the puppies took us out to dinner and watched us chat as we gulped down sipped on a few 'Ritas.

Sebastian says: "Another round?!?"

Then on Friday, with a long list of things we wanted to do and see, and 2 puppies in tow, we decided to head into San Francisco.

First stop: The Presidio. The Presidio happens to be a very dog friendly place, as long as your dog doesn't mind having a messy hair do afterwards. BOL, it is windy.

Both puppies were hoping to take some pictures by the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge, but it was covered with the famous San Francisco fog.

Although we only saw a wee piece of the bridge, we did get to see lots of interesting things. Lots of nature mixed with man-made structures and graffiti art. There were lots of places to be sniffed. Divide and conquer we say!

Being able to photograph two adorable puppies made this Mommy so very happy.

Next stop: the beach. Be sure to come back later this week to see the 2nd part of our date. Oh, and don't forget to stop by Sebastian's blog as his Mom took tons of pictures as well. Told you we had a lot in common :)

How was your weekend?

Wordless Wednesday

 May I please have some water now Mommy???

Linking up with BlogPaws.

Leela's taste test: Life's Abundance dog food

One of the topics we discussed at BlogPaws was pet nutrition. They talked about the importance of being aware of what's in your dog's food, since most dog foods contain a large amount of by-products, fillers and even cancerous animal tissue.

I was like, "no problem! I got this!" I had been using what I thought was one of the safest options available.

I checked the back of the bag as soon as I came home and almost had a heart attack. As it turns out, it wasn't as good as I had thought. Here are 5 things you want to keep in mind when shopping for dog food:

1. NO Glutens
2. NO hormones or steroids
3. NO by-products or chemical preservatives
4. NO recalls
5. U.S. ingredients

{{I dare you to check what is in your pet's food (please sit down before doing so, bol). The first 5 ingredients are the most abundant ones, but do read the whole label - for more information about what to look for click here}}

A well balanced, all natural diet is key to a long, healthy life. 

Since then I have made a serious effort to improve Leela's diet. I have started cooking her food, and I have also started using Life's Abundance line of dog products.

Life’s Abundance Premium Health Food is veterinarian-formulated with safe and wholesome ingredients, including a blend of vitamins and minerals, high-quality proteins, whole grains, nutritious vegetables and fruits, omega fatty acids, calcium and phosophorus and dietary fibers. Life’s Abundance contains no artificial flavors or colors. And there’s no corn, corn gluten, wheat or wheat gluten.

They get all 4 paws up in our opinion:

1. I don't always have time to cook (even though I would love to). Knowing that I am able to complement Leela's diet with a healthy, wholesome alternative is great.
2. Their customer service is second to none - to keep it fresh, Life’s Abundance is not sold in stores; it is available through distributors who offer personal service. Fifi and Fido is an online distributor of Life’s Abundance. Owner, Dana Mayer provides super helpful tips on her blog and has a Facebook page where she shares holistic wellness tips and answers questions.She went above and beyond and answered all the questions that I had. And I had a lot of questions ;)
3. It costs less than my old brand
4. Mine was shipped as soon as it was made. It doesn't get much fresher than that.
You order online and it ships right to your door.

Here is what I've tried so far:

Leela is a picky eater but she loved her new Premium Health Food from the get go. At first, I mixed 10% of the new food with 90% of her old food (increasing the ratio of new food to old food as the days went by), to avoid upsetting her tummy.

Because of the lack of fillers, the dry food is a super food, which meant she only needed about 1/4 of a cup a day, instead of her usual 2/3 cup.

Wanna compare your brand to Life's Abundance dry food? They have a super cool tool on their site, that allows you to do just that. Here is the comparison chart for Life's Abundance and Wellness (the brand I used prior to making the switch). Cheaper and healthier? We'll take it!

I have also been giving Leela their Skin & Coat supplement. I have noticed that her hair is no longer matting like it used to. And her doggy scent has been a bit more pleasant. tee hee.

She also loves her new training treats. Maybe she will even learn a few new tricks? BOL

The result? 

Leela says it is chop licking worthy!!!

Is there a particular all-natural dog product that you use and recommend? Let us know in the comments!

**Just so you know, I received all products free of charge, but all opinions are 100% my own.

Wordless Wednesday

Shopping at the Dollar Store.

 Linking up with BlogPaws.

Screen printing with freezer paper stencils, a tutorial by Ooh Leela!

We prepared this tutorial to share with our friends at Sew Doggy Style, in honor of National Craft for your Local Shelter Day.

Freezer paper stenciling is so freaking addictive! You can use it to print shapes, text, and pretty much anything. Speaking of text, we thought it would be a great idea to add an “ADOPT ME” sign to the bandanas we donated to our local shelter.

Here is what you will need:

Freezer paper (found mine at Safeway)

Exacto knife

Pattern/sign (download here) 

Fabric paint (I like Tulip fabric paints)

Paintbrush

Cut one 8.5”x11” piece of freezer paper (so you can run it through your printer). Print sign on the dull side of the freezer paper (ignore the shiny side for now). 

 

Using an exacto knife, cut the image out being careful not to cut anything besides just the image. Any cracks or extra cuts in the paper will allow paint to seep through. Be sure to save the inside of the letters A, D, O and P. You will need them too.

Iron the stencil (shiny side down) onto your fabric.

This is where the magic happens. The shiny side becomes sticky with heat. Make sure you iron around all the edges of your stencil, so as to create a good seal. You don’t want paint seeping through. The trick here is to use low heat and make sure that the iron doesn’t touch the shiny side, or else it will lose its sticky-ness. Believe me, been there, done that.

Using a paintbrush, paint over the stencil. Use painter’s tape (like me), if you need to cover any additional areas. It is better to use a light coat of paint. Too much paint will cause the stencil to unstick and you will not get a crisp image. If you end up using more than one coat of paint, make sure you let it dry in between coats.

Let paint dry or if you are impatient like me, get the big gun out: use your blow drier to speed up the process. Oh yeah!!!

When the pain is dry, peel off the freezer paper (like a band-aid). Make sure you heat set your ink, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. **this step is really important otherwise the ink will fade when you wash the bandana.

Voila! The screen printing part of the process is done. Mind you, you can turn this into just about anything. But we decided to turn it into  a bandana, using one of these tutorials.

Oh, and instead of tying the ends, we decided to add a snap.  

Then if you have a cute little baby (no she is not a dog), ask her to model it for you. Warning: treats may be needed. Lots of it.

Got questions? Leave us a comment!

What sort of interesting projects have you been working on lately?

Wordless Wednesday

Linking up with BlogPaws

National Craft for your Local Shelter Day

 

 Our furryends Sebastian and Erika from Sew Doggy Style came up with a great idea: National Craft for your Local Shelter Day.

"What is National Craft for your Local Shelters Day?

It is a day set aside to recognize that we can give back to our local shelters in a crafty way.  This includes making beds, toys, vests and bandanas that say "adopt me," leashes, and sew much more.  What better way to give back to a shelter than the best way you know how - and for us, it's crafting." Erika Lindquist, from Sew Doggy Style

This year, National Craft for your Local Shelters Day took place on July 21st. We had the pleasure of joining Sebastian, his Mommy Erika and their beautiful friends in Fresno, CA. 

And this is Sebastian, the day after the party. Isn't he one of the most adorable doggies?

Photo by Sew Doggy Style

We made lots of pet-friendly items that will be donated to homeless pets living in 8 different shelters in the Fresno area. The hand painted ceramic bowls, bandanas and braided toys were very colorful and said Adopt Me, so we hope that they attract more people who are willing to adopt a dog or kitty.  

Photo by Laura, from The Peculiar Palette

 

We even made the news! ABC 30 News stopped by.

As Erika put it, "not everyone can write a check in this tough economy, but everyone can help." 

National Craft for your Local Shelters Day may be over, but the folks at Sew Doggy Style are still celebrating. They are hosting the most amazing giveaways on their blog this week. Be sure to check it out here.

Apart from the awesome ladies who came to the party on Saturday, lots of bloggers around the country signed up as well, such as these guys, this guy and this adorable little guy.

Thanks Erika and Sebastian for organizing such an amazing {and successful} event! 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Linking up with BlogPaws.

All natural dog ice cream recipe

I am not a big fan of the heat. There, I said it. I do love the sun, but as long as the temps are not greater than 70-75 degrees.  Leela gets very lethargic in the summer. She sleeps even more, if that is even possible. So to cheer the poor pup up, I made this super simple, yet delicious, mango ice cream recipe, that is a perfect treat for dogs and humans alike.

Step 1: peel mangoes, remove pit and dice it. 

Step 2: freeze it overnight. 

Step 3: using food processor (or a blender on steroids), blend mango cubes until smooth (30 seconds or so). Because we used frozen mango cubes, the consistency is very similar to that of a sorbet.

Simple, right? Well, not if you have a little princess at home, who likes her food served in the finest of china...

And on a very cute {{custom made}} dog bowl mat. If your furry companion is anything like mine, you know she is the pack leader and that you were put on this Earth to spoil her rotten. 

Once everything looks perfect and extra cute, call her.

Then sit back and watch her enjoy her sweet treat.

Leela's note: the possibilities are endless: store leftovers in an ice tray to create flavored ice cubes. Because mangoes are naturally sweet, there is no need to add any sugar, making this a low-calorie, all natural treat. If frozen, it will last up to a week. Mangoes are harmless to dogs, as long as the pit is removed. And as with everything else in life,enjoy it in moderation.

Do you have any fun summer recipes you would like to share?