Is training a major part of your life? To me, a well-behaved dog is an extension of our style. How? Confidence and calm are stylish; and sexy. In our house, we not feeling stylish and sexy everyday, that’s for sure! LOL

But, we are always using opportunities to train, something expert dog guru, Justin Silver, taught me. It works, too. Jasper is much better behaved and Sophie is getting better at not barking at certain dogs outside, thereby setting her brother off.

We have definite tools we use on a regular basis; products that been most helpful in getting the job done. I’ve recently tried the KLIMB™, a platform dog training product and I really like it! Thanks to the folks at Blue-9 for sending us two of them; we’re training on the KLIMB™ regularly.

And, yes! I’m passing the love onto the Bark & Swagger family!  We’ll be giving away a KLIMB™ platform to a follower, a $160.00 value! Details of the giveaway are below. Continue reading

What says summer like hanging at the beach. And, while I’m not a beach person myself, I know at least one little munchkin who loved it from the get go. For this week’s 52 Snapshots of Life photo challenge, the theme is Summer. I came across this picture I took a while back. It was Sophie’s first time at the beach – first time! Can you tell how much she loved it?

I don’t know if other people’s dogs do this, but both Sophie and Jasper dig their noses into the sand and try to bury their faces in it, especially Jas. They are so excited to be there, it’s like they want to take in every molecule of the experience, and that means rolling around, digging, the works. I spend a good deal of time picking sand out of their eyes, in their baths that follow the beach. Ew! It doesn’t seem to bother them, though. Continue reading

Outdoor play, bouts in the pool, tearing through the dog park, sand digging at the beach…there are so many summer fun ways to get dirty and stinky. Who are we to deny our pups that? Heavens, no! We need a solution or we’ll be bathing our little buggers every day, and we know that’s not healthy. I have a great find for you! These delicious-smelling, natural coat fresheners for our dogs are the perfect way to eliminate the odors of everyday summer play between baths. Let me tell you all about them, then stick around for the giveaway at the end… Continue reading

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What’s puffy, soft and cute all over? No, not a fluffy puppy; it’s Puppy Bumpers®! These stylish and protective problem solvers keep dogs from squeezing through fences, between rails and under gates, so you never have to worry that Fifi or Fido will Houdini themselves out of your yard. And, they’re great now, as a summer pet safety product giving you peace of mind. Continue reading

Had some fun shooting this one today for 52 Snapshots of Life photo challenge. Try taking a photo of Jasper and it’s nearly impossible. Why? The little terrier terror can’t keep still! It took a fistful of treats and some begging, and Sophie still photobombed it. LOL  I did my own take on traditional “red” for red, white & blue. It’s more a raspberry to match the flowers. But hey, I like it! 🙂 And, I managed to catch Jas in a split second of smiling and looking at me, simultaneously. I’m good with that.

Pet blogging friend and colleague, Christina Berry of The Lazy Pitbull, created this fun challenge. You don’t have to be a blogger to participate. Just snap or choose a pic you’ve taken that matches that week’s theme and post it on your social networks, with the hashtag #52Snapshots, so we can all follow along! For pet bloggers, this is a BlogHop, so hop on! Continue reading

How did 10 weeks pass so quickly, but here we are! We’ve covered a lot of ground over the course of the Tuesdays with Justin; Dog Training at Home series. Justin gave us fixes for everything from reactivity to resource guarding; from self awareness to obsessive behaviors. For the final week, we both thought it a good idea to wrap everything up into one place we can refer to for how to train our dogs. I hope it’s helpful as a launch point before you tackle any problem.

This is also the last week of the giveaway, so if you want to win a copy of Justin’s awesome new book, The Language of Dogs, where he includes everything we’ve covered here and much more, then enter! It’s easy! See details below this post.

I’ve loved having Justin and his training partner, Dave Donnenfeld, guest post. Thank you both so much! We all hope Justin’s tips have been helpful to you and would welcome feedback, comments and suggestions of other topics that may be of interest when it comes to training. So, lay it on us; don’t be shy! 🙂 Here we go, with Week 10: The Wrap. Continue reading

Summer barbecuing, oh yes! Love a lightly blackened ear of corn, fresh off the grill and a sizzling piece of fish. It’s so yummy and fun to barbecue, it doesn’t seem fair not to include the whole family, ie: members of the furry kind. How do we make it safe and fun for them, too?  I have some great summer barbecue ideas and products to make your family day a big success! Continue reading

With July 4th around the corner and summer in full swing, this is the season of stylish and fun dog bandanas. One of my favorite brands doing it well is Dog Fashion Spa, the luxury grooming and accessories company that doesn’t charge an arm and a paw to get in on the great products they offer. A brand new collection of bandanas has gotten my attention and I’m loving what I’ve seen. So natch, I have to share it with you! Discover these clever, cheeky accessories in great pops of summer color! CLICK on any picture to take you to a purchase page. Continue reading