Happy Howl-O-Ween-A Very Busy Halloween Weekend

Now here's the thing, our mom is pretty nuts about Halloween. I mean she owns a ton of horror movies, loves to eat candy and carve pumpkins, has a box full of vintage Halloween decorations, and she starts planning thr pugs Halloween costumes on November 1st.  So since last years celebration was washed out by Hurricane Sandy she was determined to make up for it this.   First she got up really super early and made apple cider donuts.  She was all proud of herself because she had never made donuts before.

 We put on our best begging faces and managed to get a taste.

 Now they were tasty, but we kind of agree with Dad when he questioned whether they were worth the effort since you can buy pretty good donuts at the shop.  Mom, however, is sold on them as a yearly treat.  After our donuts and our walk it was time for our yearly pumpkin of goodies.  Now we were pretty upset about this because Mom and Dad filled it with our bark box treats.  Which is totally unfair.  We get a Bark Box every month so it stands to reason that for Halloween we should get a Bark Box AND a treat filled pumpkin.  Mom is blaming this one on Dad who apparently said we did not need both.

Weasley saying "What the #?!# these are our Bark Box goodies!"

 There was still some cool stuff in the pumpkin so we guess in the end it was OK.  After the pumpkin it was time for the pugs to get ready for the Halloween parade.   Mom and dad used to bring all five doggies but it got to be too hard to control us in all the Halloween chaos so it now falls to the pugs to dress up and Norbert and Bob are lucky enough to get to stay home and then eat the treats we bring back.   For this Halloween the pugs wore the same costumes as last year, since they never really got to use them because of the hurricane.  They were the Three Pugateers:

The costumes are from Matti's Millinery and Costumes on Etsy  and they really are the  best costumes we have ever had.  She makes great stuff.  Mom is already drooling over the Renaissance Tudor pet costume  and she says she kind of wishes she was rich and had some Victorian event to go too because she would love to wear one of the Victorian people dresses too.  Anyway, our pet parade was at Canis Minor in Pavonia Newport in down town Jersey City. 
We arrived in style:

There were lots of doggies in costumes, but it didn't take us long to size up the competition and realize that really, no surprise, we were the cutest.

We participated in the parade but figured it was pretty much a moot point, since we were the clear winers.  Sadly it was so windy that tubby lost the feather in his cap.  However, that was made up for when we did indeed win, best group, and we got a twenty five dollar gift certificate to the store and we will be in the local paper.

 Clearly we are the cutest.

The best part was when we got home from the parade mom and dad gave us and Norbert and Bob lots of treats.  Maybe, they were feeling guilty because that night they ditched us!  They went out to the Halloween show at the Landmark Loews Theatre.  We wanted to go too but apparently no dogs allowed.    Its one of the last big movie palaces left in the whole country and since its a non-profit they occasionally show old movies there. We would love to see the inside because Mom and Dad both say its amazing.  They took some blurry pictures

 We hope mom didn't get any costume ideas for next year from the movie, it was  Bride of Frankenstein

Sci Fi Saturday-Tribble Edition!

Weasley here:

Sometimes mom strikes out in the toy department and a toy just doesn't get our mojo running, but she scored a home run when she got us these Silly Squeakers Balls from doggy loot.  

 These things are amazing!  With a super loud squeak and lots of neat fluffy hair, plus they are they are perfect size for a pugs mouth. (Our big guy Norbert likes them too, but mom is not sure if they would be good for big dogs who are aggressive chewers.)  When I hear them squeaking I just go crazy (sorry for the blurry photos but my speed was too super awesome for mom's camera phone)!!!

Another super cool thing about these balls they remind mom of the tribbles 

from our favorite show Star Trek!  Too bad our toys don't keep reproducing like the tribbles on the show.  We think mom is already going to have to get a new batch.

 In a final nod to the awesomeness of  Star Trek (and of course my own awesome self) mom has to include two picture collages of me in Tubby's Kobeyashi Maru t-shirt (a reference for serious trek fans only) courtesy of zazzle.  It's a little tight on Tubby which is why I am sporting it. 

Product Review-Cycle Dog Collar

Our dad is pretty crazy about bicycles, he bikes to and from work every day and most weekends mom and dad bike around Manhattan, Jersey City, or Brookly.  Right now our living room has four bicycles in it.   In fact our house almost as much bicycle stuff as dog stuff, not quite but almost.  That is was why mom was intrigued when she heard about Cycle Dog.  The earth friendly company takes old bicycle tubes destined for landfills and recycles them into dog toys, collars, and leashes.  This is a great use of bicycle tubes wish sadly often wind up languishing in land fills, a real source of frustration for environment loving cyclists.

 Mom selected a silver reflective pup top collar for Weasley, being a playful young guys he is kind of tough on his collars and his fabric ones have gotten rather dirty even with washing.

This collar is also easier to clean then many of the fabric ones mom has purchased and Weasley looks great in it, plus the reflectiveness is a nice safety feature for after dark walks.

 A final really cool feature of the Cycle Dog Pup Top collar is that it comes with a bottle opener!  Now your peeps can easily use your collar to open an ice cold brew or a soda.   

Very refreshing on a hot day!

The Cycle Dog Collar retails for about $25.00, and is available on Amazon which is where mom got Weasley's.  We give the collars a four paw rating and recommend them enthusiastically.

Wagatha's Biscuits

Today we are reviewing one of our old standard treats, Wagatha's.  

 We might not have written about Wagatha's before but we love them!   They are one treat that every single one of us gulps down with enthusiasm, plus they come in a nice easy to feed biscuit form and they are nice and healthy.  The ingredients list is filled with things mom can pronounce:

 Wagatha's are made in Vermont.  The company founder Norm Levitz started baking dog biscuits in the 70s and later decided to bring them to dogs all around the world.   The biscuits are made in a human grade bakery from healthy, tasty ingredients.   On the website you can read where the ingredients come from, nothing from China thank goodness.  All the biscuits are wheat free, and most are corn, and soy free.  There are are jerky treats for dogs that need a grain free option.   While I feed my dogs a grain free kibble, I do feed them the regular Wagatha biscuits, as I think a few grains can be healthy, and even Norbert who has some grain intolerances handles them very well.

Wagatha's also has some really cute gift set options on their website.   There are biscuit and doggie shampoo combos (so your peeps can give you a treat after you suffer a bath).

 They also have some adorable options for seniors.  Mom is eying this senior gift set for Norbert's upcoming 11th  birthday:

Do yourself a favor and get your peeps on the Wagatha's website today so they can start ordering you some goodies!

Birthday Give Away-Win a Day Dog Designs Collar

On April 15 Bob will be 6 years old.  A big and important birthday, after all Winnie the Pooh author A.A. Milne used it as the title of a book:

and a charming poem:

Now We Are Six - A.A. Milne

When I was one I had just begun

When I was two I was nearly new

When I was three I was hardly me

When I was four I was not much more

When I was five I was just alive

But now I am six, I'm as clever as clever;

So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.

I personally can not quite believe Bob is 6, it seems just yesterday that he was the cutest little Bulldog baby:

Now of course he is all grown up

 and ready to be showered with presents and adoration at this years party. One of  Bob's gifts is going to be a new collar from Day Dog Designs.  We love these pretty and affordable collars and leashes. They are made out of beautiful European ribbons that the shop owner Terri has spent a lot of time carefully selecting.  The ribbons are unique and beautiful and of excellent quality.  Terri is a Cavalier owner and  donates to Lucky Star Cavalier rescue.   As the owner of four male dogs (and one female) I also really appreciate that Terri has great options for boys and girls, so many shops seem to cater primarily to the ladies.  Furthermore, if size is a concern then don't worry.  The collar's range from very small to XXL for big necked guys like Bob.   

Bob's birthday collar will be the fifth  Day Dog Designs collar I've purchased, there are so many cute designs that they are addictive!  The collars are comfortable and hardy, all of ours are in great shape even with dogs wear them nearly 24/7.   Ping has a charming Vienna inspired collar in black and white:

 

Last year Bob got one with a Viking pattern (went great with his dragon tag)

 

Just a few weeks ago Tubby got a Knights and Dragons print collar for his 12th birthday (here is a bit of an extreme close up of the collar in his puggie neck ruff).

However, my all time favorite Day Dog Designs purchase was the Outer Space collar and Leash I got Norbert for his 10th birthday

a perfect match for his Star Trek inspired ID tag from Fetching Pet Tags

 So you can see we have some beautiful collars from Day Dog Designs and the great news is now you can enter below to win your very own collar.  Since they have so many beautiful options you are sure to find something that matches you and your pup's interests and their personality.   Just complete the Rafflecopter entry below and you have a chance to win.  We will announce the lucky winner on April 15, Bob's 6th birthday.

a Rafflecopter giveaway