Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Kitty Take Over: #PetHairSolutions to help with Wiggy's mats and shedding!

Spring has arrived!!! And if you're at our cabin that means extra dirt, sticks and even mud; and it means it's shedding season, or as us dogs say 'blow coat' season!

My kitty bros, Wolfie (the 19-year-old brown very short haired tabbie) and Wiggy (the 18-year-old orange Maine Coon mix) are indoor kitties, but that doesn't make them immune to all the stuff Gracie and I bring in.

There are many days that my older, lower hanging, long haired kitty bro, Wiggy, gets all kinds of stuff caught in his belly. Mum needs to comb him out pretty regularly, even more than me and Gracie, because he can get some pretty nasty mats in that long fur of his if not kept up.

There are those occasions that Mum 'missed a spot.' And she needs to de-tangle a mat on Wiggy. He's pretty darn good about it, rolling over and exposing his belly and letting Mum work at the mat.

What Mum has found that works best in making mat de-tangling during grooming sessions the easiest and least stressful for Wiggy is using the FURminator® deShedding Tool. Yep, that's right!

And then while she's there, she works on the rest of Wiggy to get all the loose fur, dirt and other stuff Wiggy picks up, so he doesn't have to ingest it while grooming and cough up those occasional hairballs that are seemingly very interesting to us dogs. (If you have dog, you know what I mean, right?!?

So why do we like the FURminator deShedding Tool?
  • It's really easy to use, just like a comb or brush. 
  • It helps reduce the fur that likes to fly off the kitties as they jump up on Mum's desk getting in her mouth, in her computer and in her coffee. They say it reduces shedding by 90%.
  • And, just like for us dogs, getting all that extra 'blow coat' type of unneeded fur off really makes a pet feel lots more comfortable.
Just the other day Mum utilized the FURminator deShedding Tool to de-tangle a little on Wiggy and get a little mat out of his backside. He didn't mind it one bit, what a good kitty bro!


Not only is the FURminator deShedding Tool the perfect tool in honor of Hairball Awareness Day (April 25th)  for the kitties and a great tool to help us pups with 'blow coat' season, it's the perfect tool to keep around all year long and use daily, weekly or monthly to keep that extra unneeded fur at bay.

For more information visit FURminator on FacebookTwitter, and Pinterest. To find where to purchase FURminator Pet Hair Solutions click here!
This post is sponsored by FURminator. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about FURminator, but you know that Johann The Dog only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. FURminator is not responsible for the content of this article.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Take the #PawNatural Challenge with me, Johann, the Green Dog!

If you know me, you know I've been a Green Dog all my life!

It all began when Mum adopted me. She was raised green and eco-friendly, and learned early on the importance of eating organically.

So when I came to live with Mum, that was our first order of business; learn how to translate her green and organic lifestyle to my life. And so our journey began.

Being Mum's first dog ever, she had a lot to learn about dogs. But the easy part was she knew how to search for healthier, greener options for me. During our search she found me good healthy foods, greener toys, beds, gear and more.

The neat thing that came from all of this is that over the years we have shared some of our green lifestyle information on our blog. We get lots of emails asking me questions about my green and healthy lifestyle; what I eat, what toys and gear do I enjoy, how does Mum keep our lawn healthy and organic and some folks even ask what type of lotion does Mum wear on her legs in case I wanted to give her a nice 'thank you' lick.

We answer every one of the emails that we get, because we love sharing all the things we've learned over the years.

Mum always says, "to live a healthier, greener life, all you have to do is take one little step at a time." So in honor of Earth Day on April 22nd, we wanted to present a little #PawNatural challenge to you, our loving readers!

Leave us a comment on our blog or our Facebook and let us know one thing you want to do to help your dog live a healthier, greener, more eco-friendly life!

It could be related to how you dispose of your dog's doo, what changes you want to make in the healthy treats and foods they enjoy, or safer toys they play with; and it can even relate to changes in how you'll clean your home the healthy way, how you'll make your yard more healthy and safe, or changes you'll make in how you reduce, reuse and recycle!

I'll tell you what we'll be doing this year to add to our greener, healthier life; we're going to be testing out a new product that we've been wanting to try for years thanks to Only Natural Pet products now offered through Pet360.com. We'll be testing out Only Natural Pet's All Natural EasyDefense Flea and Tick Tag. So stay tuned for our review!
Go ahead, tell us! What one thing do you want to do to help our Mother Earth and the health of your dog?

"This post is sponsored by Only Natural Pet on behalf of the BlogPaws Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about Only Natural Pet, but you know that Johann The Dog only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Only Natural Pet is not responsible for the content of this article."

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Snake season has arrived!

Snake season has arrived here on our mountain with the warmer temps and the nice sun!

A couple of weeks ago, Mum, Gracie and I were hanging out enjoying the nice weather, when I spotted something along the south fence line.

Earlier that day, Mum had spotted one of the many toads that we encounter and had helped him/her over the other side of the fence. This is the same type of toad that had given me a little toad toxin poisoning last year, so Mum likes to keep them away as much as possible.

Larger versions of the Bufo (aka Cane Toad) can be very dangerous to small dogs. These are mostly located in Florida and other surrounding states. We're lucky that these little guys only give off a little toxin when annoyed (like when I or Gracie paws at them). When that happens they swell up and start secreting the poison from those odd warts on their backs.

When Mum investigated what I saw at the fence line, she saw one of the several garter snakes we see here on our mountain. They like to scavenge for mice and, as we found out this day, toads. They are good snakes, and Mum doesn't like to hurt them, just relocate so we get used to not bothering them in case some day we encounter a copperhead which would be much more dangerous for us.


Mum saw the snake and when she looked closer she saw some red stuff on a leaf near by. Then she looked closer and what?!? There's a toad! And that snake is going after that toad?

Who knew that toads bleed red? We didn't!

With Gracie and I at a distance, Mum watched as the snake started to 'eat' the toad. You can see in the video below (Spoiler: If you have a squeamish streak, you may want to shy away from watching). Mum thought, how in the heck is that snake going to get that big toad in his/her tummy?

Later that afternoon, she found out when she saw that the little snake was still in our fence, and couldn't get out of the fence because he/she was too fat!


We worked on our snake avoidance training a little (always a good refresher at the start of the season and throughout) and then went in to eat our dinner. When we came back out we saw that little snake had crawled out the fence from underneath the bottom of the fence, and we were off to play in our snake free yard once again!

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Wednesday, April 09, 2014

Going #PawNatural for the life of your dog!

Being green, eco-friendly and healthy has it's advantages!

For one thing you're much more healthy and don't have to go to the vet as much. And another thing is that you get to enjoy doing all the things you love to do for a lot longer time. Like getting your ADCH at nearly 10 years old, BOL!

As an agility dog and avid hiker, I (and my sis Gracie) have to keep in tip top shape. Over the years, I've eaten very well, gotten holistic care, massages, acupuncture, chiropractic, even had sessions on an underwater treadmill, and more.

When we seek out products we always do our research and turn to healthier companies that provide the healthiest options.

That's why way back in 2005 when we started JohannTheDog, I wanted to provide resources for folks to find healthier options. Back then it was difficult to find companies that provided healthy options. We searched and we searched. One of the healthier companies we found long ago was Only Natural Pet and we've been big fans of them ever since.

The other day we were invited to listen in on a teleconference with Only Natural Pet's Boulder, CO store manager, Alyse Stark, and learned a lot more about the company; their products, how they develop them and how they keep up with all the holistic health info to help others with their pets.

Not only does Only Natural Pet have a nice line of natural healthy foods and treats for dogs and cats, including raw, freeze dried and dehydrated, they also have a broad line of holistic supplements to help with many issues and ailments, and healthier ways to combat fleas and ticks.

When you visit their store or call their customer service line their employees have broad knowledge to help you. And they have many resources they can turn to as well, like the holistic healthcare library on their site and their staff veterinarian, Dr. Jean Hofve who will not only work with you in your efforts to seek holistic healthcare answers, but also work with your local vet to formulate a plan for a healthier life.

All of their products are great quality, have no artificial colors, preservatives, no by products and no artificial flavorings. All the unhealthy things that we shy from, leaving only the healthy natural things we like.

And now Only Natural Pet have made their products available online through Pet360 so you have even more ways to enjoy their products.

So, tell me!!! What holistic products do you enjoy and use?
"This post is sponsored by Only Natural Pet on behalf of the BlogPaws Blogger Network . I am being compensated for helping spread the word about Only Natural Pet, but you know that Johann The Dog only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Only Natural Pet is not responsible for the content of this article."

Tuesday, April 08, 2014

Gracie gets a gamblers Q!

OMD I got a gamblers Q!
The weekend that I got my ADCH, Gracie ran too!

She ran gamblers on Friday, and standard and gamblers on Saturday and Sunday.

Gracie's run on Friday was amazing! She was focused, attentive, fast and super fun to run Mum says.

Mum is only entering Gracie in these two events now, as she doesn't have any standard run Q's in starters and only had one starters gamblers Q before Friday.

Even though she's moved up to Masters level in snooker and jumpers, Mum just doesn't think that the stress that radiates in the masters ring area is right for Gracie right now, as stress from anyone or any dog around her just makes her too freaked out and glassy eyed. So they are sticking with starters and advanced in these two events for now.

Mum had a fun plan for Gracie on her Friday gamblers run, taking a couple of tunnels (which are her favorite) and then seeing what else she could do. The gamble was a little tricky for a starters as there was a bit of discrimination, but Gracie handled it like a pro.

Mum led Gracie over the three jumps to the right of the chute and then to the tunnel under the frame. Then she led her back through the same tunnel again and on to the tire and then the other tunnel. A couple of jumps and then to the weaves, but as Gracie went into the weaves the buzzer went off already as it was a 1,2,3,5 course which are faster. So Mum ran to the jump after the weaves, did a front cross and led Gracie to the 1 of the gamble, pulled back a little and called tunnel.

Since Gracie is is a tunnel 'sucker' it was easy for her. Mum then called Gracie toward her and ran her to the jump. It was a beautiful run!!

And it turned out that Gracie was the only dog of all the dogs in starters to Q on that run with 44 points.


So Gracie got a nice blue ribbon to take home and kick off the weekend! Good job sis!


But that was the end of Gracie's good fortune that weekend. During her standard runs, she wouldn't go near the teeter, as she's still got a super big fear of it from over a year ago. The first time Gracie saw the teeter on Saturday, she took off and jumped the ring fences and headed over to the masters ring. It was just too much for her stress level.

A little embarrassed, Mum got her back and vowed to watch her stress level more closely on her other runs for the weekend to help her manage her stress more.

She ran two more gamblers, but was a bit unfocused in the opening even though on one she got the gamble part of the course like a super pro! The next run was standard on Sunday, so Mum watched Gracie's eyes very closely for signs of stress and once she saw the 'glassy eyed' look start to overcome her at the teeter, she led Gracie on for a nice rest of the run. She made most of her contacts and if not for the doggone teeter, she probably would have Q'd.

You may remember that Gracie's judge that weekend was an individual that Mum and I had taken our first agility classes with way back in the day in Indiana. The judge remembered seeing Gracie over those early years get very stressed and not even take but one obstacle on runs.

She saw that Gracie has improved a lot over the years, which she has. But she did remark to Mum that she still gets that glassy eyed stress look that she had remembered when we were back in Indiana

Mum continues to work on Gracie's teeter wherever she can, at home and at the place where we do run thrus. She's much better at both of those places, but still has trouble in competition.

But they will keep trying. On to the next trial coming up this weekend! Woo Hoo!

Wednesday, April 02, 2014

Spring has sprung on our mountain!

Spring has finally sprung on our mountain!

When we moved here to our newest cabin, we had no idea what was planted. It was so great to see the daffodils come up the first spring we were here.

Last year, the daffodils were OK, but not nearly as prolific or beautiful as they are this year. And we had no idea that we had four different kinds of heirloom daffodils.

It started a few weeks ago when the blooms pushed their way up.


Then the first ones, with pale yellow leaves and dark centers started blooming


Then the temps were to dip way below freezing, so Mum went out and cut all the ones that wouldn't be protected by an outer 'shell.' They made for a beautiful couple of bouquets.


Then a week later, more started popping up. Here is a close up of the all dark yellow ones.


And the white with dark centers.


And then what do you know? We didn't see these at all the last two years, doubles!


Tonight it's supposed to dip down below freezing again, so guess we'll get to enjoy them inside again! Hope you are enjoying some spring where you are!
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