Take Johann's Toofer Challenge!

It's challenge time!

This month, February, is National Pet Dental Health Month - a great time to remember how important it is to take care of our teeth - or as I like to call them toofers - because our teeth are very important to us pups!

Did you know that "more than 80 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats show signs of oral disease by the time they're three years old. This can lead to serious health problems," explained Dr. Brook Niemiec, a board certified specialist in veterinary dentistry. Dr. Brook recommends to, "make sure every veterinary checkup includes a thorough inspection of your pet's teeth and gums, and a discussion on how to keep them healthy and clean between visits."

So what's the challenge? Well, we know how it can be difficult for our pawrents to remember to brush our teeth. My Mum is pretty good about it, but even she forgets now and then. So here's the challenge....

I challenge you to make sure that your pawrent brushes your teeth every day during the month of February.

That's it!

What will this do? It will help your pawrents and you get in the good habit of brushing your teeth often, and cut down on that stupid oral disease stuff that our Docs talk about! And I bet we'll all have much better breath too - and be able to give lots more kisses to our Moms and Dads.

And what will I do? If you decide to sign up for Johann's Toofers Challenge, leave a comment on this post to let me know you're participating. We'll post your pic, your name and link back to your blog - so we can show everyone your pearly whites!

And be sure and grab one of these buttons to add to your blog (and link back to my blog) to show your support for healthy toofers for all! We'll have lots of updates throughout the month with pics, and all kinds of info, so stay tuned!


So whata ya say? You up for a challenge? Get started and leave me a comment today!

Here's some great website, tips and information on brushing us pup's teeth:

The AVMA offers tips and information on how to keep your pet's teeth healthy:

• Look for signs of tooth decay and oral disease by inspecting your pet's teeth regularly. Bad breath, discoloration and tartar are all indications of problems that could lead to serious health risks with the potential for not only damaging teeth and gums but internal organs.
• Regular visits to your veterinarian should include a complete checkup of your pet's teeth. Your veterinarian should clean plaque and tartar off your pet's teeth if necessary. When tartar—created by the mixture of food debris, saliva and bacteria in the mouth—is allowed to build up it can accumulate between teeth and gums causing tooth loss, and result in an infection that could enter the bloodstream and spread to the heart or other internal organs.
• Brush your pet's teeth daily or at least weekly. While most dogs or cats will not immediately accept a dental hygiene regimen, it can be successfully introduced with patience, particularly if you start when the pet is young.
• To acclimate your pet to dental health, start slowly using plenty of praise and treats. Begin at a time when your pet is relaxed and massage the outside of their mouth with your finger. Then give them a taste of pet toothpaste—poultry-flavored is the most popular—and then slowly introduce a toothbrush to their teeth. Begin brushing in short intervals, working up to about 30 seconds a side.
• Dogs don't accumulate as much tartar on the outside of their teeth as they do the inside, so focus your dental hygiene attention there.
• Chew toys for dogs and rope toys that cats can chew are not only immensely entertaining for your pet, but also keep teeth clean and breath smelling fresh.

Here's a video on how to brush your dog's teeth from Reesa. Nice job Reesa!


Here are some great resources to keep your dog's and your cat's teeth looking their very best:

CET Toothpaste for Dogs and Cats
ProDen PlaqueOff

Duel Ended Toothbrushes
Triple Pet All Natural Breath Freshener
Triple Pet All Natural Toothpaste
Triple Pet Toothbrush
Triple Pet Plaque Off Fresh Breath

Looking for more great info on keeping your dog's teeth looking and chewing their best? Visit my Squidoo Lens!

Say goodnight, Gracie!

Gracie's favorite trick is wave. She loves to do it, over and over and over... When it's time to do tricks, that's the first one she starts offering up to about anyone who has a treat in their hand, goofy girl!

Snow day!

Twelve inches of new powder - makes for loads of fun, challenging potties, and weird bunny hop running from me and Gracie!

Here's Gracie running down the path that Mum shoveled for us in the backyard!

Me trying to find a way over to the fence!

Gracie taking a quick break in the deep stuff!

Maddie, our neighbor, came out to play for a bit! We love running the fence together.

A little wrestle mania!

And, I'm off!

Gracie, she loves running with Maddie too!

Taking a quick break and posing for a photo op!

Looking for some birds to herd!

Gracie takes a little break. Is she sinking?

Arrrroooooo'ing at the snow plow!


And last, but certainly not least, video!!!!!!!

Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog is my new sponsor!

The other day I got another package in the mail. This time it was from my good friend, Sparkles, the Fire Safety Dog!

You may remember me talking about Sparkles in the past. She lives in Clarksville, Arkansas and has a very important job. She visits with children at schools and at events, and helps them learn all about fire safety. Now she's an author! She sent me a copy of her new book, along with her paw-to-graph - and I have to tell ya, it's cool!

Here's a vid of Sparkles doing her great work!



Now here's the coolest part! Sparkles asked us the other day if she could be one of my sponsors! And I said, doggone it, of course., we'd love it! So if you, your friends, or members of your family, click on this link and purchase Sparkles new book, a portion of the sales of the book will benefit my agility fund! And for those that tell Sparkles that Johann sent 'em, Sparkles has agreed to pawtograph their copy too! Remember, you have to use this link, K?

Now how cool is that? So be sure and tell all your friends, your family members, your neighbors and anyone else you can think of that have little two-leggers. They will absolutely love this book! We took it over to our neighbors the other day, and their boys loved it; and they loved Sparkles! (Well, who wouldn't?). And the book has super important messages that all pawrents need to help their kids understand.

Thanks Sparkles, we sure are glad you decided to sponsor me. Looking forward to helping you get the word on fire safety to the little ones!

Are you ready for some football!

Sunday is the big day when the Steelers and Cards battle it out in Tampa. But some of the real action will be over at the highly anticipated Puppy Bowl V on Animal Planet!

The sacks, the turnovers, the fumbles, the TD's - it's all there. Who needs DogSitter TV, when you've got the Puppy Bowl?

Now you can own a part of the action!

We're giving away a complete set of Puppy Bowl I-IV on DVD to some lucky dog or dog lover! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post, and I, Johann, will randomly sniff out one winner in a drawing this SuperBowl Sunday! See our contest page for more info.

Here's a little preview:



To get ready for the action, head on over to the Animal Planet Puppy Bowl headquarters, meet the starting line up, check out the puppy bowl puzzles, learn about pet adoption, and more! Puppy Bowl starts at 3 PM E/P on Animal Planet.

And if you can't see the Puppy Bowl live, follow all the action on Twitter!

We got in more snow fun yesterday!

It snowed most of the day yesterday, and all night last night. So far we have about 10" on the ground. Mum had to shovel out a path for me to my potty area, 'cause I got stuck! Pics coming later today :)

Yesterday morning, before the snow got too deep, Mum and I got in a little fetch time with my favorite ball!

I love it when Mum growls at me, gets me all riled up! But throw it already, will ya Mum!

Then yesterday afternoon, it really started coming down. So before it got way too cold, we went out and had some fun. Here are a couple of pics!


We've been keeping busy. Mum's working away. She's got a big project, doing a website for one of her pet business clients. You should hear her! She gets so excited designing it and coding it - she's so goofy! She wanted me to tell ya, that if you know anyone that needs a little website, maybe for their pet business, or side business or something, that she'd love to do it for them! She's having a great time. And she's really liking the way it looks and functions.

Since we haven't been going to agility practice or trialing, we've been doing lots of tricks, and games, and fun things. One of our favorites is 'find target.' Mum hides the target in another room while we sit and wait. She puts a little kibble on it, then sends us in to find it. The other day she hid the target behind a pillow on the couch and Gracie and I both found it (separately, of course). Every time she makes it harder and harder for us to find.

It's a super fun game, and Mum thinks since she and I have been playing that game for a pretty long while, it may have been why I was able to track my kittie bro, Wiggy, that one day when he jumped fence and got lost. Maybe????

Gracie's been learning 'shy' and Mum is in the process of teaching me to wrap myself up in a blanket. It's progressing - so far I'm pulling the towel up about 6 or so inches and starting to turn on my side. Since I already know rollover, we're hoping it's just a matter of time. Mum broke down every step to teach me, it's fun!

Hope all of you guys are having fun, some in the snow and some in the summer weather! Again, we're sorry for not being able to visit much at all, Mum is working super hard to keep the kibble in our bowls :)

I stole an egg carton! Catch me if you can!

Wiggle-Waggle - It's the Dog Pyramid Toy!

What's new Clean Run just got in a new Nina Ottosson interactive dog toy. And you know how much I love those Ottosson toys!

The Dog Pyramid, one of Nina Ottosson's collection of interactive dog toys, is perfect for occupying and stimulating dogs. Simply place treats or kibble in the hole near the top of the toy and then watch as the dog enjoys the challenge of getting the treats out by moving and knocking the toy around.

So how is the Dog Pyramid different from the myriad of other food-dispensing toys available today? Made of durable non-toxic plastic, the Dog Pyramid is shaped like a beehive and has a weighted bottom. And it's the weighted bottom that makes this toy unique. No matter how enthusiastic the game, every time the dog pushes the Pyramid over, it rights itself again. Dishwasher safe, top rack.

Here you can see it in action!

Our Raise a Green Dog blog's new mascot!

If you haven't been over to our Raise a Green Dog blog lately, there's big news over there.

We've been looking for a while now to find just the right dog to be our representative, be the face of our Raise a Green Dog site, and be our happy, healthy and environmentally conscious mascot. Well, we finally found him.

Head on over there and meet Eco, our newly crowned mascot for Raise A Green Dog! Eco lives the life of a Green Dog, and you can learn all about how he does it.

And the big news is, Eco has his own line of Raise a Green Dog merchandise. You can get super cool t-shirts, mugs, dog bowls, dog tees, sweatshirts, and more, that say cool things like "I'm a Green Dog," "My Best Friend is a Green Dog," and lot more! If you want to go straight to where the Raise a Green Dog merchandise is, you can visit my CafePress shop or my Zazzle shop!