Fun & Furry, Fit & Healthy Blog Tour First Stop- Kol's Notes

The Fun & Furry, Fit & Healthy Blog Tour has begun! We're doing a lot of celebrating for our new book, The Dieting with my Dog Guide to Maintenance and Weight Loss, including a great gift pack giveaway all month long! And the first stop on our tour today!

Also coming up, your chance to win a free copy of the book as well.
All this month we'll be touring all around blogville, visiting your favorite blogs where they'll ask me some questions about the book, slimming down and getting fit with your furry best friend. (Kelly and Ike have gotten out the flashcards and are quizzing me now!)

The first stop on the tour today is Kol's Notes. I can't think of a better place to start. Kol is my co-host for K9 Kamp (along with You Did What with your Wiener) and committed to helping others keep fit and healthy with fun activities together (our next Kamp is coming up in October!). So please stop over today and find out more about the book, including what fitness activity we love...and what one we hate.

Here's the rest of the tour schedule!

 The Dieting with my Dog Guide to

Weight loss & Maintenance

by Peggy Frezon

9/9 Launch giveaway!

9/11- Kol’s Notes

9/13- Pet Health Care Gazette

9/16- Rumpy Dog

9/18- Heart Like a Dog

9/19- The Dog Ring

9/20- I Still Want More Puppies

9/23- Cindy Lu’s Muse

9/25- My GBGV Life

9/27- Pooch Smooches

9/30- Fidose of Reality

The Dieting with my Dog Guide to Weight Loss and Maintenance is available on Amazon. 

Want more positive pet tips, good news, and special offers? Fetch my free newsletter, Pawsitively Pets. Kelly and Ike hope to see you there!

 

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Brooks Books- The Secret of Happy Ever After

Brooks here: I guess I fall for most books with the picture of a dog on the cover. I often rest my head on the arm of the couch the way the dalmatian in this picture does. And look into those eyes. This is a dog with a story of his own to tell. Maybe next time. Here's mom with the review. (And enter to win a copy for yourself at the end!)


The Secret of Happy Ever After
by Lucy Dillon
Penguin (2013)

Me: What more could I ask for-- a book combining dogs and a bookshop--two of my favorite things--and promising a happy ending? Well, this book didn't disappoint. It's absolutely captivating, and I think you're going to love it too. Keep reading for a chance to win a copy of your own!

The Secret of Happy Ever After is a heartwarming tale of love and friendship, set in England. Michelle is the business woman, with a devastating past. Anna is the ex-librarian with three stepchildren and an adorable but hyperactive Dalmatian. The two friends work and learn and grow together.
While Michelle isn't thrilled about owning a bookshop, Anna’s love of childhood favorites soon revitalizes the shop, and everyone around her. Even Michelle softs up, aided by her new friend Tavish, a Scottish terrier. But everything isn't always rosie. These friends need all the wisdom and courage the stories in the bookshop can give them in order to find their own happy ever afters.

First- the bookshop. If you enjoy the lessons and inspiration you can gain from reading a book, how about an inspiring book which incorporates characters learning lessons from other inspiring books? Brilliant! Especially because many of these books in this story were my childhood favorites as well-- Charlotte's Web, Anne of Green Gables, Winnie the Pooh, The Secret Garden, Madeline.

Second-- the dogs. There's Flash, the Springer Spaniel left behind. Then Pongo, the boisterous Dalmatian. And Tavish, the Scottish terrier who helps heal. The dogs are full of energy, personality and even quirks--from Pongo's enthusiastic shop visit to poor Tavish recovering after having some teeth pulled.

And then--the characters. Some of the past Michelle deals with is quite gritty and difficult, and makes her character a bit more aloof. As her past is revealed, we're able to understand her better and the author handles it well. Anna's family isn't always kind to her. Husbands aren't always nice. Children aren't always well-behaved. Michelle and Anna have problems and dreams. I cared about every character in this book, and rooted for them all throughout.



















I highly recommend The Secret of Happy Ever After.

You can win a copy for yourself (sorry, U.S. only).


a Rafflecopter giveaway

 I was given a copy of this book to review, and one to give away. The opinions expressed here are 100% my own. Full Disclosure.

Want more, pawsitive pet tips, good news, and special bonuses? Content not already on the blog? Subscribe to my free newsletter. Brooks and Kelly will meet you there!

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What the Dog Ate vs Dieting with my Dog

My blogging pal Jackie Bouchard of Pooch Smooches just released her new book, What the Dog Ate. See it there on the table?

Brooks and Kelly check out What the Dog Ate

One day Jackie and I got laughing, thinking about how our two books related. Sure, there are some obvious differences...What the Dog Ate is a novel, and Dieting with my Dog is memoir. Kona of What the Dog Ate consumes a wide variety from the non-food group (just see the chart, below!), while my pup Kelly learns to eat healthy, nutritious snacks. But basically, both books celebrate dogs, eating, and overcoming life's challenges. 

Read on for your chance to win a copy of BOTH books! 

But first, here's our review of What the Dog Ate.

Brooks: 

Right away I loved this title. I mean, What the Dog Ate? Seriously, there's a whole book about this? Yum! And may I also add, I seriously love the book's hero, Kona. Now he's my kind of dude. Okay, now over to Mom.

Me: 

Brooks, this isn't a "how to," you know. Please don't eat all those things Kona did. What the Dog Ate is a warm, funny novel about Maggie Baxter, who thinks she has life's priorities in order. She lives with her husband of seventeen years and their chocolate lab, Kona. But Kona unwittingly reveals Maggie's husband's cheating ways. Let's just say, what the dog ate--and brought back up--plays a key role by way of  incriminating evidence. 

Maggie deals with family, friends, divorce, and job pressures, all the while trying to carve out the best life for her and Kona. The question is, will she find a new man in her life? 

     From the  book: "On the way home, she fantasized about how much better it would be if finding a  new man was    like getting a dog. You could go online and research the type you wanted. Would you prefer one who'd be a couch-potato with you? Or one that would fit into an active lifestyle? Toy or worker? Purebred or mutt? More influenced by scent or sight? Guard or companion?"

If you like a story of love and romance, with a great dog for a best friend, then What the Dog Ate is for you! Brooks and I highly recommend you check it out!

Connect with Jackie at:

Her site: www.jackiebouchard.com

Her blog: http://poochsmooches.blogspot.com

Facebook: Jackie Bouchard Writer

Twitter: www.twitter.com/jackiebouchard
What the Dog Ate is available on print and e-book on Amazon, print only: CreateSpace, e-book only: Smashwords, Barnes & Noble and iTunes.

* A portion of the print sales will be donated to Best Friends Animal Society.  

Keep reading, you can win a copy below!

So, now do you want to know some of the things Kona ate? Here's the list, along with some Dieting with My Dog revisions!  

You might notice the list reads #6 -10. Jump over to Pooch Smooches to see #1-5. And while you're there, check out her Dieting with my Dog interview, where she asks me about Kelly's favorite snacks and my favorite "bad for me" food. AND enter to win a free copy of Dieting with my Dog! 

This contest, and more great giveaways, is part of All Things Dog and DogTipper's Fido's Freebie Friday! 

Enter to win What the Dog Ate! 

Contest open to residents of the US and Canada, excluding Quebec and where prohibited.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Day #4- Leather Collars and Toss Toys

K9 Kamp is over and it's time to recognize some of our dedicated kampers with some pretty cool prizes!

Dog Collars are essential for any dog about town. You just can't leave home with out one.

Today's lucky winners will be dressed in style with

a Custom Dog Collar from DesignaCollar.com

Your choice of 1 collar in any size from the online shop - or design your own!

and a Bow Wow Fleece Toss Toys

from Squishy Face Studio

Congratulations to:

Jenn Embree
Oskar and Pam from Pet Blogs United
Nancy Weitzel 
Cinny from Whirlwind of Surprises

Please check your email to find out how you can claim your prize!

Don’t forget – you can still enter our fabulous K9 Kamp prizes!

Complete any (or all) of our fun fitness challenges,

link up or comment on our K9 Kamp blog hops and enter to win great prizes!

You’ve got until June 23 to enter so Check it out now!

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Day #3- Dog Bone Toys, Dieting with my Dog, and More

K9 Kamp is over and it's time to recognize some of our dedicated kampers with some pretty cool prizes!

For our second challenge we were having a ball!

We asked you to grab your dog's favourite ball and play fetch, soccer, Monkey in the middle and more!

Week Two's winner will be having more fetching fun with

A Jive and a Hurley Toy

sponsored by Krazy for Pets

a Bow Wow Fleece Toss Toys
from Squishy Face Studio

a set of handmade, mixed fabric Squeaky Bone dog bone toys

from Lars and Flint

$20 Gift Certificates to Dogwise.com

courtesy of Pooch to 5k

A Fugly Friends Bottle Bud Dog Toy

 a handcrafted tug toy 

from Tugz 'n' Togz

and a copy of Dieting with My Dog by K9 Kamp co-host, Peggy Frezon

from Hubble and Hattie

Congratulations to our winners

Donna and Paige from Petwise

Please check your email to find out how you can claim your prize!

Don’t forget – you can still enter our fabulous K9 Kamp prizes!

Complete any (or all) of our fun fitness challenges,

link up or comment on our K9 Kamp blog hops and enter to win great prizes!

You’ve got until June 23 to enter so Check it out now!

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Cat Speak Book Giveaway

Cats? Really?

Do you know what your cat is saying to you? How does he perceives his surroundings?
What does it mean when her ears are flat against her head?

Cat Speak, Recognising and Understanding Behaviour by Brigitte Rauth-Widmann (ISBN 978-1-845843-85-4, $19.95 US/9.99 UK, published by Hubble & Hattie), answers all these questions and more. This book helps us to understand the meanings of different cat vocalizations and body language. With clear descriptions and more than 130 color photographs, it's a must-read for cat lovers. ***Read on to learn how to WIN your own copy of this great book!***

Rauth-Widmann is author of numerous books about animals, hundreds of articles in The German Dog and Cats Extra magazines (Germany). She lives in Westerwald Germany with her family and 20 rabbits, 9 free-to-roam cats and 4 dogs (Labrador and Vizslas).

I could really use this book because I'd love to understand cats better. They can be an enigma. I must admit I don't understand my daughter's cat Cinnamon. Why is she so aloof? Why does she sometimes bite my daughter for seemingly no reason? And why does she hiss at me? (Trust me, she's a sweet cat, even if she bites and hisses!)

I have one copy of Cat Speak to give away!! To enter, just leave a comment below telling why you'd like to win this book. For an extra entry, "like" my Facebook page and leave a comment telling me that you did. Thanks!


The contest is open only in the U.S., except where prohibited. Good luck!

**Want to learn what your dog is saying? Check out my review of Dog Speak, by Christiane Blenski, too.

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