Natural Balance Fat Dogs free bag giveaway

When Natural Balance contacted me about their new Fat Dogs dog food, they couldn't have approached me at a better time. These past few months I've been focusing on pet health and fitness, with our new FitDog Friday blog hop, the upcoming K9Kamp starting tomorrow, and my forthcoming new book, The Dieting with my Dog Guide to Weight Loss and Maintenance, full of tips and fun activities for taking off the weight and keeping fit, for people and dogs!

I had a fat dog, our yellow lab Hudson, so I know how challenging it can be to keep a dog in shape. And when Kelly started to gain weight, right along with me, I knew I had to take steps to get us both fit and healthy. One of the steps I took was to take a close look at the food I offered and the ingredients to make sure they were nutritious, healthy, and low in fat. Natural Balance pet foods has a new line you might like to consider. Recently Natural Balance ran a Lovable Fat Dogs and Fat Cat contest and selected two winners and six runners up to help with the process of losing weight. They also feature Fat to Fit videos on their website.

Fat Dogs and Fat Cats:
    is Natural Balance's lowest calorie formula yet
    provides a balanced diet of protein and fiber
    helps pets lose weight while maintaining lean body muscle
    contains added fiber to help keep pets feel full
    can be fed for both weight loss and weight maintenance

Natural Balance sent us a sample bag to try, a measuring tape, bone-shaped pedometer, a voucher for a free bag, and one to give away. They provided this strategy for weight loss:

Step 1: Determine whether your pet is at a Healthy Weight.
Check! At 32 lbs, Kelly is at a healthy weight for her (mixed) breed. I'll feed her for maintenance to keep the weight off.

I measured her waistline and it's 21 inches. Good girl Kelly! She's at a good size right now.

Step 2: Weigh your pet regularly

Step 3: Check Feeding Table on the back of your dog food bag for serving size.
**I consult with my veterinarian and consider activity level and other factors to determine feeding amount. For Kelly, it's 3/4 cup twice a day.

Step 4: When introducing new food, transition it into existing food slowly.
We tried the sample bag, and Kelly loves the taste of Natural Balance Fat Dog!

Step 5: Incorporate Exercise. Walk, run, and play with your dog. Also, K9 Kamp is a fun way to exercise too!


Would your dog or cat like to try Fat Dog or Fat Cat? Enter the Rafflecopter for your chance to win a free 10 lb bag!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



About Natural Balance: Natural Balance is a family-owned pet food company and we make super premium, holistic, natural pet food with high quality ingredients for cats and dogs. And because we’re also pet parents ourselves, safety is our number one priority.

*Full Disclosure: We were provided with a Nautral Balance Fat Dog kit including dog food, measuring tape and pedometer and one dog or cat food voucher to give away. This in no way influenced my review. The opinions expressed here are 100% my own. 


Want more, pawsitive pet tips, good news, and special bonuses? Content not already on the blog? Subscribe to my free newsletter.  Kelly and I can't wait to see you there!

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Just One Click for healthy pets

If you could take a pledge promising to keep your pet healthy, would you?

But of course, you already do everything in your power to keep your pet healthy.








 So then, why should you take the pledge?
Answer--What if by taking the pledge you could also help shelter animals receive valuable health care products?

That's exactly the case when you take Sergeant’s and the American Humane Association's emBARK on Pet Health Campaign pledge to embark on pet health! The simple pledge is to schedule a “time out” and bone up on your pet’s health needs. For each pledge made, Sergeant’s will send a pet product health kit to American Humane Association shelters. These kits will go home with the newly adopted pets to help ensure their health care regimen is off to a great start. 

Tiffani Theissen displays one of the kits.

 I took the pledge, and spent some time on the embarkonpethealth.com website. Here is some of the great information I found there:
* alternatives to tooth brushing
* the only reliable way to tell if my dog's itchiness is a food allergy 

* how to get cats to exercise
* signs my dog has an allergy to pollens
* ways to control fleas and ticks
* what steps to take for a weekly health check

This month is Responsible Pet Owners Month. It's the perfect time to emBARK on pet health. 
Take the pledge, and help new pet parents receive some great products to help improve their adopted pets health too.




Disclosure: I was compensated by Sergeant's to participate in the emBARK on pet health campaign. All opinions in this post are 100% my own. See my full disclosure statement.


Want more great pet news, fun content and special bonuses? Subscribe to my free newsletter. Brooks and Kelly hope to see you there! 

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Pet Blogger Challenge - Paws to Reflect

Once again, Amy from Go Pet Friendly has put us to the task of reviewing our goals and achievements with the third annual pet blogger challenge.This is open to all pet bloggers, so grab the questions, put on your thinking cap, and join the linky!

1.  How long have you been blogging? Provide a link to your post from last year’s Pet Blogger Challenge so we can refresh our memories.

 I've been blogging 5 or 6 years

Here's last year's post! 

2. What do you consider the most important goals you set out in last year’s post?

Last year I challenged myself to step it up with more useful content, topics that will help other pet parents or get them thinking.

 3.  Have you made progress toward those goals, or have your goals changed over the past year?

I’ve added Brooks’ Books (book reviews), more guest posts, and a feature called Pointer and Counterpointer, discussing two sides of an issue.  I’ve also started a newsletter, PPP’s Pawsitvely Pets which is kinda like a short, cool ezine, where I share good news, dog treat recipes, and popular posts, and I’m having so much fun with it, I hope you check it out!

 I don’t tend to take on really controversial topics on the blog, but I think I’ve been successful in steering away from obvious topics that may be common knowledge to most pet blog readers who, as you know, are very smart already.  In my effort to avoid controversy, however, I think sometimes I play it too safe. I may brush the surface instead of revealing my deepest thoughts. I still marvel at some of my favorite bloggers (you know who you are!) and wish I’d said that.

4. How often do you post? 

Minimum of 3 days/week, up to 6 days/week

5. Has your opinion of blogging on a schedule or as the spirit moves you changed?

I love having a schedule!

If you publish on a schedule, why? How strict are you about your publishing deadlines? What do you do for inspiration when it feels like you’ve covered every topic?

As a freelance writer, I have multiple projects going at all times, so I have to stick to a schedule or I’d have papers and notes flying all over the place and no idea what I’m doing. (Haha reality isn’t much different.) I have a general editorial calendar for the year which is subject to change as the need arises. Then I have a schedule of what specifically I plan to write for a couple months, and I try to post at least a week in advance. I love it when I get several posts scheduled ahead, so that takes the pressure off a bit. The key is being flexible, because I often have to shuffle things around.

I have to admit that I’m never stuck for inspiration, I always have more to blog about than there is time to blog. Kelly and Brooks aren’t always in the midst of exciting blog-worthy stunts, so I read the newspapers and check out pet websites to see what catches my eye and what people are talking about. I receive quite a few requests from companies and individuals asking for reviews or offering guest posts, which I also welcome.

 6. How much time do you spend writing your blog per week? How much time visiting other blogs? Share your  tips for staying on top of it all.

Agh! The answer is too much and never enough. Most days I visit other blogs and leave comments, and this takes 2 or 3 hours every morning. It could take even longer because I have so many wonderful blogs in my Google reader that I would want to keep up with, but I never can do it all. I love connecting with so many other bloggers and always feel like I’m missing out when I fall behind.

 I have no idea how long it takes to write the blog, it feels like I’m doing it on and off  all day-- between scouting ideas, writing, designing, posting. Book reviews are the most time consuming because it takes a few days to read the books first.

7. How do you measure the success of a post and of your blog in general (comments, shares, traffic)?

I feel really good when I get a lot of comments because that means the content was engaging enough to initiate sharing of thoughts and opinions. When I don’t get many comments, I try to analyze if it was a boring topic or was it because I hadn’t had time to connect on all my social media networks? I have no scientific method of analyzing this however! I actually don’t check my stats often, and envy those who analyze posts and are so smart about it all. I check my overall pageviews once in a while and I’m really happy with how well they’ve grown!

8. If you could ask the pet blogging community for help with one issue you’re having with your blog, what would it be?

Great question! Actually, if I may, I’d like to ask for help with two issues

*Do you enjoy reading product reviews?
 

*If you’re familiar with my Wednesday Pet Roundup, do you have any tips for how I can improve it? Do you click on the links? Are there too many or too few links? Too much or too little details? Should I move it to a different day of the week? Anything else?

9. What goals do you have for your blog in 2013?

My goal is to be more personal, to dig deeper, and to focus on quality posts that say what I really want to say. I will continue to support pet adoption and focus on healthy lifestyles with pets. I am so grateful to this community of bloggers and their pets, some of whom we lost this past year, and I thank you all for being a part of my world. I’m looking forward to continuing to celebrate, support, share and grow together in 2013.

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10 Tips on Ntl Pet Obesity Awareness Day

Hmmm what looks good?

Today is the sixth annual National Pet Obesity Awareness Day. It's a great day to take a look at your pet and evaluate his weight.  

The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention estimates that more than half of U.S. dogs and cats are overweight or obese, and thus have a higher risk of conditions such as osteoarthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease and shortened life expectancy. If you find that your dog's getting a bit pudgy, here are some steps you can take:

10 TIPS for HELPING YOUR PET LOSE WEIGHT   

1. Ask your veterinarian the appropriate amount of food for your dog or cat. Don’t go by the recommendation on the pet food bag, which may not be calculated for your pet.
2. Measure your pet’s food. I used to feed Kelly “one scoop.” It turns out that scoop was twice as much as she really needed.
3. Invest in quality food. Check the ingredient list on the side of the package—be sure there’s a healthy lean protein among the first five ingredients.  For dogs, a great reference is The Dog Food Advisor. 
4. Make your dog your diet partner! (Many of you know, in my book, Dieting with my Dog, I share how Kelly and I motivated each other and lost weight together.)
5. Resist offering your dog table scraps. For treats, try baby carrots, green beans, or slices of banana.
6. A few spoons of canned pumpkin (not the pie mix, but pure pumpkin) mixed into your dog’s food is healthy, and helps them feel full.
7. Snacks are great, but only offer small bites. I used to think that giving Kelly lots of treats was a way of showing love. I learned, instead, that the best way to show my dog love is to keep her (and myself!) healthy.
8. Don’t forget exercise. Take your dog out on at least one good, brisk walk a day. Seeing new sights and sniffing new smells is good for their minds, too.
9. Get active together. Kelly and I replaced sedentary habits with more physical ones. While I lean toward activities such as relaxing with a good book, now Kelly and I often go outside and play in the fallen leaves, take a hike in the woods or play with a Frisbee at the park.
10. Join in the Association for PetObesity Prevention’s survey. They’ll send you information, handouts, and a measuring tape to complete the study.  You’ll contribute to accurately assessing the number of obese and overweight pets in the United States

 Perfect for Pet Obesity Awareness Day, Dieting with my Dog! Available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or contact me for a signed copy.

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Am I Innova My Head? (get it?) No way!

When it comes to figuring out dog food, I could easily be Innova my head....but not when it comes to the very friendly and helpful folk at Innova, a brand of Natura pet food.

Cheesy puns aside, I was invited to join a handful of bloggers to learn more about the Innova pet food family and the ingredients that go into their food, and to have my dogs sample their exciting new blend of food which includes enhancements such as more fruits and vegetables.

I know many pet parents are very loyal to their own particular brand of food, which is great. But also many, like me, are confused by the standards and quality and variety. I had a lot to ask, and a lot to learn.
 
I really didn't know how important quality dog food was until I started dieting with my dog. And now that we've added 11 year old golden retriever Brooks to our family, with his allergies and skin condition, I know that the proper dog food is more important than ever.

According to the information provided me, here are some facts about new Innova:
*now contains more poultry and fish
* contains pears, blueberries, green beans and parsnips
* 100% whole grains including brown rice and oats (no more white potatoes and white rice.)-- That's a change I made for myself when I started dieting. Now I can make this change for my dog too!
*You can find helpful information and complete ingredient checks at their site See Beyond the Bag.

Innova's friendly experts have carefully guided me in slowly introducing the new food to Kelly and Brooks' old food, to make a transition without any digestive upsets. They communicate regularly to see how we're doing, how the dogs like the food, to offer tips and sometimes even just to share fun stories and ideas.We've even received sneak previews, such as what their newly designed bags of dog food will look like. That's just plain fun!

This is a wonderful experience for multiple reasons:
1. Communication-- I feel like someone is always there to help or to answer a question.
2. Answers-- Every questions I've had has been answered thoroughly, and followed up.
3. Samples--Innova provided me with two bags of Innova Healthy Adult dog food to ensure enough for my dogs to really give it a try and have ample time to document how they respond physically, plus a bag of Health Bars treats and a toy!
4. Personal Care-- I feel like they care about me and my dogs. And if they care about my dogs, I feel sure that they care about your dogs too. I feel safe in placing my trust in Natura and Innova.

In addition, when we first adopted Brooks, he came to us with skin and ear infections most likely caused by allergies. But since his medical history was not known, we had no idea what he had been eating before and what he was allergic to. Innova veterinarian Dr. Nathaniel Cook sent me several emails and spent over an hour one day talking to me on the phone and giving me guidance and suggestions for helping Brooks, far above and beyond anything to do with feeding him Innova food. In fact, he suggested a different type of food to try for Brooks, another Natura brand called California Natural grain free venison formula, and he and his associate Tammy even overnighted me coupons so that I could get Brooks started on that food right away! When's the last time you had service like that? And more importantly, real personal concern from a company.

Both dogs seem to love the taste of their Natura dog food. So far they're reacting great as well. I'll be continuing to learn more about these foods, and I look forward to sharing more with you. I might just have some food giveaways coming up too.

So, what do you look for in your dog's food? What have you not been able to find that you wish you could? Do you have any questions I could bring to Innova?

---------------
 * P.S. Congratulations! The winner of The Lucky Dog Matchmaking Service book, selected by random draw, is Larrielle. Please email me or send me a DM on twitter or Facebook with your mailing address to claim your prize.

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D is for Diet, and a bonus

Photo from Dieting with my Dog

Pawing Through the Alphabet 
(**Frankie keep reading...I won't let you down.)

Today,
D is for Diet

Many of you already know that Kelly and I have been dieting together. I don't want to be redundant, and I won't tell you here about good nutrition or exercise. What I want to talk about is the struggle--the frustrating, continual challenge--of keeping up a habit like dieting. Just because my book, Dieting with my Dog, is out and at the end of the book Kelly and I reached our goals (I lost 41 lbs and Kelly lost 6 lbs!) doesn't mean we can stop dieting.

I don't think I'm giving away anything when I post this section from near the end of my book. I'm looking around my daughter's old bedroom, which I'd refused to change since she'd gone away to college.

     "What are you doing in here?" (my husband) asked.
     "Picturing this room a little different," I replied.
     "You mean, a change?" Mike grinned.
     I ran my hand across the dresser again. "Could be." No way around it; things changed. The trick was to accept, even welcome it. Like losing weight, it was a lifetime challenge.

Yup, losing weight is a lifetime challenge. I've succumbed to oreo truffles and cheesecake over the holidays. Some days Kelly and I couldn't convince each other to get outside in the bitter cold to take our walk. Many times we abandoned the good habits we established in favor of a yummy treat or a lazy snuggle together on the couch. And a few pounds found their way back for both of us.

I know that if I want to keep myself--and my dog--in nice shape, and most importantly healthy, I have to keep in practice all those good habits that we started when we set out on our journey: Turning down extra sweets. Resisting feeding Kelly table scraps. Keeping up with exercise even when we're feeling lazy. Measuring Kelly's food and being accountable for how much I'm eating. And all that isn't always easy.

So I'm here to encourage you all who have strayed a bit from your diets, or have a dog who needs to shed a few pounds, or who find it difficult to get out and walk the dog when the sun is hiding...you can do it! Join us on our Facebook page and we'll support each other.
Just take a step today. If you will, we will too.

Now...for the bonus.

D is also for Dachshund!

Kelly is part long haired dachshund--see the resemblance (especially those ears)? And very proud of it. And is also very very lucky to have so many dachshund bloggy buddies: 
Frankie Furter and Ernie
Puddles, Albert and Whitney (but mostly Puddles, right?!)
Amber and Max
Frankie the Walk 'n Roll Dog
Dachies with Moxie
So today we can also celebrate dachshunds!

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