Fresh Patch Small Batch Treats - A Review!

 While you might be familiar with Fresh Patch's grass potty patch, we're excited to share with you that they recently launched a line of small batch pet treats. In my opinion, this is a smart business decision as what goes in must come out 😂

Made with sweet potato and chicken, Fresh Patch's Small Batch Treats are the perfect size for medium to large dogs, and are easy enough to break into pieces for smaller dogs or training rewards. Formulated with a pretty straight forward list of ingredients, they seemed super fresh upon arrival. 

This also may sound weird, but we appreciated that they didn't smell super strong -- they do have an aroma, but it's basically what you would expect (chicken, sweet potato, and rosemary!). The few that we gave to our special tester were gone in seconds, which is a good sign since Lady is the pickiest big dog you'll ever meet!

What I particularly liked about these treats is that they do seem really, really fresh and not super processed. Available directly from their website for $12.95, they're a steal with free FedEx shipping! And while you're on the site, why not check out their patch products as well! Even though we have a yard, we're starting to consider some other options to give our poor grass a break while we re-seed this fall 😳

Disclaimer: we received this product from Fresh Patch for the purpose of review.

Little Tikes x Best Friends Animal Society = #RescueTales

Slight tangent, but we have to take a moment to show you these Rescue Tales toys from Little Tikes that benefit the Best Friends Animal Society. Not only do these pets make cute realistic noises and movements, but they also impart the value of adoption and taking care of a pet. In addition to single pets, they also have a really cute grooming set (pictured above), that has a working bath tub!

While taking care of Lady keeps us busy enough, we are very tempted to welcome one of these cuties into our home since the littlest human Barkzilla LOVES playing vet/groomer. You can pick yours up online at Amazon or Target, and I believe they are also available in stores!

xoxo

Gripperz No-Mess Bowl for Messy Dogs & Humans

You know that thing where you're rushing around the kitchen, short on time, and you accidentally punt the dog's water or food dish across the room, showering your kitchen floor with water or kibble? Yep. It pretty much happens without fail whenever we are late 😂

This age old problem that I'm pretty sure most dog-owning households have is why the people at Davro Design have created Gripperz, a dog bowl that is designed not to slip, slide, or become a moving projectile. A two-piece product consisting of a plastic base with a Tacky Tech pad (that enables it to adhere securely to most flat surfaces), and a stainless-steel liner, Gripperz retails for $19.99 and is BPA free. 

While the bowl has yet to hit the market (it's Kickstarter just launched), it's definitely a product to keep an eye on! If all goes to plan it should be shipping in November 2020.

Also yay to a NJ based business!

Bonne et Filou Dog Macarons

Let them eat macarons!

What dog wouldn't like a bougie biscuit? We can't think of anything more "barkista worthy" than a macaron inspired treat! Founded by a husband and wife team who were inspired by Louis XIV's love of dogs, Bonne et Filou are whipping up gorgeously packaged treats that look absolutely delectable.  Made from high-quality, organic, human-grade ingredients, they are available in strawberry, lavender, and mint, they will set you back a pretty penny at $23.99 for a pack of 6.

We weren't able to try a sample, so can't speak to the deliciousness or size, but the packaging is 💯and made us think of our beloved Laudree. (Let me tell you, we miss living around the corner from their NYC location!)

Now that we're all at home a lot more, are you exploring new treats to spoil your pet with?

Fresh Dog Food Delivery Services Compared

For some reason, we automatically assumed that Lady would not be a picky eater. I mean, after all, she couldn't be pickier than Paddington, right? 😂 Well, it looks like we have one of the fussiest Bernedoodles ever! We've tried almost everything, and so far what works is dry food (Blue Buffalo), and some type of topper/wet food. The funny part is she won't eat the same type of topper more than 1 or 2 days in a row, no matter how hungry she should be.

Since I'd really like to not be preparing three meals at dinner time (husband, kid, and now dog), I've been looking into fresh pet food delivery again. It's been a while since we've explored this an option (oh my gosh, I remember looking into the first "fresh" pet food options like 10 years ago that came frozen like TV dinners), I figured why not take a look at the market.

The great news is that there are TONS of options that have really great looking ingredients and recipes for dogs of all types. The bad news is it's going to cost you a pretty penny. 

We filled out questionnaires for THE FARMER'S DOG, NOM NOM NOW, PET PLATE, and OLLIE just to see what the average cost per meal was going to be for a 48 lb dog of healthy body shape and average energy, and here's the breakdown:

The Farmer's Dog: $64.09 / week
Nom Nom Now: $30.80 / week
Pet Plate: $53.97 / week
Ollie:  $39.33 / week

So on average that is $42.21 / week, which comes to a whopping $2,455 a year.

I did the math out and right now we spend about $800 a year on dog food, so that's a pretty substantial leap. (Lady gets her dry food, topper/wet food, and then fresh healthy veggies/fruit/meat.)

Now, if you wanted to JUST use the fresh food as a topper (which is personally what I think is the best option), only some services seem to offer that. It's still not cheap, but it does seem do-able.

I wasn't able to see what our schedule modification options unless I enrolled for the services, so I'm not sure what customization you can do. I also don't know what the in person quality of this food is like since I'm still on the fence about signing up for a free trial. I guess if Lady really loved it, it might be a worthwhile investment but I'm just not sure if cost-wise it would be sustainable.

We're going to keep investigating, but for the hassle of signing up, trialing, and then modifying our subscription on a regular basis not sure if it is worth it. What has your experience been with fresh pet food delivery services? 

XOXO 

BarkYard Lawn Saving Kits

So remember when we posted last year about our dog-related lawn woes? Well, it turns out the bigger the dog, the bigger the problem 😳 While we sure do love Lady, our pretty green lawn definitely doesn't appreciate regular daily doses of nitrogen and salt containing pee.

Look - I made your lawn all pretty and polka-dotted!

Since we've already tried supplements and Dog Rocks with Paddy, we didn't even both giving it a go this time. I guess Google must be listening to our problems, because lately I've been served up a million ads for BarkYard - a DIY lawn saving/regrowing kit. Formulated for Kentucky bluegrass, ryegrass, or fescue lawns (which, based on our basic knowledge are grasses you'll find in climates that are cooler), there are two products: Good Boy and Bad Spot. Good Boy is packed full of nutrients and fertilizers to help support a lush lawn, while Bad Spot contains seed and everything you need to repair those bald spots.

From what we can tell it looks like you can apply both as needed. If you treat your lawn during the spring/summer/fall I'm not sure how that might impact the ability to grow new grass. That's a question for the experts 😂

A small kit that covers about 1,000 sq feet contains both Good Boy and Bad Spot and will set you back $67.99, with an additional discount if you do subscribe and save.

So - what do you think? What works for keeping your yard looking happy and healthy? BarkYard people, if you're out there and you see this - get in touch!

xoxo

An Update and a New Face

July 2007 - August 2019

Hi All!

It's been a while... and a lot has happened. I mean, I swear - like for most people the last 12 months has been the most insane time. Honestly, I've kind of been putting off updating the blog because we've got a mixed bag of news to share. Unfortunately, last August we had to say goodbye to our beloved Paddington. I won't go into too much detail, but she was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the lungs) which led very quickly to heart failure. While she fought hard, she didn't respond to the medication, and after much discussion with our vet we decided the kindest thing we could do was to put her out of her suffering.

It was hard. Really hard. It has taken us almost a year to be able to comfortably talk about it.

So yeah, that's the bad part of the mixed bag of news.

The good part? Well, last August we also welcomed a new member of the four-legged kind to our family. Despite being totally emotionally wrecked, our house no longer felt like a home without a dog. Though we discussed waiting, by chance we happened to come upon the perfect fit for our family.

Lady loves party hats just as much as Paddington!

Meet Lady! (And yes, because we put off updating and talking about this she just turned 1, haha). A F1B Bernedoodle, her mother was a Bernese Mountain Dog and her father was a mini Bernedoodle. While little dogs always have a special place in my heart, we felt like it was time for a change and getting another Morkie felt like we were trying too hard to replace Paddington.

I mean, how stinking cute was this little face?!

We're going to do our best to catch you all up and introduce you to the newest member of our pack. In the meantime, we're looking forward to getting back into the blogging world and exploring all of the fantastic finds and products that are out there!

See you soon and we promise not to be as MIA :) And oh - you can follow Lady on Instagram at @Lady_The_Berner.

Dog Rocks - did they work for us?

 

So being new to the whole home-owner/having a lawn thing, we never had really given much thought to "burn spots" in the yard. As any seasoned lawn caretaker/dog owner will tell you, dog pee is the instant destroyer of beautiful, green, happy grass 😂 And Paddington, bless her, is not very creative about where she pees - choosing the same poor little patch every time (until she kills it, ha...).

Having spent a fair amount of time cruising the internet for solutions, we stumbled upon Dog Rocks. As per their packaging, the claim that these rocks added to your pet's water source will filter out impurities like tin and nitrates, which cause your dog's urine to be so caustic. Simply add them to your pets' water and let the rocks do their magic.

So... did they work? Well... not so much. Unfortunately after 8 weeks of us, our lawn is not looking any better and we have some new yellow spots. While the rocks never claim to fix dead grass, we were disappointed to see new spots pop up when Paddy moved onto greener areas of the lawn. There is a disclaimer on the package that warns that if your dog has a high protein diet these may not work, so we're curious if that could be what happened in our case.

That said... after we spoke to our lawn care company who recommended the best (and really only) thing you can do for keeping your lawn healthy is to douse the area after your dog pees with fresh water to dilute the urine. Sighhh... of course it couldn't be as easy as just adding rocks to your dog's water.

If you're still interested in checking out Dog Rocks, you can pick them up at your local Petsmart, or websites like Amazon and Chewy.com. They are a little on the pricey side ($27.54 currently on Chewy.com 😱), especially as they need to be replaced every two months.

What do you do to keep your lawn healthy with dogs in the home?

Yup You Stink Shampoo from HOWND!

Image provided by HOWND PR

While Paddington may consider herself a city dog, she has had her fair share of time out in the countryside. There she has discovered all kinds of delicious (i.e. DISGUSTING) smells to roll around in - including, but not limited to deer urine/poop, rakish water/mud, cow poop, and I'm pretty sure other stinky animal byproducts. If you've ever had a dog that has rolled in something gross, you know how next to impossible it is to get it out of their hair no matter how many times you shampoo.

That's why we were so intrigued to get an email about HOWND Yup You Stink Conditioning Dog Shampoo. This all natural product was designed to eliminate truly awful odors like skunk spray or fox poop (which I can only imagine must be really rank). Their formula contains eucalyptus and cedarwood essential oils (naturally flea and insect repelling) as well as argan oil, oatmeal extract and aloe vera leaf juice and contains gentle odor neutralizers.

Originally from the UK, stinky pups in the US can now purchase their products in the US from Amazon. It looks like they also have a wide range of hemp based treats and other goodies include a bowl wash and in-between bath spray!

Since it looks like most of their formulas are cruelty-free and vegan, we're definitely curious to check this one out! What are your favorite ways to get rid of really stinky stenches?

Does your pet eat better than you?

p.s. Almost 13 years old and still killing it! #QueenMorkie

If you are a pet parent and use social media, odds are you've been served up an ad at some point in time for a company that offers home delivery of fresh pet food. From The Farmer's Dog to Nom Nom Now, getting healthy, ready-to-serve meals from your pet is now easier than ever. With recipes that are prepared with human-grade ingredients and less preservatives/artificial stuff, there's no question in our mind that these businesses are ushering in a new area of pet dining!

While we are HUGE fans of serving Paddy food that is less processed, we have yet to find a service that meets our needs. Since she's so tiny, getting weekly or bi-weekly deliveries is a little bit overkill - especially as the portion sizes they recommend are way too much for our 7lb doggy. We did stumble up on Grocery Pup, which offers a la carte 3lb bag options, but we've got to figure out the freezer storage situation first (plus $70 is a lot for 6lbs of food).

Do you have a pet food delivery service that you love? We would love our readers to share any recommendations that they may have.

BARK x Target: Picnic Time Toys & Treats!

 

Spring is soooo close, and we cannot wait for warmer weather! On our most recent Target run we spotted some new seasonal goodies from the folks at Barkbox - check out these awesome picnic themed toys and snacks! 

While Paddy's toybox currently overflow-eth, we were so tempted to pick up the little ants on a leaf and the cheeseboard. Also, make sure to check your local store - most of the display featured buy one, get one 25% off for all marked BARK toys and treats.

 

Seriously, how yummy do the Blueberriest Pie and Charcuterie Board treats sound?! 

Hunt These: Rae Dunn Dog Bowls & Canisters

Here are two of our favorite finds which go perfectly with our Pioneer Woman doggy cookie jar! 

If you're an avid TJ Maxx, HomeGoods or Marshalls shopper, you are probably no stranger to Rae Dunn and her line of iconic white ceramics decorated with large letter writing. While these items rarely last more than a day on the shelves before they are snatched up by "Dunnies," we have had good luck lately finding pieces from her pet line!

Here are tips for how to get your hands on some of these super coveted pieces:

• Head to your store right around opening time.  No joke, there is often a line outside of our stores at 9:30 and we have seen people sprinting to the Rae Dunn section. In good news, the pet themed stuff is normally with the pet accessories (including the pet mugs!), so make sure to hit that area up first!
• Check your local buy/sell/trade sites. Though things are often marked up there, it will give you an idea of what's hitting in your area and if you should be looking out for new things. 
• Swing by the clearance section! While Rae Dunn stuff is super hot right now, the pet things don't seem to be as popular and we've found some good pet bowls marked down.

In addition to cute "Dog Mom and Dad" mugs, we've also managed to find some really cute dishes and canisters for Paddington. And fear not - if you're a cat person, she also offers cat themed mugs and bowls.

Check out the TJMaxx website regularly as sometimes her products show up there, otherwise head to your local store's pet section to see if you can score some of these beauties. Are you a Rae Dunn fan?

Chicken 'n Waffles Treats for Dogs

Who doesn't love chicken and waffles? Maybe you've seen it already, but Post has introduced a Chicken and Waffles flavored cereal! And now even your furry friend can indulge, thanks to new Chickn 'n Waffle Bites treats from Rachael Ray's Nutrish line. Made in the USA, these treats feature USA farm raised chicken and zero gluten, fillers, or artificial flavors/preservatives/colors.

Currently available from Chewy.com for $10.99 for one bag.

While they're probably best sized for medium to larger dogs, we're tempted to pick up a bag and see what they're like! How cute are the little waffle and chicken pieces?

How often do you try new treats for your dog?

Disney Dogs x Dooney & Burke

Need a gift for the Disney dog lover in your life? Well look no further!

Can't believe we somehow missed the launch of these adorable Disney Dogs themed Dooney & Burke bags! This dog-centric print features classic characters like Lady, Tramp, Pongo, Perdita, Bolt, Nana, and even some other canine companions like the footstool from Beauty & the Beast.

The tote is already sold out, but you can still pick up the satchel or the crossbody bag from the Disney store online. There is also a really cute looking dress, but I am definitely not bold enough to pull it off. The bags rae expensive ($298 for the satchel 😱), but I'm hoping there might be some good pre- or post-holiday sales still!

Bocce's Bakery 2018 Holiday Treats!

 

Now that shopping for Paddy is part of our daily routine again, we've been so stoked to see lots of new products from some of our favorite brands on shelves. We cannot get enough of the treats from Bocce's Bakery (search this blog, you'll see lots of posts), and we were so excited to see them on the shelves at our local grocery store!! Paddy is looking forward to trying out some of the new bone broth based treats, but this year we're definitely going to be snagging some of the limited-edition holiday flavors for her stocking.

If you're new to the brand, or already a hardcore fan, you're going to want to pick up their holiday treat sampler which includes their gingerbread, Santa's Cookies, and Holiday Bone treats! And, you don't even have to worry about wrapping them - every gift set comes in a cute little bag!

Head to their website to grab your pooch something yummy for under the tree!

xo