trick or treat

Trick or Treat Giveaway Hop | 2016

It’s that time of the year again! Last year, our amazing pals from Kol’s Notes and Beagles and Bargains put together an amazing Trick or Treat Giveaway hop, so we’re thrilled to be a part of year number 2!

Our Hosts:

Plus:

The Prizes:

Fourth Prize – $72 Value

Nice Mussels plus Wishes, Pecks (8 oz), Beams (7 oz), Quickies, and Smooches (16 oz)

Third Prize – $80 Value

1 bag of canine beef lung treats + 1 bag of canine beef liver treats + 1 bag of canine beef tendon treats

Second Prize – $100 Value

14 bag assortment of Caru’s Soft ‘n Tasty Baked Bites and Baked Bars

Grand Prize

$300 PetSmart Gift Card

But wait, we have one more prize!

Social Media Prize

$20 PetSmart Gift Card + a Custom Bow Tie from Brooklyn Bowtied!

Let’s Get to the Trick!

This year, I taught Atka how to “snuggle” for the Trick or Treat Giveaway Hop. Unfortunately, he became quite sick a few weeks ago and has been on an extremely strict diet – he hasn’t been able to keep much in his stomach.

As a typical Great Pyrenees, he’s unwilling to do anything without the prompting of a treat (which he’s not allowed to have). So, I’m not going to be able to share a fun video like I did last year. Instead, I have a tutorial for you to teach your own dogs!

Snuggle

With Atka well on his way to becoming a therapy dog, I thought it would be adorable for him to learn how to snuggle with those he’s visiting. Of course, he’ll lean on them and beg for pets, but I wanted him to know how to put his head in the lap of another person. So, we decided to learn ‘snuggle’.

How To Do It:

Start in a seated position where your dog can easily access your lap.
Hold a treat between your knees.
As your dog leans toward the treat, click and treat when his head touches your lap (if your dog isn’t trained with a clicker, here’s a great tutorial or you can say ‘yes!’ instead).
After a few rounds of this, begin to add the clue ‘snuggle’.
As your dog begins to understand the concept of putting his head in your lap, require him to hold still for a few seconds before clicking and treating.
Gradually increase the time you have your dog keep his head on your lap.

Atka learned to keep his head in my lap for about 10 seconds before I gave his release word, ‘okay’. It took a few weeks of working before we got to this point, so don’t be disappointed if your dog isn’t willing to hold his head on your lap for long periods of time right away. Just practice, practice, practice!

Now that you’ve learned the trick, how about we discuss the treat?

Enter the giveaway below for your chance to win! Don’t forget to visit all of the other amazing bloggers participating in the giveaway hop. Each blogger has their own entry form so you can increase your chances of winning!

Disclaimer: The Trick or Treat Giveaway Hop is a sponsored by Caru, Nature’s Logic, and The Honest Kitchen.

Trick or Treat Giveaway Hop – Dog or Nothing

Simple DIY Trick or Treat Bags for Dogs

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Halloween can be a pretty rough holiday in our house. Either the doorbell is constantly ringing or there are kids are dressed ‘funny’ causing upset to Mauja and Atka. Sometimes they bark, sometimes they hide, and sometimes they have absolutely no idea what to do with themselves.

For the past few years, we haven’t participated in Trick or Treat because it’s too much stress on the dogs. We turn off all of our lights, close the blinds, and snuggle up to watch a movie or play a game. One year we even took the fluffies on an outing to get them away from the chaos.

Related: 50 Photos of Great Pyrenees Winning Halloween

While we might not participate in the Trick or Treat festivities, I still enjoy celebrating Halloween. Naturally, I have to do something special for the dogs! This year, I’m making DIY Trick or Treat bags for dogs to hand out to the neighborhood dogs who accompany their humans trick or treating.

Supplies

These DIY Trick or Treat bags for dogs could not be easier to make. While you can easily grab small Halloween-themed bags at the store, I wanted to incorporate a little dog into mine 😉 Here’s what you’ll need:

Small paper bags
Festive ribbon
A black marker
Plenty of tasty treats (we’re fans of these and these)

The Process

Okay, I am NOT an artist or even crafty in the slightest so don’t judge my poorly drawn bones and paw prints! Since they are fairly basic, I figured I couldn’t mess them up too bad. If you’re artsier, go crazy here! Or, do what I almost did and grab some stickers to decorate them 😉 If you have human kids, this could be a fun activity for everyone to do together.

After I drew on each bag, I added the Trick or Treat ribbon and learned that I absolutely cannot tie pretty bows. I don’t think the fluffy butts will care too much about that though!

Related: Trick or Treat Giveaway Hop 2017 | Kiss

Lastly, fill each bag with some of the treats you purchased. I chose crunchy treats because anything soft would quickly dry out in the open bags. You can find several Halloween-themed dog treats at your local pet store to fill your Trick or Treat bags.

Have you ever created Trick or Treat bags for dogs? What treats would you include?

Pin It!

A Fluffy Halloween

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Halloween is only a few days away – are you ready?

I certainly wasn’t until we received the most awesome package from our pals at PetSmart. The package was full of Halloween themed toys and COSTUMES! Eep! I was so excited to see that one of the costumes was Olaf from Frozen (if you haven’t seen it, get it asap). So we have toys, costumes… and what are we missing?

TREATS!

How can you have Halloween without treats? I’m pretty much it’s impossible. So I ran out to PetSmart to get Mauja and Atka some Halloween/fall themed treats.

Here’s Mauja and Atka’s trick or treat haul:

Fruitables Pumpkin Mango Skinny Minis – These little treats are one of my absolute favorites for training! I’m kind of lazy and don’t like having to cut/tear their treats apart into small bites. These are a perfect size – yes, even for my giants! (Mauja and Atka ~~definitely~~ might disagree)

Zuke’s Mini Naturals Ghosts – These bite-sized treats are Turkey & Pumpkin flavored and perfect for training as well. Bonus that they are shaped like adorable, little ghosts! They’re definitely Caspers, not scary ghosts 😉

Bocce’s Bakery Spooky Pumpkin – A crunchy biscuit with only four ingredients: oat flour, pumpkin, peanut butter, and cinnamon. I like to give Mauja and Atka pumpkin, but they refuse to eat it plain. I have to sneak it in using treats!

Blue Buffalo Boo Bars – These biscuits are made with pumpkin and cinnamon and smell delicious! These are always a hit with Mauja and Atka.

Okay, now for the best part; the costumes!

When I got the costumes out, I quickly realized that I was much more thrilled than they were. Mauja and Atka don’t wear clothes, so they aren’t used to the sensation. Side note: if your dog isn’t comfortable, don’t force them into the costume. Treat treat treat to create a positive association and go slowly.

Mauja got to wear the hamburger costume (which I think made her look like a ninja turtle) and Atka wore the Olaf costume. Just so you’re aware if you have a giant breed, the XXL costumes did not fit either of them. I’m going to get some long velcro strips so the straps go the entire way around their bodies. I still think they looked cute (even though I’m sure they ~~hated me~~ didn’t agree).

We're celebrating Halloween Great Pyrenees style with toys, treats, and costumes from PetSmart! — Yep, Mauja is not pleased at all.

So… my pictures definitely aren’t the best. I will be the first to admit that photographing two giant, pouting dogs on your own isn’t easy. Excuses excuses, I know. I’m going to work on that and see if I can get better pictures over the next few days!

Right now I’m sucking up with all the delicious treats I got them. That should work, right? I’m sure they are devising a way to humiliate me the way I did them. They’ll probably poop on the Wing Commander’s lawn or something. Perhaps I should avoid that street on our walks for awhile… 😉

Are you prepared for Halloween? If your dog is going to wear a costume, what will it be?

Disclaimer: PetSmart was kind enough to surprise Mauja and Atka with the costumes and toys without any expectation. We decided to share the products because we thought they were ADORABLE. The treats were not a part of the package and were purchased on my own.

Fluffy Crawl & $1000 in Prizes #TrickorTreatDogs

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First, let me say I am SO EXCITED to be a part of this fantastic giveaway hop! Big, fluffy shout out to Jessica and Luna at Beagles & Bargains and Jodi, Kolchak, and Felix at Kol’s Notes for putting this fabulous event together!

The Trick or Treat Giveaway Hop is a sponsored by Lionel Trains, the Art of AJ, pawTree, Dr. Harvey’s, Jones Natural Chews, Puppy Style Treats, Clear Conscience Pet, Whimseez, Loving Pets and Weruva. It’s Dog or Nothing only shares information we believe in and feel you would enjoy.

How Does it Work?

From October 19th – 31st, some amazing dog bloggers will be sharing their favorite trick and hold a treat giveaway! Get it? Trick or treat! Well, maybe trick AND treat? See what I did there? 😉 Here’s an awesome list so you know where to go and when!

Make sure you hop from blogger to blogger to learn all of the fun tricks and enter each giveaway. Best part, every time you enter you will also receive an entry for one of the Three (3) Grand Prizes. These include a Peanuts Halloween Train & Trick or Treat Gondola from Lionel Trains, $300 in dog treats from each of the Trick or Treat Giveaway Hop sponsors, and a Custom Halloween Pet Portrait from The Art of AJ!

The Trick

Guys, I’m not going to lie. I had totally planned on doing “speak” for this video. I taught this to Mauja when she was a puppy and it’s hilarious. She whines and yips – you really have to hear it. However, being a typical Great Pyrenees, Mauja was not into speak when I was trying to record. She absolutely refused. If I moved the camera away, she did it. When I brought the camera back out, she stopped.

Stinker.

So instead, we’re teaching “crawl” today! Mauja and Atka used to be really good at this trick, but it’s been awhile since we’ve worked on it so they needed a bit of a refresher. Check out the video below to see the fluffies crawling and see just how ridiculous training a Great Pyrenees can be.

Guard Dog + Trick Training + Noises = Distracted Fluffy

The Treat

Mauja and Atka LOVE so many of the products from Dr. Harvey’s, so we’re thrilled to be hosting a giveaway for Dr. Harvey’s treats! Enter below for a chance to win the Coconut Smiles and Sweet Potate’r Chews (giveaway open to US only). Two great treats as you teach your pup to crawl! Don’t forget to follow Dr. Harvey’s on Facebook and Twitter.

What trick do you want to teach your dog?

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The Trick or Treat Giveaway Hop!