Dog Safety During the Holidays

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

© AllThingsDogBlog.com
Even Costumes Have their Dangers

It seems as though not a year goes by that I don't hear a horror story that involves an ER visit with Fido. Don't let this happen to you and your dog. If your pup wears clothing willingly, that's all good. But remember that adding a hat or other accessory can take his tolerance over the top. While this photo of Oliver may be cute, I will never leave him alone wearing the hat. It may end up in either his or Tanner's belly, potentially causing a blockage. 

I say that with plenty of resistance as neither one of them are chewers. But often those stories I hear come from owners who tell me their dogs were not power chewers either. So play it safe and keep tabs of your dog when he's got anything new, whether it be a toy, clothing item, or new chewy toy.

If you'll be hosting family Fidos, you may wish to protect their safety by dog proofing your house further. Just the same, if you're moving during the holidays, do take time to dog proof your new home. Here are my dog proofing tips.

All of us here at the All Things Dog Blog wish you and yours a happy holiday, no matter what holiday you choose to celebrate. For us, family is first. We'll be spending some quality time bonding and will return after the New Year to bring you our fifth annual Super Dog Sunday™.

Meanwhile, #FidosFreebieFriday continues 24/7/365. Each Thursday by 4 PM ET you'll find a new edition of this #giveaway event with all your favorite blogs joining in. Be sure to visit several times a week to see what's new. Best wishes to you all!

Halloween Pets Score Toys & Apparel

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

© AllThingsDogBlog.com
Viking Tanner Doesn't Look Too Tough!

Wow! We're really impressed with the enthusiasm for our Halloween giveaway by our readers. It would appear that your pups will be dressed to the max this year. After thoroughly inventorying all the loot, I'm happy to announce I'll actually be giving away 10 prizes, rather than the 8 I earlier announced. Woo hoo!

Let's get to the naming of these winners so we can ship prizes pronto. I've gone through the tedious process of aligning each winner drawn to a prize that is appropriate for their pet. I feel like I've been digging through a movie wardrobe selecting costumes for the actors. What a job!

Our winners will each be notified of their prize in an email from AllThingsDogBlog@gmail.com. Watch your inbox and your spam file. The winners are Dawn R., Ale Ol, Plotkin, Katty K., CK, Jen B., Kim M., Amy O., Deanna W., Anne N. and Shelly P. That's eleven, right? Whew! Now go check your emails!

Happy Halloween!  If you're still in need of an outfit for the big day, please visit your local Petco, or shop online, to find something just right for your pet.

Boo!

The costumes and toys included in these packages were all provided by Petco for promotion of their Halloween line. I was not compensated to help promote their products; I simply had fun doing it.

Petco Does Pet Halloween in Style

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

Halloween Giveaways Start Here

Our annual foray into Halloween with our pets is always a fun thing to witness. This year Petco has outdone itself. They've got Army fatiques, kings, Vikings, unicorns, knights, witches and more. On top of all the fun costumes there are apparel options like hoodies and dresses, along with toys that certainly bring out the Halloween spirit. Petco shoppers will be ready for Trick-or-Treating or parties.

We unpacked a few samples and Tanner gave me that look that said "They're all too small for me". 

"Sorry Tanner. We do have large Star Wars items coming up next, so stay tuned." We'll be sure to include something for our full-sized Fidos there.

We took a quick inventory of the toys and apparel and decided we can offer 8 prizes. Whew! Here's the deal: Seven Fidos will get to score a magical Halloween with one or more of our costumes, apparel items, or toys. One large dog in the drawing will win a great toy for fetch. Tanner is secretly hoping that will be him, but I'll appease him with a trip to Petco to select something fun.

Oliver Has a Knight Aboard

Finally we have a great prize for a kitty entrant, so be sure to make your comments complete. I'll need to know whether you're entering for a dog or a cat (or both), and please feel free to select the size based on the measurements I'll provide below. I suggest you use a tape measure to assure accuracy. I have only one of each item so sizes really do matter. It could also be useful to include your furry friend's sex so I know that the princess costume is not appropriate for Rocky--LOL! 

A number of the costumes  in my selection come in a size Small/Medium. With elastic, Velcro and other adjustments, they appear to have some give to allow for both sizes to find them workable. Petco recommends size Small/Medium for dogs with a neck to tailbone length of 11-15 inches.

Size Medium items are made to fit dogs with a neck to tailbone length of 13-15 inches. Other items are one size fits most. We easily discovered many Velcro attachments can be extended with an extra piece of Velcro from a craft store and elastic can be added to extend the size of many pieces that are worn around the middle or as headwear. These are all made quite lightweight so that your dog is less likely to put the brakes on and tear off the offending headgear.

The size small apparel (a darling dress and a Zombie hoodie) appear to be a reasonable fit for Oliver, a 10 pound Papillon. I hope all this input helps in your size decisions.

The cat prize includes a teaser toy with mice that dangle and dance and an adorable Sushi box filled with catnip toys--quite clever! 

Meet Scruffy,
 Modeling Army Fatiques

Toys range from plush and rope types to chew toys. There's something for every dog at Petco. Check out the entire collection of Halloween items online at the link above. You'll also learn more by visiting their Facebook page and checking in on Twitter.

As usual the Rafflecopter entry form below may decide to play a Halloween trick on you. You can get your opportunity for a treat by clicking on the post title above. Entries will be open through midnight, September 21. Best wishes to all your ghosts, goblins and princesses.

Happy Halloween,

Prizes in this giveaway have been provided by Petco at no cost to me. I have not been compensated for sharing these with you. I am giving all of them away and all comments above are completely my own. Please remember to keep your dog safe on Halloween by maintaining him in an enclosed area or leashing him if he goes out to trick or treat with you.

Fido's Freebie Friday is Dog Tired!

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

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The July 4th holiday weekend is just now wearing off as our family enjoyed a fun-filled week of hiking in the Colorado mountains. So little planning went into this getaway that I actually forgot my camera and had to resort to a few phone pics. These were more challenging to get when climbing was challenging and hands were at a premium. 

If you follow me on Instagram, hopefully you were not disappointed in my meager images. Do join in though. I promise to do better next time!

Now let's get to today's Fido's Freebie Friday. Bloggers are invited to list below 

their currently open giveaways, freebies, and prizes for pets and pet lovers so that readers may visit and explore items to win. You can help to get more awareness by sharing the badge you see in the top of my post. Feel free to put it in your sidebar, if you wish, but don't feel obligated.

Fido's Freebie Friday opens each Thursday afternoon for linkups at 4:00 PM ET, and renews each week at the same time with a new listing.  Link up anytime during the week--24/7. We make it easy to be seen here by keeping our rules simple:

•You have up to 45 characters to describe your prize and include an expiration date.

•Fido's Freebie Friday Blog Hop is open to posts with prizes for pet products or services, including pet-related or pet-themed items for owners. Use your specific post url to link up.You'll find assistance at our HELP PAGE, where there is other useful information for bloggers doing giveaways and reviews. Your hosts are All Things Dog Blog, DogTipper and To Dog With Love. Happy shopping! 

Individual rules of entry and guidelines for winning may apply to each listing. All Things Dog Blog, DogTipper, and To Dog With Love take no responsibility for the legality of the rules governing the listings on other sites and giveaways that are posted here. We simply provide this forum as a gathering place for pet product giveaways to be offered. Please consult All Things Dog Blog's Giveaway and Contest Rules for more detail. Fulfillment of each giveaway is done by the blog conducting the giveaway, not by the hosts of this giveaway hop; please contact the giveaway host with any questions regarding a giveaway or giveaway prize.

Easter, Passover and Earth Day Celebrations--Gone to the Dogs!

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

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How's This Look for Me?

For posts like this one, I'm reasonably sure that Tanner wishes our rabbit, Robby, was still here to stand in. While Tanner is fairly amenable to posing in ears, he'll have them off within 10 minutes after I shut the camera off. I have to offer him #ASmartCookie in reward for his good nature and accommodation. Thanks Tanner!

Today's giveaway prize announcement includes three winners who will each receive a grab bag for their Fido. These bags will include 2 bags of USA-made treats, a wallet-pack of Flushpuppies for better disposal of Fido's deposits, and either a toy or a leash. The latter will be selected based on the dog's size, for safety reasons.

Our winners are Crystal R., Molly P, and Linda G. Watch for an email from us via AllThingsDogBlog@gmail.com. Check your spam file tonight if you don't find it easily, or feel free to write to us at this address with your full name, address and your dog's weight. If you'd like to receive an All Things Dog Blog bandana for your pup, please indicate this in your email and we'll include it along with your prizes.

After this you can sit back and relax as we do the rest. Oh, and don't forget to watch for the goodie bag of Event Barkers perks inside. You'll find coupons, samples, helpful information from our sponsors and other goodies in this bag. Be sure to go through the contents carefully so you don't miss a thing!

Speaking of Event Barkers, we're busy preparing for our next Twitter Party on behalf of sponsor Castor and Pollux Pet. #OrganicPet is sure to be a bit hit as we'll have experts on hand to answer your questions about their products, new introductions, and the value of purchasing an organic food for your pets. And did I mention there will be prizes? Mark your calendars for May 4 and click through to the post hashtagged above to RSVP and enter our pre-party giveaways. You could be a winner without even attending!

No matter which holiday you're celebrating at this time of year, be sure to enjoy the moment as you spend time with family, friends and your dog. Each day is precious and we all need to savor them. I'll look forward to seeing you tomorrow for the next pose in our Doga series: Forward Fold with Fido. 

Happy weekend,

Flush Puppies flushable dog waste bags have been provided to All Things Dog Blog for promotion by giveaway. I was not compensated to offer this giveaway or to share information about this product. I do use Flush Puppies in my own home and love that we are not adding immeasurably to the waste bags in landfills.
Treats and other items in this giveaway were acquired as conference swag and/or are full size samples and are being passed along to you. Readership has its perks. :)
The Easter bunny ears used in the photos were provided by Petco for an earlier promotion. Thanks Petco!

Easter Bunny Giveaways for Bowser

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

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Deliveries Complete--Naptime Commences!

Easter is just around the corner and everypuppy deserves a little something to treat himself with on this upcoming day when many families celebrate together. Whether you celebrate Passover beginning on April 14, Easter on April 20 or Earth Day on April 22, we can help Fido join in with his own kind of fun.

courtesy Flushippies.com

Our giveaway winners will each receive 2 bags of treats from U.S. manufacturers, a 3-pack of wallet packs of Flush Puppies for greener waste disposal, and a toy or leash to signify a transition to fun. These goodie bags will be sure to thrill you and Fido, valued at nearly $40 each.

To enter this giveaway that's just for fun, use the Rafflecopter below to enter by those methods that you find enjoyable. If the Rafflecopter is hiding, you can be a magician and pull it out of the Easter Basket by clicking on the post title above. This will be an impressive trick that will be sure to get the Rafflecopter back on its feet and behaving.

Butterfly or Rabbit--Your Guess!

Winners will be announced here on the blog Friday, April 18 and I'll ship the prizes just as quickly as I can. Thank you for understanding that I can only ship treats to U.S. addresses. No Canadian winners for this giveaway. If you see your name in the announcement post that day, shoot me a quick email with your shipping name and address to AllThingsDogBlog@gmail.com. 

Happy Spring to all,

Flush Puppies flushable dog waste bags have been provided to All Things Dog Blog for promotion by giveaway. I was not compensated to offer this giveaway or to share information about this product. I do use Flush Puppies in my own home and love that we are not adding immeasurably to the waste bags in landfills.
Treats and other items in this giveaway were acquired as conference swag and are being passed along to you. Readership has its perks. :)
The Easter bunny ears used in the photos were provided by Petco for an earlier promotion. Thanks Petco!