Ammo’s Lake School

Posted on July 12, 2017 by Ammo

Ammo's Lake School

It’s come to my attention that I may need to open my own Lake School. Until recently I didn’t realize how many dog’s I’ve mentored on their very first lake outing.

On the Lake with Friends // Ammo the Dachshund

First there was Shilah, who I introduced to the water and her first paddleboarding experience.

Lake Dogs // Summer // Ammo the Dachshund

Then there was Maya, who had her first dip and also took to the paddle board under my supervision.

Ammo's Lake School

And then there was Hank! The latest ~~victim~~ trainee in Ammo’s Lake School.

Ammo's Lake School

Being that Hank is a Miniature GoldenDoodle (Golden Retriever/Poodle Mix), it didn’t take much convincing for me to get him into the water.

Ammo's Lake School

Just in case though I coached from the sidelines, ready to swim Hank to safety if need be.

Ammo's Lake School

Thankfully he was a natural!

Ammo's Lake School

Although when he emerged it became apparent that there really wasn’t much dog hiding under all that fur!

Ammo's Lake School

So I did what any good dog would do, I let him borrow one of my life vests*! No drowning dogs on my watch!

*affiliate link

Ammo's Lake School

Swimming was one thing, but the true test of a lake dog is the boating. So we took to the docks for a boat adventure. Hank passed test number one with flying colors, making friends with the boat shop crew.

Ammo's Lake School

I led the expedition (as always) and things were going swimmingly for my pal Hank.

Ammo's Lake School

And after a dip overboard to cool off….

Ammo's Lake School

….Hank was officially a Lake Dog just like me!

Since Hank made my job super easy and passed my rigorous training with ease, it made it possible for me to divert my attention to ~~victim~~ trainee #2 of the day…

Ammo's Lake School

*affiliate link

….Baby P!

After we mastered wearing the uncomfortable but necessary life vest* (thanks to some helpful cheerios that mom packed), I am happy to report that Baby P also mastered my Lake School and survived her very first boating adventure. (with very minimal crying I might add). Although she still has a ways to go in the doggie paddle department, but we’ll get there!

So what do you think, should I open up my own Lake School? Likely we’d need sailor hats (and a captain hat for me) with really cool logos. Good thing I know a great graphic designer! 🙂

A Pet Activity Tracker that Helps Pets + A Giveaway

Posted on July 10, 2017 by Ammo

Disclaimer: This post is brought to you by Poof and does contain affiliate links. All opinions are my own and I only share products I think you and your pets will love!

When this small box arrived at my doorstep from my friends at Poof, I had no idea that it was going to be able to communicate a whole slew of things about me to my parents.

At first I was slightly concerned it was going to giveaway all my secrets. Like where I hide my half eaten bones, and which of mom’s newly planted flowers I’ve peed on. But my mind was quickly put at ease when mom explained that Poof was actually an activity tracker – not a secret spiller.

Poof makes two different models, the Pea & the Bean. I decided to test out the Bean because it has a replaceable battery that lasts up to 6 months! (while the Pea is slightly smaller and contains a rechargeable battery that lasts up to 60 days.

Mom installed the Poof on my collar with one of these rubitz clips (that is not included – but something I already had at home).

Armed with my Poof, it was time to get busy exercising (or not exercising depending on how I felt that day)! Or perhaps I’d decide to take a dip in the lake that day – which is fine, because they are waterproof!

At the end of my day of activity mom put her smart phone next to my tracker to sync up to the free poof app so that she could collect all the data it received that day.

I was thrilled to see that on my very first day I had already met my exercise goal – and hadn’t napped near as much as I thought!

My favorite part though was seeing how I compared next to all the other dogs out there! I could see my ranking with other dogs my size (and I’ve been pretty consistently in the top 10 since I started using it), and also how I ranked globally too.

It’s a really fun motivator to get me out there running and playing even more than I already do – so that I can beat my high score!

And for the days I’m feeling extra social I can even connect with other dogs and dogs owners by sharing some dashing pictures of myself. The verdict is still out on if I can also use this as a dating app to meet some girl dachshunds that have the same affinity for exercise as I do.

In case the lady dachshunds are watching my poof ranking, I better start exercising now!

The really cool part about the Poof activity trackers is that 100% of their profits go to animal welfare through the GreaterGood.org program. Their donations help pay for food, beds, vaccinations, rescue missions and many other resources that help to keep animals safe and healthy.

So if you’d like to checkout just how much sleep, exercise, play, and calories your pup is getting, be sure to check out Poof!

You can even save 50% off your order with code AMMO

And now for the best part….

TWO WINNERS WILL WIN A POOF ACTIVITY TRACKER!
(1 Winners gets the Bean & 1 Winner gets the Pea)

Here’s HOW TO WIN:

No purchase necessary. To enter use the Rafflecopter widget below. You will be contacted via e-mail to claim your prize. All the winners will also be announced on this blog post once the giveaway ends. Open to USA readers only. Winners must claim their prizes within 48 hours of being notified or prize will be forfeited. By entering you are agreeing to the terms & conditions set forth in the Rafflecopter widget (see below).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Never want to miss any of the adventures (or giveaways) on my blog? Make sure you sign-up for e-mail updates!

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Containing All Your Friends

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Ammo

Disclaimer: This post is brought to you by Carlson Pet Products. All opinions are my own, and I only share products I think you and your pets will love!

A few weeks ago my friends from the south, Scout and Sharkie, came for a visit. Trooper and I always love when we can get the whole gang together.

The thing about my friends from the south though is that they’re really good at being “beach dogs”, but they don’t know a lot about being “farm dogs”.

While there are lots of rules about being on a farm that I won’t get into now, the most important one is to never ever ever get close to a horses’ hooves. Those things can break little puppy toes, and kick you in an instant – something Trooper and I are well aware of and make sure to always be on our most cautious behavior when mingling around the ponies.

Now my friends Scout and Sharkie, well, they never really learned this rule. So after chasing a few horses, and a couple of close calls it was deemed that they were not to be trusted around the ponies. (better safe than sorry!)

Thankfully my friends at Carlson Pet Products had just the thing to give everyone on the farm peace of mind with their indoor pet containment gates.

Their Design Paw Auto Close Pet Gate kept everyone from sneaking down the basement steps in search of any doors to the outside world that may have been left open.

Mom’s favorite part was the auto-close feature, so when her hands were full she could just push the gate shut and no dogs could squeeze through.

Sharkie and I had our own favorite part…

…the small pet door so that we could have our own secret “little dog” adventures without those big dogs tagging along!

While it’s true that my pals from the south weren’t very “pony savvy”, there was also another new thing with a whole set of rules (that I also won’t get into), that my friends weren’t accustomed to.

While the humans all seemed to think the Carlson Free Standing Pet Gate was keeping all the dogs from jumping on, licking, or playing too roughly with Baby P….us dogs know that it was really keeping Baby P from pulling fur, pinching, and jumping on unsuspecting dogs!

Regardless of the reason, this gate floated all around the farmhouse while my friends were in town since it was so easily portable because it required no holes in the wall or pressure points and could easily expand from 40″ – 70″!

My visit with my friends from the South was far too short, and I was sad to see them go. But I was also very thankful that they made it to the end of their stay with no wounds, missing fur, or broken bones from the very dangerous ponies and babies on the farm – all thanks to Carlson Pet Products!

I sent Scout home with a list of rules to work on for the next time she visits. #1 being – do not ever ever try to sniff a ponies’ rump! And #2 being – pony poop is a delicacy that can be found in the manure pile, not in a stall where a pony is still standing!

We have a lot to work on before the next visit!

What sort of things would you like to keep your pet contained from?

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Take Your Dog to Work Day

Posted on June 23, 2017 by Ammo

Today is take your dog to work day. For me, it’s just a normal day, because every day in my life is “take your dog to work day”. So today I thought it would be fun to share with you what a typical day at work in my family’s custom frame shop looks like for me.

After the car is parked I make the grueling trek from the parking lot to the shop – and in the winter this means through the snow, and it’s slightly up hill too! I keep telling mom I need a shuttle, I mean seriously, these conditions are terrible!

ammo the dachshund at work

Once inside I do my morning stretches to get ready for the day. 8 hours of work does it’s tole on you!

Oh The Places You Sleep: Vol. 15 with Ammo the Dachshund

Before the shop opens for the day I find the optimal position to greet customers (belly side up for maximum belly rubs).

Shop Dog // Work // Ammo the Dachshund

Sometimes I get bored of waiting by the front door so I have to move around a bit in order to get enough belly rubs to keep me going throughout the day.

By mid-morning I usually get a burst of energy so I sometimes shred things, or bark at mom until she gives me something to chew on.

Shop Dog // Work // Ammo the Dachshund

Then it’s back to the shop door to watch for any dogs walking by that I can bark at.

Holiday Christmas Parade

If it’s a good day, then there will be a good stream of people stopping by that I can wag my tail at, and beg for food.

Oh The Places You Sleep: Vol. 13 with Ammo the Dachshund

On slow days I just turn into a sloth and sleep the day away in the backroom.

Working Smarter // Smart Dachshund helps out at work

Well, that is unless mom puts me to work filing paperwork. Sigh.

ammo the dachshund shop awnings

Then before I know it, it’s time to pack it all up and head home for the day.

I always look forward to the car ride home because when I get home…..

The Honest Kitchen Dehydrated Pet Food Review + Giveaway

…..It’s dinnertime!!

So what do you think, do I work way too hard?

Spotted something in this post that you’d like to know where it came from? Have no fear! My handy Gear Guide includes links to all the products I use and love on a daily basis!

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First Steps

Posted on June 21, 2017 by Ammo

You are my Sunshine

This first year of my sister’s life has been filled with many firsts (holy cow can you believe she’ll be a year old very very soon), and just like any good brother I’ve been there for most of them. I was there when she laughed for the first time while watching me shred up paper and when she crawled for the first time towards me – so it’s only natural that when she finally took her first steps they would be in my direction!

At 9 months and 28 days Baby P took her first steps across the room to bring me a pair of her cowgirl boots. While no one was able to capture these initial first steps on camera, they did get the next few after that!

In just a few weeks she’s already cruising all around the house now – and I’m the one that can’t keep up with her!

I can’t wait to see what she learns next. Perhaps it will be how to get the cookies out of the cookie jar for me.

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Adventures at the Devon Horse Show

Posted on June 19, 2017 by Ammo

Disclaimer: This post is brought to you by RedBarn Products. All opinions are my own, and I only share products I think you and your pets will love!

Devon Horse Show

Just as I have for the past 8 years, I took a trip to the Devon Horse Show at the end of May. Only this year I got to bring along my sister too! I guess technically she got to go last year as well (inside mom’s tummy), but I feel like when you can’t actually see the ponies – it doesn’t really count!

Devon Horse Show

While I always love sniffing new smells and seeing all the pretty ponies, sometimes Devon can get a little overwhelming for a small dog such as myself. It can get VERY crowded, especially in the evenings – and even on Grand Prix night (when the horses jump super super big fences for the chance to win big big money). Usually mom would end up carrying me around (all 20lbs of me!) when things got a little crazy, but this year we had a different option!

Devon Horse Show

Rewind to a few weeks before the Devon Horse Show, and mom decided that I needed to learn how to ride in the bottom of my sister’s stroller!

Devon Horse Show

So armed with my current favorite treats, these Vanilla Flavored Bully Slices from Redbarn Products, mom made me a comfy spot in the stroller so I could practice riding in it.

Devon Horse Show

Arguably it’s not my favorite place to be, but since these Bully Slices require some intense chewing effort on my part I was able to relax enough that mom could push me around the driveway.

Devon Horse Show

Made with natural beef these chews are a natural source of protein and antioxidants too. I enjoy snacking on them everywhere, from work to home, and even on my adventures.

Devon Horse Show

So how did I fair at the Devon Horse Show when the crowds got bigger? Well the first struggle was convincing my sister that my training chews were for me and not her!

Devon Horse Show

While I did ride around in the bottom of the stroller for a little bit, I still have some work to do to be extra comfortable in there. But it’s a start!

I much preferred to chew my bully slices under a shady tree at Devon anyway!

Devon Horse Show

You can snag your pup some Bully Slices from Redbarn Products they even come in some really fun flavors like French Toast, Peanut Butter, and Vanilla. And be sure to check out my full review on their products too!

Hopefully by this time next year I’ll be a real pro at riding under that stroller!

Do you think your dog would enjoy a stroller ride?

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Little Ones On The Lake

Posted on June 14, 2017 by Ammo

Little Ones On The Lake

I bet you can tell by my excited zoomies here that I recently got to go on a lake day adventure!

Little Ones On The Lake

And yes, I brought along my favorite little sidekick, Baby P! Of course she met the lake and powered right in (girl after my own heart)!

Little Ones On The Lake

In fact, she acted like the cold water didn’t even bother her!

Little Ones On The Lake

I was slightly worried she might just start swimming away…..without me!

Little Ones On The Lake

So I had to jump in too. Just so she knew I wasn’t a total wimp.

Little Ones On The Lake

After my fun in the lake I met a new friend. I was so excited to play with him I could hardly wait.

Little Ones On The Lake

Only neither of us could get it together properly and he ran one way and I ran the other way, and our fun playtime ended up with both of us confused and lost. Sigh.

Little Ones On The Lake

After all that fun in the lake I started to get a little chilly. My towel wasn’t quite doing the trick but that’s ok, because….

Little Ones On The Lake

…rolling on your back in the sun always fixes everything!

What’s your dog’s favorite thing about a lake day?

Adventures of Ammo + Baby P: Vol 10

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Ammo