Over the weekend Spring arrived. Although it didn’t really feel like it (hence my bundled up self on the farm in the picture above). While my first Spring adventures didn’t involve weekend hiking trips, camping, or travels, I still got to spend time with my family – which is really all the adventure I need!
From good morning kisses with my best friend Trooper on the farm…
(even when he maybe found them a bit embarrassing in front of the ponies!)
….to waiting for mom to finish painting my basement playroom….
…and even napping on the couch after farm chores…
…the best part of every adventure is getting to share it with the ones I love!
I’m looking forward to many more “adventures” this year. How about you?
Disclaimer: This post is brought to you by Pepper Petwear. All opinions are my own, and I only share products I think you and your dogs will love.
Being a dog with an odd shaped body (hello short legs and long body) I know how hard it can be to find pet clothing that fits. And lets be honest, looks cool too!
Thanks to my friends at Pepper Petwear I’ve found a new company that can accommodate any dog shaped body you can imagine!
Their handmade in Hungary dog coats, jackets, dog raincoats, dog sweaters, and dog collars can be made to fit any breed! You can even choose custom colors in several different styles. I decided to test out the Extra Warm Winter Coat (for those cold Pennsylvania winters) in the turquoise with grey fleece.
After sending off my measurements it arrived in the mail not long after. One of my favorite features it that it’s got lots of velcro straps for plenty of adjustments (should your dog’s weight ever change, or perhaps you want to add an extra layer for warmth underneath).
My new jacket even has these great reflective strips on the sides for added visibility.
I also requested the addition of a harness hole, which makes it easier for me to put my seatbelt on in the car or go for a walk when I’m wearing my harness underneath.
When I’m asked to review pet products I take the job pretty seriously, and no dog coat gets my stamp of approval without testing on the farm. Because lets face it, farm life is not exactly gentle on pet wear and I had to make sure it would stand up the rigors of all my outdoor adventures.
My new Pepper Petwear coat held up for (repeated) trips under the farm fencing.
It survived excursions in the manure pile (and didn’t stink too terribly bad afterwards).
It didn’t rip when I climbed through brush and sticks.
It still gave me plenty of freedom to dig (and didn’t hold onto the dirt).
And most importantly I could still run just as fast while wearing it! I’d say it’s definitely Ammo the Farm Dog APPROVED!
If you’d like to snag your pet one of these great coats be sure to visit Pepper Petwear! You can even use code pepperpetwear10 for 10% off your order!
And don’t forget, they can make coats for big dogs too, and with Spring just about here it’s the perfect time to grab your dog a new raincoat!
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 WORLDWIDE readers. 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).
As dogs, we’re designed to be meat eaters, but did you know that adding vegetables to your dog’s diet can help them in many ways?
My mom’s favorite pet nutritionist, Rodney Habib, has lots of great information on why it’s important to add fresh vegetables to your dog’s daily diet. With the simple addition of veggies to your pet’s food, you could help prevent cancer! Now that’s pretty cool.
Lucky for me, I’m actually a vegetable lover, but many dogs out there hate them.
Not to worry, today I’m going to share with you one of my mom’s favorite recipes for getting picky dogs (like my pal Trooper) to eat their vegetables.
*this is not a sponsored post, but does contain some affiliate links
Here’s what you’ll need:
Fresh Vegetables (my favorites are carrots & broccoli)
Toys designed to be stuffed (I love these Kong & Pear treat dispensers)
Add a small amount of The Honest Kitchen to a bowl and add water as per the specifications on the package. The sample packs are great for making about 3 – 4 stuffed toys.
Add some fresh vegetables to the bowl, broccoli is great diced up into smaller pieces.
Then stuff a few mini carrots into your toys. These are great at making it harder for your dog to get the treats out quickly.
Fill the rest of the toy with your vegetable mixture until nearly full.
Finish off with a dab of peanut butter to really get your dog interested.
You can then either feed these veggie treats immediately to your dog, or even stick them in the freezer to give to them later (no need to thaw first).
Every night when my parent’s eat dinner I get my own special vegetable treat inside my crate. My parents are happy knowing I’m getting a healthy dose of veggies, and I’m happy because it tastes oh-so-good!
Not sure what vegetables to feed your dog? Check out this handy list for some ideas.
Do you feed your pet fresh vegetables on a daily basis?
Today I wanted to let you know that you don’t have to worry anymore, Spring is just around the corner. Before you know it you’ll be laying in your backyard rolling in the green grass with your tank top on!
Don’t believe me? Here’s my tell tale signs that Spring is coming…
Ammo’s 5 Signs of Spring
Daylight Savings really messes with your time clock when you need to wake up to feed your ponies in the morning! (more sleep please!)
2. Your ponies start shedding like crazy (enough to make a new pony!)
Disclaimer: This post and giveaway is brought to you by Iota GPS Tracker. All opinions are my own, and I only share products I think you and your pets might love.
Way back when my mom decided to help fund a little kickstarter campaign for the Iota GPS Pet Tracker. Fast forward to about a month ago, and suddenly this little white box was strapped to my neck!
See what makes the Iota a little different than most GPS Trackers for pets is this little contraption sitting next to me (the Home Base), it’s because of this that there are no monthly fees, unlike most Trackers you might see on the market that require a monthly or yearly fee for their tracking services. And when you can save those extra pennies for more important things (like dog toys), that’s always a good thing!
You simply set up the home base inside your home near a window, and it connects up with your own Wifi network. Each home base can then track your tracker up to 1 – 4 miles away. And the cool part is Iota Trackers can connect to any home base in your area, meaning if your neighbor has one your reach is already extended even further.
The Iota is also the smallest pet GPS I’ve ever tried, which can make a big difference when you’re a small dog. I certainly can’t have some hunky thing on my collar weighing me down!
The free Iota App allows you set up geo-fences for your dog. Which is essentially a “safe area” that you would like your dog to stay in, when they enter or exit the area you can receive an alert on your smart phone.
You can then set up as many Iota trackers as you like within the app to monitor all of your pets. It even has a handy feature to notify you when the battery level is running low. The iota’s battery can to last up to approximately one month and is rechargeable for 200+ cycles. That’s a pretty long time.
When it does need charging there is a handy charger that plugs into any USB port.
I’ve been wearing my Iota around home, and when mom and dad leave me home alone. Even though its very rare that I ever “escape” my fenced yard, my parents feel safer knowing they would be alerted if I ever left the area.
For testing purposes though we drove my Iota to the farm one day to see if it would alert my mom to the fact that it left the geo fence, and not long after exiting the designated area mom got a notification on her phone.
And the alert also showed up on the app’s notifications too.
Eventually the Iota will be adding more features like temperature sensors (to alert you if the Iota is above or below a certain temperature). Each iota is also weatherproof and submersible up to 3 feet.
The Iota also has a cool little ring feature, so if you’re trying to find your dog (who’s maybe really good at playing hide-n-seek like me), you can just turn on the sound to find them quicker.
If you’d like to find out more about Iota you can check them out here, and you can even use code ammo4iota to save $15 off your order with them!
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 & Canada 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).
It’s time once again for my favorite post….my sleeping series! Because lets be honest, everyone loves a good nap! So here’s where I’ve been sleeping this past month….
So now the question is, which one of my napping spots is your favorite this month?
February has come and gone, and that just means we’re getting that much closer to Spring! Yay! But before we jump too far ahead, I always love looking back over the adventures from the past month.
First though, let me give a shoutout to my special sponsors & affiliates! Thanks to them I’m able to bring you exciting posts, so make sure you give them some love and check out what great products they carry!
Barkbox is a monthly subscription service for your dog. Starting as low as $19 a month (shipping included) you can get a box of the finest treats and toys sent right to your front door every month! Choose from packages for small, medium, and large dogs and as a bonus 10% of their sales go to supporting rescue groups! You can check out just what goodies your dog could be getting every month by reading my reviews!
Ruffwear carries performance dog gear designed to enhance and inspire outdoor adventures for dogs and their human companions. Totally my kind of company that carries anything from dog hiking packs, harnesses, camping essentials and more! You can check out my review of their dog boots (that even work for dachshund’s too) as well as the Ruffwear Swamp Cooler to keep your pup cool in the summer and one of my favorites, the Ruffwear Front Range Harness!
Disclaimer: This post and giveaway is brought to you by Kidde. All opinions are my own, and I only share products I think you and your pets will love.
As a dog, I’ve always taken home security very seriously. Parked on my perch, I spend my day defending my fortress from anything out of the ordinary. It’s an exhausting job, but apparently I’m the only one willing to do it!
Until I was introduced to Kidde RemoteLync that is! The RemoteLync Monitor and the RemoteLync Camera pictured above are my new friends in making sure my home is safe and secure.
The RemoteLync Monitor is a smart home device that will listen for smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in your home and send an alert to your smart phone if a problem arises. (even I can’t do that!)
The RemoteLync Camera is a battery operated, cordless camera that alerts you via smartphone when motion is detected in your home.
Together with the free Kidde RemoteLync App, there really isn’t much left for me to do except…
…be a dog again! (AKA park myself on the couch and watch cartoons!)
See with the touch of a button mom and dad can arm and disarm my house via their phones so that the RemoteLync can start listening for any smoke alarms or carbon monoxide detectors that go off, and watch for any intruders that might enter my home. You can even set it to arm & disarm automatically when you come and go from your home via GPS.
Mom loves that she can even arm it when I’m left home alone, and feels safer knowing should there ever be a fire she’d be notified right away so I’m not in danger. The camera can even be set to ignore pet movements, so she’s only told if something out of the ordinary happens at home. (I guess I won’t be having any secret parties anytime soon).
Checkout these videos from Kidde on how the RemoteLync System works:
Even at work I sleep a lot sounder knowing Kidde has my back and is keeping my home secure while I’m not there. Time to #LetYourDogBeADog again with Kidde!
Kidde wants you to share a photo of what your dog would do with its spare time and include the hashtag: #LetYourDogBeADog for a CHANCE TO WIN a RemoteLync Monitor and RemoteLync Camera and $200 toward a licensed doggy day care or doggy spa. Additionally, Kidde will donate $500 to the winner’s choice of these nonprofit organizations: National Disaster Search Dog Foundation, which trains rescued dogs and partners them with firefighters to help in search missions, orThe Emma Zen Foundation, which raises funds for pet oxygen masks and donates them to fire departments and other first responders. Five runner-up winners will each receive one RemoteLync Monitor and Camera.
To enter the contest, use the hashtag #LetYourDogBeADog on Twitter, Instagram or Vine and follow the instructions sent in an auto-reply or visit www.letyourdogbeadog.com and fill out the online form. The contest runs through March 9, 2016.
Not only that, but you have an additional chance to win with our giveaway…
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 (Alaska, Hawaii & Puerto Rico too!). 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).
As barn dogs, there is always a lot of tasks for Trooper and I to do. And to be honest, this farm just wouldn’t run properly without us.
Trooper is always on my case to help him be a lookout. “Lookout for low flying birds” “Lookout for cars pulling down the farm driveway” “Lookout for anything suspicious and out of the ordinary”
I on the other hand usually have my own ideas about what we should be actually looking out for.
What about “Lookout for the snakes that accidentally get baled in the hay”
Or “Lookout for yummy missed poop in the pony stalls”
“Lookout for people in boots who might mistakenly step on you”
And “Lookout for ponies who look cute, but are really thinking maybe they didn’t get enough to eat”.
So Trooper can keep a lookout for strangers who might want to brush our ponies (the horror), and whatever other boring stuff he comes up with….
…and I’ll continue to lookout for the important stuff. Because we all know that pony poop isn’t going anywhere except for my belly!
As many of you may know I’m a big fan of learning, and ever since I was a wee pup my mom has been taking me to classes and clicker training me just like my Trick Pony friends.
Since learning is a never ending adventure I’m always up to pick up a new skill, and lately mom has been helping me to perfect my fetching skills.
See I wasn’t born with those amazing retriever traits, and while I do enjoy chasing after a good toy, I’m not great about actually bring said toy back! (the video above is proof of that)
But that’s ok, armed with a few simple tools my mom helped me learn what it means to play a real game of fetch!
What You Need:
Yummy Treats (These came in my Barkbox* this month, but you can also snag them in the Barkshop* with code AMMO for a special surprise at checkout!)
A Fun Fetch Toy
Something to Target (I used a scrap of mat board from the frame shop, but anything flat and large will work)
Clicker (not pictured, but you can snag one off amazon*)
To teach this trick your dog needs a basic knowledge of clicker training. You can check out this website for a basic tutorial on clicker training, or grab yourself a beginner clicker training book*. And they should also have a basic knowledge of how to pick up an item with their mouth.
*affiliate links
How to Teach Your Dog to Fetch:
At a close distance ask your dog to touch the target with their feet. Click and reward each time their feet touch the target. If your dog doesn’t already have a cue to “target” you may have to let them accidentally walk across the target so you can click and reward them each time their feet touch your mark. Practice this close to your dog, then move the target to different spots and areas further from you to strengthen your dog’s knowledge of this task.
If your dog already has a basic knowledge of how to chase an item and pick it up then you can move onto step 3 once they have mastered targeting. Otherwise you should teach your dog to pick up an item with their mouth first.
At a close distance to your target toss a toy for your dog to get. Once they pick it up with their mouth ask them to touch their target again. When they hit the target WITH the toy in their mouth, click and reward. Repeat this at a close distance until your dog has mastered the idea. Continue to repeat this until you can toss the toy further and further away.
Congratulations! Your dog is now great at playing fetch the proper way (by returning the toy to you!) Much more fun isn’t it?
