Disclosure: This post and giveaway is brought to you by Stardust Prints. All opinions are my own and I only share products that I think you and your pets will love.
Even though Thanksgiving hasn’t quite arrived yet, we all have the next big holiday on our minds, Christmas!
And as much as you don’t want to admit it, I know you’re all looking forward to one thing…..THE PRESENTS! (well and maybe all the holiday snacks too).
Since I love presents about as much as I love rolling in stink on the farm (and that’s a lot!), I’m so excited to share with you Stardust Prints! They’re an online shop that can help you “Unwrap Imagination” by creating your very own custom gift wrap.
See, if you look a little closer, you’ll notice that cute little dachshund in a Santa hat on my gift wrap is me!! How cool is that?
At Stardust prints you can upload your own photo and have it turned into wrapping paper!
Since Christmas is almost here, and I’ve got lots of goodies to wrap up for all my dog friends, I decided to use a photo of me from last year in my Santa hat. (but you can use any photo, even one that has a distracting background)
Then you can choose a wrapping paper design from Stardust Prints. They have several to choose from, and not just Christmas themed ones either.
I decided to go with the Hot Choc pattern, if only because it had an awesome polar bear on it!
Then the folks at Stardust Prints cuts the star of your photo (that’s me of course) out of it’s background, add it to your wrapping paper design, and mail you a 24 x 72-inch roll, which is enough to wrap 3-5 presents.
When it arrived it was almost too cute to unwrap….but that didn’t really stop me from sinking my teeth in!
Well that is until mom informed me that there would be no unwrapping of gifts until December 25th. Boohoo!
If you’d like to snag some of this super fun customizable gift wrap for all your friends this season, be sure to visit Stardust Prints!
And now for the best part….
TWO WINNERS WILL A FREE CUSTOM ROLL OF GIFT WRAP FROM STARDUST PRINTS!
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).
If you’re unfamiliar with BlogPaws, it’s essentially a community of pet enthusiasts who write about and support pets via social media! Their annual conferences bring together hundreds of pet bloggers, pet enthusiasts, shelters, rescues, and brands for social media education, networking, and promoting.
I’m pretty much a newbie when it comes to BlogPaws, and I decided to attend this annual event for the first time after I found out I was a finalist for the Best Dog Blog and Best Pet Photo of 2015 in the Nose-to-Nose Awards.
Honestly I had no idea what to expect at this conference, and pretty much all I knew was that it was a pet friendly event, which meant I would be doing a whole lot of butt sniffing!
At first I was a little nervous when I entered the conference. There was a lot going on, tons of dogs, lots of chatter, and so so much to look at. But after about an hour I quickly realized this was a safe place to be and I was with MY KIND OF DOGS. (friendly, adventurous, and ready to sample lots and lots of treats).
To give you a little better idea of what a BlogPaws conference actually looks like, check out this video:
At 15 seconds in you can actually see me and my mom & dad walking around the BlogPaws vender area (bottom right corner).
The BlogPaws vender area was packed with brands that are interested in working with bloggers, and that’s good news for you, because it means I’ll hopefully be able to bring you even more fun product reviews & giveaways with some great new products in the coming months! Which P.S., if you’re ever interested in hearing my honest review about a product or brand or you’d love me to host a giveaway with them (so you could potentially win!) – just shoot them (or me) an e-mail and let them know about my blog!
I had a blast sampling products, and talking to companies about some of their new product lines.
While I’ve been to expos before, this was the liveliest one, and I couldn’t believe how much there was to see and do! And did I mention the swag? There were so many wonderful sponsors that donated products to the event, and I gotta send my thanks to them (because this was only a small potion of it)! And since I’m just one small dog, I will be donating many items to my local animal rescue!
One of the exciting things was getting the opportunity to attend some of the lectures and talks at BlogPaws. I have to say before this, I had never attended a lecture before, unless you count the times I visited an Elementary School.
While mom and dad were busy learning about SEO, monetization, pinterest marketing, and so much more, I was busy catching some Zzzz’s! Because honestly, all of it was a bit over my head. I’m much more the “talent” behind this blog anyway, and I was more than thrilled that mom and dad were there to take notes for me. Mom found some of the lectures very interesting and picked up some new skills she’ll be helping me apply to not only my blog, but my regular 9-5 business at the frame shop.
While the lectures were quite serious in nature, I made sure to liven them up some with a few of my silly tricks…..like playing dead! (It’s no fun to be serious all the time!)
Guess what, I wasn’t the only Dachshund with the silly’s there either! This is Fiona McSnuggles, a long haired sweetie who was actually blind and is a therapy dog just like me.
I also met Dolly the Doxie, a dachshund mix! Surprisingly (or maybe not so much) those were the only other dachshunds I spotted at BlogPaws.
I did however get to meet the infamous Prissy and Pop! They are celebrities on instagram, and even have jobs working as mascots in a first grade class. And yes, I’m super jealous that they are on summer break right now!
With all the excitement of the BlogPaws conference I made sure to take as many nap breaks as I could squeeze in, especially since my poor mom caught a nasty cold the day we left for our road trip adventure and spent most of the week trying her best to get through all the fun activities we had planned.
Speaking of fun, I became the recipient of my very own Busy Bee while at BlogPaws! If you’ve ever watched the movie Best in Show, then you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about when I say I was FREAKING OUT every time my Busy Bee from PetSafe (one of the sponsors of BlogPaws) got out of my sight! And if you haven’t watch the movie…do it….do it now!
After all the excitement of the week there was one last thing to do….attend the 2015 Nose-to-Nose awards! Of course I dressed to the nines since I was a finalist for Best Dog Blog and Best Pet Photo awards!
This was my first time walking a red carpet, and hopefully I worked it!
Here’s a group shot of most of the 2015 Nose-to-Nose Finalists. In case you didn’t get a chance to catch the live streaming event, you can watch the video here:
Sadly I did not take home any awards this year, but hey, I’m just honored to have been a finalist – my very first year too!
You know who did win though? My fellow dachshund adventurer blog, You Did What With Your Wiener? Congrats to Jessica, and I’m thrilled that dachshund adventure seekers are taking over the World! (well at least BlogPaws).
After 3 days of BlogPaws I was royally beat! I had so much fun, and hopefully I’ll get to attend again sometime soon (I’m thinking it may be an every few years event for me).
For now though it was time to make my trek back home to Pennsylvania where my ponies were anxiously awaiting my return!
And don’t worry, incase you were thinking this was the end of my adventures, I still have one more fun stop I made on the way home in Knoxville, Tennessee! Check back next week for the full details on my visit to the Sunsphere.
P.S. Don’t forget, for you local Pennsylvanians, I’ll be at the Ryerss Family Fun Day this Saturday from 12 – 4pm with my friend Minnow the famous Painting Pony. Hope you’ll stop by and meet me! I’ll be performing some of my favorite tricks too!
If you didn’t already know, the Martha Stewart Pets Line at Petsmart is filled with lots of fun holiday goodies including toys, bowls, clothing, beds, and so much more. It’s enough to make you shout HO HO HO all day long!
So today I’ve got a giveaway for all the small dogs out there (sorry big dogs, I promise I’ve got something extra special you guys will love in a few weeks).
For this giveaway I will be using, Rafflecopter. By entering this giveaway you will be signing up for my Newsletter, but you can unsubscribe at anytime. Winner will be chosen at random and 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 on 12/20/14 12AM EST. Open to WORLDWIDE readers. Only one winner. Winners must claim their prizes within 48 hours of being notified or prize will be forfeited. Good luck!
Disclaimer: This product review & giveaway is sponsored by Care 4 Dogs.
The winter in Pennsylvania this year has been pretty harsh, but thanks to my new friends at Care 4 Dogs I’m a little extra warmer in my new winter snood! (incase you didn’t know a snood is a tubular scarf that you wear around your neck kinda like a hood).
My new dark grey snood was custom made to fit my neck and head measurements (and can be custom made for any dog too). I’ve been enjoying wearing it over my ears this winter to keep them extra warm in the cold.
Or if your dog doesn’t like things over their ears you can also opt to just wear it around your neck for some extra warmth.
One end of the snood is a bit more fitted to it’s sure to stay nice and snug on my head – but not too snug that it isn’t easy to pull off.
My Care 4 Dogs Snood is now one of my must have winter accessories – I never leave home without it!
Care 4 Dogs not only makes custom snoods, but they also make rope leashes, pet sleeping bags, and even pet carriers!
For this giveaway I will be using, Rafflecopter. We only use the information you provide to contact the winners and we never share it – so not to worry. Winners will be chosen at random and 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 on 2/18/14 12AM EST. Open to readers world-wide. Only one winner of each prize, prize for winners will be chosen by Ammo. Winners must claim their prizes within 48 hours of being notified or prize will be forfeited. Good luck!
Disclaimer: This review and giveaway is a sponsored post by PetBox.
I don’t know about you, but I just loooove getting mail. And when it’s a package, oh boy, that just totally gets my tail wagging! So when I got the opportunity to test out PetBox, a monthly delivery service that sends treats and toys and goodies right to your front door, well I think my tail was about to fall off from wagging too much!
Now PetBox isn’t your average pet subscription box, see they actually allow members to choose their own products that go into their boxes each month. So you can opt to choose exactly what goodies your dog is getting or let it be a fun surprise, which is what I did.
When my box arrived I was surprised to see how many goodies were actually packed inside!
So lets take a closer look and see what I actually got inside my PetBox…..
Pet Rescue Decal ($5.99) – these exterior window decals are designed to keep your pets safe incase of an emergency. Mom said she used to have one of these on her door at home when she was a kid and completely forgot that we don’t have one at our house. Well thanks to PetBox now I have one too!
NoviPet Multivitamin ($11.99) – these vitamins provide the essential nutrients for optimal pet health. As I get up there in age I’m sure adding a daily vitamin to my diet can only help! Gotta keep this body in tip-top shape!
Aussie Naturals Duck Toy ($14.99) – this jute and leather toy is designed to be “hard to kill”, and so far so good in my tough paws, because we all know what a “killer” I am!
Earth Heart Canine Calm Spray ($12.99) – this natural remedy mist is easy to use by lightly misting your fingertips and gently massaging the dog’s outer ears or abdomen. I’m pretty sure mom will be taking this along on our next vet visit, as I must admit I get a little anxious when the word “shots” is mentioned.
The Honest Kitchen Smooches ($7.99) – These low calorie sweet treats are made of all human grade ingredients with no artificial preservatives, colors, or flavors. When they’re made this healthy you can bet I’ll be getting to eat even more of them!
Clear Conscience Sliders & Tenderstikz ($11.99) – These are the first tender moist pet treats with NO glycerin or “vegetable” glycerin, NO propylene glycol, and NO sugars or syrups. They had me at tender and moist for sure!
Healthy Dogma Cookies ($5.95) – These pet teats are a natural and healthy alternative to processed treats. They’re also the perfect petite size for mom to carry with her during my training sessions.
Now if you add up all the products in my PetBox you would come up with a total of over $70! But guess what, you can get a PetBox subscription for as low as $29 a month!
As you’ll notice from the top of my PetBox, one of my guiltiest pleasures is COOKIES – I’m pretty sure I would stuff myself silly if Mom weren’t there to make sure I didn’t over-eat and only ate the healthy ones. It’s a good thing my PetBox came stuffed to the brim with cookies of the healthy variety!
Yummy yummy yummy in my tummy tummy tummy!
Oh and as an extra bonus, once your PetBox is empty it makes for a super awesome fort (just the right size for little Dachshund bodies) – and don’t worry, you only have to wait a couple more weeks for another box of goodies to show up at your doorstep if you sign up for a subscription.
You can even use the code AMMO20 for a 20% discount on your PetBox subscription.
But my very favorite part about PetBox is that this month PetBox is running a Profits For Paws December campaign. For the entire month of December, PetBox is giving back 100% of it’s profits to pet charities across the United States. Now how can you not love a company that helps animals in need?
And now for the best part….
ONE Lucky WINNER will WIN a FREE MONTH from PetBox
Here’s HOW TO WIN:
For this giveaway I will be using, Rafflecopter. We only use the information you provide to contact the winners and we never share it – so not to worry. Winners will be chosen at random and 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 on 12/24/13 12AM EST. Open to USA Residents Only. Winners must claim their prizes within 48 hours of being notified or prize will be forfeited. Good luck!
Since today is Black Friday and I bet you are out shopping your little hearts out (buying gifts for your dog I bet), I thought it would be fun to have a little Friday giveaway to make navigating that holiday rush just a little bit sweeter!
If you’re in search for the purrrfect stocking stuffer for the pet lover in your life, look no further! Celebrate your love for your pet and the Earth with this handy, reusable beverage sleeve, featured in DOG FANCY magazine’s Holiday Gift Guide. The cutie-pie pet designs lets you show off your four-legged affection while its neoprene makeup insulates the temperature of your drink – whether it’s hot or cold. The sleeve’s elasticity fits hot or cold cups, tumblers, sports drinks and large water bottles, making it a must-have accessory wherever you go. Joe Jacket® donates a portion of sales to animal charities.
TWO Lucky WINNERS will WIN a 2-pack of Joe Jackets® (dogs + paws) designs
Here’s HOW TO WIN:
For this giveaway I will be using, Rafflecopter. We only use the information you provide to contact the winners and we never share it – so not to worry. Winners will be chosen at random and 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 on 12/10/13 12AM EST. Open to US Residents Only. Winners must claim their prizes within 48 hours of being notified or prize will be forfeited. Good luck!
Disclaimer: This review and giveaway is brought to you by Barkbox.
I had heard great things about Barkbox, a monthly subscription plan of goodies for your furry friend, and I was super excited when they offered to send me a box.
Last month I received my very first Barkbox delivery, and since it was the month of October, mom was determined to get a photo of me in my Halloween costume with my box of goodies.
Only when I got a sniff of all the glorious things inside my October Barkbox, I just couldn’t be bothered to sit pretty in my Ninja Turtle costume for photos. So I ripped off that mask and dove right in!
Barkbox is one of those companies that I can really get behind, because not only do they provide a great product, but they also donate 10% of their proceeds to dogs in need.
With subscription plans starting as low as $19 a month, there is something for every budget!
For such a small box I was surprised at how much they were able to fit in there! And I can’t help but think these would make the perfect gifts for all your dog loving friends this Christmas.
I loved the pack of shareable Halloween treats, which I even shared with a few of my doggie friends. And the Mutt Meatballs look like a blast (all you have to do is add a pound of ground beef to the mix and cook).
Of course I wasted no time showing my new toy how we do things in my house.
He may have only lasted a few hours with me, but we both had the time of our lives.
For all my friends you can get $5 off any new BarkBox subscription with code AMMO5
And incase you were wondering, I share really really well, which is why……
TWO Lucky WINNERS will WIN a 3 Month Subscription to Barkbox
Here’s HOW TO WIN:
For this giveaway I will be using, Rafflecopter. We only use the information you provide to contact the winners and we never share it – so not to worry. Winners will be chosen at random and 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 on 11/26/13 12AM EST. Open to US and CANADA Residents Only. Winners must claim their prizes within 48 hours of being notified or prize will be forfeited. Good luck!
Disclaimer: This review and giveaway is brought to you by Easy 123 Art.
Growing up in a family of artists (including myself) there never seems to be a shortness of creativity. But did you know that even if you aren’t of the artistic nature, that it’s still as easy as 123, with Easy 123 Art!
Makers of the Photo by Numbers Kit, I was super excited when they offered me up the chance to test out their mini 8×8 paint by number kit.
So first things first, I had to choose one of my photos that I wanted to turn into a paint by number. This was no easy task if you have seen the number of photographs my mom takes of me on a daily basis. So we finally settled on this shot of me on the Cape May Beaches this summer.
We sent my photo off to Easy 123 Art, and they sent me back this nifty little paint by number kit a few days later.
Complete with brushes and acrylic paints numbered to match the blocks on your art, it was time for mom to get painting!
Mom decided to use some of her own paintbrushes she had on hand for the detailed stuff, but it was noted in the directions that you could trim the ends of the brushes included with a pair of scissors to get a more detailed brush.
Starting with the smallest numbers first, slowly mom began to make progress on my painting.
Over a week, working on it here and there at the shop, my painting was starting to take shape.
After the painting was complete this is what it looked like. Mom decided to do a little editing herself though and painted over the id tag from my collar that she didn’t think was necessary, and when it was all said and done it looked like this….
I was quite impressed, and the only thing missing was a frame! So being that I work in a custom framing shop I just couldn’t leave this work of art unfinished.
So here’s the finished product, which is happily hanging on the wall at the shop!
Easy 123 Art’s Paint by Numbers kits come in several different sizes, and the coolest part is that you can turn ANY photo you have into a work of art. These would make great gifts for the holidays, so make sure you add them to your Christmas lists!
For this giveaway I will be using, Rafflecopter. We only use the information you provide to contact the winners and we never share it – so not to worry. Winners will be chosen at random and 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 on 11/12/13 12AM EST. Open to US Residents Only. Winners must claim their prizes within 48 hours of being notified or prize will be forfeited. Good luck!
Disclaimer: This review and giveaway is brought to you by Sleepypod.
One of the benefits to having a small dog is the ability to easily travel with them. So when Sleepypod, makers of all the things necessary to travel with your small pet, offered me up the chance to test out their Sleepypod Air Travel Bag and Sidekick Bike Rack I couldn’t wait to get riding!
The Sleepypod Air has all the bells and whistles needed for a comfortable and safe travel experience for your pet. The Air can even be used to safely transport your pet in the car (by attaching the bag with a seatbelt), and is also airline approved. It comes in 5 yummy colors (jet black, dark chocolate, orange dream, glacier silver, and strawberry red), I chose the orange dream color because I thought it might reflect the light/sun more (I thought black might get hot if I was biking in the sun), and plus, who doesn’t love some color!
The Sleepypod Air is also an airline approved bag that can easily adapt to under -seat storage requirements set by different airlines. The Sleepypod Air is a great bag for Dachshunds as it is one of their largest travel bags. The ends of the bag can compress from a length of 22″ to 19″ and all the way down to 16″ so it can easily fit under airline seats when needed. It even folds up completely flat when not in use (so once you reach your destination it won’t take up much room in your own suitcase).
Now I haven’t tested the Air in the actual AIR, but I decided for my first adventure with it I would take it for a spin with the Sidekick bike attachment designed to work with several of Sleepypod’s pet carriers.
Before setting out on my maiden voyage bike ride I had to help Mom and Dad install it. The Sidekick is designed to be a stable base to hold a Sleepypod pet carrier on your bike.
We followed the handy directions on how to install the Sidekick and with a little supervision from yours truly I was soon ready to take it for a spin. It helps to note that it works best on bikes that contain additional eyelets on the front wheels, but have no fear if your bike doesn’t have any (mine didn’t either), Sleepypod sells additional attachments to make it work on ones without them.
Once installed on your bike the Sleepypod Air easily attaches to the rack with a few buckles that are already included with the bag.
Now I’m a bit on the large side when it comes to fitting comfortably into the Air. Weighing 18 pounds I’m a bit over the recommended weight limit for dogs of 15 pounds, but I was still able to lay down in the bag and I could even turn around in it if I really wanted to.
When it came time for my first bike ride Mom and Dad weren’t sure how I would like it. If you know me, then you know I’m not exactly thrilled about being in confined spaces like crates. But for a few weeks leading up to my ride Mom had been hiding treats in the bag around the house to convince me that it wasn’t a scary place to be.
So when I was finally zipped inside and off on my ride I was quite comfortable. The mesh lining on top of the bag is quite see-through and breathable so it helped me feel less confined. I didn’t even mind when mom made a few quick turns with the bike.
Check out the video below of me enjoying my first few rides with the Sleepypod Air and Sidekick.
Since I’m a larger dachshund my weight was a little hard for mom to handle on the front of her bike (making steering a little more difficult), but I told mom she needs to start lifting weights anyway! I’m sure you could probably install the Sidekick on the back of a bike too, making it much easier to ride with a little bit heavier of a dog. I may end up helping mom install mine on the back of our bike – just so she stops complaining that her arms are sore after our bike rides…..what a wimp!
I can’t wait for the many more bike rides that are sure to be in my future with the Sleepypod Air & Sidekick!
And now for the best part…
ONE Lucky WINNER will WIN a Sleepypod Air! (winner chooses color)
Here’s HOW TO WIN:
For this giveaway I will be using, Rafflecopter. We only use the information you provide to contact the winners and we never share it – so not to worry. Winners will be chosen at random and 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 on 11/5/13 12AM EST. Open to US Residents Only. Winners must claim their prizes within 48 hours of being notified or prize will be forfeited. Good luck!
Welcome to Birthday Week! Each year I celebrate my Birthday, which is on October 5th, during the first week in October! This year I will be turning 5 and I figured there was no better way to start off the Birthday Week celebration then to giveaway some goodies to all my fans!
So I rounded up some of my favorite Dachshund Prints to giveaway to two lucky readers!
First up we have a lovely Dachshund Sleep Study Print by Kimmy Hogan from White with Three! Modeled after her own mini dachshund, Rio, this sleep study documents 8 of the many contortions that us doxies love to sleep in.
My mom helped me custom frame my own dachshund sleep study, and now it’s happily hanging on my office wall!
Next we have a cute dachshund print by Debbie Sampson! You might remember I shared my own custom framed print by Debbie a few months ago, which is now hanging in my office at home!
And now for your chance to win some happy dog art for your own walls!
TWO Lucky winners will receive one of the Dachshund Art Prints Above.
Here’s HOW TO WIN:
For this giveaway we will be using Rafflecopter. We only use this information to contact the winner and we never share it – so not to worry. Two winners will be chosen at random and 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 US Residents Only. Winners must claim their prizes within 48 hours of being notified or prize will be forfeited. Good luck! **Art Prints do not come custom framed, but if you are in need of framing, make sure you check out my mom’s shop!
Just when you thought my week long road trip might be coming to an end, I’ve got even more to share! I’ve already visited some amazing places like; 
