Embrace Pet Community blog

Show Us The Love! Canine Cupids Giveaway

Love is in the air, but what else is new when you're a pet parent, right? 

We're calling all of you doggie moms and dads to send us photos and "show us the love".  We want pics of you snuggling, cuddling, hugging, "embracing" and smooching your pup.  Need inspiration?  

How about Roscoe, the handsome Basset, and his mum Ilene:

Is there anything cuter than kids and puppies? Sarah's new puppy, Rocky, is a super snuggler!

Dog people, now's your chance to participate in the "Show us the Love" giveaway!  Post photos of you and your canine cupid to our Facebook wall.  We'll pick one dog photo at random to win a crunchy rawhide heart from PetSmart. What are you waiting for?  Start snuggling!

Contest details: Photos submitted to Embrace's Facebook wall during February 2012 will be considered for entry. Winner will be contacted by Embrace Pet Insurance for prize fulfillment via sponsor. Embrace staff and families not eligible to win. Must not have won within last 90 days. Good luck!

DoggyLoot: Deal of the Day!

I can't believe I haven't seen this site until today, but this bargain is too good to pass up.

DoggyLoot is like LivingSocial or Groupon for dogs--you get an e-mail, decide if you like the deal, and then buy and redeem.  

Today's deal happens to be 3 antlers (5-8 inches long, 2-3 inches wide) for $27. It says this deal is normally a $43 value, but I've seen single antlers for $20+ up.  So, I'd say it's a steal!  Plus, if you click this link you get a $5 referral bonus, dropping the price down to $22.

I've been price shopping antlers a lot lately as Kayden's superpower seems to be destroying the toys Lyger has had for over a decade.  The antlers do last, they have no odor or residue, and dogs LOVE them.  You'd better believe I bought this one!

Looking to get a deal on your karma: buy and have the antlers shipped to your favorite shelter or rescue.  The gods dogs will thank you for it.

Blue Buffalo at PetSmart

With Lyger turning 11 recently we switched him over to a new brand of food, opting for Blue Buffalo senior dry food.  I'd heard so many good comments about it from pet parents that I talk with on the phones here that it seemed worth a shot.  Then, when Kayden showed up from Best Friends, he came with Blue Buffalo too.  Knowing that such a dedicated organization was down with this line was a good sign.

When I visited PetSmart with Kayden back in October we checked out the food selection and I came to realize that Blue Buffalo has foods for large and small breeds as well as options for seniors and those with weight issues.  Their new line, Wilderness, also offers a grain-free alternative, perhaps a bit more like what a dog in the wild might opt for, which is something I'm all about.

So, the guys have been fully and completely switched over for about two months now.  To be honest, at first, I was reluctant to review the food, because they both had horrible gas for about 3 weeks.  This can happen with any food transition, but I was surprised at the magnitude at which it happened.  Kayden was earning himself a reputation as a real bomb-dropper, if you get my drift.  But, I haven't heard or smelled any signs of intestinal distress for a few weeks now, so I think everyone's over it, and we're continuing with the food.

The plus side: I get frequent comments about how shiny my dog's fur looks, even though I know they just went mud-sliding in the yard.  Both boys look fit and strong on just two and a half cups a day, keeping the price of the product pretty competitive with other high-quality foods out there.  And, both guys chow down readily come breakfast and dinner, so taste preference is no problem!

And, after talking with our groomer, she mentioned that Blue Buffalo has a frequent buyer program, good for a free bag after every 10 purchased.  Just turn in the UPCs.  It can't be redeemed at PetSmart, Petco, or any other large chains, but I believe your local shop would have info on this program.  A little UPC clipping is worth the equivalent of 10% off, wouldn't you say?

PetSmart also carries Wellness brand foods, which I've heard good things about too. (I know Lyger LOVES their treats--so much he stole a bag off the counter once.) Do you have any experience with Wellness?

Premier: Linkables

We've been testing the newest product from Premier, Linkables!  It's a spin on the old canine intelligence toys, with three join-able rubber toys.  You can combine them into one big blast or have three mini adventures. 

We tested it out with the Linkables treats first, but I think these treats might be too small, because they all fell out (even past the little tabs) right away.  But, with bigger treats my dogs really have to get to work tipping and turning this bad boy.

Be forewarned, as soon as Kayden offloaded the treats he set to chewing this thing, but it's not built for chewing.  It's definitely a toy that needs supervision.

Premier would like to put a Linkable in your pet's holiday stocking, so we've got one Linkable to share.  To enter:

• Like Premier on Facebook and tell them Embrace sent you
• Comment here and tell Embracer Santa why your pet has been "naughty" or "nice" this year.

Comments submitted before 12/10/11 will be considered for entry. Winner will be contacted by Embrace Pet Insurance for prize fulfillment via sponsor.  Embrace staff and families not eligible to win.  Must not have won within last 90 days 

 

 

Luke's All Natural November Savings

Luke's All Natural has a nice little coupon to help you cut costs on your natural pet foods and treats and toys.  This month only (for registered customers only) get $2 off $25 or $5 off $50 with codes Save2 or Save 5.  Limit one coupon per month.

Check out their list of new and cool products including the oddly named cats balls, dog toys from West Paw Designs (shown), and more.

 

Planet Dog Holiday Goodies

Our office dogs have loved testing the pack of toys that Planet Dog sent over.  The Bulb with Treat Spot might be my favorite (see Cooper's test here) because they're festive and show the good humor that a dog toy deserves.  The downside-the silver part got chewed off in seconds flat by master-chewer, Henry the beagle.  It's rated 3 out of 5 chompers, but be cautious in this case, especially if your dog is prone to swallowing bits they bite off.

The SnowBall (right) is a fun one too--last week, I was checking under desks looking "for the snowball".  It's got the realistic appearance for people with the bounce and resiliency that dogs like.

We like the Planet Dog goodies because not only are they well designed, made in the USA, often eco-friendly, but they also  donate 2% of every purchase to Planet Dog Foundation to support canine service programs across the country. Helping more dogs help more people in need is a great mission.

We've got a festive fun pack to make one pup's stocking extra stuffed.  Planet Dog is giving away:

Two bulbs, a mini and a large
An Orbee Tuff Mint! (Read how much I love Orbee Tuff stuff!) It's minty and adorable and I'm totally jealous of whoever gets this!

***Note--both are rated 3/5 chompers--Lyger loved his Orbee Tuff, but Kayden gnawed the top off in the first try.  Please don't give these to tough chewers--our claims Embracers don't want any unexpected foreign body claims this holiday season.

To enter:

• post a photo on our Facebook, telling us your dog's holiday wish
• stop by Planet Dog and tell them Embrace sent you

Photos submitted during the month of November will be considered for entry. Winner will be contacted by Embrace Pet Insurance for prize fulfillment via sponsor.  Embrace staff and families not eligible to win.  Must not have won within last 90 days 

PetSmart Shopping: ToyShoppe Bottle Buddy

My office buddy, Cooper the Puggle, loves his ToyShoppe bottle buddy.  The premise is simple: you put a standard empty plastic water bottle in the toy, close it up and your dog gets a crinkley-crunchy toy to chomp on! It's a nice way to re-use before you recycle, and keeps your dogs toy exciting and re-energized.

So, when I took Kayden on our PetSmart trip I was sure to grab one of these in the toy aisle.  It was less than $10 and seemed just perfect for my little dude to play with.  Besides, Lyger always loved plastic two-liter bottles when he was a puppy. 

We get it home, I scrape together a water bottle and give it to the guys.  They play, I step away, but return momentarily to find there had been an "incident".  Lyger had grabbed the toy, plopped down on his bed and commenced chewing at the velcro closure end.  So, within seconds he'd ripped the fabric, and now it won't close well.  I think I rescued it just in time before he ruined it completely, but it's definitely getting re-homed to a less aggressive stuffed animal chewer.  I'm pretty dissapointed this adorable toy didn't pan out for my boys.

If you think your dog can play nice with a bottle buddy, instead of trying to skin it alive, I'd suggest you hit up PetSmart now.  They've got the Holiday series of bottle crunchers for just $5.99 each.

Christmas Came Early for Cooper

Christmas came a little early for Cooper this year, but maybe that's because he's been extra good.  Planet Dog sent us a box stocked full of goodies for winter play, including the Orbee-Tuff bulbs.  Here's Cooper's first attempt with the bulb, stocked with just two tiny treats:

The toy's shiny rubberized exterior is pretty cute and colorful.  It's got a great bounce and drops the treat when he plays with it, but not just because he could lick it out.  Word to the wise: they rate it 3 out of 5 Chompers on their durability scale, and they're not fooling.  Henry the beagle had the silver part chewed off in no time.  Good news, it doesn't impact the toy's fun or usability.

The video's featured toy is the 6.5" version for $10.95.

 

Stay tuned, we'll have more product testing fun with Planet Dog soon!

 

2% of the every purchase at Planet Dog goes to the Planet Dog Fund to support canine service programs across the country helping more dogs help more people in need!



Stewart's Squirrels and Skunk

We've been having a lot of fun product testing the toys that our friends at Martha Stewart Pets for PetSmart sent us!  They've bumped up the durability for tough chewers, and they're standing up to the test.

(Don't forget to enter to win one of these goodies!)

Finnegan the Airedale is loving the Flying Woodland dog toy.  The squirrel makes a noise when he lands hard on a floor, but the sound is not so frequent as to be annoying to person or pet.  And, it's holding up fine by this tough chewer! No roadkill in Finny's place!

Micro-mutt Ginger, the Pom mix, has been testing the Intelligent toy, and here's the report from her dad, Rich:

Just wanted to say that Ginger loves the squirrel!!!  She tends to just rip apart any plush toy but this one has held up really well.  She doesn't dig to get the acorns out, but when they come out, she loves to play with those too.  Actually Snap, my cat, plays with the acorns when Ginger is playing with the squirrel.  Ginger brings that toy to bed with her every night.  I think it replaced her Cleveland Browns football as her favorite toy.

(A loss for the Cleveland Browns, but a win for Ginger!)

Lastly, Lyger has been playing with the Flat Fur Skunk.  He loves floppy toys he can bring to us when we come home, he can thrash around when he's feeling frisky, and he can snuggle with at bedtime.  This design, combined with it's crinkly noise, makes the skunk his new BFF.  I had to wake him up from a cuddle with his skunk to get this clip: 

The skunk has only a few small bits that Lyger will eventually chew off, but nothing that will harm the structure or cuteness of the toy. I expect this will be one of his long-time favs.

More Martha: Intelligent toys for Dogs

Smart cookie that Martha Stewart is, she's sure to back intelligent toys for pets.  We're all drooling in anticipation of a shipment of dog toys to test, but in the meantime, check out this Squirrel and Chipmunks intelligent toy for smarter-than-average pups.  Tell me the little teeth on those itty-bitty rodents are not the cutest?

 
To celebrate the launch, Pet Smart with Martha Stewart Pets is giving away a 3 pack of toys to one lucky dog!  To enter:

Head to our Facebook, post a photo of your dog, and tell us what they do that is extra smart!  Do they bring you a toy at the end of the day? Know when the baby is awake?  Tell us how smart your dog is!

Rules:

Dog photos, with captions about smart dogs, submitted during the month of September will be considered for entry. Winner will be contacted by Embrace for prize fulfillment.  Embrace staff and families not eligible to win.  Must not have won within last 90 days.