NewfandHound

NewfandHound Meets Mr. Chewy!

Mr. Chewy has arrived! A few weeks ago we were lucky enough to get an email from Mr. Chewy asking us if we would check out Mr. Chewy.com and let everyone in the blog world know how we liked them. Well, boy did we like them!

If you go on over and look at their website they have over 70 brands of treats and food, everything that we typically get at our local dog stores and then some! The website is easy to navigate and when I tried out their live chat I was able to get someone on-line in less than 10 seconds! I really liked the fact that you could see the ingredient list since we have to make sure Foyle's treats are low in protein.The bonus is that they are typically $2.00 less than the big box stores! Not only was ordering seamless but Mr. Chewy sent us a confirmation email and another email when the package was mailed!

Mr. Chewy isn't just a place to get treats and prescription food, they also have a generous referal program. If you refer your friends they will get 10% off their first order and Mr. Chewy will donate $10 for each friend that orders to animal charities. Now that is worth ordering from them right there! Also, if you order $49 or more then shipping is free! Can't beat that.

Although we truly appreciate Mr. Chewy sponsoring this post and we loooove the box of treats we ordered the dogs have decided, in unison, to donate their order to Newfoundland Health & Rescue. We've seen the condition that Newfoundlands are in (and dachshunds for that matter) when they first come into rescue and they need all the love, treats, and special care they can get! So, we're going to package them back up and make sure they are in good hands! Thank you Mr. Chewy, you have a paws up from NewfandHound!

Tilden Park - Sea View / Quarry Trail Hike

There's nothing better on a day off then to get out of "town" and head for the hills. One of my resolutions was to try out new trails in Tilden Park and to get back out into nature where I can relax and enjoy some down time with the dogs. This weekend we tried a short portion of the trail that splits between Sea View and the Quarry Trail that connects up to the Big Springs trail.

The trail is a bit steeper than I thought and I think I will leave early in the morning next time I take Foyle because there isn't much shade to walk in. But all the dogs had a great time zipping back and forth trying to catch a sniff of every animal that had crossed the path. The hounds did well on the hills and it was great exercise to strengthen Foyle's legs and core. For the most part the crew sticks together so it makes hiking fun, and the "wait" command definitely comes in handy when Hazel starts to wander off on a new track.

The trail is nice and wide and the views get better and better the higher you climb. The best part is that we only met one other person on the trail so it was nice and secluded, but I'm sure it's much busier on the weekends.

Here's the crew heading back to the car. Now that we're going to be on the trails I need to make sure to send in the application for a Dog Permit which is required in the East Bay Park System if you walk more than three dogs at a time. Need to keep a positive face for the dog population!

Foyle Found His Way With Dog Trekker!

I am such a proud dog-mamma today because I just found out that Foyle is on the home page of Dog Trekker today! We had a great time talking to Dave and Foyle was such a gentleman getting his picture taken! Go check it out here... (he's the black blob in the lower right corner above)

A Day At The Bay Area Pet Expo

Last Saturday I went down to San Jose to take in the Bay Area Pet Expo with Foyle and I couldn't believe how crowded it was! Seriously, I really didn't think that there would be so many people and so many dogs but we braved waiting in line to get into the parking lot and it was worth it! There was an impressive amount of vendors to look at, but my favorite product was this new leash brought over from the U.K. The Rok Strap is really worth getting if you have a Newfoundland! You can get it in a 3' or a 6' length, it has thick, durable webbing with a padded handle at the top that makes pulling so much easier on your hands. (not that Foyle pulls or anything...ha,ha) The middle section stretches to relieve the tension and shock from sudden jerks for both you and your dog.

The best part about this leash is that it has an additional loop near the clip so that you can essentially shorten the lead and hold on tight when you need to. I found that this came in handy so many times as I maneuvered through the crowds and around other dogs. This lead definitely feels substantial in your hands! I haven't been able to find a store in the U.S. that sells it yet but I've contacted the distributor to see if I can get my hands on more of them for the club.

One of Foyle's highlights was meeting this sweet Dogue De Bordeaux puppy who was everything an adorable puppy should be, but a little camera shy. Take a look at those paws! I thought Newfie puppy paws were big, but hers were huge!

Of course we had to stop by the DogTrekker booth! They are amazing and have the most comprehensive lists about fun things to do with your dog in the Bay area! Please sign up for their newsletter!

Overall the Pet Expo was a lot of fun but I'm not sure I'd bring a dog with me next year. It was a little hard to keep an eye on your dog and talk to people and look at products at the same time. Foyle was soooo irresistible, of course, that it took us a while to get through the crowds but he had such a good time saying hi to everyone and giving lots of butt hugs! Next year I think I'll bring a sidekick to help out.

Pictures With Mary Small Photography

I'm very excited because we recently received a gift certificate from Foyle's physical therapist for a session with the photographer Mary Small in Sausalito! If you walk into the therapy building of Animal Wellness Center in San Rafael then you'll see her beautiful photographs of dogs that were taken in her studio. Luckily all four dogs get to have their pictures taken, but since they are black it's always hard to get good contrast between them and between us. So, not only will they be groomed and primped but I get to do some much needed primping of my own! Ya! Sounds easy huh? Not for me, the clothes need to look good in color and black and white, and contrast with the dogs which leaves me baffled. Ernie went shopping with me today and so far his favorite was the sparkly orange Van shoes. 

So, tonight I went to Polyvore to put a few things together that might work and here's what I have so far, but if you have any other suggestions of colors that work best with black and white/tan dogs let me know!

Pictures With the Dogs - Orange Set by hazelnut3 featuring knee length denim skirts

Golden Gate Bridge & The Dachshund

 I was doing research on the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge and while looking through the book The Bridge- A Celebration I came across this picture of the bridge's Chief Engineer, Joseph Strauss, and his dachshund! I couldn't find any other information on this little one so if anyone knows, please tell me!

Interesting facts about the bridge:

• Construction was started on January 5, 1933 and opened on May 27, 1937
• At the time the 6,500 foot span was the longest suspension bridge built
• There are approximately 600,000 rivets in each tower
• Construction workers were the first to be required to wear hard hats
• The Half-Way to Hell club consists of the 19 men who were saved by the safety net
• Each tower contains 21,500 tons of steel

Improvements are commencing on the southeast plaza to help enhance the experience and the history of the bridge. The gateway enhancements will open on May 27th!

Newfoundland Pancakes

What to do on a rainy day? What to do......Newfie pancakes! I finally broke down and bought the pancake pen to experiment with after seeing it in a Williams Sonoma magazine over Christmas. It takes a few tries to get it to look decent, but after three pancakes I think I had it down. I would recommend drawing out your design ahead of time or else you'll be like me and waste a lot of batter. The first step is to make your outline, let it cook by itself for about 15-30 seconds. Second step is to fill in the rest and let it cook until the batter bubbles. When it's ready to your liking go and ahead and give it a flip! It's goofy, but fun! Hmmm, maybe a series of dog pancakes is in my future?

The Dachshunds In Treatment

There is a short time frame during the day when I have enough light in my house to take photographs which makes it difficult to get decent pictures of the dogs and especially frustrating when you are blogging. But on this day the light hit just right and I had an amazing session with Nooner and Hazel! They were both sitting on the Bertoia chair watching the world go by out the window; a relaxing and quiet morning for a change.

Hazel and Nooner are half sisters, they have the same mother, but have very different personalities. Nooner is incredibly shy with other people (genetic trait from their mother combined with lack of socialization until we got her at 7 months old) but is a goofball at home, she is the most loving of the four dogs and is always snuggling up in our faces making little piglet noises. Nooner is the one that wants to play all the time and loves to tease Foyle. She'll lick his nose or mouth and then when he wants to play she'll nip him!

Hazel is the "princess" of the group, much calmer and more social than Nooner although she was a shy puppy also. Her attitude is that you are here for her, to do as she wishes when she wishes. Have you seen the video of Fenton? Well, we've had our own Fenton moments so we're currently working on her recall! She is my only AKC champion and I really didn't think I was going to finish her until she ended up in Group one day and heard people clapping for her, then she turned it on and loved showing after that! She finished in one weekend with two back to back majors! But she is very stoic, sweet, and a great little hunter!

 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

It's going to be a great year this year and I'm looking forward to making some big changes with the blog and setting new goals since we were sidetracked a bit last year. We're going to spend New Year's day with friends and making the most of our last few vacation days and I hope you do the same! If you've been following NewfandHound then I hope you continue to join us on our adventures, we look forward to getting out more and enjoying the Bay area's best dog-friendly spots, and this is the year to do it! Keep tuned, exciting changes are in the works! Happy New Year!

Now this was a big hat....for a big dog of course!

A Dachshund and a Mustache

This is what happens when you stay home on a Friday night but suddenly realized that you had a bag of goodies that you had bought earlier in the day at the Party Store! While searching for New Year's paraphernalia this morning I came across these $1.00 tattoo mustaches, which were completely unnecessary considering my mission, but at the same time completely irresistible! I knew they would come in handy at some point and tonight seemed like the perfect night to try them out. In fact, it's still on my finger as I type this because I'm too lazy to go take it off, plus it's entertaining me as I type. Have a great weekend!