Hi everyone!

Some of you may already know that I am Liz Bradley’s little sister, but I wanted to (re)introduce myself as I’m going to be taking on a much bigger role with the Ottawa Dog Blog.

I have been a guest-writer on the blog before, but as Liz’s photography business becomes more successful, her available time dwindles. So she has asked me to become more involved in the blog. Luckily I have become almost as obsessed with dogs as she is!

My love of dogs really started when Liz got her pups. Paddington and I were pals, and I totally loved cuddling with Corduroy. When I decided to get a dog, I knew that I wanted a puppy like Cordy. As luck would have it, the day before I decided to get a puppy, Corduroy’s dad had just had a litter of pups. Four weeks later I met my best friend Sonnet, a Maltese-Shih Tzu mix.

She kissed me on the nose and I knew she was choosing me.

Over the next four weeks I did a lot of reading and research to make sure I could give my new friend everything she needed. After an agonizing wait she was ready to come home with me!

She liked to hide in between my feet – for the first week anyways and then she became really brave.

Don’t even pretend you’ve ever seen a cuter puppy.

Sonnet and I are best friends. If we could, we would go everywhere together. She is a BIG explorer and absolutely LOVES being outside. She spends a lot of time chasing squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits (basically anything that moves in the backyard) but is hilariously bad at it. She will be staring at the place a chipmunk disappeared while four chipmunks run off behind her.

Sonnet completely changed colours as she grew and now she looks like a completely different dog! She is really beautiful though.

On her first birthday:

She LOVES to get a hold of my socks. As a puppy she used to pull them right off my feet.

Dressed up as Rudolph for Christmas – she wasn’t totally thrilled with that, but I thought she looked awesome.

This is her favourite resting position – all stretched out. I call it the frog pose (though I forget how I got that name…)

A year later my parents got a puppy from the same parents as Sonnet. Matilda is Sonnet’s sister and they love to play. When they aren’t chasing or wrestling with each other they like to curl up and sleep side by side. It’s unbelievably adorable.

Waiting for me to come home:

Fluffy models:

When I’m not playing with the puppies, I am a freelance writer. I love words and am hoping to craft them into a successful career. I’m really excited to be more involved with this blog and I hope you’ll enjoy my contributions.

I don’t give my dogs a lot of treats because I don’t like them eating chemicals or other questionable substances. When I read the ingredient list for Dodgie Dog’s Kitchen’s Classic Peanut Butter and Banana Treats, I was thrilled because I understood what everything was! I knew right away that my puppies would love them because they had two of their favourite foods – peanut butter and banana – and not a whole lot else. Honestly, I could eat them if I wanted to.

I won’t eat them though because Sonnet and Matilda would never forgive me. They LOVED these treats. From the second they smelled them, they went crazy. Matilda began jumping up and down and quivering with excitement. Sonnet plonked into a lie down (the position she must assume before she gets fed) and stared up at me with longing in her eyes.

Sonnet snatched her treat up and ran away to eat it, while Matilda essentially inhaled hers (she hasn’t quite got the hang of chewing her food). When I gave them a second one, Matilda somehow ended up with both of them between her feet! I had to rescue the other one for Sonnet (who promptly ran away with it to munch in peace).

Then they followed me around for the next five minutes just in case I felt like giving them any more!

The cookies are available in a small or large size biscuit on the Dodgie Dog’s Kitchen web site in 150g, 300g, and 900g package sizes. Small treats: 150g – 8.99, 300g – 13.99, 900g – 37.99. Large treats: 150g – 7.99, 300g – 12.99 and 900g – 34.99.

Company owner and operator, Joel, has been nice enough to offer a discount exclusively for Ottawa Dog Blog readers! When ordering, after registering on the site, enter coupon code “odb25small” for the small treats or “odb25large” for the large.  Only one coupon code may be used per order and are only valid on a 1 per customer basis, coupon will be valid until September 28, 2012.

We will also be running a contest for our Canadian readers! Comment on this post with an answer the question “what is your dog’s favourite thing to eat” for a chance to win one BigBox of the “classic” small treats total value of 50.84 including taxes and shipping. You have one week to give your answers before we randomly select a winner. Contest closes on August 22, 2012. Good luck!

There are four different flavours of treats available. Sonnet and Matilda will be taste testing them over the next few months, so stay tuned for their verdict!

EDITOR’S NOTE: We had the opportunity to review the Sleepypod Air. Since my sister, Jane, recently welcomed home a darling little puppy named Sonnet, I asked her to test out and review the Sleepypod Air.

Crates are so important for our dogs so that they have their own space where they feel safe, no matter where you are. I am so impressed with the quality of construction of these Sleepypod Air crates and really like all of the features they have. But I’ll let Jane do the talking… ~Liz

Sonnet and I are both really happy with our new Sleepypod Air! It is a sturdy pet crate designed with extreme attention to detail. It works to keep your pet comfortable while making things easy for the owner.

Sonnet took to the crate right away. The inside of the Sleepypod Air has a plush bottom (which can be removed for washing) and a cozy den-like atmosphere. When I opened it up on our first morning together, I expected Sonnet to dart right out – instead, she blinked at me with sleepy eyes and remained curled up in her crate.

Some of my favourite features of the Sleepypod Air are those designed to make travel easy. There are buckles that hook around car seat-belts to keep your pet secure on the road, and a zippered section on the back that allows the case to slip over the handle of a piece of wheeled luggage. It has a handle across the top and a removable shoulder strap to make it easy to carry. If you don’t have room to travel with the crate expanded, it folds flat in a few easy steps. Its name stems from its design, which fits airline requirements for traveling with your pet.

A neat extra feature available are the DryFur Pads. You simply remove the plush bottom of the Sleepypod Air and press the DryFur in place. Should your pet have an accident while in the crate, say on long air or car trips, the pad will pull the wetness away from your dog so that they don’t have to sit in their own mess. I am happy to have these pads because I frequently go on long car trips. Sonnet is still young and her bladder may not wait for rest-stops. It is reassuring to know that if she has an accident, she won’t be uncomfortable.

It would be nice if there was a section at the top that could be left open in order to pick up and put down Sonnet for late night bathroom breaks, but that is my only suggestion. Overall I am very happy with the SleepyPod Air. It is extremely well made, great for Sonnet, and it has a lovely design.

I look forward to many more sleepy nights and safe travels.

You can purchase the Sleepypod Air online, or in Ottawa at Global Pet Foods in Kanata and Hintonburg.

Check out the photo shoot we did with Sonnet and the Sleepypod Air.
Images by elizabeth&jane photography.

This week has been a whirlwind. I am trying to remember everything that happened and it’s not easy! haha.

Wellie has been doing well this week, learning her commands a lot better and she is really getting the hang of “take it” and “leave it” but she still dives for things that are dropped on the floor and man is she fast!

We are still working hard on housetraining, and it’s coming along slowly. Our vet suggested giving her the treats straight away after she does her business outside and that is working for sure, but she is still having accidents inside. Over the past week she hasn’t pooped inside and eaten it as much as the previous week, but she still has done it. The pee accidents have gotten less, but again, she’s still having a few.

One issue that we are having is the door and it’s not just with Wellie, it’s with all three. They all go crazy nutso when someone comes to the door. Today a friend dropped by for a bit and it was not good. It got heated and Wellie ended up snapping at both Paddy and Cordy. I’m not sure if she was trying to keep them in line or something, but it was too much excitement for me and I want to work on them being calm when someone comes to the door. It caused me a lot of stress this evening – even my friend noticed!

Saturday brought some pretty big changes for Wellie and she has adapted so well – I am so proud of her! Friday night my parents and sister, Jane, arrived from out of town to pick up her new puppy, Sonnet. Saturday, My Mom, myself and Jane drove to the breeder to pick up little itty bitty 8 week old Sonnet, a Maltese/ShihTzu mix. She is actually from the same breeder that we got Corduroy from and they actually share the same father so they are half sisters!

When we brought Sonnet in to meet the other three, we closed her in her crate and let Paddington, Corduroy and Wellington sniff her through the crate. This way she stayed and felt safe and sound while the others could smell her and see there was another little creature in there. We then let them meet her outside of the crate and it went really well. All three were interested but ultimately didn’t care she was there and that is exactly what I was hoping would happen. Jane is staying with us for a week so we wanted everyone to meet and get along well right from the start.
Continue reading →