Premium Choice Products Cat Tunnel #Review #PremiumCatTunnel

     This is Gandalf.  I introduced you to him before, but in case you missed him, he's our recent Humane Society adopted kitty.  We don't know how old he is, the lady who does aging was busy when we went to go home.  We chose him because he seemed very docile and friendly, quiet, and well-mannered.  We loved him right away.  He really is a very sweet cat.

     Problem is, he doesn't like the chaos of a family home.  He's not bitter or anything, but he hides himself away into the back hall and just hangs out there all the time.  It makes me sad.  So I've decided that the poor guy needs some areas in the house that are his to hide in and be alone.  I hate to say it, but I guess he won't be the cuddle bug I thought he would be.  Oh well, we love him anyway.

     One thing I cam across that I thought he might enjoy is a cat tunnel.  It's a set of three collapsible tunnels that converge into one common area with a peek hole.

     The tunnels are thinner material than I thought they might be and they make a crackling noise.  That means that it fold up smaller and occupies the cat better.  The crinkling is similar to some of the baby books with fabric pages that make a crinkle noise when you touch them.

     It takes up about as much room as I envisioned.  If you feel like just putting it up in a corner instead of folding it up every time, it does stand on the three tunnels pretty well and takes up minimal floor space.

     I couldn't get my cat to hang out long enough to enjoy it, but soon we will be renovating that area that he has chosen as his and there will be room for him in there.  I hope he like it.
     I would recommend this for cat owners, especially owners of playful kittens.  To learn more, check out Premium Choice Products on Amazon or on their website.  And to get $20 off the purchase price of this cat tunnel, use the coupon code CO6TFCFC at checkout.

Except for the product(s) given to me for the purpose of reviewing, I received no compensation for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.

Retractable Dog Leash with Light #Review #SmartRangeDogLeash

    On my husband's 30th birthday, we got him a dog.  It was perfect, we all saw the Humane Society posts and we just fell in love.  He looked just like our dog Rosco, like his twin!  And that's hard to find.  Turns out it's harder than we thought, cause when we went to adopt him, we realized how completely UN-alike they look.  Check them out!

     He was such a sweet dog, He liked to play fetch, sleep on the bed, and was great with Rosco.  He was just a very kind and loving animal.  But since he's new, we didn't want to just let him out to pee and he wouldn't go in the kennel.  So we needed to take him for walks.  That was fine for a bit, but it gets old fast, so we like to have the kids take turns helping out with that.

     Problem is it's winter and there's a whole 2 hours of daylight in the winter.  I kid, but there isn't a lot.  The kids understandably don't want to take him out at night.  That's why this retractable dog leash with light is so perfect.  It's got a nice bright light so the dog can be walked even in the dark.

     It's got a battery compartment for AA batteries.  To be honest, it was hard to open and close, but we managed.  It also has a big handle, a reflector on the sides, and the leash is retractable up to 16 feet.  It holds dogs up to 50 lbs.  We used it on Blue regardless because he is super well behaved.  The leash is really just to steer him back inside and to make sure he listens.

     It also has a lock on it that will prevent the retractable part from further retracting.  When released, the leash can go in or back out.

     I think although the quality seems a bit under par, as far as being able to withstand a fall or such... it really is very handy and I'm glad we have it.  To learn more, check out SmartRange on Amazon.

Except for the product(s) given to me for the purpose of reviewing, I received no compensation for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.

A Coupon to Celebrate Gandalf

     This is Gandalf.  He's our little adopted treasure.  We recently went to the Humane Society and got Broofy a dog for his birthday.  And we loved him so much that we decided to also get a cat.  Thing is... our new dog, Blue, has a problem.  He barks.  A LOT.  He actually is healing from a shock collar injury because I think he barked so much that his owners put a collar on him and then he probably also barked at the shock collar.  Gandalf isn't so much a fan of his barking.  Or of him.  He's not a big fan of Rosco either, so he hides away.  I'm trying to break him out of his shell, but it's not working so well.

     I love him anyway though and I'm celebrating my new buddy by sharing a special deal with you.  How does 50% off a cat tunnel sound?  If you have cats, I bet it sounds pretty nice!  Okay, so here's how you get it.  Just click that blue link above, then add it to your Amazon shopping cart.  Next, add the code CO6TFCFC at checkout and voila!  It brings the price down to under $10.  Enjoy!

Pets+ Dog Training #DogWhistle #Review

     This is Rosco.  Regardless of anything that I say about Rosco in the next few paragraphs, I do love him.  I swear, I do.  He's loving, loyal, and protective.  He's mostly obedient and he's like a shop vac when spills happen.  He's awesome.
     Rosco has one little problem though.  He barks.  He didn't used to bark all the time, but this past year it's been all the time.  I don't know if he thinks he's showing off for the other dogs that live here or what.  But he barks all day long.  He barks if he needs to go out, he used to gently paw the door.  He barks when he's thirsty, he used to gently paw his dish.  He barks when the weather is nice or the grass is green or the sun is still in the sky.  See what I'm saying?  It's constant.  He used to paw things or do this really irritating half yawn thing that gave me chills.  But now he barks.

     It's loud.  It's also the kind of bark that goes in one ear, ricochets off your skull, vibrates through your entire brain, down your brain stem and into your jaw, where it finally makes it's way out your other ear and leaves a sour taste in your mouth.  How does it even do that!?  And the jerk will come and sit by you lovingly and be there a minute, then suddenly and without warning he will bark.  Loud.  Right in your face.  It makes you want to throw the nearest object at him.  It will startle a person 9 times out of 10.

     I looked into collars, but I haven't taken that step yet.  I'm kinda hoping that other measures will work.  So I'm trying this dog whistle from Pets+.  The plan is, you use it to train your dog.  I think it would be ideal if you start when they are a puppy, but it is what it is.  Rosco just celebrated his 6th birthday in July, he's no puppy anymore.

     The whistle is sold as an ultrasonic whistle to help stop your dog from barking.  While I found both of those claims to be quite inaccurate.The whistle was definitely loud and audible, and my dog barked back at me when I blew on it.  I think he thought I was playing.  The whistle makes a great survival whistle for when you are out hiking though.  It will definitely get you heard.  By humans.  When Boogie realized the kind of noise it was, it became his new favorite thing.  I think he just liked seeing the expressions on people's faces.

     It does have a pretty neat feature though, and that is that you can change the frequency of it.  So if the high pitched whistle kills your ear drums, you can bring it down a bit and lock it into place.  You do this by adjusting the screw at the end and then tightening the wheel to keep the whistle in place.  It also comes with a lanyard.

     I'm gonna go ahead and say that as a dog whistle, I can't really recommend it.  It's not ultrasonic, not like what you'd think you'd get for a dog whistle.  For a hiking or personal safety whistle, I would definitely recommend it.  Blow this sucker in an assailant's ears and they will shrivel up and cry out to their mommy.   So I guess it would depend on what you want it for.  I mean, it is a nice whistle and it fit on your key chain or on your coat zipper... It will fit pretty much anywhere.  It's just not ultrasonic.

     Do you use a dog whistle?  What's been your experience with one?
     To learn more, check out Pets+ on Amazon.
Except for the product(s) given to me for the purpose of reviewing, I received no compensation for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.

Our K9 #ClickerTrainingKit for Dog Obedience #Review

      So... this is what the front door looks like about 20 times a day.  It seems like there is always something making the canine alarms sound off.  That one on the right, that one's mine.  He's a barker.  He drives me nuts.  It's ear piercing and just plain hurts.  It's the kind of bark that gets in your head and bounces off the skull a few times.  UGH!  I've been wanting to get him a collar, the training kind.  I don't personally like the idea of a "shock" collar, even though it would be a vibration and not a shock.  I'd like to try other alternatives first, just to see if they work.

     One alternative is a reward system.  For instance, when Rosco barks, I could call him to come lay down and if he does, I could give him a treat.  And he does know the command "lay down".  So that would work well.

     But you know what I think?  I think sometimes that it must be so frustrating for dogs to constantly be talked to in another language.  Does he even know what "Good Boy" means?  I often wonder what it's like for my dog when he is constantly hearing us humans talk, all day long in a different language.  It must be maddening.  I know that he does know some words.  When we say "dog" or "Rosco", he perks right up or even comes over.  But it would be nice if I could communicate with him in a way that he could understand.  That's what the clicker method is, a way to communicate.

     So we are trying the Clicker Training Kit, by Our K9.  It comes with six clickers and a very detailed instruction booklet.  The idea is that when you ask your dog to do something and they do it correctly, you click a few times and give them a treat.  When they don't do it correctly, you either walk away or offer them a command again.

     This kit is great because it comes with six clickers.  They seem to be nice quality and are a good size.  They come on key chains, but also with bracelets, so they are quite versatile and you could keep them in a multitude of handy places.  Although, it does give ideas on what to use should you lose all six of them.  Since we have two adults and four older kids in the home, I find the number to be perfect.  I wonder if I can convince them all to start walking around with treats in their pockets!  Likely not, but the treats are in a communal spot anyway.
     I love that the kit comes with a book that spares no details and gives lots of ideas, it's awesome!  It takes you step by step on how to start implementing the training program.  I'll definitely be using their suggestion of cutting the treats into pieces to save money while training.

     All-in-all, I think the kit is wonderful.  I recommend it to anyone who is having a hard time with their dog and needs to try something new.  Do you have a dog?  How did you train them?
     To learn more, check out Our K9 on Facebook or on Amazon.
Except for the product(s) given to me for the purpose of reviewing, I received no compensation for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.