Wednesday, December 31, 2014

New Year, new pet: An audit for 2015

For Howl'd Lang Syne, me dogs, 
For Howl'd Lang Syne.
We'll lick a bowl of kindness yet,
For Howl'd Lang Syne!

Happy New Year!

Here comes 2015! Are you ready? How about your pet?  

Now is a great time to take stock of your pet(s), and your relationship with your pet(s). If the new year is a good time to renew yourself, It's also a good time to renew your pet.

I've broken down some pretty basic categories into questions you should ask as we head into the new year.
  • FOOD: How is your pet's food? Is your dog getting enough food? Do they look healthy (shiny fur, bright eyes, healthy poop)? Now is a great time to think about whether you should look for a better food or different food for your pet.
  • WEIGHT. Is your dog's weight ok? Remember this chart:
 Now's a good time to check your pet's weight and see if they need to lose weight. Are they getting enough exercise? I learned this year that just letting Lulu out the backyard was not enough to get her a workout. The vets say her weight is ok, but I'd like her a little more slim, just on the safe side.
  • PHYSICAL/MENTAL STIMULATION. It's time to play! Your dogs need more than a squeaky toy though. Are you taking them out to play? Are you giving them things to figure out? Are you getting them new experiences? Teach them new tricks, take them walks to new places. It keeps them young and healthy! Not to mention yourself. It's better for them than just lounging around (though that's good too).
  • VETS/BOARDING/GROOMING. Are you happy with your vet or the other people who handle your pet services? Now is the time to research another one if you are in the market. That way you are ready when it's physical time.
  • COMFORT. How's that dog bed looking? The crate? The collar? Now is a great time to look into new ones -- inventory time for stores is a great time for clearance sales.
Take stock of your pet, and have a great new year!

Sunday, December 28, 2014

See who won the Deck the Dog House photo contest

I know you guys have been waiting for this: who won our #DecktheDogHouse photo contest?


First, a word on the contest.

I was looking for something different to do this year. Almost everyone is doing a Holiday Gift Guide, and I had planned to as well. In the end, I was inspired by Snoopy decorating his dog house in "A Charlie Brown Christmas."

I didn't know how many people would actually take part in the contest. I thought if I got 10 entries, I would be surprised. I got over 20!

So I think we will do this contest again next year!

And next year I will have more for you guys: clearer rules, and more prizes and more winners! For instance, next year we will split the dogs off from other animals so that people with cats and ferrets and chickens and things will have their own chance of getting prizes.

On judging, I want to say that I chose two random people to be judges. One was a pet blogger, the other was a non-blogging friend of mine. Then my mom broke the tie. They judged on two things:

1) How well people followed the spirit of the contest by decorating their pet's living space. (this was objective)
2) Creativity. (Admittedly, this was a more subjective and vague category).

I now present the winners of the #DecktheDogHouse photo contest!

Drum Roll please!

Winner of Prize Pack #1 is:

Hayward Gillam, Tony Gillam's Cocker Spaniel!

Winner of Prize Pack #2 is:
Kolchak, Jodi Chick's puggle and his Charlie Brown-inspired Christmas decorations!

Congrats to Jodi and Tony. I will be contacting you both and giving your information to Hallmark!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the contest. I hope everyone stays with us into the new year! We'll have more chances for you to win prizes.

Before you go, I would appreciate it if you would do me a favor.


I am asking for nominations (something I don't normally do) for the Sunshine Blog Awards. To be nominated, you have to be a Florida-based blogger (which I am).

I'm asking readers to please nominate me in the "Other" category. You have until the end of the year! Thank you!

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

#Deck the Dog House: Check out all the entries

There's our #DecktheDogHouse week three entries! We got a lot of great entries for the contest. We'll be judging this week, and two people will get Snoopy-inspired prize packs, courtesy of Hallmark.

Take a look at all the entries, one more time!




















Good luck, and thanks to all the entrants!



Monday, December 15, 2014

#Deck the Dog House Christmas Contest: Week 2 Photos

Hey gang!

I am in love with the entries we've gotten so far from the #DecktheDogHouse photo contest!


Pet owners decorate their pet's living spaces and take pictures! Enter to win prizes from Hallmark's Peanuts Collection! Full details can be found in my previous article.

Here's a look at some of the awesome entries we got in our second week!

 And take a look at the entries from Week 1:


Have you entered yet? Why not! It's really easy, and if you don't really want to decorate for real, just use a paint program like Gimp, Photoshop, PicMonkey and more!

Decorate your dog's dog house, crate, bed or living space. Don't have a dog? This contest is open to cats, rabbits, birds, ferrets, rats, turtles, fish, chickens and other pets!

Just enter on Life With Beagle's Facebook or Twitter accounts. Be sure to use the hashtag #DecktheDogHouse, so I can find you easily.You can also email me at lifewithbeagle@gmail.com.

You have until Dec. 20!! Good luck!

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Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Christmastime is here

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Take a look at some of the dog-related ornaments in my collection.


That's my I have a bunch of Hallmark Peanuts ornaments. This one recreates the Christmas play scenes in "A Charlie Brown Christmas."

Above that one is Max, the Grinch's dog in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."


Nice Beagle ornament, huh? It's one of the Sandcastle ornaments. And yes, Stitch is right underneath.
And some more of my awesome Charlie Brown ornaments.
  • What are your favorite pet ornaments? Comment below!

Monday, December 8, 2014

#Deckthedoghouse: Week 1 photo entries

Hey gang!

Are you getting ready for the holidays yet? It's time to #DecktheDogHouse!

Last week I introduced our first ever photo contest! Pet owners decorate their pet's living spaces and take pictures! Enter to win prizes from Hallmark's Peanuts Collection! Full details can be found in my previous article.

Here's a look at some of the awesome entries we got in our first week!


Have you entered yet? Why not! It's really easy, and if you don't really want to decorate for real, just use a paint program like Gimp, Photoshop, PicMonkey and more!

Just enter on Life With Beagle's Facebook or Twitter accounts. Be sure to use the hashtag #DecktheDogHouse, so I can find you easily.You can also email me at lifewithbeagle@gmail.com.

You have until Dec. 20!! Good luck!



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Monday, December 1, 2014

Win Hallmark prizes with the Deck the Dog House photo contest

On Tuesday "A Charlie Brown Christmas" airs on ABC -- the first of hopefully many airings this holiday season! Yay Snoopy.

Do you remember this scene?

Ok, so Charlie Brown wasn't quite as happy about Snoopy embracing the commercial side of Christmas. But who doesn't love Christmas decorations? They give the holiday a beautiful glow. So if your pet could decorate their living space for the holidays, what would it look like? Here's your chance to figure it out -- and win prizes!


 From now until Dec. 20, decorate your pet's dog house, cat condo, crate, cage, bed or other living space! Take a picture and either post it on the Life With Beagle Facebook page, the @LifeWithBeagle Twitter account or email me at lifewithbeagle@gmail.com. Be sure to include the hashtag #DeckTheDogHouse!

UPDATE: Just making it clear, this is not just for dogs. Owners of cats, rats, birds, turtles, fish, ferrets and other creatures are welcome.

Three judges will chose the top two winners. Now there are two ways to decorate. You can:
  • Actually decorate your pets' living space. Should you choose to do this, remember that some decorations are dangerous to pets, including garland and Christmas lights. But if you want you can decorate the area, take the picture and then remove the decorations.
  • Digitally add the decorations, like I did in the picture above. You can use any computer program you have handy. I did that one above with Picmonkey.com, which has some cool overlays.
Winners will get one of two prize packs from Hallmark, full of Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Peanuts goodness!
  • Prize Pack One: 2 Snoopy plush, a box of Peanuts Christmas cards, a Snoopy and Charlie Brown wire figurine and a Peanuts Advent Calendar.
  • Prize Pack Two: 1 Snoopy plush, a box of Peanuts Christmas cards and a Snoopy wore Figurine.
So, to reiterate:
Life With Beagle's Deck the Dog House photo contest
  • Dec. 1 to Dec. 20
  • Decorate your pet's living space, either in reality or digitally, and send the picture via Facebook, Twitter or email with the hashtag #DeckTheDogHouse!
FINE PRINT: Void where prohibited by law. Contest runs Dec. 1 through Dec. 20. Hallmark is providing prizes for the contest but this is not a paid contest.

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