Wednesday, December 30, 2015

See all the winners of Deck the Dog House 2015

The holidays are rough! I feel like I am always out of time. There's always something that gets left behind.

I also didn't get around to announcing the winners of the the Deck the Dog House contest before Christmas! Sorry about that. But I did notify all the winners.

I want to start out by saying everyone did an amazing job this year. The entries were fantastic! My judges, (Jodi Chick of Kol's Notes and my mom, lol) both said choosing the winners were especially hard.

How the judging worked:
  • Each judge came up with a list of 10 contestants, for each of the 10 prizes.
  • Any contestant chosen by both judges instantly got a prize
  • Any contestant ties were broken by me. This happened for four contestants. In the end, two contestants didn't make the top 10. This was my decision
Anyone who didn't win this year, please don't get discouraged. Please try again next year. For one thing, all winners this year are barred from entering next year, so that more people have a chance. And at least one of our winners this year did not win last year. So please just keep entering.

Also, all contestants will coupon codes to two Etsy websites. My friends at Kitsch and Crossbones and The French Dog have graciously given these coupon codes so that everyone can enjoy these awesome handmade products.

So without further adieu, here are the winners:

Hallmark dog prize winner:
"A sledding Waffos goes" -- Kelly Seals
"Waffos enjoys playing in his pool in the Summer time. In the Winter he just likes to play with the pool as a toy . Then  I decided to turn the pool into a " Sleigh Bed" for the Winter so he would enjoy his blankets & bed in there. I have had the 2 little German Shepherds stuffed critters  & I thought Waffos would love to have some company in his sleigh day photo. The weather here in Texas in our town has been in the 70's so I had to "create' a Winter scene." 
Hallmark other pet prize winner:
"Snoopy Christmas" -- Katrina Koski
"This snoopy house took 5 hours to make and all it is a big moving box covered is red wrapping paper(I was going to use poster board but all the stores in town were out of red) then I had to pant on the stripe which was hard because I had to make Rabbit safe pant. sSo that's pretty much how I did it."

Lionel Train winner:
"Countdown to Christmas" -- Kerry Swartwood

 Big dog toy winner:
"Christmas bed" -- Jessica Gibson
Small dog toy winner:
"Snoopy's Christmas" -- Ann CargenRay
NOTE: We did not get any international entries this year, so I added some prizes for our domestic winners.

Bow tie from The French Dog winner:
"By the Fireplace" -- Jaime Grahek
Four "Peanuts Movie" hats and posters winners:
"Hanukkah" -- Mary Johnson






"Kitty Christmas" -- Melissa LaPierre
"Christmas TV" -- Leslie Penka
"Christmas Lair" -- Piper Dickinson

Again, Congratulations to all the winners! I will be getting the coupon codes to all contestants this weekend!

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Deck the Dog House 2015: See all the entries


We are so excited and love all the entries we got for Deck the Dog House 2015!


And now, we'd like to share them all with you. But first, we'd like to remind you about the prizes.

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Itchy dog? #NaturalBalance Limited Ingredient Diet at PetSmart

Natural Balance is available at your local PetSmart, and at PetSmart.com.
When it comes to bonding with your dog, I've yet to meet a pup who doesn't love the idea of going for a ride -- even if they, like Jasmine, get a little car sick. Especially when that ride leads to goodies for them.

So today, Lulu, Jasmine and I headed to PetSmart®. We're trying out a new dog food, and we wanted to pick out just the right kind.


Natural Balance is available at your local PetSmart, and at PetSmart.com.

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Just a few days left! Decorate for your dog and win prizes!


UPDATE: We've decided, to give people more time, we will extend the deadline for Deck the Dog House 2 days -- to Dec. 15! So work this weekend and get those entries in!

Only 5 days left to enter the Deck the Dog House photo contest!

And I'm a little worried. I've only gotten three entries so far!

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Why I am still feeding my dogs Merrick even after the Purina deal

Full disclosure: I've received some free food and treats from Merrick in the past. However, I am not receiving anything from Merrick right now, and I have never received monetary compensation.

A few months ago, I wrote about Purina acquiring Merrick Pet Care. I wrote how angry people are about the move, mostly because they don't like Purina and they saw Merrick as selling out.

Well, it's been about 6 months since then. And guess what? I'm still feeding Merrick. Why? Because it works.

Merrick makes a limited ingredient diet dog food.