Enjoying the April Barkbox

Our 2nd Barkbox arrived today and the dogs are already making good use of some of the items. Some of the things in this box we already have or have tried so the newt toy and the GroomMitt pack will be donated to the items we are saving up for the raffle prize baskets for the Northwest Rattiefest in July.

It was a beautiful day on Wednesday and I decided to cut up some of the Etta Says Duck Jerky as the treats du jour for Langley's walk. I've used their freeze dried meats and livers for the dogs before but not the jerky and I really liked it. It comes in about 5" long softish rods of jerky and is perfect for cutting into tiny little training treats. If I hadn't been in such a hurry I would have cut the little rounds into halves. It was a tasty enough treat that all that was needed was a tiny bit to be a reinforcer.

Showing the full size jerky sticks and the little slices I used as treats on our walk: 1 stick equals about 25 treats

 

It's a tiny little treat but for my small dogs, tinier would be even better

I loaded a handful in my pocket along with some poop bags, harnessed up Langley and off we went.

Langley waiting patiently for his walk to begin

 

 

It must be such an annoyance for him when I make him be still for photos. I mean, we are on a WALK after all and he knows we should be moving.

 

I have to say this boy is turning into a spectacular walker. He no longer barks or comes unglued when passing people and even managed to hold it together when we passed a guy using a gas weedeater in his front yard. He did start pulling at that point but I don't blame him because it was really loud. The only time he got a little reactive was when an untrained Pomeranian off leash in a front yard came tearing out at us and then started up a game of keep away with his owner while we were trying to get away from them. The Pom was very much an ass and so I can't blame Langley for reacting to that. Oh well, sometimes on a walk, no matter how careful you are to avoid things, you just have to deal. Langley recovered quickly and we were off again, the little bits of jerky in my pocket helping to get constant check-ins from Langley and some very nice loose leash walking. Good work Langley!

Frodo loves balls so he got to have one of the rubber balls from the Barkbox. There is something about their texture that he just loves and he must have chewed on that thing for about 15 minutes. Unfortunately it is that annoying "under the couch" size of ball and Frodo loves a good game of rolling it under the couch (I've seen him bat it under on purpose) and then seeing if he can dig it out. And this ball glows in the dark so under the couch he knows exactly where it is. It's like they specially made it for his favorite game of Couchball. In the video you can see him enjoying it's texture. He could easily gnaw it apart but there's something about the texture that stops him. He's the same way about the Ruffdawg Peanut.

"My Precious!": Frodo prepares to bat the ball under the couch during a loud game of "Couchball"

Anyhow, it was a great day of sunshine, new treats and new toys for the kiddos. If you are interested in getting a subscription to Barkbox use this link and you'll get $5 off your subscription and the pack here will get an extra box to share amongst themselves.