Interview with Daisy's Doggy Deli

Long time, no interview! I loved this series, and based on feedback, you guys did too! I have decided to bring it back so that we can all learn things about amazing, local businesses.

This month I am interviewing Suzanne who is the mastermind behind Daisy's Doggy Deli. Daisy's Doggy Deli is a dog treat company based in Auckland, New Zealand. Suzanne has made her business around creating natural, healthy treats for dogs without the use of strange ingredients or preservatives. She makes a range of meaty treats that are acceptable for raw-fed dogs to eat, as well as baked cookies. Suzanne is so behind her product, and wants to make the very best for the dogs she feeds that she even sent her products down to Massey University for them to test. They worked together to get a perfect product that lasts a decent amount of time, without the preservatives traditionally seen in dog food, as well as maintaining the top nutritional stats.

I first heard about Daisy's Doggy Deli at the start of this year when Suzanne approached me to trial some of her treats. I jumped on board, not only because Daisy was in the name, but because her natural treats and approach to dog food really inspired me. We got these treats, reviewed them and Diego loved them so much we had to get more. Since then I have re-purchased their treats a few times for Diego, but also for my mother and sister to use with their pooches. I recently purchased a new batch of treats and since I last reviewed the products, she has made them even better! The Chicken & Turmeric Sausages smell amazing, and really grabbed Diego's attention. Even I wanted to eat them and I don't eat meat! Then the beef jerky has been dried perfectly! It is a nice, thin piece of jerky that is easy to tear into smaller pieces, but is not brittle in the slightest. It is such an amazing jerky and I don't think I will ever be able to use 'pet shop' jerky again.

I asked Suzanne a few questions about Daisy, the beautiful dog behind the business, as well as learning more about Daisy's Doggy Deli...

What made you chose Daisy out of all the dogs available?
We adopted Daisy through Paws 4 Life. I was searching online for a rescue pup who was good with chickens and Daisy was being fostered on a farm with free range chickens. I took one look at her photo and fell in love. Next thing you know we’re driving down to Gordonton (near Hamilton) for our meet and greet. It was love at first sight.

How has she been since you rescued her?
I have to say Daisy is such an amazing pup. We really hit the jackpot with her. We've had a couple of homestays recently and even though she is having to share her humans, her beds, her space, her playground, she has never been anything other than completely welcoming.

She comes to farmers markets with us and tolerates humans, kids, dogs and puppies constantly coming up to her and asking for attention. Even at the end of one market a couple of months ago when a kid just came bounding up to her and man-handled her (before I could get there!) she didn't even flinch. Didn't growl or even give a warning sign of not happy.

She's smart, gentle, and so loyal and loving, and yet strong and funny and cheeky all at the same time. She'll be 2 next month but sometimes she acts like she's old before her time! People are always amazed at how calm she is... except when she's destroying stuff! Whoever dumped her and left her for dead didn't deserve her anyway.

Why did you start Daisy's Doggy Deli?
Daisy is very food orientated. We started going to obedience school and she was getting through a fair amount of treats, I just started looking at ingredients and when I couldn’t pronounce half of them I started really looking into ingredients. I also started to research raw fed diets and knew I wanted to get her off cooked dog roll and kibble. But after the switch there weren’t any raw fed dog treats available so I started making my own. And from there the Deli just grew!

What makes you stand out from other dog treat companies in New Zealand?
Good question! Perhaps my passion for good, wholesome treats that just haven’t been pumped full of chemicals? Or the ingredients I use? I will get a really nice piece of topside beef, slice it into jerky and whatever is left over is our Sunday lunch! The meat is that good! Or perhaps it’s just that I want the absolute best for Daisy, and I love sharing her treats with other pampered pooches.

If you could reduce your stock to one product, which one would you choose? 
Good question!! Can I have two answers? For my cookie range with would be the sardine oatcakes. I love making those! For my raw fed range it would be the chicken & turmeric sausages. Dogs seem to go mad for them and I just love how simple and clean and healthy they are.

Tell us about what you believe to be the main misconception in dog nutrition.
I think big dog food companies have used clever marketing tactics to sell us a range of products that our dogs just don’t need. I won’t give Daisy dental sticks for example. Any ‘treat’ that lists over 20 unpronounceable ingredients and has a shelf life of 3+ years can’t be good for our fur babies.

How do you think we can change the general populations opinion on dog nutrition?
Most of the people that I talk to are very aware of their dogs’ diets and do their very best to feed nutritional balanced meals. I think rather we need to change the dog food manufacturers’ opinions on what is acceptable to feed our dogs.

Where do you see Daisy's Doggy Deli in the next five years?
Our long term dream and goal is to move to the country, to a nice house with some land. Just a couple of acres nothing too flash! There we would run Daisy’s Farmstay where dogs can stay with us while their humans go on holiday. There would be a little shop to sell our Doggy Deli treats out of. Once we are all set up then I would like to foster rescue dogs until they find their forever home. I’d also like to set up a chicken sanctuary. I’d have to keep the two areas separate! And of course finally adopt a little sister for Daisy.

Will Daisy's little sister be another rescue?
Definitely yes. I absolutely love all dogs, but I want to do as much as I can for rescue pups who deserve the best life. I imagine once we get our foster home set up there will be a few foster fails so she might end up with more than one little sister!

What is the biggest achievement you have had since starting the Deli?
We will be one year old in October which seems to be quite an achievement in itself! There is so much to learn and there is so much hard work goes in behind the scenes which I never really appreciated until I actually started the Deli.

We are also expanding the dog sitting side of the business, which includes day stays, adventure walks and overnight stays. This is what we will build on over the next two years working towards our long term goal of the farmstay, a foster home and chicken sanctuary.

Would you change anything that you have done since starting the business?
Yes I wish hadn’t dropped my phone a million times! Because now the lens on my camera is cracked and I can’t take any decent photos whilst out and about!! Must get that fixed really.

What would you say to someone wanting to start a pet-based business?
Although it's a huge market (according to Stuff we spend $800 million a year on our dogs alone!) there are a lot of businesses out there and it pays to do your research into what people and their fur babies want and need. Also be prepared to put in *a lot* of hours... I'm almost one year in and still working 12-15 hour days, 7 days a week.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Kong Easy Treat Review

We are now officially in Spring, and finally the days seem to be getting longer with the weather being slightly better. That is when Diego and I can finally come out of the Winter slumber we have been in and enjoy the outdoors once again. I will be starting to have dinners outside again and because Diego is a beggar, he will be having his Kong at the same time. Today's review is on the Kong Easy Treat which we got from Animates, and this product has made preparing a Kong that much quicker!

The Kong Easy Treat Paste is a can with 'whipped' flavouring inside, think of whipped cream you can purchase in a can, it's along the same lines! We have it in the Liver flavour, but you can also purchase Peanut Butter or Puppy (I hope this is made for puppies, and not made using puppies) flavours. The nozzle is long and thin to be easily inserted into a Kong to fill it with the flavouring. The Easy Treat doesn't need to be refrigerated so can be easily stored alongside your dogs other toys for easy stuff'n.

The Kong Easy Treat is so simple to use, as I said above all you need to do is place the nozzle inside of the Kong and then push the nozzle a bit to the side. The can gives you instructions as well just in case you are like me and took forever to work it out! Now, the Kong says to only fill it with a SMALL AMOUNT, and has made sure you know it by making it in capitals and bold. However, this I find is virtually impossible unless you are very careful. You can't hear it or really feel it come out so you can't judge how much you are putting in. I have been using it with Diego's Extreme Kong which is black so isn't easy to see inside. I also usually have already filled it with kibble or other treats and am filling in spots with this paste.

I generally fill Diego's Kongs with peanut butter to coat the inside and make the dry kibble or treats stick easily. That solves the problem but does require a bit of work to work the peanut butter around the inside, and I also have to have a separate Diego container of PB in case I need to double dip. Diego likes this, but gosh, he goes absolutely crazy for the Kong Paste. It's an extreme craziness, and he can barely wait til the 'Okay' command to dig in. He will not leave a Kong with the Paste in it, even if it takes him hours to completely clean it out. I love this as it makes it easy for cleaning for me unlike peanut butter where there are bits remaining.

Ingredients wise, this treat is not the best. The first ingredient is Milk, followed by Water, Soybean Oil, Whey, Sodium Phosphate, Whey Protein Concentrate, Salt, Carrageenan, Sodium Citrate, Milk Protein Concentrate, Dried Chicken Liver (This is so far down in the list!), Natural Flavour, Glucono-delta-lactone, Sorbic Acid, Lactic Acid, Caramel Colour, Paprika and Annatto Extracts, Dried Lactobacillus Lactis Fermentation Product, Rennet.
If you were like me, not a lot of this makes sense apart from the chicken product being quite far down in the list. I decided to look into a few of the ingredients that I was not sure about and get a more in depth knowledge as to what this all means. Basically, the ingredients have been used to make this product not need to be refrigerated. A lot of the strange ingredients are in the dairy and cheese making industry and I think because of the amount of milk in this product they are needed so it does not spoil. I have linked some of the pages I looked at for certain ingredients above! I couldn't find anything devastatingly wrong with any of these ingredients, although they are obviously not the best. I think in moderation and as a once in a while treat this paste is not nutritionally too terrible. I just wouldn't want to feed this every day, or over an extended period of time. Think of this as your dogs 'treat day', we can't always be 100% perfect. It is also definitely personal preference as well.

The can says that this treat lasts 45 servings, I think that is an extreme exaggeration. As I said above, it is quite hard to put a tiny amount in your Kong, however even if you did I don't see this lasting that long. I believe I would have used it 10 - 15 times and it is already running out. I do admit that the first Kongs I did use quite a bit of product, but since then I tried to contain myself a bit more.

Final verdict, I don't think I will purchase this again. The Kong Easy Paste itself costs $26 and although Diego loves it, and it makes Kong creating a breeze, I can't justify that price. Due to the fact that the ingredient list is super long with strange ingredients and the product doesn't go a long way I believe my $26 could be better spent elsewhere. I do enjoy the product, and think that if you are an avid Kong user you have to try it at least once but don't think it is a product you should all be rushing out to get. If it lasted the 45 servings, I would probably be more inclined to buy again.
Have you tried this product, what were your thoughts? Tell me below!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Kong Wobbler Review

Hey! Back in April I wrote a blog post on the Current Boredom Breakers that I use with Diego to keep him entertained while I am at work. I have really seen an improvement in Diego's separation anxiety since I have started to incorporate toys and treats into our morning routine. Usually he is more excited for me to leave so he is allowed the toy than actually caring about me leaving! I didn't have many different toy options though so worried that the novelty would soon wear out. Thankfully the amazing Animates sent us a package with a bunch of their toys and treats to keep Diego entertained during the day. This was a few months back and has really given both Diego and I enough time to play with the toys and really get a grasp for their pro's and con's.

The Kong Wobbler was the toy that I was initially the most drawn to as it meant I could fill it with Diego's food. I usually like to put Diego's morning kibble into a toy to make the mealtime last longer, but also saves over-feeding him on treats. The Wobbler is perfect for this purpose as it is designed to challenge the dog to get their kibble out. The Wobbler has a weighted bottom piece, with a screwable top where you can fill it with your dogs kibble. Diego doesn't have the largest portion sizes, but this toy can hold even the biggest dogs meal. Then the dog has to push and pull this toy around to get the kibble to fall out of a hole that is on the side. This is made difficult as the weighted section makes the Wobbler stand upright at any chance it gets.

To be entirely honest with you, this isn't Diego's first time using a Kong Wobbler. We had got him one as a puppy to keep him entertained, and it lasted two days maximum. As a crazy puppy he missed the concept of pushing the toy over to get the kibble and instead tried to chew his way through. What ended up happening is that he chewed all around where the top screws on and it no longer screwed on properly. Diego was a very destructive puppy and ripped apart/chewed everything he could get his mouth on.

This time round though it has been a different story. The first time getting this Wobbler out of the package he instantly grasped the concept of pushing the toy over for food. He was entranced immediately and within minutes the Wobbler was empty. He kept crazily pawing and digging at it even long after all the kibble had come out of it. Currently Diego is eating Black Hawk dog food which is a tiny kibble compared to anything I have ever seen before. This means that it isn't too hard for the kibble to come out of the hole which is made for bigger kibble. However with that being said this toy will generally last Diego 3 - 5 minutes to clear. Which is amazing considering he usually can eat that same portion in less than 10 seconds given the chance.

I also tried this out with Chico and Ollie who are currently eating a different type of dog food which has a much larger kibble. The kibble can still fit through the hole, but it doesn't come out as easily giving more of a challenge. This kibble size would probably be better for Diego's advanced use of this toy. Chico being the Greyhound he is, much preferred me personally giving him food than having to work for it. He just lay down/ignored it until I would tip the Wobbler and a treat would come out. After a lot of this he finally grasped the idea himself and gave it a few half-hearted pushes before retreating to bed. Safe to say Chico was not a fan. But then again, Chico is never a fan of any toy.

Ollie on the other hand is a very energetic dog who generally goes crazy for his meal. To slow Ollie down he does have a Go-Slo bowl and recently my sister has been putting his kibble in an old plastic milk bottle that has holes in it so it slowly dispenses. This toy seemed right up their alley then and when I went up to Whanganui I made them try it. Ollie at first was very confused and my sister had to show him the general idea by giving it a few pushes where treats would roll out. That didn't take Ollie long and soon he was racing around the yard with it in his mouth and kibble flying off in all directions. He successfully managed to clear the Wobbler of any kibble (even with the larger kibble size) as well as make it completely covered in mud. I would say it was a hit for him, too!

All in all I think this toy is amazing and we have been using it nearly every day since we got the package in early July! I find it the perfect way to dispense Diego's breakfast and quite often feed his dinner in it as well even though I am around. Diego has put a few teeth marks in it by trying to carry it onto the bed, as well as a lot of claw marks but these don't effect the function of the toy at all. I think if you have a very destructive puppy, or a bigger dog that is quite a chewer you might want to steer clear of this toy as I mentioned above, it can be ruined if they get along the twist line. Otherwise I think this is an amazing invention, and is well worth it's price. It not only makes your dog use their brain to figure it out, it also gives some exercise as they push it all over the house and yard!
Buy yours today! 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Wolves of Wellington Kickstarter

In July, Diego and I were lucky enough to be invited to the Wolves of Wellington photoshoot for their new range of collars, harnesses and leashes. I have been a fan of the Wolves of Wellington duo and their two beautiful 'wolves' Indy and Willow since they first launched a few years back. I have multiple bandanas, harnesses and leashes from their site already and have used them almost daily. Wolves of Wellington started with importing products from overseas that we couldn't get here in New Zealand and grew from there. They launched a 'Pay it Forward' range in which Gretchen herself made rope leashes, bandanas, beds and more by hand with 10% of profits going to an animal charity.

I am so excited to announce that they have now started to grow that range to include some wonderfully crafted products that are all designed by them both. However, they need our help. They need to raise $11,000 to purchase the first round of products, so have started a Kickstarter to look at raising that capital. The way Kickstarter works is that you make a pledge to purchase their product once it has been made, if they reach the target your product of choice will be shipped out at a later date. If they do not reach target, all money is refunded to the pledgers and Wolves of Wellington have to shut shop on their dreams.  You can chose your pledge amount, and each pledge amount correlates to a certain product or group of products. Pretty much in short, it's kind of like a pre-order and you will be getting the product way cheaper than standard price, and will be helping a local business to grow.

After Diego modelled for Wolves of Wellington we were so blessed as to be given a collar and leash set in the pattern 'Indy' as well as a bandana with 'D' for Diego on it! I have been using that set ever since we got it in July and am safe to say that I am in love. So much so that Diego's council registration has been put on the collar so this one is a daily collar for the next year.

This leash is amazing! It is one of the longest leashes I own, but has multiple clips and rings so that you can adjust the length for what you like. This makes it super versatile and gives you more options when walking your pooch. With a clip at each end of the leash you can also walk two dogs with the one leash. I found this handy when walking both Chico and Diego from the car to the dog wash and back. Even with their major height difference this was a breeze to do. I also love the extra clips for easy tying up when at a cafe or quickly leaving Diego tied somewhere. I walked today without this leash and had to tie Diego up and realised what a hassle the traditional method is. This leash makes it easy, and you don't have to unclip your dog from the leash to do so! It is also a very comfortable leash to hold, and although Diego is a puller, you don't get sore hands from the material.

The collar is wicked and we have already had a tonne of compliments on it. I have had to adjust Diego's several times to get the correct length between him being able to slip it when overly excited, to wearing it all day/sleeping in it. I have finally found the correct length but during that adjustment period found it super easy to adjust and it did not budge once set. As I said above, Diego is a puller so to find collars that don't slip and go to the largest sizing is hard. This one is perfect and doesn't seem to move at all! The clip is plastic and very sturdy. It is that perfect medium between being easy to unclasp but not opening when you don't want it to. The rest of the hardware is a wonderful black metal which blends right in.

I haven't tried out the harness in the real world setting, but Diego did wear one for the photoshoot. Gretchen said they designed it to be similar to the Wildebeest Linden Harness that we absolutely love and reviewed here. The difference is that the clip doesn't slide in the Wolves of Wellington harness which means it will work for a lot more dogs but with the same great walking results.

The pattern I have is amazing and even though Diego is dark it really stands out. I have seen it on other dark and light coloured dogs and it looks amazing on all! The other three patterns are also incredible and will look fantastic on a range of dog colours, and types, and I have decided that I have to have full sets of all three. I am just waiting for my fortnightly pay to come in and I will be pledging up a storm!

I am a true believer in supporting local and helping out the small businesses within your area or country. Wolves of Wellington makes this an even more obvious choice by making and selling high-quality, beautiful products and I will always back the incredible things they are doing as a company. I would love if you could join the pack and make a pledge towards this fantastic company by visiting their Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wolvesofwellington/wolves-of-wellington-fun-and-functional-dog-produc/community 

I can't wait for them to smash their target, and for us all to be one big pack with matching collars, harnesses and leashes!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Top Podcasts to Listen to While Walking the Dog

Back in June, I mentioned that during our long walks trying to complete #300kmJune I would listen to a podcast, and a couple people said they would love to know what podcasts I listen to. I will start this post with saying that none of these podcasts are pet related. I am yet to find a decent pet related podcast that I like. I listened to a dog trainer one and was immediately repulsed in the first five minutes when he stated that prong and electrocuting collars are the best way to train dogs, and when he started chewing loudly into the microphone. I have never delved back into that area of podcasting.

I listen to podcasts a lot. I don't really like to do activities in silence, and due to me going regularly to the gym where I listen to music, I prefer to listen to something else for the rest of the day. I love podcasts for the fact that while doing boring adult activities like grocery shopping, cleaning the house or just general activities you can also be learning and gaining new knowledge. Most of my podcasts I listen to are knowledge based, with a few fun ones thrown in for when I need a mood boost. I don't take headphones every time I walk Diego, but for walks that I plan to be a lot longer I generally bring them along just in case.

Mixergy - Startup Stories
This podcast is a very business, entrepreneurial based podcast, but one I absolutely love to get me inspired to focus more energy into DaisyPets. Andrew interviews a range of people who are proven entrepreneurs and can offer some insight or tips into how to do better business. I have found a lot of them are tech based, and that they often discuss different software to help smooth basic processes. This is obviously not a podcast I recommend to everyone, but if you are goal-orientated, and business minded, this one will be right up your alley!

Joe Rogan Podcast
Joe Rogan is by far my favourite podcast host of all time. I have been listening to his podcasts for several years now and find them educational and entertaining at the same time. Of the 9 podcasts I have enjoyed enough to put in a favourites category, five are Joe Rogans. Although he does and says some controversial things, he has an open mind and can have a conversation with anyone about any topic. He doesn't shut people down if he doesn't believe what they are saying, instead he finds out more information about why they are saying that so he can better grasp another's opinion. This makes for amazing conversations where you as the listener get to really take in and learn a range of things. He has such a broad spectrum of guests on from UFC fighters and hunters to scientists and filmmakers. I feel like this is a podcast that can cater to a lot of different people. Some of my favourites are: #919 - Neil deGrasse Tyson; #663 - Dominic Monaghan; #759 - Cameron Hanes.

Wrongful Conviction with Jason Flom
Wow! I found this only recently and have been absolutely hooked. The podcast is all about innocent people that have been wrongly convicted, served jail time and have since been released. Jason interviews these people and hears their stories on how they ended up being wrongly convicted, how they dealt with living in prison, how they managed to prove their innocence and what happens after all of this. It is such an intriguing and fascinating topic and seems a lot more common than I ever realised. Because of the dark and deep conversations that are had in this podcast I do find I have to be in the right headspace to enjoy it. I find if I am already feeling stressed, upset, or tired it makes me feel a lot worse, so I only listen to this on nice days when out walking Diego. I really suggest listening to episode 4 of the first season, and episode 8 of the second season.

Other People's Lives
If you are into looking into other people's lives, this podcast is perfect. This is definitely the wackiest podcast I listen to, and it is definitely for those times when I don't want to take in too much information. The hosts interview people with unusual fetishes, thought processes or life experiences and share them with us. This is definitely an R18 podcast and does get very strange and possibly controversial. My favourite was the episode 'The Earth is Flat' as my opinion varies so differently to what they thought. Unfortunately, this podcast is currently shut down as they are looking at making it into a series so you can only listen to the episodes that are currently out, for now.

Urban Farm Podcast
This podcast I go through phases of absolutely loving, and then not listening to any for weeks. This podcast as the title suggests, is all about farming in an urban setting. There are interviews with a range of people with all one common passion of growing your own vegetables or livestock. I find this one super informative, especially with it coming up to Spring when I will be planting my own large vegetable garden for the first time without my mothers help. It is American based so some of the stuff they talk about does not apply to us here in New Zealand, but there is still tonnes of useful information thrown throughout each episode. He also interviews people on how to utilise what you have grown in everyday life from eating it, to healing from it.

RuPaul: What's the Tee?
This is one of my fun podcasts to listen to as it is not overly informative. RuPaul and Michelle Visage hang out, talk nonsense and then interview someone else about their lives. I fell in love with RuPaul from Drag Race (showing my young age since he has been around forever) and just love how quirky and confident he is. This really comes across in this podcast and I am often seen just laughing into thin air as him and Michelle crack joke after joke. This is such a light, entertaining podcast that I find makes the time pass so much quicker, and you don't have to concentrate too hard on it.

I do listen to a bunch more podcasts but wanted to give you a couple of my favourites from a range of genres. I think podcasts are a great way for people to express themselves and put information across. I believe this platform of information sharing is only going to grow within the next few years, and I for one love it.
Are you currently listening to podcasts? If so, what podcasts do you listen to? I am always on the hunt for new good ones!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Black Hawk Review & Giveaway

Daisy passed away from liver disease and so from first getting Diego I was very aware of what I was feeding him. When I owned Daisy, I was unfortunately in a time of my life where I could not afford the top quality dog food, and just generally went for the cheapest type available at the supermarket. This isn't the best food, and a lot of the time has less real meat in it than fillers. I think this was a huge factor in her getting liver disease, and I may be wrong, but I would prefer to edge on the side of caution with Diego so I don't have to go through that again.

Diego has been having Orijen dog food since the first day I got him. I transitioned him from whatever he was eating before onto the Puppy formula of Orijen within the first week or two of owning him. I had read a lot about Orijen, what they put into their dog food and their business model appealed to me. When he got off the puppy formula we went between Orijen Adult and Fish versions. I believe in changing the protein source every few months for dogs, and Orijen made it easy to do that as a bag lasted the perfect time to just change which one we purchased each time. However, recently they changed their bag sizes, making them smaller for the same outrageous price. This put me off as it meant the bag lasted two weeks less, but was still ripping a giant hole in my wallet with each purchase.

So with me being annoyed at that, it was perfect timing for Black Hawk to approach us with a PR package for their New Zealand launch. It was the most amazing package, with sample packets of multiple versions of their dog food, as well as a recipe and all the ingredients for us humans to make a meal of our own! I gave the non-grain-free versions to my mother to try with Chico, and gave the grain-free options to Diego to sample. He gobbled them up quickly, and without the hesitation he had been giving his previous food within recent months. He even went scouting around for more, which is no unheard of from him, but hadn't been done for a long time with his Orijen food.

I am going to be honest right now and say that we were lucky enough to be sent a full sized product after the initial PR package (as well as a full sized product for you to go in to win at the end of this post). This has not effected my opinion however because I also bought a 15kg bag the same week we got sent the product from the company. I had gone onto PetPost to purchase Diego's Orijen food again and saw that Black Hawk had already been released online. I had a look into it and found that you could get any version of the food for the same price, which was cheaper than Orijen by a fair chunk. I purchased this, and then two days later Black Hawk had sent us a 7kg bag! It's fair to say we are now rolling in dog food.

For Diego, I chose the Salmon Grain-Free version as I love to get fish oils into him where I can and found that this would be an easy way to do it now that we had run out of actual fish oil. But as I said above, I love to change the protein source every few months, so love that Black Hawk has four protein types in the grain-free range; Salmon, Kangaroo, Lamb and Chicken. I am definitely keen to try Kangaroo as that is something Diego has never tried! They also have a range of puppy food, traditional adult dog foods and a working dog option. Black Hawk contains all real meat, fresh fruit and vegetables and has no fillers or nasties. They also share my belief that every ingredient that goes into a pet's diet should matter. I love this! After my troubles with Daisy, it is great to find a semi-local (Australian) company that is 100% real and ensures that your dog will be getting everything they need and nothing that they don't.

The kibble itself is tiny, probably the smallest size of kibble I have ever seen. Diego isn't a big dog, but does love to hoover food up, so I have to make sure that this food is always fed in his Go-Slo bowl, or another toy to slow down his eating. The kibble does mean that for little dogs you don't have to worry about them choking or having trouble chewing it. However, for bigger dogs this could potentially be a problem. Chico did have some of this food when he was visiting and had no troubles with it when eating from Diego's bowl, or off the ground but he is a slow, precise eater in general. I don't think this should put you off the food, as the actual ingredients are amazing, but should be something to be aware of. There is a large dog formula which I guess would have bigger kibble if you are concerned.

The food is made up of high quality ingredients, with it roughly being half and half of high quality protein and vegetables, fruits and oils. It also has added Emu Oil, which is great for joints, skin and coat. I am all about 100% honesty, and I can honestly tell you I could tell a difference in Diego's coat after using this product. He has two different fur types, most of his fur is slick and soft, but around the top of his back/neck/ruff is kind of wirey. My mum calls this his 'pig fur' so that gives you a fair idea of how course that fur is. Within a week of being on Black Hawk Salmon all his fur become a lot glossier to look at, and was super soft to touch. The fur along the sides of his body were the softest they have ever been, and even his pig fur was comparable to soft fur. I changed nothing other than his food so can only speculate that it must have been the food that made the difference.

Diego is also obsessed with this food. I have his food stored in a large plastic container and whenever I go anywhere near the vicinity of that tub, Diego comes zooming over thinking he may get some food. After eating he always goes looking for more, and sometimes will just sit near the food container and look at me hoping that I will treat him with some more. I first thought that I must not be feeding him enough and he was hungry, however I referred to the feeding chart on the side of the bag and realised if anything I was over feeding him. With such quality ingredients you don't have to feed nearly as much as you would if you got a cheaper brand of food. Also, during the day while I am at work I give him boredom buster toys to play with. Recently he has been getting his Kong Wobbler filled with his breakfast, and then another toy filled with peanut butter, treats, carrots or another high reward filling. He chooses to eat his breakfast of Black Hawk food out of the Kong Wobbler before even looking at the more high reward toy.

So as I said above, Black Hawk was amazing and has hooked us up with a 7kg bag of food to giveaway to one lucky reader of mine. I wanted to make this super easy for anyone to enter so all you have to do is Subscribe to our mailing list by putting your email address below. Easy as that! Once you have done that you are in the running to win this amazing prize. You do have to live in New Zealand to receive this prize, but can still sign up to our mailing list if you are from overseas. This will run til 11.59pm on August 13th, and will announce the winners on all social media platforms on August 14th.

Subscribe to our mailing list

If you wanted to find out more about Black Hawk, check them out at www.blackhawkpetcare.com/nz. You will also be able to purchase Black Hawk at vet clinics, pet stores or online at www.petpost.co.nz

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Dog Friendly: Nourish Cafe

I am a sucker for a good brunch spot. I love being able to connect with someone over good coffee, and a great atmosphere. Actually, I love just being with a good coffee and great atmosphere, the other person is a bonus but not a must. However, a must for me is being allowed to bring Diego along. Most of the time I only visit cafes in the weekend so therefore generally will have Diego with me, and I don't want to be enjoying the cafe vibes while he is stuck in the car. 

In June, while we were in Tauranga I searched up 'dog friendly cafes Tauranga' and from there searched through the range of options. The top of the list, and most highly recommended was Nourish so that's where we headed. I am not from Tauranga so don't know the exact location, but would say it is out of town between Tauranga and Omokoroa. I could be completely wrong on that one. When we went there were heaps of road works around the area so I was not expecting much. Upon arrival though, we were greeted with a beautiful building with flourishing plant life. The photos don't even do this place justice, it was absolutely beautiful. 

There is ample outdoor seating, and at mid-morning had a great amount of sun or shade depending on what you are into. When we went there were already two other dogs there so it is obviously a popular place for other dog owners. The seating itself ranged from outdoor couches and lounges to your traditional wooden bench with seats. They also cater for the pups by having heaps of water bowls, and a place to easily fill them up outside. 

The menu catered for many dietary options and had both your traditional brunch options as well as some more fancy and exotic. Tammin went for a standard bacon and eggs with an OJ for her meal and said it was fantastic. I chose one of the more exciting options (which I cannot for the life of me remember the name of) which consisted of egg, halloumi, beetroot, avocado, pesto all on a bed of spinach leaves. This was one of the best breakfasts I have ever eaten, and left me satisfied but not overly full like sometimes happens when going out for brunch. They were also open to change so this could easily be made dairy free by removing the halloumi. 

I found the staff to be super friendly, and didn't mind a quick chat at the register about their day, and what our plans were for the rest of the day. They were helpful when we asked questions in regards to the menu and where to get water for the dogs. 

Not only was this place an awesome cafe, they also had lots of items for sale within their store. This range includes locally sourced produce and crafts, as well as homewares and cookware. It is the beautiful stuff that you can easily gift to someone, or keep for yourself if you feel like a treat. I didn't spend too long browsing the store as the pooches were waiting outside, but saw some awesome products that I would have loved to pick up. 

All in all this is a beautiful spot for a bite to eat, or just a coffee while you relax and take in the atmosphere. I usually find that places this nice usually are un-inclusive of your hounds, so it was a welcome change for them to be so open towards both Diego and Ollie. I would definitely recommend this to anyone in the area, or just passing through and can guarantee you that next time we are up those ways we will be definitely be getting another meal here.

Find more about Nourish Cafe by visiting their website: http://www.cafenourish.co.nz/ 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad