Hey everyone! This is Brittany Who writing!
I just wanted to let you all know that the holidays look like they'll be quiet for us in terms of puppies. We won't see pups until at least February of next year--which is honestly kind of great because it'll make them getting outdoor time all the easier.
During spans of time where we do not have any confirmed litters, I focus primarily on my job as an artist. Because of that, I tend to be slower with answering emails, and will not be doing my regular readings of applications.
That being said, it is still valid to send in applications. They're stored and will be ready for me to read and add to the waitlist when I have the opportunity to give it my energy. Just know when sending in an application that your expectation should be set for February puppies at the earliest. All applications, already on the list, currently waiting to be read, or not yet sent in, will all be given the correct attention before the litter is born.
As a reminder to how our waitlist works; we organize folks by their interest in appearances of the puppies (fur color, sex, type of tails, weight, etc). We'll only send updates to you if the puppy, from the get-go, is at least relevant to you on this basis. From there, we would discuss with you your lifestyle and what individual puppy suits you and your family.
I hope everyone has a good, stress-limited December! On that note, I wanted to make some recommendations for doggy gifts:
I just wanted to let you all know that the holidays look like they'll be quiet for us in terms of puppies. We won't see pups until at least February of next year--which is honestly kind of great because it'll make them getting outdoor time all the easier.
During spans of time where we do not have any confirmed litters, I focus primarily on my job as an artist. Because of that, I tend to be slower with answering emails, and will not be doing my regular readings of applications.
That being said, it is still valid to send in applications. They're stored and will be ready for me to read and add to the waitlist when I have the opportunity to give it my energy. Just know when sending in an application that your expectation should be set for February puppies at the earliest. All applications, already on the list, currently waiting to be read, or not yet sent in, will all be given the correct attention before the litter is born.
As a reminder to how our waitlist works; we organize folks by their interest in appearances of the puppies (fur color, sex, type of tails, weight, etc). We'll only send updates to you if the puppy, from the get-go, is at least relevant to you on this basis. From there, we would discuss with you your lifestyle and what individual puppy suits you and your family.
I hope everyone has a good, stress-limited December! On that note, I wanted to make some recommendations for doggy gifts:
The PETZONE IQ TREAT BALL
The one I got Kiri 2 years ago is still going strong! I really love this thing because you can take out the pieces in order to edit its difficulty level to suit your dog. A lot of puzzles are easily figured out by aussies and become too easy for them to use. While an aussie will learn how best to knock this ball around, it's inherently difficult by its nature and means the aussie will always have to work regardless of if they know what they're doing or not.
For Cons:
1. It doesn't hold TOO many treats in it what with all the levels to it, so if you want to give your dog their whole meal with this, you can expect to do a refilling. That's not really a con though if you're worried about them over-eating accidentally...
2. You'll want to pick a ball that is the right size or too big for them, because you don't want them mouthing it too much. There's reviews that mention dogs getting their teeth caught, so go with a size they can't do that with! I'm happy I read the reviews out of the gate years ago, and got the right sizes for my dog. Since we introduced a pet borzoi to the family, we got an extra big one for her to safely use on her own.
The one I got Kiri 2 years ago is still going strong! I really love this thing because you can take out the pieces in order to edit its difficulty level to suit your dog. A lot of puzzles are easily figured out by aussies and become too easy for them to use. While an aussie will learn how best to knock this ball around, it's inherently difficult by its nature and means the aussie will always have to work regardless of if they know what they're doing or not.
For Cons:
1. It doesn't hold TOO many treats in it what with all the levels to it, so if you want to give your dog their whole meal with this, you can expect to do a refilling. That's not really a con though if you're worried about them over-eating accidentally...
2. You'll want to pick a ball that is the right size or too big for them, because you don't want them mouthing it too much. There's reviews that mention dogs getting their teeth caught, so go with a size they can't do that with! I'm happy I read the reviews out of the gate years ago, and got the right sizes for my dog. Since we introduced a pet borzoi to the family, we got an extra big one for her to safely use on her own.
PIZZLES
These are a favorite of ours, and I'm going to have a number of chew recommendations to give today. Pizzles are SAFE chews that are also nutritious for dogs and puppies They can eat the whole thing! And will.
Puppies can take their time munching through one of these, but adult dogs are going to kill a pizzle in way less time. The good thing though is that pizzles are made in all different shapes and sizes. I find the twisty, braided, and circular/ring shaped ones to keep my adult dogs busy for longer (and the puppies even longer than that!)
I feel I would be remiss if I did not add this: they are made from a bull's wanker. The pecker, their ding-dong. That can be off-putting for some folks, and it's ok if that means you wouldn't want to buy them! Also something to keep in mind if your dog is allergic to beef!
Most pizzles I get have little or no smell to them. Sometimes with the really fat ones they give off a stink in an enclosed space but it's a rare experience for me at least.
Extra good news: Pizzles are basically at every pet store these days, along with a lot of hardware stores. You won't have to order these bad boys online if you don't want to, and can support some local stores!
These are a favorite of ours, and I'm going to have a number of chew recommendations to give today. Pizzles are SAFE chews that are also nutritious for dogs and puppies They can eat the whole thing! And will.
Puppies can take their time munching through one of these, but adult dogs are going to kill a pizzle in way less time. The good thing though is that pizzles are made in all different shapes and sizes. I find the twisty, braided, and circular/ring shaped ones to keep my adult dogs busy for longer (and the puppies even longer than that!)
I feel I would be remiss if I did not add this: they are made from a bull's wanker. The pecker, their ding-dong. That can be off-putting for some folks, and it's ok if that means you wouldn't want to buy them! Also something to keep in mind if your dog is allergic to beef!
Most pizzles I get have little or no smell to them. Sometimes with the really fat ones they give off a stink in an enclosed space but it's a rare experience for me at least.
Extra good news: Pizzles are basically at every pet store these days, along with a lot of hardware stores. You won't have to order these bad boys online if you don't want to, and can support some local stores!
FISH SKINS
Ok, we both know they're gonna smell a bit like fish. They don't smell too terrible to me, but I wouldn't recommend breaking these out in a long car ride to see the family unless you're prepared to crack open the windows.
Like the pizzles, fish skins are safe for your dog to totally consume. They're super nutritious and low in fat. They also give this satisfying CRUNCH sound when the dog chews on them, and while I'm not sure about the science on that, I think my dogs like that feeling very much.
You can get these treats in different shapes but we go with the long stripes. We like the brand Polkadog for these! Not every pet store carries fish skins, but we've found them pretty consistently at smaller pet stores (namely, in our case, Barnstable Farm & Pet, as well as Pawsitive Provisions in Hyannis).
A plus for fish skins is, while thin, they take as long as a pizzle to chew through, if not longer for some of our dogs. The texture of the skin makes it bend before breaking, so a dog with a strong bite force isn't inherently faster when eating it.
Ok, we both know they're gonna smell a bit like fish. They don't smell too terrible to me, but I wouldn't recommend breaking these out in a long car ride to see the family unless you're prepared to crack open the windows.
Like the pizzles, fish skins are safe for your dog to totally consume. They're super nutritious and low in fat. They also give this satisfying CRUNCH sound when the dog chews on them, and while I'm not sure about the science on that, I think my dogs like that feeling very much.
You can get these treats in different shapes but we go with the long stripes. We like the brand Polkadog for these! Not every pet store carries fish skins, but we've found them pretty consistently at smaller pet stores (namely, in our case, Barnstable Farm & Pet, as well as Pawsitive Provisions in Hyannis).
A plus for fish skins is, while thin, they take as long as a pizzle to chew through, if not longer for some of our dogs. The texture of the skin makes it bend before breaking, so a dog with a strong bite force isn't inherently faster when eating it.
YAK CHEESE
Yak cheese, hardened into a block. Nutritious and MOSTLY safe, so I'm going to give recommendation here on my experience right off the bat:
These are for dogs whose bite force isn't too powerful, but dogs that get through the other stuff too quickly for your liking. We don't give these to our boy Artigan because he shatters it and it makes us nervous. With all our other dogs, even big 40lb Kiri, this is a safe treat.
They tend not to be too stinky, so they can make for a good treat when you need them to kill time. Maybe you're breaking out the Christmas movie marathon and need Fido to cool it with trying to take the sugar cookies while you're distracted by the Grinch.
The true, interesting upside of the yak cheese is it's a two-fold treat: If you think it's getting too small or if they're too... Artigan-y with it, then with a cup of water and a bit of microwaving, you can turn these into a big cheese puff. Even a small amount left of the cheese can be turned into a sizeable amount of cheese puff.
In cheese puff form, of course they'll go through it much quicker, but it means this is the one super-hard treat (bones, horns, antlers, etc) where you don't have to throw it away down the line. Once it's seen enough of the hard-times you can puff it and let them finish it off!
These can be a bit expensive, albeit time-consuming for the dog. Pet stores who offer these often have a section (just like bones/pizzles/etc) where you can buy just one, so if you want to test this one out before committing to a whole bag of them. I'd recommend that!
Yak cheese, hardened into a block. Nutritious and MOSTLY safe, so I'm going to give recommendation here on my experience right off the bat:
These are for dogs whose bite force isn't too powerful, but dogs that get through the other stuff too quickly for your liking. We don't give these to our boy Artigan because he shatters it and it makes us nervous. With all our other dogs, even big 40lb Kiri, this is a safe treat.
They tend not to be too stinky, so they can make for a good treat when you need them to kill time. Maybe you're breaking out the Christmas movie marathon and need Fido to cool it with trying to take the sugar cookies while you're distracted by the Grinch.
The true, interesting upside of the yak cheese is it's a two-fold treat: If you think it's getting too small or if they're too... Artigan-y with it, then with a cup of water and a bit of microwaving, you can turn these into a big cheese puff. Even a small amount left of the cheese can be turned into a sizeable amount of cheese puff.
In cheese puff form, of course they'll go through it much quicker, but it means this is the one super-hard treat (bones, horns, antlers, etc) where you don't have to throw it away down the line. Once it's seen enough of the hard-times you can puff it and let them finish it off!
These can be a bit expensive, albeit time-consuming for the dog. Pet stores who offer these often have a section (just like bones/pizzles/etc) where you can buy just one, so if you want to test this one out before committing to a whole bag of them. I'd recommend that!
Happy holidays, see you all in 2022!