Product Review: Newman’s Own Organic Dog Treats

Most dog owners want to feed their dogs better quality of food, and if they don’t they should. The biggest reason why that better food = smaller poop, seriously. So if for no other reason you should now want to feed your dog better, but what does that mean. So you have selected a quality food, but what about the treats your dog gets? This can be as much as 20% - 25% of their daily intake, and you must look at these labels too.

I have found a great product you can use and feel good about it. I will admit right up front, I have been a fan of Newman’s Own products for some time. The work that the Newman's Own funds behind the scenes is wonderful, and 100 % of the profits go to their charities. Best part is they generally give you a good product for your support and your money, although they are normally a little more expensive than similar products.

So in my local PetSmart I saw a Newman’s Own Organic s Premium Dog Treats and decided to give them a try. Something I liked immediately (and is stated right on the front of the package) is they contain no wheat or corn in any way, and most ingredients are “certified organic.” The ingredients list reads like my shopping list (OK, that’s a lie it is actually better) and was very impressed with the thought that obviously went into the selection of each. So, I bought the Turkey & Sweet Potato flavor (both certified organic) because they come in a medium size treat but are scored to break in half. I have both a big and a small dog, so this makes giving both a treat easier. I paid $4.99 for a 13 oz bag. A little expensive, but like I said I understand and support this.

Now in a human product I would have to say that this whole organic thing would spell tasteless and unappealing, so I was most interested in whether Hondo would like them and, most importantly, would he work for them. Jethro is an omnivore and will work for any kind of food, food product, something that smells like food, or something that maybe reminds him of food. Hondo on the other hand is a picky eater, and has turned down treats in the past because they just didn’t “do it” for him. 

The treats are a good size and are scored to easily break in half, and for that half to be big enough for Jethro. He is an 80 pound dog, so this should give you some point of reference. They are hard so not greasy or messy, but they break pretty easy. I have had some treats that you needed hammer and chisel to break in half. The other half also breaks well, but require more force, so Hondo gets 2 pieces. One good part of being a small dog I guess. The product seems to have a pleasing scent to both humans and dogs, as both of the lads came-a-running when the bag was opened.

Surprisingly Hondo was very attentive and was really wanting to do his sit and down or shake or whatever to get one of these new things, but that is generally attributed to them being new. He ate his pieces vigorously and seemed to enjoy them, but he always likes new stuff. The best news is even after a couple of days he was still willing to work for one, and this is a good sign.

Not surprisingly is the fact that they were a big hit with Jethro. He loved them and seems very happy working for them, but like I said above we would work for a tin can that smelled like food.

Overall I would say that this is a good product for both the human owner and the pet in question. The owner can feel good that they are giving their dog high quality treats and are supporting some amazing causes, and the dog can feel good because the owner feels good so will probably give them MORE TREATS!

The very definition of a win-win!

Woman Tries To Mail Puppy In Box

One of my friends emailed me an article that was so amazingly horrifying that I had to not only share it but felt compelled to comment. We require people to take a test and get licensed to drive a car, we should make this mandatory to own a dog. WHY? The headline below says all that needs to be said:

Woman Tries To Mail Puppy In Box

Stacy Champion wanted to send a puppy to a friend, but to REALLY ship a dog is quite expensive, some times as much as $200.00 - $300.00. So she had the brilliant idea to send the little poodle-mix through the US Postal Service! She also thought ahead, and decided to pay extra, a whopping $22.00, to ship the poor dog Priority mail so it would be there in 2 days. I guess she figured imprisoned in a dark, cramped box for 2 days with no food or water would be fine for the young pup.

The only reason this handsome dog is still alive, is because during the sorting at the Post Office the dog must have started moving, causing the box he was imprisoned in to fall from a table. The Postal Worker that picked up the box said he could hear panting inside, so they ended up opening the box. Had this package gone into the unheated, unpressurized baggage compartment the puppy would certainly have died.

Perhaps even more disturbing that the behavior of Ms. Champion, is the fact she can still get the puppy BACK! A quote from the article really shows how serious we are about punishing abusers of animals:

“Champion has until Friday to make an appeal to animal control to get the puppy back. If animal controls says she can’t have the puppy back, it will go up for adoption.”

Get it BACK? Either locally for cruelty to animals or federally for mail fraud (or some such), my primary question is why is she not in jail? This is one of the most abhorrent examples of owner stupidity and blatant cruelty and yet no one seems willing or able to punish this person to the level she deserves.

The report says she was charged with animal cruelty; however on a local level this generally means a fine of some kind and perhaps community service but rarely any jail time. 

Effective Marketing is a Joy!

I will absolutely admit that this video has no dog training value other that seeing what some great person was able to teach a dog to do, and what some funny director was able to shoot, but I gotta tell ya it made me nearly spit coffee all over my desk. Some of you may have seen it before, but a lot of you have not, It is REALLY worth the couple minutes. Very well done!

For those of you out there in business, specifically sales and marketing, you should be watching this with an eye to how much effective marketing works, and how much being yourself and letting that shine through can have amazing results.

For the rest of you this is funny and should be shared with everyone you know. Really! They will THANK YOU for it!

Patience is the Thing

As responsible dog owners we have done our research into training methods, how you should do this and that, and in general learned what we want be doing and teaching our dogs. This might sound like the simplest part, however with all the different methods and styles and tools out there even deciding how to train your dog can take more time than the actual training.

We are NOT training experts, but students and observers of dog behavior. We have taken a compilation of a number of different philosophies and approaches and have started down the training path with our now 2 dogs. I will say that for the most part, either by talent or dumb luck, we have been pretty successful. Our dogs will sit, down, and stay and they also walk well on a leash without pulling, among other things.

There are some challenges, I will be honest, but they are usually on my part and not the dogs. After all, they are dogs and I am supposed to be smarter than they are.  One of the biggest I have is at feeding time, but is not the same one that many of you have; in fact it is probably the opposite. My dogs do not rush me and try to hurry the process along. Instead they leave me standing there with their bowls in hand while they run around the yard play (to impress dad while he is watching is my suspicion) and will eventually come back to me and start eating. Instead of just putting the bowls down and letting them fend for themselves, we have been working on getting the dogs to know it is feeding time, to come to whoever is feeding them, and sit down politely and wait. They will then get fed.

It is very easy, and ‘some others’ in the house do it frequently, to say “forget it” and just put the food down and go back to watching American Idol or whatever.  I totally get that this seems easier in the short term, especially to the person who really does not want to be doing the job. However in the long run this is very counterproductive and makes the process of training your dogs take much longer. Not taking that extra 3 – 5 minutes for the dogs to give you the behavior you are working for sets your efforts back significantly.

In order to get the behavior we want the feeder needs to fill the bowls (which gets their attention and into the yard) and take them outside, and stand there and wait. After 10 – 15 seconds the commend ‘Come’ is given, and then stand their patiently. The desired behavior (and believe me they KNOW what we want of them) is to walk up to the feeder, sit, and patiently wait for the bowl to be put down. If the dogs do not come in the next 30 – 45 seconds the command is given again and then nothing.

The longest I have waited in 6 minutes, but only once. Usually it takes less than 3. The good news is they come and sit much quicker than they have been, so patience DOES pay off. The most important things, and you will have seen these in previous articles, are:

1. Set Realistic Goals
2. Get Everyone on the Same Page
3. Be Consistent – Same Way, Every Time

No matter what it is you are working for or training for, be patient. Take the time to allow the dog to ‘think it over’ and give you your reward, then be sure to give them theirs. They earned it!