Monthly Archives: May 2011

How to Save Big $$$ with Blue Buffalo Dog Food Coupons

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Our Dachshunds were introduced to Blue Buffalo Dog food several years ago by a company representative giving a sales pitch on how superior their food was compared to other brands on the market.  The nice sales woman had a table set up at the Westlake Village PetSmart proudly displaying the product.

Ironically the table was somewhat configured like those “free sample” tables you see at your grocery store, yet she had no samples to try.  It would be nice if your dog could sample the stuff before you buy it.  Chloe is the perfect taste tester being so finicky and such.  But it didn’t matter anyway since I didn’t bring one of my Doxies into the pet friendly store that day and neither did she have any samples or coupons as a matter of fact.

But she did have a wonderful sales pitch and after about five minutes, she convinced me to buy a 6 lb. bag of the small breed chicken and brown rice mix.  With dry dog food, it’s sometimes a crap shoot.  Either your dog likes it or hates it, in our case the former.

Indeed, the dog food is very good and passes the Chloe test.   I don’t know how many bags of dry food we’ve tried only to find out that they don’t like it.  With Blue Buffalo, it was good to go from the start.  The only problem is that it is rather expensive compared to other brands.  But when you understand that this is one of the best dog foods on the market, I’m sure that you would not mind spending extra on your beloved four legged friend.

Except that you don’t have to.  I’m sorry for the long winded pitch and I’m sure that you are wondering how you can save some bucks with Blue Buffalo Dog Food coupons.  There are several ways to save some money and the most obvious is to request a $5 off blue buffalo coupon from bluebuffalo.com.  You have to give up your name and address because they need to mail you the coupon.   If you haven’t tried this dog food yet, this is the best way to get a bag at a discount.

Blue Buffalo Coupons

Obviously, once your dogs are hooked on this great food, you’ll become a regular customer and will need more than one coupon.  Fortunately, there is a coupon marketplace where you can buy a few coupons that will save you a tidy sum of money that you can invest in your pet’s future. But buyer beware since according to Blue Buffalo, the only way you can get a valid coupon is get it through their “True Blue Test” where you request a coupon from them.  All other coupons may be fraudulent or forgeries which retailers will not accept.

The Best Dog Brush for Shedding

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Best Grooming Tools

After twelve years of searching for the best dog brush for long-haired Dachshunds, I believe that I may have found the best one that removes the dead undercoat that tangles and knots.  Both Molly and Chloe have given their “paw of approval” and no longer run away or fear the dreaded brushing sessions that often result on the painful pulling on their knotted hair.

Of course with proper grooming, knots seldom happen, but if you have dogs with thick coats that don’t like the brushing, the only thing to do is to keep them neatly trimmed.  Thank goodness for PetSmart Grooming Coupons, otherwise we would have spent a fortune on our two long haired Doxies.

Deshedding Tool for Dogs

I can’t tell you how many brushes we’ve gone through only to find out that they either don’t work or our dogs simply fear, but the Mikki anti-tangle undercoat rake I just picked up last weekend at HomeGoods just does wonders on our two girls. I just can’t believe how much hair I brushed out of Molly and Chloe leaving them both with nice shinny coats.

The Mikki undercoat rake has two rows of rotating teeth that do not snag or pull on knots.  The two rows are spring loaded so that when gentle pressure is applied, the teeth lay flat along the curved surface of your dog’s body. It could be that the combination of the rotating teeth and contour hugging design cause the tangles to slide off the tooth for painless grooming.

The Mikki Anti-Tangle Rake contours to your dog's body.

Where to Buy the Best Dog Brush

The bad thing about this dog brush for shedding is that it is imported from the UK and is difficult to locate even at online pet stores.  I’ve been very lucky that our local HomeGoods expanded their pet goods section and I’ve been able to pick up a few toys and grooming tools that keep our Dachshunds looking great.

If you can’t find one locally, you can bid for one on eBay below.  The seller is most likely in the UK and you will have to pay international shipping if you live in the US.   It’s worth the extra cost especially if you have a hard time grooming your dog.

Save Money with PetSmart Grooming Coupons

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With three Dachshunds, our grooming costs are tripled so before we take our Doxies to PetSmart for their grooming, we shop around for some coupons on eBay to maximize our savings.  The reason why we do this is because for about a $10 investment, you’re return, or savings is going to be around $50 if you can find 6 or more coupons to bid on.

It’s hard to beat a 5 bagger (5x) return on your money plus the shipping cost is normally around two first class stamps or under a dollar plus a few days by mail for your coupons to arrive.

If you’re lucky, have the time, you probably could locate a coupon or two in the Sunday edition of your local newspaper, but why take the chance when you can find one in a few minutes online?

Now I have to admit that we don’t go to the groomers every month and bathe our dogs at home more often than not, but grooming dogs is not my choice profession and the girls really only go to PetSmart when their long hair becomes tangled or needs trimming.  Of course they love a trip down the dog toy isle for that special treat regardless if it is bath day.

The grooming cost — as of 2011– at PetSmart is very reasonable and depends on the size of your dog.  Mini Dachshunds start at about $20 each for the basic dog grooming package which includes a shampoo, blow-dry, nail trim, ear cleaning, sanitary trim and expressing the anal glands.   You can add on different types of packages depend on what you want done to your dog.  Most of the add-ons run under $10 so using PetSmart grooming coupons are like getting the extra service for free.

Another nice feature about their grooming services is that you don’t need an appointment for nail trimming.  While Chloe doesn’t mind getting her nails trimmed, Odie and Molly hate it so I leave it to a professional groomer or the Vet to do the job.  Just walk your dog over to the grooming area and they’ll take care of the hard part.  It’s very convenient with early morning and late evening hours.

Besides eBay and your local newspaper, the PetSmart Facebook page sometimes will offer a discount code or printable coupon by befriending or liking them.  You may want also want to check there if you want to save money with PetSmart Grooming Coupons.

How to Train Your Dog to Stop Barking

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Barkoff Ultrasonic Bark Control

Barkoff stop dog barking device is simple to use with on/off and intensity switches.

There are many methods to train your dog to stop barking; and, unfortunately, you have yet found an adequate solution to quite down the annoying barks from your dog.  In a sense, we want our dogs to bark when trying to warn us of impending danger, but the constant racket triggered from any sound can drive us crazy.

While it is natural for dogs to bark, we want to train our dogs to minimize the protective instinct causing it to bark in the first place.  Not only is this possible, with the proper training aid, you can still your dog creating a peaceful and quite atmosphere in your home.  Although this training process works for our three Dachshunds – where one starts barking, sets off the other two – it is very possible that it may not work for your dog(s).

The most effective way that I found is the distraction method where your dog’s attention is removed from the initial sound that started the barking in the first place.  A quick reprimand such as a “shish” sound or rattling an empty bottle with coins inside usually works once the barking starts.  However, I found that the majority of the time, barking starts when neither you nor the bottle is around or handy.

A continuous monitoring system such as an ultrasonic bark control device works the best when you are unavailable from correcting the unwanted behavior.  Just turn the device on and place it in an area where your dog starts barking and the device will emit a high-pitched sound causing the distraction.  The bark-activated device does all the work for you.

Does Bark Off Work?

There are several bark control devices on the market and perhaps the most known on is the Barkoff as seen on TV. You will be amazed at the number of bad reviews that Barkoff received, but with the results from our three dogs, I assure you that it is most likely a training or owner issue.  Most owners will simply turn it on, get their dog to bark and wonder why it doesn’t work.  They think it is a barkoff scam and were cheated out of their 10 bucks.

Of course, part of the blame is really the manufacture of BarkOff.  The cheap device does not give any feedback that it is on or activated other than an on/off switch.  Since the sound generated is inaudible from our hearing, it is impossible to tell if it is working.  Also, it may take several weeks for dogs to become aware of automated training process causing frustration for both owner and animal alike.

Bark Off Adapter

Reverse side of the BarkOff Anti-dog Bark

Barkoff Reverse side showing 9v Battery

Bark off requires a 9 Volt battery to operate.  First off, who has a 9v battery anymore, and if they do, they get an old used one from their desk drawer that may have run out of “juice.”  There is no visible way to determine if Barkoff is on so make sure that you insert a new battery into it.  Better yet, Barkoff comes with a 6v DC input so you can connect the device to a Universal DC Power Adapter.  This way you will know it is on and don’t have a dead battery.

The adapter really makes sense where you want to set up an ultrasonic bark control area.  We placed it near our front door so that our dogs don’t go off on a rampage every time someone rings the doorbell.  Without a power adapter, be prepared with a fresh set of batteries because I guarantee that you will forget to turn Barkoff during the night when it is not needed.

Where to buy Barkoff?

The next time you see the Barkoff advertisement on TV, don’t call and order one.  The shipping and handling will kill you.  Just order one on Amazon or place a bid on eBay.

You can buy one for a fraction of the cost here.

Like I said, Barkoff reviews are really bad on Amazon, but you have to realize that it is a training instrument used to correct your dog’s behavior.  Even though the device is portable, the worst thing you can do is hold it in your hand and trick your dog into barking.  Just place it in an area where your dog naturally barks and let Barkoff do its thing for a week and you will see a noticeable difference.

Cute Dachshund Gifts

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Some of the greatest and cutest gifts you can give is something that is very personal to the person receiving the gift.  In my case, I love those cute Dachshund gifts that my wife finds for me while out on one of her shopping sprees.  Those little nuggets that surprise me so dearly.   Some of those I would like to share with you and of course if my wife reads this post, she will know the next gift she can purchase for me on my Birthday or Father’s Day.  Truly, these are really cool and I promise to revisit this post when I find new things to add to my list.

Dachshund iPoop Refrige Magnet

Dachshund iPoop Fridge Magnet

We’re running out of space on our refrigerator, but I’m making room for this iPoop magnet.  The magnet has a silhouette of a short-haired mini wearing head phones listening to some music on his iBone.   The light-blue background is too cool.  Please Honey, I really want the iPoop.

Buy the iPoop here

Dachshund Cool Luggage Tag

I hate flying especially trying to find my luggage on the carrousel with hundreds of bags that look identical to mine.  So I usually tie a colorful rag onto my luggage to distinguish them from the rest of bags rotating round and round.

Dachshund Luggage Tag

But now there is a better way to give your baggage that stout Dachshund look with the this cool Luggage Tag.  This is a very cute Dachshund sporting a stripped blue sweater that will make a practical gift for any dog owner.   I’m sure that your dog — I mean luggage — won’t get lost with this tag on it.

Buy the Dachshund Luggage Tag here at Amazon.

[[buy:test click| Or one here]]

What’s the Best Bed for My Miniature Dachshund?

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The oval shape and size of this dog bed is perfect for your mini.

Any bed other than your bed is the best bed for your Miniature Dachshund.  All jokes aside, the best bed for your dog is not yours.  Really, let me state that again: not your bed.

So how do you find the perfect bed that will keep your mini sleeping through the night? It’s quite simple and from my experience in purchasing multiple beds for my three Dachshunds, there is only one bed that they really like other than ours.

Buy one cheap at Costco

For the budget minded dog owner, the Kirkland Signature dog bed is about the best buy for your money.  Both Molly and Odie fight, that is, try to dominate, the Signature bed next to my desk, so we have two of them that we bought for around $20 each.

The cover zips off so you can wash it to get that doggy smell out or clean any unfortunate accidents.   Besides the fact that my dogs love to sleep in it, I wouldn’t buy a bed if you can’t remove the covering for cleaning.

Where else can you buy one?

The main problem with these beds is that they are hard to find.  It’s sort of hit-and-miss at Costco since they don’t have them in stock all the time.  Before Costco, we bought our dog beds at Amazon.  The bed is more expensive, but still worth the money.

Molly loves her dog bed from Costco.

It was trial and error, but the size you want to get is the medium since the small size is too small for the long Dachshund body even if you have a miniature.  Both Odie and Molly agree that this size and oval shape is best dog bed for the Miniature Dachshund.