Keep Your Dog Cool And Happy This Summer (Infographic)

Every summer, our furry friend battle the unyielding summer heat. Even though they have a higher internal body temperature than humans (101 degrees compared to 98.6 degrees), with their smaller bodies they heat up much faster than we do. I've included an infographic from the fold at The Uncommon Dog who sent this over.

Let's Discuss!

Please share below how you keep your dogs cool this summer.

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How To Keep Your Dog Cool When The Temperature Rises
Surfing for Friday Fun

Natural Balance Jerky Bark Review

When I first heard about Jerky Bark I first thought I was getting a type of jerky that's flavored in sweet potato and fish from Chewy.com that's similar to beef jerky. In actuality, when looking at them up close up and I realized that it was anything but a beef jerky replica.

It's much thicker than a regular jerky treat, roughly 1/4 inch. It comes in four flavor varieties which include: fish & sweet potato, chicken & sweet potato, duck & potato and lamb & brown rice. It's also a harder texture than regular jerky. It resembles the bark of a tree. It's easy to break into smaller pieces and having five dogs around, that's not an easy task.

So How Does It Taste?

The dog I was most worried most about was Gigi. With her sensitive stomach, she will turn her head to certain treats. That's why I was happy to see that this was a limited ingredient treat (L.I.T.). With only 10 ingredients, I knew exactly what was in the treat. Sure enough, Gigi loved eating the dog treat.

I was also worried about our Chinese Crested, Harry. Harry is a dog that has very few teeth. It's a common thing in the Chinese Crested breed that those dogs tend to lose their teeth easily. Happily, Harry ate the treat with no difficulty.

As for the other three, they will eat just about anything. Cookie, Homer and Fancy loved it as well. Anytime I pulled them out, all of them sat with excitement in anticipation.

Final Recommendation

I recommend this treat as an alternative to a regular jerky treat. This treat is ideal for helping to keep tartar down and dogs simply love it. Again, I'd like to send a huge thank you to the folks at Chewy.com, for making this review possible.

Let's Discuss!

Have your dogs tried these treats? What limited ingredient treats do you like making for your dogs?

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Orijen Freeze-Dried Treats Review Mr. Chewy Website Review

Too Kool Doggies Traveler Dog Bed Winner

Hi All, I would like to thank all of you for entering the Christmas In July Win A Dog Whisperer Traveler Dog Bed Contest. I loved reading your comments and with all of the responses, I didn't get the opportunity to respond the way I would have liked to respond. I also loved reading your tweets, pins and seeing the newest members on Facebook. There were 135 total entries. What I did was take the numbers and put the range on Random.org. I created a Google Docs Spreadsheet with this link. The range was 2 to 135. As a result, the selected number was number 23 (see below).

Congratulations Lisa M. She will be contacted by email and if successfully contacted, will have a dog bed shipped to her. After a week, if I do not here back from her, another winner will be chosen in her place. For the rest of you, we will be doing future contests here at Too Kool Doggies. I again thank you all.

Win a Free Dog Whisperer Traveling Dog Bed

Welcome to the Christmas in July Giveaway Hop hosted by Just Married with Coupons, Sweep Tight and Matter of Cents! Enter to win hundreds of dollars in prizes by hopping from blog to blog! The grand prize sponsor is Maggie Bags. They take recycled material & give it new life by creating eco-friendly & sophisticated handbags! Other sponsors include SodaTabs and JustSweep!
It's that time of year where Too Kool Doggies are celebrating Christmas in July. I've partnered with a bunch of fabulous bloggers for this event. You can participate in other giveaways by clicking on the picture link below.

To celebrate, I'll be giving one lucky winner a Dog Whisperer Traveling Dog Bed. Made for dogs up to ninety pounds, this is a prize that is ideal for most dogs. Made with a microfiber material, this brown dog bed can go anywhere and is very versatile. Selling at a retail price of $59.99, this is an ideal gift for the busy dog owner.

I am very appreciative for all of your support during this year. So here are the rules for the contest.

Rules for the Dog Whisperer Traveling Dog Getaway

Here are ways you can win (You can do one or all if you like): 1. Enter a comment below. Only one comment per person. Any duplicate comments won't count and the person will be disqualified.
2. Tweet this contest on Twitter. Here's a tweet for you: "I just entered the giveaway for a Dog Whisperer Traveling Dog bed from #TooKoolDoggies. #ChristmasInJuly" and link the tweet in your comment. Again only one tweet per person.
3. Like Too Kool Doggies on Facebook and share that in the comments.
4. Post this contest on Pinterest and share the link in the comments.

Other Rules

1. This contest is only open to people who live in the US and Canada.
2. Contest Ends July 17th at 12pm EST.

Enter to win the grand prize giveaway

Hop to all the participating blogs to check out their giveaways!

1.	Just Married with Coupons {Grand Prize}	38.	Pretty Opinionated- Sling Bag and Bendastix
2.	Sweep Tight {Grand Prize}	39.	Marvelous Mommy - Sanus Vuepoint F180 TV Wall Mount - US
3.	Matter of Cents {Grand Prize}	40.	Sincerely, Mindy - $50 Avon Jewelry Package - US
4.	Still Blonde - $180 Ju-Ju-Be Messenger Bag- US	41.	Hollybee Tells - Family Accessories pack - US
5.	Simply Stacie- Kindle- US & Canada	42.	Mom-Spot - Kids Music Library
6.	Adventures of 8 - A Donna Sharp Tote	43.	Dayton Mom Spot - Kids Music CD Library
7.	BlogWithMom - Rodan+Fields Prize Pack- US	44.	Gator Mommy Reviews- DSLR Online Course - US
8.	Oh My Gosh Beck! - $50 Amazon GC - WW	45.	Write By the Sea - Amazon Gift Card
9.	Just like June - Magellan SmartGPS - US	46.	K Squared Glamour - $200 Fashion/Beauty Prizes - US
10.	Pixel Berry Pie Designs - $50 GC to ElisabethNicole/Etsy - Worldwide	47.	Deal Sharing Aunt - Christmas Kitchen Set - US
11.	Fashion In The Forest - $100 Amazon Gift Card - Worldwide	48.	3 Partners in Shopping - Christmas House & Cards - US
12.	Oh! My Heartsie Reviews - Coming Soon	49.	The Review Wire - Docuscan a Document Scanner US
13.	Susan Heim on Parenting - Family Movie Prize Pack - US	50.	Mary's Cup of Tea - $406 in Prizes - US
14.	My Devotional Thoughts - $50 Vitacost/$30+ Easy Canvas--U.S.	51.	Moms & Munchkins - Arbonne Skin Care Valued at $66 - US & Canada
15.	To the Motherhood - Albion Fit Swim Suit; US & Canada	52.	Savings in Seconds - $100 CVS GC - US
16.	NaturalHairLatina - Pantene Ageless Beauty Collection - US	53.	Roasted Beanz - $50 in Gift Cards - US
17.	Newly Crunchy Mama Of 3 - $100 Amazon GC - US/CAN	54.	Lauren Paints | a beautiful life - $100 Paypal CASH - US only
18.	Planet Weidknecht - Sonicare for Kids - US	55.	So Easy Being Green - Sunglasses Set - US
19.	The WiC Project - $50 Kohl's GC - US	56.	Free & frugal mommy of one-$65 ANI Shoes
20.	The Kids Did It - $60 - WW	57.	Mom to Bed by 8 - $50 Victoria's Secret GC - US
21.	Belly Charms $25 Gift Code, It Works! Body Wrap- US & CA	58.	Look What I Got For Free - $50 Walmart GC - US
22.	Sarah's Blog Of Fun - $55 in Gift Cards - US	59.	Mami's 3 Little Monkeys 2 Winners Total of $241! US only
23.	Live, Love, Laugh with Leslie - Hank Player Prize - US	60.	Too Kool Doggies - Dog Whisperer Traveler Dog Bed - US
24.	Minding Spot - $25 Amazon GC - WW	61.	Still Blonde after all these YEARS-$100 gift certificate Rhonda Shear Shapewear- US
25.	Mama on a Green Mission - $139 Vera Bradley Prize Pack - US	62.	How Was Your Day? - $150 in Garden Seeds - US/CAN
26.	Game On Mom - Ugly Christmas Sweater - US	63.	Style on Main - Retropical Makeup & Perfume - US/CAN
27.	Makobi Scribe - $50 Madox Jewelry + Accessories GC - US/CAN	64.	princess among superheroes - kimchi baby boutique-$20-us/spark of amber-$35-us
28.	Cheap Is The *New* Classy - $50 California Delicious GC - US	65.	Kelly's Thoughts On Things - $50 RV - US
29.	Measuring Flower - $124 Cutlery Set - US/CAN	66.	Sue's Reviews - Christmas Basket Giveaway - US
30.	Sweeping The USA - $50 Amazon GC - WW	67.	My Journey to Living Well ~ doTERRA Kit and EnjoyingTea Smart Tea Maker ARV $50 ~ US
31.	Miki's Hope - $50 Bath & Body Works GC (US Only)	68.	Diary of a Working Mom - Enchantment Ring ($95) - US & Can Only
32.	Organic Mommy Today - Amazon GC - US	69.	Howard House Reviews - Mighty Leaf Tea - US
33.	Dads Life Reviewed - Best Buy Gift Card - US	70.	Crafty Life - $50 Tupperware GC + $25 Amazon GC - US
34.	Seventeen Sirens - GoGo Babyz Wagon Stroller - US	71.	Mama's Got Flair - $50 Amazon Gift Card - US
35.	Mama Papa Barn - $60 Magnetic Block set - US	72.	Passport to Frugal - Skora Running Shoes $185
36.	Simple Savings For ATL Moms - $50 Aeropostale GC - WW	73.	Glamorous Mama- $120 Conair Giveaway- WW
37.	Practical Frugality - Kohls Gift Card - US	74.	Christmas Gifts - $50 GAP Gift Card - US

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What You Need to Learn About Bladder Stones

Photo: Bob Mills

Types of Bladder Stones

Ever since Gigi was diagnosed with bladder stones, I've been wanting to learn more about these. There are two major types of stones -- struvite and calcium oxalate.The stones in the photo pictured above are the type of stones that Gigi has been fighting. They are called Struvite stones which is an alkaline-based stone. These are the type of stones that can dissolve in type. Struvite is composed of magnesium, phospate and ammonium (which is the main ingredient in ammonia). The bacteria in a dog's bladder will combine with this minerals to form the stones.

As all dogs are different, certain dogs are prone to getting struvite stones.Some of these breeds include: Shih Tzus(Gigi is a Shih Tzu/Poodle mix), Miniature Schnauzer, Yorkshire Terrier, Labrador Retriever, and Dachshund. Females are twice as likely to get this stones than males. The main way we've been treating Gigi's affliction is through giving antibiotics daily and giving her specially prescribed food by Royal Canin (their SO variety). Another good treatment for this which is also prescription is the SD variety by Hill's Prescription Diet.

Calcium Oxalate Stones

Another main type of bladder stone is the calcium oxalate variety. These are brown-colored in contrast to the white struvite variety. They are primarily found in most male dogs and are rarely spotted in females. Breeds who typically get these stones include: Shih Tzus, Miniature Schnauzers, Bichon Frise, Lhasa Apso, and Yorkshire Terrier.

Unlike Struvite stones, these stones have to be surgically removed. It's possible that a dog can pass these through their system, but only if the stone is small enough. It has been said that the commercial foods can speed the formation of Calcium Oxalate stones. With the increase in commercial food over the years, the incidence of bladder stones has increased. Combined with a lack of water, bladder stones can grow at a fast rate.

Life After Bladder Stones.

The funny thing about dogs who get bladder stones, the chance of them recurring is very high. For this reason, it's important to keep your dog on a strict diet, watch the treats, and make sure they don't ingest too much protein.

Let's Discuss!

Has your dog had an incidence with bladder stones? If you are a veterinarian, I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.

It's All Related!

Gigi's Battle With Bladder Stones