Now that summer is over I thought I’d look back at the products I’ve been reaching for the most this season. They’re not really specific summer items so useful all year round. Dog stuff first!

Cocktail sausages

When you’re training a puppy one of the best things you can do at an early age is reward all of the good behaviours! This therefore means that you go through quite a lot of treats, as sometimes you need higher value than their dry dog food. And when you have two dogs and you are rewarding the puppy a lot the adult dog tends to get quite needy with wanting treats too!

As Zebby is quite distracted by the kittens and birds I’ve been going through a lot of treats while working on this, and I’ve found cocktail sausages have been the best and cheapest. You can get a big pack from the supermarket for a couple of quid and each sausage can provide at least 10 – 20 pieces of treat as I break them up in to tiny pieces.

 

House line

This thin long house line has been much better for using on walks as I can let it trail behind Zebby when I want him to have a bit more freedom but still have something to catch if need be, plus it’s also been good for working with the kittens around the house. It’s tough but light and doesn’t trip the dog up as much as a big bulky lead.

 

Milk liners

These rubber liners sit inside the milk units that go on a cows teet when she is milked and about every 6 months they are replaced. Give them a wash and they make the best dog toys! They are super tough yet quite soft so good for chewing, tugging and fetching. An added benefit to living on a farm is that I now have access to as many as I want! It’s actually quite crazy how expensive some people are selling them for as they’re just a waste product that gets thrown out every 6 months.

 

Ancol heritage nylon adjustable collar size 1-2

Zebby has now outgrown his puppy collar so I bought a simple, plain black ancol collar for the next stage of his growth. It’s a clip collar that’s nice and strong and is easily adjustable as they grow. It’s not going to be his forever collar so I didn’t want to spend lots of money, and I’m not bothered about anything fancy so it fits the bill. The only slight cock up I’ve had though is that I’ve ordered a flat ID tag to go on it as I hate dangly tags, but I think quite quickly he’s going to need the bigger width of collar and therefore the tag won’t fit anymore, which is a bit of a waste of money.

 

Fenzi Dog Sport Academy podcast

I quickly finished the DogCast podcasts and they aren’t updated very regularly so I then started listening to the Fenzi Dog Sport Academy. Each week an interview with a different trainer is posted. They generally run through the same theme of questions which each person, but depending on that persons topic of expertise the interviews take different themes. I really like how a lot of the conversation is about how the trainer changed from using more traditional, force based training to positive reinforcement. I think it’s enlightening for all to hear how people can and have changed and why. They’re also not specifically sport based, some of the discussions are about obedience or agility but most of the concepts can be applied to all aspects of dog training. I’ve taken something useful away from every podcast plus agreed with all that’s been said.

 

Door mat

Quite a boring simple one but I’ve found this mat is really good for when the dogs come in with muddy paws. It obviously doesn’t magically clean or dry them but gives them somewhere to walk on to & stand while I towel dry them without the floors getting filthy. I’m not sure exactly what make it is but I think they are called dirt trapper or similar.

Ion8 Slim Leak Proof BPA Free Water Bottle

 I like to have a drink on the passsenger seat next to me when I’m driving but I kept finding that normal bottles would leak when lying down. I ordered this leak-proof one online and it’s been great. You can lock the lid close so it doesn’t pop open and it seels well and hasn’t leaked so far. I ordered the 500ml and it will fit in a cup holder perfectly.

 

Decaf

I’ve recently changed to decaf after having frequent stomach pains and I’ve found Tetley tea and Nescafe Cappuccino to be brilliant alternatives. Neither taste any different to me and I use flavoured syrup in the cappuccino to replace my much loved caramel/vanilla/hazelnut lattes. I’ve heard a few people say they felt more awake and energised once they removed caffine as you no longer have the dips after the highs, but annoyingly I don’t really feel any different. I get quite tired around mid-afternoon which is when I’d normally use caffine to pick me up but unfortunately that no longer happens. Perhaps my overall diet needs to become healthier for me to see any big benefits, however I’ll definitely be sticking with the decaff.