Honorary 5th Grader

Friday, June 21 was "Bring Your Dog to Work Day"!  Friday, June 21 was also MY last day of work for the summer (I teach) and with all of the last day activities a school has, I asked my principal if Murray could come to work a day or two before June 21.  I teach 5th grade and my class had heard tons and tons about my Murray this year.  They heard stories, saw pictures and probably felt like he was some kind of celebrity!  My kids couldn't wait to meet him!  So, on Wednesday, June 19, Murray became a 5th grader for a day.  Other than walking in the noisy hallways during dismissal (it's a bit chaotic), he LOVED his experience.  He loved the kids, the attention, and the open space when the kids went home.  The kids had a half day, but Murray worked all day with me.  He got to roam and explore a bit once the kiddos were gone.  He was very well behaved, other than a couple barks at our custodian BOL!  All in all, a great day!  He was POOPED at bedtime.  In the end our school kind of had a dog WEEK!  Our 2nd grade teacher brought in her two new havanese puppies on Monday, our math teacher brought in her bulldog pup on Tuesday, Murray went in on Wednesday and our kindergarten teacher brought in her schnauzer on Thursday.  I hope this becomes an annual tradition!  It was lots of fun! 

Where did all the kids go?

Summer School

While my teaching (human kids) days are coming to an end for summer, I am just beginning something I have been wanting to do for a long long time!  I have just signed up to take Karen Pryor's online "dog trainer foundations" course.  I am super excited! It is all positive reinforcement based using clickers.  It also includes teachings on how to better understand and interpret dog emotional signals and behaviors.  The whole course will take 12 weeks or less.  My summer vacation is the perfect time!  Murray should be an ideal partner for me to work through this course with.  I am looking forward to our summer learning and bonding together!  I hope to share my adventures along the way here.  Stay tuned...

Murray and Dad doing "down stay"

He graduated "basic obedience" last year...will WE graduate this time together?  Hmm

Happy Birthday Murray!

Happy 6th Birthday to my boy Murray!  You are the most loving, sweetest, silliest and most adorable dog I've ever known.  I am convinced you are made of perfect pure joy.  You love us and we sure do love you!

Love,

 Mom and Dad

New Food!

Every time The Whole Dog Journal comes out with their annual food reviews, I am sitting down with my copy and going through with with a careful eye.  At our house we  had been feeding Taste of the Wild for the past year or more, but got worried and discouraged when a recall came out last year.  We got even more worried and discouraged when supposedly all their tainted food was removed from store shelves, yet I found myself home with a bag weeks after the recall had been out.  It was never fed to my boys, and it was returned quickly.  So, this year when I was looking through the high end foods being recommended, one in particular caught my eye.  I really liked the sounds of Nutri Source Purevita.  I had a few specific things I knew I wanted in my new dog food, and this one had them all and more!  First, I wanted a grain free food.  Purevita carries three flavors of grain free.  That brings me to my next qualification...flavors.  Murray tires of a flavor and starts boycotting foods after too long (or I should probably say NOT too long).  I have to swicth up flavors regularly to keep him happy and eating, so it was key to have two or three choices.  Purevita comes in grain free salmon, turkey and bison.  Next, I was careful to look over the guaranteed analysis to check things like protein and fat levels.  I didn't want a food too high in protein.  My vet recommended around 22%.  I was shocked to see how many foods have really high protein!  I was no happy to find out I had been feeding foods much too high in protein in the past!  Purevita is a touch higher than 22% but I am comfortable mid twenties.  Finally, I wanted a food produced here in the USA.  I wanted to know where the food I was feeding was coming from to keep my worries at bay.  Nutri Source products are made in Perham, Minnesota by a company called Tuffy's Pet Foods

The boys have been enjoying Nutri Source Purevita for a couple months now and seem to be doing very well on it and we didn't have any noticeable digestive issues in our food switch-over.  I am very happy so far.  I am in no way affiliated with Nutri Source, I just simply wanted to share my experience with a good product I have found.  I know if you're anything like me, having some good, high quality, safe foods in the back of your mind is great information to have.  I would definitely recommend Nutri Source Purevita.