Wednesday, March 26, 2014

The Joy of Spring Snow in the Mountains - Pixel's Wordless Wednesday

Although the first day of Spring arrived a few days ago, we always have at least one or two nice snowfalls after the first robin heralding Spring appears in our yard. This morning was a sweet treat in that the early birds brought a beautiful blanket of snow with them! 4 inches of light, fluffy white snow crystals sparkled on the ground and our house.  I had a wonderful time playing outside on the back deck in in the snow today. It was a beautiful winter wonderland of fun!
Snow on my chin? What do you mean?
Throw me a snowball Mommy, I'll catch it!

In coming...

I'll go get that snowball...I think it went over here.

Isn't all this snow pretty Mommy?

I sure do love the snow...not only is it pretty, but it tastes real good too!

Of course I have to taste the snow Mommy...I'm a snow eating connoisseur of sorts. And I'm pretty sure this snow is super fresh. I can tell it was just made.

Some people get a milk mustache, well I prefer a snow mustache...AND beard, BOL!!

Happy Wordless Wednesday friends! Visit some of the pet blogs below to see what they have been up to on this fine day.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Walking Fred Friday - Pixel's Top 5 Uses of Strawberry Jam

With all I've learned about the Walking Freds (my reference to the zombies in "The Walking Dead" TV show) and their intense propensity to like Strawberry Jam, I have taught Mommy to always buy extra when she goes to the store. Not only will it help you blend in, in case of a Walking Fred Cat-astrophy, it also can keep you alive in case your blood sugar gets low while trying to thwart their attacks.

Here are  five good uses for Strawberry Jam when it comes to being a survivalist and dealing with Walking Freds:
1. As a survivalist who must live off the land if a Walking Fred attack happens, I've mastered the art of eating semi-edible bare roots and berries I find in the wilderness. Use strawberry jam to dip the bare root items in that I must consume to survive. The roots tend to be bitter, so the jam makes them more tolerable for eating.
2. Put gobs of it on your face and body if a Walking Fred is nearby...they might just think you're "one of them" and leave you alone.
3. Strawberry jam is a great bartering item when you come across other survivalists. They're probably tired of eating bare roots too, so you might be able to trade it for something cool that they have.
4. I hear that bears like honey. Honey is sticky and sweet...strawberry jam is sticky and sweet. If you run into an angry bear, offer him your strawberry jam. He'll leave happy!
5. If you have a big enough jar of strawberry jam in the wilderness and a Walking Fred comes at you, and you didn't have time to spread it on your body, chuck the entire jar at him, aiming for his eyes. The impact itself might render him blind and you can then make your escape!
So, go out, buy your own Strawberry Jam....it could save your life!

I'd LOVE to hear how you might use Strawberry Jam to survive either a 'Walking Fred' attack or just to survive in the wilderness alone. Please leave me a comment below with your survivalist tip and I'll see if I can use it in my next Walking Fred series post!

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Does This Dress Make Me Look Fat? New Metabolic Pet Food & a GIVEAWAY by #HillsPet

"Mommy, does this dress make me look fat?" I know, it's not something you expect your pet to ask you. To be honest, I've never thought about my weight before...most pets don't. In fact, we don't worry about our weight at all! Yet there is a growing epidemic of overweight pets in the U.S.:  53% of dogs and 55% of cats are overweight. Many pet parents don't realize their pet is carrying extra pounds. Mommy certainly didn't realize I was about 2 pounds over my ideal weight a few years ago. She was so unhappily surprised that I weighed 14 pounds when I should only weigh 11-12 pounds. It can happen to anyone.
Thanksgiving 2011 - Pixel is about to get a little bite of sweet potato of Mommy's fork
Thanksgiving 2011 - Pixel is about to get a little bite of sweet potato
Several factors can contribute to weight issues. Plus, I must admit, pets love food. You know how pets are. We follow our nose, and are content to eat anything and everything we can get our paws on. (I'm just being honest here.) If we hear any type of food sounds, we come running. Whether it's our supper time or yours, we're close on your heels, asking to take part. Pets love to eat. And we love giving you adorable little looks to get you to give us a treat, a bite, or a nibble of food. We are quite persuasive.

Pets never think about things like eating proper proportions, being overweight, or watching our diet, so pets must rely on pet parents to manage what we eat for us.
It can be tough though, because no one wants to feel like they’re depriving their dog or cat of food – even when it's to help them maintain or lose weight. Controlling portions or withholding treats isn't fun. But extra weight adds up quickly for a pet, causing health issues, just as it can for humans.
Ask yourself and then ask your vet, "Is my pet at their ideal weight? Does my pet need to lose a few pounds to get to an optimum weight for long term health and well being?" It's an important topic to discuss with your vet, just as Mommy did when I had to lose a little weight.
To make pet weight loss easier, my friends at Hills Pet have developed a new weight management food called Hill's® Prescription Diet® Metabolic Advanced Weight Solution dog and cat food, available only through your veterinarian. Their special formula food works by activating metabolism to regulate appetite and burn fat. In real life, normal conditions, 88% of dogs and cats that participated in our feeding trial lost weight without having to greatly change their life style.
Hill's® Prescription Diet® Metabolic Advanced Weight Solution includes a complete portfolio of dry food, canned food and treats designed to work together for easy, flexible weight loss success without deprivation, making it much easier for pet owners to keep pets on the program and comply with their vet’s recommendation. Pets feel full and satisfied and still lose weight! Read some of the Metabolic pet food reviews to see what people are saying. Just type the word "metabolic" in the product search bar.
Remember, with this formula, you change what your pet eats, not how your pet eats.
Watch this charming video about a pet parent who really wants to do right for her pet's health.



IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!!! 
Hill's Pet wants to give you the opportunity to try Metabolic pet food
and see what a difference it can make. 
10 lucky blog followers (open to U.S. residents only) will win a gift starter kit for dogs or cats! Each Hill's® Prescription Diet® Metabolic Advanced Weight Solution trial kit is a $70 value:
Canine Metabolic Starter Kit
• 1 Weight Loss Success Tote Bag
• 1 Weight Loss Success Guide
• 1 6lb bag of Metabolic dry dog food
• 2 (13oz) Metabolic cans
• 1 (16oz) Metabolic treats
• (2) $25 coupons
Feline Metabolic Starter Kit
• 1 Weight Loss Success Tote Bag
• 1 Weight Loss Success Guide
• 1 4lb bag of Metabolic dry cat food
• 2 (5.5oz) Metabolic cans
• 1 (2.5oz) Metabolic treats
• (2) $25 coupons
How do you enter?
Get permission from your vet to try this new weight loss pet food.
Leave a comment telling us about your pet who can benefit from Hill's® Prescription Diet® Metabolic Advanced Weight Solution. Be sure to include all of the required information below:
1. What is your pet: dog or cat
2. Pet’s age
3. Pet’s current weight or close guess
4. Your name
5. Your email address
RULES:
**Open Only to U.S. Residents**
**Only One Winner Per Household**
This post is sponsored by Hill’s. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about Hill's® Prescription Diet® Metabolic Advanced Weight Solution, but Pixel Blue Eyes only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. is not responsible for the content of this article.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Pixel Blue Eyes, Professional Wilderness Survivalist - Wordless Wednesday

I'm taking a moment from my intense training in the back woods wilderness in the Appalachian mountains of Virginia to say hi and let you all know things are going well so far. I'm thinking of giving classes in how to be a successful wilderness survivalist in case of Army-gettin' or some cat-astrophic event like invasion of those walking Freds I've been talking about. As promised in my first blog post in the "Walking Fred" series, where I detailed how I found out about the potential "Walking Freds" attack and shared my plans to hone my skills as a survivalist, I packed only the barest of essentials and started my training.
Okay, gotta run friends, but I'm sending my notes back to Mommy via carrier pigeon...actually it's a CARRION pigeon, which is much bigger than the pigeons I've seen sitting on the fake owl statue at my local gas station, and four times as ornery, but we bartered a deal: he will deliver all my notes to Mommy if I include him in my next book. Hey, I could write a book one day, couldn't I?
Happy (mostly) Wordless Wednesday!!

Thursday, March 6, 2014

The Joy of Being Prepared - Pixel's Prep Plan for Survival Part I

I have a very important topic to talk about friends. It's something we all need to be aware of and prepared for, so please, gather round and listen...because this little girl has a LOT on her mind. This past weekend, I hung out with my wonderful Grampy for a while and we watched a very informative show called "The Walking Fred". While it is supposed to be all pretend, he told me it's really a covert show that teaches people how to survive if there's ever an Army-gettin or cat-astrophic event like a bunch of walking Freds roaming the streets trying to take your food or bite your ankles. Since I am a serious survivalist doggie, I watched very closely, took some notes, and devised my own plan to help my family in case something like that happens.
At first it was a bit daunting to watch, but Grampy promised me it was all pretend and anything red was really just strawberry jam. I got excited about that idea and said, "Well, no wonder those "Fred" people are trying to bite everything. I'd want all that strawberry jam too!"
My eyes stayed glued to that show like a deer caught in a car's headlights at night. I only looked away in snippets, just long enough to jot down some notes. As we watched people trying to find food, hide from walking Freds and struggle to protect their family, their friends and ALL the strawberry jam that was obviously in abundance, it really made me think about some things. For example, I have a continuously growing family. The dragon toys keeps on increasing in numbers (no idea how THAT is happening), I have a serious hankering for new Kong Wubba toys every time I even drive by a pet store, and I've got a whole host of other little animal toys that depend on me to keep them safe, fed and entertained. Plus there's Mommy, Grammy, Grampy, Auntie, Peanut Pumpkin Pie and Dixie Mae Doxie that need caring for. What if "Army-gettin" or a major "cat-astrophy" happened? What if there really were a bunch of walking Freds in my neighborhood and I didn't have any strawberry jam around? I pondered all of these questions, as I thought of my need to care for my family.
Pixel's sweet smiling face covered in seeds and pumpkin Later that day, I went outside with Mommy to play a little, sniff everything, and get my mind off things. We came back inside, I happened to see myself in a mirror. My eyes focused in on my chin. I WAS INSPIRED!! "Mommy, quick, take some photos....this is the answer I've been waiting for!"
She took the photos (the ones in this blog post) as quickly as she could. "What is it Pixel?" Mommy asked with great anticipation. So I told her. "Look at my face scruffles, Mommy." "Your face scruffles are just as adorable as ever!" she said. "No, Mommy....really LOOK at them, look at my face scruffles up close."
"See all the seeds in them? I'm a natural at collecting seeds!" I already "put by" a little pumpkin every time I have a meal, as you've all witnessed by my pumpkin colored scruffles on occasion, but in order to prepare for Army-gettin or those pesky walking Freds, I'd need to do a lot more than that.
So, with all the responsibility I have on my paws as part of this family, and since I have so many toys in need of care, AND because you never know when a bunch of walking Freds could invade, I've decided to start collecting wild seeds and putting other food by as well. Plus, I will be honing my skills as a wilderness survivalist.  (To read about my first attempts at "survival in the wild", read my 'Pixel tries her paw at being a survivalist' blog post.)
Mommy and I made a special "paw shake" pact to start my training right away. Stay tuned, I will be writing up a follow up blog post/manual on this very important subject once I've survived my training! If I am able to write from the great wilderness which will be my new home for a while, I will share any updates I can. Perhaps there will be a nice little carrier pigeon who won't mind carrying my notebooks back to Mommy. Wish me luck friends!!
Welcome to Thursday’s Barks and Bytes blog hop hosted by Heart Like a Dog and 2 Brown Dawgs.  Visit some fellow pet bloggers below to see what others are sharing!