Rottweilers Ate My Laptop

Rottweilers. Computers. Cameras. World Domination. Not necessarily in that order.

Rottweilers.
Computers. Cameras.
World Domination.
Not necessarily in that order.

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OK. I’m in.

November 1, 2012 by kathi

I’m making a last minute decision to try NaBloPoMo again this year.

November is usually a very, very bad month for me to commit to anything requiring daily action, such as consistently posting something halfway interesting or intelligent to the blog. In the past, I have stupidly ignored this fact and attempted NaBloPoMo anyway.

You would think that as someone who once wanted to be a writer that I would have taken a stab at NaNoWriMo by now. I no longer believe that everyone has a book in them. In fact, I don’t even think that some people who have written books actually had books in them. More to the point, I no longer believe that I have a book in me.

What I really should be doing is Copyblogger’s EBookWriMo. Perhaps I could combine it with NaBloPoMo in some way?

Anyway. Looks like I’m in. It’s still November 1 here and so goes Day 1. Talk later.

(NaBloPoMo | November ’12: 1 of 30)

Filed Under: Blogging and Social Media Tagged With: NaBloPoMo, really?

Review: MrChewy.com online pet food retailer

March 3, 2012 by kathi

Finding good brick-and-mortar pet supply stores of both the small independent and big-box discount variety is easy to do in my sector. I live in Chicago, about five minutes from two large chain stores and about fifteen minutes from an all natural pet food store. Could I still benefit by using an online pet food retailer?

MrChewy.com gave me the opportunity to find out: the answer is a definite “YES!”

I got a chance to try it out last month over the Presidents Day holiday with a simulated “emergency” food order. Freya was about to hit bottom on a bag of California Natural Lamb Meal & Rice Large Bites. If you are a repeat visitor, you might recall that Freya has a mild case of IBS and it is one of a very few foods that agrees with her. Happily, it is also one of the more than 70 brands of food currently carried by Mr. Chewy — an excellent variety, with an emphasis on premium and natural foods. Mr. Chewy’s selection of California Natural varieties is actually better than what is available locally. I have had a hard time finding the low calorie and grain free varieties at times.

Mr. Chewy also carries Axel’s favorite food choices: Wellness CORE and Orijen 6 Fish. I had been wanting to try Acana Pacifica as a substitute for the Orijen 6 Fish since it is slightly less expensive, but it wasn’t widely available locally. Since it was in stock at Mr. Chewy, I placed our order for a large bag of California Natural and a small bag of Pacifica. The shopping experience on this well-organized, easy to navigate website was pleasant with no surprises. Out of stock items were clearly marked as such and the toll-free number and live chat link were displayed on every page if I did have a question.

One of the most attractive benefits of Mr. Chewy is their free 1-2 day shipping for orders over $49. This is a huge deal for heavy items like the large bags of dog food. I had previously used another online pet food retailer to send food to Axel when he was on the road with Julia chasing his AKC Championship. While service and selection were satisfactory, the expensive shipping charges were not pretty. So it is wonderful to see Mr. Chewy offering both the free shipping option for orders over $49 and a $4.95 flat rate for smaller orders.

So. Would the food arrive as promised before Freya hit the bottom of the bag? Yes, it did! The order was placed on Monday afternoon and arrived on Wednesday afternoon as promised. It was raining that day, and no one was home when the package arrived. Not to worry, as it was packaged nicely and our FedEx driver doesn’t throw our boxes over our fence.

Oliver Kittyweiler looks a bit offended that no cat food or cat treats were included in our order. Maybe next time!

I did a quick check of local pricing of our most-purchased items. Base prices average about a dollar more at Mr. Chewy than at my usual local stores. However, sales taxes in Cook County and Chicago are among the highest in the country, as are gasoline prices, so the total cost from Mr. Chewy ends up the same or less than a local purchase.

In addition to dog food, Mr. Chewy carries a good selection of cat food, dog and cat treats, dog potty pads, cat litter, and flea and tick treatments. There is a further discount to their already-competitive pricing if you set up subscription ordering.

If that isn’t enough to get you interested, Mr. Chewy also has a referral program that benefits not only shoppers, but animal-related charities as well. If you try Mr. Chewy, enter my referral code KWIL7576 when you check out. Mr. Chewy will give you 10% off your first order, and donate $10 to their partner pet charities. The vom Viersen Rottweilers give Mr. Chewy a big paws up!

For more information or to place your first order, go to MrChewy.com or visit their Facebook page.

MrChewy.com offered us a store credit to use in reviewing their service. I did not receive any other compensation for this review and am not connected to MrChewy.com other than as a satisfied customer. I thank them for the store credit and the opportunity to write this review.

Filed Under: Non-Rottweiler Pets and Animals, Rottweilers Tagged With: Acana, Axel, California Natural, Freya, Mr. Chewy, MrChewy.com, Orijen, review, Wellness

So long, 2011. Hey there, 2012.

December 31, 2011 by kathi

In time or so I’m told
I’m just another soul for sale, oh well
The page is out of print, we are not permanent
We’re temporary, temporary
Same old story*

I’m still not sure what to do within this space. I don’t have all that much to share these days, good or bad. The Rottweilers are fine and they even have a brand new laptop to eat. The rest of the family is fine as well.

Some stories that I might otherwise want to discuss are not really mine to tell, and I’ll leave it up to the main characters to decide when and where to tell those stories. I’m also trying to figure out what and how much I can share about some online classes I’ve been taking without violating anyone’s intellectual property rights.

I’d like to indulge in a little gratuitous self-promotion. As soon as I can figure out a tasteful way to do so, I’ll be back to do it.

Despite the Rottweilers in the title, I’m not sure we belong in the pet blogging genre or community any longer. We’re training “lightly” these days and neither dog is competing regularly in any venue at the moment, so I don’t have as much pet-related content as I did in the past.

So much that I don’t know.

What I do know is that I’d like to wish a wonderful 2012 to all of you who have stopped by to visit. If you had a great 2011, may 2012 be even better. If, like me, you had a 2011 that you’re saying “good riddance” to, may 2012 be its polar opposite!

*from The Pretender, Foo Fighters 2007

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Hurts so good

November 9, 2011 by kathi

I try to read as many dog training blogs as I can. I always learn something (even when it’s like the old joke about how the only thing two dog trainers can agree upon is that the third dog trainer is doing it all wrong). Sometimes a post really hits home. This one did that, and also made me laugh out loud: Dog Trainer or Victim? from Denise Fenzi’s blog.

She talks about a doctor’s visit where she’s asked a number of leading questions about bruises and scratches on her thighs, and the reaction to her response that they were caused by… dog training, of course!

At almost any given time, I also have bruises, scratches, and tooth marks caused by the only domestic violence that takes place here… Rottweilers at work or play. The sweetest, mildest one we ever owned, Heidi, once almost gave Dan a concussion when she knocked him over out of sheer joy at his coming home from, well, only a few hours out. Good thing it wasn’t a week-long trip or she might have put him in a coma. Axe has no idea how big he is, and neither did Oscar before him.

It’s been a long time though since I’ve heard the pointed question “Is everything all right at home?” when I’m sporting bruises from dog training!

(NaBloPoMo | November ’11: 9 of 30)

Filed Under: Rottweilers Tagged With: Denise Fenzi, NaBloPoMo

So during NaBloPoMo…

November 8, 2011 by kathi

…do you ever have a day or two when it’s almost midnight and way past time to sleep, and you really have nothing at all to say, but you have to write something just to keep the post-a-day thing going?

Well, this is one of those days. Check back for actual content tomorrow!

(NaBloPoMo | November ’11: 8 of 30)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: NaBloPoMo

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