Kong Connect: US Only?

Kong Connect

I've been looking at numerous pet websites, trying to find coupons and promotional lists that send coupons. I have been a big fan of KONG since I started to raise Thornwald. I love all the products that I have tried so I joined KONG Connect hoping for good quality emails and some coupons. What is it? Well according to their website:


KONG Connect really means two things--the connection we all have with our pets and the joy that comes from connecting with the whole pet-loving world. KONG Connect is about both of these ideas--and we'd love for you to be a part of it. 

So sign up for our KONG Connect email and get insider access to the world of KONG--personalized just for you and your pet--to keep them happy, healthy, and having more fun than ever.

As a member of KONG Connect, you'll receive

• Coupons and offers exclusively for members
• Sneak peeks of our new products
• Contests and promotions
• Your KONG newsletter
• Fun and helpful ideas to help strengthen the bond with your pet

I'm not quite sure what I signed up for, but if they send me KONG recipes and coupons, it's worth it for me. Has anyone else signed up for KONG Connect?

*Update! They sent me a $2.00 off coupon for their treats with the purchase of a KONG Classic Toy and a $0.50 coupon off of any KONG Cat toys. I didn't even know they made cat toys!

Esther

Nylabone Products: Product Coupons

Nylabone Savings

I have to admit that I have bought quite a few of the Nylabone products in the last year. One of the best parts about buying the products is that they often include coupons inside the package!

They have a club Nylabone (which I just enrolled in today-7/24/15) and they had a special coupon to print out. The coupon was to save $5.00 with the purchase of two Nutri Dent Dental Chews for Dog Products (8.99 or higher).

I have not yet tried the Nutri Dent Dental Line, but I might the next time I see a good deal on them. It expires on 8/23/15, but that's still enough time to possibly use the coupon. You can see the coupons they have available here.

Pet Newspaper Coupons: July 26

Pet Coupons in the Sunday,  July 26 Newspaper

Here is a list of the pet coupons that will be in the Sunday paper this week. 

Coupons do vary by location, but there are a  lot of coupons this coming week!

Kibbles ‘n Bits $2/2 dry dog food 3lbs+ (9/20)

Purina $1/1 8oz+ alpo dental chews, tbonz, variety snaps or wholesome biscuits dog snacks (10/26)
Purina ALPO B10G2 free dog food 13.2oz cans up to $1.78 (10/26)
Purina Chow $1.50/1 4lb+ dog chow or puppy chow bag (10/26)
Purina Chow $4/1 16.5lb+ dog chow little bites dog food (10/26)
Purina Friskies $1/1 dry cat food bag (9/30)
Purina Friskies $1/24 cans, 2 12ct variety packs or 1 24ct variety pack wet cat food (9/30)
Purina Friskies $2/1 pull ‘n play pack (9/26)
Purina Friskies Buy 1 12ct variety pack or 12 cans wet cat food, get 1 16oz pull ‘n play pack free up to $6.99 (9/26)
Purina Mighty Dog B10G2 free dog food single cans up to $1.50 (10/26)
Purina Tidy Cats $3/1 lightweight clumping litter (10/27)

Target Only Coupons

Iams $1.50/8 wet dog food single cans/tubs excludes multipacks (8/22) 
Iams $3/1 4.6lb+ dry cat food (8/22) 
Iams $5/1 12.5lb+ dry dog food (8/22) 

Purina Fancy Feast $3.50/25 3oz wet cat food cans excludes multipacks (8/28) 
Purina $2/1 wet dog food multipack (8/28) 
Purina Free $10 Target giftcard with 2 10lb+ dry dog or cat foods excludes kit & kaboodle (8/28) 

Short Guide to Couponing:

Store-specific coupons can be combined with manufacturer coupons.

Most stores that double coupons, will only double to a dollar. 

You can look for coupons in packages when you buy products (very valuable coupons!) and on their official sites.

Some pet stores will accept coupons and have their own coupon benefits. 

Target Specific Guide:

You can use coupons from their Cartwheel App, Target-specific coupons, manufacturer coupons, and your 5% savings from using your Target Card all on one item. It is not common, but it is important to look for savings in multiple areas. 

Don't forget to check Coupons.com for printable coupons. 

Cash's Diet So Far... And How Shelter Life Failed Him

When we first picked Cash up at the Lancaster SPCA, I knew he was underweight, but I did not realize how underweight. The next day, when we took him to see the vet, they weighed him at 50 lbs. If you do not know the average weights of labrador retrievers, the average female labs is between 55 lbs and 70 lbs and for, males between 60 lbs -80 lbs. You could see the entirety of his rib cage sticking out. When they adopted him to me, I was told to fill out some paperwork, that he should get some good food, and that the weird yellows scabs on his back would just come off with a good bath.

My experience with the Lancaster SPCA? Not very good. When he came home with me, I realized that he was not really eating. We tried everything until we decided to purée some chicken and heat it in the microwave. He loved it. I started to add different food with the chicken. I bought a dog food only food processor to grind up his dog food to add to the mixture and then finally Pedialyte. He would eat this meal up. After almost a week, I had finally moved him up to eating solid dog food. There were a few times he did throw up, but most of the time it was not food, just digestive enzymes.

Food Cash Would Eat The First Week*

Puréed Chicken (to a liquid) and warmed up

Ground Purina Pro Plan Focus Sensitive Skin and Stomach Formula

Pidalyte (Rite Aid Brand Equivalent) 

*It is important to note that I am not veterinarian, but I did consult with professionals and I did adapt what I was told to what Cash would eat. In addition, just like a human with an eating disorder, dogs that are/had been starving should be introduced to meals slowly. They should have small meals throughout the day so that their bodies are not trying to digest too much at once. 

Days went by and Cash would be more and more eager to eat so I decided to slowly introduce solid food into his diet and it worked. He does take longer to eat it, but it worked. He is now back on a solid diet and even though it takes him a while, he seems to be enjoying it. When he went back to the vet due to his digestion system being a little off (mostly his #2 schedule), they put him on I/D dog food for a healthy digestion system. I'm not sure if it is working since he's only been on it for a little while, but only time will tell

Now how much did he weigh at this visit? 58.7 lbs. That is a huge difference in a little more than a week. I was so excited that all the work that it was making a difference. His entire attitude had changed and you could see it in his face. When I saw him, I knew I needed him and I didn't know why, but now I know, he needed me just as I need him. 

And now for the official weigh in/weight gain photo:

Day 1 of Retraining

As some of you might know, Cash was trained in a way that causes fear in him with certain commands and he rarely looks up at you. Now that he is eating solid food, I started retraining him to reassociate the negative associations with positive ones. I started with sit and just attention. With sit, I tried using the verbal and hand signal together and then moving the food away from him as a type of 'reset,' but he must have been trained not to follow the food. I had to call him to come to me in order to get him to stand up if the command stand wouldn't work. (His ability to listen to commands comes and goes). I realized that in order to go any further with his retraining, we needed to focus on attention and associating him being an equal with me. I started with every time he looked up at me, I'd click and treat. Much like the focus problems of a puppy, he was not looking at me--in his case, he didn't feel comfortable looking up at people--almost in shame. It was similar to the two times he threw up and looked at me like I was about to hit him. I gave him a good head scratch and snuggle that time. I will most likely try to start with that next time and continue to reassociate the skills he knows with good thoughts. 

Training Thornwald taught me so much about taking care of dogs and what  capable of as a person. Cash needs me and he's capable of great things. I'm thinking that he'd be a great therapy dog for retirement homes once he reassociate said training. He smart, sweet, and lovable. 

Let's Go Out to the Dog Park!

I love the local dog park and Cash needed to go on a walk. I don't walk him every day, but he had been eating consistently and we had a lot of time to get there and back. 

We went to Beau's dream park and at first he was a little shy, but after a while he was running around and playing with all the other dogs. It was cute to see him interacting with everyone. I could not believe how easily he adapted to the park. 

It was so funny because he kept trying to catch tennis balls. At one point he captured one and layed down to guard it. 

He didn't like the sprinkler area when it was on, but people weren't turning it on anyways. The other dogs got him to drink a good amount of water, which pleased me since he was exercising. He was trying to mark quite a few things, but I'm not a fan of that particular behavior. Other than that, I got a lot of great advice and saw a lot of people I had not seen in a while. It was definitely wonderful. 

We will definitely go again this week sometime. Hopefully, he will have some more meat on his bones then. 

Being Adopted: The a Good, The Bad, and The Scary

As many people know, the Lancaster SPCA does not have a good reputation and after adopting a dog from them, I can understand why the rumors started. Cash (his name from the microchip), refuses to eat most the time and doesn't look up at you. But, he is the sweetest, kindest dog you could meet. He knows a lot of commands and when he's not too tired, he follows me around the house. 

The first night, I was able to get him to eat a cup and a half of dry food, but he threw up some of it. Yesterday, he had some chicken broth/chicken puréed to almost a liquid, threw up a little of it, but digested most of it. 

He is slowly getting more trustworthy. I might take him to play fetch somewhere safe. He probably would like that. He only looks me in the eye when I am at eye level so I wonder if he was abused. His skin/hair is in bad condition. Dry, yellow, flaky, skin, but it's getting better with some tlc that the lcspca didn't give him. I just don't understand why they didn't mention he wasn't eating nor given information on feeding him properly. It seems a tad bit dishonest. (They had him for two weeks)

Either way, I will make sure he stays healthy. I won't let the little guy down. :) The vet said 50 lbs and the pet store said 60lbs. Either way, he needs to be around 70-75. Maybe even 80 depending on how much muscle he is building.