Happy PUGGY Halloween!

May the PUG Force be with you

Mrs. Noodles Chewbacca and Miss Tiffy Princess Leia

Goody, Goody, Goody, GOODIES

Tiffy Tippy Toes, Guest Blogger

Like I said in previous posts, Noodles has a BOUNTY of treats around her house. She has been MORE THAN generous by sharing said treats with ME, TIFFY. (She told me to write that in exchange for blog privileges.) The household treat choices often are - CARROTS, SWEET POTATO, PUMPKIN, ASSORTED ORGANIC DOG COOKIES, AND THEIR CHEWY.COM PICK OF THE MONTH!

Her human takes care to only give me the ones she knows my system can handle - like no chicken, no wheat, etc. She is pretty good about that.

This month Noodles and Molly are trying these interesting treats from Chewy.com called SOLID GOLD JERKY TREATS. Noodles wanted to try them because they are JERKY. Molly thought they were made of gold and that intrigued her. Their huMOM said she wanted to try them (ahem, have the DOG and PUGS try them) because the brand, SOLD GOLD, is generally thought to be a very good one.

Here are the FOOD STUFFS these treats are made of:
LAMB, Brown Rice, Oats, Lamb Meal, Tapioca Starch, Lamb Liver, Brown Sugar, Molasses, Salt, Garlic Powder,Cinnamon, Rosemary. Noodles's HUMOM is not too pleased by the Molasses (tasty but unnecessary sugar added) but at least it is a natural sugar with some nutritive value. The rest are A-ONE!

Here are the NOT-so-FOOD-stuffs: Glycerine (would be better if it was natural glycerine otherwise could be synthetic), Natural Smoke Flavor, Phosphoric Acid (emulsifier and color enhancer which is often used to cover up inferior foods), Potassium SorbatePotassium (A preservative. Most preservatives are better left out of food and Potassium Sorbate is no exception), Mixed Tocopherols, while being natural ingredients are nonetheless BY-PRODUCTS of vegetable oil production. That said, Mixed Tocopherols are a NATURAL anti-oxidant preservative.

According to Whole Dog Journal, top quality pet foods should NOT contain these and I am inclined to agree. We pugs have enough health issues without our treats adding to them!

I am surprised that SOLID GOLD, which has a holistic health care mission statement, would include the less than good ingredients. But they are low on the list so maybe it was a lesser of evil thing? I would feel better buying more in the future should these ingredients come out of the recipe.

But we liked them. . . . a lot.

NOODLES'S HUMOM has a few words to add -
The pugs especially liked this treat. The cat liked the treat. Molly the non-pug liked it just okay. BUT I did not like the feel of this treat (soft and pliable, like a rubber band) nor the smell (not quite natural). In very limited quantities I would serve this one. But that is about all. There are some other treats I would not hesitate to give to the girls; but this is not one of them.


*Not one of us were paid for our opinions. Nor were we FED specific opinions to include in this review. We were FED these treats, provided free of charge to us by Chewy.com for the SOLE purpose of gaining our honest opinion. This is our opinion and only our opinion.

Wordless Wednesday - Halloween Style

Rockin' the Homework Song - Lyrics by Tiffy

(sung to the tune of Joan Jett's "I Love Rock and Roll")

I saw her walking in with her homework bag
I knew she needed help by the way she sag'd
Calc and Chem and Comp
Hey Homework, watch me chomp
And I could tell her it won't be long till we're done, yeah
And I could tell her it won't be long till we're done, yeah, yeah

Singing, I ROCK homework style
So grab another book from the pile, baby
I rock HOMEWORK style
So come, grab your 'puter and study with me
Ow!

( repeat as needed)

Hey Tiffy! Wanna Play Dress-Up?

It was FUN at first. Then Noodles pulled out this rack of a ZILLION different costumes and my Sweet Tiffy Mouth hit the floor! I couldn't decide if I was in HEAVEN or not. . . .

All of a sudden, after the 10th costume or so. . . it seemed more like PURGATORY than HEAVEN.

It COMPLETELY disintegrated from there

So Noodles. . . WHY do I always have to be the ELF?

Did Someone Say . . .

TREAT?

California Groovin' With Tiffy

California Dreaming. . . .

Hi all. Tiffy, again.

This is the life! There is always so much todoing around this place that I am never bored and never starved for company. I miss my 'rents and my own home, don't get me wrong - but aside from all that, a vacation at Casa de Noodles is really a treat.

Speaking of treats, I have had some good ones. Sid, you are SOOOOO right about Noodles having a bunch of DELISH treats at her house. The variety is amazing. Not that we get a lot of treats because, as any regular reader knows, Noodles is always watching her waistline. I savor those times we do get treats because they are amazing. Last night we had steamed sweet potato. It was still a little hard, not crunchy, though. Oh so sweet. I could have eaten it all. Then there are these JERKY TREATS that Noodles and Molly are testing for Chewy.com. . . well they can't beat my DAD'S homemade jerky but they are mighty fine eating.

Yesterday was so lovely and warm that we spent a lot of time outside. I like to sun and there were ample places I could recline and shine. Noodles also likes to sit in the sun but she is much less obvious about it than I am.

I triple dog dare you to find me

Molly, being the somewhat free-spirit that she is, was no where to be found (by the camera). Truthfully she was also reclined, under the magnolia tree. It was just that kind of day where outside was the place to be.

When it was time to go inside, I had some difficulty finding the door. See, my eyes do not adjust to the change from light to dark too well and I was totally flummoxed as to where the door opening was. I stood there for a minute trying not to panic when out of the door comes Molly. She walked up to me and nudged me a little with her nose. I looked at her like WHAT ARE YOU DOING, MOLLY? Well, she walked around to my backside and nudged me again - very gently, mind. She did that a couple of more times until I found myself in front of the door! That, dear readers, is a real FURiend.

This is Noodles but you can
easily imagine it is me

Where In The World is Tiffy?

Where am I?

Hi. My name is Tiffy Tippy Toes and I woke up in a strange place. This is not all that unusual for me . .  but that is in the PAST and since finding my forever home, this happens less and less. BUT here I am, in a strange place and I am not all together sure why.

Let me think . . .thnk . . . think . . . Oh yeah! I remember now!

The 'rents are adventuring and thought I would like to do the same at

CASA DE NOODLES!

You read correctly. For SEVEN whole days, I will be the guest of all guests at Noodles's house. I will have so much to get used to as well as so many playmates IN ONE PLACE.

Is this a comfy spot or what?

As a special TREAT, I get to be GUEST BLOGGER on A Bowl of Noodles. I am a little nervous about this part of the vacay because Noodles maintains a very HIGH standard on her blog (editor's note: Yeah, right. High standard of sillyness).

But I will do my best. 

Day one was all about adjusting to a change of place. The 'rents dropped me off very early in the morning and I was surrounded by a lot of people all saying "HI" and petting me. It was pretty super. Then suddenly. . . just like that . . . everybody hightailed it out the door and I was in a BIG pen with a BIG bed alongside Molly and Noodles. We had all the luxuries you could imagine close to hand. We could play. . . and nap. . . and play. . . and drink water. . . and play. Mostly we NAPPED. 

Then everyone, except said 'rents, came home and let us OUT of the pen to run around the yard and do our respective things. And the sweet smells of dinner started to waft out of the door. . . and then we ate, in a hurry, and begged for more. 

No Mom. I did NOT get candy for dinner

Two of us ARE PUGS, you know. And then Noodles and I took a walk around the 'hood to check out all the delicious stinks.

We came back all happy and exercised and just like at my house, the big TV came on and we were watching the World Series! I felt so at home I curled up on my pillow and watched the game.

 Am I allowed to root for the local team?

The night wore on and before I knew it - it was bedtime. I had a good first day.

Because I'm NOODLES. . .

I wait by the door for Mommy to return

When she comes home, a hug I've earned

I find the cushion which feels just right

When Mommy sits we cuddle for the night

I jump around the bed like it is hot

When Mommy lies down, I find my spot

Everyday, from kits to kaboodles

No need to ask, it's because I'm Noodles

Casa de Noodles is on a Health Kick – Nuvet Plus Review

Ages 12, 5 and 2

Backstory: In truth, pets of all ages can benefit from a lifetime of good health practices. YES, our HUMANS invest time and effort (not to mention money) in finding us the BEST food possible. Making it from scratch, while healthier by far, is just not doable with our crazy busy household and lifestyles. So good kibble along with extra helpings of fruits, vegetables, yogurt, and so on is what we get for 2 meals a day. Our humans also make sure our weight is kept in check (I got up to a tubby 20 pounds  at Christmas time but now I have trimmed down 3 pounds to a svelte 17 pounds).  We take walks and go to the Dog Park. Turns out this is apparently not ENOUGH, though, to maintain MAXIMUM wonderfulness.
To Make a LONG Story Short: We wrote back to Nuvet Labs and agreed to test the vitamins. In exchange for the vitamins they asked us to give our HONEST opinion of the product. Anything you see in this OPINION PIECE is straight from the PUG’S mouth.
Our Mission: To consume regulated quantities of NUVET PLUS vitamins and see what happens. At first, Molly and I argued about being way way way too young for vitamins. We are only 2 and 5, after all. To back up out point, we took to the INTERNETS for proof that young and YOUNGISH pups DO NOT NEED additional vitamins. Old lady Sunshine the Cat, on the otherhand, we ALL agreed would definitely benefit from some extra KICK in her KIBBLE.

So we tried them for THE WHOLE SUMMER. (Dosage is based on weight and we have a wide range of weights in our house even though we are all roughly the same height and length). We are STILL trying them. Why?

• Because when they arrived at our house we went Lady GAGA all over the box BEFORE it was even open. I mean all THREE of us were seriously vocalizing and jumping and acting all weird . . . and Mommy was trying to open the box with the three of us jumping all over it. 
• Even now we act like we are getting treats when the tabs are put into our food bowls. No need to hide these in peanut butter bread (yes Mommy, I know peanut butter bread is hiding a pill but at that point I don’t care – just gimme the peanut butter). They are totally breakable, edible and yummy.
• The results have been amazing! My coat is more softer and healthier looking than ever before; Molly’s skin is not so dry and itchy and her tear stains appear to be a little lighter; and Sunshine the Cat is acting more like an EIGHT year old cat than a 12 year old. And, according to Mommy, her fur looks shinier than it has for a long time.

But for me . . .  this alone is not enough to give these Nuvet Plus vitamins a paw or two up! As we all know, I will eat ANYTHING. No ma’am and siree. Let’s take a look at what goes into these vitamins – you will be amazed.  I was.

Alfalfa (Canine formula only) ,Alpha Amylase ,Amino Acids, Beta Carotene ,Blue Green Algae ,Brewer's Yeast ,Cat's Claw ,Chicken Liver, Copper, Evening Primrose Oil, Folic Acid, Iron, L Methionine, Magnesium, Manganese, Oyster Shell , Papain,  Phosphorus, Pine Bark, Potassium, Selenium (Yeast) , Shark Cartilage,  Taurine (Feline formula only),  Vitamin A, Vitamin B Complex, Vitamin B1 (Thiamine), Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B3 (Niacin), Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid), Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine), Vitamin B12, Vitamin C (Ester C™), Vitamin E,  Whey Protein (Feline formula only),  Zinc

I looked up some of these ingredients because they looked a little fantastical in a FANTASY way and not a YUMMY way. Take for example Cat’s Claw. Is this something like EYE OF NEWT? No. Cat’s Claw is a herb know for aiding digestion as well as being an antioxidant and an anti-inflammatory. And what about Pine Bark? Well it turns out Pine Bark is good for your heart as well as being a pain reliever. Who knew? And that weird stuff called Papain?  Turns out this is also a digestion aid which helps break down protein to more useable parts. So, in a nutshell, IT’S ALL GOOD!

AND IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT US

You know we are all about the ETHICS of the company we are reviewing. So imagine our happiness when we found out the Nuvet Labs is an avid supporter of rescues and pet help organizations. I could not even begin to list all of the places that have benefited from the company’s charity but click here and you will go to a page which will show you. The LAB is an FDA registered facility which uses human grade ingredients for their products. Human Grade. That is the best of the best.

AT THE COST OF BEING WORDY

We are pleased with Nuvet Plus and are glad we went out on a limb to try them. They meet all of our minimum requirements for ONE PAW UP just because they are
1. Yummy
2. Easy to administer
3. Produce real results
4. Yummy
5. No discernible side affects
In addition, we want to grant an additional ONE PAW UP because this is a company that has the right idea – Pet health and well-being.
Thank you Nuvet Labs for this opportunity. If you ever go into the TREAT business, give me a call. I want to try THOSE for sure!

The opinions in this review are mine. . . and

Molly's . . . and Sunshine's. . . and My Mommys's

. . . We were not paid for this review but were

given Nuvet Plus vitamins to try out and 

review.

LOOKING FOR MORE INFORMATION?

• https://www.customerlobby.com/reviews/33027/-nuvet-labs-/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opAtO6NHzZU

 ABOUT NUVET.COM

It Was So Mind-Blowing That I am Still RECOVERING

Those of you who have followed me a long time know I am a BAY AREA SPORTS FAN. I love my SJ SHARKS, OAKLAND ATHLETICS, SJ QUAKES, and GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS. I am not above rooting for the Oakland Raiders now and then as well. BUT ASIDE from the SHARKS, my Favorite team is the SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS baseball team.

This time of year World Series Fever hits our household and every tv (okay. . . the MAIN tv) and radio are tuned into the games. It is so exciting. . . so wonderful when they win.

Last night Mommy #2 and I watched the first inning and a half and then had to take Mommy #1 to her ballet rehearsal. That meant we couldn't really see the game or even listen to much of it (in deference to the car battery). But we managed to tune in for the 9th inning and it was TIED! OMP! There was hope that the GIANTS would pull it out. Well. . . THEY DID and for the THIRD time in five years they are going to the WORLD SERIES.

There is nothing like a World Series. So much excitement. . . so much passion behind every pitch, every hit and every play. This time they will be playing against the KANSAS CITY ROYALS - a team that hasn't lost a single play-off game. It is gonna be tough but IT IS GONNA BE SO GOOD!!!!

ALWAYS OCTOBER - Bring it ON!

Just One More - for NOW

PLEASE!

What I want to know . . . is it EATABLE?

There is a lot going on in the news today. Of course there are the usual topics - disease, war, murder, etc. None of these are really of any interest to this little PUGGY. Nope, gimme something I can relate to - something near and dear to my heart - something I can BITE into. . . yes, you GOT it. . . FOOD.

So it was with some alarm I listened to the news discussing McDonalds and it's on-going MEAT controversy. You mean to tell me those CHICKEN NUGGETS are NOT real chicken? And that DOUBLE McCHEESY BURGER I had sometime back is not real. . . BEEF? It sure tasted like it. . . as much as I could tell. I do not REALLY taste anything because I am too busy gulping. But what I want to know is. . .

WHY IS THIS EVEN A DISCUSSION? Why, in this enlightened age, are we still being fed FOOD that is not really FOOD? Why would ANYONE think it is okay to FILL OUT the quantity with something of questionable food value and healthfulness?

I'm not saying McDonalds is necessarily doing this but there are plenty of foods out there - fast food and grocery shelf - that are not, in fact, really FOOD!

My KIBBLE is healthier than this stuff and is made of 100% meats, vegetables and fruits.

Sigh. So McDonalds hired a MYTHBUSTER to try all of it's eatables from its restaurants across the country to see if it is indeed
1. Real Meat
2. Nutritious
3. Devoid of dangerous non-food

Good luck with this McDonalds.

Editor's Note: At no time did McDonalds address the fact that their food has led to increased obesity and diabetes. To be honest, Noodles does not eat McDonalds. At least not on purpose.

An Apple a DAY. . .

Do you know what I love BEST about this time of year? The APPLES that are getting RIPE on the tree in our yard. I cannot cannot cannot resist those delicious juicy APPLES. There is something indescribable about the first bite - that crisp crunch. . . the sweet juice dribbling down my jowls. . . the OH-SO- DIVINE burst of apple-y flavor when I start to chew.
CHEW? Did I say c-h-e-w? I never chew anything. I must be delirious with APPLE love to say that I actually chew anything. But nonetheless, the apple-y flavor does burst into my mouth sending love signals to my brain. And then I am stuck in an apple bog from which I never want to leave.
I spend inordinate amounts of time in the yard these days just stealing an apple here and an apple there. Even though our tree is a dwarf tree, I cannot really reach any but the lowest branches and must limit my scrounging for apples to those under the tree.
WOE is the day Auntie T chooses to pick the apples.

Flashback Friday - Why Not? EveryPUGGY is Doing IT!

This is from one of my first Halloweens. Well judging from the collar I would say it was my second Halloween. See, no white on my adorable chinny chin?

I am still plotting and planning this year's costume. Has to do with STARS, I said. Like in a Galaxy Far Far Away??? What do you THINK?

Happy Friday and Happy Weekend.

Post Blood Moon Musings

I got up early on Wednesday morning to watch the Lunar Eclipse and the Blood Moon. It was all so magical as first the shadow started to cover the full moon and then. . . .  the moon TURNED RED! It was something else, I tell you. It put me in a mood - a thinking mood - not a bad mood at all, just pensive*. I am sitting here pondering about all my FURiends and how they comment on what I write and are so encouraging when things might not be going so where. I am truly thankful for all of you and 

what a lucky PUGGY I am!

It's Wednesday and You Know What THAT Means. . .

Equal Time For KITTIES

A Box? For Us?

EVERY MONTH we at Casa de Noodles have an opportunity to review things for Chewy.com. Usually this is a new treat which you KNOW I LOVE. As such, it is always, always, ALWAYS exciting when we get a box from them.

Yesterday was no exception. I heard the truck drive up and stop at our house. No one but us PETS were home so all we could do was bark and meow our thanks. I knew it was for us even though Molly kept shaking her head and saying NO, NO, NO. BUT I knew - Our Chewy.com truck has a different sound, a different feeling about it.
I jumped and circled and panted when Mommy came in the house with the box. You would think I would get used to getting the boxes by now. But each one is a different adventure. Each box is a revelation just waiting to happen.
I cannot WAIT to see what is in store.

Sunshine the Cat - who loves loves loves to sit in boxes, especially if they are small, refused to pose in the Chewy.com box. Harrumph!

Pondering Halloween

It's coming. It's on the horizon. IT WILL SOON BE HERE!

I am talking about that day every DOG dreads and every dog parent LOVES - dress-em-up-in-costume Halloween. From the look on Molly's face you can certainly see she has no love of costumes.

I, on the other hand, am a PUG and therefore not beholding to the usual rules. I love to dress up. Who can forget my flying pig costume? Well, that one I didn't love so much as it was 90 degrees out that day and HOT in that costume. But the karate one?

Now that is one groovy costume.

This year I am thinking of something in the STARS. What could it be? Stay tuned and find out. . . in, say. . . .about 25 days.

Sugar is Sweet and So is Her SMILE DAY and Blog Hop

Sugar is sponsoring a Worldwide Smile Day and Blog Hop. What a great idea? We can use more SMILES and happiness is sure to follow. It took some doing but I was able to find some A-1 SMILE photos of me and Molly.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month