Monday, August 31, 2015

Challenge Solid Gold Is In The Books

 We have finished our 30 day challenge for Chewy.com and Solid Gold dog food. 

The challenge was this:
Eat only SOLID GOLD BUCK WILD food for 30 days and report on how we liked it. We decided our review should include such things as


   1. How did the food look? Was it appealing?
   2. What about the smell? Was it pleasing?
   3.  Did it taste good? Was it the right size for our PETIT mouths?
   4.  Did the food live up to it's claims? How was our health?
   5. Would we recommend it? Would we continue eating it?




This is from their mission statement: ". . .holistic, natural products that allow these amazing animals to look and feel great while they live life to the fullest.
Solid Gold® led the charge in creating super premium holistic pet nutrition over 40 years ago.
Today our products are still made using high quality, natural ingredients that are carefully
chosen for a specific purpose – staying true to our heritage."

How do they achieve this holistic natural product? Well - take a look at the ingredients and I think you will see that their pet food is REAL FOOD!

This is what we got -
Grain & Gluten Free Buck Wild™ With Venison
Venison, Potato & Pumpkin Recipe
This is what is in it -
Venison, Turkey Meal, Potatoes, Peas, Chickpeas, Tapioca, Canola Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Pollock Meal, Eggs, Pumpkin, Pea Fiber, Natural Flavors, Dicalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Salt, DL-Methionine, Salmon Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Carrots, Parsley, Apples, Cranberries, Blueberries, Lettuce, Celery, Beets, Watercress, Spinach, Dried Chicory Root, Broccoli, Spearmint, Almond Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols), Sesame Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols), Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Kelp, Thyme, Lentils, Choline Chloride, Taurine, L-Carnitine, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Sulfate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Manganese Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Rosemary Extract, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Casei Fermentation Product.

I BOLDED the obvious food things. Keep in mind, most of those hard to pronounce things are naturally occurring minerals and probiotics. For example Pyridoxine Hydrochloride  is another name for Vitamin B6 complex!

What this means is Solid Gold Buck Wild pet food is REAL FOOD. This is important. There are no fillers and no inedible parts to the kibble. And Venison, as the numero uno ingredient, is a major player in the PROTEIN game. Their "Core Nutrition" is "Our blend of super foods, protected probiotics and perfect proteins balanced for whole-body health."

Check out their website for more information about their line of Holistic Foods https://www.solidgoldpet.com/products/buck-wild

How did it taste? Well the day we got the package from Chewy.com Molly WOULD NOT leave it alone. She kept sniffing around it and guarding it just like she does her dish. And when I SAUNTERED by for a peek, she pretended to be EATING SOMETHING from the box (there were NO HOLES in the bag).

Most of my regular readers know that MOLLY is a PICKY eater who cares more for her perfumed baths than FOOD. Yet her behavior clearly showed this was a food she cared about. The smell was intoxicating for her.

So it was surprising when after the first couple of days, she tired of the food. Or ACTED like she was. I think she was hoping for some MERRICK BACKCOUNTRY as a topper. HAHA!!! She did not get it and after a couple of days she stopped balking at eating the SOLID GOLD. She is now trotting to her dish and ASKING for the kibble. She likes it almost as much as me. Frankly speaking - NO ONE likes food better than me. I even lick my bowl for a full FIVE minutes AFTER I have licked the bowl clean HOPING for some more food.

Solid Gold Buck Wild is a good sized kibble - not that small pea sized stuff that I choke on as I vacuum down my food - but a good size that is small enough for Molly and large enough to make me chew SOMETIMES.

Finally, how do we look, feel, and act while eating Solid Gold Buck Wild for a WHOLE 30 DAYS? We feel GREAT! Our furs are soft but shiny. All of the yeastiness I had after my operation has gone away thanks to the probiotics in the food. Our eyes are bright and our floppy ears still a little stinky and waxy when not cleaned daily - BUT NO WORSE than usual.We have a lot of energy, too. I even started taking toys out of the toy box which I seldom do now that I am more mature. But I really feel like playing and running now. It must be something in the KIBBLE.

Finally, and I cannot understate this, we feel like we have eaten a meal when we are done AND I AM NOT gaining weight from it either. In fact, it seems to be working very well with my current DOCTOR PRESCRIBED weight loss regimen. This is all because SOLID GOLD has what we need - a lot of good protein from FOOD sources.

Would we recommend this food? Well, yes we would. It is good quality pet food and we appear to be thriving on it. The downside is that it is one of the more expensive pet foods on the market and that makes it hard to fit into our budget. But that said, we have found that these higher priced QUALITY foods really make a difference in our overall being. Natures Variety Instinct Raw Boost and Solid Gold Buck Wild are similarly priced and made such a difference in the overall health of both Molly and Me.

We want to thank Chewy.com and Solid Gold Pet Foods for the opportunity to take this 30 Day Challenge*. We learned a lot and we ate a lot - but all for a good cause. . . our HEALTH.

*NOTE: We were not paid for our opinions nor were we told what to say. Every opinion expressed in this post is our own PERIOD. We received a bag of SOLID GOLD BUCK WILD VENISON POTATO AND PUMPKIN RECIPE free of charge so we could evaluate it over the 30 days.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

It's Solid GOLD so Why Aren't My Poops?


See? Right there on the bag? It says SOLID GOLD and that's what I have been eating for a whole month now - SOLID GOLD. So, why aren't my poops solid gold as well? Every day I happily run outside to do my BIDNESS hoping that my little piles will help bring wealth and happiness to my HUMANS. But I am sorry to report that after A WHOLE MONTH of eating this stuff, the only thing left behind is. . . regular old poop. Not the kind you can take to the bank. So WHAT THE? Why am I eating this SOLID GOLD if not to get rich?

I went back into my EMAIL ARCHIVES to read the initial note from Ms. Sydney at CHEWY.COM. See? See? It's right here. . . "Dear Noodles and Molly . . .  interested. . . testing for a month. . . .Solid Gold . . ." Oh........wait.......I see it ......" Solid Gold Buck Wild Venison, Potato & Pumpkin Recipe Grain-Free Adult Dry Dog Food.

That's a whole 'nother story!

It's What I DO



This is what Molly and I do when on the weekends or in the evenings when Mommy #2 is sitting and knitting. We are "helping" her count her stitches. BOL!

It's gonna be a hot one here today and Mommy is working from home. Those are my favorite days because she lets me curl up at her feet while she works. And then, she "commutes" to the sofa after work to relax some before making dinner. 

This is the life, huh?

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

What It Means To Be A Dog - National Dog Day



D.O.G.
It means Love
It means Loyalty
It means Laughter
and it means
Me

D.O.G.
We love to Play
On command we Stay
Make sure we Eat
Have a place to Sleep
and We'll always Meet 
YOU at the door

D. O. G.
Treat us Well
Honor us Often
and in Return
You'll never be Wantin'
For a warm, lovin'
FRIEND

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Walk 'n Wag 2015: Pug 'n' Mop - Humane Society Silicon Valley

Walk 'n Wag 2015: Pug 'n' Mop - Humane Society Silicon Valley

One of These Pugs is NOT Like the Other. . .

 I ENDURED a bath on Sunday with just a modicum of whining. I TOLERATED my snout being wiped and ears being scrubbed with just a little scrunching and pulling away. I MANAGED to maintain my composure while my nails were being dremeled with only a smidge of pulling my paws away.

After a long hiatus, Sunday was SPA day. I was caught a little unawares and was not my usual cooperative self. But really! I was sunning myself and enjoying the freedom of nowhere to go when suddenly I was whisked upstairs and thrown in the bath.

I really didn't think I needed so much being done to me. After all, I am a low maintenance PUG, I think. But something clued MOMMY to my need for scrubbing. "Noodles!" She shouted at me. "You are one STINKY PUG and I need to do something about this!"



Can you tell from these pictures?



Pug #1: Oily, scruffy fur; wild and unkempt coat, stinky snout; long nail; dried scratchy paw pads



Pug #2: Soft, sweet-smelling fur; brushed and furminated coat; sweet snout,ears and teeth; trim nails; lotioned and massaged paw pads.

Looking back at these pix, I guess I see MOMMY'S point. I am almost a whole different color now.

As a reward, I received an AMERICAN JOURNEY Beef Jerky treat! Guess what!?!?!?!? Molly did NOT get one because she DID not endure the sheer torture of nail dremeling.

Have you had some AMERICAN JOURNEY Beef Jerky yet? If not, you gotta try it. You can ONLY find it here - at CHEWY.COM.





Monday, August 24, 2015

Super Summer Sunnin' on a Sunshiney Sunday

Actually it was THURSDAY but that is not nearly as alliterative.


I begged, begged, begged and begged some more to go outside. Mommy was getting a little worried because she thought it was a PEE PROBLEM.


Then she happened to look out the dining room window and spied me - sunnin' in my FAV-O-RITE spot. It is the best place because although sheltered, it catches the nicest breeze now and then. Don't wanna overheat, you know.


And the weather was just perfect. Warm but not the blistering hot of just a couple of days before this. And the breeze was the cooling kind kissed by the fog that was hidden just below the mountains to the West.

I couldn't ask for a better way to spend the afternoon. And I did. I spent a lot of time outside just warming my furs. It helps to be away from Molly's frantic barks at every little street sound. I can just relax and commune with nature MY WAY and in my own TIME.

Friday, August 21, 2015

Mom's Lost It!



Mommy #2 said she posted for today. "That's hilarious, Mommy," I said; "Because I happen to know you did NOT post ANYTHING today. You barely posted something YESTERDAY!!!!"

Of course she totally denied this ever being true and so she went online to PROVE it to me that she had posted SOMETHING!



"I don't know about you, BUT I do NOT see A Bowl of Noodles anywhere in this BLOG ROLL," I told HER.

So she was all outta kilter after that revelation and said she had nothing prepared! "It's okay," I said. "I will take over today as I am totally capable of doing the blog POST now that I am SIX years old.

----- So I am -----







Thursday, August 20, 2015

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

I Know You Are On The Other Side!

Mommy? Mommy? I know you are out there.

Mommy? I;m sad without you. See my tail?
NO? Well it is totally straight, I want you to know.

Sunshine, let's form a train and ram through
the door

It was a long weekend with Mommy nowhere in sight. Even when she was home those FEW HOURS, she was either sleeping or doing some other work. She even went on the front porch to clean a fan that she needed to take to a party somewhere. All the while, I kept telling her that I wanted to BE with her. . . GO with her. . . anything as long as it was with her.

Then the weekend was gone and the work day begun. I sure hope next weekend is nothing like that again.

Monday, August 17, 2015

Solid Gold Holistic Pet Food



We've gone SOLID GOLD for a MONTH!!! As I mentioned before, Molly and I have been asked to take the SOLID GOLD challenge and eat SOLID GOLD HOLISTIC pet food for a whole month and then tell Chewy.com how we felt about the food. Oh! And how we liked the food. How the food LIKED us. You get the picture. Well, we were totally onboard with the challenge so Ms. Sydney sent us a bag to try.

BUT FIRST, we had to do our homework about SOLID GOLD so we would know WHAT we were getting ourselves into.

Solid Gold Pet Foods is a California-based pet food company which specialized in holistic food for pets.

ho·lis·tic
hōˈlistik/
adjective
PHILOSOPHY
  1. characterized by comprehension of the parts of something as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole.
    • MEDICINE
      characterized by the treatment of the whole person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the physical symptoms of a disease.


The company mission is to create nutrition which will change pets lives Body Mind and Spirit. That's a pretty tall order from a pet food company. The nutrition goal is lots of things a pet needs and none of the stuff it doesn't - so their foods and treats are rich in protein and vitamins and minerals while being void of by-products, grains, and fillers.

Sounds good to me. I like real food. It makes me feel better and more satisfied after I eat. I am lying a little. I am never satisfied. I am never full. I am P.U.G.

But anyhow, here is a timeline which shows the evolution of where the company is today -

2014
Named in Whole Dog Journal’s list of approved dog foods.
Presented Whole Foods Magazine Natural Choice Award for dog food in the Pet Care category.
2012
Solid Gold donates over $1 million of food to 15 animal rescues/shelters across the country.
New Tuna Recipes – Mackerel, Sardines, Shrimp, SeaBream – launched.
High protein grain/gluten free canned dog foods launched.
2011
Solid Gold introduces the first Chicken dog food – Grain/Gluten Free Sun Dancer.
2010
1st Grain Free cat food – Indigo Moon – launches!
2006
1st Grain Free dog food offering – Barking at the Moon – launches!
2004
More great products, Wolf King and Wolf Cub for large breed dogs and large breed
 puppies along with Wee Bit, our first small dog food!
2003
Revolutionizing wet food, Green Cow Tripe is introduced. A product that is unique and
 excellent for adult/senior dogs!
2002
Expansion to a new category – DOG TREATS! Solid Gold launches their FunCtional Foodz – 
dog treats developed with nutritious and great tasting ingredients.
2000
Blended Tuna wet cat food launched
1999
Innovation continues – introducing MMillennia, performance dog food, and Holistique 
Blendz, senior dog food.
1982
SeaMeal - A vitamin and mineral supplement that changes traditional thinking! Made with 
several different species of sea vegetation and containing 60 trace minerals, 12 vitamins, 
and 22 amino acids – this supplement is great for both cats and dogs!
1976
Sissy and her Great Dane, Bismark, won “Best of Breed” in the National Pure Bred 
Breeders Association Show.
1974
Solid Gold launches the natural pet food category with the introduction of our 
flagship product – Hund-n-Flocken dog food.

THIS ALL SOUNDS GOOD TO ME and I feel good about eating the Buck Wild with Venison,
Potato and Pumpkin.  So far - TWO WEEKS into the challenge - it remains a very tasty and
SATISFYING food for me.



Friday, August 14, 2015

T.G.I.F. . . . Thank Goodness It's F. . . . . . ?



FOOD! Food, food, food. I'm a PUG - it's always about FOOD.
This is really a treat. It is an edible hedgehog. Mommy buys them at the SILICON VALLEY HUMANE SOCIETY because some of the proceeds go right back to the animals they shelter and care for. It is a great organization.
But I wish it was EMPTY.
Imagine - all of the kitties, puppies and assorted exotics animals having FOREVER HOMES!!

Well this weekend - here in the Bay Area and across the nation, NBC and GALAVISION are teaming up on CLEAR THE SHELTERS adoption event.

Pep adoptions will be free or heavily discounted TOMORROW (in the Bay Area)! Check IF and WHEN for your local shelter.

ADOPT don't SHOP
(unless it is treats from the shelter)

The hedgehog did not last, by the way.
One week and he was history.

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Bear Minimum



This is what happens when out FOOD BEAR is empty. He lies on his side. . . begging. It is really a sorry sight to behold. Pugsonally, I was really worried when I saw that OUR FOOD rations were disappearing. And there was no sign of any more food coming into the household.

There is a reason why our food is in this repurposed cookie container. Mommy likes to have the food in the house and handy to even the Lil' One to dole out our rations. PLUS, the BEAR has a screw-on lid so we pups cannot ACCIDENTALLY open it and help ourselves to a snack.We have been known to knock over a bag or two in our time. Well, maybe just me - BUT that's not important.

Don't ask me what happened to those cookies. All I know is IT WASN'T ME. They were little beigey cookies shaped like ANIMALS, of all things. 

So ANYHOOOO. . . I was watching the FOOD level drop on a daily basis and I was just about to ask Sunshine the Cat if we could share her abundant food. She had a full container (a repurposed pitcher with a lid). 

We repurpose A LOT, I think. But I digress.

I was nearly in a panic as we were down to our LAST BITE. Uh, Mommy? Are you going to the store soon? Not saying who. . . but SOMEPUGGY'S food rations are mighty low.

This is my birthday cookie. I just wanted to
show some food as I was starting to
hyperventilate over the empty bear picture


Of course, Mommy knew something I didn't - we were selected by Ms. Sydney at Chewy.com to do a 30 food challenge. Lucky for us, it arrived the day the BEAR went EMPTY.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

On This Day When School Begins Anew




Back to School
Back to School
Where'd the Summer go?
We had some time to play
Some time to cuddle
Now the morning's just a muddle
Jump out of bed
Quickly put on clothes
Eat in a hurry
And off everyone goes

Back to School
Back to School
How many hours more
Until you come back through that door?
I'll sit in the foyer
I'll patiently wait
I might take a nap
But it is your return 
That makes me hap Hap HAP
HAPPY



Monday, August 10, 2015

Chewy Challenge - OR What's Over There


Remember last week when I posted profiles of Molly and Me gazing off into the distance? Some of you guessed correctly, which I find amazing. We received a LARGE box from Chewy.com!!! See it here on our doorstep?

We had received an email from Ms. Sydney at Chewy.com asking if we were interested in doing a 30 day challenge. She asked if we would try SOLID GOLD food for ONE ENTIRE MONTH  . . . Of course, I was jumping up and down yelling YES! YES! YES!

For me, this is NOT a CHALLENGE at all. I see FOOD. I EAT food. I LOVE the food. Just like that. There are some I like more than others - but generally, I am easy to please and always pleased to EAT. 

Molly is another story. She is not big on the EATING game. She eats. She begs. She guards her dish. BUT left to her own devices, she would pick at her food ALL DAY; and maybe not even that if she decided she doesn't like the SMELL or the TASTE. She is so picky.

It was driving me crazy! So I trained her by PRETENDING to be a LAND shark and whenever she walked away from her dish - I SHARKED AND SNARFED her dish!!! I got fat and she got mad. Now she tends to stand at her dish and finish it within 10 minutes.


Ms. Sydney asked up to PICK A FLAVOR to try and we spent half an hour or more perusing the selections. We finally decided on Buck Wild™ Venison, Potato& Pumpkin Recipe. Doesn't that sound YUMMY???? And we don't EVER get venison so it sounded like a TREAT!!!! In a day or two (Believe it!!! It was fast), our chosen flavor arrived.


Molly was more excited than I have ever seen her. She guarded the box and YELLED at me if I came near it!!! And she kept sniffing it and trying to figure out how to open it. One time I walked around the corner and she started LICKING HER CHOPS as if she had eaten something yummy! I got MAD because I wasn't seeing ANY food around. So I challenged her. I hate to admit it, but we got a little loud with our yelling and - I don't remember but I think ONE of us CHARGED the other. It was bad and we BOTH were sent to our BIG ROOM (pen) for a cooling off period. The box with the food disappeared from the foyer.


The CHALLENGE is starting now. . . actually last night. . . mostly because we found our food bear looking like this


I was near tears thinking we had NO MORE FOOD and I, Noodles the Pug, would starve to skin and bones! Bad enough I am on a D-I-E-T!!!

Mommy went out to the garage and came back in carrying THE BOX. She made me pose on it all the while I am WILTING from hunger. Once she RELEASED me from my pose, I jumped down and started "Helping" her open the Chewy.com box. 

Inside was the most gloriously decorated bag of some incredibly fragrant food. How the smell oozed from that luscious bag I will never know.



Thank you Chewy.com!
The CHALLENGE STARTS NOW!!!!!


*We are not being paid for this challenge nor for any of our opinions regarding Solid Gold food. We have received a bag of food free of charge in order to participate in this challenge. All opinions belong to Noodles, Molly, Sunshine and occasionally the huMoms.




Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Can We Really Count on THE KID?

This is the KID
Also known as El Niño

Earth.nullschool.net

Thank you for all the wishes for rain! We need them so much. The almost 2 dozen fires currently raging throughout the state are scary!!! Luckily we are a very big state so I am not really in any danger at the moment. Most of the fires are many many miles from my home.

That is not to say it is totally out of the realm of possibility that there should be fire in the hills around me which would in turn threaten me. It could happen. It is so dry everywhere.

A lot of people are putting their faith in this phenom known as El Niño, the kid (boy). This weather pattern is characterized by warming oceans and greater than average rainfall (for some places. In others it may mean less). Sounds like a good deal, huh? The problem is, one El Niño season is not going to erase the FOUR YEARS of drought that brought us to this point. For us to get CLOSE to normal conditions, we would need 3 or 4 equally strong rainy season.

That said, BRING it on El Niño! I am ready for YA! Give it your best shot.



Tuesday, August 4, 2015

August 15 Will Be Liberating



August 15, 2015 is going to be a day that will go down in History. . . or Dogstory, if you will. WHY, you innocently ask?

Because August 15, 2015 is

CLEAR THE SHELTERS DAY!

You didn't hear of this? Well, in a nutshell, Clear the Shelters Day (with help from NBC and Telemundo stations) is when hundreds of shelters across the country are offering FREE or HEAVILY DISCOUNTED adoptions. Their goal???? To find all of the misplaced pets languishing in shelters GOOD LOVING HOMES. And don't we all deserve a good loving home?

The green indicates states that are taking part in
Clear the Shelters Day


This is a one day event so don't lolly-gag! I have put some INFO LINKS below so you can get up-to-the-minute information about this day in PETstory (I am gonna keep at it until I find one I like).


  1. MAIN INFO SITE - http://www.cleartheshelters.com/
  2. For New York shelters - http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/clear-the-shelters-adopt-a-pet-nbc-4-new-york-telemundo-47-315892511.html
  3. For SF Bay Area shelters - http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Clear-The-Shelters-Animal-Adoption-Dogs-Cats-Pets-Event-NBC-Telemundo-315502721.html
  4. Connecticut peeps - http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/on-air/as-seen-on/Clear-the-Shelters-Register-Your-Organization-Pets-Animals-Dogs-Cats-320490042.html
  5. Texas weighs in - http://www.cleartheshelters.org/
  6. Keystone State info - http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillypets/Local-shelters-to-waive-fees-for-Clear-the-Shelters-Day.html
There's a lot more. Just google CLEAR THE SHELTERS DAY and you will see many many links.

Don't let this opportunity to add to your furfamily or bring another kind of new pet into your household.

After all - this is how Molly came to be my sister.





Monday, August 3, 2015

It' Wild and Outta Control



Hi, Welcome to my world. As you all know, I live in NorCal which is nearly paradise in terms of weather and location. I loves loves loves it here. But these past FOUR years of drought have been tough. This weekend they got tougher when ONE FIRE in the Lake county area exploded to double its size due to the extremely dry conditions. It is only 12% contained.

I cannot express just how dry it here here. The brown grass is not just brown, , , it is crackling. When you step on it, it snaps. It is very scary dry.

So we had some weather come through last week - a tropical front which brought a little rain (and I do mean a little) rain to parts of the state. Unfortunately, a long with that rain came some lightning which in turn set off fires in the very very dry grasses and trees. WHOOSH! It just exploded.



Look at all those FIRES!!!! Scary, huh? This is what happens when rain is scarce and it is something we have to deal with now. 

It will take a lot of rain to get NorCal (all of California, really) back to its verdant self. Here's hoping for a wet winter . . . followed by another wet winter. . . followed by another wet winter. . .