Emmett is an easy dog.
He either loves or ignores everything. There’s no middle ground for him. He loves going to the vet. He ignores all the other animals in the lobby in favor of wooing the people… and begging for treats from the receptionist. He loves going to PetSmart. He ignores the dozen greyhounds at PetSmart who are there for an adoption event… and spends his efforts begging for treats from the cashier/other shoppers. (Or he resorts to shoplifting, but that’s another story for another day.)
Not only is he easy–he can go anywhere, and I can trust that he’ll be fine no matter what–he loves adventuring!
Seriously, how cute is his happy face?!
This post is sponsored by Wellness® Natural Pet Food and the BlogPaws® Pet Influencer Network™. I am being compensated to help share the reinvented Complete Health Line and other Wellness Products, but we only share information we feel is relevant to our readers. Wellness is not responsible for the content of this article.
So, to refresh or in case you’re new here (welcome!), Emmett’s been on a three-month food trial of the reinvented, grain-free Wellness® Complete Health™ (you can read about month 1 here and month 2 here). The pic above is from our last trip to PetSmart when we wanted to scope out the line and figure out which ones they carried (hint: all of them). I know it’s not the brightest pic in the world, so if you’re looking for the food, here’s a clickable pro shot of what to look for:
OK, so even though Emmett is a super easy dog who’s never rattled by anything, you just never know what you might encounter at PetSmart. So I stuff a treat bag full of his kibble to have on hand and to reward him for sitting nicely so I can take his photo. But, the kibble is also a great distraction for things like loose children (what is it with loose children in PetSmart?!?!) and boxes full of adoptable kittens.
With a senior like Emmett, weight gain can be a big problem because he’s just not as active as he used to be. While a trip to the store like this is great stimulation and definitely exhausting for him, doling out tons and tons of kibble rewards works perfectly because then I can decrease his dinner accordingly.
For instance, on a trip like this where we have a handful of things to buy, or on busy weekends, I measure out about 1/4 cup of the Complete Health kibble into my treat bag. That way, when we get home and it’s time to eat dinner, I know to decrease his portion by 1/4 cup.
It’s wholesome. He loves it. And I’m not concerned about giving him “too many” treats because it’s his grain-free kibble!
Do you take your pups to PetSmart? Is your dog an easy one like Em (or the opposite, Cooper)? Next time you visit, be sure to check out the the grain-free pet food products that Wellness® has to offer–there’s something for every dog and every budget. And…
Starting July 6th through the end of the month, Complete Health™ Grain Free recipes are $2.00 off at PetSmart®. Click here to learn more, or to purchase from PetSmart!
Please support our sponsor! Visit them online or one of these social spots:
BTW and totally unrelated, next time we take Emmett to PetSmart for a bag of food, I’m going to make sure ALL his ToeGrips are still on. Some came off at Purdue (another post for later!) and I didn’t reapply them. Have you noticed how darn slippery those PetSmart floors are? I wonder if that’s intentional, but my sweet old man was slip-sliding all around! Although, it didn’t prevent him from begging! Here’s his “buy me all the Wellness” face! (And, obviously, we did… Emmett gets what Emmett wants!)
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Wellness® Natural Pet Food. The opinions and text are all mine.
When Hershey was an Only Dog I took her to PetSmart almost every time I went pet supply shopping. When Graham proved to be more high strung (and ankle biting) than Hershey those trips dropped off. I think having a PetSmart open near my work helped with the drop off too; it was easier to pick stuff up on the way home than get home and go out again dogs in tow. PetSmart floors ARE slippery! Mine get around ok, but if there’s something they’re REALLY interested in it’s pretty easy to pull them away from it; they slide around the floor like a hockey puck! I’m glad Emmett is enjoying his grain-free diet!
(Don’t even get me started on free range children treating every store they enter like their own playground!)
So, it’s not just our PetSmart with “free range” children? Drives me nuts, especially when I’m trying to work with Cooper!
I do always look enviously at the little dogs being shuttled about in the carts. Managing Emmett who, the SECOND I turn my head, starts eating through bags and/or swiping bones, plus his giant bag of Wellness gets cumbersome. I suppose the *slight* benefit of the slippery floors is that he never gets enough traction to pull me off my feet! 🙂
I tried to get Hershey to ride in a cart one time. She reacted like I’d gone mad, which I suppose is appropriate.
Ugh. Emmett. Be a little more handsome, why don’t you?! If I go to PetSmart and it’s a decent day, I usually take Daisy with me, even though she has a lot more in common with Cooper than Emmett! 🙂 Like, you said, it’s a great place to practice distractions because there’s so much going on. I have had to buy more than one toy though because she steals them off the shelves and gets them good and slobbery while I’m looking elsewhere! (Fine, I do it because she takes them to the register herself and carries them out to the car and it’s freaking adorable.)
As for the kids, I assume it’s because parents think, “Oh, well this is a pet store, what can they get into here?” Parents, stop underestimating your children! Safe rule is one adult to every child and every dog in any kind of animal situation. It’s like when you go to the dog park and people just let their kids yell and run around. Accident waiting to happen!
HAHA! That is SOOOO freaking adorable! I’d buy her the toys, too!
Out of curiosity, did you teach her that??
Emmett is looking so handsome, as usual. It makes my day to see his smiling face in your blog! Glad to see and hear how well he’s doing on his Wellness food. Based on ‘his’ recommendation, I’m going to read up on their formulas online, and see if one looks good for my furkids.
I never take my current dogs to the pet food stores, even when I know what I intend to buy. It’s sensory overload for my relatively small, mixed breeds, and I worry constantly about the loose kids. It’s not fun for any of us.
When I had Dobes, it was another story. They were so well behaved and, like Emmett, nothing phased them. They enjoyed all the attention that their breed generated wherever they went.
They were always on their best behavior, like they were walking the red carpet. There’s nothing else like big, smart dogs who love to show off for an audience. ;).
Show off for an audience!!!!! You NAILED it! That’s exactly his thing… it’s all about the attention! 🙂
Let me know if you have any questions about Wellness that I can either try to help or track down the answer. He’s been doing really well on it. Our three-month trial ends at the end of June, and we’re going to keep it in his regular rotation for sure. One thing I didn’t mention but probably should have is that he’s been less gassy. At almost 13, that’s important around here! For all of us! 😉
Emmett is asking for a cheek squish; what a cutie! ? And I’m gonna have to second you on the floors (though, I’ll add my own floors at home are just as slippery). I took Lele with me to PetSmart and her stiff old chi chi legs were struggling to stay upright. I don’t have any toe grips, but Dr. Buzby tweeted that she’d hook me up at BlogPaws. 🙂
Unlike Emmett, though, Lele was not interested in anything but wee-wee-ing on every aisle. :/ I’m glad they have clean-up stations!
Oh, and I wrote that I wanted to marry Wellness CORE (for Lele) in my last post. That’s probably strange.
OOOHH!!! I’m so excited to meet Dr. Buzby! She actually emailed back and forth with me to troubleshoot some issues we had with them at first. Now? They’re working great for him!
I wish Lele could come to BlogPaws, but I’m so flipping excited to see you next week!!!
Hey, your dog looks just like my dog, Rosco! He has the same brindle coat with a white patch on his chest. I don’t see that pattern often, so it’s cool to see it on a dog who’s internet famous. Hopefully Rosco will be too one day.
Too cute!! Do you know what kind of dog Rosco is? We think Emmett is a Staffordshire bull terrier / Plott hound mix!
Sweet Emmett. Faolan and I were at the Greenwood PetSmart on Sunday. We saw the Wellness there!
Handsome Faolan!!
(Coffee in Greenwood soon?!?!?!)
Emmett is such a great dog! I also use Wellness kibble as rewards, sometimes I’ll mix in some chicken to sweeten the pot, too.
Aw!! Thanks, Lindsay!
That’s such a great idea. Emmett would LOVE having chicken mixed in… although he’s not a dog who usually needs his “pot sweetened,” I sure do love spoiling him when I can!
Oh my gosh, how could that face not get everything he wants? I think measuring out some kibble to use as treats is a GREAT idea! I do sometimes use kibble, or kibble mixed with other high value treats for training or to take on walks. But it never occurred to me to measure it so I can do better than just guess at how much to cut back their meals later.
HAHA! That’s part of the problem… that face DOES get everything he wants, and we’re having some, um, weight management issues. ? I’m having to be extra cognizant of what I’m giving him these days!
We have that problem too! Anytime I talk the dogs to the veterinarian office and they get weighed I ask, “How often do you calibrate this scale?” When your dog is overweight you feel like you are putting on pounds too.
Unfortunately… I was told they calibrate the scale one time a week. 🙁 🙂
Such a handsome and sweet boy! 🙂
I’m really jealous of you dog moms whose dogs can handle dried probiotic/prebiotic powder in their kibble! Because my girls can’t. And there is no decent-quality kibble out there any more that doesn’t have it. Grrrr. I really wish these companies would offer at least one line of kibble that’s free of those powders. I’m glad for you – and Emmett – tho that the Wellness Complete Health works for him.