Chewy.com: Tylee's Human Grade Dog Food: Final Thoughts

Here we are at the end of April already and Jimmy and Wilson have finished their third big bag of Tylee's Human Grade Dog Food.

They enjoyed this food quite a bit. There was never a moment of hesitation. They always dove right into their meals and licked their bowls clean! They always wanted more, the little pigs!

Over the course of the month, Chewy sent me three of the large 96 ounce bags. We had a small gap in feeding because I misjudged delivery times, and we finished the third bag on the 26th of April. So I probably would need four large bags to comfortably cover a month for my two Cardigan Corgis. These are not small dogs! Jimmy is 34 pounds and Wilson is somewhere over 40 pounds. So at $34.99 a large bag, it would cost me about $140.00 to feed both my dogs for a month. The auto-ship program can save another 10%. This is definitely less expensive than the pre-made commercial raw I feed, but definitely more than a large bag of quality kibble. We all have budgets to live by, so this food is probably not an option for everyone.

I don't think there is much else to say about this food. For my dogs, it was well accepted, the transition was smooth, it was easily digested, they didn't get gassy, and their stools stayed firm. These are all good signs of a quality food. Of course all dogs are individuals, and my experience might not be the same as yours.

On a non-food related matter, it does bother me how much packaging it takes to get one 96 ounce bag delivered. Two bags of food and the box gets even bigger to hold more dry ice. That part is a negative for me. Also, in my first review at the beginning of the month, I mentioned the neat little scoop that Chewy so nicely provided. Well you get one every time! I wish there was a way to not get one after the first one. I gave one to a neighbor, kept two, and still tossed one in the recycle bin. If I order another bag, that scoop will get recycled as well. I hate to waste them, but I only need a couple.

Before this 30 day challenge, I was a raw feeder. I will still be a raw feeder. I am a firm believer in the nutritional value of raw. However, I was very pleased with Tylee's. It is affordable for me and my dogs enjoyed it. I am sure it is a much better quality food than kibble. (I am no animal dietitian, nor do I play one on TV! My statement is purely personal opinion!)

So, all that being said, I did put my money where my mouth is!

While Chewy was still offering their BOGO special on Tylee's, I did buy a large bag of beef (and a large bag of chicken as my freebie). I think it will make great travel food since it keeps fresh for so long once thawed (so long as it is kept properly cold!). I am very happy to have this option when I hit the road!

Actually, I put my money where Jimmy's mouth is!!! LOL!

A HUGE thank you to Chewy.com for choosing Jimmy, Wilson, and me to test out and review their new food!

Now for my disclaimer:

I was not compensated in any way, other than to receive this product at no charge for my honest review. Chewy.com is not at all responsible for the content of this post. The opinions expressed are purely my own and those of my dogs!

Wilson Wondered Whether he Would Want any Wiley Wallabys on Wordless Wednesday

While.......

Jimmy Jabbered Jealously about the inJustice!!!

My NacBook!

Most  of you have probably heard of a MacBook. It's what Apple calls its laptops. Well, I just got a NacBook! I organized all my photos from the Nat'l Agility Championship, plus the photos from the professional photographer (Great Dane Photo), into a ShutterFly book....My NacBook!

Take a look!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Visit Shutterfly.com to create your own personalized photobook.

Wilson Was Wanted on Wordless Wednesday!

Chewy.com: Tylee's Human Grade Dog Food - Mid-month Update

As you may remember, Chewy.com offered us a month-long test drive on their new human-grade dog food brand called Tylee's. My first review can be found here in case you missed it.

Now that we have been using it for a couple of weeks, I have lots of observations!

Jimmy and Wilson are both taking part in this trial. Chewy sent me the largest bag which was 6 pounds. I used the little blue scoop they provided and used the bag's chart as a guideline.

Jimmy is about 34 pounds and Wilson is a tad over 40 pounds. That put us in the 2 to 2 3/4 cups per day range. Now Corgis were bred through the centuries to be all around farm dogs and part of that is to be easy keepers. Those old farmers of yore didn't want to waste much food on feeding the dogs. As a result Corgis don't need a lot of food to hold their weight steady, and mine especially since they are both seniors. I opted to feed less than recommended, at about 3/4s of a cup, morning and night. This seemed to be about right as they haven't lost or gained any weight. It's always good to use the package recommendation as a starting point but every dog is different so adjust the amount you feed up or down so your dog maintains a nice trim figure.

Feeding at this rate, the bag lasted us exactly one week. The packaging says that food will last 10 full days thawed in your refridgerator. I tested that out by thawing the whole bag. While we went through the bag quicker than 10 days, I can say it smelled just as fresh on day seven as it did on day one.

Now I have to say, as the first bag was running low, I under-estimated the delivery time on the next bag. As a result we had a slight gap in our feeding. The web site does mention that delivery times may vary, but I missed reading that. Bag #2 was shipped on a Friday afternoon and I received it the following Wednesday. This is something to keep in mind if you decide to buy Tylee's. Allow enough time so you don't run out!

Just so you feel confident ordering frozen food, here's the well-packed box lined with styrofoam to hold in the cold. Keep in mind, it is kept frozen with dry ice. Don't let your excited pet, who is happy to see the Chewy's box, come in contact with the dry ice. For that matter, don't touch it yourself either!

Gloves are a must!

Even after a few days in transit, there was plenty of dry ice left. The bag of Tylee's was still quite frozen! It's been unseasonably warm here in Northern Virginia so that bodes well for summer deliveries!

Even the dry ice bags have a dog theme!!!

For our second bag, I opted for the beef flavor. The fruit and veggie mix is a bit different but the overall scent of the food was the same fresh smell of cinnamon. I didn't worry about transitioning. Turkey to beef happens here all the time, so I knew my dogs would digest it just fine. Neither flavor made my dogs gassy (thank goodness!) and they have had nice firm poops that weren't very big. I won't share any photos of that! LOL! I'll just give Wilson his moment posing with the box.....

So everything is going well with this experiment. The dogs still seems to love it and lick their bowls clean. I'll do one final report near the end of April.

Now for my disclaimer:

I was not compensated in any way, other than to receive this product at no charge for my honest review. Chewy.com is not at all responsible for the content of this post. The opinions expressed are purely my own and those of my dogs!

Thank you Chewy.com for allowing me to sample new products and foods!

How Jimmy's Photo Shoots Go

I will NOT look at the camera!

Did she say Biscuit?

I'd better check!!!

She lied! I will NOT look at the camera!

Have a great weekend, Everyone!

 Hope you really do get the biscuit!

While the Window Was unWound, Wilson Whiffed the Woods on Wordless Wednesday

The NAC Report: A Fantastic Weekend!

This year's AKC National Agility Championship (NAC) was held March 24th, 25th, and 26th at the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry, Georgia. This was a wonderful venue and we had perfect weather!

This site had beautifully groomed dirt rings that were neither too deep of footing nor too hard.

Jimmy and I had a wonderful experience! If you are a long time reader, you may recall our last time attending this big event didn't go so well. I went into this NAC with much more confidence plus Jimmy is now running in the 8 inch class instead of 12.  I  did not need to worry about bar-knocking nearly as much.

We had five runs over the course of Friday through Sunday. An optional warm-up Standard run on Friday morning that was purely for practice and getting the dogs used to the footing. You could even take a toy in the ring! We had a bobble  at # 2 to #3 but nothing to worry about. Here is the map:

And more importantly, the video:



Later in the day came the first "real" course,  Premier Standard. While this course did not count toward the championship, you could actually earn a leg toward your title. Premier is a trickier version of the regular Standard with a shorter amount of time to get it done. Here's the map:

You can see it holds a few similarities to the warm-up run so those of us who ran the warm-up either had dogs who thought they knew where they were going and went off-course, or were primed for this version. Fortunately Jimmy was primed! We qualified and even came in 10th which is really good at a big event like this! The standard course time was 65 seconds and we did it in 43.51 seconds.

Here's the run:

Photo by Great Dane Photos

For whatever reason, the AKC awarded their prettiest ribbon for this run (not counting the BIG ribbons at the end of the weekend). Look how nice....

Once we had finished this run, the rest of the day could be devoted to visiting all the vendors. This show gets lots of them! I've always loved Paco Collars, and they had a booth! The temptation was too great so Jimmy came home with a new collar as "his" souvenir (yeah, right! That would be "my" souvenir)....

Saturday's runs were Standard and Jumpers. Have a look at the maps:

Standard was in the morning, and we cleared the first hurdle and had a successful dogwalk contact. Once I saw the video however, I think we were just lucky on that and the judge was generous. Next was the tricky box after the weave poles. That area was my biggest worry and while I don't think it felt smooth, we made it through cleanly! Over the Aframe and down the line of a triple then double jump. I hear a tick as Jimmy's toenail hit the triple and down goes the bar! SIGH! Watching the video, I think I got too far ahead, causing Jimmy to get off-stride. We were so close to the end. At this event a knocked bar deducts points but is not a full disqualification. So we ended our run with a good time but a score of 95. A slow dog with a perfect score of 100 would beat us.

Photo by Great Dane Photos

My Standard video:



Jumpers came later in the day. An interesting course with lots of opportunity to either knock a bar or go off-course. Fortunately, Jimmy did neither! Yay! We had a clean run, finishing in 32.77 with a standard course time of 51 seconds.

My JWW video:

Photo by Great Dane Photos

Sunday had an incredibly early start! We needed to be on site for a 6:15AM walk-thru of our Hybrid run! Yes, 6:15AM! Add to that the fact my hotel was a full 40 minutes away, plus parking, getting the boys settled in their crates, etc. Hybrid is a combo of Jumpers and Standard, but no dogwalk (yay!) and shorter standard course times to meet. Here is the map:

The concerning areas on this course were #3 through #7 and making sure the dogs didn't go to the weaves after #9, and #13 to the weaves as # 17 was a big distraction/off-course possiblity. Our only near-bobble was in that last section. I almost forgot to send Jimmy over #13! So close to missing that jump but we didn't. Whew! Nerves at a big event really mess with you! The standard course time was 53 seconds but Jimmy only needed 34.20 to finish up.

The Hybrid run:

Photo by Great Dane Photos

So, after all those runs where did it leave us?  We fully qualified in our Jumpers and Hybrid run and had just a knocked bar in Standard. Our times were pretty speedy in all the runs. So we ended with a score of 295 instead of a perfect 300. In the Preferred class there were 52 eight inch teams, and we finished in the #20 spot. Not too bad all things considered. If it hadn't been for the knocked bar, our times were good enough that we would have been #7!

I had tons of fun at this event! I spent time with good friends, enjoyed the challenge of the courses, and was glad that even old man Wilson could come along for the ride!

When the event was over and I headed back to the hotel for the last time, I will confess to feeling a bit bittersweet. This will definitely be Jimmy's very last Nat'l Championship. He turns 10 next month and I have no plans to push him for another qualification. Plus, next year the NAC is back in Reno, NV, way too far away. His career will be winding down in 2017 with less trials and training. We do have one more big event planned at the end of April/beginning of May. We will head to Ohio for the Cardigan National Specialty and an agility trial of JUST Cardis! I haven't gone to that annual event in several years so this will be FUN!

When You Are Too Cheap to Buy a Fish-Eye Lens for your Camera

Have a great weekend, Everyone!

Wilson Wore Wedges on Wordless Wednesday

Chewy.com: Tylee's Turkey Recipe: First Impressions

The good folks at Chewy.com asked me if I would be interested in trying a new food that is exclusive to their store. This is a month long trial to see how my dogs do on this food. Now normally, I feed raw. If this food had been kibble, I would have said no, thank you. But this food is a little different and it really piqued my interest. It is a frozen home-cooked food called Tylee's. I opted for the turkey recipe. It has a great blend of meat, organs, and fresh fruits and veggies.

I opened the bag and took a peek as well as a big sniff.......

Keep in mind this food is frozen. I can honestly say it smelled wonderful. No dog food smell at all! My first whiff was cinnamon followed by the scent of cranberries. It smelled like real food and here's why......as it is clearly says on the bag.....

It is made with all......

ingredients!

And another VERY important detail...

Hopefully everyone knows to stay away from anything sourced in China!

Tylee has made up a little brochure about gradually transitioning your dog to this new food. It's always best to ease into it by mixing your old food with the new food.

The food at the top of the bowl is my usual raw food and the nuggetts and veggies are Tylee's.

Look at the adorable little scoop Chewy sent along to help with the measuring! (You do measure your dog's food, right? It really helps with weight control!)

All this putzing I was doing as I gave Tylee's the once over had my boys very impatient. If it smelled good to me, you can only imagine how great it was for their super-sharp canine olfactory sense!

HURRY UP!!!

EYE-POPPING GOOD!!!

Jimmy and Wilson tucked right into their food and not a bit was left over, not even a carrot cube or a cranberry. Of course, they are Corgis after all, so they are not known as picky eaters!

Final notes on my first impression:

I want to add one update to this post after a question I received. This is not freeze-dried food. You do not need to add water and wait for it to reconstitute. It is cooked food that has been frozen so it will last longer. You just need to thaw it before serving. Since it keeps up to 10 days after thawing (in the fridge of course!), you could thaw enough for a few meals so your dogs didn't have to wait for each meal.

I love to laugh, so I always appreciate a sense of humor however/whenever it can be provided....

Here's to packaging that isn't boring!

I do have one con so far....The package comes with a zip-top closure. After about the third time of pulling the bag open, the zipper broke away from the plastic bag. No big deal, I just used a clip, but perhaps it could be made a bit more sturdy.

Stayed tuned for a mid-month update on how things are going with this food as my dogs' primary meals!

Now for my disclaimer:

I was not compensated in any way, other than to receive this product at no charge for my honest review. Chewy.com is not at all responsible for the content of this post. The opinions expressed are purely my own and those of my dogs!

Thank you Chewy.com for allowing me to sample new products and foods!