everything pets + a tiny human
Hello September. Spring is in the air, the birds are chirping louder, flowers are blooming and the days are getting longer. Oh how I love Spring! Happy September everyone 🙂
Download your September calendar here
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Today Zara turns five! I have no idea where five years have gone but what I do know is that the fluffy bundle of fun we brought home back then has grown up into the most beautiful, kind, loving and loyal soul I could ever have imagined.
Zara truly is one of a kind and I’m not sure what I did in my previous life to deserve such a beautiful girl I get to love and who loves me back with her whole heart. I’m not complaining though 🙂 Zara fitted into our family from minute one! She knew she had found love and she knew she had found it good.
Fast forward to where we are today, and I could not be more proud of Zara! She put up with Oscar for the good part of 2 years. She’s shared her home with numerous bunnies, babies and all plus a pretty cool kitten who is almost a cat. But more importantly I am most proud of the way she has handled becoming a big sister to her tiny human Gia.
The relationship that Zara and Gia share is something unique. It’s also something I never had growing up so I am particularly in awe of how the two of them are together. Yes I grew up with loads of animals always around me, at family and friends homes but I tended to have the small critters in my home while I was younger. Zara is extremely tolerant of Gia, in fact Zara is extremely tolerant in general. I guess Oscar taught her that because he was forever putting her in her place- whether it was needed or not.
So today we celebrate Zara in the only way I know how and that’s by spoiling her with gifts, letting her eat all the cake and have lots and lots and lots of fun with her favourite humans US!
Usually I make Zara’s birthday treats from scratch but this year something caught my eye.. The concept is awesome and the first of its kind to be available in South Africa so I thought let’s give it a try! The wolf & Women birthday pupcake. Not only does this make my life easier but I am pretty sure it is going to be one very tasty birthday cake fit for my Princess Zara.
Click to shop the Wolf & Women Pupcake.
Zara is not short of toys and things to play with so when it comes round to her birthday I always have a hard time finding that one gift that’s a little more special than the rest of her gifts. An obvious place to start looking was Amazon and oh boy did I find something awesome for her! This water obsessed pup is gong to have hours of fun with this gift and I am pretty sure her tiny human will join in too- just the way I love it 🙂
Click here to shop Zara’s birthday gift.
No birthday celebration is complete without some special birthday decor. Of course I had to get a special 5 balloon plus some other cute balloons too. Zara is not a fan of balloons at all so they’re just there as decor. Happy birthday signs and party hats also go a long way!
Click here to shop Zara’s birthday party decor.
Happy 5th Birthday to you Zara! Today we celebrate all your amazingness. Thank you for being you, you sure are one of a kind special and we all absolutely adore you!
*Should you wish to spoil your furry loves with one or more of these goodies, we receive a small percentage of the commission (at no extra cost to you- It’s just Amazon being nice to us)
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by It’s not a secret that Zara suffers from achy joints. After having torn both her cruciate ligaments and having to have TPLO surgeries, she has since developed arthritis in her front leg elbows.
Zara is pretty young to be experiencing all of this and it is for that reason why I am exploring home remedies, recipes and products that are more on the natural side of things instead of using harsh medicines.
Here are the home remedies, recipes and natural products we are using right now.
Golden paste is exactly that! It is like gold. With turmeric as its major base, the anti-inflammatory benefits are massive. Zara gets a frozen golden paste block every evening with her dinner. It took her a while to get used to the taste, but now that she has it everyday I can certainly see the anti-inflammatory benefits which in turn eases the pain caused by the arthritis!
Apart from being the proud ambassador and being the face on the bottle, Regal’s CBD Remedy is a great one! It is easy to administer since it just goes over Zara’s kibble and she loves it. CBD is a great product to incorporate into your pets daily diet, the overall benefits are fantastic and of course it helps with achy joints. I have seen a massive difference in Zara since she has been back on her Regal CBD Remedy. Her limp has improved drastically and she seems to be in less pain caused by the arthritis in her front elbows. A winning product if you ask me!
To purchase Regal CBD please click here
Moringa powder is a superfood that I feel is still quite unknown. This superfood is FANTASTIC. And I will say it again… it is FANTASTIC to add to your pets daily diet! Like the Golden paste I had to come up with ways to disguise the taste a little but now that Zara is used to it she loves it. I have seen an overall improvement in Zara’s health since adding Moringa powder to her daily diet. Moringa offers so many benefits which I cover in this blog post. (click to read)
I’ll be honest I kind of forgot about this one. Bone broth offers a wide range of benefits, see a previous blog post on this. If I’m honest though I do have to be in the mood to make this one because not only does it take hours and hours but your entire house smells like bone broth! However the benefits of to are amazing if made properly and its another great additive to your pets diet.
There are a few other added extras that I like to give Zara. Each of these offer their own benefits for her which I love. Blueberries, raw egg + the shell, soaked chia seeds and orange or purple sweet potato. We have most of these ingredients in the fridge all the time, but use what works for you and your pets! Remember fruits and veggies are just as good for our pets as they are for us and each one offers their own unique benefit! Please remember to check what fruits and veggies are NOT safe for your pets before giving it to them, and never any seeds or pips!
All in all, I hope these added extras will help your pets who suffer from stiffness and achy joints like they have for Zara! Remember these are all natural remedies and take time before you notice any real kind of difference. The key is patience 🙂
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by Hello August. August is another fun month for us because it is the month we celebrate Zara’s birthday! This year Zara is turning five. We cannot wait to celebrate.
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by It’s winter and we all love a little extra to nibble on right. I have noticed Zara seems extra hungry lately and I have put it down to the colder temperatures.
Instead of just giving her extra treats to enjoy I wanted to give them meaning and make her work a little. So I went looking through her stash of goodies and these are her top five favourite toys she loves when stuffed with her favourite yummy extras.
The Kong is most famous of all the stuffers. It’s a favourite for most pups too. Zara loves a good old stuffed Kong! You can stuff pretty much anything inside, keep it fresh or freeze it. You decide!
My favourite stuffings for Zara are scrambled egg with grated cheese all layered up, yoghurt with fruit bits, mince meat cooked or raw just to name a few! There are LOADS of ideas.
The Nook and Snoop ball combo is still one of the most challenging interactive/treat dispensing balls Zara has ever had! I love them both to be honest. When they are together Zara finds it extremely challenging to get them apart. I have to make sure I fill the bigger Snoop ball with something Zara REALLY loves to give her enough enthusiasm to make sure she gets that little Nook ball out!! You can use them separately too which I sometimes do. The Snoop ball is a great one for whole treats or kibbles, but you can also stuff it with yoghurt or cottage cheese. Zara loves the Nook ball with peanut butter stuffed inside it. I highly recommend this combo!
The ultimate chew toys are from Petqwerks. They are the only chews that have managed to live up to Zara and her powerful jaws! These flavorit bones are the original ones and I would recommend the Barbone Flavorit bones if you have a strong chewer. These are great because you can spread peanut butter over the indents. Zara licks them for ages! We have a 30% discount code for you if you want to spoil your pups with awesome Petqwerks toys: visit www.petqwerks.com code: ILOVESTYLISHPAWS30
This little Bionic ball was Oscar’s and he loved it. The quality is great, it still looks like new after all these years! Oscar loved having his peanut butter smeared in this little ball. It has been passed down to Zara now and although it may be slightly small for her she still enjoys it. They do come in different sizes. It’s a great little ball to play with and to stuff! Smear peanut butter all around it or any other pet friendly spread. It’s a quick and easy one to do and still does the trick of entertaining.
The k9 Connectable toys are little gems. There is lots of nooks and crannies to hide things like blueberries or chopped up carrots etc. Choose what your pup loves to eat! I do try keep it mostly healthy but of course there are spoils with biltong and cheese hidden in these toys. They are a challenge to get apart but the challenge is worth the filling that’s waiting! There is also the choice of using the specifically designed k9 connectable treats which fit perfectly into the bone shaped indents.
Bonus Idea
For something completely different and completely edible for your pup, make a homemade kong.
De-core an apple and simply stuff it with peanut butter. Your pup can enjoy the entire thing! Zara loves these and I don’t give them to her often enough, that will change! You can opt to peel the apple if you have a fussy eater. Whatever works for you!
You can spoil your pups with any of these goodies available in our Amazon store 🙂
*Should you wish to spoil your furry loves with one or more of these goodies, we receive a small percentage of the commission (at no extra cost to you- It’s just Amazon being nice to us)
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by Snoozies is the ultimate in luxury sacks so when they asked us if they could send us a customised scatter cushion from their new range of course we were delighted.
Their awesome Sloth Sacks are what they are known for, gradually over the years they have grown their range and now have luxury sacks for dogs or cats and human babies too!
The latest product launched is their personalised scatter cushions. Of course Zara wanted a Snoozies scatter cushion with her face on it, she’s the famous one after all 😉 You don’t have to have a photo printed, you can choose your favourite leaf or floral design. Basically anything you want Snoozies will happily make it up for you.
We received our scatter cushion faster than I thought we would-which proves the excellent service they pride themselves on! Zara couldn’t wait to rip open the packet and see the beauty that is her own face on a scatter cushion.
Wow, what we received surpassed my expectations by a long way. Our scatter cushion from Snoozies is nothing short of beautiful. I am certainly not an expert when it comes to fabrics, but I do know the fabric used to make our scatter cushion is excellent quality. I am impressed with the zip used too, it is strong and sturdy and will definitely withhold a toddler constantly opening and closing it. While these details may not seem important to some, to me they are important because I want a scatter cushion like this to last for a long time. And this one will! It’s soft and almost velvety to touch and the print quality is excellent. It does help sending a proper high res image but the Snoozies team will let you know if your image submitted is ok to use.
Zara thinks she can use her scatter cushion as a head rest at night while she sleeps, I of course have other plans! This scatter cushion needs to be shown off and kept in a special place. I’m thinking in our bedroom on what used to be Gia’s feeding chair or perhaps the couch in the lounge. Either way this scatter cushion is very special to us.
Thank you to the Snoozies team for such a special gift! If you would like a scatter cushion just like ours then go ahead and contact Snoozies directly and submit your photo, you won’t regret it! And while you’re at it browse their collection of luxury Sloth Sacks.
Follow Snoozies on Facebook | Instagram
Visit their website | www.snooziesza.co.za
Contact Snoozies on bethesloth@snooziesza.co.za
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by Hello May. We love the month of May because it’s the month baby Gia was born! We will be celebrating her second birthday this year and while it is so exciting especially for her, I can’t help but wonder where has the time gone!
Happy May.
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by Hello April, hello Autumn. April is also my birthday month 🙂
April is also the month Easter falls into so here is Zara patiently waiting for the Easter bunny.
Have a beautiful and safe Easter with your family and loved ones!
Download your April calendar here.
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by Happy March!
The third month of 2021 already. We don’t have much planned for the month of March so I guess we will take each day as it comes 🙂
Download your March calendar here
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by Petqwerks love to spoil Zara and I am so grateful to them for always sending a surprise box of goodies just when we need them! Petqwerks never disappoint so when our box of goodies arrived you can imagine the excitement level.
Petqwerks is a brand of dog toys that really stands out for me! Their chews are actually durable for big doggos like Zara and their interactive toys are fun and seriously entertaining, even for me.
We have been very fortunate to test out almost everything in their range and Zara just loves it all.
In our surprise box of goodies, we received their totally adorable hedgehog which Gia claimed as hers straight away. Luckily Zara has no issues sharing her toys and happily lets Mr Hedgehog sleep with Gia at night. It does tickle me that a super cute dog toy is now Gia’s cuddle buddy 😉 Oh and did I mention it giggles too. We also received a new Babble Ball which is one of my favourites, it’s hard not to have fun with it.
Zara got two new Barkbones- the Dinosaur and the Crocodile one plus a pigs ear chew too. Zara gnaws on these chews for hours and hours and hours. I love how durable they are for strong chewers like Zara. There was also a cute sock monkey which Zara loves the squeaker of and so does Gia. My all time favourite product of Petqwerks is the Invincibubbles so you can imagine my excitement when I saw we received a bottle.
There was also the x-tyre toy with the bell in the middle which Ollie seems to have taken a liking to the sound. And to top it off Zara got a brand new singing chicken. If I had to choose a toy that tops Zara’s list of favourite Petqwerks toys it would probably be this signing chicken! I have no idea why, but it sets Zara off into song every time it goes off, no matter what she’s doing, if she hears it singing she sings along… Imagine the chaos.
So basically there was something for everyone to enjoy in our surprise box of Petqwerks goodies. And I get to enjoy the sights of all my babies enjoying these wonderful toys. Thank you Petqwerks for making my family feel so special. We really do love you!
Stylish Paws has a discount code for all Petqwerks toys so if you would like to spoil your babies use ILOVESTYLISHPAWS30 and receive 30% discount at checkout!! And of course don’t forget to follow Petqwerks on Facebook & Instagram
I hope these awesome toys bring as much enjoyment to your family as they do to mine.
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