5 Ways to Help Your Dog Live His Best Life

For those of you who don’t know, my family spent our summer on the coast. We just got back into town last week and to say life feels upside down would be an understatement.  I’ve spent the last few days getting everyone back into their normal routine and trying to find ways to get us all back on track…even Ollie. Now, Ollie had a great summer. He ran on the beach. He played in the sand. He ate table food (I know, I know but you just can’t tell my mom no!). So, in a lot of ways I’m working to get Ollie back on track to living his best life right now as well. For some time now, we’ve been trying different dog foods and experimenting with ways to keep Ollie looking and feeling his best. Since we’re officially done traveling for at least a few months, I decided now would be a perfect time to switch things up with Ollie, get him on a routine and help him get back to living his best life. This decision to get things back on track for my four-legged friend just happened to pair up perfectly with the opportunity to join the Purina ONE® 28-day challenge (more on that later) so I decided why not share my experience with all of you other dog mamas out there! Whether you’re trying to get back into a routine with your pet, looking for some simple changes that may help him or her look and feel better or just looking to join me on the Purina ONE® 28-day challenge, read on to find out the 5 simple ways I’m helping Ollie live his best life.

Exercise With Your Pup

It goes without saying that dogs need exercise…however, sometimes, just as us humans do, we forget the importance of taking our four-legged friends out for a walk or even a run. Most of you know that I’ve been on a mission to get healthier this summer so I decided that I needed to do the same for Ollie. Now, I understand that Ollie is four whole pounds and doesn’t need to walk or run ten miles a day but I do make it a priority to take him on two to three short walks each and every day and I do my best to give him at least a few minutes of time to run hard. Not only does it help him feel great but it helps him to stay healthy.

Love Him Hard

While I know that every dog is different, I also know that my pup loves to be loved. He wants his ears scratched. He wants to be held. He wants to be close to his humans as much as possible. For a loving dog like Ollie, contact is important. It matters that we take time to give him the love and attention he needs. I think so often we can think that pets are just around to give us unconditional love but it’s important to remember that they need the same in return.

Don’t Forget to Play

While love and exercise are important, I’m learning that does not take the place of play. While Ollie may be small, he still loves to play fetch or tug-of-war and that time of playing with him is just as important as loving him. It teaches him how to interact with people and it helps him to learn boundries so that when he’s around other dogs and people, he knows just how much play is appropriate and how much is too much.

Give Your Pup Time to Rest

I’ll admit that I’m bad at dragging Ollie with me pretty much everywhere but his little body needs time to rest! I noticed a while back that when he would get tired, he would go into his cage and curl up on his bed. This is a clear sign that he needs rest and a break from being stimulated. While the temptation can be strong to keep your pup going so that they will hopefully sleep well at night, it’s important to remember that an overly tired dog can show symptoms of being aggressive.

Find the Right Dog Food

You all have heard me talk about the importance of finding the right dog food before and I’ll admit that we’ve tried quite a few options with Ollie. We’ve talked to the vet and I know that what we feed him matters. That’s why we’ve agreed and are excited to take the Purina ONE® 28-day Challenge with Ollie. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering what this means and how you will know how it goes and I’m excited to not only tell you what you can expect from us over the next 28-days but how you can join in as well.  Yesterday, in preparation for this challenge, I headed to Walmart and picked up a bag of Purina ONE® SmartBlend Lamb & Rice Formula.

With real meat as the #1 ingredient in Purina ONE® SmartBlend Lamb & Rice Formula, the goal is to deliver 100% nutrition to Ollie with 0% fillers. In fact, this smart nutrition is inspired by nature and advanced by research and every ingredient has a purpose. Purina ONE® wants all dog owners to experience the difference for themselves so they are challenging us all to take the Purina ONE® 28-day Challenge.

Over the next 28-days (starting today), I’ll be transitioning Ollie to Purina ONE® SmartBlend Lamb & Rice Formula. How will I be doing this?  Well, at the advice of Purina ONE®, I’m starting slow and following the schedule below.

• Days 1-2: I’ll introduce Purina ONE® to Ollie in small amounts, still feeding him primarily his old food.
• Days 3-4: I’ll feed Ollie a bit more Purina ONE® each day.
• Days 5-7: I’ll gradually increase the amount of Purina ONE® food and decrease Ollie’s previous food.
• Days 7-28: I’ll be feeling Ollie exclusively Purina ONE®.

Of course, Ollie and I will be documenting this journey through video, social media and instagram stories and in 28-days I’ll have a results post so you all can see the differences that we experienced. Even better, I want you to be able to compare along with me and see if if there are visible differences in Ollie’s energy, eyes, skin and coat during the 28-day period so I’ll be taking a quick video every day and showing you all the differences that we experienced at the end of our challenge.

So, here’s Ollie’s starting point….he just went to the groomer and got all the dry hair from being in the ocean so much this summer cut off so it’s the perfect before picture that will really allow you to see the possible differences that we may experience by taking the 28-day Challenge.

So, besides following along (be sure to follow my Instagram stories over at @TheMomUnleashed), how can you get involved? Well, I want to challenge all you dog mamas to take the Purina ONE® 28-day Challenge with me! Since you already know how it works, it will be easy to jump in! Even better, if you register for the 28 Day Challenge now you can save $3 on your first bag of Purina ONE® dog food! Then, simple follow the feeding schedule I listed above, snap a few pics of your pup along the way and join in as I share Ollie’s results in late September!

Don’t wait though! Get your coupon and join me today by switching out your pup’s food for Purina ONE® dog food that’s crafted in Purina-owned USA facilities for unparalleled quality and safety and then follow along with Ollie’s journey to see what visible differences we may notice in the next 28-days!