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It’s only been a few months, but Ruthie has become such an integral part of our family and building memories with her and Bug has been so sweet! One of my favorite memories so far was when she was still teeny and Bug wasn’t feeling great, so they both napped together on the couch while I worked from my laptop. Seeing both of them snuggling was one of those moments where I knew she was the perfect addition to our little family.

Even more fun has been watching her grow – she’s already more than doubled in size, she’s tall enough to dance salsa with me when Bug doesn’t want to (which is pretty much always), and it’s mind-blowing how fast she’s learning and developing, figuring out new tricks, and also figuring out ways to avoid following the rules without getting caught. Ya give ‘er an inch, runs around it as fast as she can, pausing just long enough so you think you can catch her before taking off again. I really wonder if I should have named her Traviesita, but the Notorious RBG is pretty sassy, so I guess I did alright.

Really, though, even her vet is pleased with her growth, and I must give credit to Purina Puppy Chow. Between its high protein content and highly-digestible formula, her coat is beautiful, she’s strong, healthy, and happy (and she frickin’ loves to eat). I feel really good about buying it, too, because it’s made in the USA by and for dog-lovers (I love reading the stories on their new packaging). I also love that it’s super easy to find the whole Dog Chow family at Target – really, it has its own aisle.

This last couple weeks have been a challenge, though – she’s been teething, and has basically ruined all of her favorite toys whether by chewing them apart or by getting little bloody spots all over them.

Now Ruthie loves her toys. LOVES them. She has to have toys of different varieties, and she knows them all by name (her squeaky, chicken, chewy, etc), and her latest trick is putting them away inside her special toy box. So naturally, once she lost all her baby teeth (YEAH, that happened really fast), I had to replenish her toy box, but since Halloween is coming, I decided to make her a little Trick-or-Treat pamper basket.

How to Make a Puppy Trick or Treat Basket

1. Start with a special box or basket that is just tall enough for your dog to reach his or her head down into. You don’t want a 10″ basket for a 9″ pupper.
2. Roll up a towel that’s just for your puppy and put it at the bottom of the box or basket. I like to use black towels for Ruthie since her coat is black. This way, she has her own towels that we know not to use AND it doesn’t get stained or look gross.
3. Start layering in toys! I like to include:
   • A couple rope or tug toys
   • Some squeaky snuggly toys
   • Throwing toys for fetch
   • Treat dispensing toys!
4. Fill the treat dispensing toys with Puppy Chow or Dog Chow – this is what really makes it a trick or treat basket – your puppy has to learn a new *trick* to earn a *treat* (see what I did there?).
5. Leave the basket where your puppy likes to play and if you’re ambitious, teach doggo to put away toys when he or she is all done with them.

I love giving Ruthie learning treats & toys, because she’s already rambunctious enough. Really, it’s just as much for keeping her mind occupied as it is for my sanity.

If you love Dog Chow (or Puppy Chow) and adorable pictures of other people’s pups as much as we do, make sure to follow them with #ThrowBarkDogChow or on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and/or YouTube.

Bonus: Purina is giving away five year’s long supplies of Dog Chow from Target! Enter for your chance to win one of these fabulous prizes for you and your furry best friend.
Purina #ThrowBarkDogChow