October is one of my favorite months. Pumpkins are everywhere, the leaves are changing colors, the weather is starting to get cooler, and HALLOWEEN IS COMING. I could prance around singing “This is Halloween” all month long if I didn’t have any adult responsibilities. But… I do and lucky for you one of them is co-hosting the Trick or Treat Giveaway Hop!

We’ve paired up with Jodi, Felix, and Kolchak of Kol’s Notes for the third and best yet celebration of dog tricks and giveaway treats. Thanks to some amazing sponsors and the 20 spook-tacular participating blogs, we have OVER $850 in prizes to give away and 20 new tricks to learn.

The Trick or Treat Giveaway Hop is sponsored by CleverPet, The Honest Kitchen, Planet Dog, and Health Extension. The opinions and ideas in this post are my own and are uninfluenced by any other person or business. The individual sponsors are responsible for their giveaway prizes including shipping.

How does the Trick or Treat Giveaway Hop work?

Today (October 20), 20 amazing pet bloggers will each post a dog trick tutorial or offer tips for trick training. Each one is unique, so be sure to check out them all!

When you visit each new blog, you will find a new chance to enter to win a portion of OVER $850 in prizes on top of a new trick tutorial. This year’s prizes are SO COOL and include a stimulating puzzle from our sponsor CleverPet, high quality dog treats from our sponsors The Honest Kitchen and Health Extension, and fun engaging toys from our sponsor Planet Dog as well as a $300 PetSmart Gift Card that was funded by all the participating blogs! Visit each and every blog for more chances to win!

Get it? Trick AND Treat! For more details, visit our event page by clicking here!

How to Teach Your Dog to Calmly Ride in Elevators

We recently moved across the country and into a new apartment building. In our last apartment, we were located on the ground floor. It was super convenient for walking the dogs and carrying groceries! In our new place, we weren’t so lucky. We’re located on the fourth floor of our building and I wasn’t quite ready to regularly climb all those stairs in the higher Colorado altitude.

Luckily, our building does feature an elevator – though only one. Our apartment complex is extremely pet friendly, which is great! But, it also means that there are a ton of other dogs and only one elevator makes the odds of running into one of those other dogs on a regular basis pretty high.

When we visit new locations, Ralph and Luna tend to act like they own the place – walking around, sniffing, exploring – and it only gets worse once they feel comfortable. They also tend to be picky about other dogs especially when they’re on leash and can sometimes act protective of each other. After a few initial run ins in and near the elevator with other dogs, I knew we had to do some training to do.

First, I set a goal. What was I training for? What kind of things did I need my dogs to do?

I wanted both dogs to be calm and collected both while we waiting for the elevator to arrive and once inside. I also wanted them to sit back from the door in case another dog would be on the other side once it opened. That would allow me more time to react before they did to avoid any incidents.

To accomplish these goals, I just needed to dust off some old basics – sit and stay. Both Ralph and Luna have these in their repertoire, so it was more a matter of lots of practice to turn calm and collected into the norm rather than rambunctious and loud. If your dog doesn’t know sit and stay just yet, I recommend practicing those at home or out in a fenced yard first. Pair the command with a hand gesture. Start with treats and praise and then move to praise only once your dog is responsive when treats are present.

If your dog has never been in an elevator or is still reluctant to step inside, try to lure them in with a high value treat. Pick times to ride the elevator when it is least busy, so you have more opportunity to train. Once inside the elevator, ask for a sit (or other trick your dog knows well) and reward them with a treat. Repeat as necessary until they become more comfortable. This may take numerous elevator trips, so be patient!

We turned every trip into a training session. It didn’t matter if we were riding the elevator alone or if it was packed full – our goal was to practice being calm.

Our process goes as follows:

1. Sit (On the side of the elevator door)

2. Stay (Wait until the elevator arrives, doors open, and it’s clear to get on)

3. Break (Enter the elevator)

4. Sit (Find a free spot)

5. Stay (Wait until the elevator arrives at the desired location)

6. Break (Exit the elevator)

We are still perfecting the “Stay” especially when the unexpected happens or the elevator has to make stops at multiple floor, so we’ll keep practicing. After all, practice makes perfect!

This is also a great skill to have if you plan to travel with your dog. Most hotels have elevators and while walking a few flights of stairs is fine, I definitely don’t want to walk up to the 10th (or higher) floor! Hotels are strange new environments for dogs and sometimes the elevators can be chaotic and full. Having experience prior to that will allow things to go more smoothly.

For more trick training tips, visit our post on Tips to Teach Your Dog a New Trick!

…and now for the HALLOWEEN Giveaway Treat!

Each year the prizes have gotten better and better. This year we have three fantastic prize packs and each one is stoked full of high quality products Ralph & Luna would love to get their paws on. The Honest Kitchen has provided a prize pack feature two treat favorites – Smooches and Nuzzles – and an assortment of holiday themed supplements. Health Extension also has supplied five different tasty treat options in their prize pack.

Planet Dog puts a fun spin on Halloween with their Trick and Treat Balls and a Maple Leaf Nook. You could win all three in their festive prize pack.

This year we are thrilled to have CleverPet on board as a sponsor as they’ll be providing their CleverPet Hub Electronic Dog Puzzle to one lucky pup. A $299 VALUE! I’ve been eyeing this stimulating treat dispenser for quite some time and a bit envious I can’t win one!

And it doesn’t even end there! Our Grand Prize is a $300 Gift Card to PetSmart. Just imagine all the treats THAT could buy.

GRAND PRIZE:

$300 Gift Card to PetSmart

SECOND PRIZE:

CleverPet Hub Electronic Dog Puzzle

$299 VALUE – SPONSORED BY CLEVERPET

THIRD PRIZE:

Golden Milk, Eggnog, Pumpkin Spice Latte,

Cuddles, and Smooches

$68 VALUE – SPONSORED BY THE HONEST KITCHEN

FOURTH PRIZE:

Halloween Trick Ball, Halloween Treat Ball,

and Maple Leaf Nook

$50 VALUE – SPONSORED BY PLANET DOG

FIFTH PRIZE:

Duck & Yogurt Bully Puffs, Chicken & Cheddar Bully Puffs,

Lamb & Peanut Butter Bully Puffs, Bacon & Liver Bully Puffs,

and Bacon Chips (1 Bag Each)

$40 VALUE – SPONSORED BY HEALTH EXTENSION

PLUS follow all bloggers on Instagram for a chance to win a SPECIAL SOCIAL MEDIA PRIZE:

$100 Gift Card to PetSmart

Blogs To Visit For EVEN MORE Chances to Win!

How does your dog do when riding in elevators?

CONGRATS TO ALL THE WINNERS!

Click here to see the who won.

Trick or Treat Giveaway 2017 – B&B

Don’t forget to check out all the other

Tricks AND Treats!

No purchase necessary. Giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents, except Quebec and where prohibited by law. Canadian winners will be required to answer a skill testing question. Giveaway will run from October 20 through October 30, 2017 at 11:59pm PST. Five (5) winners will be randomly selected and notified via email. Winners will have 48 hours to claim their prizes; failure to do so will result in forfeiture of the prize. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest do not sponsor, administer, or endorse this promotion. Participants must read and agree to Gleam’s Privacy Policy before entering and participating in this promotion.

Each participating blogger paid an entry fee which will be used to fund the grand and social media prizes. The items in the additional prize packages were generously provided by the participating sponsors.