Best Dog Treats and Toys for Serious Chewers

So you might have heard that one of the reasons things have been so sparse around here lately is that we adopted a new pup! Our gal Penny Lane is supposed to be around one year old, but I'm guessing she's slightly younger than that. She has a TON of puppy energy and a serious need to chew. She also has jaws of steel and crushes regular toys in seconds. So I've spent a good part of the last two months searching for items that will keep the Mr.'s shoes out of her mouth (she only chews his stuff, which kind of cracks me up). Since Penny is a part of our family and this is a family-friendly lifestyle blog, I thought it would be fun to share a few pup posts now and then. Starting with my top treat and toy finds for serious chewers. Anyone else have a new furry family member?!

1. KONG is the go to brand for tough toys and we use several of the classic ones daily, but this oversized Wobbler food and treat dispenser takes the cake. It's hard plastic but fares well with teething and has held up well with Penny slamming it around to get her breakfast.

2. Penny is obsessed with cheese -- another sign that she was meant for our family. These Himalayan Yak Cheese chews are the perfect way for her to get her chewing fix without leaving gross bone residue all over the house.

3. You say peanut butter, Penny says YASSSSSS. This Peanut Butter Nylabone is textured for optimal chewing too.

4. Cami picked out this wood stick because Penny kept stealing all of her hiking sticks -- she loves it!

5. The West Paw brand has been a consistently good choice. I love to put a treat stick in this puzzle toy and let Penny have at it.

6. We live across the street from a tennis center and have a tennis ball obsessed dog. So you can imagine how that's working out. We kept getting her new tennis balls, but she destroys them almost immediately. This KONG Jumbler Ball toy keeps her occupied for a serious amount of time as she tries to get the tennis ball out. And the handle is fun for the kids.

7. Another West Paw fave, this little treat dispenser is another fun peanut butter or treat go to.

8. Lots of pups like long toys they can whip around and this sweet potato rope doubles as a chew toy too. Penny loves to run long loops around the house flipping it around, then chews all the sweet potatoes off, then chews the ropes to bit. It makes a mess, but it's worth it.

Summer Pool Party Ideas!

Growing up, I always loathed the fact that my own birthday was in summer -- I felt like because we were out of school, I didn't get quite the same fanfare as I wanted. People were on vacation, friendships dwindled, and it was just too darn hot out. Now, neither of my kiddos have summer birthdays and I SO wish they did. It seems so much easier to have a fab pool party instead of trying to coordinate indoor parties during the school year. Perhaps I can persuade one of them to celebrate their spring or fall birthday in the summer heat next year .... I'm thinking one of these super fun (and a bit random) pool party ideas might do the trick!

1 Cam would flip for a flamingo pool party / 2 is there anything more random and fabulous than a soft pretzel party!? / 3 we are all watermelon-obsessed this summer and this is such an awesome graphic party! / 4 August is the perfect month for a "Dog Days of Summer" party / 5 both of my kiddos were serious surfers all summer long -- a perfect pool party idea!