My regular readers have come to know and love Sebastian, the Border Collie-Australian Shepherd mix dog who became the newest member of the Parsons’ family this fall.
He has become my little shadow and we all love him so much. He’s sweet, well behaved, playful, and brings such warmth to our home. I’ve learned a lot about caring for a dog and specifically for Sebastian – learning his likes and dislikes and what makes his whole body wag with excitement. (A simple tail wag just isn’t always adequate in Sebastian’s estimation.)
With the holidays coming up, we’ve been trying to find the perfect stocking stuffer to make his first Christmas as part of our family special. As is true with most dogs, he seems to loves almost any treat and, as is also true with most dogs, he has doggie breath. It’s not bowl-you-over bad, like my eight-year-old’s socks, but it’s perceptible. So, when I was asked if I would like to try PEDIGREE® DENTASTIX™ treats (well, not me, Sebastian), I agreed. I did a bit of research on these dental treats and they had overall positive reviews from other dog owners, so they were on my list of treats to try anyway.
The first thing is that Sebastian absolutely loves them. I mean, I couldn’t even take pictures of the box without my little shadow being in my pocket.
Is this for me? Are you going to give me one?
We’ve been giving him one a day for a few days and he chomps them down. I like the fact that they have a slight chew to them, so he can chew and swallow them in manageable bites – and they help clean teeth and freshen breath, which is making holiday snuggles even better.
By the way, do you know how hard it is to take a good picture of a dog as he is consuming a treat?! There is no, “Hold it right there…”
Since Sebastian is over 30 lbs, he gets the large dental treats, but they do come in small/medium and toy/small as well, in addition to being offered in a variety of flavors.
Sebastian loves to be close to us and we love to be close to him and keeping up with grooming and oral care will make snuggling up this holiday season more fun for everyone.
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by PEDIGREE® DENTASTIX™ treats. I was compensated for this review, but all words and opinions are my own. I, of course, wouldn’t promote something I wouldn’t purchase myself for our sweet dog.
What a sweet dog! We are in the beginning stages of looking for a dog that we will adopt from one of the many rescues here in Cincinnati. We have seen mixes that have both type of herding dogs in them.and wonder if their energy level would be too high for us to handle. What has been your experience?
I was concerned about that, too, after reading up on how hyper border collies can be (and the nipping at kids, herding cars, etc.) Sebastian must have something else mixed in (he was a stray, so we’re not 100% sure of his breeding), because he is very mellow. He loves to play and be active, but he’s also content to laze around when we are. He just seems to be happy to be with us. 🙂
Any herding breed and any hunting breed would have sizeable amounts of energy. Of course, the younger the dog the more energy it has. Herding breeds need “a job” to do, or they will get bored pretty quickly, especially if they are left by themselves for several hours a day while the family is out working and/or at school. No matter the age of the dog you adopt, taking him/her to basic obedience classes is a good idea not only to give them a good foundation in basic manners required to be a good member of a family but also to help with their socialization as many rescued dogs come from rough backgrounds and tend to be poorly socialized.
He does love jobs! He likes to get things for us whenever we come home. The nice thing is that I take him to my studio with me, so he’s rarely by himself. And we do plan to do some training with him. He’s really bright and it will be fun for all of us. We’ve been reinforcing the training he has and letting him get used to us before introducing him to more new stuff. 🙂
I’m so glad you blessed your children with a dog, and that you all were blessed with Sebastian! He’s clearly just a love.
Unrelated: Any chance we can look forward to another musical MMS offering this Xmas? I *loved* last year’s!
Oh I hope so too. I think I will go back in the blog and look for last years to watch again. It was so awesome.
Sure looks like that dog has some golden retriever in looks and more importantly temperament? Our dog got one large carrot every night as her teeth cleaning treat. She LOVED them, and the vet always remarked about how clean her teeth were. They were also low calorie, which was important because she needed to keep a healthy weight because of hip issues. Not disparaging your product, but carrots also work great if your dog likes them.
We will probably get a DNA test for him, just to see if we can find out anything more about his breeding.
Yeah, I recently heard about that and I never thought of giving a dog a carrot! I’ll have to offer one to see if Sebastian likes it. 🙂
The science teacher back again. Please do the DNA test. Great for science class. Or your family could just predict (write a hypothesis) for possible breeds.
Yes! My oldest son loved that idea and we’re going to do it for his science project in the spring.
My sister’s dogs loved carrots.
Apples are also good for dental hygiene, just make sure to remove the core and all the seeds (seeds have stuff in them that’s harmful to animals). Apples also work better for older pets who can’t chew very hard any longer.
Yes! I’ve always given my dogs the baby carrots that come in a bag. It’s fun to hide a few of them around the house before you go out, so they can play Hide & Seek while you’re gone. Dogs make us silly!
And Jelena, I usually peel the skin off the apples, too. Dogs don’t digest it, and it can get (ahem!) kinda stuck during elimination.
Yes! I’ve always given my dogs the baby carrots that come in a bag. It’s fun to hide a few of them around the house before you go out, so they can play Hide & Seek while you’re gone. Dogs make us silly!
What lense are you using, particularly in the big and dog Christmas tree photo at the end.
The carrot idea makes sense! Our dog keeps eating avocados odd our tree, as well as tomatoes out of the garden. His coat is looking good! I’ll have to try the carrot for his teeth.
So funny that your dog eats avocados!
I am using a 50mm lens for all of the pictures.
Hi Marian. I love that you adopted a dog from a shelter. Often, the breed mix is unknown, and the shelter workers make their best guess. Sebastian seems pretty laid back for a border collie/aussie cross, and by looking at his ear set, a previous commentor may be right about there being some retriever in there!
I don’t know if you checked the ingredients of those dentastix, but I wouldn’t be feeding those to my dogs, yuk! I switched my dogs to a raw diet some years ago, and the bad breath that one of our dogs had disappeared quickly. Raw chicken backs are great for the dogs to chomp on for some natural teeth cleaning, and the bones are small enough that you don’t have to worry about them breaking a tooth trying to chomp through a big bones.
I’m one of your original Whole 30 group from last January. Just want to say thank you again for that, it has been life changing for myself and others in my family. We eat Paleo at home and may splurge a bit when we eat out.
Merry Christmas to you and yours!!
Yes, we think there might be some setter, retriever, or spaniel in him, but that’s totally guessing. A funny thing is that he “points” sometimes when we’re out on walks, which may be another behavior cue.
I’m so glad to hear that whole30 was life-changing for you!! 🙂 I ran into some other people this summer who were a part of that group and it was such an inspiration to me.
I am, unfortunately, back to my pre-whole30 weight, but I kept the weight off for almost two years! I am making a renewed commitment this January to tighten things up! When I get busy or stressed, my waistline definitely reflects that!
Marian, I think that your readers are going to be asking for another “musical” post. Last year’s was so sweet. If you found time to do that in addition to everything else, it would be such a gift to us:)
Your pooch is just a love! Maybe some flat coated retriever in him too? A DNA test sounds like fun! Have a wonderful Christmas!
Beautiful photo! Looks like a Christmas card !
P.s. I LOVE your blog !! You have inspired many projects in my home .
Sebastian is so adorable and such a lucky puppy to be part of your wonderful family!
Your pictures are always so beautiful, may I ask what camera do you use? I’m shopping for a new one and there are so many choices out there, is overwhelming!!
Thanks so much!
Is this Calvin or Marshall loving on Sebastian? So cute
That’s Calvin. 🙂
Enjoy reading your blog but it has too many “commercials”
Are you referring to ads, sponsored posts, or both? 🙂 Feedback does help, although I do have to pay the bills! It needs to be balanced, though.
He looks to me to have either lab or golden retriever mixed in. If he was just an aussie border mix he would look different. Or less long! Regardless he looks beautiful!
Your son is precious . As is sebastian.
That photo of Sebastian against the tree is frame worthy!
My dogs love Dentastix too, but I saw online that they are manufactured in China. I won’t eat anything made in China, and I wouldn’t feed my dogs anything from China either. I contacted Pedigree to confirm this but was never contacted back. I took this as a confirmation. If you look, you can find made in the USA treats.
According to the literature they gave me, these treats are made in the US.
I hope this is true. I always look for the country of origin on any food, drug and makeup products. If the origin isn’t stated, I skip it. Maybe I’m too careful, but I can live with that. By the way, I enjoy your blog very much.
I am so HAPPY for Sebastian! What an adorable face! I love your son too! Every day with a dog like Sebastian is “merry and bright.”
I also love your blog, your entire aesthetic, your photos, your kindness, etc.! But I agree with another poster that there are an awful lot of ads, which are irritating . . . and as another person mentioned, Dentastix are probably not a healthy treat. Once in a while probably can’t hurt, and I’m certainly not a raw-foods dog food person (nothing against it, just too lazy), BUT if you research dog foods and dog treats, you will be unhappy with much of the foods marketed to us for our pets. When I switched our dog to a higher quality dog food, it was immediately obvious in his coat, etc. Then when that brand (which cost a lot) had a few scary recalls, and I switched again, to a smaller, USA-based brand, the improvement in his coat and weight were almost immediate (he liked the taste of the other better, but that may mean it was more like the junk food I am fond of!). What they eat really matters, especially since they don’t get much variety.
Love the simplicity of your Christmas decorations. It’s refreshing to find the celebration Spirit without the clutter. I have several boxes of Christmas decor stored away, and I just may disperse whatever sentimental items my kids want, and donate the rest. What a relief!
I am always eager for your blog but lately the page freezes up shortly after I load it. It only happens with your blog, and I wonder if there is an ad that’s causing that. I opened and closed it today 5 times before I could get to the end of the blog. Some days I just give up. Anyone else? or is it just my computer?
I have been having the same issue for several weeks…
I am having the same issue- – and a video pops up and is hard to get rid of. Your blog is my favorite one and this has been so annoying as I try to read it.
I too have had a problem with the site locking up for the past month probably. I think this happened once before, then all of a sudden there was no problem until recently. Somewhat frustrating though I do not have a problem with a video popping up.
Love that last shot, it is precious! It’s funny how they work their way into hour lives. We adopted a little dog this spring, I will have to give these treats a try!!
Marion, your site has been crashing quite often. I am not having trouble with other blogs or websites. I thought you might want to know.
The picture with the lights in the background is stunning.
Marion, Sebastion is a beautiful dog!! Enjoy your first Christmas together as I know you and your family will.
We have that toy pig, too, and our dogs hilarious with it! Happy Christmas to your family – Senbastian too !
I’m having the same problem with the post freezing. I can hardly ever read a post without it happening:( Makes me sad cause I LOVE your blog! And your paint…
Marion, your pictures are great! Sebastian is such a nice dog — so loving and such a cute face! So happy that he fits in so well with your family! Christmas will be fun for all of you!
I had a border collie called Lucky when I was a kid, that dog was amazing you could teach him anything and he was quick to learn even though he was an older dog when we got him! He was also a wanderer which was worrying, if he got out he would be off for a couple of days…one day he did that and he didn’t come back. My siblings and I look for him for months and months…I loved that dog and still remember all the funny things he would do…like burying his can dog food in the garden, or the day he came back with a thigh bone of a cow…don’t ask me where he got that…it was so big he had to drag it back!
Oh and before I forget I have been having the same issue with your blog, sometimes it just says site not responding and I only get up half the blog or the top part of the blog!
Buy him Sebastian doggie tooth paste from your vet we brush iolo”s teeth every weekend it’s chicken flavour, better for dogs and cheaper than a dental visit! He also loves carrots – a carrot in one hand and a biscuit in the other and he can’t decide which to take 🙂
@sherrie what’s wrong with Chinese food ? We cook it at least twice a week – for the humans in our house hold that is.
You misunderstand. I love Chinese food. It’s food products FROM China that I won’t eat or give to my dogs. They don’t have the safeguards and standards that we have. Besides, they eat dogs in China, so how careful would they be with pet products? Thanks, I’ll skip it.
Marian, the image of Sebastian looking sideways with the Christmas tree lights behind him is just beautiful and worthy of framing! It says “What a beautiful, noble-looking dog this is.” And the lights suggest to me that it was taken during the holiday season. This is Sebastion, Christmas 2016, would be the caption.
Can you tell I am a totally smitten dog-lover? I would love to meet Sebastian!
What a cute picture of your son with Sebastian. Pets add “comfort and joy” to our lives. By the way I have no problems reading my favorite blog. I am so busy reading I am oblivious to the adds.
I have a toy poodle and she loves carrots also!
We give our dogs carrots as treats and also steamed whole green beans after they have cooled down. They love them! They are inexpensive and GOOD for them!!! Thanks for adopting a rescue pup!
I just love that you adopted a dog because there are too many out there without caring homes/owners. You don’t have to love a dog like so many of us do but I feel they should be take care of, fed regularly and not always ignored. And yes, please check where your human and pet food products are made – I stopped purchasing made in China food products because the quality is not good (ie most of the ham people eat comes from China) and their lack of compassion and concern for animals is atrocious (ie – yes, they eat dogs – Korea, Vietnam & Thailand also have dog meat farms). So that’s my soapbox. I love seeing pictures of Sebastian with his family and I’m sure he’s so grateful to have all of you as his forever family. Merry Christmas!
Love, love, love the photo of Sebastian and your son. That is precious and you can see the love from both of them. You are so lucky to have found the perfect dog for your family and he is lucky to have been rescued.
What a wonderful Christmas you are bound to have — with so much love in your family.
thank you for sharing!
Micki