Pet Treats

At Blair Candy, nothing makes our day more than hearing from our happy customers. However, for all the people we have had the pleasure of meeting over the years, we were always missing something – the candy-loving horse market! To be fair, we didn’t even know this demographic existed until we heard from Susie Stephens, one of our Tennessee regulars who has been known to place an order or two (or three…or four!) for our Red Bird Peppermint Sticks. As far as we knew, Susie had the freshest breath in the south! These oversized canisters of peppermints pack a minty punch with 240 sticks per container, and Susie is among their biggest fans. Well…we thought she was, anyway. As it turns out, she’s actually buying them for her horse. Yep, you read it right! These soft, melt-in-your-mouth treats are actually a favorite of Susie’s six year old Oldenburg Warmblood horse, Rohan. And he’s chomping at the bit to get to them. Literally!

Susie and Rohan are award-winning partners is a discipline known as Dressage. Susie explains Dressage as “dancing or ballet on horseback”. It is a difficult but beautiful sport appreciated for the athletic and graceful skills of both horse and rider. Anyone who has had the pleasure of training or simply riding a horse knows the importance of having a trust and connection with your horse. An emotionally-intelligent animal, horses, much like humans, can be headstrong and require that you ‘prove yourself’ before you earn their trust and affection. Susie uses the Red Bird Peppermint Sticks to help strengthen her bond with Rohan while treating him to refreshing candy that helps him to accept and chew the bit.

Rohan receives 2 peppermints prior to training, and 2 more when Susie has finished riding. As rewarding as training is, it is also a challenging endeavor, and the peppermint candies help Susie to attract and keep Rohan’s attention while also ensuring that the proper bit connection has been made. You’ll notice in the photo below, however, that Susie has to keep the container out of sight to keep it out of Rohan’s mind. His training can get a little off track if he spies the familiar canister!

Susie and her daughter Stefani Gianni, a Los Angeles-based actress, consider Rohan and his ‘horse brother’ part of the family, along with their ‘little brother’ Izzy, a beautiful Boxer who can’t seem to keep his paws off their peppermints, either. Susie did her homework to ensure that the peppermints were safe for the 4-legged members of her family before introducing them. And of course, just to be super sure, she also tested them on humans. Namely, herself and her daughter!

What offbeat ways do you have for making the most of candy? We’d love to hear from more people about where our candy is making an appearance!

It’s the question that you can be sure someone will ask when you mention that dog treats are delicious: “And how do you know? Have you tried them?!” I’ll start by saying the temptation was great to – pardon the pun – double dog dare a coworker to do just that! But I resisted temptation when a handful of paw-dorable pictures came my way.

A friend of mine recently became the proud puppy papa to a furry bundle of love named Sully. While I would typically celebrate a new baby’s arrival with a gift of Bubble Gum Cigars, I knew those weren’t going to cut it for Sully. He needed some tempting bone-shaped treats, and he needed them to be our Mega Bone Dog Treats. After all, he’s not just any puppy; he’s a Saint Bernard puppy. And they only come in one size…huge!

Our Mega Bone treats are an all natural doggy delicacy handmade with yummy peanut butter. And at just $3.50 per bow-wrapped bone, they’re a good-for-your-dog treat that doesn’t break the bank. If your pooch isn’t quite ready to tackle such a treat, we have smaller Natural Dog Treats as well. Many of the dog treats we sell, including the bone above, are from Barbara’s Canine Catering, Inc. If that name sounds familiar, you may have seen them featured on Good Morning America, Animal Planet, or within the pages of several popular magazines. And if you think for a second that Barbara’s canine credentials will go unappreciated by your pup, think again. A dog’s eyes never lie; particularly those of a plush and perfect puppy. And Sully looks mighty pleased with what Barbara has whipped up in her canine kitchen!

There are lots of things to love about holidays, from friends and family visiting from out of town, to marvelous meals full of food , fun and laughter. But my favorite thing about holidays is the selflessness. It’s as if all of a sudden we are overcome with a desire to share and care – there’s no one fighting over the bigger half, no one’s frown going unfixed without someone trying to make it a smile. We’re more generous, and happy to be so! We’re more ourselves, really; or who we might be were it not for all the stresses and messes of everyday life occasionally making us a bit cranky. We’re hugging, we’re reminiscing, we may even be glowing – and as the conversations continue, and the dog wanders into the kitchen while we cook, we smile down at our furry friend and give her a treat from the table. After all, it’s a holiday and she’s such a good girl, what harm is there in one piece of chocolate? Unfortunately, quite a bit of harm.

The toxicity levels for chocolate in dogs varies by the type of chocolate and the size of your dog, but the potential for them getting sick is definitely not worth the risk. It actually takes a very small amount of chocolate to affect dogs negatively in many major ways, including an increased heart rate, vomiting and muscle tremors. In the case of accidental ingestion you should contact your Vet immediately, but prevention really is the best prescription, so take time to ensure those sugary sweets you and your children will be enjoying are out of Rover’s reach. And, of course, make sure you have some Dog Treats stashed away for your pooch to enjoy the day! At Blair Candy, we are all about bringing a smile to every face in the house, including the fluffy, furry ones that are always oh-so-eager to bring a smile to us all year round.

I know I don’t have the strength to sit on the couch cherishing every marvelous moment Cadbury Mini Eggs bring while big, brown pleading eyes stare up at me with hope! But I’m also not about to be responsible for my favorite couch companion getting sick, which is why I have my Easter Candy arsenal fully stocked with Gummi Peach Penguins and Pupsicles – Dubble Bubble and Doggie Donuts – to ensure everyone gets their fabulous fill of deliciousness Easter morning. Just be careful that in addition to keeping your Easter treats away from your pup’s tummy, you also keep her treats out of her sight! In the very true words of Phil Pastoret, “If you think dogs can’t count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then giving Fido only two of them.”

Happy Easter to Your Family From Ours!