Faithful Friends

12/23/2023

We will be at the Native Sons Hall from 9-1 tomorrow for the last Comox Valley Farmers' Market market of 2023. Make sure your dog’s favourite treats are under the tree!

🎄The countdown is on to our last market of 2023.☃️ We will be open this Saturday December 23 from 9-1 at the Native Sons Hall.

We will have loads of food and drink perfect for a holiday feast or for enjoying anytime. You will find salad greens, lettuce, parsnips, potatoes, kale, collards, brussels, kalettes, kohlrabi, carrots, beets, microgreens, rutabaga, winter squash, onions, leeks, garlic, shallots, mushrooms, herbs (fresh and dried), breads (vegan, gluten free and dairy free options), sweet and savory treats, pies, pretzels, shrubs, hot sauce, dips, mustard, honey, jams/jellies, chutney, pickles, eggs, small scale meats (turkey, beef, pork goat, chicken, water buffalo), tuna, chocolate, maple syrup, yogurt, cheese, wine, cider, bone broth and ready to eat foods. We will also have non-food products such as soap and body care products, seeds, wool pellets, charcuterie boards, dog treats and luffa.

Some more seasonal items such as turkey, fresh vegetables, pies may fly out the door. To ensure that you are not disappointed we recommend touching base with your favorite vendor to find out about options such as pre-ordering. All our vendor information can be found on the Vendor tab of our website (cvfm.ca) or comment on this post or email us at [email protected] and we can provide you with the information.

Check out the comment section for vendor specials.

See you on Saturday!

08/29/2023

This is so good!

Check out my new website! www.daniellabelle.com

07/07/2023

We will not be at the Comox Valley Farmers' Market on July 8 or 15. If your dog won’t let you wait until the following week to pick up their treats, feel free to call, email or message me and we will get an order ready for you to pickup.

06/19/2023

Ever dreamed of owning your own business in the pet industry? Do you enjoy baking? Making dogs super happy? If so, we should chat! Send me an email.

04/27/2023

Hey there, market people! A giveaway to an event at the Sid Williams Theatre tomorrow night!

03/22/2023

Beef Liver Brownies for the win! Today Brew had to go to the vet with a very sore foot. With Beef Liver Brownies to distract him, our vet was able to do a very thorough exam to determine he likely has soft tissue damage and not a fractured toe. We also recently used Beef Liver Brownies when Hanna was on some meds. That girl can spot a filled pill pocket a mile away, but tuck a pill in a piece of brownie and have a brownie chaser ready, and that pill is gone! I always have Brownies in the freezer; you never know when you are going to need them! What do you use Beef Liver Brownies for?

03/04/2023

We are at the Comox Valley Farmers' Market today, 9 til 1. We are all stocked up with ALL your dog’s favourite treats. Yes: Beef Liver Brownies, 100% Beef Heart, Brewer Fruit Bones, all the other great flavours!! And it’s also Food Fest at the market AND Seedy Saturday next door.

02/18/2023

We are BACK at the Comox Valley Farmers' Market this week (February 18). Come and fill up your dog’s cookie jar! We also have Beef Liver Brownies today.

12/02/2022

We have made the decision not to be at the Comox Valley Farmers' Market this weekend (December 3) due to the weather. We will be at the remaining two markets before Christmas to satisfy your dog treat needs. If that doesn’t work for you, call or message me and we will get an order ready for you for pickup or delivery. Pic of Brew because why not??

10/22/2022

Most of us know that chocolate is potentially dangerous to our dogs, but how much, and what do you do if your dog ingests a dangerous amount? Here’s a great article!

Eating chocolate can threaten your dog’s life – or just pose a threat of vomit. How much chocolate is toxic to your dog and what should you do when they get into some?

09/24/2022

How true is this???

Just had to leave this there…

09/22/2022

Here’s a corrected infographic to help fix the popular but incorrect meme that has been circulating on social media this last month.
Please DON’T post “But I’ve heard X food is toxic” in the comments, rather, post the research studies (not links to outdated dog websites or blogs that haven’t bothered to clarify their poorly written material) about foods that have been declared “toxic” if consumed by pets with no science to back up the claim.
When you spend time searching the literature for toxicology studies on the feeding of fresh fruits and veggies to pets you come up shockingly empty-handed. AAFCO/FEDIAF state we should not feed these foods to pets: onions, grapes/raisins, macadamia nuts and chocolate. Those studies exist, but that’s it. 4 foods.
Compare that to never ending TOXIC/DON’T FEED lists found all over social media and it’s so confusing; even worse, people share these posts without doing any research.
There’s a big difference between feeding a giant pit in a fruit (or a wad of bark or leaves) and feeding normal amounts the actual edible fruit or veggie; same goes for your two-legged kids. Toddlers and pets need to have the rinds, cores, seeds, leaves, stems and pits of fruits removed prior to eating, and all fruits and veggies need to be chopped into tiny, bite-sized pieces. Common sense, right?
I believe pet parents also have some common sense and won’t offer rinds, pits or cores to their pets as treats; AKC and ASPCA, please update or clarify your out-of-date website info 🙏🏼.
Suggestion for pet websites discussing feeding real foods: put a * by foods that have a rind, pit, core or stem. Remind folks training treats should less than 10% of an animal’s daily calories, and if your pet has never had the new food before, always feed them slowly, giving the GI tract time to adjust. Chop them into tiny pieces and offer in moderation.
It’s time to declare common sense for the win; pet parents aren’t idiots, so it’s time we stop perpetuating fear-based myths and denying animals the fresh food treats they deserve. 🫐🍎🍒🍑🥭🥑🥝🥦🥬🥕🍌🥚🥒🍆🥥🍉🐾

09/03/2022

We have a puppy. He bites A LOT! Between puppies, you forget how much puppies bite. You think that your puppy is broken but I promise you he or she is not. Find a friend with a puppy and talk to them; we are ALL going through the same thing. This article is awesome!

THIS IS A PSA

Puppies bite. They bite a lot. They bite hard. Their teeth are sharp. You might bleed. It might seem relentless.

Scaring the pants off them by yelling, pinning, shoving or shouting will not only do precisely zero, it will potentially create a fearful adult dog.

Puppies bite more when;
They are tired
They are hungry
They are bored
They are overstimulated
They are teething

Read that again. They bite MORE when they are the above. They will also bite when they are absolutely fine. They are dogs not dolls.

Be compassionate not scary. They will grow out of it but only if you teach them a good alternative. Trade for toys. Use a pen or a crate. Teach calmness. Reward gentle interactions. Grit your own teeth and ride it out while reinforcing good stuff and proactively managing bad stuff.

Be proactive when you know biting happens like after some play, when excitement goes up, when they are overtired (7-9pm witching hour anyone?) and give them a good chew or help them settle, or channel that energy into some training.

It does get better basically. Don’t panic. Most puppy biting isn’t aggression. Be CONSISTENT and PROACTIVE and expect more than a few bites along the way.

Signed,
Aalto the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (aka the ginger shark)

09/03/2022

These two want to say thank you for your continued support of our small business. We hope to see you today at the Comox Valley Farmers' Market from 9-1 for customer appreciation day. While supplies last, come by and grab a free brownie to take home to your dog. Brew and Hanna have fully approved them!

09/01/2022

Such good advice.

Healthy, hungry dogs eat without needing to be cajoled, but dogs that lose their appetites are another matter. Sudden loss of appetite requires a vet 👩🏽‍⚕️visit.
Although there isn’t a one size-fits-all-solution when dogs begin to refuse food and it depends on health status, at least one (and hopefully more) of these things can help your dog:


▶Change the diet (be sure it’s balanced) Dogs can associate feeling nauseous with something they ate in the past that seemed to have caused the nausea, and if that something happens to be the usual diet, food aversion happens quickly.


▶ Change the feeding bowl. A flat plate can seem attractive to a dog who usually eats from a bowl. Some dogs refuse any type of feeding utensil, but will eat food off a place mat on the floor. Others enjoy a 'buffet' served in a muffin tin or what have you.


▶ Sometimes an area of a room or even an entire room becomes a “bad place”. Negative experiences like nausea and vomiting may be related to that location. Try another place in that same room, or feed the dog in another room.


▶Change the texture of food. If soft foods are usually fed, try something crunchy like dehydrated bits of meat sprinkled over regular food, crushed rice cake (just a little), etc. If hard foods are usually fed, switch to soft foods like boiled chicken, poached fish, etc.


▶ Try a different temperature of food. Warm it up or try it cold. Most dogs prefer warm food, but some are eager even for some frozen foods like peas, or a frozen ice cube of chicken broth to lap at.


▶ The sense of smell may be altered for some dogs. Stronger scents seem to gain attention. Try a drizzle of canned sardine juice on food, a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, dollop of tomato paste, baby food (chicken in broth is a favorite), or poach liver in a good amount of water, so you can drizzle the liver juice on food. Freeze leftover broth in an ice cube tray for easy warm-up as needed.



▶ Dogs are masters at body language, and when you worry, the dog worries too. Feeding a bite of cheese with a combination of dread and hope doesn’t work. Make it a happy game. Hid a pill in cheese? First tiny bite has nothing it in, second bite has nothing in it, third has the pill and fourth has nothing in it again.


Be sure to feed a diet that’s correct for your particular dog 🐶and his/her health challenges and keep your chin up. You can do this!

08/16/2022

There are a LOT of treats flying around our house, with a puppy in training and a senior who really thinks this puppy should go back. Don’t tell them, but those cookies are being broken into quarters. Shhhh

Today's Funny!

08/13/2022

Brew took on supervising the production of Beef Liver Brownies for the Comox Valley Farmers' Market this morning. He wants you to know they are up to standard.

08/12/2022

I really appreciate the dedicated work from the Faithful Friends Quality Control team. They will work all hours to ensure that the product that your dog gets meets their exacting standards. And all with a smile.

08/11/2022

Only half way there - LOL.

08/10/2022

Our dogs have always eaten eggs and they love them! Here is a great article about feeding eggs to your dog. We top ours off with Faithful Friends Flavour Boost. Ask me about it at the Comox Valley Farmers’ Market!

Eggs are a high-quality source of protein, fat, and vitamins for dogs – and most dogs love eating them.

07/22/2022

We’ve been looking for a new member for our quality control department and you know what hiring is like right now: so hard. But we have found him. Meet Brew, our four month old retriever Bernese cross. We won’t be at the Comox Valley Farmers' Market tomorrow as we do Brew’s orientation for his new job. You’ll find us there next week, though.

05/22/2022

Please check your yard for this deadly mushroom.

04/30/2022

It’s the 30th Birthday for the Comox Valley Farmers' Market today. Isn’t that amazing? Hope to see you here, at the Exhibition Grounds, from 9 ‘til 1.

03/12/2022

❤️

03/12/2022

We will be at the Comox Valley Farmers' Market today, March 12, from 9 until 1 at the Native Sons Hall in downtown Courtenay. We have ALL your dog’s favourite treats including 100% Beef Heart and Beef Liver Brownies. Come see us and all of the other wonderful vendors.