Remember my humans took me out to breakfast at a really cool cafe in Pyrmont?
It’s called Savichees and it’s the perfect dogfriendly cafe: right by the waterfront, with lovely views across the harbour, and lots of space by the tables for giant doggies to stretch out. Plus the Staff Humans are all so friendly too – they even bring a bowl of water out esepcially for me. 
My humans have taken me back a few more times since and I always love going there – they even know my “usual” now: a Strawberry & Ricotta Muffin! 
Well, a couple of weekends ago, I took my friend, Boo the Black Dane there for breakfast – Look, he sure enjoyed a taste of my muffin! (Boo ordered one too – although he chose a different flavour).
It was a lovely sunny morning with a cool breeze, so after breakfast, I decided to show Boo one of my favourite walks in Pyrmont – starting out on the boardwalk, along the waterfront…
…past the view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge…
…and then looping round back to where we started!
* By the way, all these photos were taken with Hsin-Yi’s new smartphone (Samsung Galaxy SII ) – aren’t they good for a mobile phone machine? Almost all of Hsin-Yi’s Taiwan pictures were taken with her smartphone too (well, except for the super fancy close-up food shots) – and a lot of my Blue Mountains video was taken with it as well!
Well, you know Hsin-Yi is very fussy – the most important thing for her is to always have a good camera machine with her – she wouldn’t get any mobile unless it had a really good camera machine – it’s why she always turned her nose up at the iPhones (aside from not wanting to be an iSheep! ) – they take rubbish pictures! Even if you put all those fancy Instagram effects… 
She doesn’t care about all the other “apps” and stuff – she doesn’t play games anyway – but taking good pictures is really important!
So when she finally decided to join the Dark Side and get a smartphone back in July, she researched for a long time before she found something she was happy with! She really didn’t want to change from her old (“dumb”) phone – it was a little Sony Ericsson with a CyberShot camera machine and she really loved it (it was PINK! 
) – but it did have a tiny little black & white screen and it was impossible, really, to surf the net; and the pop-up buttons made it very slow to text…
Now, she loves her new mobile phone machine. It is MUCH easier to send text messages with her new smartphone and it’s nice being able to get the internet when she is out & about, if she needs to check the address or phone number of some place…and it plays music (and they don’t have to only be downloaded through stupid iTunes!!) and it has the Kindle on it too, so Hsin-Yi can read her ebooks wherever she is…and she likes the calculator too, coz you know Hsin-Yi is rubbish at maths! And the best thing is – Hsin-Yi only has to pay a few dollars more of money paper each month to her mobile phone plan, to get this new phone! Oh – but do you know what Hsin-Yi thinks is the BEST thing about her new phone? She managed to put the ‘Fringe‘ theme tune as her ringtone!!!!!
******
Now, back in July, we got an email from the nice people at Blackmores saying:
“I am hoping Honey might be interested in trialling a new product range for us. In recent months, Blackmores launched a new range of daily pet healthcare treats, PAW by Blackmores Nutrasticks (www.nutrasticks.com.au). The new range includes daily healthcare treats for condition-related health concerns such as joint, skin and digestive health as well as a range of age related daily multivitamin healthcare treats for puppies, active & mature age dogs. We love working with like minded animal lovers and people who want to use only the best products for their pets, so I thought you would be the perfect person to trial these new products with Honey.”
Well, what with Hsin-Yi having to go to Taiwan and then us going away to the Blue Mountains and then my Glaucoma Sickie and other stuff…we’ve just had such a backlog of my adventures to catch up with on my blog (am still trying to catch up! Still have so many adventures I haven’t told you about yet – like my other weekend away and my visit to the Sydney Opera House and the Great Dane Fun Day…!) – so anyway, we’re finally getting round to posting about this now!
Blackmores sent us a big box full of goodies for me try…ooh, I was very excited. I wasn’t sure which one to try first! The Joint Health Nutrasticks? Or the Active Multi…or Digestive Health? They all smelled so yummy!
Hmm…choices…choices…
Nom…nyum..they’re really quite chewy…nom…nyum..it’s like toffee for doggies…!
Muesli, of course, rushed over to stick her little pink nose in my business as soon as she heard all the excitement…
…she was very jealous that there were only doggie treats and no kitty treats for her to try!
Well, I decided to be generous and let her taste a tiny little sliver of my Nutrastick…it’s mainly kangaroo meat, which we know Muesli loves! Muesli usually shares my treats – such as my liver ones and other training treats (and my humans think most doggie treats are OK for her to eat, if they’re just natural ones which are just mainly made of meat – me & Muesli are both eating the same meats on the Raw Diet anyway) – but we weren’t sure about these since they seemed to have special nutrients and stuff put in – so we weren’t sure if they were OK for kitties in large amounts. The packet said no more than 2 sticks per day for doggies over 60kg – so we thought we’d better play it safe and only let Muesli have a tiny little taste.
Well, that’s OK – all the more for me!
Mm, yum…well, I definitely give these Nutrasticks my Paw of Approval!
Hsin-Yi says she likes the fact that they’re soft – so you can easily break a stick up into several small pieces…but she isn’t so sure about the “only 2 sticks per day” rule (and only 1 stick if you’re a smaller doggie) – ‘coz then it means that you can’t really use them for training treats, ‘coz you’re worried about whether you’re giving too much (and what happens if you give too much? Or are they just saying that ‘coz they don’t want doggies to get fat? )…
But that’s OK! I guess you don’t have to use these as training treats – they can just be like the cookies or chews which you might get one or two a day – but you would know that these are super-healthy ones! 
Blackmores did send a couple of other things in the box, which I was hoping Hsin-Yi wouldn’t see: a 2-in-1 Conditioning Shampoo and a Conditioning Grooming Mist. All stuff for the Yucky Bath Thing!
Noooooooooooo!
Sadly, the Grooming Mist is a bit wasted on me, with my short, ‘buzz-cut’ coat – but Hsin-Yi got very excited when she saw the Shampoo and quickly unscrewed the top to smell it. She chooses all my shampoos by smell – (the one we use at the moment smells like pina colada! ) – and Hsin-Yi really liked the lavender smell of this one, so she can’t wait to try it on me at my next Bath.
Nooooooo! GO AWAY, Yucky Shampoo!
Well, guess what? The nice people at Blackmores also said this in their message:
We would also love to provide your readers with the opportunity to WIN a prize hamper to the value of $150 through your blog. Each prize will include the reader’s choice of PAW Nutrasticks as well as other products from the PAW by Blackmores range.
So yes! I’m doing a GiveAway! (although unfortunately, Blackmores said it is only open to Australian doggies)
To enter and win a hamper full of Healthy-Yummy Treats like mine, all you have to do is:
1) Go to my Facebook FanPage: https://www.facebook.com/bighoneydog.blog – and click “Like”
(* If you or your human don’t have a Facebook account, that’s OK – you can skip this step – but otherwise, please do pop over to ‘Like’ me – am almost up to 1,000 Likes so please help me get there!BigHoneyDog.com (Honey the Great Dane)
Promote your Page too2) Leave me a comment here telling me your (doggie) Name, Breed/Type, Age and your Favourite Smell in the world!
You have until midnight (Australian NSW time) on Mon 22 Oct to get your entry in – and I will announce the winner on Tue 23rd Oct.
I have 2 dogs, Hamish is a mantle Great Dane and Sophie is a fawn English Mastiff. Hamish turned 1 on July 25 and Sophie turned 3 on May 30. They both love chicken but are little piggies do they will eat/smell anything. They only recently became Australian dogs, we all moved to Canberra from Washington State, USA mid September and they are loving it here.
We are boxer siblings and we are both 4, Bru looooves mangos and avocados and Siam loves anything fishy, especially if she finds it dead and rotting on the beach
My name is Onya, my breed is Labrador and my favourite smell at the moment is Matthew’s socks. They are rolled up in a ball in his room and they are easy for me to pick up and play with. Sometimes I hide them too. I wonder…do blackmores treats smell of socks?
My dog’s name is Leo. He’s a purebred Pomeranian. He is 3 years old and his favourite smell in the world is raw chicken. Especially the ones being prepared for our dinner.
I have two black Great Danes and two white Poodles anything that smells like me seems to be all of their favourite smell, as I find my clothing in all of their beds
as far as food goes, as soon as they all smell chicken they all start doing there favourite tricks to try and get my attention, so Asia (poodle) dances in circles on her back legs, Boudreaux (poodle) alternates between sitting and being a pogo stick and bouncing up and down, Jurlique (Great Dane) sits patiently and waits and Lucius (Great Dane, 7 months) tries a mix of everything, so he tries to dance but usually falls, pogo’s up and down and sits. I try to give everyone their fare share, but usually end up giggling hysterically at them. I love my fur babies 
Hi Honey!! My name is Jet and I’m a Dane just like you
My owner is always telling me stories from your blog. I’m only 14 weeks old and my favourite smell would have to be those freshly clean clothes hanging on the line! As soon as they are hung, I just HAVE to pull them off to smell them and roll around with them. Mmmmm so fresh!!!
Mmmm Honey those treat look so barkalicious yummy!!
We are Ruby and Gus the Great Danes. I am Ruby and I am 6 and Gus is my son and he is 3. We live in sunny Brisbane with our Mummy and Daddy.
Mummy often reads all your adventures to us. We were very worried with your recent health scare, but are so woofily happy that you are all better. Gus loved watching the video of you on your recent country holiday. But as his mother I noticed he was paying a bit too much interest in your cute little trots, and had to remind him you are an older woman and that you have Boo to keep you company!!
So to ease a broken heart the smell of yummy roast chicken and Parmesan cheese was on the menu! Mmmmmmjust talking about our favourite smells makes me hungry (ruby gazes off dreaming about roast chicken nom nom nom )
Well gotta run, my tummy is grumbling for chicken and Parmesan cheese!!
Mmmm Honey those treat look so barkalicious yummy!!
We are Ruby and Gus the Great Danes. I am Ruby and I am 6 and Gus is my son and he is 3. We live in sunny Brisbane with our Mummy and Daddy.
Mummy often reads all your adventures to us. We were very worried with your recent health scare, but are so woofily happy that you are all better. Gus loved watching the video of you on your recent country holiday. But as his mother I noticed he was paying a bit too much interest in your cute little trots, and had to remind him you are an older woman and that you have Boo to keep you company!!
So to ease a broken heart the smell of yummy roast chicken and Parmesan cheese was on the menu! Mmmmmm just talking about our favourite smells makes me hungry (ruby gazes off dreaming about roast chicken nom nom nom )
Well gotta run, my tummy is grumbling for chicken and Parmesan cheese!!
We have 3 dogs 1 cockerspanial x poodle Daisey know as a spoodle and a purebreed cockerspanial Scamp and know Sharnee a 7 month old Merle Dane with attitude and very vocal WOW life really begins and even after puppy school and Sharnee passing with honors she still sets our routine and we wouldn’t have our babies any other way.Sharnee would love to learn how to dance like Honey does,and they all love pampering and treats.
HI Honey,
My name is Abby and I am a 19 month old Great Dane and I have a 6yr old German Shepherd Brother called Jack and our most favourite smell in the world is Mum’s cooking…Yummo, she always cooks us yummy beef stew
Slobbers and licks
Abby & Jack
PS: Looks like you and Boo had a great day -- what a yummy breakfast and such lovely views on your walk
I have Diesel, he is a Great Dane x Bullmastiff, 15 months old, and his favourite smell in the world is steak cooking!
By the way Honey, my Diesel HATES his bath times too!
I have a Samsung Galaxy SII -- and even though I LOVE my photography, I’m always taking photos of Diesel on my phone -- it has such a great camera!
Cool phone. Thanks for the head up about it have a great camera. Mommy will keep it in mind!
Hi Hsin-yi and Honey! Those muffins look yummy, I hope you and Boo enjoyed them. We have a lovely ‘muffin lady’ at my TAFE college who bakes fresh muffins every morning. I’m sure you’d love it.
My doggy’s name is Gary, he’s a black and tan terrier mix, who knows what breeds have gone into him! He’s about 6-7 years old now. His favourite smell in the world has got to be cat poo… Yuck!
Wow, Honey, Hsin-Yi got some great pics of you for this post. Your reaction to the shampoo is priceless
.
Your walk with Boo looks lovely! I wish we were closer so you could have a similar date with Grendel! Though he’d just have to sit back and drool jealously at your yummy muffin. He had some dodgy tummy issues as a pup, so now we play it safe and the only human treat he gets is ice cream. I know, we’re just mean
.
Looks delicious! How nice of them to offer such a big giveaway as well.
I’m Voddy, I’m a blue and white purebred Great Dane and I’m 6 and a half years old
My favourite smell is anything edible!
I would have loved to try their shampoo -- Sam is going thru some serious dry skin right now.
I bet you and Boo get a lot of attention when you are out together.
Sam
Hi Honey
It looks like you and Boo went on a lovely walk together and how lucky you both are to get a muffin each they look very yummy. Your humans new phone takes pawesome photo’s of your beautiful self
Those treats look like they taste delicious
From Milo & Jet
Your chewing face is very silly
Stop on by for a visit
Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com
Oh Dog, breakfast at café, I just love it !! It seems you have a cool weather down there, you must be happy ^^
And we are sooooo jealous, all that goodies to win (exept maybe for the shampoo
)
Good look to all the aussie pawticipant !!
Echo & Link
I have something sweet for you! Come see: http://huskyslife.com/food-figh/
They look so tasty, I would love to try some. I live on the gold coast and I always go out to a cafe and get a bacon and cheese muffin they are my favourite. They are by far the bestest smell in the world..
My name is Hugo and I’m a great dane. I am 15 weeks old so I have a lot of growing to do . My best mate is tank and his birthday is coming up next month and he will be 4.. If I won the hamper I would give it to tank for his birthday cause he is my best mate and he has made me feel so safe when I came to my new home.. enjoy your travels if you are ever on the goldie I will take you to my fav cafe… Cheers Hugo
Hey, Honey! Been catching up on all your adventures. Mama has a bad shoulder and wasn’t able to type at all for a while. You make a lovely spokes model. Looking forward to seeing who wins your contest. And how nice to see so many Danes in Oz responding to your contest!
Are you moving again at the end of this year? Have you started packing?
Good luck to all the Australian doggies participating in the contest!!
Hsin Yi, lovely mobile phone you have there, I have a Samsung Galaxy too, mine is the Galaxy Mini. I got it as a Christmas present last year and especially love the camera, cause the quality is indeed quite good for a mobile phone.
Apart from that, I use it to remind me of all my appointments, I use the radio function when I’m walking in town, and I connected my e-mail and facebook to my phone. All of the other app stuff isn’t really my thing either.
greets,
Karolien
@ Honey:
I don’t like taking a bath either and I hate all those smelly shampoo thingies too… Unfortunately my humans disagree…
Slobbery kiss,
Killian
Oops I commented in the wrong place! My lovely doggie is Duke, he’s a Great Dane, and is 4 months old. His favourite smell in the world is lamb shanks cooking on the stove… when their on he always breaks the house rules and sneaks into the kitchen for a good sniff.
Hi Honey,
What a lovely gift ! Why France is so far from Australia ? That’s so unfair
I wish good luck to the australian doggies !!
Your pictures at the harbour are nice. It seems Summer is almost there.
You’re lucky to have such a good friend next to your place.
I’m either lucky : I’m supposed to meet my brother tomorrow and we have planned to go to a great dane show ! Maybe I’ll be the prettiest black female doggie ??
Slobbers,
Glen
Hi Honey!
Lucky (blue heeler cross) and Diesel (German shepherd pup) checking in -- we love going out for coffee too! Our favourite smells above everything else are dried liver, and fresh raw chicken breast. You can interrupt us doing anything untoward with a little of either
Enjoying reading your tales (hehe)
Honey I have to say that you are aging Very gracefully and you are so beautiful I love seeing your adventures and I think you have a more active life then most heumens BIG HUGS
Hi, Honey, you are beautiful! I am a Greyhound, I used to race but now I am my mum’s Furbaby and she calls me a sookie minx! I like playing with big dogs because they are gentler and do not make sharp noises that hurt my ears. Licks from me and hugs from my human mummy.
Wow, that’s really cool you got to try out all those fun products and give some away. That strawberry muffin you had sounds wonderful.
LOL! I LOVE the first picture of you chewing up your new treat. So cute!!