I wanted to bring my readers up to speed, as a lot has happened since I was routinely blogging.

You may remember I purchased Hush as my first show dog, and while conformation has been put on the back burner (for the time being), that is still my ultimate goal with her. In the meantime, I’ve found I absolutely love obedience, and am working towards getting her ready for competition! At the end of last summer/early fall, I began taking basic obedience classes with Hush at the Mt. Vernon Dog Training Club, a wonderful group that runs incredible (and affordable!) classes out of the basement of a church in Old Town Alexandria. Between classes, I do a lot of practicing with both dogs. Here are Hush and Milly in a sit stay while on a walk with considerable distractions (children playing on the sidewalk, cars, and the dreaded squirrel!). I love our practice time almost as much as our class time, as the improvements are so apparent in my daily living! 

Basic went very well – we took an 8 week course where no treats were allowed, and this put a great foundation on her (you may remember I took the same course with Milly). Treats are an incredible tool, but I have become a firm believer in needing to know how to get your dog to perform both with and without treat-based rewards. By not having treats in class, I was able to really hone my skills as a handler, and learn the importance of verbal and physical queues, and most important, verbal and physical praise! The lack of treats in a very distraction filled class enabled me to be firm when necessary, and produced great results – particularly with her sit and stays.

At the end of the 8 week course, Hush graduated alongside Evan, my best friend Eileen’s dog. This was a great milestone, and we hosted a graduation party for our dogs at Jay’s Saloon and Grill in Clarendon (a section of Arlington, VA for those non-DC readers). The doggie graduation party was a blast for both people and dogs, and was well attended by friends and canines alike. Yappy hours and restaurants with outdoor/dog friendly seating are always fun and a good way to reinforce obedience with a multitude of distractions… so graduation was a perfect excuse to get everyone out to celebrate! Here are some pictures from the patio of Jay's saloon on graduation! Hush is the golden and Evan is that handsome boy in the natural tuxedo! They're BFF - which makes obedience class even more fun and challenging - talk about a MAJOR DISTRACTION when your dog is in a down-stay, you're 30 feet away, and their best friend walks by in a loose leash heal!

After basic, we continued obedience classes and moved up into the advanced basic course – the goal of this course was to prepare owners and dogs for the AKC Canine Good Citizen test. Advanced Basic was a 10-week course, where treats were allowed. The class reinforced and perfected everything we learned in the basic course, and incorporated more distractions and exercises geared towards passing the CGC test.


All dogs learn at different paces, and Hush is no exception. She has always been a dog that takes quickly to certain things, and seemingly takes forever to understand other concepts. For Hush, “down” is one of those areas that she and I both struggled greatly with. In basic, this was the hardest thing for us, and that struggle continued through advanced basic. Down is a very submissive command, where the handler is exhibiting a great deal of authority over the dog, and the dog is being asked to go into a very vulnerable position. It was less that Hush was not obeying or resisting me, and more that she just could not figure out what I wanted her to do. Luckily, Mt. Vernon Dog Training Club is run by incredible volunteers, and each teacher spent considerable one-on-one time with us working on this.

On the final day of class, we took the Canine Good Citizen test, and Hush went into a perfect down. For us, down stay is easy, but getting that down is hard. The rest of the test included walking in a crowd, meeting a stranger with a strange dog, sit and down, sit and down stays, loose leash walking, an off-leash recall (with a 20 foot rope dragging behind for safety purposes), and being left with a friendly stranger while the owner is out of sight for 2 minutes. Hush was perfect, and passed with flying colors! We received both an official certificate from the AKC, and our first ribbon (from MVDTC) upon graduation. While the Canine Good Citizen is a certificate and not a title, many dog enthusiasts like to include it as a suffix to their dog’s name, where you would also include your title abbreviations as you earn them. I can’t tell you the sense of pride I had as I updated Hush’s pedigree on K9Data.com to include her CGC. With the updated suffix, I decided to include a more grown up picture of her, as well. You can check it out here. And remember, those Golden Retriever and lab owners can use K9data.com to research your dog's pedigree! Is your dog not on there already? Do you know your dogs parents? Or have a copy of their pedigree? If so, you can enter your dog yourself!


So where are we now? After the advanced basic course, we continued with obedience, taking the Pre-Novice course, but as luck would have it, Hush went into heat for the majority of the Pre-Novice course. Because of this, I requested I retake the class to continue to solidify basics. The great thing is MVDTC lets you re-take Pre-Novice up to three times. Hush is no longer in heat, and we're about 3/4 through Pre-Novice, we have learned so many new things – and perfected those we already know (like the dreaded down!). I am currently finishing up this level of courses, and will hopefully graduate and move to MVDTC Burke location, where we’ll work each week at the Novice level until we're ready to compete! I am one step away from seriously training for competition with Hush, and I am so excited and proud! 

Stop and Smell the Roses

Over the weekend, Hush and I took a few really long walks. At one point, it got really hot, so we found a clean part of the creek, and I let her get her paws wet. Dogs "sweat" through their paws (they don't actually sweat, but they release heat through their paws), and wading in a nice cool stream can really help them cool off. I try not to let her drink out rivers and streams, but I couldn't pour her portable water fast enough! So here is my little troll under the bridge.


After we played troll under the bridge, we continued on our walk until we got to one of Arlington County's many, many, many parks. This particular park has lovely rose gardens, and beautiful benches where you can sit and relax. We walked around the gardens, sat on a bench, picked and shared blackberries, and then took a nap in the grass together under a large shady tree.



Hush is a big fan of roses. First she wanted to smile with the pretty pink ones. Don't you just love this picture? When I showed it to her breeder she was blown away by how beautiful Hush is looking. She just gets better every single day!



But, Hush still does not have a very long attention span, so it did not take long before she was sick of playing photo shoot amongst the pink florals. Next we came to the yellow ones, and she decided it was time to stop and smell the roses. Of course, with all this trolling, posing and sniffing... we were exhausted. So, we collapsed in a ball of Lydiahushness under a big oak tree, and didn't wake up for over an hour! When we woke up there was a snow cone truck parked on the side of the road, so I bought us each a snow cone. Hush has hers with no flavoring, just shaved ice, but she doesn't seem to mind, and the snowcone salesperson usually discounts hers since there is no flavoring on it. You have to be careful feeding frozen treats or ice cubes, because of bloat, but the occassional frozen goodie is safe... just make sure you supervise your dog, and your dog does not eat the shaved ice too quickly.

It's Swimsuit Season!!!

For most people, you hear the words "Swimsuit Season" and start looking into gym memberships, spending more time exercising, and substituting a large salad for a big bowl of pasta. It seems everyone around me always loses weight during the summer, and sorry for calling friends out, but most of them gain a few pounds in the winter.

But then, there is me. I am the opposite. In the winter, I shed the pounds. Of course, you wouldn't know it, because I'm buried underneath oversized sweaters, big scarves, and cords that fit when I bought them in October, but by January are 1-2 sizes too big. I hear summer, and I think "Sangria while sitting in a rocking chair on a porch!" As soon as the weather starts to warm up and the flowers begin blooming I yearn for the smell of cheeseburgers cooking on the grill, and day dream of holding a ginormous Ben & Jerry's cone under the blazing sun, racing the rays to eat it before sticky droplets of Mint Chocolate Cookie dribble their way down my fingers, passed my wrist, and somehow land on my blouse. For me, summer is socializing time, floating in the pool, and indulging over lobster tails drenched in lemon butter.

But, this year is different. I have Hush as my motivation. She recently started swimming (and by that I mean going in the deep end and actually swimming), and she loves it. I've taken to walking her on long walks, we stop half way to lounge under the shade of a large tree and snuggle... usually sharing some granola while we do. So far, I seem to have not gained any weight, and if anything, may have lost a little. Ideally, I want to lose about 3 lbs and tone up a bit. Not too lofty goals, and things that should be easily attainable with my furry friend at my side.



As soon as she heard the pool was opening, I walked in my living room and found her like this. I didn't have the heart to tell her the pool does not allow dogs. She looks so good in a bikini that I think I need to work on my own body now!

The Kong Ball

You know I love a great product, and love the opportunity to review any dog related items. For a long time I've been wanting a Kong Ball, but have held out on getting one because I have so many treat toys like the Twist-a-Treat and Everlasting Treat Ball.



However, I simply could not resist when I saw that Petco carried the Kong Ball in a large size. I considered buying the Kong brand treats to stuff it with, but decided there weren't enough in a package to warrant the price, and opted for a higher quality, cheaper box of Buddy Biscuits to stuff it with. The Kong treats do not have the quality ingredients found in Buddy Biscuits, and are not something I would reward with daily.


Well, the Kong Ball has been a great hit with Milly. It is extremely durable, bouncy, and virtually indestructible (at least for Milly it is). I can fill it in the same ways I would fill her regular Kong with mashed banana or pumpkin or peanut butter, and freeze it just like I would the Kong. I can also wedge the Buddy Biscuits into the holes, for a fun challenge for her. It's kept her busy last night rolling the ball all over the room as she tried to get out the yummy treats! She played with the Kong Ball for over an hour!!

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!

I know you have all been anxiously awaiting the results of the GIVEAWAY! Well, your wait is over, because we have a WINNER!!! Normally, I cut up little pieces of paper with numbers on them, and draw them out of a hat, because I'm a bit old school at times, but I've decided to embrace technology and use a random number generator for this giveaway.

Drum roll, pleaseee....


Courtesy of Random.org our winner is comment #17 "Central Bark Designs" over at "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of BACON!" will receive a leash rack, a copy of The Art of Racing in the Rain, and a large bag of Dogma fresh baked treats! Please leave a comment with your e-mail address and I'll get in touch with you to arrange shipping! CONGRATS!!!

But, we aren't done yet! As a surprise, there will be two honorable mentions who also receive some Dogma treats...

comment #18 and comment #21 will be getting smaller bags of Dogma treats. JackDaddy and Whitney and the Preppy Puppy please comment with your email addresses!

THE KONG!!!

I love trying new and different products and toys on Milly. I have fun finding out what works, and what doesn’t, and sharing my findings with you, my readers. I have a handful of favorite dog products, and one of them is the Kong – a plastic toy with a hole on each end (a large one to add the treats, and a small hole to allow airflow so the Kong does not create a suction cup when the dog sucks or chews on it). I actually have two Kongs, so one is always ready to use.

When I first got Milly she didn’t really play… those of you who know Milly will probably be shocked reading this. I really had to teach her how to have fun and how to use toys and eat treats, but now she’s a playing monster that lives for her toys. One of the first products I bought for her was a Kong, and some Kong paste (it comes in a bottle and you squeeze it into the Kong… kind of like cheese wiz), which at the time she wanted nothing to do with it (I bought the breath freshening kind in the beginning... and it just isn't as tasty to doggies as the liver paste or peanut butter paste). She’s come a long way, because the Kong is one of her favorite treats now… I think she just needed time to feel safe, and I needed to make it more enticing.

I made the novice mistake of only using Kong paste in it when I bought that first Kong... which is enticing enough for some dogs, but just didn’t do it for Milly at the time. Now, I keep some Kong paste on hand for when I’m in a rush, but I rarely use it. The reason I love the Kong so much is the possibilities are endless, and it’s a treat/busy toy that keeps Milly occupied for a long time. I love to give her a Kong when I leave for work in the morning, and this daily treat has really eased her separation anxiety. She now looks forward to me leaving, because she knows she will get a Kong.

One of Milly’s favorite Kong treats is when I smear some peanut butter inside the Kong (I use all-natural so it doesn’t have added sugars). You can simply smear the peanut butter inside the Kong and give it that way, but if you want it to last longer, smear some peanut butter in the Kong and freeze it for a few hours. This way you can use less peanut butter, and the dog will take at least double the amount of time to lick it all out. Try sticking a dog biscuit or a vegetable like a carrot stick out of the end of the Kong for a fun different flavor and texture. While a frozen peanut butter Kong is a favorite in my household, it is packed with extra calories, which will quickly add pounds to your pup’s waist line if fed regularly. I now reserve peanut butter for special occasions, or as a weekly treat.

Another favorite is to create a doggie “ice cream” by combining non-fat plain yogurt (I use organic), water, a small amount of honey (optional), and a mix-in like canned pumpkin (make sure it’s 100% pumpkin, and not pumpkin pie mix), a mashed up banana, a little peanut butter, or some kibble. I then put peanut butter in the small hole of the Kong to create a stopper, and pour the mixture in and freeze it (you can put the Kong in a glass or a zip-lock baggie to freeze, and you can cover the big hole with peanut butter to seal that as well). This is a very high value treat, and another one with lots of calories, so it’s not one to feed on a regular basis.

I like to feed canned pumpkin on a regular basis, because it aids in digestion and helps prevent impacted anal glands (it also firms up a dog’s poop). While I can simply scoop some canned pumpkin onto Milly’s food it’s more fun to make it a treat by scooping it into the Kong and either giving it to her like that, or freezing it so it lasts longer. I’ve found with the pumpkin if I stuff a “pill pocket” into the small end of the Kong it will keep it from leaking. Pumpkin is a great low calorie reward to give in the Kong. I’ve also cut in half the amount of canned food Milly gets with her kibble and now feed her half of her canned food portion in the Kong, again, you can freeze it to make it last longer, or just scoop it in the Kong and give it that way. Milly loves fruit, and oranges, apples, and bananas are some of her favorites. I will sometimes slice an orange (peeled) and stuff a few slices in the Kong, or cut an apple slice thick so it sticks out of the Kong, or stuff half a ripe banana in the Kong.

Just remember when feeding Kongs or any treats that these will add extra calories to your dog’s diet. So feed accordingly.

If you are in the market for a Kong make sure you purchase them sized for the largest dog you own, as a large dog could easily choke on a too small Kong. There are all sorts of options for dogs chewing styles from teething puppies to seniors, and even extra strong Kongs for powerful chewers (the strongest Kong is available from vets only).

Do you have any favorite Kong recipes? The possibilities are simply endless! I’m sure I’m leaving out lots of them. This is a product that I was so happy to invest in, and an added bonus is they are dishwasher safe. Milly loves her Kong so much we even play fetch with it (sans treats) on occasion.

The Muddy Mutt: A Self Serve Grooming Salon

When the day comes that I no longer lease, and I find myself a homeowner, I have plans of transforming my basement into a dog grooming room. I’ve looked into what tubs are the best, saved up for a professional dog dryer, have selected my grooming table of choice, and even drawn out how I want everything laid out!

Until that day comes I am stuck with either bathing Milly in the driveway with a hose and drying her with a hair dryer on the cold setting, spending $65 at the groomer for a bath and brush (I’m particular about where she goes, because she is geriatric and I need to know the groomer will give her breaks throughout the process), clogging my shower drain and struggling to rinse her in my walk-in shower, or going to the do-it yourself dog wash!

I’ve found a fabulous dog wash in Shirlington (a part of Arlington, VA) called The Muddy Mutt. For $17 (you get your 6^th wash free) you are provided with a professional grooming tub that is off the wall so you can scrub from both sides, professional all-natural and organic shampoos (mixed on site for your dog’s particular needs), a professional AirForce brand dryer, all the brushes and combs you could need, an unlimited supply of treats, an unlimited supply of ShamWow’s (they’re great, but the generic sold at AutoZone work even better, incase you were wondering), and the softest wash cloths I’ve ever felt. The Muddy Mutt backs up to the Shirlington Dog Park, talk about prime location, and is owned by the sweetest lady who will help you through the entire process and answer all of your questions. They even have a small retail section, and provide you with aprons so you can leave just as clean as you entered! The Muddy Mutt supports pet adoptions by offering one free wash to any dog adopted from a reputable within the last three months.

A dog waits to be bathed in the grooming area

For senior dogs and dogs with limited mobility they offer ramps!

They have all sorts of fun dog accessories, toys and leashes in their growing retail section!

While I have the money saved up for the Chris Christensen Kool Dry Dryer I’ve been coveting, I’m a bit hesitant to make the purchase in the winter. It truly is back breaking work to bathe Milly in the driveway, and it’s way too cold this time of year, and it is just a big mess to do her in my shower (the drain clogs just from my hair so think of what Golden Retriever fur does to it!). I never thought it could be so painful to be bent over for so long, but after grooming her at home my back usually hurts for two days. So, until I can groom her in the driveway with the hose again, I’m happily spending my money at The Muddy Mutt.

If you’ve never used a grooming tub and professional dryer you don’t know what you’re missing! I can get Milly 90% dry with a professional dryer in under 5 minutes! With a regular hair dryer on the cold setting we’re looking at over an hour of coat damaging work. A professional dryer works by blowing the water off the coat, and then you can adjust the settings for detail work. The lack of heat makes this a pet-safe tool that can be used weekly (or more) with out causing skin and coat irritations. If you are spending a fortune or hurting yourself grooming at home you should check if there is a self-service grooming salon/dog wash in your area – it’s totally worth the money!

The Muddy Mutt is conveniently located (walking distance!) from my very dog friendly office. I can take Milly to work in the morning, let her play and get really filthy for a few minutes at the park, and simply put her in a tub and scrub, scrub, scrub.

This is one business I happily frequent every other week - and where I'll be spending my lunch break today! Miss Muddy Paws gives The Muddy Mutt FOUR PERFECT PAWS!

Product Review: Triple Crown Everlasting Treat Ball

After picking up the Twist n' Treat simply because the store did not carry the Triple Crown Everlasting Treat Ball, I was a happy consumer, but I still really wanted to get my hands on my original intended purchase, and decided I’d hit up Petsmart to see if they carried it in Large (it seems the pet industry caters to small and medium sized dogs in the same way women’s shoe stores cater to the size 7). Petsmart had two left, and I eagerly pulled one off the shelf. When I had arrived at the store, I had no idea how much the Everlasting Treat Ball would cost (I’d checked it out on Amazon at ridiculously low prices), and I was a bit taken aback when I saw the price, but I wanted the instant gratification, and was succumbed to forking over the $24 to have a toy to amuse Milly while I’m at work, and something to blog about. While there, I went ahead and purchased the Everlasting Treat Refills (a two pack) for $9.99, because the ball only comes with one treat (making it not really a ball that rolls if you only use one).

About the ball:

It is a large ball (smaller than a kickball, but much bigger than a softball) making it an ideal toy to use unsupervised because there is little to no risk of swallowing it. The ball is made of a very firm rubber, and has two flat ends with holes to insert the everlasting treats. With both treats inserted it will bounce a little, and easily rolls around to keep your dog more engaged.

About the treats:

While I contemplated this purchase the only thing that was holding me back were the treats. The ball says you can stuff it with your own treats, but the build of it makes it more appropriate and much more convenient to buy the ones the company makes. I am going to work on stuffing it with my own, and I’d like to find a way to create treats that are healthy and fit in it better.

The ingredients in the treats leave much to be desired, and are in no way healthy - wheat gluten, gelatin, water, glycerin, natural flavoring, corn gluten meal, garlic powder, brewer's yeast, lecithin, sodium diacetate, vegetable gum, titanium dioxide, natural coloring – and they’re made in China (normally a deal breaker for me).

My Experience:

I presented Milly with the Everlasting treat ball with two different treats on either end (the chicken it came with, and the lamb I purchased). She was totally engrossed in this ball for HOURS! She would not even look up when I called her name, and licked, pushed, and pawed at it all evening. While the treats, made in China, and lacking any wholesome ingredients, do not fit into her normal diet, I found it takes her a very long time to make any dents in them at all, so while the treats aren’t great, she is only ingesting them in very minute quantities.

The ball itself is ingenious, very Kong like in theory, but much more interactive, and really caught her attention. I’d say she enjoys this even more than the Twist and Treat, but I only let her play with it every now and then to limit her ingestion of unhealthy treats.

The rubber is very well made, and I think this toy would be appropriate for a dog that is prone to destroying most toys (obviously, supervise to make sure it is indestructible). If you don’t mind the bad ingredients, and have a dog that quickly figures out how to remove the treats they even make a treat that screws into a screw (made from treat, of course) and ensures a longer lasting treat/experience. This will be ideal for preventing her from digging in the yard when I’m not home.

I look forward to playing around with filling the ball with my own treats, and seeing what results I have.

All in all, I’d say it’s an awesome toy, but be cautious because the treats are lacking in nutrition, so only use it sparingly.

Anyone else see a HUGE MARKET for wholesome treats for all of these toys? From the Kong spray to the Everlasting Treat (and all the others) there really is a market for holistic alternatives!

PEANUT BUTTER BISCUITS

You might recall I mentioned a while back that there are going to be some MAJOR changes taking place at The Wet Nose over the next few months. The changes are well underway, and I can't wait to reveal them to you, but there is much work yet to be done. One of my favorite parts of these very important changes is that I will have the ability to provide my readers with wonderful recipes for baking and feeding your dog from home! Some of you may know that I dabbled in the idea of opening a gourmet dog bakery, and spent months coming up with recipes and testing all sorts of different homemade treats, but have put that idea on hold for the time being. I do still love to bake for Milly, and I think sharing these recipes with you, the reader, will be a great way to spread my love of dogs and baking with the world. So without further ado, here's a great one to start with from my seeds and nuts category, especially if you don't have much experience in the kitchen!

PEANUT BUTTER BISCUITS:

4 cups whole-wheat flour

2 cups quick-cooking oats

2½ cups warm water

½ cup all-natural peanut butter (use the natural kind, or make sure it is no-sugar or no-salt added)

¼ cup carob chips (available at fine grocery stores and health food stores)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients and mix well.
2. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until it has a firm texture. If the dough is too sticky and grabs to your fingers, add warm water, in 1 teaspoon intervals, while continuing to knead.
3. Roll the dough to a ¼ inch thickness. Cut with the cookie cutter of your choice (I love using dog-related cookie cutters!) Transfer biscuits to a baking sheet.
4. Bake the biscuits for 40 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the biscuits stand in the oven until hard, 1 to 2 hours.

Guest Blogger: The Adventures of Yuppie Puppy & Super (Dog) Mommy

One of my favorite things about being a blogger is making friends with other bloggers! If it wasn't for blogging I never would have [virtually] met Lea Munley, and connected over our absolute infatuation/love of animals, particularly dogs. I have had so much fun reading Lea's creative writings, and have really enjoyed her dog Riley's blog. I'm sure you can identify with what it is like to own a Yuppie Puppy after reading her guest blogging post... I know I sure can! I say this after having bought a new set of ceramic handmade food and water dishes (yes, they even are hand painted with "Food" and "Water")... I'm justifying this purchase because they were 1) At T.J. Maxx 2) Milly's current bowls are a bit too small and she makes a mess when she drinks out of them. Without further ado, I would like to present to you The Adventures of Yuppie Puppy & Super (Dog) Mommy! ENJOY!!! :)

The Adventures of Yuppie Puppy & Super (Dog) Mommy

A specialty pet store?!

Salmon?! I don’t even eat salmon!

Beds made of recycled soda bottles?! For a dog?!

Dog parks that have secret codes to get in?!

Doggy daycare?!

WHO AM I?! What happened to the girl who wore cut off jeans from Goodwill & made tuna mac for dinner? I make fun of suburban moms with their pimp-my-ride, celebrity-crib strollers and organic baby food, toys, & clothes. Herds of women with strollers scare me, frankly!

I am the dog-owner equivalent! Much to my shock, amazement, and now acceptance.

I get up early and take Riley to the dog park. We walk around to the playground and visit with the young moms and their beautiful babies. I chat with the other dog moms and dads about doggy things--behavior, training, food choices, and funny things the dogs do. We all call each other “Fido’s mom/dad” because we don’t know each other’s name. But we know their dog’s names (& life history including health records). Or if there are multiple dogs or children, they are “Fido’s sister/brother”.

Riley & I go on adventures. This means I drive around and discover new neighborhoods while Riley hangs out the window or sleeps. He seems to really like this & it‘s not uncommon for me to keep driving as if he‘s a sleeping baby.

These trips usually end at the super-duper, organic, all-natural, holistic, hard-wood-floored, big-windowed pet store. I always go in for “just 1 thing”; but then there are new treats to try, funny toys to play with, and cute clothes to browse. Usually several dollars more than I intended later, Riley has new treats, a new toy, and a special Turkey Patty for the car. He expects these now!

Riley is Allergy Boy. He’s allergic to chicken, beef, pork, duck, lamb, turkey (we won’t talk about that turkey patty), eggs, wheat, soy, corn, and I’m sure preservatives of all kinds. He needs special food, special treats, hypoallergenic beds, free & clear detergent for bedding, and frequent bathing with special prescription anti-allergen-something-or-another shampoo.

In spite of these issues, Riley almost always gets a doggy treat (usually a veggie bone or doggy frozen yogurt) in the afternoon when I eat lunch--he gets a couple nibbles of this too). I packed a bone for him to have during “quiet time” at doggy daycare. I put his name and when to give it on the bag in Sharpie.

I forgot to give it to him, felt guilty, and gave it immediately when he got in the car at the end of the day.

Dinner is gourmet all-protein, no-grain fish & potato kibble. Said kibble is served in a Break-fast bowl so as to prevent bloat. I’ve added enzyme to his water to make his digestive and urinary systems happier. Once in a while, salmon dust (otherwise known as the end of the bag of freeze-dried, wild-caught salmon pieces that serve as training treats) get sprinkled over his kibble.

Riley loves training time because it means more treats! These treats are often salmon bits. The last box was Pumpkin & Quinoa Crunchies. He’ll do anything for food! He has learned the basic tricks like shake & roll over. He has also learned fun things like backing up, and nodding. This prevents boredom on both of our parts.

This dog has an immense amount of toys, and they are strewn far & wide! These toys are super safe, non-toxic, often all-natural and of course varied & fun. Wouldn’t want the lad to run out of choices!

I travel to pet stores far and wide, always in search of buffalo, venison, salmon or veggie treats & kibble. I seek out different dog parks and neighborhoods so that Riley & I don’t get bored.

I clip his toenails, trim the fur between his pads & whiskers on his face, clean his ears with special anti-whatever solution and brush his teeth. No groomer for him! He freaked out the first time, & I’ve never been back.

We go on road trips together. He’s been to my family’s 30-person Thanksgiving, my old haunts in western Mass, and several hotels. I wish I could bring Riley with me everywhere. I, of course, think he’s perfect and capable of going anywhere. No one agrees with me. But I don’t care.

I love every minute of spoiling my “Yuppie Puppy” speckled mutt & now understand all those super mommies. Right on, ladies!!

Visit Riley’s Dog Blog @ http://rileysdogblog.blogspot.com

© Lea H. Munley 2009

Sweet Potato Treats!

I am always looking for natural dog treats to spoil Milly with. About a month ago I picked up a bag of dehydrated sweet potatoes for her. They are cut into strips, and the perfect treat to give her – it takes her longer than a small biscuit would to eat, but it isn’t a chew treat that she would spend a significant amount of time on. She goes bonkers for her sweet potato treats, but they aren’t cheap. My bag was $9, and I now have 3 treats left in it. It probably had about 2 or 3 sweet potatoes worth of dehydrated strips in it when I originally bought the bag.

For a long time I have been thinking about purchasing a dehydrator to make my own jerky treats, but right now my next big dog purchase is going to be a professional dryer, and so I’m putting the dehydrator on the backburner for now. But, I really can’t justify or afford regularly spending $9 on bags of dog treats that won’t last that long, and to me the price seems somewhat steep, so I decided to see if I could make these myself.

A few days ago I bought two sweet potatoes ($.99 each) and scrubbed them very well. I then thinly sliced them, and laid them on a cookie sheet (I lightly greased the cookie sheet with oil, but I don’t think I will do that in the future), and pre-heated the oven for 200 degrees. The hardest part was thinly slicing the potatoes, and I found the thinner slices the better. I then laid my sliced potatoes on a cookie sheet (1 potato sliced perfectly fit 1 cookie sheet) and put them in the oven, and waited. Every 30 minutes I flipped the potato slices, and back in the oven they went. I waited, and waited, and waited… after almost four hours in the oven I was tired of waiting. The thinnest sliced potatoes I removed at about 2.5 hours (they were potato chip thin), but the larger strips (like the dehydrated bag I bought) were not yet crispy. I cranked up the heat to 350, and gave them another hour and a half in the oven. The results were great! I actually tasted the chip thin ones, and loved them. Totally baked, all-natural, healthy, easy and satisfying, but would Milly like them? I always ask her to perform a task before she gets a treat so I asked for a “down” and then handed her the potato, and she gobbled it right up, and wagged her tail asking for more. I still have a few left from my homemade batch, and all-in-all I think it was a success.

In the future I plan on doing this on a weekend when I have time to be at the house with the oven on. I will set the oven to 200-250 next time, and give them 6-8 hours at this low heat. Other than wanting to cook them for more time at a lower heat to really dry them out, I was very pleased with my cost-saving healthy alternative to buying dog treats at the store. Milly seems pleased too.

If you have a dehydrator I totally suggest doing them in that, but if you don’t have one, give it a whirl. It’s a great treat for dogs on a grain free diet too! I am saving about $7 by making these myself, and that is $7 I can put towards either a puppy, or the dog dryer I am lusting after! :)

Pupcake Giveaway Winners...

I finally found the time to sit down and fill you all in as to who won my most recent giveaway!! I do apologize for the day delay. I have been so excited about this giveaway, because there is a surprise – there are FOUR winners! I used a random number generator to select the winners. As you all know, this giveaway allowed the winner to pick between the pink pupcakes and the blue pupcakes – therefore, our two first place winners will get to pick the color they desire, and the second, third, and fourth place winners will get the colors not chosen. I have a few sponsors lined up for giveaways, but first I need to reach 75 followers. If you have any dog owning pals please tell them about The Wet Nose so we can have many more giveaways! :)

So without further ado the Claudia’s Canine Cuisine Cookies – special PUPCAKES go to...

comment 3, HLEure!

Please send your mailing information and your color selection my way and I will get your prize in the mail! You can simply comment with your e-mail address and I will e-mail you for a mailing address. I hope Mabry enjoys her PUPCAKES!

And our second place winner is…

comment 15, Donna!
Please send your mailing information and your color selection my way and I will get your prize in the mail! You can simply comment with your e-mail address and I will e-mail you for a mailing address!

And our third place winner is…

comment 14, Lauren!
Please send your mailing information my way and I will get your prize in the mail! You can simply comment with your e-mail address and I will e-mail you for a mailing address!

And our fourth place winner is…

comment 21, The Little Jewelry Box!
Please send your mailing information my way and I will get your prize in the mail! You can simply comment with your e-mail address and I will e-mail you for a mailing address!

More Details Emerge - Dog Dragged Infant From House

I just stumbled across this article, and wanted to share it with all of you as the details unfold surrounding the infant dragged from his crib by the family's dog. This is such a sad story.

It turns out little A.J. was three weeks premature, and had only arrived at home on Sunday. Dakota, the dog in question is now being referred to as a wolf/collie mix, and the family is no longer considering Dakota a part of their family (I can't say I blame them, though it is simply a sad situation on every level). They are hoping Dakota will be adopted by another family, but if not she will have to be put to sleep. If she goes to the rainbow bridge I will be praying for her.

The article gives some great tips on how to introduce your dogs to an infant before ever bringing home the baby - you can get the dog familiar with baby smells by allowing him/her to sniff baby oil, baby powder, diapers, etc. I know my brother and his wife allowed their one-year-old Polish Lowland Sheepdog (PONS) to sniff around the nursery quite a bit for weeks, if not months, leading up to the birth of my niece. They have had no problems what-so-ever with Minka (their PONS) adjusting to a new baby in the house.

If the hyperlinks do not work for you you can copy and paste this into your browser:
http://www.wlky.com/news/20141273/detail.html

Do not forget there is still time to enter the second PUPCAKE GIVEAWAY!!! The drawing will take place on July 24th using a random number generator!! Good Luck!! :)

Raw Marrow Bones

With so many risks associated with feeding a commercial pet food diet, and recalls hitting every part of the animal nutrition industry – from canned food to kibble to treats – it’s comforting to know there are some natural ways to reward your pet. The raw food movement has really infiltrated the pet market, and I have considered on numerous occasions switching Milly to a raw diet, but ultimately I have decided not to change her diet, because I have finally found a food that works for her itchy skin. I do however feed raw marrow bones, and want to tell you a bit more about these. They are a wonderful treat, and you will be amazed at how white your dog’s teeth will become after eating them. They really are great for promoting healthy teeth and gums.

For most dog owners they’ve heard their entire lives never to feed a dog bones, as they not only pose a choking hazard, but can also break and splinter and cause severe damage to a dog’s esophagus and entire digestive tract. Well, this old idea is true to an extent – never feed a dog COOKED BONES. Raw bones are an exception to the rule, and a wonderful, natural chew treat to give your dogs.

I have spent the past year reading up on the wonderful qualities of treating with raw marrow bones. I searched high and low, but could not find a butcher in my area, and instead decided to try Nature’s Variety raw bones – they come in a variety of sizes, and you can chose from many different animals. I’m sure they are a bit more expensive than just going to your butcher, but they are only a couple of dollars a bone, and I thought they were worthwhile. I bought lamb, bison and beef marrow bones and serve them frozen one at a time – each bone will last months, I’m told.

Milly has so far only tried the bison marrow bone, but she LOVES it. She happily chomps away for a solid hour when I give it to her, and when she’s done, I simply rinse the bone and pop it back in the freezer in a baggie for next time. I highly recommend trying raw bones with your dogs, but if you do decide to try this make sure the bone is large enough that your dog cannot swallow it (this could be a choking hazard). You want to stay away from raw soup bones (often found in the frozen section at the grocery store), because these tend to be cut small, and can easily cause your dog to choke. Also, for the most part stay away from joints like elbows and knees (these also can easily break). I always supervise Milly when I give her a raw bone to be on the safe side. I also recommend giving the bone outside, on your porch, in your garage, on-top of newspaper, etc. so you do not get raw marrow all over your house.

You can see in this photo the bones come shrink wrapped, which in my opinion reduces the gross factor of buying raw bones, and storing them in your freezer beside the Ben & Jerry's!

The easiest way to find these bones would be to look for a retailer on Nature’s Variety’s website, and then call the retailers to see if they sell the raw, frozen bones.

Do not forget there is still time to enter the second PUPCAKE GIVEAWAY!!! The drawing will take place on July 24th using a random number generator!! Good Luck!! :)