Missing my fur-babies...

I have a great job, I really do!

But I travel and, unlike when you have children & loved ones you can talk to on the phone, skype with, 'facetime' with, etc., there's no 'chatting' with dogs while I'm away.

I wonder if other people's pets "recognize" them digitally??  I've tried to talk to my dogs via Skype and the likes, but they really seem to have no reaction. 

Well, I've been gone all week so far & I do miss my sweetheart, but I get to TALK & text and chat with him - so I'm really ...    NO SERIOUSLY....  REALLY!  in need of some puppy-luvin'!!! 

I'll be home tomorrow night !  Yahoodles!


Bark, Bark

The loyal subject,
Christine

Valentine's Day Doggy Treats

Hello puppy lovers!    Happy Valentine's Day!

I love making homemade treats for our dogs.   I used to do it all the time, so they always had good, natural, fresh tasty-treats.  I'll admit I've been a little lazy lately and we've had to resort to grain-free store-bought treats. 

We feed our dogs raw meat for their meals.  (Research says that this is a safe, natural and healthy diet for dogs and that they can & will live longer, healthier lives eating a raw-meat diet)...  More on that in another post.

The following is a great recipe for treats with a grain-free option:

Peanut Butter Dog Treat Recipe

3 cups whole wheat flour   (OR 3 cups of Garbanzo & Fava Bean flour (I have found this in the health-food/vegan-ish section of my grocery store - Bob's Red Mill Brand) ) ½ cup of organic peanut butter (or at the VERY least, use a sugar-free, salt-free peanut butter - Kraft makes a great one) 1 cup water 2 tablespoons vegetable oil Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Toss all the ingredients into a bowl & mix, mix, mix until combined. Kneed a few times & form into a circle shape & then roll out on lightly floured surface.  Use a cookie cutter to cut out cute shapes (or, like me... I like smaller pieces for treats so I use one of those wheel-type pizza cutters & just cut out strips about an inch wide & then cut those strips into one inch pieces.  Then I place them all on a cookie sheet (either on parchment paper or on a non-stick pan - I highly recommend parchment paper though!) Bake for 10 minutes & then leave turn the oven off & leave them in the oven to cool & harden.  They'll get nice and hard - great for crunchiness!! I pop them into a large zip-lock freezer bags & they'll keep for 3 or so weeks... or even 6 weeks if you keep them in the fridge.  Also, if you're feeling ambitious, make lots & freeze them!!

Dogs Don't Care

Dogs don't care if we don't shower till noon - -  in fact, they'd probably prefer it.

Dogs don't care how much money is in our bank account.

Dogs don't care if their collar has rhinestones or biker-studs on it.

Dogs don't care if we made a big error at work today.

Dogs don't care if we didn't vacuum as often as we should have this week.

Dogs don't care if we live "on the right side of the tracks".

Our dogs care that we love them, we give them good, healthy food, fresh & clean water and daily exercise.

They just want to be with us and love us back.

HOW SIMPLE AND BEAUTIFUL IS THAT ??

I once bought a leash because it matched a collar  - ya, that was totally for me.
What crazy thing have you done for your dog that, truthfully, was just for you?   

Puppy Love....

So, its not all barking and chaos.   I do love the furry beasts... and here are some of  the things I love:

• I LOVE that Cyrus smiles when he wants something.  A big toothy-grin with the corners of his mouth curled up in anticipation of a scrumptious morsel of food or a romp in the puddles outside.  Love.
  
• I LOVE how Leo curls up at my feet in the home office.  Softly snoring and sharing his lo-o-o-ong sighs of content once in a while. When things get hectic, I can always de-stress with a little puppy-head-scratching.  Super-fluffy adorable.
  
• I LOVE that Cyrus knows the names of all our friends & family.  A mere mention of one of our kids' names, triggers 'perked up ears' and a trip to the window to see if they're here.  Smart puppy monster.
  
• I LOVE how Leo truly believes its his job to snuggle right up to ANY visitor to our house.  He's all business-like about it, getting himself as close as he can... like he's trying to help them feel safe here.  Schmooshy little puppy monkey. 
  
• I LOVE that, when we're all out for our walks, Leo toodles along, peeking over at Cyrus occasionally to make sure he sees what Cyrus sees, sniffs what Cyrus sniffs, greets who Cyrus greets.  (I love that Cyrus doesn't get annoyed with him... err, well... maybe he hides it well.  *wink).   sigh...cute-as-hell.
  
• I LOVE how one dogs naps in the bedroom, while the other one 'stands watch' at the living room window.   The watcher-dog alerts (read "barks")  the napping dog to let him know there's a possible intruder or visitor (not sure they know the difference! ha).   The best part of this is that they take turns being the bed-napping dog while the other is the watcher-dog.  Super brilliant pups.  <3
  
• I LOVE when they wrestle... a big ball of fur & teeth and wagging tails.  Dog experts say a good wrestle session is SO good for our dogs.  They work their muscles and joints jumping, rolling, ducking & weaving and they work their minds strategizing their next moves.   Crazy Canine Chaos!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This list has me realizing how quiet, possibly boring, life would be without them... 
  

Leader of the Pack?

Cesar says:  "Pack leaders are calm & assertive."


As I typed that sentence, I was reminded that I am NOT a pack leader.

Somewhere along the line, Cyrus became the pack leader in our house.  He believes it is his job to protect our house and 'scare away' any threat.    This would be awesome if Cyrus' idea of a 'threat' had any basis in reality. Let's face it... there's few real human threats to our homes, right?  I mean... burglars are a threat and door-to-door salespeople are annoying, but Cyrus has a different opinion.   He sits in that window waiting for the opportunity to bark away the 'bad-guys' - LOUDLY.


He hates (and I can't stress the word "hate" enough) the mailman.   I once went to a talk given by the brilliant Dr. Stanley Coren, author of many books about dog behaviour, training & psychology.   Dr. Coren said that dogs bark at the mailman because it's a learned behaviour.  Bear with me....

* starting when your dog is a wee, playful puppy, he sees Mr.Mailman walking toward the house and may playfully bark to announce a visitor (a normal, balanced, behaviour). 

*  the mailman drops your mail off & walks away. 

All normal, right?

Dr. Coren says that how dogs interpret this is:   
  
           "Here comes that guy with the big bag, walking towards MY house... and I barked
            & he left.  I'M SO POWERFUL, I'M SO DOMINANT OVER HIM"

. . . . .   and so this process goes on & on,  Mailman shows up, Cyrus barks, mailman leaves - reinforcing, everyday, that Cyrus is BOSS.      (Woe is us).

We work outside the home a lot, so it's very difficult to break this cycle.  As a matter of fact, there were several months when a particular mailman wouldn't even deliver our mail.   We were told that the delivery person feared that Cyrus would dive through the double-paned glass and attack him. 

Over the last few years, Cyrus' expert opinion of the mailman has transferred to ANYONE walking by carrying a bag, backpack or baby-bjorn.   Bark, Bark, Bark.

Its pretty much the same scenario with the paperboy, who uses a cart for his papers . . . Cyrus now believes anyone pushing a cart, wagon or baby-stroller are evil-beings who may dare walk up our driveway and throw a paper at our house !!  (apologies to little old lady who tootles by once a week with her little grocery cart in tow).

So I've listened to the  experts, I've read what Cesar says, I've tried to stay calm and deal with Cyrus losing his mind over the mailman with a cool head of my own . . .  inevitably, I end up yelling at him, yanking him away from the window, punishing him by locking him in the bedroom, etc.  I end up feeling angry & frustrated which, I KNOW, is the wrong thing to do. 

Every day I tell myself I'm going to do it better tomorrow.  Today was not that day.

Lucky us . . .  Cyrus has taught this 'delightful' behaviour to his younger puppy-brother, Leo. 

And while I'm at it (being sarcastic, I mean) . . . .  how I ADORE those dog owners out there who's dogs dutifully trot along beside them, sans-leash, obeying every command while said owner gives me a look that says "wow, your dog is a mess" - yet another thought to add to my list of things I'm noodling on for my "dog people" post.

Happy weekend!!


Bark, Bark,

Christine (the Loyal Subject).