I Scream! You Scream!

I'm a dog.  We all scream for ice cream!

I didn't know it, but Alicia had been saving up a special treat for me.  Back in July she stopped over at Dairy Godmother to treat her camp staff to a little Wisconsin-style frozen custard.  While she was there, she picked up one of their Pumpkin Puppy Pops.

So what is a Puppy Pop?  Puppy Pops are frozen, yogurt-based treats for dogs, which are wheat-free and made with all natural ingredients.

Now that it's September and summer is over, Alicia is back to the daily grind, working as a school librarian.  This means she doesn't have as much time to spend with me.  This also means she was feeling guilty and remembered that she had a special treat to give me.  I can't believe Alicia had been holding onto this thing for so long without giving me a taste!

The peace/guilt offering.

Yum! Yum! Yum!

It keeps trying to run away from me.

That's better.  Alicia popped it out of the plastic
cup and into my bowl, where it couldn't go too far.

Mmm...That was good.  Thank you! I'll have another.

I sure hope she feels guilty again sometime soon.  Like maybe later today.

Party Like a Dogstar!

I'm a dog.  I love treats.  Usually, Matt and Alicia give me hot dog bits or frozen green beans as a treat.  And usually, I only get a treat in exchange for following a command.  But I lucked out when one of our neighbor-dog's recently had a birthday.  Birthday treats!  Who even knew these existed?  Not me.

Our neighbor, Kona Bean, who is some sort of brown mini-cocker spaniel looking dog, isn't really the biggest fan of me.  Whenever I see him out, I get excited and want to say hello.  He also gets excited, but with growling and sharp barks.  I don't mind it at all, but Kona's owner doesn't like his aggression one bit.  That's probably why I wasn't invited to the birthday party.

That's right; I'm a party crasher!  I could tell something was going on outside while I was stuck inside with Matt and Alicia.  Determined to get in on the fun, I annoyed Alicia until she decided she has no choice but to take me out for a walk.  Little she know that at the end of our walk we would "stumble" onto a dog party!

Kona's owner had invited a bunch of the neighbor-dogs that Kona actually likes to feast on some tasty treats from Dogma Bakery.  The party was just about to break up when we arrived, but there were plenty of treats leftover, and we were invited to take one each of the Bubba and Snicker Doodle treats.  After I ate my dinner, Matt and Alicia gave me half of the Bubba.

Sitting like a good girl.  Take a moment to note
how this pic shows off my muscles. I'm Strong!

Nom. Nom. Nom. Peanut putter brownie with carob chips.

The next day, while Matt and Alicia were out, I helped myself to the other half.  They left it out on the counter in a plastic bag, but clearly within my reach, so I assumed they wanted me to eat it. But they didn't act like they were so happy about my eating it when they came home and saw the plastic on kitchen floor.

But there was still one treat left.  This one they were saving for Ben to give me while they were away.  But that's also when I ate my bed.  So Ben didn't give me any treats.  Matt and Alicia felt bad for leaving me and making me sad and lonely by going to the beach without me and forcing me to eat my bed.  So they gave me the Snickerdoodle when they got home!

Before I ate the snack, Alicia presented it to me.
I sniffed the bag to ensure freshness. Just like a fine wine. 

Matt and Alicia don't seem to be rushing out to Dogma to buy me more snacks, but I really enjoyed the ones I got.  Kona should turn 7 more often!

And for anyone interested, I do do parties and would be happy to come to your party and look cute, wag my tail, lick toes, snuggle make everybody happy.  In return, I require treats.  Contact Alicia or Matt for availability.

What's For Dinner?

I'm a dog.  I eat dog food.  Dog food, in general, gets a bad rap.  And if you look at the labels of most of the kibbles available in the grocery store or Target, it's easy to see why. Dogs are primarily carnivores.  While veggies and grains are a part of a healthy diet, they should be a small part.  Brands like Purina, Hill's Science Diet, and even Iams are packed with corn and its derivatives.  Have you ever seen a dog eat corn? I didn't think so.

In the shelter, I was eating Hill's Science Diet Puppy Lamb Meal & Rice.  Unsurprisingly, lamb and rice were the first two ingredients.  Off to a good start!  But then, the ingredients list went downhill, with whole grain wheat and corn gluten meal.  The folks at the shelter knew that this wasn't the best food for me, but it was what they had.  They recommended to Matt and Alicia that I stick to a "grain free" diet.

Grain free basically means no wheat or corn.  Rice is okay.  That's why they switched to Avo Derm Chicken Meal and Brown Rice Formula - Puppy Dog Food.  While Alicia says they went with this brand on the recommendation of a friend with a pit bull mix, I think she really chose it because it's made with avocado, her favorite food.  The natural oil in avocado helps keep my skin healthy and my coat shiny.

Chowing down!

We just finished the transition from Hill's to Avo Derm this week.  I eat 3 cups of food per day, so I'd get 1.5 cups of Hill's Science Diet and 1.5 cups of Avo Derm each day.  Matt and Alicia also give me bits of all-beef hot dog when they're trying to get me to do something I really don't want to do, like get in the car crate, or when they want to encourage me to make the right decision (poop and pee outside, sit on command).

Mid-scarf.

One of my favorite treats, though, is frozen green beans.  Yup, you heard me right.  Frozen green beans.  Alicia likes to use these while training on commands or just as a hot afternoon treat after a walk.  Typically, dogs who are overweight go on "The Green Bean Diet" (just Google "green bean diet" and you'll find tons of recipes and recommendations on how to incorporate green beans into your dog's diet).  If anything, I was a little bit underweight when Matt and Alicia first brought me home.  Instead of substituting green beans for other food, I just get to eat green beans.  The great thing is that green beans are a great source of fiber.  Delicious!

Mmmm...Green-uh-muh-beans!