I'm Back!

The mom's went on something called "vacation" last week. I don't know where they went but my Uncle P and Aunt C came and stayed with me (and the cats). It was hard work for me keeping them safe from the mailman and making sure they didn't throw anything worthwhile away but I got it done. It did thunder a bit but Aunt C is awesome and so I wasn't so scared. Anyway, the mom's came home and brought me a souvenir. A stupid shirt. Then they took a picture. My dignity is wounded but I do look sharp. I'm glad the mom's are home so I'll let them show you my shirt. (They have to help since I don't have thumbs.)

Love Your Pets Day

I'm not sure if there is an official "Love your pets day" but maybe there should be, (as opposed to Hug your pets day, which is a bad idea). Today I put on the monkey suit and the pantyhose and the spanx and the heels and headed out to a large job fair. I can't say I was excited or even optimistic. I don't love these events which seem to be mostly populated with staffing centers, for-profit colleges and branches of the military but no one with specific positions they're hiring for. Since I'm actively looking for a new position these events are a necessary evil. While I was surprised and may have developed a lead or two at this one, it wasn't much better than a time-share sales pitch. When I left Max was snoozing on the couch. When I came home I was met by an excited, wiggling little guy.

Then I went into the bedroom (to get out of the Spanx and breathe again) and found Sadie and Charlie. Sadie sleeping and Charlie watching her before he left his post to get pet.

It's at this point I realize how great, even though all their flaws, my pets are. Charlie will bite your ankles to initiate play but most of the time he just wants head butts and body rubs. Sadie's not in the best of health and we live in mortal fear that she'll puke on our heads while we sleep but she is the best night time cuddle bug ever. Max flies off the handle at the sight of other dogs but is easy and willing to train and loves to follow us around. 95% of the time my pets are awesome. I can't always say the same thing about me. So for today and here on out I'll try to be more mindful of the great pets I have and when people complement them I won't be so quick to point out their flaws but appreciate all the joy, goofiness and love they bring.

Easy Grocery Store Dog Treats

Life has gotten busy! With spring here and plants to go in the ground, lawns to mow and general life I haven't made Max treats in a while. With so many pet food and pet treat recalls lately, it's tempting to go "off the grid" and make everything yourself. There are plenty of people who do. I, however, am kinda lazy sometimes and so I've compiled a list of my go-to treats when I just don't feel like doing a full effort.

You can see a full list of Max's foods here but every dog is different. Find out what makes your dog beg and use it to your advantage. If you're in doubt talk to your vet. This is by no means comprehensive but a few ideas to get you started.

If you decide to make your dogs treats (make is a very loose term here) don't be afraid to try different foods. Be aware though, there are a few foods you should NEVER feed. These include:

• Grapes or Raisins (Can cause kidney failure)
• Onions/Shallots/Leeks/Chives/ Large Amounts of Garlic (Can cause Anemia)
• Chocolate (Theobromine can cause tremors and cardiac arrest)
• Macadamia Nuts (vomiting, ataxia, weakness, hyperthermia, and depression)
• Bread Dough (swelling from the yeast fermentation)

So what can you feed your dog? It's a long list but here are a few ideas to get your creativity going!

Happy Gotcha Day Cupcakes!

Max eyeing the second cupcake since he ate the first one
before we could get a good picture.

Today was Max's 3rd Gotcha Day! In case you haven't heard of it, Wikipedia says that Barbara Bizou wrote, Gotcha Day "is designed to show your adopted child how much you wanted him and that every year you continue to cherish him." I think that about sums it up. 


So today Max had an extra long walk, two yard fetch times and a bath! Sounds great, right? He was good with the walks and playtime but not so much with the bath as you might have guesed.
In celebration I made cupcakes (pupcakes? I know...groan.) For these I turned first to the trusty garbanzo bean flour and then to the trusty google for a recipe. I actually made 18 of these so two of them went to a friend's dogs, 2 were given to Max and 14 went to Chain of Hope, a local organization that helps dogs living on the end of a chain with basic medical, food, water and shelter. 
In case you need proof about what mean mom's we are, here's the video of us trying to get a good pic.

Max's New Friend- DIY Hedgie Toy

If your dog is like Max, you have a graveyard of forgotten toys. Max also has a glut of toys thanks to the check-out lines at the pet store filled with last minute, cheap squeakies.  Max's toys tend to rip along the seams because he loves to fling them in the air and shake them so I had a small pile of very worn toys to repair and I can't say I was excited about it. Then I saw this idea for a hedgehog toy from a car wash mitt on pinterest and decided I'd try it for Max. It took about 30 minutes start to finish so not a bad night's work.

First I destuffed the toys we were going to sacrifice and one of them still had a working squeaker so I kept that too. You can buy squeakers at your local big-box pet store if you don't have one to reuse. Next I went in search of the car wash mitt with thumbs. They were rumored to be at the dollar store but I didn't find any there so I headed next door to Old Time Pottery (love that store!) and found one for $1.99. They had several different colors but only the orange mitts had thumbs.

Should you breed your dog?

Max's shelter picture...Awwww.

Puppy and kitten season is almost upon us and while I love the puppy breath and kitten pounces, I've decided I would wade into the thorny issue of pet breeding. When I set out to create this blog I meant recycled rover not only in beds and toys, but in pets too. There are thousands of amazing pets of all species in shelters and odds are high you can fall in love with one sheltered within a day's drive of your home.  If you want a purebred dog, a breeder is sometimes the first thing people think of and there are some wonderful breeders out there, but roughly 30% of shelter animals are purebred. (Max, the ninja, is.) And hey, if you want an awesome mutt-a-doodle-poo-kie, they show up at shelters too. I'm also a firm believer of spay and neuter to not only help overpopulation but to help keep prevent a whole host of problems, the least of which is an "oops" litter.

So now I sound kinda harsh so I'll clarify. Am I going to brow beat someone who buys from a (good) breeder? No. Am I going to frown on pet store puppies and internet deals from back-yard-breeders? Yup, every time. (I live in Missouri, puppy mill capitol of the world. We DON'T NEED any more puppy mills or BYB's.) Am I always going to encourage consideration of rescue or shelters? Absolutely. If you need any inspiration check out the adoptable dogs in the top right corner of the page. Foster parents, adoptive parents and the rescue community (many of whom are also great breeders) are my heroes.

If you think you want to breed your dog check out the handy flow chart below to double check. (who doesn't love flow charts anyway!) If you think you want to buy from a breeder, check out the flow chart for things to ask about. If your breeder can't pass the flow chart, don't buy a dog only to give them more space to have more puppies.

Grain-Free Bacon Biscuits!

Waiting for the flash to go off...

Max has been having some eye issues lately and so yesterday we went and saw the vet (henceforth known as Dr. Awesome).  Thankfully he didn't have any abrasions to his eye but boy was his eye mad! His lower lid was swollen, the eye was cloudy and the skin around the eye had been scratched at. Max was very good for Dr. Awesome's exam, eye stain, and as she gave him his first dose of eye ointment. It does help that she passes out freeze dried chicken treats like candy at Halloween and he's no fool.


Since Max was so good for Dr. Awesome (and the all the clinic staff are great with him) I thought I'd try some cookies for Max. Max is explicitly grain free so cookies can sometimes pose a challenge but I was looking around last week and ran across Garbanzo bean flour which was perfect since Garbanzo beans are a legume, not a grain. I ran by the local health market this evening and grabbed a bag. I also hit my regular grocery store on the way home for bacon and I was set to make treats. What I like about this recipe is that these treats could be customized just about any way you want with whatever flavors work for your dog.

Here's what you'll need: