Galloping Gourmet

Max is, how to put this delicately, a counter-surfer. He is also a table climber, purse digger and forager of the highest order. Max does not lack for taste variety, not that he tastes much since chewing just gets in the way of eating, but his diet is largely as varied as ours. He often gets fresh veggies if we do, peanut butter, frozen yogurt treats, training treats, and "good boy" treats. Yet, he still can not keep his nose out of things. If it will fit in his mouth he'll try to get it there and then down the hatch.

We are lucky that he won't actively ingest non-food items but really, anything with smell is fair game. Vicks scented used tissues? Delicacy. Popsicle sticks? Lick 'em for the taste. Cat makes retching sounds? Score! Cat food!

He would take the pb jar
 to his bed if he could

Yesterday I got a call because he had eaten sweetie's banana chocolate chip muffin from the middle of the dining room table, no mountain goating required. Today she caught him in the act trying to nudge the muffin toward him with his paws. As if stealing breakfast isn't bad enough, this morning he got into my purse while I was asleep and ate an entire pack of Trident gum...with xylitol.

Therein lies the problem. Xylitol is an alcohol sugar that dogs don't metabolize, it will cause insulin spikes and without treatment is commonly fatal. So I freaked out and made him puke. Hydrogen peroxide down the hatch and within 10 minutes all the gum and a little bit of breakfast was out of his stomach. Then I had the nerve wracking task of watching him all afternoon to make sure everything was ok. Nothing makes you more paranoid than analyzing drinking, breathing, peeing and heart rate. I am not a DVM, I don't claim to be but I did count how long he peed this afternoon and how long he drank. I did not make graph but I was so ready to.I was also thisclose to going to the e-vet and I don't fault anyone who would in this situation. I did give him some simple sugars throughout the day to keep any weird insulin spikes hopefully at bay. He got 1/4 c of applesauce, 1/2 c of plain Greek yogurt, another 1/2 c. of the yogurt for dinner with honey and a poached egg. Today became "rest your guts" day.

I'm getting more peroxide and we have activated charcoal on hand. Do you have a counter surfer? What strategies do you use to keep your dog and your food safe? Thankfully all is well tonight. Max had a walk and is, once again, foraging for food.

Who's the True Alpha?

Sweetie and I have determined we are not "The Alpha", having never caught the elusive technique for achieving this.
We have been told multiple times that Max is trying to "seek status", "dominate us" or "become 'The Alpha'". We were perplexed. Max has a great deal of freedom because he is a great dog. True, we sometimes ignore behaviors that are annoying but not incompatible, we rearrange our lives a bit to make sure his is meaningful, varied and interesting, species appropriate and within his thresholds. We try to set Max up to succeed, even if it means changing our habits. We don't ask for more than he can handle and we don't punish with force or retroactively. Does that mean he's "the Alpha"?

After careful consideration Sweetie and I identified the characteristics of "The Alpha" in our house.

The Alpha:
-rarely comes when called.
-eats whenever he pleases.
-begs for food and we oblige.
-bites and claws when he's unhappy and we don't discourage this.
-Has free access to almost the entire house and sometimes back yard.
-Gets treats for performing no polite behaviors or "just because".
-Sleeps on the bed or where ever else he wants (including the middle of the dining room table).

So Who's the Alpha?

This one.

That's right, Charlie is the Alpha. Max does none of the above, except beg for food. In addition to all the things listed above, Charlie swats at Max periodically, climbs curtains, routinely knocks things off flat surfaces and eats grass to barf. Thank goodness there's not litter box mutiny (knock on wood!).

Sure, he's cute and all but let's get real.

This is more likely to happen between nuzzles and purrs. Charlie's only enforced rule? You can't clean your boy bits on the pillow while we're trying to sleep. So yeah, we're not the Alphas. We are all owned by the cat.

In case you seriously thought I believed in "dominance theory", check out some awesome perspectives below by people way smarter than me about why dominance theory in it's popular incarnation, in domestic dogs, is generally a big fat crock of crap. Then please turn off a certain NatGeo "trainer" and go play with your dog.

Patricia McConnell, PhD- Action/Reaction The temptations of the dominance fallacy

Association of Professional Dog Trainers- Dominance and Dog Training

Dr. Sophia Yin, PhD, DVM- The Dominance Controversy

Jean Donaldson and Ian Dunbar- Fighting Dominance in a Dog Whispering World (DVD)

Dr. Ian Dunbar-Let's Just Be Humans Training Dogs

In case you missed him, here's Max at our local tennis courts. Glorious, fenced, nail-wearing-down tennis courts where rubber balls bounce sky-high with room to run after them. Love it!

Cool Summer Fro-Yo Treats

Have you seen doggie ice cream? Several different companies are making it. They even sell it next to ice cream in the freezer case at my local grocery. Max loves the stuff, but have you seen the ingredient list? Blech! Max has a sensitive stomach so we whip up our own which is incredibly easy and cheaper too!

What you need:
Fruit or flavors your dog loves (Max loves strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, watermelon... you get the idea)
A large tub of plain or vanilla yogurt with as few weird ingredients as possible

What you do:
Process your fruit into a puree' in the blender or food processer
Add your yogurt and blend some more
Pour the whole mixture into cupcake liners or ice cube trays and freeze.
Once the yogurt is frozen you can pop the cubes or cupcake liners out of their trays and put into a baggie for storage.

I know it's not rocket science but really, your dog's gut will thank you for not having all the weird ingredients and you'll feel much less guilty about not sharing your fudge bar in the heat of the summer. Stay cool dog friends!

*Quick update: I used muffin liners but after seeing what a pain they are to get off the fro-yo once it's frozen, I wouldn't recommend them unless they're somehow waxed. Next time I'll just pour directly into the muffin tin.

Wordless Wednessday-Pictures on Walks

Max and I have started running on a local trail so I thought I'd share some shots. To read the full account from Sweetie's POV go here.

Squirrels must be investigated!

I love this shot. 

Beautiful view!

This post is part of BlogPaws bloghop!

Dog Food Sunday

So now I'm that lady, the one who makes her dog's food. The lady who calls the butcher and orders 80 lbs of roasts and 60 lbs of heart for the dog, who sources ingredients like I'm hunting Carmen San Diego and not only tracks what goes in but also what comes out. It didn't start out this way, I swear but he's so worth every bit of the process.

Max eats like we should. 

It took a good long while to get to this place in dog food-land. Max has eaten everything from grocery store brands (at previous adopter's homes) to high-end kibble and, most recently, commercial raw. We've done fish, chicken, turkey and finally beef, we've done grain and grain free, potato or not, Chinese herbs, probiotics and most anything else we could to get him to be not-itchy.

We thought we had a winning formula. We were feeding a commercial raw beef diet along with probiotics and fish oil. Max's coat was never great but the sores stopped erupting on his belly. The vet considered it a success and we stayed in our secure routine.

Then disaster struck. The pet food store stopped carrying his raw food. At first we got a warning saying they were going to stop in 6 months or so, then Sweetie went in for our monthly buy and we were told they had actually stopped immediately and were just selling off what the store had in inventory. Eek! The store blamed the company, the company claimed ignorance, I really didn't care. We needed something for him to eat. We found one other store in the Kansas City metro that carried his food with regularity and getting there was a hassle.

Sweetie and I had been batting around the idea of making Max's food but wanted to make sure it was done right so we contacted Sabine at Better Dog Care to design a diet that would meet his nutritional needs. There were two lengthy forms to fill out to help formulate his specific diet so this was no generic "cross your fingers" cookbook recipe. We got the new diet last week but had to run it by Dr. Awesome. Once she was on board, Sweetie and I went shopping.

First we went to the butcher for organ meats (who also just so happens to have awesome tacos on Saturdays too). Then we were off to the natural food store for some supplements, then to our grocery for meats and veggies. I've never bought that much beef roast at one time in my life and the meat counter guys thought I was a little strange for asking all my questions. Last week I called around and grabbed a better price from another butcher but that 80 lbs of roasts and 60 lbs of heart? Yeah, that's really happening. Thank doG for a deep freezer!

We bought every roast they had in the cut we needed!

Sunday night we started prepping. Sweetie did the veggies and fruits, dairy and supplements, I did the meats since she can't handle raw meat (literally and figuratively). There was some arguing as we worked out the best way to get this all accomplished but, 3 1/2 hours later, we got it done. I am now fully appreciating the food processor and grinder we got as gifts for Christmas. I don't think I would have wanted to grate all those veggies by hand!  Now we have almost a month's worth of dog food sitting in the deep freeze and I don't ever have to worry about the pet food store running out again. What does Max think of it, you ask? He whined over the good smells last night and ate with gusto today so I think we're on the right track! Do you fix your dog's food or add tasty bits now and again?

We're part of the Tasty Tuesday Blog Hop hosted by Kols Notes and Sugar the Golden Retriever. Don't forget to check out what's happening on the blogs!

Tasty Treat Tuesday- Meaty Mystery Treats

Max is involved in a gift swap and is sending goodies to two lucky dogs next week. I can't disclose all of what will be in the package but we're making treats tonight. In an effort to be a little sneaky, since this is a public blog, I'm just going to post a picture of the "before" but I promise to post the recipe after everything's been securely tucked into the mail.

Meaty Marinade

I'll give you two guesses, given my recent methods of treat-making, what I'm doing with this meat. It smells so good!

We're part of Tasty Tuesday Blog Hop hosted by Sugar the Golden Retrieve and Kol's Notes. Check out the other blogs for more tasty ideas!

Wordless Wednesday-Playground Edition

Let's explore the playground!

They call this a slide, huh?

You do what?!?

Umm, no way! K, thanks bubye.

We're participating in BlogPaws Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop!

Tasty Treat Tuesday- Fall Cranberry Fruit Treats

It's fall and for us and the Maxter that means time to make pumpkin and cranberry treats. In fact, we're up to our ears in pumpkin puree at home. Max loves the pumpkin but I'm still working out the perfect treat, though Max doesn't mind eating the "mistakes".

Since I'm still experimenting with the pumpkin with mixed results, I thought I'd share another fall favorite. Cranberry fruit leather is becoming a fall staple for us. I buy several bags of cranberries each year when they go on sale and freeze the bulk of the bags.

This recipe couldn't be easier and is so tasty!


Puree 1 lb of cranberries with 1/4 c. of white sugar.










Mix the puree with 1/2 c. unsweetened apple sauce, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger and zest from one lemon.









Spread the mixture onto a pan lined with a baking mat or parchment paper.
Place into a low oven,  I used the "warm" setting, and leave the door open for 6-8 hours until you have a leather.
Peel the fruit off the paper or mat and cut into strips or pieces for training treats. I cut mine with scissors but a pizza cutter would work well too. Don't forget to sneak a treat for yourself!


UPDATE: Several folks asked me about the white sugar out of concerns for calories or processed sugars. I made a second batch and used juice from 1 naval orange instead of sugar with close to the same results. For that batch I also zested the orange instead of a lemon.




This week we're part of a blog hop hosted by Kol's Notes and Sugar the Golden Retriever. Check out the other tasty goodies this week!

Wordless Wednesday- Playing in the Sunshine

It's getting colder here but we're taking advantage of all the sunshine we can get by playing on the ball field at a local park. Stay warm, fur friends!

I'll get it!!

Here I come!

There I go!

Ahh, sunshine.

Wordless Wednesday- A Fall Photobomb!

I was trying to get a cover photo for yesterday's post on pumpkin chews and Max decided to see what was so interesting.

Photobomb!

Tasty Treat Tuesday- Pumpkin Chews

The weather here has cooled off and pumpkins are all over! The Max-monster loves pumpkin and it's so good for him so I've been playing with different recipes for treats. I bought a pie pumpkin I'm using for today's chews and Aldi's had cans of puree for $1 each so I picked up 6!

Pumpkin is a funny thing. First I tried to make a shortbread style cookie but there were some challenges. There's so much water in canned puree that my first attempt at cookies was a disaster! I used garbanzo bean flour and had to add a ton to absorb the water for not a lot of flavor. Max ate them but Sweetheart and I didn't think they were worth the work.

After much frustration I decided to get back to basics. The pie pumpkin needed to be used and Max needed treats. I turned, once again, to oven dehydrating. Oven dehydrating isn't hard, it's just more about process and "low and slow" to turn something fresh into something shelf-stable by removing the water. Let me be the first to encourage you to grab your food dehydrator or consider investing in one. Mine melted so I'm using the oven.

First you want to peel your pumpkin. I used a peeler but you could do it with a knife if you're good like that.







Then cut the pumpkin in half and gut it. Keep the seeds for human treats if you want.

Quarter your pumpkin and then slice it thinly. Lay the slices out on a baking tray, preferably on a rack. You can dehydrate without a rack, it'll just take a little longer. I sprinkled mine (Max's) with cinnamon and sugar.

Let the slices sit in a very low oven (about 150 degrees or "warm" setting) with the oven door cracked for 4-6 hours until the slices are very leathery but not brittle. Store airtight on a countertop. If you have a silica packet to absorb any leftover moisture, feel free to throw it into the storage container. 

That's all there is to oven dehydrating and you can make all kinds of snacks that you and your dog will both love!




If you enjoyed this recipe, check out the rest of the Tasty Tuesday posts with Kohls Notes and Sugar the Golden Retriever!

Wordless Wednesday- Dinner Edition

Waiting Patiently

Dinner is Served!

Max is participating in a Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop with Blogpaws! Check out the other beautiful pictures!

Tasty Treat Tuesday- Roasted Chickpeas

The days are getting shorter and walk times are too! Normally Sweetheart and I take Max on 2-3 miles of formal walk a day but late last week it got really really cold. We decided to forgo the standard trail walk in favor of something a little closer to the warm car. We ended up at a local park with tennis courts and baseball diamonds. These are the best spots to exercise Max when we can't do the long walk. They're enclosed, fairly clean and well lit. What more could you ask for? What? You want video proof? Here's the Maxster at the baseball field. He'll chase but rolling in the grass is way too enticing to ignore.

Sooner than I want, it will be too cold or dark to do much walking and indoor activities will become our life. Indoor activities means I need lots of small treats of lower value. Even better if the treats are shelf-stable and cheap. With that, I bring you Roasted Chickpeas. These remind me of soy nuts or peanuts but are infinitely customizeable for your dog and take 2 minutes to prep and about 45 minutes in the oven.

Baked Chickpea Treats

1 can of Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans)
Some kind of oil spray (veggie, olive, canola, etc.)
Seasonings if you want them.

• Drain the chickpeas and rinse them well.
• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pour the beans out onto the parchment  in a single layer
• Bake for 25-30 minutes until the outsides are starting to dry but the peas are still slightly squishy.
• Remove the chickpeas from the oven and lightly spray with your oil spray. Roll the chick peas around to coat them in the oil. 
• If you're adding seasoning like garlic powder, cinnamon or sea salt, do that right after the oil is sprayed.
• Return the tray to the oven for another 15-20 minutes until the chickpeas are crispy through the middle. 
• Let the chickpeas cool on the baking sheet and store them in a plastic bag away from humidity on the counter. If you bag the chickpeas before they're cool, condensation will build up and make the treats soft but you can return them to the oven for 10 minutes or so to re-crisp them. 

This week we're adding our voice to the blog hop at Kols Notes for Tasty Tuesday. Check them out for many more treat ideas!
 

Tasty Treat Tuesday- Baked Turkey Treats!

Training is hard work! Time for a nap!

In light of all the pet food recall's and the crazy issues with jerky treats made in China, I'm starting "Tasty Treat Tuesday" to help people be confident in making treats for their pets. It doesn't have to take a lot of time or be expensive. All you need are some basic ingredients your dog loves and some imagination. Max loves turkey and tomato so that's what I go with.

Here's what we do:
2 lbs ground turkey (or beef or chicken or pork)
1 small can tomato paste
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1/2 c. chopped parsley

• Mix it all together like you would for meatballs. 
• Kick the dog out of the kitchen
• Section the mixture into 1/2 lb. batches. 
• At this point you can freeze these raw and thaw to bake or bake them all and freeze so you can pull them out as you need them.

• If you're baking, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 
• Take a lump of the meat mixture and roll it thinly between two sheets of parchment paper. I've also made meatballs and meat sticks but your cooking time increases with those shapes.
• Kick dog out of the kitchen (again)
• Score the meat with a pizza cutter (or do it after)
• Transfer the meat to a baking sheet (you can keep it on the parchment paper if it will fit. Just slide the whole thing on.)
• Bake for 10-20 minutes until the meat is done but not dry or until the dog races to the oven timer.
• Cut the meat into small training treat sizes.

You'll want to store these in the fridge just like any other meatball. Ours don't stay in the fridge long because Max loves them so be prepared to make plenty!

Agility Jump Mods-Cradles

Oy! It's been awhile. How ya doin? Three weeks ago we lost Sadie, two weeks ago Max stressed his left leg which put him in a pretty big world of hurt. A trip to the Dr. Awesome was in order and Max got rest and leash restrictions for two weeks along with supplements. Yup, that's right. No walks, no running, no jumping and no stairs. All this made for an easily bored little boy and moms who racked their brains for stuff for him to do. Needless to say, we've gone through a lot of  training treats.

All camped out with toys, raw bone
and pillows for comfort

Treats and tricks are another post for another day but I wanted to get back to the DIY dog jump. Remember those? With Max out of commission for a bit, I'd almost forgotten but never fear! Here are the mods for DIY jump cradles.

You may have noticed, if you've looked at jumps online, that the bars to jump over are not permanently stuck in place. The bars are in pvc cradles so if a dog hits the bar the entire jump doesn't fall over. You can order cradles online but I haven't found a local source and they're a bit more expensive, especially when you factor in shipping.

Take heart, you can make them yourself using the pieces you already have!

Wordless Wednesday- 4th of July Pics

A few of the animal bloggers I read have been doing "Wordless Wednesday" so I thought I would add to the  group. Sweetheart took these shots on 4th of July as we hunkered down from the fireworks. Enjoy!