Say What?!

I don't like wearing my uniform in public after work. People see ANIMAL CONTROL written on my back in 3 inch letters and feel the need to talk to me. Usually it's to complain about their neighbors. I try to smile and hand them my card, asking them to call me in the morning. But then there are those people who leave me speechless. This is one of those stories.

I popped into Pet Supermarket after work to pick up some more training treats for Jedi. A woman saw my shirt and wanted to tell me about her English bulldog. The conversation was going along nicely until she told me about how she got her dog. She said the breeder gives away all the males at seven years old, and all the females at five. Gives away? Yes, gives away. Then she told me that her dog had fathered hundreds of champions. If I were a good detective I would've calmly asked "Really, who's your breeder?" Instead my brain was screaming "What the ****?!"

No breeder I know just gives her dogs away, especially a stud who sires champions. You'd have a better chance at getting one of her kidneys! No, I would bet my next paycheck this woman's "breeder" was nothing more than a puppy mill. English bulldogs are one of the more popular breeds these days, which makes them prime for puppy mills.

It's been over a week since this incident. I keep thinking about that woman and her dog. And I keep wondering "What could I have done differently?" How many other bulldogs are out there from this so-called breeder? If I was a better animal control officer I would have found a way to share the following with her:

Credit: Pets Adviser

But I didn't. Fortunately her dog appeared loved and well cared for. However, I'd still like to do something, so I'm sharing this information with you. Please share it with others. Hopefully somehow, someway, we'll make a difference. -- K

Beat the Heat Puppy Treat #2

Jedi loves ice cubes, so when I saw the Kong Easy Freeze I just had to get it. I got the mold that makes six large cubes, though I've seen one that makes a bunch of smaller ones. The mold comes with three free mixes as well. So far we've made the chicken soup flavor and the maple/sweet potato flavor, leaving a white cheddar cheese flavor left to try. Jedi doesn't seem to have a preference. Roxy, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with them. The Kong website sells additional mixes, though I'd probably just freeze watered down broth. Do you have any better ideas? Jedi would love to know! -- K

Rhymes With Sit

In obedience class last week I learned that there are two types of sits -- the tuck sit and the rock sit -- and I taught Jedi the wrong one for competitive obedience. Oh sit.

The tuck sit is where a dog plants his front feet and tucks his butt up underneath himself. This is the sit of choice as the dog stays in heel position when going from a stand to a sit.

With the rock sit a dog plants his rear feet and leans back into the sit. The longer the dog, the farther he falls from heel position. A nice, long German shepherd like Jedi can easily be off by 4 to 6 inches. How does this happen? By teaching your puppy to site by letting him with a piece of food held over his nose. (Sound familiar?) So now six months and sixty pounds later I'm trying fix this. Grrrr. Wish I'd known this earlier.

To fix this I'm trying to kiss Jedi into a sit while practically holding him up by his collar so he tucks his butt underneath. Did I mention that he's nearly 80 pounds? My trainer swears he'll get it before my arm breaks. We're trying to make the tuck sit second nature -- a muscle memory kind of thing. However, I feel like it's a "blind leading the blind" scenario. I don't know which one of us is more confused. -- K

Back to the Arboretum

Hubby and I took the dogs back to the Arboretum. It went better this time, probably because both dogs had prong collars. There was definitely less pulling. The dogs behaved well enough that I actually got some decent pictures. Unfortunately Jedi still acted like an idiot when we came across other people and dogs on the trails. sigh. I wish I could break him of that. Any ideas? -- K

Roxy on a shady part of the trail

Jedi takes a break by the creek

The wildflowers are in bloom -- gorgeous!

Beat the Heat Puppy Treat #1

It's May and Florida has officially become hot. I was in Wal-Mart the other day buying ice cream for Hubby and look what I found: Dogsters ice cream style treat for dogs. The dogs love it! The hardest part was keeping Jedi from eating the paper cup. We got four ice cream cups for less than $2.50. Jedi and Roxy say that's a good deal! -- K

Bark Box #2

Another Bark Box came today. Jedi and I are very excited about it. Want to know what's inside?

The first thing I saw was a bright purple eggplant. It turned out to be an Orbee-Tuff toy from Planet Dog. I've been looking at Planet Dog toys for a while now and am excited to finally see if they are as awesome as I've heard. The eggplant had a quarter-sized hole (they called it a "treat spot") in the top so I smeared a little cream cheese inside and dropped in a couple milk bones. 20 minutes later Jedi was still chewing on it. Good sign!

There was also a BeHAMoth smoked pork bone from Lucky Dog. Jedi will be getting this tomorrow during Game of Thrones! The bone says that it's 100% natural and made in the USA. Let's see if Jedi likes it. (I'm laughing out loud because if piggy Jedi can put it in his mouth, he'll like it.)

There was a bag of Grill-icious beef and sweet potato treats. This one also claims to be 100% natural and made in the USA. Jedi and Roxy approve, though I think they stink.

The last thing in the box was a pack of Bocce's Bakery Green Juice biscuits. They are made from spinach, kale, apples, spirulina, mint and flax seeds. They're bite-sized and smell much better than the Grill-icious treats. Jedi ate them up as well. But honestly, he'll eat anything. Roxy turned her nose up at them.

We're having a lot of fun with these Bark Boxes. It's like Christmas every month! Want one of your own? Click here and get $5 off! -- K

Puppy Cakes

Two weeks ago I ordered a couple boxes of puppy cake mix and a bone shaped silicone baking mold. I made the peanut butter one first. The end result didn't turn out as pretty as I would have liked. The cakes didn't hold up well -- two out of every three cakes broke coming out of the mold. Maybe the fact that the mix is wheat-free had something to do with it. However, the ugly pieces didn't slow the dogs down any. Even picky Roxy ate the treats with enthusiasm. (This is a huge compliment from a dog who only wants real meat and cheese.) The box claims that the ingredients are "human grade" so yes, I tasted one! I thought it was kind of bland -- but I didn't make them for me to eat . . .

I mixed up the second box a few days later. Roxy and I both agreed that the carob cakes were better. Yes, I tasted that one too. However, they also broke coming out of the mold, so I think maybe the design of the mold is the problem. (NOTE: This was the first time I've ever used silicone bakeware, so I'm not ruling out "user error.") Again, the dogs didn't mind eating the ugly pieces. The cake mixes don't contain any preservatives and the leftovers were moldy within four days. If you decide to make some puppy cakes for your dogs, I suggest that you use them up quickly. "Bone" appetite! -- K