i'd just like to thank...

You know what? I'm just going to admit it: I like blog awards. But I would, because I'm all about encouragement and praise [giving it and receiving it], and a blog award falls right into that category! So thank you, Lauren and Desmond for thinking of us and passing it on! I'm excited to extend the compliment to six of my favorite blogs, too! But before I do the honors, I'm supposed to list some fun facts. These fun facts are going to be related to today and this weekend in particular, along with some other random things that are on my mind!

1. I'm spending this weekend puppysitting for Claire's friends Ollie and Darby while Erin&Jake go on a cruise. Claire hasn't seen them in awhile, so they're having a ton of fun catching up and playing hard. Rambunctious is a good word to describe the three of them right now, as I'm watching them take turns tackling each other.
2. Claire usually smells like maple syrup - hence the "last name" of Butterworth - but when we're at La Casa de Ollie&Darby, I find that she tends to smell like molasses. No complaints here! Either way, she's sweet as sugar... [I had to say it].
3. Claire's favorite treats are frozen 2" raw marrow bones. They're excellent for her teeth/breath, but I believe the cause of her pancreatitis was from giving her 4" ones. They were a little too rich for her. Note to self: 2"=good, 4"=pancreatitis. We're taking a hiatus from them altogether for just a little while. Solely because I'm nervous that the pancreatitis will flair up again without Claire taking a substantial break from all things rich and delicious.
4. I find it amazing how people learn to communicate with their dogs. I swear, sometimes Claire just looks at me, and I know what she is thinking and/or asking. I don't think one can understand this unless they've experienced it, so if you don't know what I'm talking about, you probably think I'm crazy. Go adopt a dog and then you'll see what I mean.
5. I took today off from work so that I could do some life-giving activities (including taking a long nap with Claire, which was very much needed). It made me realize that people need to live a little more of a dog's life; dogs spend the majority of their time sleeping, eating, playing. Sometimes they do work (agility, pet-therapy, rally, tracking), but they keep a good balance. Minimal stress. They've got it right. So do Europeans. [Just saying].
6. I'm considering making some homemade dog treats this weekend. You know, if I am feeling ambitious. Got any suggestions?

Okay, time to pass on the award! Make sure you check out these amazing blogs - they keep me laughing!

1. Barley&Ali - Ali left a comment on our last post, and I've been obsessed with her blog ever since! While you're visiting her blog, leave a comment for her and let her know that you're thinking of Barley as he recovers from surgery.
2. Magnolia the Therapy Dog - This was the first pet blog I ever read, and it's been so cool to follow along with Maggie's adventures. I love the way Jay writes, and his posts are peppered with adorable pictures of Maggie! He also inspired me to work with Claire as a therapy dog, and I can't possibly thank him enough for that!
3. Sage&Erin - Erin posts about once a month, but even knowing that, I find myself checking her blog every week to see if there's an update! I feel like Erin and I could be friends if we lived near each other because she's just that awesome! She started this blog to chronicle her memories with Sage, which is why I originally started my blog as well. Start reading at the beginning - you'll laugh, you'll cry, and everything in between!
4. Life with Arie - I met Katie in October at the BarkWorld conference, and I loooove her! We became fast friends. And how could we not, when we're both "Life With" girls? Her blog is a great mix of fun and helpful information. And she does product reviews, which has saved me both time and money when looking for things to buy Claire!
5. Dog Milk - This website is chock full of products (for dogs and dog lovers alike) that you can't find at chain pet stores. Each item that is featured links up to the designer's website so that you can find it easily. If I had hours of free time, I'd gladly spend it browsing this site!
6. Fido and Wino - Shauna's blog began when she was single and continued on through dating, marriage, adopting two dogs, and now... she's having a baby, y'all! This blog chronicles ALL of that. But now that a baby is on the way, she talks more about Fido and less about Wino. She's responsible like that.

Now I'm ready for some chill time with three sleepy dogs. So I'm going to go do that while you check out those blogs!

  

a day with the girls [best told in iPhone pictures].

Claire has a number of great friends, and lucky for me, her friends all belong to some of my great friends - convenient, right? Ollie and Darby frequently make appearances on the blog [like here and here and here and...here]. We love spending afternoons with Jake&Erin and their girls. Here are some snapshots from a day that we recently spent with them.

 Playing a little three-way tug.

Checking out the scene.

 Snuggles at naptime.

 Good behavior = treats!

Down for the count.

  

  

escape artist.

Erin&Jake's sweet little Darby underwent The Surgery last week, so the poor thing had to balance play time with Ollie and Claire and resting in her play pen. Claire got a little curious about Darby's new digs, however, and while Erin and I were in the midst of some girl talk, Claire leapt over the baby gate to check it out for herself! I managed to grab my iPhone in time to catch her escape on camera! She's got to have springs in her feet or something...

  

being an advocate: an update.

Last night, I went to a DogSpeak seminar with Nashville dog trainer Nikki Ivey. I joined my friends Jake&Erin since they have been raving about Nikki since they hired her to help them work with their pups, Ollie and Darby.

Guys. Let me tell you. Nikki is awesome! I learned so much about how dogs interact with each other, as well as how they interact with humans. Most importantly, she was able to tell me how to I can help Claire with her fear when she is approached by another dog while on a leash. And to all those who commented/emailed/tweeted in response to that post, I thank you immensely! Nikki said that Claire is having trouble with this due to a lack of confidence. She agreed with those of you who said that I need to work with Claire to help her become more confident so that she can respond appropriately in this situation. But she also said that I need to be ready to protect her by avoiding and blocking if we're in an uncontrolled situation, especially because Claire is so fearful about this.

Jake&Erin and I took the dogs on a long hike this morning, so I had the opportunity to begin working with Claire. Whenever I saw another dog approaching with their owner, I watched Claire to make sure that I started praising her from the second she saw them. I continued to do this as they came closer. This communication let Claire know that everything was alright and that she was responding to them appropriately. We had six opportunities to work on this during our hike, and she did wonderfully five out of six times. The only time she got jumpy and growled was when we were passing some people with their dog while hiking up a steep hill on a narrow path; space got a little tight and it made Claire get a bit scared. I do have to say that I, too, was a little scared which probably contributed - I didn't have secure footing so I was a bit tense. All in all, though, the hike was an excellent start!

I'll let you all know how it goes as I keep working with Claire on this, as we still have a long way to go! In the meantime, go check out Nikki Ivey - call/email her, go to a seminar, sign up for a webinar, or have her come out to your house for a private training session. You will be astounded at all that you'll learn!

sweets for our sweethearts.

Claire Baby and Ollie Girl

Erin and I were on a roll after last week's post, so we spent last night making some sweet treats for the girls! Are you ready for this? Your dog will love them. I promise - so do Claire and Ollie. Here are the recipes for what Erin and I have entitled Everyone's Favorite and Pumpkin Drops.

Everyone's Favorite

Ingredients:

2 cups of brown rice flour

2 cups of peanut butter

3 mashed bananas

1 tablespoon of baking powder

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350*F.

Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

In a large bowl, combine the ingredients.

Try not to eat the mixture, despite how delicious it looks and smells.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto the cookie sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Let your pup enjoy!

----

Pumpkin Drops

Ingredients:

2 cups of brown rice flour

2 eggs

1 tablespoon of baking powder

1 apple, coarsely chopped

1 cup of canned pumpkin

1 cup of shredded carrots

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350*F.

Combine the eggs and pumpkin in a bowl and mix well.

Combine the brown rice flour and baking powder in a bowl and mix well.

Fold the dry ingredients into the mixture of eggs and pumpkin.

Fold in the apple and carrots.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto the cookie sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Let your pup enjoy!

Claire and Ollie, helping Erin clean up!

   

from ollie's kitchen: homemade buffaloaf.

This adorable girl is Ollie - one of Claire's best friends. We met Ollie and her parents (Erin and Jake) at the dog park almost a year ago when she was just a little munchkin. Now they go to school together at Bark-O-Lounge and have play dates on the weekends. They're becoming more and more like sisters! I wish I knew what kind of dog Ollie is, because I would get one. She is just SO cute! And she has these long eyelashes that Maybelline models would just die for.

Claire's been a bit bored with her food lately, so I asked Erin for help. She is a fantastic cook and with all of her amazing kitchen gadgets (including a blender that cleans itself and an automatic trash can - how cool!), I figured she'd have some tricks up her sleeve. Sure enough, she did, and it came in the form of homemade buffaloaf. I made this baby last night, cut it into slices, and then froze some of it so that I can heat it up and add it to Claire's food over the next few weeks. I'm telling you, she can't wait to eat now that she's got this deliciousness mixed in with her kibble! What's that saying? Variety is the spice of life? Claire would agree.

*Photo courtesy of Blue Kitchen*

Ollie's Buffaloaf

Ingredients:

1 lb ground hamburger meat - or ground turkey meat

2 eggs

1.5 cups of oats (Ollie prefers rice oats)

3/4 cup of mixed vegetables (Claire prefers 1 cup)

1/2 cup of cottage cheese

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350*F.

Lightly grease loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients.

Hand mix and press into a loaf pan.

Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350*F.

May be refrigerated or frozen in slices.

Let your pup enjoy!

  

* Confession: I may have tasted some of this myself because it smelled so amazing while it was cooking. It's delicious. It took every ounce of my will-power to save it for Claire.