Hear Me Bark

My Cousins Love Me

Things have been so hectic for the last few weeks that I neglected to tell you about the amazing birthday/Christmas gifts that my generous cousins, Audrey and Trevor, sent. I'll admit it this time; I'm a very baaaad dog.

I already knew that my cousins love me, but they decided to show that love by showering me with some awesome gifts.

As you can see, they didn't skimp on the fun stuff. In addition to a cute letter with photos, they sent some delicious vegetarian treats (carrot, to be exact); a Chuckit! Glow Ball (hell yeah!); a Hartz Chew N' Clean Dental Duo (I'm still waiting for the humans to let me sink my teeth into this); and, perhaps best of all, the most realistic and strong plush bear. I beat the crap out of my bear almost daily and I love to sling him around. Who knew I had a strong prey drive?

I'll be able to properly show my gratitude to Audrey and Trevor when I see them at the end of the month, but in the meantime, thanks guys! You are the best cousins ever!

Peanut Butter Delight Dog Birthday Cake Recipe

As promised, I wanted to share Tall's recipe for my birthday cake.

Peanut Butter Delight Dog Birthday Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white or whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 egg

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Mix together flour and baking soda. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into a ring mold sprayed with a nonstick spray for 40 minutes. Frost this cake with low-fat cottage cheese and decorate with carrot pieces. Store in refrigerator.

Tall used a very small baking pan instead of a ring mold. Also, she frosted the cake with low-fat cottage cheese, added a sprinkle of carrot shreds, and used small jerky treats for "candles." Yum!

Tall assures me that most of the ingredients were in our cupboard and it was easy to make. Considering this and how delicious the cake was, I give it the ultimate rating — five paws!

 

Not-So-Terrible Two

Today is my second birthday and I'll say turning two years old is excellent. Tall Human, with Short Human's help, made me an awesome birthday cake.

 

As soon as I took the first bite, there was no turning back.

 

Seeing me licking fervently, unable to really get my teeth around the thing, Tall broke a little part for me and the game was on.

 

I kept biting and nibbling until I did some serious damage and then the humans, fearing too much would make me sick, took the cake away.

 

After I had my cake, the humans gave me a really cool peppermint disc toy, which I also loved. It smells really good and rolls great.

 

I'm also heading to the dog park this morning before we pack up our earthly possessions and move them to Oakland. So, all in all, this has been a pretty awesome birthday. I can't wait for next year!

P.S. I'll have Tall Human share the cake recipe later next week. It was seriously yummy!

Breakfast for a Champion

 

I had the most delicious breakfast today: bacon and eggs. This treat was compliments of my friend, Brillo. Actually, it was an after-breakfast snack and I munched on it for two days, but you get the idea.

Pumpkin Pie From Jack

Short and I were headed outside last night for a potty break when we noticed a small baggie of treats at our door. As luck would have it, these treats were for me . . . and they were from my friend and love interest, Jack.

The cookies, which are labelled "Pumpkin Pie," are in the shape of a standard poodle and a high-heeled shoe. Jack has excellent taste. And speaking of taste, these cookies are delicious. Short put them on the counter while she unhooked my leash, etc. and I whined for — something I rarely do. The aroma was driving me crazy.

Hopefully Jack will continue to court me by leaving special treats like these. I do love to be pampered.

Review: Solid Gold Dragon's Teeth Biscuits

Several months ago, Tall Human read about Solid Gold's Dragon's Teeth biscuits. The advertisement caught her eye because of the slogan at the top: "Don't tickle the dragon." Isn't that a weird saying? For several weeks now, I've actually been tickling the dragon. Well, I've been eating the treats anyway.

Dragon's Teeth are marketed as biscuits that help keep dogs' teeth clean. Solid gold claims that the special shape of the biscuits help scrape off plaque, and the semi-exotic ingredients (e.g., perilla oil, Antarctic krill, peppermint) offer other health benefits.

I eat two treats each night before bed and find them to be quite delicious. However, neither me or my humans have observed a significant dental benefit. Therefore, I give these biscuits three paws, mostly for taste.

 

Treats (and a Trick) From Napa

The humans took a trip to Napa today for a wine tasting and picnic while I enjoyed a day playing at Wag. On their way home, the humans stopped at a dog boutique, Fideaux, and picked up some yummy pre-Halloween treats for me. Tall also stopped at a bakery for humans to get herself a treat.

I was pleased to learn that my treats looked as good — if not better — than the one Tall bought for herself. Two of the cookies in the photo below are for me and one is for Tall. Can you tell which one isn't mine?

Yummy Homemade Dog Biscuits

I wanted to do something nice for Dad — who is resting up for surgery to relieve a ruptured disc — so I had one of my minions whip up a batch of "Veggiebite" dog biscuits during the weekend.

Tall found a neat cookbook, The Doggy Bone Cookbook, filled with 16 veterinarian-approved recipes, including "Bark-B-Q," "Tomutto & Cheese," and "Howl Wheat." The Veggibite recipe is touted as "the healthiest choice for your four-legged mate," so it didn't surprise me when Tall chose to make it.

The recipe is made up of whole wheat flower, oatmeal, celery, red bell peppers, carrots, unsalted sunflower kernels, water, and olive oil. According to the cookbook, the recipe yields about 2 1/2 dozen biscuits, but it was wrong — we ended up with way more. I was able to send Dad a whole box and had enough left over to share with Charly and Jack. Obviously, I kept several for myself.

So far, I've gotten great feedback from Charly and Jack. I hope Dad enjoys the biscuits; maybe he'll even decide to share with Mom and the rest of the poodles.

Waffles and Eggs

I was introduced to two delicious human breakfast foods today — waffles and eggs — which added the perfect finishing touch to my fun weekend with Cousin Audrey (which I'll tell you all about in tomorrow's post).

Honestly, I am shocked by how delicious these two human foods are and am slightly bitter about being denied this pleasure for so long. Audrey's (effing cool) human prepared waffles this morning and let us split one (sans syrup, of course). Seeing how much I enjoyed this tasty treat, Audrey's human explained to Tall and Short that they should consider scrambling me an egg every now and then. (Apparently, eggs are good for my coat.) Upon hearing about this "egg" treat as I licked the delicious waffle remnants from my lips, I became very intrigued.

It turns out the humans took the advice and bought some eggs while they were at the store this evening. When they came home, Short scrambled one for me and Tall mixed it in with my kibble.

I licked my dinner bowl until I could see my smiling reflection. I heard Tall say something about "Scrambled Sundays," so I'm hoping that means I'll get another egg every Sunday.

Fun and Ice Cream

It's been a busy day for me. I've played fetch at the park three times — can you believe it? Apparently, Short Human might have strep throat, so Tall has been trying to tire me out so I'll be good. I do feel bad for Short and even napped with/watched over her while Tall was out running errands. I'm just hoping her illness won't keep her from attending Poodlepalooza, which I'll fill you in on later, tomorrow in Davis.

While Tall was running errands, she picked up a frozen treat for me at the store called Frosty Paws. My friends, this was one of the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. And it's for dogs only! Thank dog there are three more cups in the freezer! Here's me enjoying the Frosty Paws (note my adorable pink tongue):

I'm resting now because I have a big weekend in store for me. I will be attending flyball class in the morning and Poodlepalooza in the afternoon. We're also supposed to go on a hike Sunday, but will have to play that by ear to make sure Short is feeling better. I'd hate to hike without her.