Home Alone!

So what does Coco Louise do when left to roam the entire house while her parents are at work? This:

I came home to find trace evidence of a morning spent finding the treats she gets when she brushes her teeth, then scheming to get the bag open,and an afternoon relaxing in her new bed, noshing on her Airy Bites.

Daddy, since he was the one who left the bedroom door open for her this morning, tried to hide the destruction, but didn't do a good job. Usually, she spends her days confined to the living room and kitchen.  I can just imagine her delight when she realized that he left to door open upstairs.  Must have felt like she entered the garden of Eden.

Luckily for us (mostly Daddy) all she ate was a bag of treats!

Coco's Treat Shop Valentine's Day Bags!

You can treat your favorite valentine to some of Coco's treats--it's ok, she doesn't mind sharing.  Our treats are homemade and every batch is taste tested by Coco.  Make your pup's Valentine's Day pawsitively delicious!

Order Here

Berries and Banana Pupsicles

Since it has finally warmed up a bit, I thought I'd treat Coco to a popsicle.  Here is a recipe I've developed after changing one from this fantastic site.  When the weather warms up, give it a try!

Berries and Banana Pupsicles 

What You'll Need:

1 banana

1 tbs peanut butter

handful frozen blueberries

4-5 strawberries (frozen for fresh)

containers to freeze your pops (I used Solo bathroom cups, but upcycled yogurt containers are perfect also.)

What to Do:

1. Mash your banana so that it is nice and creamy.

2. Mix the PB into the mashed banana like you see in picture 2 above. 

3. Next rinse and chop your strawberries. 

4. Reserve a few of the berries for the bottoms of the container, but mix in all the other berries, like in picture 4 above.

5. Put in the reserved berries in the bottom of the containers, see picture 1 above.  

6. Scoop the PB, banana, and berry mixture into the containers.  I gave each of them a little tap, tap on the counter to compact them a little better. 

7. Let your cute little brown dog lick the bowl because that is the best part, refer to picture 3 above for blurry example. 

8.  After 3 hours in the freezer, my pops were nice and frozen.  I cut the side of the container to get one out and it came out easily.  

Coco loved these pupsicles.  They are perfect because we always have these ingredients on hand.  They freeze well and while they are a little messy, she eats them before they can melt too much, like in one single bite.  

She thinks if she sits pretty next to the bowl maybe she can get another one.  Berries and Banana Pupsicles are a hit! 

Vintage Dog Photos

I love these vintage photographs taken with people and their dogs.  It reminds me that not much has changed in 50-100 years.  We still love our dogs and still love it when they look adorable.  Enjoy!

How about this cute dog? Just a regular member of the family...spending an afternoon running errands.

pic via terribly cute.com

Or this one? A kid, his and his chicken.  What more could he want?  I love how this all seems so natural. I don't know, maybe it is.  Either way, I love it.

pic via tasteart.com

This one reminds me of Coco looking out the window at the squirrels. Dogs are so curious.  Bus so are we, aren't we?

pic via myfotolo.tumblr.com

This may be my all-time favorite photo.  It really shows the compassion people have for their dogs.  It has captured a kindness and sweetness that just melts me. 

source unknown

I like being reminded that my life with Coco isn't anything new, that the generations before me have loved their dogs just as much as I do mine.  They probably didn't spend as much money on theirs...

Lucky Dog

When Coco turned 1, her grandma and grandpa bought her a nice big bed.  In the years since then that nice big bed has turned into a nice big stinky heap of stink.  So for her 4th birthday, which isn't until March but frankly I couldn't stand the smell of that thing for one single day longer, I bought her a brand new (fresh) bed.

She loved her old bed, which went to Madam Star, and I was a little afraid of hurting her feelings when we took it out of the house.  She didn't even seem to mind, and thankfully has taken to the new bed brilliantly.

Any tips on keeping the new bed smelling decent, aside from washing the cover, which I did to the old stinky one, too.

Wysong Dream Treats

This evening the doorbell rang, which doesn't happen very often, and when it does Coco is supposed to go on her mat (which is in the kitchen very near the front door).  She is very good at hearing the bell and instantly going to the mat; however, once there, most of the time she inches toward the front door as she sits on her haunches.

 Tonight was different.  She actually stayed!  And it was a good thing because I didn't know who was at the door and I didn't want her to release herself early from the stay command--which happens when she knows the person at the door.

Turns out, the UPS carrier brought me/her a package from our very good friends at chewy.com.  Inside was a bag of treats for the whole family--ok not so much me or Bill, but certainly Sissy and Coco.

Wysong Dream Treats (rabbit flavor) are freeze-dried disc shaped treats that are suitable for dogs and cats, which was a big draw for me.  Anything those two can share and not fight over, I'm on board with.

Coco about knocked me over trying to get open the pouch before I did, but Spooky wasn't too interested.  I left the broken up disc in her dish and am thinking maybe she will get back to it.

I really appreciate that they are made in the USA!  We will be trying the quail flavor soon! Thanks chewy.com!

So Cozy

Could life get any better?

As I'm looking at Coco next to me, I don't think I have ever been that comfortable in my life.  And even though that chair is supposed to be for humans, it seems to fit her little brown body perfectly.  

On a similar note, have you ever wondered what kind of body shape your dog would have if he/she were human?  No? Just me?

Coco's Super Bowl Sunday

Coco loves Super Bowl Sunday.  For the same reasons we do: the excitement, the competition, the commercials, but mostly the food. The chips, the nachos, the lil smokies in bbq sauce, the hot wings, cheese and crackers in the shape of footballs, potato skins, sliders, and pizza bites.  Isn't it great being a dog?

P.S. We don't really let Coco eat hot wings because of the bones. That would just be irresponsible of us ;)

Snow in North Florida?

That's what we were expecting, anyway, well a "Winter Storm" to be exact.  All the schools are closed today which means Coco gets Mommy and Daddy all to herself.

Around 12:30 this afternoon it started to sleet.  Coco was very concerned and wanted to go out and see what all the fuss was about (being a Florida girl myself, so did I).

We haven't gotten our snow yet, but the day is young!  Who knows how Coco would react to real live snow...and of course Mommy will have the video camera ready.  

Two Stinky Dogs

Since Madam Star has been visiting, we have noticed that our house smells a little...dogish.  With two dogs going outside and back inside, freshness has given way to stink.  Dog stink is one of the worst smells on the planet.  I don't know how multiple dog households do it.

It is certainly bath time.  I always mix up my own shampoo; it is cheap and effective.  (Second to dog stink on the horrid scale is wet dog stink--this cuts down on that problem.)  I have shared the recipe before, but here it is again, just in case your house smells as bad as ours!

The Best Dog Shampoo

Equal parts Dawn liquid dish soap, white vinegar, antibacterial hand soap, and a little warm water.  Shake the concoction in a container and you are on your way to clean, happy, silky puppy!

Note:  I have added a few drops of essential oil to help with the vinegar smell, but most times, it doesn't bother me any.

Coco's Most Favorite Thing in the World

Coco is a sucker for treats.  She LOVES just about all treats, but her favorite are the ones I make at home.  The pumpkin flavor is her most favorite.  She'll do anything for a treat!

Coco sits for a treat.

You can get some of Coco's treats HERE.  It is ok, she doesn't mind sharing.

Spotlight on Cousin Madam Star

Madam's mommy is going on vacation, so cousin Madam Star gets to stay with us.  Coco is very excited about her visit.  She gets right in Madam's face and tells her all about how excited she is.  Madam walks away.

Since we have Madam for a week, I thought I'd share some of the reasons we love her!

1. Aunt Julesy got Madam when she was just a puppy.  She tripped over her big basset ears.

2. Madam Star likes to be stinky.  The stinkier, the better.  On walks, she'll roll in dead things.  She's a happy, stinky dog. 

3.  Cousin Madam has 2 little baby brothers, Sir Henry and  Lord Grimshaw Von Luckstone.

4.  She wears cute pink sweaters when it is cold.

5.  Madam is the ultimate prissy princess!

6.  Cousin Madam is a slave to her nose.

7.  She almost always looks sad but rarely is.

8.  She likes our fireplace, too.

9.  Madam thinks she has to shake before she gets a treat. 

10.  Cousin Madam Star takes a lot of naps.  She's a napping superstar.  

Yummy Fromm Chicken Treats

We feed Coco Fromm Family dog food, so when the nice people at Chewy.com asked if we wanted to review some treats, we were thrilled to receive Fromm Chicken with Carrots and Peas treats.

Since we have been working on being nicer when on walks, I have been using Fromm treats as Coco's "jackpot" reward--what she gets when she really nails the look command.  In Feisty Fido (a training book for leash reactive dogs) they suggest using a treat that your dog can't refuse.  We got these treats just in time for training; Coco LOVES them and gets super excited when she sees me reach for them.

They are a little big for training all the time, but perfect for getting her excited to train because she likes them so much.  The very crunchy round treats are also perfect for us as go-to treats because they don't stink. (Bill hates smelly food/treats and will complain if they are too strong.  No complaints with Fromm!)

Our local pet health store carries Fromm food but not these treats.  We've been wanting to try them for a while now, and I'm so thrilled to know that I can order them on Chewy.com whenever I want.

Practicing "look" 

Fixing the Problem of Homeless Pets

Recently, I was introduced to the idea that "We Can Save Them All".  I think this is a message that needs more attention.  The idea that, as pet lovers (or rescuers, or advocates, or volunteers), we can't save all the homeless pets should become a thing of the past!  We CAN save them all.  

The Best Friends Animal Society reports that 9,000 pets are killed each day.  But we can all do something to help! Check out their infographic so see how.

It Is Cold in Florida!

Believe it or not, it is cold in Tallahassee.  Well, cold for Florida.  It was 20 degrees this morning and supposed to be in the teens tonight.  We are cold.  Cold, cold, cold.

Coco, however, is loving the weather, not because of the cold, but because we have a fire in the fireplace most nights.  Coco is a sucker for a good fire.

I don't know what she'd do with her evenings without the fire.  She's a smart girl.