Dog Treats

A few months ago I blogged about my recommendation for what to feed your dog. My dogs have been eating Dr. Harvey's Canine Health now since March - and not one of them has thrown up. I'd heard that dogs just throw up more than humans - that that's normal and acceptable. But now I realize it's not - it's a sign they're not eating food that's good for them.

Since March, I've also taken a harder look at what treats I give my dogs. I was already starting from a good place - my dogs get "Jackie treats" every day, which are homemade by a co-worker. But sometimes I would supplement with other treats, and some of them were sourced from China. I also gave my dogs rawhide bones.

Treats

These are the treats I've introduced in the past several months (all made in the USA):

• Max & Ruffy's. Max & Ruffy's come in a variety of flavors. They're small round treats great for training. Some (but not all) of the flavors are available at amazon. Peanut loves them, but Biscuit doesn't seem to be a big fan. He only eats his when he sees that Peanut has finished hers and might take his away. He may not like them, but he doesn't want HER to get extra treats. 
• Merrick Power Bites. Now THESE are a big hit. Also small and great for training or games, but these are chewier and meat-based instead of fruit/veggie flavors. And my pups LOVE them. 
• Fruits & Veggies: There are a number of fruits & veggies that are good for dogs. Mostly I've begun incorporating them more in MY diet, and giving my dogs scraps as treats. Just make sure they have no added sugar or sulfites.
• Apples
• Bananas
• Carrots
• Strawberries
• Watermelon
• Spinach
• Cucumbers
• Coconut flakes
• Others I don't use much but are good for dogs: Zucchini, blueberries, bell peppers.
• NEVER FEED YOUR DOG GRAPES.
• Healthy Dogma Banana Chips. The pups love these, but I don't buy them a lot since they already get pieces of my banana every day.
• Yogurt. The probiotics in yogurt make it a great treat. I give my dogs each a spoonful a day. And, so that I can use most of a carton before it goes bad, I got two mini-ice cube trays and I freeze some in there. So sometimes they get it in frozen chunks instead of soft yogurt.
• Homemade Blueberry Banana treats. These are Biscuit's absolute favorites. If they don't get them immediately after dinner I'm in big trouble. Here's the recipe:
• Preheat oven to 375.
• Blend 1 1/3 cups washed blueberries and 1 peeled banana with 1 cup water in a blender.
• In large bowl, mix blueberry mixture with 3 2/3 cups whole-wheat flour to form a dough.
• Spoon the dough onto a cookie sheet in about 1-inch spheres, or make fun pawprint ones by putting the dough in a pawprint tray!
• Cook for 8 minutes, flip or take out of tray and put upside down on cookie sheet, cook for 8 more minutes
• Makes about 70-75 treats. Freeze half and store the other half in the fridge.
• Also check out your area for local mom & pop dog bakeries. Here in Loveland Doggy Dips & Chips is a great place to get fresh homemade dog treats, if you don't have a Jackie. :)

Rawhide Bones

I started seeing a lot of articles about the disgusting bleaching process of rawhide bones, and it was moving me toward cutting them from my dogs' diet. But when I saw that China was serving 40-year old meat for HUMAN consumption, I decided no more ANYTHING edible unless it was made in the USA. And that meant (very covertly) throwing out their rawhide bones.

I wanted to find a USA-made substitute that would be a good chew for the dogs. Their Dingo rawhide sticks usually lasted 5-10 minutes, so that's what I was hoping to find. But so many of the sticks I found were over $1 per stick! So this is what I've tried at a more affordable cost:

• Merrick Jerky Strips. These only lasted about 30 seconds. They are so soft that they're more of a big treat than a chew. The dogs loved them, but it's not the durability I was hoping for.
• Get Naked Chew Sticks. These last about 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Not the durability I was hoping for, but far longer than the jerky strips. Long enough that I felt I could get away with calling them "bones" and the pups wouldn't feel ripped off. And, they have varieties for different healthy functions, like joint health and antioxidants. One bag has 18 sticks and is $4-5, so it's pretty comparable in price to the rawhides I was getting, but they are so much better and made in the USA. 

That One Time When I MET LIL BUB!!!!!!!!!!!

Today I experienced the most magical thing any human can experience. I MET LIL BUB!!!!

I went to the Denver County Fair and arrived in time to get a good seat at the Gazebo Stage for the 1:00 Q&A with Mike & Bub. I saw Mike walk up first, without Bub, and it seemed like a lot of people didn't seem to know who he was until he got up on the stage to set up his computer. He played a video of Bub on a beach while we waited for the show to start.

Mike started by explaining Bub's story (with pictures), and he showed the video of her miraculous recovery. He also showed some pictures of her with celebs and such.

After that he took Bub out of her carrier and she interacted with the audience. Mike typed what Bub was saying on screen, and recordings played of her squonks.

Then after Bub said some things, we saw a video of Lil Bub's Special Special from Animal Planet.

Then there was Q&A. I asked what Bub thinks of Rosco, her new baby brother. She said that dude is amazing. Best face. Best smile!

Bub also got her checks for the charities she is fundraising for this weekend.

Mike seems like a really humble, genuine guy. You can tell just from the way he carries himself. Plus when asked about his and Bub's fame, he said he doesn't consider himself a celebrity, just Bub's assistant. And he is glad for that. He said he had a band at one point he'd hoped would become famous, but now he is glad it didn't. He likes Bub getting the attention more than for himself. Also, he is even cuter in real life.

After the Q&A, Dude fed Bub at the end of the stage so people could take pictures. Then he held her a bit for more pics. Squeeeee!!!!!!!!!!! She is adorbs.

I was having issues taking as many pics/videos as I wanted because my iPad doesn't have much space. So after Bub had been whisked away, I got online and uploaded all the pics and videos from Q&A to Facebook so I could delete them from my iPad.

Then I went to the Bub booth. I was planning to just get a Bublanket for my sister, since she'll be here in a couple days and could avoid shipping costs that way. But they were also discounted, so I ended up getting one for myself, too. I had also brought my stuffed Bub and was wearing one of my Bub shirts. People kept asking where I got the stuffed Bub as I walked around the fair holding her, so I got to direct a lot of people there.

There were a couple hours to kill between the Q&A and the Meet & Greet, so I wandered the fair a bit. At one point I saw Mike and his son coming out of the bathroom, so I said hi to Rosco.

In the art gallery, I saw that someone had painted BUB ART!

I went to the animal pavilion and saw a zebra, a baby camel, some cute baby goats and snuggling bunny buddies. That first little goat was OUT COLD. (He has black fur around his eyes so they look open in the pic...but trust me he was snoozing hard.) A fair can really wear you out! But he had a friend to help him. The fire alarm kept going off, but no one was evacuating so I just stayed there.

Then around 3:30 I went to get in line for the 4:00 Meet & Greet!!! I was 12th in line. At 4:00 they let the first ten people in line into the room with Bub. Then as each person came out, they let one more in.

So I was 2nd in line when the first lady came out, and she had the biggest smile on her face and was squealing, "SHE'S SO SOFT!!!!!!!!!!" She looked like she'd been transformed by magic.

There were a bunch of rules for meeting Bub. Each person got TWO PETS and that was it. They said to try to avoid her ears as she is sensitive to being pet there. (SHE IS SO SOFT!!!!!!!!) After your two pets, you pose for a picture which they take for you on your camera/phone/iPad. And then Mike finds out your name so he can personalize your pawtograph.

There was a reporter from the Denver Post there, and he took pictures of me with Bub. ONLY ME. Then he got my name and asked me about me coming to meet Bub. He said if I email him, he'll send me the pictures. So I am the ONLY ONE who got real professional pics taken!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After I talked with him, I snapped a couple more pics before I left the room. It really felt magical. I could not stop smiling walking to my car.

I had thought there would be more time to talk to Mike and Bub. I was going to tell them about Biscuit using the Assisi Loop, which we know of thanks to Bub. I was going to see how Bub really sizes up to the stuffed Bub. And I was going to see if she could rub her paw on the bublankets. But there wasn't time for any of that. Still, I understand they have to limit it so she doesn't get overwhelmed. She is a cat, after all! So, I was not disappointed. Just being in her presence was magical!!!

On the way out, I snapped one more selfie with a big poster of Bub.