Curbing "Some" Mischief

Happy Monday!

So, as you know, I've been known to cause quiiiite the mischief around here when Bosses leave for work.  I really miss them, so I panic, and think they're never coming back.....

....and then they come back.  And while I'm really happy that they're back, I also look around me at the rubble.  Oh yeah, I made that rubble.  Oh. No.

So now, I've been a member of "Project Sadie" for a few weeks.  For now, it's been a success- whew!  I'm finally being a rather good puppy (or did Bosses finally realize possible disastrous materials and remove them from my worksite)!  Mom has been lining my KONG with a spoonful of peanut butter everyday, which has been working well as a positive reinforcement.  Mom leaving is okay now, since I get good things when she goes!

The kitty overlord, Thor, making sure the "Staff" (or I call them "Bosses") are making the food correctly.

A few days ago, Mom saw a brilliant idea from her volunteer friend at RAGOM- now, most of it is common knowledge.  Her volunteer friend froze the KONG toys for her dogs, filled with a lovely little concoction! (You're probably saying "yeah, yeah, yeah, what else is new?" I'm Mom/Dad's first dog together, so this is all news to us!")  She mixes apples, peanut butter, plain yogurt, and water.  We did a little spin off this one, mixing plain yogurt, apples, peanut butter, and blueberries.  I'll show you what she did- I had to ask Mom to make these, since I don't have opposable thumbs. :)

If only we had more KONG toys.....

First, Mom washed all the fruits- gotta make sure that they're all clean.  You never know what's on those things!  After everything was squeaky clean, Mom cored the apple, then chopped it into little pieces so it would blend better.  The picture shows the skin, but she took the skin off shortly afterwards.

Mmmmm, apples!  After this picture, Mom took the skin off the apple and chopped it.

She put all the chopped apple aside in a little bowl (about 1 medium apple's worth), and put about 1/2 a little carton's worth of blueberries aside in a bowl.  Mmmmm, fresh fruit is so good!

After the fruit prep was done, she poured in a little bit of plain yogurt into the blender.  We're still in the experimentation process, so we started by adding a personal-sized container's worth of yogurt in there.  It seems like a reasonable amount.

Mom put the apples in first, and blended the apples and yogurt together.  The whirring of the machine makes me curious!

When the mixture was smooth, Mom then added the blueberries.  It was so cool watching the color change as soon as the blueberries started making their way to the bottom! :)

When the blueberries were mixed in, Mom also added in about a tablespoon's worth of peanut butter. YUM!  It has a slightly watery consistency, but it'll work for our purpose.  When it was thoroughly mixed, Mom set out the KONGs in...wait for it....

IKEA Kid cups!!!  Yes.  These things work perfectly for storing KONGs in the freezer!  The bottom little hole in the KONG practically seals on the bottom of the cup, and nothing spills.  Mom put mine in the freezer last night, and I'll get my first one to try when she leaves for work in a little bit.  How cool is that?!  A huge thank you to our volunteer friend for showing us this!  (Note: the ones that fit perfectly are a size large.  The one with the paper towel around the outside is a size medium, and still sealed.)

Size medium KONG with a paper towel around the edge.

Size large KONG- perfect fit!

 So, there you have it!  A brilliant realization!  The IKEA kids cups cost Mom and Dad about $1.99 or so.  Do you have anything that keeps you/your pet busy while the Bosses are at work?  Do you stuff your KONG with something different?

Until next time, we're working on getting more KONGs!  Mom says they're a bit spendy to buy 5 or 6 at a time, so maybe Santa will be kind to me this year.

Chow!

FitDog Friday: Staying Safe for #Halloween

Booooooo!

Greetings, "Furr"ankensteins and Ghouls!

Hope you are all prepping and getting excited for such a fun-filled day for many.  We have all our candy in a bowl, our costumes hung up, and our decorations ready!

Bosses still have to work today, so they'll strand me here until their work day is over.  Then.....

the doorbell will constantly ring for hours, Bosses say.  We'll open the door to strange mailmen in costumes, and give them T-R-E-A-T-S.  What?!  Now, how can I learn to ring that doorbell?! Will they give ME treats?!  Anywho, I'll be dressed in my Howloween best!

As we're headed into such a festive day, I thought I'd give a little reminder to us fluffy friends about things we should do and definitely do not as Halloween happens.  I've never experienced the joys and frights of Halloween at a person's house, so here's what I have been told to do to make it the best that I can:

• Stay away from the candy bowl!  Yes, it looks tempting.  Not only is it a bowl- the bowl also makes wonderful crinkly noises, AND it smells good.  But Boss says to leave it alone!  They'll make you very sick.  And plus- the small mailmen who come ring the door would love it way more than my digestive tract!  We'll keep the treat bag close for both myself and for other fluffy friends passing through!
• Monitor the animals in the house.  Some animals can handle the constant ringing of doorbells, some cannot.  Some love people coming to the door, some are less friendly to random little/big people.  If your fluffy friend can handle all the stimuli, awesome!  If not, try putting a baby gate near the stairs if you have them, or keeping the entry way clear.  Also, if your dog is skittish (I happen to not be), maybe even keeping him/her in a different part of the house or leashed would be better- if the door opens, he/she could bolt.  It's probably dark out, and it'll be devastating!

Stay safe out there, everyone!

Thoughtless Thursday: The "Eve" of #Howloween Eve

It's a bird...

It's a plane...

No!

It's.....Sadie?

We've been trying out some silly outfits the past few days- Petsmart had a great clearance on their Halloween "get-ups" and so we thought we could spring for a few.

How did Bosses to get me to stay so still, and keep the silly hats on?

1. Patience. Getting a 1-year-old crazy dog to sit still is an art within itself.  A crazy 1-year-old dog with a foreign hat on its head?  Even more tricky.  There were plenty of outtakes for these photos, I promise!
2. Lots of T-R-E-A-T-S.  I don't work for free. Bosses had to make sure the little green bag with the goodies inside was full, and flowing freely!
3. Practice! Bosses have been trying to teach me that it's perfectly okay to be wearing something silly on my head.  I really wasn't a fan of the party hat from my birthday, either.  However, once the hat started dispensing TREATS from it, it became a little less freaky.  And...everytime I wear a silly hat, I get even more treats!  If I keep it on for more than 1 minute, more treats.  So on and so forth.  Maybe this hat business isn't a bad thing after all!

How do you get your fluffy friends to wear costumes and other things?  What's the best costume you or your fluffy friend has ever worn?  Discuss!

Chow!

- See more at: http://www.ruckustheeskie.com/2014/10/thoughtless-thursday41-pre-halloween.html#sthash.686g3ia7.dpuf

Monday Mischief: The Birth Day

Good Morning, Friends!

This weekend was a BLAST.  Thank you all for your kind birthday wishes- I feel so loved!  Saturday was our most mischievous day of the weekend- I regret nothing.  We made sure that my day was extra special, since, well, you only turn ONE...once!

Me posing for my 1st Birthday!

We started our day out by a big morning breakfast.  Bosses let us puppies go outside and play! I got to find all the sticks that have fallen with the leaves.  I decided to be a nice foster sister and share some with my buddy, Kaiser, too.

Sharing is caring!

Bosses then told me we were "going" somewhere.  I love the word "go"!  Bosses went quickly into REI, got me a sweet new food bowl, and then we went to a "Meet & Greet" at Chuck and Don's for RAGOM (Retrieve a Golden of Minnesota).  The Big Boss even let me sit in his lap up front, with the window rolled ALL the way down.  I just liked to rest my head on the window ledge and get all that fresh air in my nose.  It was WONDERFUL.  I even got to see the people who helped rescue me at the Meet & Greet!  They all couldn't believe that I was already one year old!  They even remembered picking me up for the first time when I was just two weeks old.  Ahh, reminiscing. :)

You can't catch me, Kaiser!

We took a mid-morning nap, because....well, we got a little worn out from the morning.  We played a bit more.  That's my specialty!

Aww, man!  You got it.  Now I have to get you!

After we woke up, we had lunch- another little feast.  I'm thinking everyday should be a birthday!  We had tons of T-R-E-A-T-S.

I kidnapped this fluffy friend from the bedroom and now it's mine.

Bosses even got me some birthday presents.  They got me a wonderful doggie bed!  Small Boss usually makes me one, but she found a deal on the foam/liner/"duvet" that was even better than buying materials.  So, this one is mine!

Eating yummy things on my new bed! So comfy!

I got a sweet bag of treats, TWO rawhide ribs, and a bunch of little toys handmade by my Boss herself!!!! SO COOL.

My haul from my birthday- not too shabby! :-)

We even went on an afternoon outing!  I'll be writing about that on Tuesday, because this one is getting a bit lengthy.

We played some more, ate some more, and passed out.  Just because the day was that good.  Bosses had friends over for something called "Bored Game Night".  They looked like they were having too much fun to be having a night devoted to "bored games", but I never said these people always made sense. ;-)  It was fun for Kaiser and myself, though, because that means that people come over to pet us!  Not a bad deal.

*Many treats were involved in the production of this photo*

Thank you everyone, for making my day special!

Chow!

Black & White Sunday: Classic

Happy Sunday, Everyone!

I've been a pretty good pup this weekend. Today, I think I'm just going to enjoy the sunshine and warm weather with the Bosses in the backyard, soaking up the rays while they do yardwork.  Maybe I'll join in.....who knows.  I like to be helpful whenever possible!

"But Mom...just one more treat?"