A Chilly Walk

Winter has been going on… FOREVER. It seems like it anyways. On a warm weekend morning, M and I thought it would be nice to go for a walk with the pup. She’s been cooped up inside and besides, we need to get her used to leash walking.

It may be a different story now, but when we went, the trail along the Hudson in Watervliet was not cleared off. Hasn’t stopped people from using the trail, but the freezing and melting made it pretty difficult to walk on. There was lots of slush, and under that slush ICE COLD PUDDLES. And of course I wore my sneakers.

Stella was pretty decent on the leash, but the cars and trucks whizzing by on 787 scared her a bit. I took that picture at the point where she refused to go any further. Fine by me since my socks were soaked. M was crazy enough to go running on that trail. And no sooner did he run by did Stella decide she was going to run back to the car… with me lagging behind trying to avoid the puddles and poop piles.

Pick up after your dogs people. Sheesh.

Stell’s paws were pretty muddy from the walk/run, but M’s shirt cleaned up all of that. My car interior was saved.

Homemade Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Treats

I must admit, I am spoiling this pup rotten. She has a ton of toys and a number of shirts to keep her warm while she’s outside. Her dog food is some expensive, fancy schmancy stuff. So obviously she will only get healthy-ish treats.

I found this recipe somewhere on Pinterest, the actual link I’m sure I can find it if I put my mind to it, but… that means work. And I like to avoid work when I can. Like now.

Regardless of my lack of follow through, this recipe is simple enough – you mix together pureed pumpkin (canned is the easiest), peanut butter, whole wheat flour, oats, cinnamon, salt, and egg. I also added some flax seeds… only because I need to kill this supply. If you make this in your mixer, you may want to use the dough hook. Roll the dough out on a floured surface to about half an inch thick. You can use cookie cutters, or cut into strips or squares (probably the easiest of your options). Placed on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 20 (for a chewy treat) to 30 minutes (for a hard treat). Store in an air tight container and soon enough your pup will come running when they hear that container open. Stella does… that’s not weird, right? 

A New Addition (Finally!)

 

 

 

I had all these plans of writing more frequent, but recent events have changed those plans.

 

WE GOT A DOG!!!

 

 

Isn't she cute? Her name is Stella, and let me tell you... she is a handful. She's nine weeks old and just a ball full of energy. Thankfully, it doesn't last too long and then she just sleeps. But instead of sleeping on her bed, she sleeps on the couch. In my spot. And she doesn't share.

 

 

We need to work on that. And the nipping. And the not going in the house...

 

If you own a dog, you understand.

 

M started a tumblr for her, which I don't have the link to just yet. But it's out there. http://stellathepuppy.tumblr.com