Monday, November 24, 2014
How powerful is a dog's nose? - Inside the Animal Mind - BBC
For all the Spaniel lovers out there! How clever is she?
Licks & Kisses
xxx
Can dogs tell the time? - Inside the Animal Mind: Episode 1 Preview - BB...
We went to visit Jameson this weekend and watched an amazing BBC documentary called Inside the Animal Mind. It's is a 3 part series on how magnificent the animal brain is and all the cool things they do with their senses, some of these totally alien to me! Needless to say, I now look at Salvador in a whole different light, after seeing all the amazing things his species - and others - can do! So clever. Above is but one section of the show about dogs being able to tell time - and how they possibly do this by smell.
The other bit that fascinated me was about the Spaniel sniffing out drowned bodies fro a lake through 6m of water AND some silt - I mean, HOW?!
You should definitely try to watch this show!
Licks & Kisses
xxx
BREAKING NEWS - GERONIMO!!!
We have a little visitor! Although, after a little bit of investigation he might not actually be a visitor, but more of a permanent resident that has been overlooked for the last 7 months...
Meet Geronimo!
We found him casually strolling around our garden this morning! Although he seemed like he had some idea of where he was going - perhaps back where he came from, we eventually found a big hole underneath some plants in one corner of our garden which now raises some suspicions as to how long he has been living here.
I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO PUBLICLY TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO APOLOGIZE TO SALVADOR FOR PREVIOUS OCCASIONS WHERE I SHOUTED AT HIM WHEN I FOUND HOLES IN THE GARDEN...
After feeding Geronimo some watermelon (for who knows how long this little traveler has gone without food and drink?!)I introduced Salvador to him. He was delighted!
I suspect that for some time now Salvador has been in desperate need of a pet. After following Geronimo all over the garden and then trying to communicate with him by howling and doing a few strange dust kicking maneuvers, he calmed down and now seem exhausted, yet contented with this new arrangement.
Happy Monday !!
Lick & Kisses
xxx
Meet Geronimo!
I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO PUBLICLY TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO APOLOGIZE TO SALVADOR FOR PREVIOUS OCCASIONS WHERE I SHOUTED AT HIM WHEN I FOUND HOLES IN THE GARDEN...
After feeding Geronimo some watermelon (for who knows how long this little traveler has gone without food and drink?!)I introduced Salvador to him. He was delighted!
Happy Monday !!
Lick & Kisses
xxx
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Balls...
The verdict on our ball dilemma is finally in! After many different kinds of balls and an extensive testing period, the judges (Salvador, myself and my manfriend) has made our choice based on:
-Durability
-Bounce
-Weight
-Size
-Range
These were the balls we tested
The Tennis ball
Now for many the tennis ball is the easiest and most affordable way to play a game of fetch with your dog. I personally have nothing against it (although you should make sure to get the pet friendly balls, any other tennis balls could make your dog ill if they were to devour them like Salvador (remember a certain post on cheap imitations ?!)
If you have a strong jawed pooch like mine, these won't last you more than one or two sessions. Salvador usually bites them in half, due to the 'fun' sound they make at this stage of breakage and he will then proceed to just pull the whole thing apart.
Enter the next ball...
The solid rubber ball
In the durability contest, these come out on top of the list - a solid rubber ball that any dog would find hard to destruct, but I had two issues with them.
Firstly, they come in awkward sizes. This issue obviously does not apply to all of you as some of you might have larger or smaller dogs than Salvador.
Secondly, These balls seem to weigh a ton! There was no way that Salvador could lift this ball for the whole duration of a game of fetch. Again, this might just be because of the awkward sizing and I'm sure this ball would work great for a larger dog.
Last but certainly not least, in fact, this is our unanimous winner of the ball battle (?!)
The hollow rubber treat ball
Salvador's best friend, Jameson has a ball like this that we tried out and after one game of fetch we all decided that this was the ball for us! This hollow rubber ball has a hole in it where you can insert a treat of some sort so as to get your dog more excited about the whole fetching thing - the one I got from the store today has a bell in it which Salvador loves! They are extremely durable and they weigh a little bit more than a tennis ball. The size fits Salvador's mouth perfectly, but I recon it will work just as well for larger breeds AND they don't break the bank, taking into consideration the hefty price tag on one of the denser rubber balls previously mentioned and how much you will spend over the years on tennis balls...This is certainly the best ball for a game of fetch!
So there you have it! I hope this solves the problem of what ball to get for your dog for Christmas!
Licks & Kisses!!
xxx
-Durability
-Bounce
-Weight
-Size
-Range
These were the balls we tested
The Tennis ball
Now for many the tennis ball is the easiest and most affordable way to play a game of fetch with your dog. I personally have nothing against it (although you should make sure to get the pet friendly balls, any other tennis balls could make your dog ill if they were to devour them like Salvador (remember a certain post on cheap imitations ?!)
If you have a strong jawed pooch like mine, these won't last you more than one or two sessions. Salvador usually bites them in half, due to the 'fun' sound they make at this stage of breakage and he will then proceed to just pull the whole thing apart.
The solid rubber ball
In the durability contest, these come out on top of the list - a solid rubber ball that any dog would find hard to destruct, but I had two issues with them.
Firstly, they come in awkward sizes. This issue obviously does not apply to all of you as some of you might have larger or smaller dogs than Salvador.
Secondly, These balls seem to weigh a ton! There was no way that Salvador could lift this ball for the whole duration of a game of fetch. Again, this might just be because of the awkward sizing and I'm sure this ball would work great for a larger dog.
Last but certainly not least, in fact, this is our unanimous winner of the ball battle (?!)
The hollow rubber treat ball
Salvador's best friend, Jameson has a ball like this that we tried out and after one game of fetch we all decided that this was the ball for us! This hollow rubber ball has a hole in it where you can insert a treat of some sort so as to get your dog more excited about the whole fetching thing - the one I got from the store today has a bell in it which Salvador loves! They are extremely durable and they weigh a little bit more than a tennis ball. The size fits Salvador's mouth perfectly, but I recon it will work just as well for larger breeds AND they don't break the bank, taking into consideration the hefty price tag on one of the denser rubber balls previously mentioned and how much you will spend over the years on tennis balls...This is certainly the best ball for a game of fetch!
So there you have it! I hope this solves the problem of what ball to get for your dog for Christmas!
Licks & Kisses!!
xxx
Monday, November 17, 2014
Cool, Calm and Classical
While having a well deserved break (Christmas shopping...) and a cup of caffeinated something from Vida e Caffe the other morning, I paged through the Obrigado magazine (Issue 36, Spring 2014) and was delighted to read some Q and A's of local artists on their pets.
The article started by mentioning a study that was done on the effects that different kinds of music had on dogs, so I decided to read up about this and the research is pretty interesting!
Tests were run on dogs in kennels and dogs in their home environments and classical music came out tops - 70% of dogs in the kennels became calmer and in some cases the music seemed to reduce nervous barking too.
A study was also done on dogs in their home environment to test the effects of classical music on how they persieve other dogs and children, new visitors into their home territory, excessive need for attention, separation anxiety and fireworks and it had a calming effect on dogs in all the above occasions - how amazing?! You can read the article here - there's a link on this page to the research summary too.
So there you have it! Go and get your paws on some classical tunes and start reaping the rewards of Classical music therapy for you pup!
Licks & Kisses
xxx
Friday, November 14, 2014
Happy 2nd Birthday Salvador! (& the improved Peanut Butter Dog Biscuit Recipe)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THIS GREAT LITTLE GUY!!
It's that time of the year again - Salvador had his birthday yesterday (I'm still unsure if he actually realized this was going on, but...). As you might have seen, I really went all out this year(compared to last year, that is...) and baked him some dog treats. I have tried baking dog treats before and it was a slight disaster, so I gave up on it, until now. See below the improved version of the recipe I posted in an earlier post.
He was really wishing for a rubber fetch ball, but I have not been able to find the right one - as Salvador chews up balls at a rapid pace. I will have to look into this and let you know which balls come out on the top of our list!
I ended up getting him a bone filled with Peanut Butter, which is his absolute fave! He kept himself busy with it for the whole of last night!
Here follows that improved recipe:
PEANUT BUTTER DOG BISCUITS (Improved version)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup brown rice flour (which I made by blending some brown rice in my blender - super easy)
1 cup rolled oats flour (which I made the same way as the brown rice)
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 cup water
Preheat oven to 180'C.
Make your flour from the brown rice and oats, separately by blending it in a blender. Mix the 3 different flours with the water.
Slightly heat up the peanut butter and oil and add to the mixture.Mix together well.
Lightly dust a surface with some flour and roll out the dough. At this stage you can press out shapes and thereafter place it on a lined baking tray. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Make sure they are totally cooled before feeding them to you pup!
The dough taster...
It's that time of the year again - Salvador had his birthday yesterday (I'm still unsure if he actually realized this was going on, but...). As you might have seen, I really went all out this year(compared to last year, that is...) and baked him some dog treats. I have tried baking dog treats before and it was a slight disaster, so I gave up on it, until now. See below the improved version of the recipe I posted in an earlier post.
He was really wishing for a rubber fetch ball, but I have not been able to find the right one - as Salvador chews up balls at a rapid pace. I will have to look into this and let you know which balls come out on the top of our list!
I ended up getting him a bone filled with Peanut Butter, which is his absolute fave! He kept himself busy with it for the whole of last night!
Here follows that improved recipe:
PEANUT BUTTER DOG BISCUITS (Improved version)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup brown rice flour (which I made by blending some brown rice in my blender - super easy)
1 cup rolled oats flour (which I made the same way as the brown rice)
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 cup water
Preheat oven to 180'C.
Make your flour from the brown rice and oats, separately by blending it in a blender. Mix the 3 different flours with the water.
Slightly heat up the peanut butter and oil and add to the mixture.Mix together well.
Lightly dust a surface with some flour and roll out the dough. At this stage you can press out shapes and thereafter place it on a lined baking tray. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Make sure they are totally cooled before feeding them to you pup!
 |
| Finished product! |
Monday, November 10, 2014
Possible Birthday Surprise Treat for Salvador #1 - Peanut Butter Biscuits
As you may, or may not know, Salvador celebrates his 2nd birthday this coming Thursday!
Last year I was in such a frenzy trying to find exciting things to do and make for this momentous occasion that it fell totally flat and I ended up with nothing exciting...this year WILL be different folks.
As of yet, I am still unsure of what this exciting day will bring (be it gifts, treats or outings...),
THEREFOR!!
I have decided to showcase some ideas I have in mind for this years barking bash!
First up, a recipe for PEANUT BUTTER DOG BISCUITS
Ingredients:
2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup of peanut butter
1/2 tbsp olive oil (fish oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil will do)
1 1/2 cups water
Preheat your oven to 180'C and prepare a baking tray by lining it with some baking paper.
Mix flour, oats and 1 cup of water until smooth.
Now add the peanut butter and oil to the mix. Slowly add the rest of the water until the mixture is thick and doughy.
Roll the dough out on a dusted surface and press out desired shapes (I'm hoping to come up with something a little less cliche than the standard bone shape...)
Bake for 40 minutes and allow to TOTALLY cool before feeding it to your dog.
Happy ba(r)king !!
Licks & Kisses
xxx
Last year I was in such a frenzy trying to find exciting things to do and make for this momentous occasion that it fell totally flat and I ended up with nothing exciting...this year WILL be different folks.
As of yet, I am still unsure of what this exciting day will bring (be it gifts, treats or outings...),
THEREFOR!!
I have decided to showcase some ideas I have in mind for this years barking bash!
First up, a recipe for PEANUT BUTTER DOG BISCUITS
Ingredients:
2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup of peanut butter
1/2 tbsp olive oil (fish oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil will do)
1 1/2 cups water
Preheat your oven to 180'C and prepare a baking tray by lining it with some baking paper.
Mix flour, oats and 1 cup of water until smooth.
Now add the peanut butter and oil to the mix. Slowly add the rest of the water until the mixture is thick and doughy.
Roll the dough out on a dusted surface and press out desired shapes (I'm hoping to come up with something a little less cliche than the standard bone shape...)
Bake for 40 minutes and allow to TOTALLY cool before feeding it to your dog.
Happy ba(r)king !!
Licks & Kisses
xxx
Thursday, November 6, 2014
What a Mess!!! (Cleaned Up...Phew!)
 |
| Is there a dog in there?! |
 |
| Oh, there it is...Rather scary, if I say so myself! |
But, that was last week!
I PRESENT TO YOU: THE NEW AND IMPROVED, CLEANED UP AND SCRUBBED DOWN SALVADOR OF THE PRESENT!
Doesn't he just look too handsome?!
Ever since we've had this haircut done, everything from swimming, running after the ball on hot, sunny days to drying after (mud)bath time has just been a breeze - I highly recommend it to all you medium to long haired dog owners!
Salvador got this cut in December of last year and it lasted the whole of summer so you only need to have it done once.
I booked him in at Jenni's Pet Parlour in Newlands and he was out of there in about 2 and a half hours, bag of treats in paw! The parlour is very well equipped, always busy(which I take as good omen) and the staff seems to manage the dogs and cats with lots of love and experience. All-in-all, a great experience for me and Salvador! Follow the link above to the parlour for their details.
PS: Someones birthday is around the corner...any party ideas for furry friends?!
Licks and Kisses!!
xxx
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