This week’s Pose of the Week comes again from Nancy Guillory.  It appears that on a hot summer day, her young Airedale pup, Bailey, took it upon himself to make room in the ice chest, so he could cool off.  The only problem was there were things in his way.  Not to worry he took care of it!

Just another demonstration of how ingenious Airedales are!  Congratulations once again Nancy and Bailey and have a GREAT day, everyone!

I don’t know who’s worse when it comes to the anticipation of the holidays–kids or dogs. Yes, I do–it’s the dogs.  Every time I come in the house with a bag or package, I have Amber and Krissy glued to my heels until I put them down.  Then they have to stick their noses in the bags and if there is anything that could even remotely be considered a toy for them, out it comes in a flash.  My husband’s socks, a package of ribbon, a pair of slippers for my mom, a t-shirt for my son–have all been danced across the room with gleeful abandon and christened with a wee bit of slobber before being rescued.

And when the big night comes and everybody is supposed to be all nestled in their beds with no one stirring, not even a mouse–Amber is scheming under her stocking next to the fireplace.  Since more than once, she has crawled up and taken her stocking down by herself, we have taken to barricading off the fireplace and putting her filled stocking up high on the mantle once it’s filled.

It is small moments like these that make the holidays fun, memorable and special.  And when it comes down to it, it’s really the small moments in life that really mean the most. So enjoy your every moment of the holidays with your family, friends and dogs.  Appreciating the moment may be the most important lesson we can learn from our dogs, not just during the holidays, but every day.

Around the holidays, there’s no shortage of sweet treats-especially when it comes to us humans. But for dogs, it can be entirely another matter-just the same ol’ kibble.

While it is not safe to share your human treats with your furkids, you can whip up a batch of homemade dog cookies with this simple recipe:

Max’s AHHH-mmmm Morsels

Ingredients:
2 C       Organic Whole Wheat Flour
1 Tbsp  Baking Powder
1 C       Organic Peanut Butter (chunky or smooth)
1/2 C    Organic Chopped Carrot
1 C       Organic Milk
dash     Cinnamon

Instructions:
In one bowl, combine flour, baking powder and cinnamon. In another bowl, combine peanut butter, carrots and milk. Slowly add dry mixture to peanut butter/carrot/milk mixture and blend well into dough. Roll dough out to 1/4 inch thickness on lightly floured surface and cut out shapes using cookie cutters.  Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 375˚ F for 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Cookies can burn easily, so watch carefully.  Allow to cool and store in an airtight container.

You can get this recipe on your own keepsake postcard along with a 3 inch dog bone cookie cutter in Max’s store.  Or you copy it here.  Either way, it’s a great way to treat your dogs around the holidays!

About a year ago, I wrote a blog post about the the Top Ten Reasons I’m Grateful to My Dog. It’s based on the lessons I’ve learned from observing and interacting with my dogs.  Since it is Thanksgiving and there are so many reasons to be grateful, I thought it would be a good time to repeat this post. If you missed it the first time, I hope you enjoy it and I hope you will think about the blessings in your life. If you want to share what you’ve learned from your dog, I’ll share it in a future post. Wishing you all laughter and love with family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving!  http://bit.ly/4NSBpt

Friday is “Take Your Dog to Work Day” and I just have one thing to say from my unique canine perspective:  only ONE day?

I guess, Krissy and I are lucky because we go to work with Mom and Dad everyday and we have very important jobs.  I am the Chief Wiggler and I head up agency greetings–whether you are the UPS man or a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, you’re sure to get the same enthusiastic attention.  Krissy is the Head of Security and although she is small, nothing gets past her.  Just try to run to the bathroom without giving her a bellyrub and she’ll let you know with a sharp AROOOO-ROOOO!

But beyond our job titles, we perform many other important functions for the staff and visitors like:

How to relax after chewing over important issues.

How stretching can relieve tension

How taking a break to play a little makes the day go faster

How it's okay to sometimes hang back and let someone else be in the limelight

For all these reasons and more, we think taking your dog to work is a great idea.  We just think you could stretch it to, say, all the time?

For those you who have followed the column written by E. J. Montini of the Arizona Republic over the years, you know that his point-of-view has often sparked some controversy.  For me, I tend to agree with him more often than not and today’s column, “Dog is politicians’ best guide through life” just proves how insightful he is.  In his article, he quotes Cesar Milan’s advice to the Obamas to establish themselves as “pack leaders” and take a leadership role with the new 1st pup, Bo.  As Montini points out, “He couldn’t have given worse advice. You don’t teach dogs; you learn from them.”

When Max and I wrote our book, Life to the Max, that was one of the main points we tried to convey–our teachers in life can come in some surprising forms and can even be the one at the end of the leash! It is so easy to get caught up in our human dramas and lose our perspective, but as one of our reviewers wrote, “Life to the Max reminds us of the joys of life and who or what matters in life.”  Montini echoed this sentiment when he wrote, “Professional demands and petty desires cause each of us - politician or not - to lose sight of what is important.  That’s when it’s most valuable to take hold of a dog’s leash and head outside. Not to lead, but to be guided.”

I wonder if Montini read our book?  Read Montini’s entire column.

It makes me sick to think that there is some creep out there who is placing strychnine-laced hamburger along the canal where owners frequently walk their dogs.   These attacks started last November and several dogs have been seriously sickened and at least, one has died.  As much as I really hope they catch this sicko, it is also a cautionary tale of why owners need to keep their dogs on a leash and to work with them to only eat something on the ground when told it’s okay.  I know getting dogs to only eat on command takes a lot of wok, but with what’s going on here, we pet parents/owners really need to take the lead.  According to a recent article in the Arizona Republic, if you have any information regarding the poisonings, you can contact Mesa Animal Control at 480-644-2268 and to find information on these poisonings, go online to www.carriagelanecanines.com.