How to Properly Greet a Dog

I've seen alot of talk about this subject lately, and I think we all forget pretty easily how important this is.  Being a dog owner myself it drives me up a wall when someone comes squealing up to me to pet my dogs, generally they don't even ask permissions.  The funny ones are when they've begun to pet my dog without my permission, then look up at me and ask "does he bite".  Really people, come on!  How much intelligence does it really take here.  I take a breath and try and remind myself that we're representing the breed here and not to fly off the handle at folks like this.

I was doing some reading and came across the website of Sophia Yin, a highly respected dog trainer and DVM.  While snooping around on her site I found a free ebook download and thought I would share it here.  It would be a wonderful training tool for children or even adults that are uneducated about dogs.  Here's the link:  http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/how-to-greet-a-dog-ebook-free-download-for-one-week-only.

There is also a printable poster outlining all the correct and incorrect ways to greet a dog.  I plan on referring people to this site as well as printing a copy for each of my puppy kits.  Enjoy!

All Natural Peanut Butter Pumpkin Treats

These are some of my dog's absolute favorite treats and they are so easy to make, even for someone who really doesn't bake (like me!).  They are made with human grade ingredients so you know they are healthy and if your husband needs a snack and likes pumpkin, well he can have one too :)

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Treats

• 1 can of canned pumpkin (not the seasoned pie filling, you want pure pumpkin)
• 2 heaping TBSP peanut butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 1/2 cups flour + more to stiffen dough (all purpose or whole wheat, whichever you want).  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the first 4 ingredients together well, then add the flour and mix in completely.  You should have a very sticky dough.  Add in more flour by the 1/4 cup full until a dough is formed you can work with that's not too sticky.

Press the dough out into about 1/4 or 1/2" thickness then use a medium sized doggy bone cookie cutter (or whatever shape you want) and put them on an ungreased cookie sheet.Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, flip 1/2 way through. You want them to be crunchy when they are done so they don't mold.

I have added whole oats to the mix for something different too, but it makes cutting them out a little more difficult. This recipe makes me about 2 large cookie sheets full. If I give each of my 2 dogs one per day this will last about a month.... oh, and kitties like them too!

UPDATE: I have started using brown rice flour instead of regular flour for this recipe to make it gluten free, it works great and the dogs still love them!