Snackies

A while ago we wrote about how Stinkle was worried about what was in his shop bought treats, so being the good Mum that I am we got out the cookbook and looked through them to see which ones would be easiest for me to make... an experienced baker I am not! The treats we decided to make were cheese and cranberry with a cream cheese frosting, we decided not to add the frosting on our first attempt as it might be a bit much for mine and Dizzees skills! We were pretty successful in the taste dept with our friends 3 pugs (even one very very fussy pug) gobbling them all up! What I did find was the cranberries were a bit of a nightmare when it came to cutting the shapes as it was hard to cut through them. So second attempt I left out the cranberries and added sesame seeds... I think these might be better sprinkled on top rather than in the recipe so it really is all trial and error... the recipe makes quite a big batch of treats and Dizzee is on a so if anyone would like to taste test them for us leave me a comment and we will post you a few :)

Before they went in the oven

The dreaded V.E.T

Dizzee needs a trip to the vets his least favorite place and we are considering moving to a new practice! It's very close to where we live just 5 minutes walk and has recently been taken over by a chain of vets called Companion Care... I have looked on their website and they seem ok so tonight I'm going to stop in and have a chat with them and see if they will take him on so to speak the main thing for us is having a side door so he doesn't have to sit in the waiting area. We did use this practice once before it was taken over and the nurse was horrible and rude (hence my reluctance to move) our current vets are lovely they come out in the car park to do boosters and are generally just great, but they are a good 20 minute walk and it's a very busy walk, which is not what you want if you have a traumatised dog squeaking and yapping! fingers crossed they are nice and we get him booked in soon!

P.S he is ok just a check up

Come on summer

Woke up today to another covering of snow!! Come on it's half way through March!!

Mr McStinkle is a dog who loves a nice long trot, he is also a dog who likes a nice tropical climate not this cold, drizzly and sometimes snowy business we have had recently! I'm lucky if I can get him to go round the block when it's cold. So after carrying him in from the garden 'Walking is for the dog's not Bugg's!!'  Don't you know...

We just want to say come on sun and warm temperatures!!

We are so excited for there to be some sun and then we can finally get out and get walking which will hopefully will help us both shed a few winter pounds. Anyone else got a pampered pooch who doesn't like the cold?

The Yellow Dog Project

Have you heard of The Yellow Dog Project? 

We hadn't until probably about 1 year ago.

The yellow dog project.. basically is a project to get dogs who have for many reasons might need a bit of space when they're out all wearing a yellow ribbon, special neckerchief or anything else yellow!! they could need space because of health issues, they might be in training, being rehabilitated, scared or reactive around other dogs or the might be a bitch in season... the list goes on each dog is different and will be wearing their yellow item for many different reasons. 

The only way this is going to be successful is if more people know about the yellow dog project and are aware of why dogs have yellow ribbons on them. I am on a one woman (and her dog) mission to make people aware! I am printing posters to put on lampposts where we live, in shops and anywhere else I can! 

The last thing I would like to say is that by no means does this mean a dog is vicious, if you think your dog might bite it should be muzzled, yellow dogs are just dogs who need to be left alone and given a bit of space! 

You can find The Yellow Dog Project HERE

and you can get a FREE yellow ribbon (just pay for postage) HERE

Stinkle is the proud wearer of a yellow ribbon, and why does he wear his ribbon? When we are out he needs to walk and he needs to get round on his walk with no distractions 'dog on a mission' is one way to describe walk times. He has no want for people to distract him he's too busy for that, plus if you do stop him he might jump up and squeak a bit/lot which is fine if you like dogs but not so fine if you don't, he's also quite frightened of children and all the noise they make! 

What we thought of Crufts 2013

Morning everyone!

What a nice sunny albiet a little snowy Monday morning! Stinkle had troubles getting out of bed today and I practically had to carry him down the stairs to get him going... So how was everyone's weekend? All good I hope, did anyone else watch Crufts?? We did and I have to say I loved it! All the dogs looked really happy and it was nice to see that even the dogs in show were jumping up and all had a little bit of a cheeky side, I would hate to think dogs were trained and they lost their character! I enjoyed the utility and toy groups the best mainly down to the squishy faced dogs in them (and all the others) but I have to say I do have a soft spot for some of the bigger dogs too! Stinkle wasn't impressed at all... and on the Friday he took himself upstairs to bed and wouldn't come down! By Sunday he had got a bit more into it though and we done some dancing round the living room when there was a dog dancing with his owner on the TV. I can't say I agree with the judges decision although I'm glad the Italian Labrador came second (he was a beauty wasn't he!) Having said that, I am very biased the winners would have been Pugs, Frenchies, Bostons and probably that little Pekingnese in toy group oh and the Griffons!  I thought Clare Balding was fabulous and seemed really interested in the dogs, guests and the crowd in general. I also thought the mini interviews with vets and dog specialists was really good I particularly enjoyed the one about obese dogs looking at the diagram they showed Stinkle is somewhere between ideal and overweight so I was quite pleased about that really.  It's the first time I was watched Crufts for any length of time and it was a pleasant surprise I'm pretty sure any kind of 'show' gets bad press but the dogs all looked happy to be there and the owners and handlers seemed to adore their dogs. Next year I hope to be there I didn't realise that as well as all the shows they had around 200 trade stands!! Well that's it Stinkle heard that and has summoned me with a shopping list of things he needs! 

Anyone else going next year?
Maybe I will see you there.  Stinkle sadly won't be going as he quite rightly says it just wouldn't be fair on all the other dog's, he's too handsome and might put them all to shame... on that note I will leave you with a photo of my little Crufts 2013 winner on his podium.

What does Dizzee think about giving up processed meats?

Being a big fan of sausage's Dizzee had a few things to say about the news that eating processed meat could lead to dying younger and other health problems!

Firstly this news will not stop him munching on sausages, bacon or ham!! I mean really all his favourite foods, it would be like asking me to give up chocolate! Where I'm not fussy about what chocolate I eat Dizzee has decided that he will be using the butcher much more for fresh better quality non processed meat! This also got us both thinking about dog treats that you buy, what is in them? Being fussy he won't eat a lot of them but some are like plastic so this weekend we are going to make our own (which we did do once before and he loved!) it concerns me they might not stay fresh very long so I really need to do some research. We already own a few doggy cookbooks and the internet will surely provide us with some information on what we should make!



So watch this space and Dizzee says go buy all your dogs a nice sausage from your local butcher they'll appreciate it!!

Photo of Pickering's on Norwich Market our favourite Sausage supplier! 

Who are we?

The most important introduction is to Dizzee McStinkle (Stinkle to his friends)

 Dizzee is a five year old Bugg! (Pug X Boston Terrier) he lives a thoroughly spoilt lifestyle in the very fine city of Norwich. He likes sleeping, eating and toys made of rope. Me? Well I am his human Amber, I have a love of all dogs and hope that with the help of my hairy sidekick and our doggy friends we can write something interesting *fingers crossed* and helpful for other dog lovers! Dizzee wants to try out recipes for treats and test out new toys, I on the other hand would like to try out new shampoos and other useful things which he finds oh so boring! We know a few tricks which we might let you in on and we hope to find some nice dog friendly places throughout the UK.

So that's the boring stuff out of the way and here is the boy himself Mr Dizzee McStinkle......