DogHobbyist

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There are lots of great pet photos in our Photo Gallery... and throughout the year, we'll be featuring the best of the best. So come upload yours... it's free.

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There are lots of great pet photos in our Photo Gallery... and throughout the year, we'll be featuring the best of the best. So come upload yours... it's free.

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There are lots of great pet photos in our Photo Gallery... and throughout the year, we'll be featuring the best of the best. So come upload yours... it's free.

It's a holiday made for the dogs. Wednesday, February 23, is International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day, and let me tell you, each "cookie" mine get, they do appreciate!

Here is an easy recipe from the Pit Bull Rescue Central blog today:

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour (you can use another type of flour if your dog is sensitive to wheat)
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup peanut butter, chunky or smooth
1 1/4 cups hot water
Additional flour for rolling

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350° F
Mix dry ingredients together.
Mix in the peanut butter and hot water. You may need to add more flour if the dough is too sticky.
Knead the dough well.
Roll out the dough into 1/4" thickness and cut into shapes with dog cookie cutters.
Bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet for 40 minutes. Turn off the oven and let them cool overnight.
After cooling, the cookies get very hard, just the way dogs like them!

They are good at room temp for a week, but can be refrigerated or frozen for longer storage.

Of course, you can go the easy route like me and stop at your local doggie bakery.

So, do you have a great recipe? We'd love to see it!

And check out a dog celebrating this holiday under the jump!

Continue reading "Is your dog ready for International Dog Cookie Day?"

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There are lots of great pet photos in our Photo Gallery... and throughout the year, we'll be featuring the best of the best. So come upload yours... it's free.

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There are lots of great pet photos in our Photo Gallery... and throughout the year, we'll be featuring the best of the best. So come upload yours... it's free.

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There are lots of great pet photos in our Photo Gallery... and throughout the year, we'll be featuring the best of the best. So come upload yours... it's free.

Oprah Winfrey won a bet of questionable taste with talk show host Piers Morgan by getting convicted dogfighter Michael Vick to agree to appear on her show. From the Huffington Post:

Oprah has won her bet with Piers Morgan about who would book Michael Vick on their show first.

The two made the bet when Oprah was a guest on Morgan's show back in January. The bet was for 200 British pounds, or around $300.

On Monday, it was announced that Vick would indeed appear on Thursday's episode of Oprah's show.

Still, it's not clear if either Oprah or Morgan will get the money. Last week, Oprah tweeted to Morgan, "I'm pulling out of the bet. I don't know why I let you talk me into it. I don't gamble. Still love you."

I'm willing to wait and see what happens during the interview before forming an opinion about it, but I can't help but remember the last time Oprah had a Vick-related segment scheduled -- this one not about the "comeback kid" football player, but about his victims.

The Oprah crew had shot some footage of ex-Vick dog Jonny Justice, now a happy pet in the San Francisco Bay Area, and were preparing to fly Andrew and his ex-Vick dog, Hector, to Chicago for the show. At the last moment, the Vick dogs segment was canceled. From the Bad Rap blog in September, 2010:

We were disappointed in a "it figures" way. Canceling guests in the final hour is apparently commonplace with the Oprah Show, although we speculate that bailing on this particular story had something to do with the subject matter. It's common knowledge that Oprah is leery of pit bulls, so the topic of dogs once destined to fight now employed as cuddle buddies might've been too big of a stretch for someone who may not have noticed how normal the dogs have been acting since they came home.

Producers told us that there were "big debates" going on between staff about this story, one of them being whether or not to show sensationalistic fight footage in connection with the warm/fuzzy parts of the story. No wonder they were confused.

I'm worried about the upcoming segment, but can't deny I have a secret hope they'll use the Jonny footage on this show. The audience needs to see it. And the rescuer in my heart wants Vick to see it, too.

Follow up: 2/17/2011 - Michael Vick has cancelled on the Oprah show siting "Personal Reasons". Catch the full story at the Huffington post here.

What better Valentine's Day subject could there be than cats and dogs in the "Lonely Hearts Club"?

Those are pets who, for a variety of reasons, end up staying longer than others at those shelters who don't consider death an appropriate solution to "been here a while now." Instead, they take a look at their end of things -- does the dog or cat need training, medical care, to be moved to a different part of the facility, some time in a foster home, more exercise -- or just better marketing on the part of the shelter?

This subject is near and dear to my heart because just this weekend, our own Cindy Steinle asked for my help in finding a home for a beautiful "lonely heart" in her rescue, a Dogo Argentino mix named Elsie.

Elsie's had some tough times, but the bottom line on this dog is that she's bounced back from it all to be loving and loyal. I did a little tweaking to her description on Petfinder, emphasizing her wonderful qualities and promising future, rather than her unhappy past:

Just imagine, a dog like something from a legend, noble and loyal. Gentle with children, happy to be with other dogs, even good with cats. Okay, the cats say not to mention that. Something about "gratuitous chasing."

The thing is, Elsie's a once-in-a-lifetime dog who will blow you away with her capacity for love. She lived with two very young children and treated them gently--she let the kiddos take food right out of her bowl. She walks well on a leash, gets along with other dogs, and is friendly and outgoing to everyone she meets.

The always-provocative Shirley Thistlewaite has a post on just this exact subject -- using innovative and "borrowed" best practices for finding homes for the "Lonely Hearts" in shelters and rescue groups -- on her blog, YesBiscuit!, today. Be sure to check it out!

And hey, even if Elsie's not the right dog for you, share her story on Facebook and with your friends. Be her Valentine!

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There are lots of great pet photos in our Photo Gallery... and throughout the year, we'll be featuring the best of the best. So come upload yours... it's free.