Wednesday, January 30, 2013

People food

When Ares first came home, I was adamant that he would never have people food. I was so angry the first time Mike gave Ares peanut butter because NO.PEOPLE.FOOD. Now, Mike thought I was being absolutely ridiculous. And I was. Kind of.

I had very good reasons for my "no people food" rule. Before I was born, my parents brought home a gorgeous male Cocker Spaniel named Webster. They freely gave him people food and he was well loved in the community in which they lived. I've heard stories about how when Webster was outside, people who passed by would give him people food treats. It wasn't good for him. He got so sick, he almost died. After that, by the time I was born, he was not allowed to have any people food. He had the occasional peanut butter to take his medicines but that was it. A few years after he passed from old age, we brought home a female yellow lab named Lexi. From the very first day, she was not allowed to have people food. I've been trained my entire life that any people food for dogs = bad.

I haven't had my dogs for a year yet and I've already broken my rule. My dogs are beggars. Without ever having people food, Ares would beg and beg in the way that pugs do (licking the air obsessively!) but I stood strong. They don't get our food - no scraps of dinner or left overs. And absolutely no processed food!
But I'm a lot less lax now that I've done the research.

There's so many things that they can not only eat safely, but are also healthy for them! Pure canned pumpkin is a great additive to dinner that aids with digestion and diarrhea, and slices of apple (no stems or seeds!) also provide much needed fiber as well as vitamins A and C. I had to put Ares and Luna in their cages yesterday for a little while since I was going in and out of my apartment and the door had to be kept open and I kept them busy with thick slices of apple.

After watching hilarious videos on YouTube of pugs eating bananas, I had to try it for myself. Bananas make great treat alternatives because they contain natural sugars and enzymes which, surprise surprise, aid in digestive issues! Beware, from what I've read, too much banana can lead to some loose poops and I've also experienced some horrendous gas from my two!
I really need to invest in a camcorder or actually start using the record feature on my camera, but for now, here's a video of Ares and Luna trying their first banana.



Please research foods before giving them to your pet. Many yummy people foods can actually be poisonous to dogs. Feed safely!

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

thinking ahead

Disclaimer: this post is weird. But consider this: when people have kids, parents make sure that they will be taken care of if anything happens. Ares and Luna are my babies. I feel that same need.

I'm young - only 26 years old, but a couple of years back, my dad decided to gift me with the start of a Roth IRA account for my birthday (he's just as practical as I am). He opened my account and put $100 in it and left it to me to continue to build it up. At the time, I made both of my parents my primary beneficiary, with the money in the account being split 50/50 if something were to happen to me.
About a month or so ago, I read an article about things that people should consider before getting a pet. One of the points that were brought up was that you should make a plan for what will happen to your pets if something happened to you which got me to thinking what would happen to Ares and Luna. Now obviously, Mike would take the dogs - but if the worst were to happen to both of us? Then what? At the time, I didn't know how to go about setting up a fund for Ares and Luna's care - finances are tight as it is then I suddenly remembered my IRA!
It was really easy for me to go online and change things. I have no idea who will care for the dogs although I do know that the dogs will stay in the family - they know how much Ares and Luna mean to me and I know they would never allow them to go to a shelter. I was able to set up a contingency plan so that if something were to happen to Mike and me, whomever assumes ownership of the dogs will get the money to put toward their care.
Ares is only one year old and Luna is only four months old, but I already cry about the thought of losing them and the idea of me going before them hurts even more - Ares is so attached to me, I don't know what he would do without me. I feel so much better knowing that there's a way for me to take care of them if something DOES happen.

I fully admit that I'm probably really strange to be thinking about all of this at my age. In this economy, it's a good idea to have something set up for my retirement. I'd rather not work the rest of my life, thankyouverymuch. I'm just taking this a step further by providing a safety net for ALL of the loved ones in my life instead of just the human ones.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

snowy day

There's something magical about the snow. I love how everything turns white and seems so much more peaceful. The snow started while I was at work (I take care of two amazing kids) so we bundled up and adventured out into their yard. While E is 5, it's his first time REALLY playing in the snow. His older sister, K, taught him all about snowball fights while I stayed under shelter and took pictures.
Because of the snow, I asked my sister to please stop by my apartment to take Ares and Luna out to do their business. I'm kind of sad that I didn't get to see their first adventure into the snow. Apparently, Luna ran out and immediately ran back inside! They didn't boycott doing their business though - such good pups!
I didn't get home from work until almost 10pm as a result of the snow but I grabbed my camera and shoved the babies back outside. I live in an above garage apartment so I have a large balcony and stairs to get to the yard. I think Luna and Ares were a bit confused because Luna peed on the balcony last night and Ares pooped on it this morning. Oh well, it's outside so that's all that matters, right? Luna was leery about going out in the snow and kept trying to run back inside but once they were both out, they wouldn't stop running around in it and trying to eat all of the snow!
These pictures were taken last night when I got home from work:





Today, E begged me to play in the snow again and to go to the dog park when we went to let the dogs out. K agreed so off we went! So many dogs romping around in the snow. Luna alternated between terrorizing the tiny snowman that E and K made (the poor little guy's arms never stood a chance with her!) and going from person to person to see who would pick her up and keep her warm. They both had fun visiting their friends though!









I'm so happy that our snow day was a success. The dogs and the kids had a lot of fun playing outside.

And now the snow can melt, please.


Friday, January 25, 2013

basic dog treats

I don't know how many of y'all have heard about all of the controversy and recalls regarding dog treats that aren't made in the states (specifically ones made in China). Trying to read the labels and remember what is safe can be really confusing, especially when you're like me and want to give your pets variety in their every day lives. When Ares first came home, I constantly went to PetCo and hit up their treat bar. I was able to get a wide variety of treats which I kept in a cookie jar in my kitchen.
This summer, I became obsessed with going to farmer's markets. There were two that I loved going to whenever I didn't have to work. Each of them had people that sold home made dog treats that Ares went absolutely crazy for (this was pre-Luna). I realized that it would be incredibly easy for me to make my own treats for Ares and Luna. This way I know what enters their bodies which makes me a happy lady.
I immediately scoured the internet and decided that I would no longer buy dog treats and when I ran out of the ones I already had, I would begin to make my own. That happened last night. I'm not trying to pretend I'm an awesomely amazing cook, because I'm not, so I decided to go easy with a recipe that only called for flour, water, oil, and an egg. (I'm not posting the exact recipe because I flat-out stole it from a site I no longer remember but if you're desperate to have it, email me at ares.the.pug@gmail.com)


In all of my baking glory, I couldn't get the consistency right in the dough. I should have been able to roll it out and make cookie cutter shapes but that wasn't happening for me so I just dropped spoonfuls of it onto the cookie sheets. To make it a little more spunky, I mixed up some cornstarch, water, and food dye (I love Wilton gels!) and spooned it on top of the spoonfuls of dough before I popped them in the oven. I ended up with burgundy, blue, and teal cookies.


If you are as skilled as I am, the dye mixture will run and bake on the cookie sheet. Luckily, the pieces break off easily after the cookies cool. I greased the cookie sheets with some of the olive oil I put in the cookies and was able to just pick everything right off the pans.


This is the finished product. I actually like getting household appliances and such for Christmas, so this past year, my dad generously got me a FoodSaver vacuum sealer. I am testing out the ability to freeze these bad boys but thought they would freeze much better if they've been vacuum sealed first. The test batch sealed very well and weren't crushed into pieces when I cut open the bag so hopefully the batch I actually froze will also work.

Ares and Luna absolutely love them. If Luna's sitting for a treat, you KNOW she's desperate to get her little paws on it! They ate them so quickly I couldn't even get any pictures of it. I will definitely be making them again - they were such a quick and easy treat to throw together. Next time I do, I'll be experimenting with adding broth instead of water for a bit more flavor for them.




Thursday, January 24, 2013

snow day

I have a love/hate relationship with snow. I like it when I don't have to go anywhere and hate it when I have to go out and drive in it. We are supposed to have flurries all day today and 1-2" tomorrow night. Considering I have to work all weekend, I'm not a happy camper.

I am pretty excited about taking Ares and Luna out in the snow though. There's something magical about watching dogs romp around in the soft snow. Hopefully they like it. It's a shame that neither of them will wear the little boots I got them.
It sure is pretty though.




Wednesday, January 23, 2013

introductions

Jes: mama to two very spoiled pugs living in Virginia.



Mike: daddy to the pugs and my other half.

Ares:

He's the god of war. You should probably fear him. He was born on December 28, 2011 and brought home on March 10, 2012. He was a completely impulsive addition to the family but I haven't regreted it for a second.

Luna:

She's the goddess of the moon. She's the feistiest little one and cracks me up with her independent nature. She was born on September 27, 2012 and was brought home on November 19, 2012.

Ares and Luna have a tight brother and sister bond and love spending their days bugging each other. We are lucky enough to live within walking distance of a beautiful dog park and try to go every day.

Ares and Luna are fed dry food with raw food treats and supplements. I am also beginning to try my hand at making my own homemade treats which will be reviewed here as well as their monthly barkbox.
We are active on instagram so you should find and follow us @ares_and_luna_lovepug