Cheap & Easy Homemade Dog Treats

Over Memorial Day weekend the Royfriend and I took Foster on a little field trip to Pooch Park in Skokie, IL.

It's a great park with 6' high, well-maintained fences which is perfect for dogs who moonlight as escape artists, such as mine.  As you can see, it made for several awesome photo opps (more below). 

It was already in the 80's when we left for the park around 9am that morning so we predicted a hot pooped mess of a dog when we got home.  Expecting that, I put together a batch of these homemade frozen yogurt treats.

It's basically an ice cube tray filled with a little bit of non-fat blueberry yogurt and "stuffed" with a few pieces of cut up apple (I leave the apple sticking up a bit since it makes it easier to pull out of the ice cube tray).  Foster's obedience teacher also happens to be a dog nutritionist and said you can use any flavor of yogurt... blueberry, strawberry, vanilla, etc and the dog would love me more for switching it up. 

As for the "stuffing", I've only ever used apple but I'll be trying bananas this summer since the Tiny Dictator can't get enough of them.  This is him patiently waiting for me to finish the photo shoot and fork 'em over.

Freeze the yogurt treats in the ice cube tray until they harden (3-4 hours).  Then pop them out and keep them in a ziploc baggie in the freezer.  I make batches and batches of this during the summer and give Foster a cube or two whenever we come in from a hot walk.  [Rest assured, Foster gets these in his bowl, not served on a nice white plate]

Hope your four legged furbabies enjoy as much as mine does!

 

Well hello there summer

Summer unofficially got underway in Chicago this weekend with a lovely 97 degree record-breaking day (side note: I think I can officially put away my snow boots now).  As much of a pain as 97 degrees is, I'll take that over NATO any weekend!

We decided to stay put, avoid the airports and enjoy some downtime at home.  Roy's had his nose stuck deep in a nerdy science book called The Short History of Nearly Everything and has been soaking up all the military movies on TV.  I took advantage of the long weekend with a few extra yoga classes and some cooking, including a strawberry pie to go with some Asian honey kebabs and grilled veggies for dinner tonight.

We also made a visit to the dog park that resulted in some hilarious photos.  Here's a quick preview, more to come along with a homemade frozen dog treat recipe later this week.

Wherever you were this weekend, I hope you enjoyed yourself and took a few moments to appreciate the real reason behind the Memorial Day holiday.  And to all our service men and women, thank you for all that you and your families do.

xoxo,
A Grateful American 

Two Years with the Tiny Dictator

Foster goes to a very special place for doggie daycare, where the staff knows him (and us) by name.  And not just one name.  They love him so much they've graced him with a handful of nicknames - Fostino, Monkey Boy, Little Man, Blackie, and the list goes on. 

The daycare, Central Bark, is full of wonderful people that adore four legged fur babies just as much as people like Roy and I do.  We call daycare "going to work" and like to think that Foster imagines us chasing toys, playing with our friends, and getting belly rubs when WE go to work.

I told you we're crazy dog people.

One of the my favorite parts of Central Bark is that they take photos of the dogs and post them online each afternoon.  I love getting to see what Foster is up to and some of my favorite photos have come from Bonnie at Central Bark. 

Like this one...

And this one where Foster worked his way into the big dog group and proceeded to bark his head off and run the show like a Tiny Dictator. 

When I came in to pick him up that afternoon I mentioned the picture and said "So Foster was in Tiny Dictator mode today?" at which point Bonnie paused, looked at me, took a deep breath and said "Lindsey, he's ALWAYS in Tiny Dictator mode."  It gave me deep belly laughs because it's true.  So, so true. 

It's Foster's world and we're just living in it. 

This weekend marks the 2 year anniversary of adopting Foster the Monster and becoming his Furever Home.  Year 2 has been good.  He really began to relax at the end of year one, so year two has been all about seeing his crazy personality shine and ensuring the Tiny Dictator's needs are met.

Accomplishments for year two include learning chase and a version of hide and seek.  That dog loves nothing more than to dart around furniture and make us run in circles.  His special version of hide and seek that I call Roy Hides and Foster Seeks somehow never gets old, despite that fact that we are short on hiding places (it's a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo after all).  But night after night that dog tears around the house looking for his buddy while Roy stands giggling behind a door / under the desk / behind the couch / in the closet.

He constantly gives me something to call or text home about.  Like the day he got stung by a bee on his behind and I had to help remove both the bee and the stinger.  Or the time he conned a lady into giving him a toy at a yard sale and then ran all the way home with a stuffed panda hanging out of his mouth.  And he's finally learned the art of hanging his head out of a car window which serves as a periodic reminder to his humans to stop and enjoy life every so often.

To celebrate I thought I'd share some fun photos from the past 12 months, mostly from my cell phone (so excuse the quality) to illuminate what life is like with the spoiled rotten Tiny Dictator.

Hanging his head out the window although this is fairly reserved.  Usually it's head and paws on the edge, floppy ears catching the breeze

Foster the snuggle puggle

An angry Bud Foster the dog after losing to Clemson last year

Hanging out at the Air and Water Show, one of the best Foster experiences from the past year

Tracking the fighter jets across the sky at the Air and Water Show

Suffering through a Christmas photo shoot

This dog clearly has a thing for pillows...

"The 30 year old Lazyboy isn't enough. I need 3 pillows too." 

No, please Foster, make yourself at home on my pillow.

Snuggling with Pearl during a sleepover at his dogwalkers house

We call this series "Foster thinks he's human"...

Sitting on a chair at the vet, like he owns the place

Thank you for all the love, cuddles and daily reminders of what life is all about.

PS: I would be remiss to write this post and not thank Foster's Fairy God Mothers.  Without Sharon, Bonnie and everyone at Central Bark, I don't know how we'd do it all.  We are so lucky to have people in the neighborhood that adore the cuddle puggle as much as we do. Thanks for making him a part of your extended family!

Foster meets the Thunderbirds - Chicago Air & Water Show 2011

This past weekend was the annual Chicago Air & Water Show.  It's by far my most favorite Chicago event.  This year it was extra special since my college girlfriends Pam and Carey were in town with their husbands.  Although it's hard to tell since we all look like we're 21 in the photos below, eventually we're going to begin having kids and starting families and these weekends will be harder to make happen.  We cherish these times together and make sure no cookie goes uneaten, no beer unopened and no hilarious college tale untold.  I'll get to the food I made for their visit later, for now... here's the weekend in photos and videos. 

Everyone arrived late Thursday night and we spent Friday afternoon in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field watching the Cubbies beat the Cards. 

Several Chicago dogs were consumed and were certified to be as delicious as promised!

We woke up early Saturday morning, put on lots of sunscreen and packed up the coolers for the airshow.  Only as we loaded everything up, the sky got darker and darker and darker.  So we decided to postpone our departure and watch the storm while playing a few rounds of Catch Phrase, Scrabble, UNO, and some other video game that convinced Pam's husband, Tim, he could be an air traffic controller if his current career path didn't work out.

Once the weather cleared up, we thought we'd head down to Lake Michigan since we'd heard the show would resume on a delayed schedule.  We arrived just as all the spectators were making their "show-is-over" mass exodus.  Fantastic! 

Despite the fact that our adventure no longer included fighter jets, we stuck with our plan and set up camp on the lake with the new goal of just enjoying the afternoon. 

Pam and Tim love us so much they came out despite the fact that it was their first wedding
anniversary. Happy Anniversary guys!

We wrapped up the afternoon and headed to Lou Malnati's for some Chicago deep dish pizza.  And on Sunday everyone woke up and went their separate ways, back to the real world.  It was a great visit and I can't wait for the next one!

Predictably, Roy and I couldn't let the airshow weekend go by without actually seeing some planes.  So we downed some caffeine and made our way to the lake to have our bones rattled by howling jets and get our annual reminder of why we are privileged to be Americans living in the land of the free and the home of the brave.  (Many thanks to those who fall into the brave category, leaving their homes and families to protect our freedom).

We rolled the dice big time.  We took the dog. 

It was a bit touch and go when the first fighter jet buzzed the spectators and Foster jumped out of his skin.  But he adjusted quickly and enjoyed all the activity, especially the USAF Thunderbirds.  He was completely enamored with the planes as well as with a few jet skis playing around near the shore. 

Although I'm sad that everyone missed something that I love so much, it was still an amazing weekend.  And I'm glad Roy and I were able to find a way to squeeze in the Thunderbirds, this time through the eyes of my favorite 4 legged buddy.

PS: major photo credit to Lydia Wendte for snapping the look of awe on Foster's face and for the great family photo. It was much appreciated Lydia!

Being Foster's "Furever Home"

A year ago this month I forced Roy's hand on the great dog debate.  We'd been talking about it for nearly a year with Roy remaining firmly in the "not happening" camp.  He had valid reasons.  We live in a condo with no backyard, in a part of the country known for it's gnarly winters, meaning we'd have to walk this dog 3 times a day, every day.  Even when it was -10 or snowing.

I continued to fight the good fight, talking about how great a dog would be.  An excuse to get outside and exercise, something to help us unwind and relax at the end of stressful days, a reason to leave the bar before last call.  These discussions, they were heated.

It's tough to know exactly what turned Roy, whether it was my perseverance and don't-quit attitude or the fact that I sneakily showed him some photos of dogs available for adoption during a Deadliest Catch commercial break, got his input on what he preferred, and then turned in an adoption application the very next morning before he could stop me.  By the time we went to meet Foster that weekend, it was all over.  How can you say no to that face?  It's impossible.  You can't.  Scientists are working on proving that theory right now.

So to celebrate Foster being a part of the family for a year, I thought I'd share a few photos that most people haven't seen before, some shots that haven't made it to Facebook.  This will give you a taste of what life is really like with Foster the Monster.

"Socks.  What socks??"

"I'm sorry, did you want to do work?"

Snow is not as evil as it seems, the snow piles get Foster closer to the tops of the trees where the squirrels live

Must be touching. Always.

Keeping warm on a cold day (don't worry, I turned the space heater off and moved it away from the dog as soon as I snapped the photo, I'm not as irresponsible as these photos make it seem)

Foster likes to hold midday meetings with Roy when he works from home.  He negotiates for more treats and lobbies for "second breakfast".

Can you spot the little black dog who is "helping" me get my work done?

Again, must always be touching.  Even if it requires sleeping like this.

What, your dog doesn't use the desk in the spare bedroom as a jungle gym?

Now that we've made it through a full year, including a looong Chicago winter and a crappy spring, I can say that I wouldn't have changed anything.  We're glad to have you with us little buddy.