Awesome Online Resources!
Why recreate the wheel when someone has already designed a great one? Click on the link below to visit Dog Star Daily, a wonderful resource for puppy and adult dog training. Including articles, blogs and podcasts by the country's top dog trainers. Also available in the free downloads section are "Before You Get Your Puppy" and "After You Get Your Puppy" by Dr. Ian Dunbar!
Stuffed Kongs – For canine chewing entertainment and human peace and quiet. Click Here to View the How to Video
1. Choose a Kong appropriately sized for your dog – big enough that they can’t fit it all in their mouth/swallow it or easily chew it to bits and small enough that their lower jaw can’t fit into the big hole at the base of the Kong.
2. Take a small amount of peanut butter, cream cheese, liver pate or anything thick enough to plug the little hole at the top of the Kong (filling from the outside).
3. Flip the Kong over and fill via the big hole with dry dog food, dog treats, shredded cheese, hot dog bits, chicken, meaty or veggie baby food. Really it doesn’t matter so long as the food is safe for dogs and the majority of the Kong is full of dry dog food. Pack it tight/fill the entire Kong.
4. Add enough hot water to the inside of the Kong via the large hole until it fills it to the brim.
5. Place stuffed and water filled Kong in a large cup so that the small hole is on the bottom and touching the bottom of the cup.
6. Place entire assembly into the freezer for a minimum of 3 hours. Once frozen, give to your dog as a treat to keep them busy – it’s at least 30-45 min of busy work for my experienced Kong chewing dogs.
7. You can use as an occasional treat or make enough that your dog’s entire meal ration for the day in the Kongs – it will make them exhausted by days end. Perfect for days when weather or things are keeping the dogs bored.
Kongs are dishwasher safe top rack.
Black Kongs are stronger than Red ones.
Dispose of the Kong if the dog is making substantial damage to the Kong – buy a bigger size or change from red to black if that is the case.
Regular use of stuffed Kongs will lead to dogs that when looking for a chewing energy outlet will seek out a Kong even if it’s empty.
Enjoy!
Motivating Meatballs
High value food reward, but remember one meatball should be able to break into a dozen or more pieces. Meatballs are not intended to be fed whole. This recipe will scale nicely if you’d like to make more than one pound at a time.
1 pound ground meat - if you use beef the leaner the better to reduce greasiness. Beef, chicken, turkey, pork, venison are all good options.
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 tablespoon dried parsley
Up to 1/4 teaspoon of garlic. I use the minced garlic that is sold in a glass jar that you keep refrigerated.
Form into balls - I use a melon baller that has a sweeping scoop to ensure uniformity. Bake at 375 until cooked through. Let cool before refrigerating or freezing. I usually make 10 pounds at a time and separate them in snack size Ziplock baggies and freeze. One snack bag is enough for an obedience or agility class for my dogs.
EWWW SKUNK!!
If your dog meets a skunk and is sprayed - here is the best home option for removing the smell from their coat.
Note: Keep this solution out of their eyes - if they are skunked in the face, use a washcloth to carefully wash their face avoiding the eyes.
Note 2: Do not premix this solution - it is chemically unstable for storage and will likely cause a closed container to burst.
Note 3: Do not rinse your dog off prior to applying this solution, skunk spray is oil based and will not dissolve in water - rinsing first just causes the spray to spread onto more of the dog.
Recipe:
1 quart Hydrogen Peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda
1 squirt of blue Dawn dishwashing liquid
Mix the above with enough water to make a slurry. Apply directly to the dog's coat and let sit for 10 minutes. Rinse thoroughly.
Nothing will eliminate the smell entirely, but the recipe above is as good as it gets. It comes from a PBS show in which an organic chemist explained what chemicals make up the skunk spray and how the above breaks down those chemical compounds and eliminates the smell. It can be used to hand wash a dog collar or leash that was affected by the skunk spray as well.
Do Ahead Tip - I keep a large freezer bag under each sink in my home that contains a washcloth, the bottle of hydrogen peroxide, the 1/4 c baking soda pre-measured in a small ziploc bag and a travel size bottle of the Dawn dishwashing liquid. Once the dog has been skunked I don't want to waste time gathering up materials, while the dog is likely rubbing his face/body on the floor in the house - and spreading the stink around.