Lucky Dog Blog

And the Winner for Week 27 of the Lucky Dog photo contest IS...

Flash, Ollie and Katie Ladyman!! "Hi! My name is Brooke and these little munchkins are mine.  The this picture is from the Wpg Humane Society pics with Santa Paws last year.  From left to right is Flash, Ollie and Katie. I adopted both Flash and Katie from a rescue organization called Canadian Chihuahua Rescue and Transport.   Katie was 3 when I got her and is now 9, Flash was 16 when I adopted her and sadly passed away at age 19 in May.  But I was lucky to have 3 great years with her.  She was the fiercest blind, toothless 3 lb dog ever! She was even known to chase the neighbour's german shepherd out of our yard at the cottage!  Ollie is almost 2 now and I adopted him from someone who brought him back from Mexico and then wasn't able to keep him.  I think Ollie is keeping Katie young as they love to play all the time. "

I couldn't help myself, what a great way to celebrate Christmas on the Lucky Dog Blog! Thank you Brooke for sending in this super cute picture of your furkids and santa.This has GOT TO BE the best collection of Chihuahuas around, they look like they're smiling for crying out loud! Please forward your snail mail address and phone number so we can keep your three musketeers smiling with some Lucky Dog Biscuits.

That's it, we're signing out until after the Holidays. Have a great Holiday Season from everyone here at Lucky Dog!

**To submit your favorite dog picture to the weekly Lucky Dog photo contest, please send your photos with a BIO to service@luckydogbiscuits.com and put "photo contest"in the subject. Winners are announced weekly. Check out the nominees so far in the "Lucky Nominees" photo album. GOOD LUCK!

I forgot about...

Best West Pets Foods in Winnipeg and Brandon. They also carry the frozen Lucky Dog Biscuit dough. I can't believe I forgot to mention them before.  SORRY!!  I remembered when I took in Cooper to be "furminated" for Christmas at Best West.  Yes furminated - it is a special treatment to reduce shedding.  Cooper will be spending the holidays at Grandma Lorraine's house and she happens to be allergic to animals (usually just MY animals).  It's a good thing we have had a dog since I was a kid.  How is that working for you Mom??? 

I have no idea what the actual furminating process is but there is a special shampoo, brushing, trimming, etc.  The result looks like this:

Cooper is ready for Santa.  He also looks a little naked but they gave him a cute little jingle collar to dress him up.

So what was I saying? Right! BEST WEST has frozen biscuit dough for all of you last minute Winnipeg and Brandon shoppers looking for the best deal in town.  For $18 you can get $28 worth of biscuits made into your very own favourite shapes and passed off as your very own recipe if you so choose.  BEST WEST!!  It bears repeating since I forgot them the first time.

AND thank-you Melissa for sharing an incredible quote from the book you are reading "Women's Best Friend".  You can read the quote in the comments here.  I have to say I miss my little Curly and every time his picture scrolls through on my computer screen I wish the crazy little neurotic old guy was still here.  I'm glad I had my three years with him.  He was my first rescue dog and he won't be the last.

So that's all for this year for me. Merry Christmas to all and to all a HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Cheers to lots of laughs, fun and wet noses for 2008!

Mavis and Cooper

Frozen Dough a-go-go

Kody Arnaud's owner, Michelle, not only took the time to head out and find Koda some frozen Peanut Butter and Saskatoon biscuit dough, she ALSO took the time to write us and take pictures and we looooove pictures. Thanks Michelle! I can't get any out here yet in BC so I have to live vicariously through you and Koda :)

"Dear Lucky Dog,

Firstly, thank you so very much for the biscuits you sent Koda. We forgot to send a thank you email when we received them (including a picture), but being a busy university student, it has slipped my mind.

The other day I went to “It’s Raining Cats and Dogs” and bought the cookie dough. Needless to say I was shocked by the size of the tub. SCORE! Koda is going to have tons of cookies. Tonight I made a batch and let me say, it has made the house smell so nice; like I was baking cinnamon bread. Attached are the pictures of Koda watching me scoop the dough out (he was whining because he wanted to eat them right away, then he plopped down on the floor in protest and sat there [don’t have a picture of that]) and “helping” me make the cookies. He ate one and loves it!

Thanks Lucky Dog for the brilliant idea… Koda sure loves them; we’ll be buying more tubs and storing them in the freezer. Kudos!

Thanks,

Michelle"

Butters makes nice with Lucky Dog

Butters Correa, you are one cute kid. It looks like you may have substituted Lucky Dog Biscuits for your favorite stuffy to snuggle with...or you're just trying to snort them right through the box! Either way, we're glad that your glad to have them.

Thanks for the pictures, they make our day.

Have a great weekend!

Bonnie

Smells of Christmas

We had a little test run of the old Christmas turkey smell in our house this morning only there was no turkey in the oven, just these little beauties:

That's right - the BBQ Chicken and Sweet Potato frozen dough made up into little snowmen.  I tried to find Hanukkah cutters but had no luck.  I guess I need to start looking before Hanukkah starts.   The helpful kitchen lady suggested I could get a star (as in a Bethlehem star?) or a tree (as in a Christmas tree?) but I decided to settle for a snowman.  Thanks for the help lady and may I suggest Judaism for Dummies or Wikipedia.  Just an hour on there would help your sales I'M SURE.  Seriously?  Did you need the sale that bad to start making those suggestions?

The BBQ dough was fabulous.  Not so good when cold because it is really stiff, but if you wait approximately the time it takes to root through all of your cupboards to find a rolling pin only to settle on the can of cooking spray (AGAIN), the dough softens up nicely.

So I rolled out a few snow dudes and then went back to my Christmas stand-bys - the angel and holly (and a couple hearts just because they are small).  This is the most use my cookie cutters have seen in a decade, which is also about the time I last saw my rolling pin and mat.  Perhaps it decayed from lack of use.

I have to say Cooper was a pretty happy guy this morning.  I believe it would be the equivalent to waking up fresh baked cinnamon buns or bacon and eggs.  Anything for you little dude.

And speaking of little dudes, Kal if that's where you are right now good luck - we can't wait to see Baby K.  And if that's not where you are, I hope you are enjoying your well deserved break before the arrival of Baby K.

Today I'll be walking Cooper in a winter wonderland thanks to an Alberta Clipper.  Bring it ON!

Did you know...

Check out these cool dog facts courtesy of www.thefoundbin.com. I like the one on un-neutered/spayed dogs and the one about Franklin Roosevelt spending 15G to have a war ship fetch his dog (and they say people are spending more on their pets now) and the whopping one million dogs that are the beneficiary of their owners will. And I thought Leona Helmsley who left 12M to her dog Trouble was crazy, looks like she's got company!

1. It is a myth that dogs are color blind. They can actually see in color, just not as vividly as humans. It is akin to our vision at dusk.
2. Dogs DO have better low-light vision than humans because of a special light-reflecting layer behind their retinas
3. A German Shepherd guide dog led her blind companion the entire 2100 mile Applachian Trail
4. If never spayed or neutered, a female dog, her mate, and their puppies could product over 66,000 dogs in 6 years!
5. Dogs' only sweat glands are between their paw pads
6. Like human babies, Chihuahuas are born with a soft spot in their skull which closes with age
7. The breed Lundehune has 6 toes and can close its ears
8. Teddy Roosevelt's dog, Pete, ripped a French ambassador's pants off at the White House
9. President Lyndon Johnson had two beagles named Him and Her
10. Franklin Roosevelt spent $15,000 for a destroyer to pick up his Scottie in the Aleutian Islands
11. In Roman times, mastiffs donned light armor and were sent after mounted knights
12. The Russians trained dogs during WWII to run suicide missions with mines strapped to their backs
13. A dog's mouth exerts 150-200 pounds of pressure per square inch
14. ... with some dogs exerting up to 450 pounds per square inch.
15. A one year old dog is as mature, physically, as a 15 year old human
16. The U.S. has the highest dog population in the world
17. France has the 2nd highest
18. The average city dog lives 3 years longer than a country dog
19. 87% of dog owners say their dog curls up beside them or at their feet while they watch T.V.
20. Dogs can be trained to detect epileptic seizures
21. 15 people die in the U.S. every year from dog bites
22. In 2002 alone, more people in the U.S. were killed by dogs than by sharks in the past 100 years
23. Gidget is the name of the Taco Bell dog
24. Newfoundlands are great swimmers because of their webbed feet
25. Basset Hounds cannot swim
26. Greyhounds are the fastest dogs on earth, with speeds of up to 45 miles per hour
27. Bingo is the name of the dog on the side of the Cracker Jack box
28. The bible mentions dogs 14 times
29. Three dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic - a Newfoundland, a Pomeranian, and a Pekingese
30. The Labrador Retriever is the #1 favorite breed in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.
31. Obesity is the #1 health problem among dogs
32. An estimated 1,000,000 dogs in the U.S. have been named as the primary beneficiaries in their owner's will
33. An American Animal Hospital Assoc. poll found that 33% of dog owners admit to talking to their dogs on the phone and leaving answering machine messages for them while away
34. Dog's nose prints are as unique as a human's finger prints and can be used to accurately identify them
35. At the end of the Beatles' song "A Day in the Life", a high-pitched dog whistle was recorded by Paul McCartney for his sheepdog
36. 70% of people sign their pet's name on greeting and holiday cards
37. 58% put pets in family and holiday portraits
38. There are only 350 Cisky Terriers in the world - perhaps the rarest breed
39. The phrase "raining cats and dogs" originated in 17th century England when it is believed that many cats and dogs drowned during heavy periods of rain.
40. Dogs have no sense of "time"
41. Humans have kept dogs as pets for over 12,000 years
42. The largest breed of dog is the Irish Wolfhound
43. The world's smallest dog breed is the Chihuahua
44. The St. Bernard is the heaviest
45. Only dogs and humans have prostates
46. But dogs do not have an appendix
47. Every dog on earth likely descended from a species knows as the Tomarctus - a creature that roamed the earth over 15 million years ago
48. The oldest known breed is likely the Saluki - originally trained by Egyptians to help them track game.
49. In 1957, Laika became the first living being in space via an earth satellite
50. ... while JFK's terrier, Charlie, father 4 puppies with Laika's daughter
51. An African wolf dog known as the Basenji is the only dog in the world that cannot bark
52. There are 703 breeds of purebred dogs
53. Dachshunds were originally bred for fighting badgers
54. The world's smartest dogs are thought to be (1) the border collie, (2) the poodle, and (3) the golden retriever
55. ... while the dumbest dog is believed to be the Afghan hound
56. A dog's smell is more than 100,000 times stronger than that of a human's
57. ... which they need because their eyesight is not as keen as a human's.
58. Dogs judge objects first by their movement, then by their brightness, and lastly by their shape
59. Chocolate contains a substance known as theobromine (similar to caffeine) which can kill dogs or at the very least make them violently ill
60. George Washington had thirty six dogs - all foxhounds - with one named Sweetlips
61. All dogs are identical in anatomy - 321 bones and 42 permanent teeth
62. Smaller breeds mature faster than larger breeds
63. Female dogs are only ready to mate - "in heat" - twice a year for a total of roughly 20 days
64. Puppies sleep ninety percent of the day for their first few weeks
65. Rin Tin Tin was the first Hollywood dog star
66. ... and he really signed his movie contracts - all 22 of them - with a pawprint
67. The Wizard of Oz's Toto was played by a female Cairn Terrier named Terry
68. Up until the late 1800's, Collies were known as Scottish Sheepdogs
69. Dogs have two times as many muscles to move their ears as people
70. The longer a dog's nose, the more effective it's internal cooling system
71. An elderly woman was saved by her 12 pound Yorkshire Terrier who fought off an 80 pound Akita and survived with only 9 stitches
72. U.S. Customs dogs "Rocky" and "Barco" were so good at patrolling the border that Mexican drug lords put a $300,000 bounty on their heads
73. Dogs are all direct descendants of wolves
74. Wolves and dogs can mate to produce fertile offspring
75. Female wolves have been known to travel great distances to regurgitate full meals for their hungry pups
76. Cerberus was the tri-headed dog that guarded the underworld in Greek mythology
77. Female dogs bear their young for 60 days before they're born
78. Dogs' sense of hearing is more than ten times more acute than a human's
79. Humans can detect sounds at 20,000 times per second, while dogs can sense frequencies of 30,000 times per second.
80. The earliest dog fossil dates back to nearly 10,000 B.C.
81. Bloodhounds are prized their ability to single out and identify a number of scents simultaneously
82. Dalmatian puppies are born completely white.
83. The Ancient Chinese carried Pekingese puppies in the sleeves of their robes
84. Boxers are so named because of their manner of playing with their front paws
85. All breeds of dog have been found to attack livestock - from 3 month old puppies, all the way up to thirteen year old poodles
86. A dog's heart beats up to 120 times per minute, or 50% faster than the average human heartbeat of 80 times per minute
87. The oldest dog on record - a Queensland "Heeler" named Bluey - was 29 years, 5 months old
88. Davy Crockett had a dog named Sport
89. Dogs were first domesticated by cavemen
90. Dogs live 15 years on average
91. Many foot disorders in dogs are simply an issue of long toenails
92. More than 5,000,000 puppies are born in the U.S. every year
93. More than 1 in 3 American families own a dog
94. Average body temperature for a dog is 101.2 degrees
95. The Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts both offer merit badges in dog care
96. Dogs are natural pack animals
97. They are naturally submissive to any creature with higher pack status - human or canine
98. Dogs instinctively require the pack leader's approval
99. Dogs with little human contact in the first three months typically don't make good pets
100. The Chihuahua was named after the state in Mexico where they were discovered
101. After birth, puppies' eyes do not fully open until they're about 12 days old
102. Their vision is not fully developed until after the 1st month

Ba-bye

Michael Vick.

I hope you despise your two years in jail. In my opinion, that isn't enough time.  Maybe you will find some empathy for the dogs you locked away.  Or maybe it would take some fun prisoner games like tie the inmate to their cage with a thick chain around the neck.  If you want some of the gory details of his "dog den" go here.

And his parting words were "It was immature.  I have a lot of growing up to do."  No Vick, you have some "becoming human" to do.  What were you THINKING!?!  That goes well beyond immature.  Let's try another word - INHUMANE.

There are a ton of articles on Vick's case but my favourite line was from Sports Illustrated on-line.  "...his crimes fall short of what other athletes have done.  After all, he didn't assault a woman or shoot a man."  No, he didn't but isn't the abuse of a dependent animal the first step in a basic disregard for life. Especially for a 27 year old man.  Is it only a matter of time before the thrill of the fight spills into other areas.  I hope there are some good counselors in jail.  Vick has a long way to go to realize it was more than the lying that was wrong.

Ba-bye and Merry Christmas. Hopefully Santa will bring you some humanity and compassion - if they have stockings in your little jail cell.

And the Winner for Week 26 of the Lucky Dog photo contest IS...

Smiley Mr. Pibb Lindberg!! All we know about this guy is that he is a 4 year old Olde English Sheepdog but we thought, with his OBVIOUS smiley disposition, that he deserved a some Lucky Dog Biscuits!

Congratulations Mr. Pibb! Please forward us your snail mail addy so we can see more pictures of you smiling, but this time for some Lucky Dog Biscuits!

**To submit your favorite dog picture to the weekly Lucky Dog photo contest, please send your photos with a BIO to service@luckydogbiscuits.com and put "photo contest"in the subject. Winners are announced weekly. Check out the nominees so far in the "Lucky Nominees" photo album. GOOD LUCK!

Marshmallow world

..at least it was on the weekend. It has all completely melted now but for a while there, it was one of the most beautiful snowy days I'd ever seen. I think the dogs thought so too..until Ruben fell off the bank into the river with no way to get out.

The path winds along a river bank and usually the dogs run and play but rarely leave my eyesight. Today, they were so excited to get out. They were running and plowing through the snow like kids. Maybe they run that hard in that kind of whether as a survival tactic for keeping their barely-haired bodies warm, but I prefer to think it's because they're having such a great time!

Anyhow, they were dashing in and out of the woods which is normal but soon just one was running back, which wasn't so normal, these guys are pretty hard to separate. I quickly started to scan the floor of the woods and there it was, a little red head peeking over the bank and two little paws dug into the side of the bank. He was just hanging there because where he fell off, the edge jutted out so there was no where for him to put his hind legs to get himself out of there. After reading Kal's blog, I kept saying to myself,"you can't fall in, you can't fall in" especially with a baby up on the trail all alone. I slid down as far as I could and extended my hand which reached just behind his head. I was going to grab his scruff and pull him up but Ruben had a better idea. He pressed the back of his head against my hand and leveraged himself up on to the bank. And away he went. SMART KID!

I was really grateful for Kal's story about how the owner of a dog that fell into the river, also fell in trying to save him. I think if I didn't have the clarity of that story and the possible consequences, I wouldn't have been so cautious trying to get Ruben out, I would have been caught in the moment and surely would have fell in. YIKES.

The snow is gone and we're all a little sad so we'll be doing our very best snow dances until the 25th!

Have a great day,
Bonnie

cookies for all occasions

I baked a few Christmas cookies this weekend of the Peanut Butter and Saskatoon variety.  I figure this will be a great way to not put on the "holiday five" if I bake for the dog.  Although truthfully, they smell so good coming out of the oven I have been known to play the "one for me, one for you" game.

For all of you lucky Winnipeggers, the Lucky Dog frozen dough is only available in Winnipeg.  It is our test market.

I attended my first Christmas party on the weekend and as my host present I took along my freshly baked biscuits in a cute holiday container from the Dollar Store.  The hosts had two adorable poms (one was 6 mths old).  It was a hit.

Two stores so far in Winnipeg are carrying the dough.  You can find the 3 lb pails of frozen Peanut Butter and Saskatoon or BBQ Chicken and Sweet Potato at

1. It's Raining Cats and Dogs on Academy

2. Hip Pooch on Corydon

And if 3 lbs is too much, let us know.  This is, after all, a test for the product. You can refreeze the dough for other occasions such as birthdays, Valentine's day, National dog day (ok I made that one up but there should be a national dog day).

Now I am off to find these...

...for my Jewish friends.  Happy Hanukkah!