New video

Leave it to Maggie to decide that the video needs to be about her.

A Bill Of Rights for Dogs

By John Bradshaw

1. We are dogs, not wolves. We have lived with mankind since you were hunter-gatherers, and are now no more or less domesticated than you. We assert the right to be treated as dogs, and not as any kind of wild animal. 2. We assert the right to have our perceptions of the world taken into account, especially where our senses are superior to yours. Our sensitive noses are continually insulted by the crude odours indiscriminately applied by man to our homes. Our acute hearing is assailed by the high-pitched sounds generated by all manner of machinery, often without your knowledge and beyond the range of your hearing. 3. We assert the right to have our feelings, which are real if unlike yours, allowed for and comprehended. We are neither inferior humans, nor senseless robots. 4. Our mental capacities are considerable, but again different from those of mankind. We assert the right to be understood by our owners, who should not expect us to comprehend every word they say, nor presume that we learn as human children do. 5. We assert the right to be taught how to cope with the world of man. For although we are the product of your world, we are not born to understand it, and need to be introduced gradually, with care and with kindness. 6. Our language is rich and sophisticated. We assert the right to be comprehended, in the same way that we attempt to comprehend you. 7. We are fundamentally social animals, and we assert the right to the company of our own kind. 8. We are domesticated animals, and assert our right to the company of humans. 9. We are individuals, each dog with its own personality. We therefore assert the right to be judged on our own merits, and not according to the reputation of breed or type. 10. We have served mankind faithfully for tens of thousands of years. Whilst we are born to serve, we assert the right for our needs and our dignity to be respected in all the capacities, both traditional and novel, that humanity may require. 11. We are dogs, not surrogate humans. We assert the right to be housed and fed according to our particular needs. 12. We assert our right to a future. Having adapted our bodies and our lives to your needs, we have forfeited much of our capacity for independence. We therefore require mankind’s assistance as we meet the future together. From John Bradshaw New York Times bestselling author of Dog Sense: How the New Science of Dog Behaviour Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet (Basic Books; 2011). Reblogged from The Bark.

Apology, update, and a recipe!

Apology

• End of the school year = too tired to post! Sorry! I'm back, I promise!

Update

• Tomorrow is the last day of school- a half day and then the afternoon to clean up and check out. I am already checked out at Smith! I have survived my first year in Helena!
• Despite budget cuts, I still have a job for next year!
• I am still at Smith and Central next year! (I love my schools and would have been so sad to have to move...)
• I will be playing with the State Capital Band this summer, a group that puts on free concerts weekly in the Memorial Park Bandshell.
• Takk and I went for a walk this afternoon.

Look closely, there's a deer in that yard!

Takk's reaction included lots of tail-wagging.

Recipe

Tomorrow is Central's end-of-year party, and I just pulled my treats out of the oven! They smell delicious. This is the second time I have made these bars and they at least look like they turned out better this time. Which is surprising, because I thought they were great last time. I will let you know for sure once they're cool enough to taste!

Snickerdoodle Blondies
I found this recipe on Tracey's Culinary Adventures. She saw it on Brown Eyed Baker.

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour (This time I used 2 cups of all-purpose, 2/3 cups of whole wheat.)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature (I used butter last time, margarine this time.)
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon 

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan lightly with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (I don't have a paddle attachment, so I used the regular beaters), cream the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and stopping to scrape the bowl as necessary. Beat in the vanilla. With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture, beating just until combined. Stir the dough one final time with a rubber spatula to ensure any flour on the bottom of the bowl is incorporated. 

Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan. Spread in an even layer - I like to use my fingertips to spread the dough. I just put a piece of plastic wrap between my fingers and the the dough so it won't be too sticky. Combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the top of the batter.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the surface of the blondies springs back when gently pressed. Remove the pan to a wire rack and let the blondies cool completely before cutting.


UPDATE: They are cooled! The texture is different this time- a little smoother and chewier. Not sure if it's necessarily better or worse than last time, just different. I'm also not sure if the difference was the margarine or that I was more patient in letting things get to room temperature...

Speaking of dog food...

Just wanted to share what we are currently feeding our dogs. The Nutrish Just 6 was very nice, and Takk enjoyed it, but so far you can't buy it near us. All three puppies eat Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Bison. We love it because all of their tummies tolerate it really well. They each eat different amounts based on their individual metabolisms: Takk and Fry both have about 2 cups a day, Maggie more like 1 1/2.

Dog Food Network? (Plus a free sample for you!)

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Nutrish for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

We take dog food very seriously in our house. Believe me, I knew that would be the case when I married a guy who once ate dog food during a children's sermon at church (he ruined the pastor's point, by the way) and who enjoyed splitting a Milkbone with his dog Bear. Before Phil and I adopted our first pup, I assumed all dog foods were created equal. Not true! Dogs are not built to digest grains like corn or wheat, which serve as a filler ingredient in many dog foods.

Enter Rachael Ray Nutrish just 6 dry dog food. Now, I'll admit I was a little puzzled by the name, as Just 6 definitely contains more than 6 ingredients. Upon closer inspection, the package promises "just six natural ingredients plus vitamins and minerals," so I suppose that covers the listed sodium chloride, potassium chloride, etc. At any rate, the ingredient list was very similar to our dogs' current food, which is a "limited ingredient diet." Lamb meal and brown rice (longtime favorites in our book) are the star ingredients of Nutrish Just 6. Even better, it contains no corn, no wheat, and no soy. That means happy doggy digestive tracts!

Takk was chosen as the lucky test subject. He was more than happy to oblige and could not wait to get his teeth on this new food! Nutrish Just 6 is a standard brown uniformly shaped dry food; personally I appreciate food companies that don't waste time and money on making their kibble into cute shapes. Seriously, Takk is not contemplating the visual aestethic of his food as he wolfs it down!

And he definitely wolfed this down! Delicious! "How dare you try to escape, tasty morsel! Come back!"

And look, he was sad when it was all gone... "But wait, is there more hiding under here?"

I'm still thrilled later, too: no burps, no gas! Happy puppy tummy = happy humans!

You know what else I love? A portion of proceeds from Nutrish benefit animal rescue organizations! With three rescue dogs in our house, that means a lot.

Your dog can try Nutrish Just 6, too! Click here for your free sample!