Spring 2009 Updates

I have been incredibly negligent with my postings! A lot to catch up on....

SHERLOCK:
4/17/09: Sherlock turns 1!!!
I threw a dog pawty for Sherlock and two of his friends from the park came over. I made dog cupcakes for the pups and a cake for the humans.

Here is the recipe that I used:

Dog Cupcakes with Carrots and Oats

Ingredients:
Muffins:
* 2 cups shredded carrots
* 3 eggs
* 1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened
* 2 tsp. cinnamon
* 1/2 cup rolled oats
* 3 cups whole wheat flour
Frosting:
* 8 oz. low fat cream cheese, softened
* 1/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened
Instructions:
Muffins:
1. Preheat oven to 350° F
2. Lightly spray cups of muffin tin.
3. In a large bowl stir together the carrots, eggs and applesauce. Set aside.
4. In another medium bowl whisk together the cinnamon, oats and flour.
5. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients. Stir until well blended.
6. Spoon mixture into muffin tin. The dough will be thick, so you may wet your fingers to press the dough into place.
7. The dog cupcake will not rise very much, so do not worry about over filling the muffin tin.
8. Bake for 25 minutes.
9. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting or serving.
Frosting:
1. Blend both ingredients with a hand mixer until well blended.
2. Spoon into a pastry bag for easy decorating.




3/23/09: Sherlock graduated from intermediate obedience level I. The trainers scored it out of 200 points and Sherlock passed with a score of 178. He failed to complete a full 1 minute sit-stay (-20) and sat a bit wide on the call to heel (-2). Despite these flaws, he did great! He's a very intelligent dog and of course it was my fault for not practicing these things more with him. I'm very proud of him.



NOAH:
Noah has entered the teenage phase. He no longer looks like a little puppy. At his 6 month mark, he weighed 20lbs and 17" tall! He is more confident, but still looks to Sherlock when he is unsure. He picks up on obedience commands quickly, but likes to weigh his options and takes longer to respond than Sherlock. He still receives a lot of compliments on his unique look - mainly due to his red coloring. Sometimes Sherlock gets jealous!

4/29/09: Noah graduated from intermediate obedience level I. He scored a 190 out of 200 points. Our biggest issue is still heeling. I haven't spent enough time practicing on heel. Normally I keep Noah in a loose leash walk and very infrequently ask for a tight heel. I will be taking a break from group classes for a month or so to work exclusively on what we have already learned and most importantly, to work on heel, before we begin more advanced training.


3/21/09: Noah graduated from basic obedience at Who's Walking Who Dog Training in New York City. He and a King Charles Cavalier were the only dogs to show up to graduation. Noah passed with flying colors. He was mellow and calm and did everything that I asked of him.