Summer Treats: Frozen Applesauce

After I made the Oatmeal Peanut Butter Dog Treats I had a lot of applesauce left over. I didn't want it to go to waste (since I hardly ever eat applesauce). The easiest thing I could think of was making homemade treats for Luna. And hey it's summer so why not make little frozen treats!

All you need for this dog friendly "recipe" is:

• Applesauce
• Ice tray
• Freezer
• Gallon Size Ziplock bag

Directions:

1. Use a spoon to plop applesauce into the ice tray. 
2. After filling all of the ice molds, put the tray in the freezer 
3. Once frozen, use a fork or spoon to help pop the frozen applesauce out of the tray.
4. Place frozen treats in a ziplock bag and keep in freezer for storage.
5. Give "Fido" a yummy frozen treat on a hot day.

Piece of cake! Do you have any other recipes that you like to make for your dogs? Send them my way, I'd love to try them out.

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Weekend Adventures: Wine and Swimming!

Luna's middle name is Vino, Italian word for wine. Drew works at a winery, and we both enjoy wine, so when we were coming up with her name we knew we wanted to somehow incorporate wine. Which brings me to what we did this weekend! A lot of wineries allow dogs as long as you stay outside with them, and that they aren't psycho. 

(Don't worry she didn't have any wine)

I took some friends who had never been wine tasting before and decided to bring Luna along for an adventure. This wasn't the first time she's been to a winery (she's been wine tasting more than some of my friends!), so I knew she would behave. Luna chilled, and was a fan favorite when she started showing everyone how she "high-5's". 

After visiting Ruby Hill Winery, we went to Lake Borris to get some energy out of Luna. And that's exactly what she did! She swam and swam and swam. I swear she is half fish or something.

On Sunday, I decided to switch it up, and go somewhere we have never gone. We went to Del Valle Lake, which you can read the crazy in depth story that happened there on my other blog post (Lakes, Snakes, and an Ignorant Dog Owner). But Luna did end up swimming both Saturday and Sunday, any water dog's dream.

Overall a very good weekend. We plan on exploring more around the area, to see what's out there!

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Lakes, Snakes, and an Ignorant Dog Owner

I decided to switch it up a little bit from our normal routine. There are plenty of places that allow dogs in the area, so I figured I should try them out and go outside my comfort zone (even if that means getting lost).

I have been hearing a lot about Del Valle Lake and the beach that dogs can swim at there. The downside is that you do have to pay for parking ($6) plus there is a dog fee ($2 per dog). However, apparently there is a back entrance, where you don't have to pay but you can hike to the lake. So I decided to take that route, free plus a little workout.

That's where I was wrong...It was NOT a little workout. This hike was all up hill, with a steep incline, and no shade. However, it was pretty being able to look at the entire Tri-Valley. Luna and I keep going, we are determined to make it to this lake! I pass by a woman and her dog and she warns me about a rattle snake up at the top of the hill. I asked her how much further until the off leash dog swimming area. That's when she told me I had another 5 or so miles. MILES!! Nope! I am way too out of shape for that. I decide that we will go all the way to the top and avoid the rattler and make our way back down. 

And that's what we did. We got to the top, and I was too scared to even try to look for the snake so we just took a couple candid shots (to prove we made it to the top), and went back down. 

Poor Luna, she loves to swim, and after this hike she deserves a treat. Damn, I guess that means I will have to bring her to the lake after all, and pay the $8. Oh well, we are trying new things, going outside our comfort zone. So we drive all the way around and pay for parking, and park our car in the lot. I see this sign about the dog rules and other precautionary things to look out for (i.e. snakes). But one particular dog rule that stuck out to me the most was the aggressive dog rule which stated that aggressive dogs should remain on leash and under the owner's control. (This is a common rule at most dog friendly parks, so I wasn't too surprised).

We walk maybe a mile or so to where the dogs are allowed to be off leash. You have to walk down to the beach area, because the trail is about 15 ft above the water level. Luna starts playing with the 3 other Black Labs that are there and swimming around. This "beach" stretches about 100ft or so, and Luna would run back and forth playing in the water with the other dogs.

Then a woman and her husband (I assume), have their 2 dogs on leashes on the trail. Luna decides she wants to greet them and see what's going on. That's when the women freaks out saying "NO, NO, NO! STOP!" all frantic, so I call Luna down and she listens and plays in the water some more. The woman then says, "Thank you, he is leash aggressive." I look to a guy next to me and mumble "Well you probably shouldn't bring your dog to a dog beach if he's aggressive." He laughs, and we carry on, assuming that they kept walking their dog.

Well, I was wrong, the couple and the 2 "leash aggressive" dogs, decide to enjoy the dog beach over at the end (but again this is a pretty open area that stretches about 100ft). Luna and a Black Lab named Bob, go over to that side, and the woman again freaks out again, since now her dog is off leash and she has no control over him. Her dog starts barking/ growling, which normally I don't have a problem with but since she said her dog is aggressive, I'm not trying to put Luna in a bad situation. So I call Luna back, and she comes. 

Then Luna is swimming and starts to follow one of the kayaks that are out in the lake and then when she realizes that she can't catch up she swims back. By this time all of the dogs she was playing with are gone (besides the aggressive one over on the side of the beach). 

Luna decides she would like to go play with that dog (clearly she doesn't understand when a dog is aggressive, she just thinks they want to play). I'm telling Luna "No" and to "Come" but she has her mind set, playing with this dog. She gets closer to them and then just stops on the shore, and that's when the woman realized Luna was there again. "BARK BARK BARK" Griffin (I find out that's her dog's name) growls. The woman yells at me to call my dog and to get her away from her dog. That is when I got pissed! My dog is not doing anything wrong (besides not getting the clue that that dog is mean). 

I stand up for myself and Luna and say, "My dog hasn't done anything wrong, your dog is the aggressive one, you said so yourself...you should have your AGGRESSIVE dog on a leash. Did you not see the sign?" 

She says, "We are just minding our own business over here and your dog keeps coming over here! Get her away!"

"It is a FREE COUNTRY!"--I get nervous put on the spot, and my comebacks aren't always the greatest--"This is a dog friendly beach, and my dog is allowed to swim in this area, wherever she wants. It's your dog who shouldn't be swimming where he wants. If he is aggressive you should not have him here OFF LEASH!" 

"OH SHUT UP!" she says, clearly she's getting pissed. Then she turns to her husband who has his phone in his hand either video taping or taking pictures, "TURN THAT THING OFF AND HELP ME!"

By this time I call Luna over to me and she does, but Griffin follows, and to me it just looks like he is trying to play. Woman comes over and says "He just wants to play now, but he gets aggressive"--as he snaps at Luna. 

"Well if you think your dog is being aggressive then you need to keep him on a leash, it's not fair to others," I say as I am putting Luna's leash off about to leave.

"OH SHUT UP!!!" she says again.

I was tempted to go over there and tell her that I'm not the one that should be leaving, It should be her. She's the one causing the problems! But I decided I said enough, and I would just leave. As I am walking back, there are 3 other people that I pass with dogs, and I warn them about the aggressive dog and ignorant owner. 

So that is how my "New Adventure" went today. And this kind of thing is not the first time this has happened. At Lake Borris a similar thing happened when a dog was super possessive over his toy and would snap and bite any dog that got near him. When Luna would swim over to the dog, he would snarl and snap, the owner told me to call off Luna. Again I told her that her dog is the problem not mine. And again, I left. 

The problem I see here is that people want to bring their dogs out on a hike and get them to swim in the water and have a good time. Except their dog is not socialized. An unsocialized dog is going to act aggressive and bark. When you have an unsocialized dog, you DO NOT bring them to a place that is overly stimulating. You don't want to overwhelm them. The best thing to do with an unsocialized dog is to slowly get them used to other dogs and people. 

Think of it this way: A person you know suffers from Acrophobia (the fear of heights), to help that person get over that fear, you aren't going to make them go to the top of the Empire State Building, right? You probably will help them slowly. Maybe make them stand on a stage, then look outside a window on the second floor, then step outside on the second floor, etc. If you brought them out to the top floor of the Empire State Building, they would probably have a panic attack and never trust you again.

This is similar to an unsocialized dog. A dog that is unsocialized and turns to aggression, is just scared and doesn't know how to act in that situation. It's similar to a person who has a panic attack at the top of the Empire State Building. That's the only way they know when they are overwhelmed. The best way to help your dog is to slowly introduce them to new things. Now, I am getting into a whole other subject, which I will save for later. 

Moral of the story: If you are going to try something new, know what you are going to get yourself into. Understand there are going to be other dogs and other stimulating things. Know how to control your dog, and if it gets out of hand, LEAVE. You do not want to have a situation escalate and be in an unsafe environment with your dog. It's all about staying safe!

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