Thanksgiving and Beyond

Gag that was bad, sorry!

Still trying to recover from Thanksgiving! After all the cooking and festivities I came down with the worst cold which is still ( pardon the pun ) dogging me today! Ozzie seems a bit sluggish too! I tried monitoring his intake on the holiday but I think some well meaning family and friends gave in to Ozzie's "mush face". You know the pose where he rests his face on your knee and gazes lovingly into your eyes! You just gotta give him something off your plate?! The reason I believe this occurred is that I have been victimized by the worst bulldog gas ever! I have been bombarded by it at all times of the day. The other night as we all lay asleep I was awakened by the most noxious fumes that sent me running to open a window! Well onto the Christmas season! Time to sort through miles of tangled Xmas lights and face the challenging parking lots at the mall! In all the craziness there are some quieter moments that I look forward to, like baking cookies and wrapping gifts and watching "It's a Wonderful Life" on TV. Happily at my side Ozzie snores blissfully on the couch while dreams of sugarplums ( maybe bullysticks ) dance in his head! Achoo! Let me go and find the tissues and phew...get out of the room that has suddenly filled with a thick fog!

Talking Turkey with Ozzie

" Turkey roasting on an open fire....buttered rolls nipping at my nose!" "Ah turkey....yumo!" ZZZZZZZZZ



Ozzie is patiently awaiting Thanksgiving day. He knows that something good is coming his way...food wise that is! I have bought my fresh turkey and all the trimmings...I think?! I am sure that there is something I forgot and I feel reassured that the grocery store is open Thanksgiving morning for knuckleheads like me! Though there will plenty of food, drink and merriment on Thursday there is also some dangerous doggie pitfalls to recognize. As much as you and your guests are tempted to give into that adorable pooch and feed him some turkey there are some things you should be aware of. That delicious crispy flavorful turkey skin that we all love is very fatty and can cause pancreatitis in dogs. Canine pancreatitis can produce severe diarrhea and vomiting which can cause dehydration! Dark turkey meat should be avoided as well since it is hard to digest. Turkey bones are a no no since they can cause a blockage or perforation of the intestine. There are also cooking accessories of the day that present dangers such as pop up timers, roasting bags, skewers etc.. Now that I have taken all the fun out of the day for Fido let me say there are some alternative goodies. The white meat from the turkey is fine for them and if you like you can prepare Ozzie's ground turkey with butternut squash and cranberries the day before. Whatever you do I hope that it will be a day celebrated with great food, family and friends...oh and of course with man's best friend!

Finally Friday!

Thoughts of turkey and stuffing are in Ozzie's head today and mine as well! I have my shopping list for the big day and have already purchased some non perishables at the store. I have hosted Thanksgiving for several years and you would think I have it down pat by now! After all its a holiday with a pre existing menu! I still manage to fudge something up or make something that I totally forget about until I find it in the garage refrigerator the next day! Last year we cooked two turkeys on the rotisserie grill outside. The birds proved to be a bit too heavy and they caught on fire! Oh well the company makes up for what the meal lacks anyways! I have a holiday meal for Ozzie that I have already previewed to him. It is a dish of turkey, butternut squash and cranberries. All very tasty and fill of "fido-nutrients"! Here it is if you like to give it a whirl with your pooch.
Peel and chop 1 medium size butternut squash into 1 inch cubes ( I know, not fun! ) Place on lined cookie sheet and drizzle some EVOO or canola oil on top. Put into preheated oven of 350 degrees for about 35 minutes or until cooked through.
Meanwhile take a pound of ground turkey and brown it in a skillet with a little EVOO until all the pink is gone. Drain on paper towel. Let both the butternut squash and turkey cool completely. This should be enough for a few meals since I mix this in with his kibble. Add appropriate amount of turkey and butternut squash mix to kibble and then sprinkle with some dried cranberries. ( note: do not replace dried cranberries with raisins ..which are dangerous to dogs. Though I believe most dog owners know this! )
Ozzie just loves it! Well there isn't too much that Ozzie doesn't love! Have a wonderful weekend and as Ozzie would say "Bone Appetito" !

Don't Fence Me In!

We have come up with a temporary solution for our hound Houdini who has been doing disappearing acts from the back yard. It is a crude structure of sorts but it works for now! Ozzie approached it yesterday and declared defeat. He then squirmed his way underneath the deck in rebellion I suppose!? Looks like we will have to fence that off as well. He is not a narrow boy and has to crawl commando style to get under there as it is! I wouldn't want to have to call the Fire Department to get him out from down under if Sir Chunky became stuck! Not like that hasn't happened before. I do recall the cat door at Ed and Marilyn's house. So it's a fair possibility! Oh Ozzie..............

Finally Friday

We are looking forward to a beautiful weekend here and will savor probably one of the last really nice stretches of balmy weather. Ozzie decided to start his weekend romping early with a tour around the house this morning. He ran ( well maybe briskly walked ) to the front of the house where he was in time to greet our neighbor Al bringing in his morning coffee from Seven- Eleven. As usual Ozzie ignored my pleas to get in the house and decided to plop himself on the front walk. That is when the Golden Retriever from down the street was taking her morning walk her human Dad. She was directly across the road from our house when Ozzie decided to make a mad dash for her. Yikes! I am thankful there wasn't a car in sight at that moment. I guess his mating instinct was triggered somehow?! Well she is a looker! I have learned some lessons from today. One, is we need a gate on the side of our yard so our little prisoner cannot escape! ( I have known this for some time. It has fallen on deaf ears in my house!) Two, he needs to have his collar on at all times so I can wrangle him into the house! ( Though he is pretty crafty at escaping his collar ) Three, obedience school is not a bad idea! Ozzie is currently taking his morning nap after all his exhausting sunrise hi jinks! I guess when he wakes up it will be time to play with his new toy, Senor Frog. Once anything is a week old he will tire of it and it ends up in the bucket with the rest of his retired toys. So it will be adios froggie very soon! Speaking of adios Ozzie wishes you all a great weekend after he has had his morning siesta!

Finally Friday!

Ozzie and his napping buddy!

Rainy days and Mondays always get Ozzie down! One good thing is that its Friday not Monday! The highlight of Ozzie's pass two days have been breakfast, lunch and dinner! The weather is suppose to be sunny and cool this weekend so we may be able to get outside and get some fresh air! Enjoy your weekend all!

Halloween Aftermath

Ozzie is still exhausted from Sunday's Halloween whirlwind! We must of had over 100 trick or treaters and the Oz greeted everyone of them! He was reluctant to put any costume on so he went "au naturale"! He was showered with all kinds of adoration from kids and parents alike! What an ego trip for him! He keep insisting to go next door by our neighbors Al and Claire and attempting to get in their house. You think they had a stash of dog biscuits or something in there! Any ways it's going to take hours of power naps to get back on track for Ozzie. Thank goodness Halloween only comes once a year!