Stinky Boy Dogs

It's high summer in Wisconsin. that means, lots of flowers in the garden, mosquitoes, hot sunny days and really stinky dogs. This summer, Teiko, my 5 year old German Shepherd (and one of the loves of my life) smells to high heaven. Yesterday, I talked with Dr. June, Teiko's vet and the best dog doctor in the city. Part of the problem is that he has fur (duh, he's a dog...). He's not a poodle and can't get his hair cut every six weeks. The other problem, he's an intact male (uhhhmm, he can still make babies....) That means he smells like a "boy" animal.

Let's suffice it to say, the boy needs to smell better. So Dr. June suggested some enzyme-based shampoo that cuts the smell. Guess what it is?

The same shampoo you'd used for a dog that had an unfortunate encounter with a skunk!

Dr. June told me that in her practice and in many veterinarian practices, they just don't deal with non-neutered males very often, so they not familiar with the odorous issue at hand. However, she used to work with wildlife and encountered several male foxes during her practice. Guess what? Bingo.....same smell.
So, armed with skunk shampoo, I went on a mission. Teiko got a great bath yesterday as pictured above. The water hose (which he loves to attack), a great massage to work the shampoo, his frisbee to reward him for standing still, all assisted the Mama in shampooing his stinky self. Finally, we let the sunshine dry the boy.

The outcome: Now he doesn't smell like anything. Which smells great!

Puppy Gumbo Recipe

Since that horrible outbreak of death food for animals, I've taken extra precautions on what I feed my dogs. While I don't raw feed I do choose carefully what my dogs eat. I called the dry food company, Nutrisource, out of Minnesota to ensure its safety. Secondly any "wet" food that my dogs scarf down is made by me!

...Gotta love me some of dat puppy gumbo...Teiko

Puppy Gumbo is what I call cleaning out the refridgerator of left-overs. My dogs love the "real" food and I like that I know what my pups are eating. Puppy Gumbo contains any of the following items and is different everytime, depending on what I have available.

• Bones: from what ever you have handy (chicken, duck, beef, deer)
• Meat: I use fish, venison, beef, bison, pork, turkey, chicken and even shrimp skins. Really, it's whatever's sitting in the refridge.
• Vegetables: potatoes, pumpkin, squash, carrots, garlic, celery, brocoli, mushrooms - whatever you want to clean out of the drawer.
• Grains: rice, barley, couscou, pasta, again whatever is sitting around.

Directions: Assemble any or all of the above ingredients, depending on what your pups like and what's laying around. Start the gumbo by cooking the bones and hearty vegetables with a 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for a two hours. When the stock is rich in color, add the soft veggies and grains and simmer until veggies are soft. Discard the bones. I will keep one container in the fridge while the others go to the freezer or to my family. To serve: add 1 or 2 tablespoons of gumbo to each cup of dry kibble for extra deliciousness.