CAKE. I want Cake.

Abby turned 5 (human) years on April 11th. However, I was in Detroit that weekend, so she spent her birthday weekend with Grandma and Grandpa, which probably was a good thing for Abby. My parents spoil Abby; mom feeds Abby from the table and they keep food on the counter, so Abby gets to go "surfing'".  It was a different birthday weekend for Abby because in the past, we spent it with our friends in Bloomington, Indiana celebrating Easter along with Abby's and Ellie's (4/12) birthdays.

To make it up to Abby, and in an effort to get to know our new neighbors a bit better, I decided to have a party for her at the local dog park. Unfortunately, Mother Nature didn't get the invite, and it was a rainy Sunday morning, not ideal weather for a party in the park.

While in Detroit, my friend and I literally stumbled upon John K. King's used and rare books while wandering around Detroit. There were 4 floors of used books on every imaginable topic and quite a selection in the section for "Dogs". In that section, I found a cookbook called "Throw Me A Bone"by a Welsh Springer Spaniel named Cooper Gillespies and a human Sally Sampson. In flipping through it noticed they had several recipes for birthday cake, so that was enough to justify buying it.

I created quite the menu of dog treats for Abby's party, all taken from "Throw Me a Bone": Cake, Corn Dog Biscuits, and both Salmon and Tuna Treats. What I like is that almost all of the ingredients for the recipes from the book can be found in a decently stocked human kitchen. There are some ingredients such as soy flour and arrowroot that you may need to get at your local natural foods store. Hey, I now know where the Miami Whole Foods store is located.

Today I'll share the birthday cake recipe: Bow-Wow Cake. I made it in a 13 x 9 inch pan, thinking that we would have about 8-10 of her friends, but only 6 six dogs (and their humans) braved the off and on rain showers. It is a vegan recipe good for humans and canines, and from tasting the batter, really good from the human perspective! This high praise is coming from a chocoholic and someone who really likes chocolate cake and most other forms of sweet things. Abby also had a very good initial impression; she licked the bowl clean!

• 3 1/2 Cups of whole wheat flour  (unbleached all purpose flour can also be used)
• 1 Cup carob powder
• 1/2 Cup arrowroot
• 2 Teaspoons baking powder
• 1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 1/2 Cups maple syrup
• 2 Cups soy milk
• 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 1/2 Cups canola oil

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Line pan with parchment paper (you could probably due pupcakes just as easily)
• You can use a large sheet pan, 13 x 9 in pan or muffin tins

1. Mix flour, carob powder, arrowroot, baking powder and cinnamon in a large bowl.
2. In another large bowl combine all the liquid ingredients: maple syrup, soy milk, vinegar, and oil.
3. Mix the liquid ingredients with a whisk (or large fork if you happened to lose your whisk in your last move).
4. Gradually add the liquid to the flour, stirring well after each addition. 
5. Pour batter into the pan (or cupcake tins).Bake at 350 F until tooth pick comes out clean. A 13 x 9 inch pan takes about 50 minutes. A large sheet pan should take about 25 minutes. Cupcakes about 15-20 minutes.  

• At this point you have a few options: You can leave it plain. If serving to dogs, frost it with a mashed banana carob icing, or if for human consumption only, I would recommend a dusting of powdered sugar. 

Here is the recipe I used for the Mashed Banana Carob Frosting, also from "Throw Me A Bone". Note: If you still want it to be vegan, you need to substitute for the butter. I found the frosting to be bland, but the dogs seemed to like it.

• 2 Cups of mashed bananas
• 1 Tablespoon of unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 6 Tablespoons carob powder
• 2 Teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 3 Tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
• If desired, garnish with liver bits, jerky treats, etc.

1. Place all ingredients (except for the garnish) in a bowl and mix well, ideally with an electric mixer. 
2. Spread onto the cooled cake or pupcakes. 
3. Cake can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or frozen up to 1 month. 

We did have a lot of left over cake, so for the past 3 days I have been "supplementing" Abby's breakfast and dinner with cake. It reminds me of the Bill Cosby Chocolate Cake for Breakfast story. At over 9 minutes, it is too long for a "joke" or "skit". I hope Abby realizes how lucky she is to have gotten CAKE for breakfast AND dinner.

Despite the rain showers, I think the humans and dogs had a good time. There was hardly anyone else in the dog park, so they were able to get a lot of exercise running after each other and they all got along well and got to go home with a bag full of tasty treats.

Dumbbell Update

I think Abby is getting the idea of a formal obedience retrieve!

Just so we are all on the same page, here are the cues (commands) that I am using with Abby for this exercise:

• The dumbbell

• Take it = put dumbbell in your mouth
• Sit = put your butt on the ground (in this context with dumbbell still in your mouth)
• Give = place the dumbbell in my hand

When we started our "play session" on Thursday night, we had to go back to her sitting and taking the dumbell from either my hand or off the couch. Next, I had her do the "take it" part from a standing position, then take the dumbbell and sit. It wasn't always perfect, sometimes she went into the "down" position, and a few times she batted the dumbbell around with her paw as if to say "Hey, I'm playing with the dumbbell, make that click noise and give me a treat!"

Finally, I placed the dumbell a few feet away (~ 2 ft) and asked for all three things:

1. Take it
2. Sit (with dumbbell)
3. Give

She did it twice! Yeah Abby!

But... can she do it a third time? I didn't have a chance to work with her tonight on it, I had to go shopping for her party that is on Sunday. We will continue practicing this weekend.

Once Abby is reliably doing the retrieve from a short distance, we can gradually increase the distance that she has to go to fetch the dumbell (upping the ante). My concern here is that she may not like carrying the dumbbell in her mouth for more than 24 inches.

Some dogs have difficulty transferring things they know to new situations. For example, you may have a dog that sits very well in the kitchen for its dinner, However, asking the same dog to sit when they are people at the door, or even sitting in a yard without any distractions is like teaching something brand new.  With Abby, I have trouble getting her to "sit" when we are walking on the neighborhood sidewalks (another blog topic)

I would like Abby to be able to "take" any object I point out for her, so we will work in retrieving different objects like her rope toy, her new fuzzy kong toy, and maybe gloves. If we get back into doing traditional obedience with St. Hubert's, one of the utility exercises is a directed retrieve of one of 3 gloves. Chances of us getting that far in obedience are slim (right now due to the lack of any trials in the area), but it would be a fun party trick. However, I don't think we will have it ready for this birthday party. Maybe next year.

Blogging for dummies and doggies

Long time, first time. At least that is what they say on the call-in radio shows.

It will take me a few weeks to get Abby's blog organized. However, after playing with the layout and photos of Abby, I couldn't stop until I put something down about the tricks we are practicing.

• "The Cap'n"
• A dumbbell retrieve

This weekend Abby is having a belated birthday party with her new friends. Recap and photos to follow along with the recipes for her birthday feast.

In the next few weeks I will explain what our "Captain" trick is (if you are thinking of a pirate with his foot on a keg, you are on the right track).

Our other break through for today (besides starting the blog) is that Abby picked up her dumbbell that was laying a few feet away, came to me, SAT, and then dropped it in my hands.  Getting Abby to have the dumbbell in her mouth while sitting is something that has been tough work.

Pick up dumbbell? Check. 
Sit? Check (well most of the time).
Sit with dumbbell?  Yeah, right.

But tonight she did it! I jackpotted her with all the treats I had left and ended our "play session" on a very happy note. I can wait until tomorrow to find out if it was a fluke or not.