Guinness Loves Ducks

We all went boating over Labor Day weekend. Luckily I had picked up a little life vest for Guinness earlier this summer. She could probably swim but I don't want to worry about her if she winds up in the water. She hates clothes of any kind and I thought she'd really hate the life vest, especially since Potter didn't have to wear one. She was amazingly fine with it. It brought me great peace of mind while we ate lunch and she eyed the nearby ducks as she ran from side to side of the boat trying to figure out how to get one. The handle was very, well, handy. It was pretty funny to everyone (except Guinness) when I picked her up by it to keep her from jumping in after the ducks.

Here's a story of another wheaten with the same life vest. Guinness spent most of the time huddled under a towel. She didn't care for the wind or the noise of the boat.

Guinness of the Mountains

We've been heading up to the mountains a lot for the last couple of months. Guinness loves to explore the trails we hike along up there. She's good about staying close. I just read an article about the animals that frequent the area and don't think she'd win a contest with a bear - even if she thinks she tough.

Our last trip included a stay at a dog friendly place that had llamas! She was not at all sure what to make of them. They were a lot bigger than she was. She also was slighly intimidated by a pair of boxers that were very rampunctious. Her alpha status was on hold for a while.

We travel with Guinness all the time and Dog Friendly.com is a great source for information on dog friendly places to stay and things to do. California is getting more and more dog friendly but it's not always easy to find a restaurant or a hotel she can go to. Dog Friendly has been so helpful in traveling with Guinness and we were even able to take her to San Francisco and Mendocino.

Guinness is FAMOUS!

Well, sort of. She's featured on Daily Puppy as today's grown up puppy of the day! We're so proud. The photographs submitted on that site all look so professional, and the site has rules. I finally managed to get a few good shots of her. I've been looking at dailypuppy.com since before I got Guinness. There are soooo many cute wheaten puppy pictures on that site I even printed some for her scrapbook... yes I have a scrapbook for her and no it's not pathetic - at all.

Wheaten Puppy Cam!

Here's the link to the puppycam at the Wheaten Rescue site. Kate, the mom, is a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier who was rescued with 4 other Wheatens by S'Wheat Rescues. Kate was pregnant when she was rescued and had these lovely babies. Learn more about the Rescue and see all the dogs they have available for adoption at http://www.wheatenterrierrescue.org

Surfer Chick

We took Guinness to a secluded beach and let her run. She was curious about the motion of the ocean and was surprisingly cautious. Her favorite part was just running and running along the tideline. We thought that since she loves the moving water of the hose so much that she'd go crazy. I think it's a bit bigger so she didn't know what to make of it.


She was very dirty and happy by the end of the trip.

Party Dogs

Yes, I know, giving a party for your dog is a bit pathetic. I've had people look askance when I tell them about it. Too bad. It was fun and I'll make no apologies. Actually it was really an excuse to make these uber cute pupcakes. I altered the schnauzer a bit to make a wheaten. The link above shows a detailed how-to from Family Circle. As I was contemplating who I could con into taking part in this silliness I thought of Mia . . . and then it occured to me that since they were litter mates they shared a birthday, so it was her party too.

Of course the pupcakes above are for people. The birthday dogs deserved a cake for their first birthday afterall. Here's the recipe from Two Dog Press

1 large apple

1/2 cups wheat flour

1/4 cup oatmeal

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons honey
2 eggs

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

For the Frosting

8 oz Neufchatel Cheese (lowfat cream cheese)

2 tablespoons plain yogurt

2 tablespoons honey

2-3 tablespoons flour

grated carrots

Directions:Preheat oven to 400 ° F (200 ° C). Grease muffin tins.

Core, slice and mince the apple (use a food processor if you have one). Set aside. In a large bowl, mix together flour, oatmeal, baking powder, and baking soda. In a medium bowl, blend together the yogurt, water, oil, honey, and eggs, then stir in the apple and cheese. Add to the flour mixture and stir until mixed.

Spoon into the muffin tins, filling each cup about three-quarters full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let rest in the muffin tins for a few minutes, then remove and set aside to cool.
For the frosting, combine the Neufchatel cheese (at room temperature), honey, and yogurt until smooth. Add enough flour to thicken the frosting to a good spreading consistency. Frost the pupcakes, sprinkle them with finely shredded carrots as garnish, and you're ready for a doggone good party!

Makes 16-18 pupcakes. If you prefer a single-layer cake, spoon the batter into a sheet pan and bake for an extra 15-20 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean). (I used 6 inch springform pans for small cakes) Let the cake cool, then frost and decorate with carrot shavings.

Both dogs really liked their cakes. They got slices as good dog goodies all week. Yes, I made hats for them. Guinness (left) enjoyed chewing it to smitherines shortly after this picture.

The Park Bench Cafe

We took Guinness the wheaten on another trip to Orange County and visited Potter and his humans. Potter had a special request to have brunch at a restaurant called The Park Bench Cafe in Huntington Beach. This is a special eatery that caters to canines. The plastic tables are all outside and judging from the number of dogs it's a very popular spot. There's a little lake where puppy enjoyed looking longingly at the ducks.



We were there on a perfect day. Dog watching was especially fun because there were all kinds enjoying the menu and the park.

Water bowls are even furnished. They have a human menu and a doggie menu that included hot diggety dogs, hamburger and even kibble for the dog who doesn't eat people food. Guinness wasn't sure what to do with a whole basket of hot dog pieces so we wound up feeding them to her a piece at a time - no she's not spoiled! Potter had no such misgivings and gobbled his hamburger brunch right down.