10 Months

On March 24, Hooch turned 10 months old… how did he get so big so fast?!?!

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Hooch is now taller than his sister, Cello, and weighs 50 pounds.  He continues to love the water and dock diving, although he still will not jump off our dock at home, and still hesitates to jump at competitions.  Hooch has picked up a stronger toy-drive, and enjoys chasing a tennis or soccer ball, and chewing on sticks.  He is the happiest, puppy we know, and he makes us laugh every day, as he is such a goof-ball!  Happy 10 months, buddy – we love you!

First Trip With Our New 5th Wheel – Elk Neck State Park, North East, MD

Six days after getting our new 5th Wheel, we took a trip to one of our favorite places – Elk Neck State Park.

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Cello and Hooch had their travel buddies, Olaf and Hulk to keep them company on our ride.

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We have always stayed in the North East Loop of the campground, but this was the first time we have stayed on this campsite.  However, this was not the site we booked!

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Backing the 5th Wheel in for the first time did not go as smoothly as planned.  It had rained a lot the few days prior to us arriving to the campground, so the ground was very wet and soggy.  As we were trying to back in to our reserved spot, the truck got stuck in the mud!  A nice man came to our rescue and towed us out!  We wound up having to switch campsites with our friends because we could not get our 5th Wheel into our reserved campsite.

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Finally in our new campsite, safe and sound!

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Cello has been to Elk Neck State Park several times already, (see below) – but this was Hooch’s first time visiting this great park! Cello has been to Elk Neck State Park three other times prior to this trip:

Thanksgiving 2012

Valentine’s Day 2013

Thanksgiving 2013

The weather was not so great when we first arrived.  However, we did bundle up and take a nice long walk around the campground.

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The weather continued to worsen, and it began to SNOW! Cello and Hooch could not believe their eyes!

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The cold snowy weather gave us some time to enjoy our new 5th Wheel.  Cello and Hooch settled right in, and seem to love their new home-away-from-home!

unnamed (26) unnamed (27)unnamed (7)Unfortunately, we also had our first injury to report in our new 5th Wheel.  Cello and Hooch were playing, and both dogs dove for a toy that had gone under one of the recliners.  Before we knew it, Cello dove under the recliner, and cut herself very close to her eye.  We are very lucky she missed her eye!

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Luckily the weather warmed up a bit on our last day, and we were able to take a nice long walk and visit the beach!  Hooch also got to play with his Vizsla buddy, Dash!

unnamed (12) Hooch:unnamed (2) Cello:unnamed (1) We had a great first trip in our new 5th Wheel, and very much enjoyed all of the new upgrades and luxuries that we did not have in our travel trailer.  We are looking forward to many camping trips and fond memories to come in our new camper!

Nutty Squirrels!

 

This cute squirrel treat recipe was taken from Dog Treat Kitchen – I modified it a bit from the original recipe.  I loved the look of the cookie, but wanted to make the treat grain free, and as organic as possible.

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Ingredients:

 

  • 1/2 cup organic buckwheat flour (I used Arrowhead Mills brand)
  • 1 cup organic almond flour
  • 2 Tbsp organic ground flax
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 very ripe medium organic banana
  • 2 Tbsp organic beef broth (I make my own – but be sure if you purchase to check that there is no form of onion listed in the ingredients!!)
  • 1 Tbsp organic safflower or sunflower oil

 

Topping Ingredients: 

  • 1 Tbsp water
  • 1 tsp organic honey
  • 2 Tbsp finely chopped organic raw sunflower seeds

 

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350° F
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the buckwheat flour, almond flour, flax and cinnamon.
  3. In a small bowl, thoroughly mash the banana, then stir in the beef broth and oil until combined.
  4. Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture.
  5. Stir together until you reach a coarse crumby texture.
  6. Knead the dough with your hand, in the bowl, until it forms a dough ball.
  7. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper, or dust it with buckwheat flour so the dough will not stick.
  8. Roll dough to 1/2 inch thickness, between two sheets of parchment paper (or dust top of  dough with flour).
  9. Transfer cut outs to baking sheet.
  10. Bake for 10 minutes.
  11. Turn off the oven, and leave the treats inside while the oven cools.
  12. Once completely cooled, apply the glaze and sunflower seed topping.

Topping Instructions:

  1. In a microwave safe bowl, combine the water and honey.
  2. Microwave on high for 5 to 10 seconds.
  3. Stir together until the honey is completely dissolved.
  4. Using a pastry brush, brush the honey glaze on the tail of the squirrel.
  5. Press the tail into the finely chopped nuts.
  6. Set aside,  and let the glaze dry before serving to your dog.

 

These treats will stay fresh  in the fridge for up to one month, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Yield – Depending on the cookie cutter(s) you use, you’ll be able to get about 9, 1/2 inch thick squirrels. Using the squirrel cookie cutter I had, I got 9 squirrels, and used an acorn cookie cutter for the smaller, left over dough pieces.  The yield will vary, depending on the size of dog treat cookie cutter(s) you use and how thick you roll the dough.

 

TIPS:  

  • Rolling dog treat dough is so easy with parchment paper.   If you don’t have it, you can to dust your work surface and rolling pin with buckwheat flour to keep it from sticking. You can line your baking sheets with parchment paper  – or spray your baking sheet with non-stick spray before placing the cut outs onto it.
  • For some dough mixtures such as this one  that may be a bit stickier, try filling a shallow dish or bowl with flour and dip the cutter into it before each cut. Then very gently wiggle the cutter back and forth to separate it from the rest of the dough.

 

I hope your pooch enjoys this treat as much as Cello has!

4 Yrs

Happy 4th birthday to Limoncello!

On March 14, 2015, Cello turned 4!

Over the past year, Cello has:

  • continued to achieve in dock diving
  • adapted to multiple fosters in the house
  • welcomed her new brother (she even occasionally pretends like she likes her brother, Hooch!)
  • added new adventures to her “been there” list
  • grown a white goatee
  • became an ambassador for TurboPup

Cello continues to be happy and energetic – and we love her so much!  Happy Birthday, pretty girl!

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Goodbye Travel Trailer, Hello 5th Wheel!

On March 14, (Cello’s birthday!) we traded said goodbye to our travel trailer, and bought a new 5th Wheel!

We are away so often at dock diving events, that we decided to upgrade our GLAMping to incorporate a 2014 Grand Design Solitude 369rl – and we LOVE it!

Bye Bye, travel trailer!  We brought our 2013 Jayco White Hawk home to unload it.  We will miss this camper, and all the great memories it brought to us!

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All pictures were taken with my phone the day we looked at the 5th Wheel and decided to buy it.

This is our new 2014 Grand Design Solitude 369rl.  It is 39 feet long! unnamed (5)

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A much bigger refrigerator than our travel trailer!unnamed (22)

Lots more counter space also…unnamed (23)

I love the floor plan, and the roomy feel the island gives to the kitchen area.unnamed (18)

A pantry and fireplace… two things we didn’t have in our travel trailer – but are LOVING in this camper! unnamed (19)

Sofa with three recliners:unnamed (21)

Theater seating with 2 recliners:unnamed (20)

Dinette:unnamed (14)

Love our bathroom sink! unnamed (11)

This shower is MUCH bigger than our old one! (Pink stuff is the antifreeze since it was still winterized when we looked at it)

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Hallway:unnamed (27)

King size bed (we had a Queen in our last camper ).unnamed (28) Other side of the bedroom:unnamed (10) Our huge bedroom closet:unnamed (9)

Picking up the new 5th Wheel….

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At the dealer were made to watch a movie on how to work the RV – Brian is carefully watching the sewer hose hook-up 😉

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Going through our class on how everything works…

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Getting ready to haul this beast home!

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Backing into the storage lot for the first time…

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We love our new camper!

 Here we are taking a break from setting up and unpacking at the storage lot:

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Our camping sign from last year displayed a travel trailer and only a “Cello” dog bone – – so a new camping sign to include our 5th wheel and Hooch was in order!

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We didn’t waste any time – we immediately booked at trip to  Elk Neck State Park.  Brian, Jenny, and Hooch have been there before – but this was Hooch’s first time there!

Staybridge Suites

Cello and Hooch stayed at Staybridge Suites in Harrisburg, PA for their indoor dock diving event, Winter Meltdown.

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This hotel was very conveniently located right outside of the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex, where Winter Meltdown was being held.
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This hotel offers several favorable amenities, including:

  • free wireless internet
  • fitness center
  • laundry facilities
  • indoor heated pool
  • complementary breakfast buffet
  • 24-hour pantry with snacks, drinks, and other items

 

 

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The room was clean, and the people were friendly.  Our room had a king size bed, sitting area, and a full kitchen. Cello and Hooch made themselves right at home!DSC04842

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It’s hard to believe that it was last year (for this same dock diving event) that Cello stayed in a hotel for the very first time! 

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Next year we will definitely book a room in this hotel for the 2016 Winter Meltdown!

Winter Meltdown, hosted by Keystone DockDogs in Harrisburg, PA

Cello and Hooch’s third dock diving event of the 2015 season was hosted by Keystone DockDogs.

This event, “Winter Meltdown,” was held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, PA.

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Cello had been going through a little bit of a slump, but during this event, she really seemed to be starting to get back on track! We were very proud of her!

Big Air Results:

22’6″     22′

22’3″     21’10”

23’3″     21’9″     2nd Place Elite Division

21’3″     21’5″

Extreme Vertical Results:

5’2″  3rd Place Cadet Divsion

Speed Retrieve Results:

17.128     10.968

Big Air Finals:

22’2″     17’5″     3rd Place Elite Division

Iron Dog Points: 2511.83     3rd Place Warrior Division

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Hooch

Hooch is still a bit nervous to run and jump off the dock, but he loves to get the crowd going with his “Hoochie Hop” off the end of the dock!

Big Air Results:

8’7″     8’1″     3rd Place Novice Division

7’9″     8’6″     2nd Place Novice Division

7’10”     7’3″  2nd Place Novice Division

8’1″     8’2″

7’8″     7’4″     3rd Place Novice Division

Big Air FInals:

8’4″     8’1″     3rd Place Novice Division

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Hooch had a BLAST!