Around here, even the dog has to carry her weight

We've been spending a fair amount of time in the yard this spring and early summer: getting the vegetable garden in, planting a few flowers here and there, and mostly working on a six foot privacy fence so that Juno can finally have run of the place.

Unfortunately, with no fence and with J-Dog's general curiosity and desire to get involved in EVERY project (she is a working breed, afterall), we have to tie her up when we're outside. This leads to total frustration for her. All she wants is to be part of the action: right next to us sniffing every tool and implement we're using.

Just so she wouldn't be left out, on a recent solo afternoon in the backyard, she dug herself a monstrous hole.

I thought she wanted to find out what China smelled like.

We had a half flat of various plants that we were trying to find a spot for in our yard. They sat in the shade of the eaves for a few days... until Juno found them. In the days following her hole digging, we'd find our little plants and their black plastic containers strewn about the yard as if a tiny tornado had ripped them up and apart and flung them across the grass. At first, Juno's destructive path didn't bother us -- it was just the broccoli that we'd over-ordered. But before we could access the brain cells required to make the decision to move the plants out of her reach, she grabbed a succulent looking one with small pink buds that we'd intended to plant near the house.

We found this plant deep in the soil at the bottom of her hole.

Turns out, she was just trying to help us out in the garden all along. SOMEONE had to get those plants in the ground!
Needless to say, she was quite please with her work... and deserving of a break in the shade.

A gardener in repose.

Off leash, no fence,....

A few weeks ago we ventured out to Willmar, MN where my in-laws live. It was Juno's first trip there. They have about 5 acres of unenclosed land and we wanted the J-Dog to be able to enjoy it, but were a little wary of letting her go off leash, especially with the risk of the errant bunny, grouse, or field mouse catching her nose.

We came armed with many toys -- new and old -- treats and our thrilling personalities to keep her nearby. Turns out that we didn't need to be too worried. The novel situation was possibly enough to keep her near us.

She enjoyed the water feature in the backyard:


Having some of her favorite people, like my FIL, Loren, nearby helped since he's always willing to wrestle with her right on the ground:


We also had another dog (my in-law's Peekapoo, Bailey) to keep her attention focused on us. Although, honestly, this is probably the closest the two have been to each other without Juno swatting, sniffing, bowing, and jumping around in an effort to get her to play and Bailey barking in return.
She loved playing with her Chase-It, which is basically a flirt pole or a really basic fishing pole, that's, obviously, fun for people too:
I'm guessing that the next trip out will be a bit trickier as the novelty will have worn off a bit but, thankfully, on this trip she had enough outdoor fun to be passed out for the entire 2 hour drive back to Minneapolis.

All Grown Up...

When J-Dog is appropriately exhausted, she really knows how to work the camera.
I thought I'd share some recent pics now that she's starting to look like a real grown up White German Shepherd (WGSD).

Introducting Spicey! Juno's new "cousin"

So I usually sort of secretly cringe when someone refers to me as "Juno's Mom." It's not that I have anything against people who characterize their pets as their children -- just that I don't really think of her as anything other than a pet. Don't get me wrong -- she's a pet that I love tons and tons, but she's still a pet.

I have no problem referring to my sister's dog as Juno's cousin, however. Perhaps it's because cousin just seems like a generic term for someone who is distantly related to you sometimes in a way that is not entirely clear. Besides, they're dogs.

In any case, I've delayed the introductions long enough. Here is Spicey!

She's a 13 week old Rottie mix (I'm taking guesses as to what else is in that mix!) rescue that my sister and her husband got this weekend. She's gonna be another solid, bruiser -- she's about 25 pounds, which is what Juno was at her age -- and wiggley and squirmy in that best puppy way.

Juno was in their backyard when she first met spicey. She was on a leash and startled by the new "intruder" and had to immediately assert her dominance in the pack. After this initial rocky introduction, the two played like they were old friends -- or old WWF arch-enemies depending on how you look at it. They wrestled and pounced and bit and tugged. Juno even let Spicey "flip her" a few times.


There were no actual folding chairs involved (unless you include the patio furniture that the two kept careening into and the various toys and potted plants that fell victim to their paws and teeth), but they were pretty rough with each other. Good to know they have a similar play style. Or as 20 month old Addie says, "Spicey. Juno. Kissing."

Of course, just like kids, they sometimes got fed up with each other -- mostly Juno getting bugged by Spicey's razor sharp puppy teeth and Spicey getting a little indignant when Juno told her to quit biting so hard. But even after these little tiffs, it was hard for them to stay away from each other. The temptation to clamp down on a neck or a head was just too great.

They've met two more times since then and still love playing with each other -- distracted only by a moving ball (in Juno's case) or the possibility of treats (in Spicey's case).

Welcome to the pack, Spicey!

Frosty Paws On a Hot Day

Things are finally warming up here in Minnesota so we're looking for various ways to keep Juno cool. Frosty paws are icy treats that are easy to make and good for her too (the probiotics in the yogurt help her digest).

32 oz plain yogurt (one of those large containers)
1 ripe banana
peanut butter (we use reduced fat so that Juno can keep her girlish figure)
honey (opt. -- we don't use honey 'cause the banana is probably enough sweetness)



Mash up the banana.

Add a few dollops of peanut butter (2-3 tablespoons). Mix up well. Add yogurt. Keep on stirring.

Call the pup over to lick the bowl (this step is crucial). Fill up a few ice cube containers with the mixture and then throw them in the freezer overnight before popping them out and storing them in a freezer bag for easy dolling out. We spoon the leftovers into a Kong and freeze.

Juno enjoys her Frosty Paw Kong. We stuff the cubes in her kong or just give 'em to her whole.

Not for the faint of heart

A little over a week ago we started Juno on a raw diet. Our decision to do this was based on reading lots of books, internet postings, blogs and websites that were all based on purely anecdotal evidence and observations of wild canines suggesting that eating raw meat is good for domesticated dogs. There haven't been any comprehensive studies showing that kibble is bad or raw is good and that's fine by us because we've figured out ways to get meat cheap enough to make feeding Juno a raw diet is cheaper than feeding her (premium) kibble --- not to mention the mountains and mountains of money we're going to save when she anecdotally doesn't get cancer or have renal failure.

This is Juno in a sit-stay in front of her kibble. She liked it well enough -- but I knew we could do better.

The first months of a raw diet consist of introducing a variety of proteins into the pup's meals and examining their poop for signs that all is well.

We started with 8.3 oz of chicken necks (5.3 oz) and chicken meat (3.0 oz) three times a day.
She LOVED it -- snarfing it all down in a matter of minutes and sniffing around for more.

Then on Day 3, Eric observed Juno yelping and spinning around towards the exit-only end of the action while she was trying to poop. Apparently the bone was gumming up the works, so we increased her meat and decreased the bone. We also noticed that she was losing a little weight, so we increased her overall intake to 30 oz a day (divided over three meals). Her poops in good shape for several days, we added some ground turkey in.

But the fun didn't end there. We found that in the early morning hours, she was urping up yellow bile. Pups sometimes puke when their stomachs are empty but still producing digestive juices. After some rude weekend morning wake-ups and based on some advice at the German Shepherd Forum, we switched her to two meals a day, making her body used to 12 hour stretches without food.


So now we're at 15 oz (slightly more turkey meat than chicken neck) two times a day. Her poops are well formed and less stinky, which is basically all it takes to convince us that the diet is working. We'll add some veggies, eggs, and fish this week and try out pork and beef over the next few weeks.

Some resources on feeding raw.

The yahoo rawfeeding group.
The yahoo mimdwest rawfeeding group.
BARF world: The website of Dr Billinghurst who wrote the seminal "Give Your Dog a Bone" -- a bunch of good books listed on this website.
For those of you in the Twin Cities area who own a large deep freeze, here are two meat distributors who sell bulk parts to the public. Raws for Paws at Swanson in South Minneapolis and Anderson Produce Company in Roseville.

Introductions are in order.

This is Juno.


She's a White German Shepherd.

We got her from a local rescue (K-9 R & R, you can find their dogs listed here on Homeward Bound's website) when she was 12 weeks old. Both are great rescues.


She's now five months old.


She's named after the Roman Goddess, not the Ellen Paige character in the movie of the same name, and not the capital of Alaska.

Even though she's not as soft as she was when she was a little puppy, she's still pretty cute and still a pretty good dog. We think we'll keep her.

Check back here for updates on our adventures in raw feeding, training and obedience, and all things Juno-related. It's Juno's world. We're just the food dispensers.