This just makes me laugh til I cry.  I dont know why the videos of dogs dressed up in human clothes with people hands tickle me so, but I love them.  This particular skit was made by the BBC last year and the particular Saint’s name is Rufus.  He belongs to my friend Kay Rudge in the UK.  Thanks for the laugh guys!  I hope Rufus got to keep the wig

Enjoy!

Last weekend Rufus and I took a “road trip” to Indianapolis for the Indy Winter Classic.  Rufus isn’t a show dog, but he loves to go on car trips so I brought him along for the company.  He certainly made himself at home in the hotel.  See that tiny spot in the corner, that’s where he expected me to sleep.

The cluster of shows drew a huge entry.  Each show had a 5 point major (for many of you that’s gibberish - I’ll explain “dog shows for dummies” in my next post so please bear with me).  It was great to see old friends and meet new ones that I have only known on facebook or through yahoo lists until then.  And of course the dogs!  As always, I took a TON of photos.  Note to self – I need to get an external flash to keep up with my snapping shutter finger.  Even though I have an excellent camera (canon 60-D), it struggles to keep up with my snapping when I use the built in flash.

I donated some baked goodies to the Indy Saint Club for their hospitality table.  One of the breeders called me the “hostess with the mostest” lol.  In honor of Mardi Gras I made a King Cake, complete with little plastic baby.  Southern tradition is the person who gets the baby is the hostess of next years Mardi Gras Party.  Up North, we don’t really celebrate Mardi Gras “proper” so it falls to a watered down tradition of whoever gets the baby has to bring the cake the next year.  Surprisingly, no one fessed up to getting the baby! Hmmmm I wonder if they are expecting me to bring it again next year.  The King Cake is on the left.

Since the St Bernard cupcakes were such a hit in Cleveland, I made a 3 tier, 6 layer white cake with St Bernard topper.  My cupcakes were mentioned in the January 18th edition of Dog News Magazine (page 61).  I’m starting to really enjoy this cake crafting thing.  I think I’m making up for my childhood when my mom wouldn’t let me play with play dough. 

The boys enjoying their yummy cake! Rufus’s legs are so gross… he’s likes to groom himself, alot.  As he’s gotten older and a little arthritis has set in, keeping him clean and white is a challenge.  They both go to the groomer once a month for a bath and brush and I wash his legs in the tub once a week.  Of course he was due for a bath when I took his bday pictures.  Oh well, Saint Bernards are alot of work.  If you are considering getting one, please read – Is a St Bernard Right for you that I wrote a few months ago.

The treatment is simple and the relief your dog will feel is immediate.  Pain relief is provided with just a few minutes of therapy, reducing your pet’s anxiety and increasing their quality of life.

The average visit lasts 10-15 minutes and in some cases only one or two visits are needed. For more chronic concerns such as pain management associated with osteoarthritis, hip dysplasia or degenerative disc disease, regular visits are highly recommended.  Contact your vet to discuss the therapy and whether it is the best option for your dog.

So this year I thought I’d make my own birthday cake instead of waiting for the store bought monstrosity one that my mother in law usually springs on me for Christmas.  I had so much fun making it.  I even remembered a few tips I learned back in high school home ec about frosting.  Always make sure your cake is completely cooled before you try and frost it and put it in the freezer for a bit to keep the crumbs from getting in the icing.  I baked mine the night before, wrapped it in saran wrap and put it in the freezer over night.  It still got some crumbs in the icing though.  The next tip is make sure you have PLENTY of icing.  After making the first pass at the cake put it in the fridge and let it chill sufficiently then make a second pass at the cake with icing.  You can then cover up any crumbs that might have gotten into the icing and smooth it out.  OR just go with rolled fondant.  I was too chicken to try the fondant, maybe next time.

I used the same recipe for butter cream frosting as the two varieties of cupcakes and I used the same candy clay recipe for my toppers as the cupcake toppers.  When tinting the icing always use the gel coloring so that it does not change the consistency of the icing.  I used a 10″ round cake and an 8″ round cake.  I could not have gone any smaller and fit the toppers on it.  The one is about 6″ tall and the other is about 5″ long.

I used white chocolate  butterscotch, peanut butter/chocolate chips as well as dark chocolate, red and yellow (for the lab) candy melts and black rolled fondant.  The toppers are completely edible and actually taste pretty good.

I used a pill bottle to lean the Labrador against while it was drying.  I made a black fondant Labrador too but it looked like something a kindergartner would make out of playdough so I opted not to put it on the cake…. The consistency of fondant is so different from candy clay I think I just need some practice.  But not to shabby for a first try.  After Christmas I am going to try to make some Saint ornaments with sculpting clay.  Stay tuned…

I’ve seen some great cakes online that use fondant, gumpaste and candy clay.  I’ve always been afraid to try it out, it seemed so hard.  I finally decided to dive in head first and made my own edible candy clay and tried my hand at making a Saint Bernard cupcake topper.  My first attempt, less than stellar but I was actually able to do it.  So I ran out and bought some more chocolate and made more candy clay and gave it a full on go.  Here’s the end result.  I’m actually pretty impressed with myself.  I hope everyone likes them at the Cleveland Cluster this weekend.

Dogs have become a very sticky subject with Insurance Carriers for the simple fact that there have been increased dog injury claims within the past 5 years.  While most standard homeowners and renters insurance policies cover liability for dog bites, up to the policy limits.  Even if you have a dog with no bite history it may be considered to be within one of the aggressive dog breeds the majority of insurance companies  will decline to write your home owners policy or cancel you when they find out you have a dog that falls in that category. The following dogs are considered aggressive: Pit Bull, Rottweiler, German Shepherd, Siberian Husky, Alaskan Malamute, Presa Canerio,  Doberman Pinscher, Chow Chow, Great Dane, St. Bernard, and Akita. The few companies that will write your home owners policy will most likely exclude the dog and offer no coverage for dog injuries to others.

Ohio, Michigan and Kentucky are “strict liability” states (there are 30 total plus the District of Columbia) meaning a dog owner, harborer or keeper liable for an injury to a person or the property of a person, including a person’s dog. 

• §955.28 of Ohio Revised Code
• Section 258.235 of Kentucky Revised Statutes
• Michigan Compiled Laws Section 287.351

An umbrella policy is an affordable alternative for providing liability coverage that a regular homeowners policy does not cover.  It also extends the maximum payable coverage for dog bites up to a million dollars.  While shopping for insurance make sure you ask if the carrier you are considering affords:

• Protection for your Saint Bernards?
• Are all canine-inflicted injuries covered?
• What are the umbrella policy’s deductibles?

You many have to make a few calls to the companies themselves because the agent may not know.

I worked as an insurance claims adjuster for many years.  I have first hand knowledge of how unscrupulous the insurance industry is and how they handle dogs in the underwriting department.  When you get your homeowners policy documentation, READ the fine print!

Insurance providers who do not discriminate by breed

We encourage dog owners to do their homework and look for agents that represent these companies for renters and home owner policies. Know of others? Please share your favorite insurance resources.

• State Farm
• Farmers Insurance
• United Services Automobile Association
• Chubb Group
• Amica
• Auto-Owners Insurance

DogBite Law

Only use Crayola non-toxic crayons. Other brands may contain lead or toxins.

So this brings us to the cooking portion of today’s installment… Making your very own healthy chicken and sweet potato treats.

It’s remarkably easy to make your own chemical-free HEALTHY treats.  Not only is it easy, its cheaper to make your own than to buy and you know exactly whats going into them. I have tried out two easy methods of making home made jerky style treats. If you dont already have one, a food dehydrator can be purchased relatively inexpensively at Amazon, Walmart or Big Lots.  I paid less than $20 for mine a few years ago at Aldi.

Method #1 – Dehydrator

What you need:

• Raw sweet potato/yams (2 yams filled 3½ trays with ¼ inch slices)
• Thinly sliced chicken (I bough thinly sliced breast meat but any chicken will do)
• Food dehydrator

Wash and dry the meat and yams.  Since its for dog treats, you wont have to add any spices or flavoring, nice. For uniformity and to save time I used a mandolin slicer to slice the yams ¼” thick. I then sliced the “thinly sliced” chicken in half and cut it into pieces.  Place the slices in a single layer in the trays. 2 yams will fill 3½ trays and 1¼ pounds thinly sliced chicken breast will cover 1½ trays.

Once you have filled the trays plug it in and wait.  It will take approximately 12 hours to dehydrate (you should read the instructions for your dehydrator, times vary).  Treats should be kept in an airtight container or ziplock bag.  They will keep for about 3 weeks (remember there’s no preservatives in them) but unless you only have one tiny dog, they wont be around that long.

Method #2 Oven Dehydrated 

What you will need:

• Sweet Potato/yams
• ripe bananas

Preheat oven to 250ºF.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Slice yams and bananas ¼” thick.  Again, for speed and uniformity I used a mandolin slicer.  Place the slices in rows on the cookie sheets and bake in the 250ºf oven and bake for 3-4 hours for “chewy” treats and 5-6 hours for crunchy.  Flip the pieces about half way through.

Easy Peasy!  Nothing says lovin’ like goodness from the oven…