The birth of Kota's Krisps

So apparently, my "hobby," which I blogged about a few days, is going to become a bit more than a hobby. I had started making biscuits for Lakota with wholesome, organic, human-grade ingredients. Basically, if its not in my kitchen or I can't get it in my local food co-op, it doesn't go in there. Actually, I will take that back because for the meat-based recipes, I use meats from my local, grass-based farmer. They are pretty tasty too, at least Kota seems to think so!

Two weeks ago, when I went on the baking binge that I ended up blogging about, I was humoring a friend of mine with the story of how I ended up making way more cookies than Lakota could possibly eat before they went bad. (They don't have any yucky chemical preservatives). I ended up giving some away, but still had way too many! That's when said friend suggested that I sell them at some local stores. A great opportunity to test the waters was coming up too- FRozendale.

FRozendale is a Christmas-season-kick-off event on Main Street in Rosendale, sponsored by the local Chamber of Commerce. There are different family-friendly events hosted at participating local businesses. The Alternative Baker generously agreed to allow me to set up a table and sell some Kota's Krisps to attendees.

I hope it goes well. I would like to start offering the cookies for purchase at other local establishments so other poochies can have yummy, healthy, organic, homemade treats too! So here it is, the birth of Kota's Krisps.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Thanksgiving. I'm in Florida. Lakota is in New York. I miss my furkid like crazy. She has not been without my husband or I since she first came to live with us, so naturally, I'm a little worried about her and how she's doing. She does have some separation anxiety issues and I fear there is a chance that this trip may worsen those issues. But I am grateful that we found a wonderful friend to watch our pooch while we are away. I'm getting great reports from New York that Lakota is having a blast going on hikes, long walks and wowing her caretaker with what a sweet, loving dog she is. I think she is going to be alright. I can't wait to see her tail wag when we get home!

And in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'm grateful to share my life with a dog like Lakota. I'm grateful to the people who work tirelessly to rescue wonderful animals like her from almost certain death in kill shelters around the country. I'm grateful for our local shelters and animal rescues who work so hard to find great dogs like her their forever home. I'm grateful that even in these hard economic times, we are managing to take good care of our four-legged friend.

Lucky Dog!!!

Some would say Lakota is a pretty lucky dog. Her mom stayed up late last night making her all kinds of yummy treats. The bone-shaped cookies on the left are pecan & molasses cookies. On the right are paw-shaped liver and cheddar cookies. On top are some pumpkin based cookies and on the bottom are some liver and oat bon-bons. The cookies use a base that is a blend of oat flour and brown rice flour, so they are wheat, corn and soy free. And Mom uses all organic ingredients, so they are uber-healthy treats!

If it were up to Lakota, she'd eat these cookies all day long! Luckily, Mom makes her eat good, healthy food first. Of course, since these treats are so healthy, it wouldn't matter if she ate these cookies first!

A new hobby

A couple months ago I was wandering through Barnes & Noble- a dangerous place for me. I believe I started out looking for dog training books when I ran across this gem. I looked at several other 'dog cookbooks' that day, but this one really stood out. For one, ALL of the recipes are wheat-, corn- and soy-free. From my work with people, I know these are common allergens. For dogs, whose biochemistry never really adapted to having alot of grains in their diet, these three can be particularly problematic.

Wheat, corn and soy are common allergens today because they are some of the most altered crops around. Some 90% of the corn and soy grown in the U.S. today are genetically modified. Wheat varieties grown today have 4 times the amount gluten, a protein that causes digestive disorders in some people, as they did just a couple hundred years ago. With the combination of dog's mostly grain-free ancestral diet and the alterations we've made to these crops, no wonder they are the leading allergens among dogs. And yet they often form the basis of cheap pet foods. Even some so-called gourmet dog biscuits are made primarily of wheat.

I've noticed that Lakota is not a fan of the wheat-based biscuits. She normal INHALES any sort of treat put in her face, yet I've given her wheat-based treats and watched as they sat untouched for hours, in one case days.

So when I found this book, I was pretty excited. Plenty of interesting and novel recipes with no wheat, corn or soy in sight. And the ingredients aren't exotic, hard-to-find things either. Once you procur the basic flour mix, you can whip up a batch of healthy, homemade cookies with ingredients you probably already have on hand. And did I mention the variety of the recipes? If you happen to have a dog that doesn't like peanut butter (does such an animal exist????), no problem! Plenty of PB-free recipes! There's veggie recipes, 'sweet' recipes, and my personal favorite, recipes for each month of the year. Lakota is a big fan of the Bark O'Lanterns (made with canned pumpkin, I even did mine in a pumpkin-shaped silicone mold!) and the Oatmeal & Molasses cookies. Her absolute favorite thus far were the Carob Chip Cookies. Heck, they looked so good, I wanted to eat one! That's the other great thing about these recipes- you could, and just might- eat a few yourself. They don't have all the sugar that our cookies do, so they might not taste quite as good as they look, but your dog will LOVE them! And that is the best part about them. Dogs' sense of smell is much keener then ours and I'm convinced that Lakota can taste the love baked right in.

Some other really cool things about the book are that all the recipes can be made with organic ingredients, so you can give your beloved pooch a treat that is both uber-healthy and nutritious. Even the way the book itself is printed is 'green,' making it the perfect edition to any eco-friendly dog's library.

So, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of this book. Pick up a couple fun cookie cutters too, like a bone shape or a paw-print and have a ball. You just might end up with a new hobby. And just in case you think you don't have time to bake for your dog, most of the recipes can be put together in under 5 minutes. But if you REALLY don't have time, check out the Bubba Rose Biscuit Company's website where you can order a variety of delectable pre-made treats for your pooch.

Born Free

Whenever I take Lakota hiking, I usually let her off leash. I know that is controversial. I know that is against the rules in most places. And I know that some people would be extremely vexed with me for breaking such rules because it creates problems that could lead to dogs being banned from such places altogether.

Now in my defense, I do my best to keep her under my control (I say 'do my best' because what happens when she sees a squirrel, no one can control). I do try to avoid taking her on busy trails on the weekend where we are more likely to encounter lots of people and lots of other dogs. I also try to remain viligant and aware of other users on the trail, calling her back and placing her on a leash when other hikers, runners or bikers appear on the trail.

After the other person passes, if the coast is clear, I will let her off the leash. She is just so happy to run free. She always has to lead on the trail; it's her work. It seems to me that she considers it her 'job' to scout the trail ahead, make the way safe, and to show me where we are going. If she stops to sniff at something and I pass her, she will bolt past me to take the lead again. On some really narrow trails, she has nearly taken me out at the knees trying to bolt past me.

The other day we went for a walk on the Hurley-Marbletown Rail Trail. Since it was a weekday, we didn't run into too many people. When we did come across someone of course, I called her back and put her on leash until we were alone again. At one point, a man on a bike did come up behind me before I had a chance to place her on leash. I was able to grab her collar though. At first I was nervous about the fact that it had happened so quickly and I was not quite prepared. The guy on the bike didn't seem to mind though, in fact, as he passed he made a comment that she looked so happy running free. I have to say, his comment really warmed my heart. In that moment, I was so grateful that someone else saw the beauty and happiness in my dog as she ran free through woods, a smile on her face as the wind whistled in her ears.

I wish more dogs could have this experience. I like to think that Lakota feels pretty lucky to have come live with us, but that is probably just anthromophoristic on my part. The truth is that its probably what I need to think, to believe in, for what reason, I do not yet know. What I do know though, is that when she's happy I'm happy. So I'll let her run free because it makes me happy.

A great visit to the vet!

Yesterday, I took Lakota to a new vet, Dr. Judith Edoff of Four Paw Holistic Vet Center in West Hurley. We decided to go with a holistic vet because I wanted to have titre tests of her rabies and distemper vaccine before we just stick her with them. After some reading on the web, I learned that the only reason vaccines are given yearly is because back in the 50s and 60s when drug manufacturers were first making animal vaccines, the FDA required that they have a date on the labels. They followed the study animals for a year, the vaccines still worked, so they were labeled with a date a year from their date of manufacture. What they didn't do was follow up at intervals longer than a year to see if the animals were still protected. Most dogs and cats don't need further vaccination beyond their initial shots.

The following is from Current Veterinary Therapy, 11th Edition:

"A practice that was started many years ago and that lacks scientific validity or verification is annual revaccination. Almost without exception there is no immunologic requirement for annual revaccination. Immunity to viruses persists for years or for the life of the animal. Successful vaccination to most bacterial pathogens produces an immunologic memory that remains for years, allowing an animal to develop a protective anamnestic (secondary) response when exposed to virulent organisms. Only the immune response to toxins requires boosters (e.g. tetanus toxin booster, in humans, is recommended once every 7-10 years), and no toxin vaccines are currently used for dogs or cats. Furthermore, revaccination with most viral vaccines fails to stimulate an anamnestic (secondary) response as a result of interference by existing antibody (similar to maternal antibody interference). The practice of annual vaccination in our opinion should be considered of questionable efficacy unless it is used as a mechanism to provide an annual physical examination or is required by law (i.e., certain states require annual revaccination for rabies)."

I have also read in various sources that in some cases, unnecessary rabies vaccinations, which would be almost all of them considering the above statement, can lead to development of some rabies-like symptoms, like aggression. Yikes! I don't want to be giving Lakota anything that would cause her to become aggressive. Aggression is already a huge problem in dogs these days due to poor and irresponsible breeding, we don't need to add to this problem with unnecessary vaccinations!

And if that wasn't enough, dogs and cats that get their vaccinations on a yearly basis tend to suffer more from chronic conditions, especially as they get older. So while titre testing is considerably more expensive then just giving the animals the vaccine, I'm convinced that what we spend now will be what we save in vet bills trying to treat some chronic condition later.

So back to Dr. Judy. Totally different experience from my previous vet. Previous vet (who shall remain nameless) had an office that felt very sterile, clinical. The exam rooms were furnished with item of stainless steel or formica. Servicable, but not inviting. The exam room at Dr. Judy's office had soft lights (not overhead flourescent lighting), pillows on the floor and a little table covered in a paw-print blanket for animals undergoing acupuncture to lie on. I was entertained by issue of BARK when Dr. Judy to took Lakota back to do the blood draws. But before that, she sat down with us and asked lots of questions about Lakota's general health, like what we feed her, what we did for ticks, if she had a problem with fleas, etc. I was particularly impressed by the fact that instead of recommending Frontline or other chemical interventions and then having a patronizing attitude about herbal barriers (like the previous vet), Dr. Judy was the one recommending herbal rememdies for the ticks. Cool. She also had a great bedside (tailside?) manner and Lakota seemed to feel very comfortable around her. The staff were very friendly too.

Lakota and I will definitely be going back. I am happy to have found, and am much more comfotable with, a vet that treats Lakota without lots of nasty prescription chemicals, who knows that diet is the foundation of overall health and who knows how to treat common conditions with herbs and homeopathic remedies. I found Dr. Judy on the American Holistic Vetriniary Medical Association's website, so you can use their site to find a holistic vet in your area too.

Lakota LOVES to go hiking. We first discovered this on a trip to the Adirondacks for a friend's wedding at the end of June. As we hiked to the top of Crane Mountain to go climbing on the rocks on the summit, Lakota eagerly trotted along on the trail in front of us.

Since I know how much she loves it, I have been intending to take her out more regularly. Finally, 3 months later, I took her out. We went for a hike on the Millbrook Ridge Trail in the Mohonk Preserve the other morning.

She is so happy to have the wind in her ears and a good scent in her nose. She always leads the way. If she stops to have a sniff and I hike pass her, she has to run ahead and re-establish her place in front. Its almost as if she considers herself my Moses, "I will lead you through the wilderness Mom!"