Good Things Come in Threes

Or is it omens that come in threes?

Whatever the case, my canine family grew again a year after we got Sophie and Sadie. We found out about a Frenchie that was looking for a home because her owners were being forced out of their house to an apartment that did not accept animals. Sadly, this is a really common story these days with all of the home foreclosures and job loss.

We had recently seen a red mask Frenchie at a dog park and she looked like a smaller version of the one we had seen. They're less common than other colors of Frenchies and I love the mask look, like a mini mastiff. Since we would never go to a breeder, it was fate that brought this Frenchie in need of adoption into our path.

We met with her owners in a parking lot in the Central Valley, after exchanging many emails and phone calls. Immediately you could tell that the dog had been cared for and loved, and the woman was teary knowing that she was giving her up. We brought Sophie and Sadie with us, and since all of the dogs got along, we knew it was meant to be. She was in great health, and a happy and confident girl, so different from the situation that we had picked Sophie up from. She was so physically fit that her jumps at the park would attract an audience, especially if there was a hose involved. We decided to re-name her Penny, because of her beautiful copper coat. We felt so lucky to have found such a great sister for our other dogs, and the people were full of gratitude to us for giving her a great home.

So now we had 3 female dogs of relatively the same age in the house, and as happens in a pack, one dog emerges as dominant. Ours was Penny. She was fantastic with people, totally respectful of the cats, but she was constantly on guard with her two dog siblings. Sadie is an extremely submissive dog, and I have never seen her get in a skirmish with another dog, so she just worked around Penny's dominant behavior and engaged her in play, forming a bond between them. Sophie on the other hand got the brunt of Penny's alpha nature, finding herself growled at, snapped at, and in one unpleasant incident, even pinned to the ground by her throat. It was really upsetting to watch, especially since we had worked so hard to bring Sophie out of her shell, and I could see her regressing.

I worked with them for months, and watched every episode of The Dog Whisperer or It's Me or the Dog that I could find, trying to choose the best way to prevent and correct the behavior. Cesar Millan and Victoria Stillwell have two very different philosophies and styles, but there are common themes in both of their methods. What finally worked is that I had to watch their every move, and if her body language even suggested dominance over Sophie, I stepped in and put myself between them, or made a loud "Uh uh" sound to let her know that what she was doing, or about to do, was not acceptable. Let me tell you, it is exhausting to be glued to your dogs at every moment, looking for signs of aggression, but I sure learned a lot. Frenchies do this thing that is unique, and once you learn to spot it, you can prevent a lot of bad behavior. Right before they are about to strike, they get really still and really quiet. They might give a slight warning growl, but the key is that they are still like statues with their muscles taught and their eyes focused on their intended object. And then POW they launch themselves like bowling balls, and you see their true bulldog nature, which is that they don't stop and they don't let go until they have "won". This is why, in my opinion, it is important to stop the behavior before it starts.

I want to break here to talk about understanding the nature of a breed before adopting a dog, as this is an issue that is near and dear to my heart. Just because a dog has a cute appearance does not mean that it's going to automatically behave in a civilized manner, and Frenchies often fall victim to people who have no understanding of dogs or especially bulldog breeds, they just want something cute and funny at the end of their leash. Frenchies absolutely require a strong leader - meaning not strong in the physical sense, but one who will be unfailing in setting boundaries and working with them. They are as stubborn as they are smart, and while they want to please you, they do not usually deal with confrontation well, especially if it comes from a dog. And those little bodies are strong, forceful, and with a jaw that can clamp shut like a steel trap. On the other side of their nature, they are extremely needy of their human companions, and get really stressed if left alone too long. It's really no surprise that the #1 and #2 reasons I see Frenchies end up in rescue is 1/ they don't get along with other dogs and 2/ owners do not have enough time to give them.

OK, so back to my personal situation with my little pack. Penny has been with us about 10 months now, and everyone gets along great. She has learned to trust us and the other animals in our home, and that fighting is not allowed. The three of them have a wonderful play style that usually makes people stop and look at the park (usually the two Frenchies chasing Sadie). It's only on rare occasions that her old tendencies come out, but I don't feel like I have to have eyes on her every second like I used to. And Sophie now feels confident in her own home, the way she should.

Penny will always try to be the dominant dog, but as long as her behavior stays in check, we accept that. I believe that dogs are ok following a natural hierarchy among themselves, as long as they all accept that I am ultimately in charge. And at her core, she is a loving, loyal, sweet dog who reminds us to find joy and seize every day. Preferably not by the throat.

What's For Dinner?

One trait that Frenchie owners are well aware of is their tendency to have gas. Bad gas. Room-clearing gas.

Marry that with a particular Frenchie with not one, but two skin conditions, and a yeast issue in her ears.

Marry that with an extremely picky sister-dog who would look at her food bowl, look at you, and look back at her food bowl as if to say "Seriously? You expect me to eat that?"

One thing I have noticed over the years is that most commercial kibble makes the gas issue much worse (as does fried people-food like French Fries, which Frenchies, appropriately, adore. Resist for your own safety!). There are some decent dry foods out there, like ZiwiPeak, Candida, and some others, but a lot of them are like giving junk food to your dogs.

Beware of wheat flour, which can be found in many dog treats and kibble, and is a culprit for causing skin allergies, as well as corn and soy.

I decided that it was time that I learned to make my dogs' food. That way I would know exactly what was going into it, and it would be made up of whole foods, nothing processed. I chose some main ingredients: a protein (usually ground turkey, but sometimes ground pork, ground chicken, cut up chicken breast, cut up steak), brown rice, sweet potato (fiber, easy to digest, anti-oxidants), some green vegetable (usually peas, but whatever else I have around like asparagus, zucchini, green beans, spinach - also for fiber), and carrots (good for the skin and coat). That's it!

Almost 2 years later, I have streamlined the process and it really takes hardly any time at all. It's totally worth it and costs about the same or less than high-grade dog food from a store. My dogs never have digestive issues and only rarely have gas. It is always appealing to them and they lick their bowls clean, and then they switch places and lick each other's bowls clean. I make it in big batches that feed my three dogs for 2-3 days.

One important thing that I always add is Missing Link food supplement. You can find it at most medium-to-high end pet stores. It adds Omega-3 fatty acids as well as additional fiber for good digestion.

People ask me for my recipe all of the time, so I am going to publish it here. The neat thing is that it's a great way to use up food that you already have at home, like maybe some meat that has been in the freezer too long, that handful of broccoli left over from a recipe, etc. The theory now is not to stick to one kind of food, but to mix it up.

I have 3 dogs, so I use a huge 10 cup rice cooker that we got at a local Asian grocery store. If you want to make less, just halve the recipe and make it in a normal sized rice cooker. You can also do everything on the stove, but that means cooking the meat and rice separately and is a lot more time consuming. And a slow cooker gives a gummy texture to the rice that is not appealing.

TrickDog Stew

• 3 cups brown rice
• 5-6 cups water
• 1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 handful shredded carrots
• 1 handful cut-up green vegetables, such as frozen peas, squash, green beans
• 1 lb. raw meat, such as ground turkey (thigh meat is ideal), ground pork, ground beef, ground chicken, or cut-up meat of your choice.

Put all ingredients in a 10 C. rice cooker, making sure not to go over the fill line.

Set to cook.

When done, mix in 4-6 teaspoons of Missing Link powder. Mash up the sweet potato to combine.

Add some chicken or beef broth if desired, low sodium is best.

Allow to cool completely before serving.

Refrigerate leftovers.

Some things you can add:

- leftover scrambled eggs

- canned pumpkin (good for stomach problems)

- cottage cheese (good for extra calcium, digestion) - some dogs are sensitive to dairy, so be aware

- plain yogurt (good for extra calcium, digestion, probiotics) - some dogs are sensitive to dairy, so be aware

Some things to NEVER add:

- onions

- garlic

- cooked bones, such as chicken bones

Give it a try and let me know what you think! This is a great recipe for dogs recovering from illness or surgery as well.

I realize that most people won't cook for their dogs on a regular basis, but what you should take away from this is that you should be really thoughtful about what you are giving them. Read labels, read articles, educate yourself, and talk to pet store owners that you trust. Good nutrition leads to less vet visits and longer life for your dogs, and who doesn't want that?

Everyone Needs a BFF

Right after we got Sophie, we realized that her fears were not allowing her to enjoy life as a young dog should, probably because she was never allowed to run free, play, and just be a dog. The best lessons dogs learn are from other dogs, because they communicate on a purely intuitive level (rather than an intellectual one, like we do, which can send very mixed signals to dogs), and because they instinctively take their cues from other pack members ("is it safe?" "should I be alarmed?"). She was also having severe separation anxiety, and at that time we were crating her for her own protection and the protection of our house as she was a bit of a nervous chewer.

We decided that she needed a sister, a dog of a different personality type that she could learn with and who would keep her company, and who would encourage her to play and explore.

We saw Sadie (then called Sage) on The Milo Foundation's website. She was listed as a 7 month old puppy, believed to be half Daschund and half Australian Cattle Dog. We loved her curious expression and beautiful merle coloring and contacted the rescue center, who put us in touch with the foster family immediately.

When animals are in foster homes, they usually do a lot better than ones that are kept in kennels. They learn how to socialize, and are usually part of an animal family, so they learn to find their place within a group. Plus they get to sleep on couches, go to the park, and all of the other things that pups love to do!

The most important criteria on our list was that Sophie approved any new addition to the family. So we packed her up in the car and drove over to Oakland on a Saturday afternoon, hoping for the best.

Sophie was scared of the new neighborhood, scared to go up the steps of the building, but as soon as she got into the foster parents' home, she was fine. Living with the very nice young couple were Sage, and another foster dog, Louie. They seemed great in the house, but we wanted to make sure that once they were in the yard, they played nicely together.

It was an immediate fit. Sage was the perfect combination of energy and respectful submission. She was obviously intelligent and knew a few tricks, and Sophie responded very well to her. We knew that she was the right dog for us, and could not wait to take her home.

Luckily, we didn't have to. Normally, you have to go through the application procedure and home check in order to adopt a dog (and rightfully so), but the fosters also believed that we were a great fit and called Milo to see if we could take Sage home with us that day. They already had our application on file, so with the fosters' recommendation we were able to pay by phone and she was ours! It was a very happy day for all, especially Sophie. We were confident that due to Sage's respectful nature, she would do well with our two cats, Simon and Hugo, as well.

We wanted to change Sage's name, but one thing I always do with a rescue animal is try to choose something somewhat related to the original name. When I was growing up, my grandmother had a beautiful grey Persian cat named Sadie who lived to be about 20, and was the apple of my grandmother's eye. Sadie's best friend was Pamela, a black Persian cat that didn't love other people, but certainly loved my grandmother and Sadie. So that is how Sage became Sadie.

Here is what Sadie and Sophie looked like in their first week together at home:

Life today for these two is as one unit: Sadie & Sophie, Sophie & Sadie. They sleep together, play together, groom each other, and eat side by side. If Sophie wanders off in the park, which she tends to do, I just have to say to Sadie "Where's Sophie?" and she rounds her up for me. They are truly "sisters" in every sense of the word. We soon learned Sadie came with her own set of anxieties - nervous, pacing energy (especially at night), and a tendency to nip and be mouthy when excited. True to her Cattledog roots, she is very cautious of new people and new situations, and takes it takes awhile to earn her trust. But once that trust is earned, she is an amazingly loyal and joyful dog. Her entire body wags when you walk through the door, and she is hilarious to watch when she throws her bone in the air and catches it in her mouth. Sophie proved to be a calming force for her as well, so it really was, and is, a two-way relationship. Now I can't imagine one without the other.

How wonderful to know that you have a partner as you go through life's many adventures.

Meet & Greet

So what is a TrickDog, you might ask? Two things. At the turn of the century, there were cast iron mechanical banks created with the name "Trick Dog" on the front, with a clown and a little dog who would jump through a hoop when you put a coin in. When I was just starting my dog treat company a year ago, I was looking for a name and I just happened to have one of those antique banks on my mantle. So that is how TrickDog Treats became the name of my company.

But in order to know the heart and soul from which TrickDog Treats started, you have to first meet Sophie, who is both my dog and the company mascot. We adopted her in April 2010, and 1 week later adopted her sister Sadie, and then a year later, her other sister Penny.

Sophie is our second French Bulldog. Our first, Lucy, was a faithful and loving member of our family for 10 years. I still miss her every day. It makes me smile to think that she knows that it took 3 dogs to help us heal from her loss.

Sophie was advertised on eBay, like a used piece of machinery. Her "family" had bought her to breed, then decided not to, probably because they realized how expensive it would be (artificial insemination and c-section). She was 16 months old and had never lived in a house, gone for a walk, and did not even have a name. She was so weathered from living outdoors that our vet initially thought that she was at least 9 years old. She was not even a year and a half old at that point. She had demodex (mange), a staph infection, ear infection, and eye infection. She was overweight and under socialized. She was so afraid that all she would do is crawl on the ground, like she was trying to disappear. We were determined to give her the life that she deserved, not as a "thing", but as a dog, and a member of our family.

I spent hours, weeks, and months letting her get to know and trust me, and teaching her basics, like housebreaking and how to walk on a leash. Everything was frightening to her. We decided that another dog would be comforting to her as she went through the learning process, and as soon as we adopted Sadie (her story to follow in a later post), they were best friends.

Six months later, when I decided to start a dog treat company, I knew that Sophie was going to be my logo. Her sweet nature, her determination, and her unfailing loyalty to me are all of the things that I cherish in her. Even her sometimes sneaky and lazy ways, which are so typical of a Frenchie. Somehow they make even the worst traits endearing (and those traits are really not so bad).

Here she is on my packaging as it looks today, standing confidently and proudly, the picture of strength. No longer the crawling-on-the-ground dog. That's my Sophie.