Benjamin loves to chew and when he chews for hours on end in the evenings he naturally gets thirsty. During a normal chewing session, he makes a couple of trips to the water bowl and it isn’t uncommon for him to come close to emptying the pugs’ huge water bowl. But while he empties the water bowl, I would be surprised if he actually drinks more than a few tablespoons of water. We have labeled him the most inefficient canine drinker because he somehow always ends up soaking his chin and that cute little bit of extra skin under his neck with water.
I always thought he just dipped his chin in the water while he was drinking, but this super slow motion video of a dog drinking may shed a little bit of light on the subject. In any case, I found this video of how a dog drinks very fascinating.
These knucklebones must be pretty yummy for Henry to give up part of his bed so that the bone may rest comfortably. This particular bone is one of the rejects. Meaning, on the night the knucklebones were given out, this was not the one bone chosen by the pugs that they all wanted to chew. So, it will sit, untouched for days until someone starts chewing on it and makes it interesting enough for all the pugs. In the meantime, Henry is being a hospitable host. Yesterday, when I walked by the bone was in the center of the pillow and Henry was sleeping between the wall and the pillow! Which of course made me shake my head because Henry will give up his bed for a bone, but won’t budge for me when I need him to scoot over a bit so I can get my whole body on the bed at night. The boy obviously doesn’t know where his pumpkin bread is buttered.
This is the scene on most Saturday nights. Heck, who am I kidding. It is pretty much like this every night. The only thing that makes this picture less realistic is that the cat is not perched on the back of the couch. The sofa has three cushions and each one of the pugs has claimed a cushion for themselves. Good thing the pugs are lap dogs or else the humans of the house would be left seeking comfortable seating elsewhere.
Ann was kind enough to send over her pugkin bread recipe for me to share. So without further ado, here it is!
½ c. unbleached all purpose flour
½ c. whole wheat flour
½ c. buckwheat flour
½ c. old-fashioned oatmeal
1 T. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
¼ t. salt
¼ t. nutmeg
¼ t. ginger
1 can pumpkin
2 eggs
1 T. flaxseed
2 T. wheat germ
½ c. milk
2 T. plain yogurt
¾ c. unsweetened applesauce
Blend ingredients and spoon into prepared (greased and floured) pans. I use three small loaf pans…or you can use one large loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then remove loafs to a rack and cool completely. Serves three hungry pugs….or one Benny.
Note: This is a very flexible recipe…you can add or subtract here and there to suit the tastes and food sensibilities of your pugs. If they have allergies to milk or eggs, for example, add more applesauce to moisten the recipe. I sometimes add a little more oatmeal (love that fiber!), adding just a touch more yogurt or milk for additional liquids. Oh, and if the pugs will share, this is perfectly suitable for humans, particularly if you are trying to cut down on sugar in your diet. One more note…I make my own applesauce for this recipe, and I make it using unpeeled apples. More fiber and vitamins to boot!
