Count them!  22 dogs in the picture….all vying for the veggies being thrown off the deck by Don.  You can see pieces in the air.  My dogs LOVE vegetables.  They also love grass, dandelions and young fireweed.  I believe in feeding a diet that is rich in variety, as feeding a straight kibble all of the time can get pretty boring.  Many dog foods these days are incorporating vegetables and fruits into their formulas.  I think this is a good thing.  I have been doing this for years, only in the raw and sometime steamed variety.  We keep a bucket in the refrigerator for any let over scraps and when it is full we disperse it to the crowd.  They always know when Don walks out onto the deck with a bucket that they are going to get treats.  I also pick dandelions and fireweed often and let them chow down.  In the winter I just put it in their dog food.   There is a lot of information on the web about what is good and what is bad for dogs in the line of veggies.  So, no need to throw away those carrot tops or ends, or the lettuce that is slightly wilted.  The dogs will eagerly recycle it all.

ME?  Sweet little Ivan?  That is what his face always seems to say.  We had this boy here as a foster for a month before he went on to his new home in Kodiak.  Ivan got a along with every dog.  He loves to play and is full of energy and happiness.  BUT…he loved to chew!  Trees were one of his favorites.  Any tree in his freedom yard that he could get his mouth around ended up shredded into small twigs.  He also chewed the phone line on the pole after which ACS wrapped it in conduit.  A day later he chewed the plastic box off the phone lines and ACS was back again.  We put wire around the pole but Ivan left the next day.

He also LOVED to play with rocks.  big rocks.  He would roll them around the yard with his front feet then pick them up and bring them to you.  I couldn’t believe the size of rocks he could pick up and carry with his little frame.  His poor teeth.  And all of this he had energy to do on top of playing hard with 4 other dogs that were always in that yard.

Fur is flying this time of the year.  I love the way that huskies rarely drop a strand of fur throughout the winter yet bolt their whole coat over the course of the summer.  I love to brush dogs and all of my dogs love to be brushed.  I usually sit outside in my chair and the dogs surround me wanting to be brushed.  I have a little wire brush and also a furminator.  The dogs usually have a preference as to what they like me to use.  The undercoat is often a different color than the dog presents itself.  Beans (in the picture standing with her eyes closed) is a grey dog but sheds all her white undercoat.  I like to see the pile of fur and the different colors and textures.

I should start taking before and after pictures.  Some dogs bolt their coat quickly and others I am brushing piles of fur out all summer.  I really think it is important to keep your dogs well groomed.  It stimulates their skin and helps to alleviate mats and tangles in the longer coated dogs.  And I just think it is FUN to brush.  Definitely helps to keep that strong bond with your dog.  I have rarely come across a dog that doesn’t like to be brushed.  It feels good to them too.