Boccancini Italiani ;)

Ciao! 

It's been an exciting/stressful week at home with the new puppy, and the husband has been oversleeping every morning, thanks to Miele's late-night peepee adventures.  At least it's only once a night, which is not something I can say about baby Biscotti back in the day.  I still remember taking turns with my husband at least twice a night to carry the little chub-butts out into the snow.  Then I had to wait there for ten minutes until he finally remembered he had to tinkle.  I realized it was totally worth it, the first time he waddled back to his gabbia all by himself!  Now, since we've moved, I just roll out of bed and open the door that's five feet away.  Pretty sweet.  Speaking of Scotes, here's him sunbathing the other day:

I don't know of any other huskies who like to sunbathe.  Huskies are comfortable in temperatures as low as negative 60 degrees, so why would he like the sun that much?  Maybe he wishes he was darker?  Or maybe he needs more vitamin D in his diet.  One thing I do know is he makes a great big brother!  He always watches over Miele while she's in her gabbia, and we recently caught them holding paws one night.

It's okay.  They know they're brother and sister.  Plus they're Italian, so they're naturally a little more affectionate than usual. 

Miele knows how to siedeti (sit) and give zampetta (paw).  She catches on really fast!  I think she may surpass her brother one day...  First we need to get through the basics, such as "gentle" and "don't bite the peanut butter spoon."  Her coat is also getting a little softer, maybe due to the fact she is now an inside dog, or she may not have been getting enough fats in her raw diet she grew up on.  I also give her salmon sometimes as a treat for the Omega-3s, but I don't really do the supplement thing.  Any ideas on foods that keep a dog's coat soft and shiny? 

I got an idea to use a can of tomato paste (one of those tiny 6-ouncers) in the treat recipe instead of peanut butter, and then throw in some cheese and dried italian herbs to make Boccancini Italiani!!  They came out smelling like pizza!  They also came out pretty chewy, so Miele can only eat tiny pieces at a time since she has a hard time chewing with her puppy teeth that are falling out.  She lost one of her canines the other night, and judging by the size of her new front teeth, they're gonna be huge!  Scotti catches them in mid-air and swallows them without chewing, like he does with any other treat, his eyes never leaving mine in case I have more.  Sometimes I wonder if he likes the idea of getting a treat even more than the actual treat.  I worry about him.

Here's the recipe.  I will be branching out into different types of treats soon, with ingredients other than wheat or oat flour, so stay tuned!

Boccancini Italiani

3 cups wheat flour  (substitute with oat/brown rice flour for wheat allergies)
6oz can tomato paste
Handful of grated cheese (not processed, parmesan or pecorino are great)
Generous sprinkling of Italian herbs
1 egg
3/4 cup water


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all ingredients until dough forms, then roll out to desired thickness.  Cut out shapes and bake on foil-lined cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes.  Let cool and mangiate!!

Piacere, Miele!

Well, we came home with the newest member of our family on Thursday after work.  I sat in the backseat with her on the way home while my husband drove.  She was very scared.  I don't think we realized how shy she was when we got her.  She was either the lowest in her pack, or just not socialized very well with humans.  The Vlcak/Husky encounter went very well.  I took Miele to a field next to our house, and my husband got Scotti and met us there.  After Scotti growled and barked at her, obviously because his mom was walking another dog, they seemed to like each other, with Scotti clearly establishing his dominance.  She does alright with other dogs, but she either hasn't had much human contact, or she had a bad experience with one.  Unfortunately, she is already 4 months old, which is the age when most of her socialization should be done already (or so I've read). 

But we've been working on it!  When we first brought her home, all she wanted to do was hide in her kennel.  In Italy and in our house, they call it a "gabbia," which is much more fun to say.  Plus, we all know Scotti loves his Gabbia wine! 

So she huddled in the corner of her gabbia all morning, until a few hours passed of me lying down beside her and talking to her in between laundry and house cleaning.  She wouldn't eat any treats, poor thing, until I remembered what a certain young lady I know who happens to be a German Shepherd LOVES...cheese!!  This is Bella, by the way.  She is the GSD that Scotti grew up with.

I know that too much cheese can cause puppy back-up, so I only took a few tiny pieces.  She was already starting to warm up to me at that point, but when I offered her the cheese, she stood up immediately, wagged her little coda (tail) and gobbled it up!  From then on, she sat with her paws out of the gabbia in a much more relaxed position.

Since then, we've been taking her on walks (or sporadic dartings, in her case) to the neighbor's house every night.  They have a golden retriever and an adorable little boxer/shepherd.  Mia seems to do okay with other dogs after they meet, but people are so scary!  She warms up to certain people, but she still sits by mom or dad when we're in a new place.  My mother-in-law came by to visit, and she ended up behind the toilet in the guest bathroom.  Mia, not mom.  I should've taken a picture, but that was not her proudest moment.  It's definitely a process, but she's already improved a lot.  She's been following Scotti around the house and going outside to do her lady business.  She's never gone in the house, except for when she got the pee scared out of her a few times.  Other than that, I'm so proud of her!!!

**********

Here is the recipe, as promised, for Peanut Butter Boccancini (treats)!
*Always make sure your dog does not have allergies to any of the ingredients, and give treats in moderation!

Makes 3-4 dozen, depending on size of treat.

3 cups whole wheat flour (can substitute half oat flour and brown rice flour for wheat allergies)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 Tbs honey
1 egg
2/3 cup water

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until a dough is formed.  You can use a portion immediately and freeze the rest in plastic wrap or a plastic bag for later to ensure the treats don't go stale.  Roll out the dough to the desired thickness (1/4-1/2 inch) and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes.  I used a dog-shaped one from World Market and the lid of an espresso cup for round ones, since I'm so Italian.  Place on an ungreased or foil-lined, non-stick cookie sheet.  These don't rise, so you can place them as close together as you want.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, depending on thickness.  Make sure to store these in an air-tight container.  Tell your dog I said "Your welcome."

Three More Days!!!

My husband and I are sooo excited to bring home the newest member of our family!  Better than a baby....better than a Lab.....it's a Czechoslovakian Vlcak!!!

A what???

It's the most beautiful dog known to man (other than the Siberian Husky, of course).  The AKC-recognized (Foundation Stock Service) breed originated about 50 years ago when the Czech government starting breeding German Shepherds with Carpathian wolves to work with the border patrol.  Later, they were mainly used for search and rescue and became an FCI standard breed (aka legit) in 1999.  Long story short, GSD+Wolf= Freakin Sweet Dog.  They were bred to have the attitude and brains of a shepherd with the strength and stamina of a wolf.  Here are some pictures from wikipedia.org:

I first learned about the CV on wolfdog.org.  My husband wanted a wolf-hybrid, which I would never go for, and I was leaning towards a shepherd dog, so I found the best of both worlds.  It's hard to understand for most people, including my husband's family, that this is not a wolf-hybrid.  The AKC does not recognize wolf-hybrids.  It did start out as one over 50 years ago, but has since been domesticated and interbred for many generations, just like any other breed. 

It's basically a super-charged German Shepherd.  It is courageous, strong, social, graceful, and sooo cool-looking.  They are known to be shy and wary of strangers.  The Vlcak is said to have great relationships with its owners and family, as well as other domesticated animals in the household.  It's very smart, but must be socialized and discouraged from chasing small animals, just like any other dog.  The only downfall I see is trainablility.  Possible, of course, but sometimes difficult, which we are very accustomed to with our Siberian Husky, Biscotti.  This is him:

He grew up with a German Shepherd during his first 4 months, so we think he'll do just fine with a Vlcak. Since the Siberian Husky is considered the closest related breed to the wolf, Scotti and the Vlcak will most likely have some similarities in behavior.  Both breeds communicate in ways other than barking.  They use mostly body language, howling, grunting, whining and growling.  Biscotti grunts a lot.  He never learned to howl, except when he's left alone, so hopefully our Vlcak can teach him.  Since Vlcaks are wary of strangers, we're hoping it can serve as a guard dog, a position in which Biscotti unfortunately, but adorably, fails.  Both breeds are also very intelligent, which actually makes them harder to train.  They both possess high energy levels.

Now to the Vlcak!  She is four months old, and she's the first Vlcak born in Texas, y'all!  They have only been bred in the U.S. for several years.  There are currently three breeders in the country, selling them mainly for search and rescue, as well as showing and breeding.  Ours will be a well-loved member and guardian of our household, which is just as honorable, and will probably be trained to find things.  I am also hoping she will have enough shepherding skills to round up our Husky when he's being "independent."  Here she is!

 

I've decided to name her Miele (mee-eh-lay, or Mia for short), which means honey in Italian.  I thought it went well with Biscotti (Bee-sko-tee, or Scotti for short), which means cookie.  Both dogs will understand their commands in Italian. 

We get her on Thursday, so come back next time to see how it went!  I'll have pictures of Scotti and Miele's introduction, and hopefully playtime and lovings rather than bloodshed and maulings.  I'll also share a recipe for some homemade puppy treats!  Wish me luck!