Molly in the rain

is such a saucy fella. ..

Actually no. She hates the rain. I think she is working on becoming a camel because she has decided it is not a good day to go pee. Thankfully aside from today, it’s been quite nice out and Molly has been having a blast chasing cats, squirrels and scents. 

  
“Bird! *cough* *hack* Bird”

Pigeons are her absolute favourite. They are practically her size which makes it hilarious. They also are tricky little fellows, they pretend they don’t see her until she gets real close so she thinks there is hope then they take off and she is left circling and barking. 

  
That’s not Molly. That’s a black sheep. People like to call her a little sheep. I took this picture to show that she doesn’t look like a sheep and seem to have proved myself wrong. 

  
She watched a squirrel bury his stash for days. Then one day I go out to find her digging up the poor guys goodies. Note to squirrels out there: lawns run by dogs make bad hiding places. 

  
The best part of having Molly is that when she isn’t terrorizing local wildlife and pets she is keeping a watchful eyes on the hairless puppies, making sure they don’t run too far ahead, drown in the bathtub, play with sticks without her, scream too loud at the park, or swim too far from shore. 

  
And when she can’t do these things she sleeps. In some pretty funny ways. Current favourite is this muzzle down behind my back and the has to be uncomfortable picture frame for a pillow. 

Overall she is a wonderful dog and we are so happy to have her to spend our days with. 

Scenes from the life of Dog

 Seriously? I love this toy but it’s not necessary to have me wear it.   

100% I am a big dog. 
What? Did you just say “walk”  

Most comfy place to sleep.  

My new friend. 

 

Molly is doing fantastically. Our biggest challenge has been convincing her the kids room is still INside the apartment and the next is why she doesn’t like some people. She’s transitioning to adult food which is complicated! But she so far is eating it (still mixed with puppy food) having a dog with kids sounds kinda loopy but it’s absolutely fantastic. Interestingly she isn’t a fan of fruit. She does like the human/puppy frozen snacks I made with PB and banana however. So do I! 

• 1 cup PB
• 1-2 mashed bananas
• 1/4 cup water (or soy milk) 

Mix with fork until well incorporated the PB and banana. Stir in the water then fill silicone molds or drop small amounts on a parchment lined tray and let set overnight. Once frozen you can keep them in a ziploc to save space. 

When life hands you lemons…..chew the heck out of them

  Molly: my humans all seem a little stressed these days. Only the little boy seems to have understood how good it feels to chew something. I wish I could teach the rest of them. I like to snuggle with them to make them feel better too. Apparently I am not allowed to chew the best things though. I keep having the Lego, paper and plastic taken away from me. When will dog toy manufactures understand that there is no satisfaction toys if you can’t destroy them? I would also like to convey as a PSA I do not like having my sleep disturbed after 8 pm unless you are offering a trip outside, and even then if I could hold it I would pass on this offer, do not disturb my slumber. 

I’m a pretty popular pooch around here (cuteness and all) but for some reason the humans don’t appreciate it when I bark at them on my walks. I made new friends this week though. I went to “daycare” since boy puppy needed surgery and I met some pretty crazy dogs but some Nice ones too and I got to hang out with the humans. 

  Then yesterday they opened the big hospital and 10,000 people walked past us. I was so glad no skateboards were on the walk. We practiced giving 5. I am not sure why the humans like to hold my paw but it gets me treats and peanut butter so I’m not complaining. I’m getting really good at stay and come when treats are involved. Not very fun when there aren’t  any offered. 
The best: belly rubs 

  

The many laps of Molly

  Molly: Being only 10lbs I am naturally a perfect lapdog. I can even curl up into the smallest human lap here. I don’t understand why when I climb in and get settled the human has to do something. It tough having to get comfortable again. The other upside is I can climb into their lap at the dog run and the snappy little dogs can’t get me. I much prefer the big dogs. But sometimes, just when i want to play they jump on the picnic table. I can’t get up. It’s not fair. I also met my vet, he was really nice and gave me treats. I didn’t get to sit in his lap.   

 Human: we’ve had an amazing week! Molly is the best cuddle buddy especially when you need a nap. Though we’ve had to negotiate bed space.  

 For some reason a 10lb dog takes up a lot of room. She also discovered the lake. She didn’t swim but I don’t blame her, it was cold. I didn’t go in either. But she got her feet wet.  

 

Bagel and a salad

I am a montreal bagel addict. There is just no two ways about it. Do not give me a New York bagel that’s just bread. My favourite is pumpernickel closely followed by cinnamon raisin. There is a restaurant that serves montreal bagel sandwiches and salads and they make this great artichoke salad. After exploring the options in my fridge for lunch today I found plenty of salad ingredients including olives and artichokes. And this salad was born. Delicious with a buttered bagel (I use earth balance, I love it ). 

I’ve gotten lazy on the pictures. Mostly because I never think about posting a meal until after I eat it. 

1. I started with a bed of micro greens (pea) from Lufa farms, chopped up some grape tomatoes, orange pepper, green onion, a little green jalapeño, tossed in some artichoke hearts, and sliced green olives and topped it with a scoop of lightly smashed chickpeas and a tad of nayo with a little sea salt (would work with tuna or salmon too if you eat fish) and dressed with a Red wine vinegrette. I wouldn’t call the salad beautiful, but it sure was tasty. It requires a toasted bagel for eating some of the salad on like a cracker. A dog to Hoover up the floor of bagel seeds always helps too. Personally a nice glass of ice tea makes a perfect match and I enjoyed yogurt with granola as a dessert. 

There is no recipe exactly because this is one of those things that gives well to what’s on hand and the salad dressing is simply equal parts oil and red wine vinegar and some salt and pepper. The chickpeas are literally just smashed with a potato masher salt mayo and a little garlic if you like. Super easy. Works well with any leftover sandwich spread actually. I enjoy hummus with these flavours. Experiment. Trust me you will be rewarded. 

Molly gets a haircut and other stories

Molly’s version: dog run = awesome;  Walks = awesome; running = the bomb but the humans are slow; haircuts = not bad but really? Why did they make me smell so bad? I had rolled in all these beautiful smells just the day before! New purple collar = pretty but I’m not a huge fan of my tags around my neck. I’m really good now at staying alone. But I still like to eat a face or two when the humans return. I do believe girl puppy thinks I am a doll however. I need to establish that this is not the case, however I am not sure I am quite large enough to assert my authority over her…

Human version: Molly has had a really great couple days her personality is shining through. Eating really well now she has lots of energy and runs Fast. Particularly if it’s to catch a pigeon. She never ceases to amaze me with what she can do. One thing I’ve discovered though is she has no idea how to entertain herself. So will be working on that so that when I’m cooking dinner she isn’t prowling around putting Lego in her mouth.  Or eating dirty laundry. I am so proud of her for the groomer. She was a champ. We had her professionally groomed short for the summer she definitely looks like a poodle now. Today no one stopped to ask “what is she” all stopped and said “what an adorable poodle” I think because you can see the pointy poodle muzzle better with a short cut.  I can’t thank her previous owners enough for raising such an amazing puppy. Yesterday I was exhausted. So tired I fell asleep at 4 pm on the couch. She slept with me. On my stomach. Was such a pleasant nap. She now only barks or whines to communicate or if startled which is so nice. We are out often so she hasn’t had to bark to go out but fairly sure she would. And she whines/talks to wake up girl puppy who sleeps later than Molly and boy  puppy. This I find adorable and since she doesn’t protest if I take her out of the room it doesn’t bother us at all. Only hiccup has been her appreciation of gourmet cat poop.  We also got her a new harness, but she likes to chew it, so her tags are now on a collar and the harness is just for walks. I just have to learn not to lose the leash. Making puppy dog eyes, for some dog treats during fetch training.

What I like. What I hate. By Molly

I fit well in my new home, like its members I have strong feelings about things. Alpha Mommy strongly believes that I should stay in my crate when she leaves the house and that the human puppies have to eat at the table (I like this, it means crumbs fall right into my waiting mouth). Boy puppy believes he absolutely has to watch Wild Kratts every morning and Girl puppy believes I belong exclusively to her.

So what about me, Molly?

Things I hate:

1. Sewer and manhole covers
2. Transparent food bowls.
3. Wet grass
4. Being alone
5. Dog toys

Things I like:

1. Having a spot on the couch
2. Sleeping with Alpha
3. Running
4. Licking
5. Dirty laundry

Molly makes friends, and shows her empathic side.

 In the past couple days we have been visiting the dog park. Each time we go Molly gets more and more enthusiastic about it. But doesn’t really like the skateboarders. She got lucky Sunday night when the small dog park was full of small dogs.

 She had a great time.

Today I started trying to extend the amount of time I left her crated. But then my son had a horrible fall that sent us to the emergency room and forced me to crate her in a panic and leave. She clearly understood something was wrong. She just looked at us as I ran around grabbing things she didn’t whine or cry or bark (no clue however if she did while we say in emergency.  I don’t know what Molly would say about the last couple days but I have to say I am so grateful to have her in my life. Her 6:30am kisses are my absolute favourite.

Molly was a champion and when we got home she licked us like she had not seen us in a week and was very happy to have a chance to go pee before curling up to sleep!

Molly Visits the Country (and the Hermit Cookie recipe link!)

 

Molly’s Version: The human puppies are a lot of fun but the don’t like to sleep anywhere near as much as I do. I think I have to teach them the joys of a good dog-nap. We went to this giant house with so much grass and flowers and smells and the best part: PEOPLE! I learned that even if Alpha mommy isnt on the same floor as me or home at all I can still play (I discovered “playing house” in tents with the human puppies) and eventually she comes back. I heard there is a lake, and someone told on me that poodles are actually quite strong swimmers, but it thundered so we didn’t have to go down!
Human Version: Molly seemed to love the car ride, she got to sleep which with 2 active children is not an easy feat! I wasn’t sure if I should let her off lead at the cottage or not so we tested it out and she actually did pretty well, the only thing is she is such a people dog that she will follow anyone looking for some cuddles, She stayed on the property but its a large property so sometimes that meant she would get out of eyeshot, so we are digging up the old stake from Molly (the springer) and Mustache, so that Molly (the poodle) can be out with us and stay safe too when we are working or otherwise occupied and can’t follow her around. She inherited a few dog bowls and other paraphenalia from Mustache and then we dropped the kids off at their other grandparents and Molly met “Crazy Daisy” a very excitable cocker spaniel. They got along really well, and played in Daisy’s yard. The kids just can’t get enough of Molly and were sad she couldnt stay at “Mammies” with them. We didn’t do much training except come, as that was pretty important in the country. We did get a lot of opportunities to tackle stairs and it seems her solution is to go as fast as possible up or down them which is adorable. and She is FAST when she runs she runs at full tilt and is a good workout to try to keep up! for a little dog she has a mean stride!

  You can really see how small she is here beside the forget-me-nots!

Hermit Cookies

Since Molly has joined us we have been eating some delicious dishes that I cannot wait to share with you.  first, the cookies that I will forever associate with Molly:

http://foodess.com/6057-spiced-date-raisin-cookies-hermit-cookies.html

I modified this recipe slightly as I only had medjool dates and chopping them for cookies wasn’t working so well so I did 1/3 cup dates, 1/3 cup dried apricots and 1/3 cup raisins. and we used pecans due to a walnut allergy in the house. I used real butter in this recipe as we are testing the lactose/dairy intolerance but I am fairly sure it would work well with a vegetable shortening (I find the margarine’s like Earth Balance don’t quite impart the necessary texture and have better luck with shortening)

A day in the city. Or Molly’s first day with the Tabah’s

Molly’s Version: Today I spent my first day in my new home. Its kinda loud here, even when the kids aren’t home but I am slowly figuring out what all the noises are. and DOGS! and PEOPLE! and SQUIRRELS! but the people don’t always want to say Hi and the big dogs want me to play with them. The pet store and vet people are very nice though! I didnt so much like the goo thats supposed to “protect” me from something called a tick. I am tired since we walked the human puppies to school, then we went to the dog park then we went out again after a nice midday nap to the stores and I got a new bed! I met a baby, some nice small dogs and I met 2 other matching human puppies and the other human puppies all LOVED me.   The downside to my day was when Alpha took the human puppies for dinner and I had to chill alone in the crate but they came back!

Humans version: We had such a fun first day with Molly but boy was it busy. She learned (fairly well) to walk on a leash beside or behind the leash holder, this is amazing! She still pulls a fair bit though and I worry she is putting too much pressure on her joints when she does that so I ordered her a special harness that doesnt allow a dog to pull, its made by the same company that made the gentle leaders that we used in puppy training for guide dogs so its very reassuring to me that they have now made harnesses! We went twice to the dog run, we will keep going back as she is very happy to go in but if too many large dogs come running she looks to me for protection/comfort but she doesnt ask to leave, or otherwise show strong discomfort I think its just getting used to the dogs. there is also a special area just for small dogs, but there were no small dogs there today 😦 though we met Chloe, the dog next door that I haven’t met in all the years I live here. Molly is tired from her day and has discovered the comfort of the bed. I am hoping I can face the whimpers and crate train her soon but for now we are all happier and more rested with her co-sleeping. When the twins had their bath she was scratching her ear and I caught a great picture that looks like “awww please no bath, I am not that dirty”. Having Molly here has brought so much joy into the house, I have joked that she has a secret identity and her super power is transfering psychotropics to the environment around her. Agent Prozac. She did well in the crate when we left, though any noise she thinks is us returning so that I think will take some time for her to understand the different sounds that come from the hallway.

**Blog Followers: welcome to a new section of this blog. the adventures of Mini Poodle Molly who just joined our family. These posts will not have recipes and are a nice way for my friends and family as well as the wonderful family who allowed us to adopt Molly to follow her adaptation and growth! I hope you enjoy her and my rantings as much as we enjoy each other!