It’s Valentine’s Day and our celebration this year is to relax, have a great dinner with good steak, seafood and roasted veggies and to binge watch Breaking Bad.  We’ve been on holidays and spent a beautiful week out in Falcon Lake.  Though the weather was cold we did manage to snowshoe and hike every day. There is something so magical about spending time out in the Canadian Shield, especially in the winter when it’s so quiet… yes… you hear the odd blaring of the snowmobile but during the week it’s quite peaceful.  The trails are beautiful and it’s so nice to be away from television and phones and the guilt of all the things you should be doing and just revolve your time around spending as much of it as possible outdoors… catering to your biggest concern… what to eat.

We came back early because we finally made the appointment to have Brax fixed.  🙁  Not that there was ever really a decision to be made about having it done, just about deciding when to have it done.  Since he’s such a big dog my internet research and our vet thought it was best to wait as long as possible to have him neutered only so that he could have his full hormone compliment for as long as possible for his growth.  One of the things that the internet and vets don’t really talk much about is the propensity of disdain of neutered dogs towards non-neutered dogs.  It seems dogs can tell whether others are fixed or not and so many other things just from sniffing.

Having not been fixed Brax would sometimes be seen as a threat by other dogs at the dog park and they would growl and snap at him… this wasn’t so  much the problem… Brax being almost 90 lbs he’s fine to stand his own ground…. the issue becomes when he has had enough of their pestering and snaps back.  Brax could definitely do more damage than most just given his sheer size and you have to know that any aggressive behaviour would most definitely be blamed on his hormones and not the punk that was pestering him… not an ideology to which we want to contribute.

I wish I could say that I’m not one to cave to convention and wish I’d had a little more backbone about this, at least for a little while.  But I will admit I LOVE the DOGPARK!  It makes my life so easy and his so much more fun.  Having a restless preteen shepherd who is pretty smart is challenging when you lose one of your main outlets for burning off energy… It’s a challenge to keep him entertained for any length of time nevermind in a way that tires him out the way playing and running with other dogs at the park does and we both miss it. I know some folks aren’t so crazy about all the dogs at the park and the perceived lack of control but we love it.  Brax has learned pretty quickly to stay away from the growly dogs, he doesn’t much concern himself with the dogs that don’t seem to be on the same page or don’t want to play the way he does and generally manages to find another dog or two that love to play the way he does.  He has socialized well and we have both made some good friends on the trails. Staying away from the dog park since his hormones have been kicking in has been a struggle.

So… Happy Valentine’s Day my furry pooch….just a few more days of recovery and we’ll be back at the park… In the meantime here are some breath mint cookies to help pass the time we have for the next few days in closed quarters….

Parsley and Mint Dog Breath Cookies

• 1 Cup Steel Cut Oats
• 1 Cup Chick Pea Flour
• 1 Cup Coconut Flour
• 3 Eggs
• 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
• 1/4 Cup Chopped Fresh Parsley
• A bunch fresh chopped mint
• 1/4 – 1/2 Cup Water

Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Blend the eggs and coconut oil in a food processor or bullet (eggs including the shells) and add the mixture into the dry ingredients. Add enough water to make a sticky dough and let it sit for a few minutes. Add in the chopped herbs mix well. The dough should hold together but it won’t act like dough you’re used to if you bake regular cookies, it remains pretty sticky and pasty.

Roll out the dough and cut into shapes.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 – 20 minutes, until crunchy.  These can be stored in a plastic bag in the freeze for up to a month.