Raw Food Diet, Day 290- On Preparing for My Guest

I found out just last night that my grandhuman is coming to visit! Can't you see my excitement?No really... I'm super pumped. It's been a year since I last slobbered on my grandhuman and I can't wait to do it again. I'm a bigger beast now and even better at it. We're talking full slobber coverage now! Sweetness. I hope she's ready!

To Prepare for grandhuman's arrival, Big Pupi and I made sure that the apartment was up to snuff and ready to impress. First I nibbled on dad's sock for a while, just to make sure it would be nice and soggy for when grandma arrived.
Then all that quality chewing made me sleepy and I tested out the sock as a snoozel snuggly - just in case grandma got lonely and needed something that stank of Stanislaw to sleep with. I'm very comforting like that.
Mom put on some Animal Planet (my favorite!) while she was cleaning to keep Pupi and me occupied. We really like the sounds that come from those shows. Pupi is especially obsessed with any and all kitty sounds. He'll bounce awake from the deepest of snoozels when he hears a one of those kitten/alien dogs and he looks for them like a mad man.

He helped prepare for grandma by ensuring that our home was free of feast-stealing cats. He checked behind the TV table~
And in the CD player (in the outside chance that a rare frisbee-kitty tried to hide)~
And assessed the status of the DVR cubby~
And between the wall and the TV~
Nope. No luck this time. Danggit!

After all that kitty hunting and sock preparation, Pupi and I decided that we needed to refuel and tried to move dad's dinner feast into our mouths with the power of the spaniel stare.
I learned on that night that the spaniel stare isn't all that powerful. Arg.

Mom said that there's still one more thing that we need to do before grandma arrives. She never said exactly what that is, but she promised that I'll find out as the day goes on. I hope it involves feasting! I did catch a glimpse of her taking out our grooming bag and preparing towels by the tub. And I saw that bottle of green goo that she rubs on my butt that makes me smell like fresh mountain breezes and morning dew. Major yuck-o. But seriously... even my dorky mom knows how important it is for me to stink like a beast, especially if grandhuman is in town! I mean, without my manly smell how will she ever recognize me?

So what else is there to do before she arrives?
I'll let you know once I find out.

Stanislaw the Man-islaw.

Raw Food Diet, Day 287- Going Nutty

Holy Feasting! Today mom had to go to a human vet to get some skin pricks before she's able to volunteer with my brother at hospitals. I got all depressed and upset that she was totally abandoning us and leaving us at home without any humans around for entertainment. Where were my people to provide me with feasts?!

Well, when she returned she pulled a jar full of some of the most delicious treats I have ever laid my tongue on. PEANUT BUTTER! I would trade all of my bully sticks for a spoonful of the good stuff. When that lid was popped and the fresh peanutty aroma of goodness reached my spaniel nostrils I lost all control and began to vibrate from schnozzle to bum.

IsThatForMe?!!?? I couldn't keep my thoughts straight. I saw a human feasting tool swirling about in that magical jar and when it appeared it was dripping with buttery feasts!My mom, (who is usually dorky but on rare occasions like this she is totally cool), took big globs and smooshed it into Pupi's and my treat balls. Pupi gets the Everlasting Fun Ball because he's a gentle jawed boy:
And his manly beastly brother (me!) got the mondo-sized kong for mega chewers.
After mom let us lick off the spoon which took a while and lots of nose licks because it's so sticky, and then it was fabulous peanutty tasting time! My eyes bulged from my face in pure delight.
My dorky brother, in his usual dainty way, gingerly lapped at his feast-filled treat ball.
I wonder if I could hunt down these peanut butter creatures outside and eat them! Do you think those tasty squirrels are responsible? I know they're up to something.... maybe it's making peanut butter!
Mom set out towels for us to lie on and play with our treats, but we just weren't having it. Big Pupi went straight to the carpet.
I zoomed to the sofa. Mom made me jump off while she put the towels on there and then I was allowed to resume my tasty snacking in comfort, which is how I should be allowed to eat all the time.
Aw man. It was SO GOOD! I refused to believe that the toys had been emptied and I kept digging at them for hours after the tastiness had been eaten. My tongue-polisher licked them both to a nice shine. Even then I kept looking for more. I couldn't stop myself! I'm starting to think that I need a program to help me with this new addiction. I've got peanut butter on the brain and just can't seem to shake it. I'm totally cool with 12 steps, as long as they each involve finding me some more peanut butter. I need to feast!



Big Pupi enjoyed his tastiness so much, he kept winking, and I lost complete control of my tail.

You guys have got to get yourself some of this! And I've got to get myself some more!!
Stanislaw

Raw Food Diet, Day 283- How to Hunt a Stuffy in 4 Easy Steps

STEP ONE

Act coy and uninterested around your victim. Smile a little. Wait for it to put its guard down.

STEP TWO
Employ a handy human to snag the stuffy. Humans are there for the sole purpose of playing with you.
Thrash the stuffy within an inch of its life.


STEP THREE
Growl intermittently. Let everyone knows who the Beast is in your house.
Leave no room for imposters.

STEP FOUR
Avoid Step Four.
Do not shove your victorious stuffy-filled face in places where it doesn't belong and doesn't fit.

I always forget Step Four.
Stanislaw

Raw Food Diet, Day 282- My Nose Is In A Bad Mood

I am a beast of many moods.
But when I received news of a trip to the vet in the puke-mobile and Bordatella vaccines up my sensitive schnozzle, I was a very sad beast.Today's To-Do List was a little crazy for a wee puppy such as myself. Remind me to take that vacation day I've been saving up.


1 morning fast hunt
+
1 schnozzle assault by the vet tech
=
2 much for Stanislaw for one day


Turn off the sun! It's nappies time!
Stanislaw

Raw Food Diet, Day 280- Final Exams

***
Big Pupi here:
I passed! Check out the newest certified therapy dog in Chicago~

We almost didn't make it to the test because of the massive Obama rally that's going on this evening in my city. Roads are closed and there's supposed to be 1 million humans attending the event. Do you think they'd all like to pet my mohawk for good luck? My car is parked in a garage that's right in the middle of all the action, but fortunately we managed to make it out and back in again. Now I'm home and totally pooped after my exciting morning.

The hardest part of the test for me was the Leave It exercise. We never practiced that one in class! There was a HUGE hunk of delicious cheese just asking to be feasted on - sitting on the floor right within my reach. We walked loops around the cheese and I was seriously tempted to scrap the whole thing and just chow down. I had to Heel Like Good Boy and be Have and the leash had to be loose the whole time. It was a close call on more than one occasion.

When I was being tested on my tolerance of being handled all over by a stranger, I melted to the floor and decided that I'd rather get a belly rub instead. That earned me extra scritches in my leg pits which was totally awesome. The humans also got a huge kick out of my new trick called Paws, which tells me I must put my front feet on a human's knee so they can pet me. We use this one if a friendly human is sitting or in a wheel chair, and I'm totally game for anything that gets me extra pets. It's a sweet deal.

In the end, the instructor said I passed with flying colors which is appropriate because I'm now a full-fledged member of the Rainbow AAT group. Once my lame-o mom finishes the human set of requirements we'll go for our final evaluation. During this process I will attend a therapy program and the various program chair people decide for which of the programs I am best suited. (Even though I've already been scoped out by the Hope program coordinator and matched up with them!) We're hoping to have everything done before mid-December so we can start volunteering during the holidays.

I can't wait! I'll even share my dehydrated lamb's liver and fish treats with the kids!

Chilling with my new diploma,
Big Pupi

***
Stanislaw says:

I am so honored!! I received a wonderful Butterfly Award from Niamh which is totally sweet and awesome! I tried to post the picture of it but blogger is not cooperating. You can read Naimh's post here.

And I also received a major shout-out from my blogging buddies and I'm super pumped to say that I tied for DWB's Post of the Month! My mug is on the main page of the website. How cool! Thanks all for voting, and I couldn't imagine sharing the recognition with a cooler pup than Toffee. Today was filled with good news all around!

Time to bark at the noisy folks attending the Obama rally,
Stanislaw

Raw Food Diet, Day 279- My Guest

I had a super crazy awesome weekend!
My auntie visited me and it was non-stop snug time on her lap and awesome walkies through town. I got to show off my territory marking skillz and my super speedy running abilities at the bark park. She was amazed! While my family relaxed on some grass and watched the waves in my lake (Lake Michigan), I squirmed and wiggled about looking for tasty creatures in the grass. Auntie loved my beastly hunting know-how! Big Pupi had a great time making faces at the camera and generally being a goofball in every photo mom tried to take.Since our weeble park has been closed for renovations, Pupi and I have had to do our Good Boy on sidewalks and asphalt, which isn't nearly as satisfying as weebling on some nice fresh grass. We don't see grass too often in the city and we miss it desperately! When we finally got to rest our bellies on the cool lush greenness there was no stopping us. We went crazy! Pupi thrashed like he'd never seen grass before.After a totally great few hours trekking about town, Big Pupi and I arrived home as hungry as beasts. To quiet our growling tummies (and placate our begging cocker eyes), our people gave us some fresh bully sticks. Big Pupi invented a new way to eat his:I think that those tasty bullies give him Anti-Gravity Bum! No matter what my humans did, Pupi would not put his bottom to the floor while working on that tasty feast. What my brother and I didn't realize at the time was that these bully treats were meant to tide us over until our VERY late dinner feasting. My feast found its way into my mouth over 4 HOURS late! I thought I was going to expire from starvation at that point. My selfish people went to a comedy show at The Second City, and I want them to know that while they were laughing their pants off I was withering away to nothing. Cruelty!

I guess in the end I had to let that one slide since my weekend in general was an amazing time. I think I like my auntie quite a bit. She reminds me of my dad, except I wasn't able to eat her socks or shoes. She keeps those delicious items locked away in some sort of magical chest for humans that only opens on their command. I just couldn't figure the dang thing out. Good thing my folks aren't smart enough to keep their feastable clothing in one of those! Instead their chewable toys are hidden behind a sliding door that took all of 5 minutes for me to figure out. Silly people!
Those busy days, late nights and non-stop petting and admiration from auntie has left me exhausted. I'm so tired in fact, that I didn't get my morning exercise and I'm too partied-out to care! I super love my auntie and would like her to visit every single weekend. Okay? I'll even tolerate the sofa-bed monster, despite the fact it tried to eat me, if it means she'll come to stay. And that means a lot, since that sofa beast really did try to feast on your favorite Stanislaw! But that my friends is a story for another day. Right now it's nappies time. This boy needs to recover from three full days of partying!

Pooped. In more ways than one.
Stanislaw

Raw Food Diet, Day 275- The Great Feast Arrives

Dog bloggerinis! Another feasting order has arrived. I am SO HAPPY!
It was a wonderful day. Feast your eyes on my tasty meat!My people have to break those 5-pound tubes into our daily rations, so there's TONS of good smells as feasts are weighed and placed into baggies for Big Pupi and me.
This takes a while, and I snoozeled on the sofa most of the time... until the GOAT was prepared! Then I sat at my humans' feet and begged begged BEGGED for a taste test!
Goatylicious! The goat and beef have that pungent tripe smell that makes my people sick but makes my tummy grumble with the need for feasting.Mom doesn't appreciate the picture of the animal on the label. I can't imagine why!

Although we've been taken off the feathered creatures, mom still ordered some turkey necks which she planned to give us once per month to keep our teeth clean. But when the necks came out of the box our people couldn't believe how big they were. They were beast sized!I mean, I have jaws of steal and can make my way through bird necks with the best of them, but these particular necks are more like oxtails. They're massive! Pupi is a weak chewer and so the size of these bones becomes a concern. Wimpy boy! We've never had necks this big before. These turkeys must have really feasted hard in their day. My kind of guys... Tasty guys.

Pupi spent a lot of time checking out the boxes which is used as a garbage as the feasts are packed away. He kept trying to take nibbles off the plastic meat wrapping. Cheater! But seriously, folks. What's a boy to do when there's tasty meatiness at eye level?Both of us got into the begging when it came to the unveiling of our all-time favorite snack feast.
Bully sticks! And these happen to be particularly good ones. It even takes me - the World Champion Chewer - a long long time to make my way through one of these.It was a successful day of feast preparation. We could hardly contain ourselves at the thought of all this meat! And to know for certain that it will all find its way into our mouths eventually. Amazing! I think Big Pupi's face says it all~Happy feasting!
Stanislaw

Raw Food Diet, Day 272- Spooky!

All through the month of October, the city of Chicago hosts Chicagoween.  

It's a series of events that includes a farmer's market, pumpkin carving, mask painting, parades, acrobatic shows, a haunted house and pyrotechnic dancers.  This is what the acrobats look like:Spooky!  On Saturday the children's costume parade was scheduled and Big Pupi and I strapped on our outifts to join in on the fun down at the "Franken Plaza."  Our costumes were a hit!  

There were LOADS of human puppies dressed up as skeletons, and there was even one pup in a skunk costume!  We got our pictures taken with lots of kids and there was TONS of attention and head skritches coming our way.  It was awesome!

The best part of the whole event for Big Pupi was the delicious smell of the sausage stand, and it was difficult (impossible!) getting his attention and stopping his nose from the constant SNIFFING SNIFFING.  Mini-humans would come to pet him and he wouldn't even notice!  The fact that there were hay rides being pulled by great big horses didn't help either.  Pupi isn't fond of horses and goes nutty whenever he can smell them... which is often when you live downtown, surprisingly.  Silly humans love their romantic carriage rides!  This is what Pupi looked like the whole time, keeping an eagle-eye on that sausage feasting stand:

The acrobats started their show a few minutes after we arrived at the Plaza, and the BOOM BOOM of their music and high climbing and tumbling was just about all I could take.  I joined their music with some screaming and whining of my own and got totally stressed to the max.  I began barking at humans and their puppies and moments after that Naughty Boy-ness I was removed from the party.  Not a single sausage found its way into my mouth!  Not fair!  At least I managed to give a little girl a huge slobbery Stanislaw smooch right on the cheek before leaving, and a little male human puppy let me lick the sugary stickiness off his tiny human hands.  Tasty!

Our people weren't able to get any good photos of us because they were so busy trying to calm me down and keep me quiet, and they were constantly plucking half eaten chocolate candies from Pupi's and my mouths.  We found them!  We hunted those Reese's down!  I deserve to feast on it!  Arg!  Again - so not fair.

As we were making our exit, we passed a super awesome Westie dog dressed as a bumble bee.  I had to give her a couple really good sniffs to make sure she was, in fact, a dog and after a few impromptu play bows we were on our way.  While waiting at a red light, while I was shrieking and drawing all sorts of attention to myself, a very nice mail lady with a bag filled to the brim with fresh shreddable materials showed my humans her cell phone with a photo of her black cocker spaniel on it!  Ah yes.  We spaniels are everywhere.  We shall soon rule the world!

But first I've got to get this dang skunk costume off me...

stinky Stanislaw

Raw Food Diet, Day 268- I've been missing!

Afternoons around here have been sending me into a dogatonic state, as mom CLICK CLICKS away on her glowy screen machine and I'm left to fend for myself.  Whazzup with that??

Sure, we have our morning jaunts about town which bring on an intense case of Sleepies once my belly is full and muscles are tired, but c'mon.  How much longer is a boy this cute...

...supposed to handle this lack of attention.  I simply am not used to it!

Well folks, I blame my absence on my humans' packed schedules.  I guess full time work, part-time school, wedding planning, doggy school and daily exercising of the canines - all between 2 people - leaves little time for blogging.  If my folks only had as much energy as I have!  Man.  People are lame-o. 

I've decided to make the afternoons a little more interesting, as mom tests Pupi's and my tummy reactions to poultry after a week+ of feasting bird-free.  Let me tell you... it was a BLAST!  And by "blast" I mean that I was baking air biscuits like it was going out of style!  (For the record, farts NEVER go out of style for us pups.)  I smoked mom out of the office on more than one occasion, and during one particular bark park outing I let one rip in the middle of a human huddle and boy did that get me attention!  Apparently, the louder they are the more popular you'll be.  Just a word to the wise about making yourself known.

Aside for the bum fireworks, Big Pupi's and my poobles weren't "ideal," and the symphony of tummy sounds made mom cut out the bird completely.  Now folks, I enjoy birds.  I hunt birds.  I have caught 2 birds in my day and it was a thrill.  I was not pleased when I learned of the sudden elimination of this fine creature from my diet... until I heard that extra goat and mutton was being added to my online raw meat feasting order!  Mom didn't seem happy because chicken doesn't cost a lot of cheese money to buy and goat is a tad more, but I guess the Biscuit Risk is too great... so goat it is!  Delish!

So anyway, tomorrow is my female human's birthday and I'm wondering if she gets vanilla ice cream in a bowl on the floor like Pupi and I do.  If that's the case, then I'm totally planning to steal a few licks!  I know she wanted to get in on my birthday feast, so she'll understand.  I'm an opportunistic feaster, and ice cream is my weakness.  I have no Have when there's ice cream!

To end my much delayed post, I wanted to say with much (HUGE!) excitement that my feather post has been nominated for Post of the Month over at the DWB Bone Zone.  I'm a little embarrassed that my humans put that little tale online as it was not what a bird dog does during his shining moments, but hey... it was true and it was terrifying.  Thanks to my therapist (stuffed tug raccoon) I think I have made a full recovery.  Anyway, if you're a fan of the post then vote for your fellow feaster!

That's it for now!  Gotta go scavenge some of my humans' dinner this evening.  Tasty!

Stanislaw

Raw Food Diet, Day 265- Raw Meat & Rainbows

***

Big Pupi gives a tour of his territory:

Hi folks!  While dad was hard at (home)work on Saturday, my mom and I went on a walk to watch the sun set on my lake - Lake Michigan.  We're lucky to live just a few blocks from the water, so it makes our runs and walks super special.  Since I've weebled on this land and in this water and therefore have claimed it as my own, I thought that I should be the one to show you around my property.

Here's the marina overlooking Navy Pier, which is like a bark park for humans.  Navy Pier has a ferris wheel and all sorts of things that people find fun.  I've only been running past the Pier, but dogs are allowed in the outdoor park so I really want to go sometime.

This is Stanislaw's most favorite boat that's been in the marina all summer.  He thinks that it looks like the perfect party boat as it provides easy access to belly-soaking water and plenty of sticks to weeble on.

Stanislaw calls this boat "Dad's boat" because of its name.  Can you see what it's called?

This is me on the grass by Adler Planetarium.  There were 4 brides and grooms and wedding parties there today taking pictures.  It has an amazing view of the water, the city skyline, Navy Pier and the marina all at once.

This is the Planetarium from a distance.  It's sitting on a little peninsula and is the perfect place to sit and listen to the water.  It makes me have to wee!

As the seasons change the waves in my lake grow.  They make great sounds and lots of bubbles.  I guess these things are what Fenway tries to herd?  They don't look herdable to me, but I do find them extremely interesting.

This is my least favorite part of the lake front trail.  I LOVE swimming in lakes!  Whose idea was this?!  I certainly did not agree to have this painted on my land.

Mom and I enjoyed the water for a while.  It was hypnotic.  Even I fell under the trance of the water music.

All of this water will turn into ice in just a few weeks, so we've got to enjoy it while we can!

This was about the time that I met a few interesting characters.  First, I met a little lady cocker spaniel who was tiny and just my size, and she was black and white just like me!  We are the same age and we hit it off immediately.  I asked her to go steady, but her humans said it was dinner time and that sounded better than a boyfriend to her.  Ahh... I could feel my heart beating.  A lady that loves feasting too!  She lives in my territory and I super hope I see her again.

We also saw some raw pre-feasts.  They weren't quite at the feasting stage yet but they still looked delicious to me.  Mom had to keep me away from the ledge because I really wanted to disobey the "No Swimming" signs and dive into the lake to catch my dinner.  Don't they look juicy?

Here's a photo of your handsome host next to a sweet crab claw I found.  I'm allergic to shellfish so I didn't eat it, but it was fun to sniff and carry for a bit.  My winter coat is growing in and it's perfect for soaking up loads of dirt and city grime!  Notice how my paws are a nice ecru color?

This beach is hiding on the other side of the Planetarium.  Stanislaw and I love to stick our bellies in here but we get in trouble when we try to sneak a dip.  Apparently it's a very exclusive bi-ped beach that's very prejudiced against us quadrapeds.  Whatever!  I've weebled in it a couple of times just to make sure they know who it really belongs to!

This is the sunset we saw on the way home.  It looked like a rainbow over the city.

When I got home it was way past my usual feasting time so Stanislaw and I ate with gusto and then settled in for a post-feast snoozel.  He was pooped from his early morning bark park walk and after my 3-mile trek around town with mom I was a tad tuckered out as well.  I guess being a city-bound canine isn't so bad!

Aaaahhhh...

Big Pupi