I think I had delusions of grandeur when buying paper hats for Violet's birthday. I got one decent, but rather miffed looking photo of her wearing one before her chompers got the better of it (plus two).  We booked Violet in for a day at Ka-Pooch! so she could play with other doggies to her heart's content.  I was a bit disappointed that we never thought to let the day care know it was her b'day as I suspect they would've got a hat to stay on her and she could've had a party with her peers, but when she got home we spoilt her with a Mister Riley pupcake and lots of presents to open.

Violet was suitably exhausted, but also unwell on Sunday night, which we think was from eating something/drinking from the manky puddles at the dog park over the grand final long weekend.  We've battled vomiting and diarrhoea on and off since then, but seem to have come out the other end now (excuse the pun) with the help of chicken broth and boiled chicken and rice.  I have to give a shout out to the Bissell Little Green machine, without which I may have had to burn our rug after an unfortunate accident.  Party on Wayne!  Party on, barf!

In 2007, Mr M and I moved from NZ to Melbourne for the music scene.  Pethaus make dog gear that even we would wear, and as avid heavy metal listeners, we HAD to get Violet into one of their battle jackets!  I scored a raw denim jacket in their online sale and also added patches of our favourite bands, with a dog spin on them, to the cart - Judas Pooch, Muttallica, Pawtera & Bark Sabbath.  The lovely Pethaus folk will also shorten jackets for twenty bucks if your pooch is wide, but short in the body.

One week in as a member of our family, I dragged both loved ones to a Japanese clothing store for dogs where Violet quietly modelled a red puffer jacket and a gorgeous knitted letterman cardigan (that was out of our price range), she has since developed an aversion to clothing and turns into a bucking bronco if a bandana so much as comes near her.  I will have to persevere with treats and distraction to get our little rock star out and about to show off her serious attitude. Not too many treats though as we don't want her getting too wide for her new threads!

Since we got Violet we've been making her food using the ingredients recommended by her breeder. Meals consist of blended vegies mixed with pet mince and topped with chopped chicken necks, followed by one Best Care baked biscuit per meal.  We've got the prep down to 45 mins every fortnight!  If we're feeling particularly lazy or life gets in the way, she gets kangaroo mince and/or chicken livers and mashed pumpkin (insert nom nom noise here).

While Mr M and I have our dinner, Little Miss has her hobbit dinner so we can eat in peace. Prepared like a dessert, it's either a sliced banana or apple and natural yogurt with the occasional topping of either a spoonful of peanut butter or coconut oil.

I'm always on the lookout for healthy treats, even attempting my own (here), so when I found Mister Riley, a Melbourne based company that has created five easy DIY low fat treat kits packed with vitamins, antioxidants and fibre, I didn't muck about choosing just one DIY kit, I bought the whole she-bang.  The Mister Riley Box Set has four baking mix packs and one dog treat mix, which is the one I chose to make on the weekend as there was no baking involved.  I simply added peanut butter and honey and rolled them into balls to refrigerate. Voila, Roarrr Balls - Violet gives them 2 paws up!

I think it was kismet that the first stall we went to at the Melbourne Dog Lovers Show was for Countrywide Cottages, as we'd been talking about finding dog friendly accommodation for our wedding anniversary getaway and it was perfect!

With a successful car ride there (woohoo!), we checked into Ferny Reach Cottage and let Violet off leash in her back yard for the weekend, even with the car harness still on, she was off like a rocket. Our show goodies included a bag of bird seed, which we didn't think twice about until king parrots and rosellas started landing on the balcony, we were able to hand feed them until Little Miss discovered a fun new game of staring at them before chasing them away.

It rained over the course of the weekend, but that certainly didn't put a dampener on our time away, we trekked on leash through the bush and spotted a family of kangaroos at the Otway Forest Park entrance, Violet was able to run free around securely fenced Ned's Retreat and the yabby dam, and when we needed to dry off (the humans from the rain and Violet from leaping into the dam right after Mr M said "I'd be surprised if she went in"), we snuggled in front of the fire using the chopped wood provided.

If you're looking for a relaxing retreat where your dog will have as much fun as you do, if not more, then I highly recommend.

Who knew there was day care for dogs!?  Violet was fairly new to us when we had our first rental inspection and she'd been attending novice obedience classes at a day care centre, so we thought it would be great timing to drop her off for the day.  While all signs pointed to her loving it, we didn't have much feedback, aside from that she was good, and on her second visit she came home with her metal name tag bent in half.  The mind boggles!

Meanwhile, I had stumbled across Ka-Pooch! on social media and it looked like a place that would really look after our fur baby.  Perfect timing.  Four visits in and we all think it's the best thing since sliced bread (yes, I once accidentally left the pantry door open while in in a different room...)  The first day Violet came home with a report card and a goody bag and the verbal feedback has been great - she's the best bull terrier they've ever met, is very tolerant, a people person (I think they mean treat monster) and most importantly, she enjoys herself.  What stands out for me with Ka-Pooch! is that they provide a safe environment for socialisation, any play is closely monitored at all times AND there's the added bonus of being able to log in to Facebook to see some hilarious photos of your pooch having a blast throughout the day!

• SUITABILITY FOR DAYCARE: Yes 
• OVERALL NATURE: Excited. Playful
• THE PLAYGROUP MOST SUITED TO YOUR DOG IS: Playful puppies :)
• FRIENDS: Extroverted. Lachie - golden retriever, Floyd - lab, Fred - pug, Arkie - poodle

Pre-dog Park Violet never particularly enjoyed the car, but she would sit quietly in the back, or on my lap in the front passenger seat.  Homeward bound, be it from the vet, obedience class or an on leash walk along the waterfront, she'd be smiley dog.

On our very second dog park visit, Little Miss recognised landmarks and twigged to where we were headed, the excitement turning her into a furry cannonball.  Since then it's been a downward spiral into whining, heavy panting and frenzied chewing every time we take a car ride.  RIP leash, dog hammock and a brand new harness.

I'm still half convinced it's excitement, not anxiety, as Violet will leap into the back seat enthusiastically (although, paint work be damned if we don't get the door open quick enough).  When we head home, energy spent, it's like we switched dogs at our destination.  Unfortunately, outings have become a very unpleasant experience of late and I feel like one of us may pass out from the stress... probably me!

Last year Mr M and I celebrated our wedding anniversary with a getaway to Hong Kong and Dubai.  This year we're off to *drum roll please* dog friendly accommodation in The Otways.  The upcoming challenge is that the cottage is a 2 hour drive away.

Come road trip day, it'll be Rescue Remedy to the rescue!  We did a test run on Sunday and while successful, after witnessing our dog choreograph an Olympic worthy ice skating routine on the wet floor at the dog wash, certainly not a long-term solution.  In Violet's case, flower remedies seem to be the equivalent of a doggy doobie. We'll be trying some other tips and tricks on our mission to figure out the root cause of her behaviour - any suggestions are welcome!

I'm definitely a top candidate for Pinterest fails after attempting pupcakes last weekend where the end result was some deflated looking... discs, so am happy that these turned well, although, not without issue.  I found two recipes on the interwebs, one with almond meal (which I used) and one with almond flour. If you're going to use meal, which is grittier, you'll need to add more water to create the dough.

To me the taste was a bit bland, but this morning Violet chose my bickie over the fantastic handmade ones we've been purchasing from Rhuarc's on the way home from the Williamstown dog park.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups almond flour

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2-3/4 cup peanut butter

3 tablespoons ground ginger

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/4 cup water

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 165C

1.  Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and form a ball with the dough.

2.  Roll the dough out until flat and use a cookie cutter to cut out individual treats.  I used a Bull Terrier cookie cutter from Etsy and a bone cookie cutter from eBay.

3.  Place your treats onto your baking tray and bake for 25 minutes.

4. Turn off after the 25 minutes are done and leave the treats in the oven for 45 more mins to crisp.

Mr M is away for a few days, so Violet and I had a girl's weekend.  With the favourite parent absent, I tried to do all of the fun things to tire her out.  I have succeeded in knackering myself.

Sunday we met Violet's cousin Tripp and his lovely Mum Harmony at the North Melbourne dog park, where we've never been before.  Little Miss only embarrassed me a few times, in particular when she bounded up to a west highland terrier that was absolutely terrified of her.  Now, Violet doesn't have a vicious bone in her body, but girl can't take a hint when other dogs aren't interested and she seems to interpret their barking as "play with me!" Cue Benny Hill theme music as Violet chased a screaming westie around the park, the owner chased the westie yelling "Nigel" and I chased everyone yelling "she won't hurt him, she just wants to plaaaaay!"  Meanwhile, Tripp's testosterone has kicked in, so he was humping everything in sight.

I am constantly aware of people's misconception of the bully breed, so... job well done kids, let's have a dogachino!

The Doghouse cafe opened in Collingwood on July 1st and I've been itching to go, what better excuse than two girls and their dogs getting to know each other.  Tripp and Violet shared a dogachino (separately) and both devoured their muffins from the dog only menu (separately), the human coffee went down a treat too.  Alas, our babies aren't really the 'sit quietly while Mum gasbags' type, so with Trippy whining at the gate of our booth and Violet trying to drink my coffee, it was all a bit hectic. Harmony and I will be catching up for a vino after work - sans dogs - soon.