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Can you believe it’s almost February? And you know what February means - Valentine’s Day! Humans might believe that Valentine’s Day means a celebration of “romantic love” but all of us pooches know that Valentine’s Day should be shared with the doggie love of your life.

Mom has been busy filling orders at The Swanky Pooch for some very lucky dogs who are getting gourmet dog treats to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Wouldn’t you love to get some heart-shaped dog treats made with organic ingredients?

Mom makes these in all the best flavors - Banana Carob Crunch, Carrot & Honey, Lucky Dog Liver, Peanut Butter Bliss, and Pumpkin Molasses. My personal favorite is the Pumpkin Molasses. I go nut for those every time!

And if you’re really lucky, you might get a Gourmet Dog Treat Gift Pack or a dog treat jar with your name and picture filled with your favorite treats. Just look how pretty the gift packs are!

I know that if you get any of these treats, you’ll be begging for more, just like my Chiweenie friend, Goldie:

A recent comment on my blog has got my mom thinking that she needs to talk about her opinions on the breeding of “designer dogs.” So I’m turning over the rest of this blog entry to mom. Here’s what mom says:

I know that “designer dogs” are all the rage right now. You can read about them in magazines, see them in many puppy classified ads (usually for bookoo bucks), and even on the Good Morning talk shows.

So first, what is a “designer dog?” Basically, a designer dog is a dog who was bred intentionally with two different breeds to create a “new” breed. For example, my beloved Buddy is called a Chiweenie. He’s a mix between a Chihuahua and a Daschund. Then there are Puggles, a mix between a Pug and a Beagle. How about a Labradoodle? That’s a mix between a Labrador and a Poodle. There are many, many of these mixes out there these days. Honestly, it does amaze me how many different combinations there are.

In the dog breeding community, these mixed breed dogs are making people really, really angry. They see it as a disgrace that might ruin their breed lines. In the dog rescue community, these mixed breed dogs are making people really, really angry. They see it as a disgrace that will cause more unwanted dogs to end up in shelters all over the country. In the normal world (i.e., normal people who love dogs and just have them as loving companions), these mixed breeds are usually seen as cute dogs with cute and funny names. I mean, who can say Chiweenie without laughing at the name?

So I’d say the opinions on these designer dogs, or mutts as some call them, are very mixed.

Here’s my opinion on these designer dogs. I think that in this country, people are free to breed their dogs if they like. I personally think spaying and neutering is a wonderful idea (both my dogs are fixed), but if people don’t want to do this, I’m not going to hound them about it (I may shake my head in frustration, but I won’t hound them!).

I think there are many pure-bred breeders who are wonderful and produce wonderful dogs. They breed carefully to improve the dog breed. But I also think there are many, many “pure bred breeders” who are a disgrace to the dog community - breeders who only do this for the money, breeders who breed their females year after year, puppy mills, etc.

There are designer dog breeders (unfortunately too many in my opinion) who are only breeding for the money because these mixes are so popular right now. Many of these dogs go for thousands of dollars, and in my mind, this is ridiculous. I think these breeders are being greedy, and it’s only going to cause heartache and pain for the dogs. However, I think there are some “designer dog breeders” who are actually trying to produce healthy dogs with properties of two wonderful breeds and maybe without some of the faults. They choose the dogs they want to breed carefully, paying close attention to the health, genetics, and temperaments of the dogs they breed.

I think we also need to remember that many of today’s full-blood AKC champion breeds come from people originally mixing different breeds to obtain a new breed. They wanted a dog that would look or act a certain way, and they couldn’t find a breed that met their expectations. So they carefully created a new breed that was healthy and met their requirements. You can read the history of many pure breeds and find this is true. Were other breeders at the time up-in-arms about this? Maybe, but maybe it wasn’t such a big deal back then.

And about the shelter controversy - does the breeding of “designer dogs” increase the number of dogs at the local shelters? Probably. Does the breeding of “pure bred dogs” increase the number of dogs at the local shelters? Probably. Whenever I go to the shelter, I see tons of full-bred dogs there, and it breaks my heart. These are usually large, high-energy dogs - labs, Dalmations, huskies, shepherds, etc. So I don’t think that designer dogs are the only dogs to end up at shelters; unfortunately, there are many many dogs of all breeds stuck in these places.

So my opinion in a nutshell is this:

Breeding ANY dog for money is bad. Dogs are not a way to get-rich-quick. If you’re breeding dogs because you love them and want to improve a breed or create something great, that’s your right. Just make sure your priorities are in the right place.

Can you believe this! Snow in Texas! As a young Texas doggie, I was unfamiliar with all this white stuff that was on the ground when I woke up Wednesday morning. Mom told me that it is called “snow” and yes, I needed to go out there no matter how cold it was. She has this thing about me using the restroom on the kitchen floor.

So I went outside, and this white stuff called snow crunched under my feet, and it was COLD! Brrrr! I did my business and hurried back inside.

Later in the day, mom took me outside again, and we played fetch with snowballs. Mom had a great time making and throwing snowballs for me.  Unfortunately, I was too busy shivering to run after them.

Of course, mom had her camera and snapped some pictures of me.

And after a fun time in the snow, it was time for me to have a snooze in mom’s nice warm blanket.

I made a new friend this week. His name is Beanie Weenie, and he found me on my blog. Isn’t the internet great! Beanie Weenie is a Chiweenie too, and he’s almost 5 years old. His mom raised him from the age of 2 weeks and had to feed him with an eye-dropper because he was so small. Wow! Beanie has a sister who is a Pit-Bull/Rhodesian Ridgeback mix and weighs over 70 lbs. Beanie is the boss though because we all know that Chiweenies are tough little doggies.

Beanie’s mom admits that she spoils him just a bit, but I’m sure he deserves it. Beanie loves to ride around on his mom’s shoulder when she’s in her hoveround (motorized wheel chair), and you have to admit that sounds like fun.

Here are some pictures of my new friend, Beanie Weenie.

Today was the BEST day! Mom decided to make a new treat recipe, and I got to be the taste tester. I think this is my favorite flavor yet. Mom says they’re made with organic pumpkin and molasses with a bit of cinnamon. I just think they’re heaven! After mom gave me a couple treats, she went back to her computer to do a bit of work. I tried to be sneaky and get some of the treats off the cooling racks in the kitchen, but she heard me. Drat!

Mom told me that these Pumpkin Molasses dog treats are low in fat so they won’t hurt my figure and that they don’t have any wheat or corn products in them. So any of my doggie friends that have allergies to wheat or corn can eat these with no problem!

Here’s a picture of the treats; don’t they look yummy!

Mom can make these treats in different shapes too - Texas shapes, longhorns, big bones, and holiday shapes. Her heart-shaped treats are perfect for Valentine’s day!

This afternoon, Mom decided it was bath day for me. Let me just say, I hate baths; I was NOT pleased with this news. But Mom said I smelled like a dog, so there was no hope of a reprieve.

The good thing about bath time is that Mom uses her Natural Oatmeal Dog Soap on me, and it makes my coat so soft. Mom makes this soap herself, and she uses a wonderful blend of high-end oils and butters in it, including olive oil, castor oil, and shea butter. Not only that, but she adds real goat’s milk, honey, and oatmeal to the soap. These add even more moisturizing qualities to the soap. You know, if you look at the ingredients of some of the most luxurious people soap, they’ll be very similar to what Mom puts in this soap!

There are two things in commercial dog soap and shampoo that tend to irritate sensitive doggies skin - fragrances and detergents (which make the shampoo lather like crazy but are really, really drying). Mom doesn’t use any fragrance in the soap because it may irritate my skin - I’m a sensitive little guy. Plus, this is “real” soap - that is, it’s a bar of soap, not the liquid detergent you find in dog shampoos. There are no lathering chemicals that may make my skin dry and itchy.

Some dog soaps have essential oils added to the recipe in the hopes of repelling fleas and other bugs. However, Mom says that soap is a wash-off product, so the essential oils don’t stick around - they’re rinsed off with the soap suds. She also believes that any benefit from the essential oils is outweighed by the possibility of oils irritating my skin. Personally, I think essential oils smell too strong for my sensitive dog nose.

Mom’s Natural Oatmeal Dog Soap is 100% natural and fragrance free, and it makes me look, feel, and smell great!

Here I am in the kitchen sink. The floor looks a long way down there, but I still wonder if if I could jump. You can see mom’s soap there just ready to be used.

Well, since I’m here, I might as well have a little drink of water.

I’m clean already; let me out!

What a fun day! Mom and Amy took me on a shopping trip to Zack and Zoe’s.

Zack and Zoe’s is a great little dog boutique on Main Street in Grapevine, Texas. I got to meet both Zack and Zoe (very cute little Pomeranians) and browse through the clothes they had for sale there. The owners were even nice enough to let mom try a bunch of clothes on me!

After much consideration, Mom and Amy finally decided to buy me a denim jacket and a black tank top with a lizard on it. I have to say, I’m one handsome guy in my new designer clothes!

All that shopping made me hungry. I think I’ll go beg a Peanut Butter Bliss gourmet dog treat off mom.

One word - MICE!

My friend Amy has mice in her room, and they just drive me bananas! I want to get in there and GET THEM! No matter how hard I try, no matter how much I whine and paw at the cage, it’s just useless. They’re safe in their glass house, for now, but they better not get out, or they’ll be a Chiweenie toy!

Did you all know that today is the first day of what humans call the year 2007? My mom is all excited about this because 2006 was a really crappy year for her. She says that 2007 will be much, much better. She’s got all sorts of plans for her Swanky Pooch business; I’m not sure what they are, but I do know that they involve me doing taste tests!

And speaking of taste tests, I got to do one just today. Mom made these great peanut butter and chocolate chip dog cookies; well, they’re really carob chips, but I like to call them chocolate because chocolate is more decadent. It got to eat TWO huge cookies. Mom wasn’t happy because they didn’t turn out as planned, but that just means that there’s more for me. Good thing dieting isn’t on my list of New Year’s resolutions.

Speaking of resolutions, have you been working on yours? I have! Here are a few I’ve come up with, just off the paw…

Expand my wardrobe. And not with cheap, cheesy dog clothes either. I’m talking some really swanky masculine duds. Have you seen those cool spiked collars? I gotta get one of those!
Exercise more. If mom keeps using me as her taste tester, I’m going to have to work off the pounds. I’m a studly 11 pounds right now, and I need to keep it that way. So I’m going to badger mom to take me to the park more often. She’s supposed to exercise 3 hours a week anyway, so some of that might as well be with me!

Make new friends. I’d love to go to the Fort Worth dog park and play with some other doggie buddies. I overheard mom talking to Amy the other day, and she promised Amy we’d all three go to the dog park one Saturday afternoon when it’s warm. I’m very excited because I’ve never been before!

Score one of those luxury blankets grandma makes. I’d prefer one as a gift from grandma, but maybe mom will have to buy me one. That would probably keep me off mom’s new afghan…

Speaking of afghans, I think it’s time for bed. I’m going to go curl up in my favorite spot, right in the middle of mom’s side of the bed. I hope mom doesn’t push me off!