They are what they eat

Shadow is just one bag away from graduating to adult dog food. Before choosing his newest culinary experience, however, I wanted to share a tool that was invaluable in choosing his current brand (Wellness Super5 Mix for large breed puppies).

For the first few months, we were feeding him something that sounded great but, upon further inspection, was providing him with almost no real meat. His digestion was iffy (I won't go into detail), but we weren't sure what to change.

Then I stumbled upon DogFoodAnalysis.com. The site breaks hundreds of brands down by ingredient, providing reviews and analysis. It's amazing how many of the big brands I found out are... well... neither very good nor very honest.

Dog owners can't completely control the health of their pets, but being diligent about what they eat is probably as close as any of us are going to get. So check it out. You might discover something critical.

I Spy A Doggie

Maybe his color is closer to tree bark than silver?

I Call it Puppy Love

My husband would disagree, but this is how my overly active imagination saw the events of New Year's weekend in Maine:

Once upon a time, Shadow the Silver Labrador loved the freedom that came with visiting his extended family in Maine.
(Click here for more info about his first visit.)

The fresh mountain air and lack of artificial boundaries made Shadow feel alive and full of adventure.

But like many a bachelor, Shadow was happily following his instincts when the unexpected crossed his path.

In his case, the unexpected came in the form of a beautiful Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy named Zula.

He didn't know what was happening, but suddenly Shadow was floating on air.

For three days, he and Zula played with each other,

looked out for each other,

and even began to look like each other.

Like all couples, they fought...

but they always made up.

Alas, as is so often the case with young love, the time came for the puppies to part ways.

But as Shadow was summoned to the car, he gave his Zula a final glance and a promise that he would return.

A Snow Dog at Heart

Last weekend's blizzard wasn't the best for many humans, but Shadow was in heaven. Frolicking in the snow for barely an hour knocked him out for the rest of the afternoon, but he had a blast. Doesn't it look like he's in his natural habitat.

A White and Windy (day after) Christmas

Monday accumulation on our deck

Mother Nature fulfilled wishes for a "White Christmas" a few days late this year - and significantly overcompensated for her tardiness by dumping enough snow to close all three major NYC airports and incite emergency declarations all over the place.

The Boxing Day Blizzard of 2010 fell steadily on the New York City suburbs from early afternoon Sunday, December 26, through the wee hours of December 27. (For those of you who don't know about Boxing Day, it is a holiday with no relevance to the U.S. except that it sounds cool in front of the word "Blizzard.")

The wind knocked this down once

As the first flakes began to float down, my mother and I (who were scoring some annual day-after-Christmas-discounts) made the mistake of stopping by the grocery store. We were in the market for nacho fixings, but the rest of the mob seemed to be frantically preparing for Hurricane Katrina II. Bare shelves, no shopping carts, lines stretching into the aisles... I felt like a customer during the run on the Bailey Building and Loan. (Hey, at least I made it Christmassy.)

Shadow explores snow on the deck

Shadow (who, incidentally, we almost named "Blizzard"), wanted to play from the moment he saw the first snowflake hit the ground. Even when it was dark out and the accumulation was too high for him to go to the bathroom without us digging a special path, he could barely peel his eyes from the window - or from us, who he evidently blamed for spoiling his fun and not letting him loose in the storm.

Shadow tries to unearth the broom

This morning, while his owners broke out the shovels, Shadow frolicked his heart out on the snow-covered porch. Hours (and hours) later, he discovered the joy of swimming through nearly two feet of the white fluff in the backyard, chasing odd-looking tennis balls that disappear on contact, and chomping on an unfamiliar substance that hardly seems to exist at all.

Ah, the blessing of electricity in the snow!

It was hilarious watching him bound around in the drifts like a kid at Disney World. Surprisingly (the candles are still out just in case), the gift of snow didn't come with the inconvenience of losing electricity. That meant a low-key day at home in front of the Christmas tree, with mugs of hot coffee and our favorite canine, who is now incomprehensibly exhausted from his time in the snow.

All tuckered out

Shadow's first Christmas

Shadow's received a lot of presents in his eight months with us, but Christmas morning was a whole new experience.

As usual, he was a curious puppy.

He has yet to understand how to unwrap gifts..

... but he got the general idea.

And like a true kid, Shadow ended his Christmas cuddled up in his new bed with his three new presents.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!!

From Shadow's family to yours, may this Christmas be filled with love and blessings.