First Annual French Bulldog Jamboree

I’m trying to make plans for the first annual French Bulldog Jamboree weekend.

The French Bulldog Jamboree is dedicated to one idea only — Making friends through our Frenchies! It’s open to all French Bulldog owners, and to potential owners, as well. Camping, fun, and more – and all with your Frenchies!

The weekend’s planned activities are scheduled to include:

– costume parades
– stupid owner/smart pet tricks
– consultations with trainers
– a pet psychic (was your frogdog Napoleon in a past life?)
– CGC evaluation
– a handling demo and class, followed by a fun match
– grooming seminar, with a nail cutting/grinding demo
– possible discussion of alternative healing/essential oils and massage for canines
– a welcome party on Friday night, complete with gift bags
– a Saturday afternoon BBQ and raffle
– other stuff as it comes up!! If you’d like to participate, rent booth space, or offer a service, please contact me!

100% of ALL PROCEEDS benefits French Bulldog rescue!!

All of this takes place at a pet friendly, camping cottage resort, on the shores of (shallow!) Lake Wilder, Ontario, Canada (about 2 hours north of Toronto). There’s also golfing, a spa, fishing, a bar and few other amenities, but this is a real old school rustic cottage resort. Here’s their link — http://www.homesteadresort.ca/ .

Two packages are available — a camping package for Friday and Saturday nights, with late check out on Sunday (this package includes daily breakfast and dinner). A 3 night package, for Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights (again, includes breakfast and dinner). A day pass will also be available for Saturday, and includes the BBQ. We’re still working out prices with the resort (a lot will depend on whether we can book the whole place, or just part).

Tentatively, we’re looking at the weekend of Friday May 15th – Sunday May 17th, but I’d like feedback on whether that date works for a majority of people. I’m trying to balance a few things with the dates — warm enough we won’t all freeze our @sses off, cool enough for the dogs; not too booked at the resort (if we get enough bookings, they’ll reserve the ENTIRE resort for just us!!); not too close to memorial day/May 24 weekend in Canada.

Please give me some feedback on whether you’d be interested in joining us, if you’re able to help, or if you’d just like more info. A web page is coming soon!

Dexter and the Soccer Ball, Part Two

Dexter is exceptionally well natured when it comes to playing with the puppies. He’s unfailingly sweet and gentle with them, sharing his toys, licking their faces, and tolerating it when they bite him on the leg (and other, more painful places).

His tolerance, however, gets sorely tested when it comes to his soccer ball. I’ve mentioned before how much he loves this toy, and it’s amazing to us how close he lets the puppies get to him while he’s playing with it. In spite of this, his patience is stretched to the limit when it comes to Thor, who also seems to really love the soccer ball. Of course, maybe what he really loves is upsetting Dexter…

See for yourself in this video. View it on Blip – or just click the full screen button.

In other news, support SBTCC’s fight against BSL:

The Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club of Canada continues to fight draconian anti-dog legislation in Ontario.

We are hosting a “Celebration of Dogs” Photo Contest.

Grand prize is a Nikon SLR Digital Camera. The second prize is a custom made photo quilt (created just for you.) I have one and it is a work of art – something I will always treasure. Third prize is a digital photo frame. There are several smaller prizes.

Entries are still coming in but we need more! Please enter. Please send this message on to everyone you know and ask them to do the same. Out there somewhere is a wonderful photo that will win the grand prize!

We have assembled an impressive panel of independent judges – including photographers, dog experts, vets and an Ontario MPP!

This contest is not so much about great technical photos. It is, rather, a chance to celebrate our dogs in all their glory. We play with them, work with them, cry with them and laugh with them. This contest celebrates our dogs’ connection with their world, with us and with each other.

All dogs – mutt and champion – are welcome. Old, young, fat, fluffy!

It is easy to enter.

Please visit

www.staffordcanada.com

or email

celebrationofdogs AT gmail.com

Entries close Sunday, October 26!

There is no time to waste!

Bored + Apps = Super Heroes!

I was clicking around on my Mac last night, and found my old pal, Comic Life. I haven’t played with Comic Life in ages, but playing around with it reminded me that what the world really needs is… More French Bulldog Super Heroes!

With that in mind, let me present the Frenchie League of Justice.

Super Power: Snuggle Rays instantly make enemies fall into warm, blissful, coma-like state
Weakness: Can’t resist urge to take naps
Nemesis: Heart

Super Power: Ultra Licky Tongue can reach across rooms, wiping up messes and coating bad guys in a layer of kibble scented saliva.
Weakness: Can be incapacitated through vigorous belly tickles.
Nemesis: Pixie

Super Power: Can color co ordinate any outfit, even neons; Nose Freckles can deflect bullets.
Weakness: Can’t sleep unless chin is resting on something soft, ears occasionally pick up Country & Western Radio stations, revealing location to bad guys.
Nemesis: Thor.

Super Power: Ears can go up or down at will, and can also double as satellite dishes. Piercing cries can dissolve concrete barriers.
Weakness: Bumps into walls when distracted by food, occasionally gets stuck inside of laundry baskets.
Nemesis: Heart

Super Powers: Eyes project beams that can melt the hearts of men. Can team up with Pixie to double super power strengths.
Weaknesses: Needs sidekick for full power, can be distracted by rattle of kibble against dish.
Nemesis: Delilah

Super Powers: Titanium coated puppy teeth can pierce Kevlar. Emits shrill yipping noise that confounds enemies, sets off car alarms, melts glass.
Weaknesses: Can be subdued by flipping her onto her back in turtle like manner.
Nemesis: Just about everyone.

So, what about your dogs? What would be their super powers, their weaknesses, and do they have a nemesis?

Old Age and Black Eyed Peas

There was a time, not so very long ago, when ‘making plans for the weekend’ consisted of looking for a great new band playing in my favorite grubby bar, or finding a house party. These days, my weekend plans seem to consist of:

*  laundry

*  more laundry

*  drying and folding laundry

*   catching up on Grey’s Anatomy

*  trying to decide if I likeEx List“, or if it is, in fact, the most unbearably twee show on television

And so we are pulled, slowly but inexorably, into our twilight years.

This weekend, extra! added! bonus! excitement! arrived in the opportunity to move a couch. Sean’s dad needs one, and we just happen to have an almost brand new, only slightly dog and cat hair encrusted sofa sitting under a drop cloth in our garage. Sean is off to borrow a truck to move it with, and I’m planning our weekend menu until he returns.

Have I mentioned before that we live in the middle of no where? I’m not kidding when I say this, and never is it more apparent than when I get a craving for ethnic food. In my part of the country, fish and chips is about as ‘ethnic’ as it gets, and mushy peas are regarded as dangerously exotic. For sushi, or Indian, or a good bowl of pho, I need to drive an hour, at least. I admit I’ve gotten into a bad rut of basic meat n’ veg cooking since we moved here, a fact I can blame on a shocking lack of available ingredients, but since moving the couch means a drive into Kitchener (yes, the bustling metropolis of Kitchener, home to the world’s second largest Oktoberfest), I have the chance to hit an ethnic grocer and stock up on spices and ingredients (like dried prawns, and frozen edamame).

With available ingredients not an option for being a slacking shirker (note to self: good future puppy name), I’ve decided to do Senegalese food tomorrow night, which really isn’t half as exciting as it sounds, since it’s basically a rice/fish/veg based cuisine.

I’m going to prepare fried plantains, black eyed pea fritters and Ceebu Jën. I’ve made this loads of time, and it really is dead simple (not to mention tasty). By the way, if you’re not a fish fan, you can make this dish with lamb or beef, in which case it’s known as ‘Ceebu Yapp’.

I use the recipes from Congo Cookbook:

Ceebu Jën

What you need

  • stuffing mixture (roof or roff):
    • one or two sweet peppers (or bell peppers) (green, yellow, or red); chopped
    • one onion or two leeks or several scallions, chopped
    • garlic, minced (optional)
    • a small bunch of parsley or a bay leaf (or some similar fresh herb)
    • salt
    • hot chile pepper, cleaned and chopped (optional)
  • one cup peanut oil, or for an authentic red color: red palm oil
  • two onions, chopped
  • a piece of dried, salted, or smoked fish, such as cod or herring, (stockfish is often used); the piece should be about half the size of your hand
  • two to three pounds of fish: whole, filets, or steaks; cleaned (sea bass, hake, haddock, sea bream, halibut, or any similar firm-fleshed fish). Note: I am a coward, and I remove the heads from whole fish, as I don’t like to eat food that’s looking at me.
  • tomato paste
  • three or four tomatoes (peeled if desired), whole
  • one or more of the following root vegetables and tubers:
    • carrots, chopped
    • sweet cassava (also called manioc, yuca, or yucca) tuber; or potatoes, chopped
    • yams (sweet potatoes are not the same, but may be substituted), chopped
  • hot chile pepper, such as habanero or serrano chile, whole, but pricked with a fork
  • one or more of the following leaf and fruit vegetables:
    • cabbage, chopped
    • one or two sweet peppers (or bell peppers) (green, yellow, or red); left whole
    • one squash (any kind will do) or zucchini, cleaned and chopped
    • eggplant (aubergine, or guinea squash), peeled and chopped
    • okra, whole, but with ends removed
  • several cups of rice

What you do

  • Prepare the roof (or roff) by combining the stuffing mixture ingredients and grinding them into a paste, adding a little oil or water if needed. Many cooks include what seems to be an essential in Africa: a Maggi cube. Cut deep slits into the fish (but not all the way through) and stuff them with the roof mixture.
  • Heat the oil in a large pot. Fry the onions and dried/salted/smoked fish for a few minutes. Then fry the fresh fish for a few minutes on each side. Remove the fish and set aside.
  • Stir the tomato paste and a cup of water into the oil in the pot. Add the root vegetables and tubers and the hot chile pepper. Add water to partially cover them. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or more.
  • Add the leaf and fruit vegetables, place the fried fish on top of them, and continue to simmer for an additional twenty minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
  • The fish and all the vegetables and set them aside, keeping them warm. Remove a cup or two of the vegetable broth and set it aside. Add the rice to the vegetable broth. Add water or remove liquid as necessary to obtain two parts liquid to one part rice. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on very low heat until the rice is cooked–about twenty minutes. It should stick a little to the bottom of the pot.
  • Find the hot chile among the vegetables. Combine it to the reserved vegetable broth in a small saucepan and bring to a slow boil. Remove and discard the pepper and put the sauce into a dish or gravy boat.
  • When the rice is done turn the pot over onto a large serving platter. Scrape the crust (the xooñ) from the bottom of the pot over the rice. Arrange the fish and vegetables over and around the rice. Garnish with parsley and sliced limes (to squeeze over fish) as desired.

Akara (Black Eyed Pea Fritters)

What you need

  • two to three cups dried cowpeas (black-eyed peas) or similar
  • one onion, finely chopped
  • one-half teaspoon salt
  • half cup dried shrimp or prawns
  • hot chile pepper, and/or sweet green pepper or sweet red pepper, finely chopped (to taste)
  • cayenne pepper or red pepper (to taste)
  • one-half teaspoon fresh ginger root, peeled and minced (or a few pinches of powdered ginger) (optional)
  • peanut oil, palm oil, or vegetable oil for frying

What you do

  • Clean the black-eyed peas in running water. Soak them in water for at least a few hours or overnight. After soaking them, rub them together between your hands to remove the skins. Rinse to wash away the skins and any other debris. Drain them in a colander.
  • Crush, grind, or mash the black-eyed peas into a thick paste. Add enough water to form a smooth, thick paste of a batter that will cling to a spoon. Add all other ingredients (except oil). Some people allow the batter to stand for a few hours (overnight in the refrigerator); doing so improves the flavor.
  • Heat oil in a deep skillet. Beat the batter with a wire whisk or wooden spoon for a few minutes. Make fritters by scooping up a spoon full of batter and using another spoon to quickly push it into the hot oil. Deep fry the fritters until they are golden brown. Turn them frequently while frying. (If the fritters fall apart in the oil, stir in a beaten egg, some cornmeal or crushed breadcrumbs.)
  • Serve with an African Hot Sauce or salt, as a snack, an appetizer, or a side dish.

Crazy Puppy Dinner Time

Feeding time is fairly hectic with six puppies to wrangle at once. We have it broken down into a fairly regimented routine — clean pen of the nine million pounds of accumulated poop, change pads, put down pans of food, clean up more poop immediately after the finish eating, watch as they burn off crazy dog energy.

The pups eat Honest Kitchen ‘Embark’ in the morning and the evening, split into two shallow foil pans. It’s a given that, however many pans I put down, they’ll all try to eat out of the same pan at the same time, on the theory that whatever the other guy has got must be the best. At lunch, the pups eat soaked kibble, and they usually get a small handful of dry kibble before bed as a snack.

Butters and Jellie are thorough eaters. Both of them finish off the leftovers by standing right in the middle of the pan of food, and licking all around the edges. This inevitably results in little green dog food foot prints on the other puppies. For some reason, Pixie gets most of them.

Immediately after eating the pups usually have about twenty minutes of ‘crazy dog time’. That’s where they all run around the pen at full speed, smacking into each other and having periodic wrestling matches. In mid play, they’ll usually stop for a poop. We’ve learned not to put puppies out into the play pen until well after we’re sure everyone is (literally) all pooped out.

Crazy time is followed by sleepy puppy time, aka “quick, take a picture while they’re sleeping time”. Lately, it’s the only chance I get to take a photo of Heart, as her usual reaction now on seeing the camera is to lunge for it and bite at the lens.

Rumble, on the other hand, has decided he’d like to become a male model when he grows up, and greets the camera with an instantaneous, rock solid pose, complete with soulful expression. Pixie’s reaction to the camera seems to be “Jeez lady, get a new hobby”.

The rest of the photos are below, or over on Flickr.