Rachael Ray's "Nutrish"; meditations on a free sample

As I discussed in my What's For Dinner? post, I feed Elka Taste of the Wild, Wetlands fowl flavor.  So why, you might ask me, do I have a tiny bag of Rachael Ray's "Nutrish" in my house?  Open, no less?

Well, it was free.

I saw the free sample offer and thought, "eh, what the heck".  Especially since I've gotten the Just 6 treats for Elka, and she's liked them, and I've appreciated that the ingredients list was, in fact, comprised of only six items.

Dogs and writing

In addition to writing a blog, I also write fiction.  I've wrote short stories and a big long (and very bad) fantasy epic in high school.  I took writing classes in college, and even now dabble in short fiction and start the occasional novel.  Nothing has been published yet.


Since 2007, I've taken part in National Novel Writing Month, which is an online even that traditionally takes place in November, in which your goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in the thirty days that comprise the month.  That's a novel of about the length of The Great Gatsby, or Of Mice and Men, for a point of comparison.


In 2009, when we got Elka, I discovered that it's difficult to accomplish something like sitting at your computer for an uninterrupted block of time to compose stories and characters from the Æther.  Not impossible, just difficult.  Puppies, like babies, are Up To Something if they are too quiet for too long, and such a thing is quiet distracting.  We worked with it, though (Kongs helped. So did a duck.)  This year, for the first time, we have Camp NaNoWriMo, and at the very least, I'm giving July a whirl.

Loose Leash Walking Breakthrough!

As I mentioned, I went on vacation for a week.

I think I can accurately assume that nobody worked with Elka with the clicker, because 1. I'm the one who does that and knows how it works and 2. I didn't tell anybody where the clickers were. So, our first walk after vacation was a little rough so far as leash work and attention went.  The second walk, though, was so good I thought it had to be a fluke.

See, we were walking, and Elka was in just the right spot, so I clicked.  She didn't look at me.  I counted five steps, clicked again, and she sort of languidly pointed her muzzle in my direction, and I gave her the treat.  She ate it, but didn't disrupt her walk pattern.  I watched her, still walking, and put the clicker and handful of treats away, only keeping a few out.  And she was perfect.

Tennis balls: Contestant Number Eight

Bolstered by our recent success with the Chuckit! (Contestant Number Seven), I hastened to a nearby purveyor of things (Rite Aid) and bought a package of Hartz tennis balls.  I recognize the Hartz brand from the days of yore, when I was 10 or so and had a hamster.

Elka was stoked for this as well.  Perhaps she thought I was going to give her the other Chuckit! from the package; I did not.

Doberman Do's: a short list

Elka is my first dog, and my first Doberman.  We've been over this, I know.  And of course, as my smart and beautiful girl, I find her to be unique and, well, some days more perfect than others.  Of course, some days I'm more perfect than others.

What I'm going to lay out for you I'm sure applies to living with dogs in general, but definitely applies to Doberman living.  Their distinct intelligence and personality makes life with them both easy and hard, from what I've experienced and from what I've gathered visiting Doberman forums.

Tennis Balls: Contestant Number Seven

Okay. I thought I'd shell out and try one of the Name Brands for this round of tennis ball destruction.

That's right, I went with the ChuckIt!

Good size (they're all pretty much the same size anyway, unless you get "mini" or "monster" tennis balls), good heft, fantastic bounce.

Velcro Dog

So, this last week, we were on vacation.  We did not bring Elka, but had people she knew and loved stay at the house with her.

So, guess who was exceedingly happy to see her people come back?