Pupsicle!

So the husband and I were working on a rain chain project last weekend.  The weather was warm, but not terribly hot so it was a good day.  Vilas was wandering the yard.  She usually checks the perimeter and then spends a lot of time sniffing under the deck.  My theory is there may be some bunnies living under there. But then Vilas hit the point where she plans on being a stinker.  

You can almost sense that she is thinking about how to be naughty in this photo.

That's when she started eating grass.  She does this occasionally, and we haven't figured out why.  Maybe she is part cow?  Anyway, it's not too concerning as we don't use chemicals on our lawn.  Plus, Vilas is one of those rare dogs who doesn't vomit after she eats grass.  The grass passes right through her digestive track.  On the other hand, it's not exactly a behavior we want to encourage.  

I remembered I had made a special treat for her a few days back.  This seemed like a good idea to distract her from grass-eating.  It's a frozen item so I thought this might keep her busy for a while.

You can see some sad-looking carrots sticking out of her toys.  Vilas loves carrots (I only love them with some sort of creamy dip).  So I put some snacks in her toys (the pink toy has some peanut butter stuffed in it) and put it in a plastic container.  Then I added liquid before freezing the whole deal to make a huge pupsicle! To make it more alluring, I added a little something to the water ...

There are 4 flavors:  Chicken Soup, White Cheddar
Cheese, Sweet Potato & Maple, and Juicy Apple.

There are four packets per box. Normally, these make mini frozen treats, which are super cute but Vilas is not supposed to chew on ice (vet says it can chip her teeth).  

Each packet contains a powder mix.  The ingredients are chicken broth, carrot, salt.  There are 29 calories in one packet. The directions say to add 8 oz of water with the packet and pour into ice cube trays (Kong makes one shaped like little bones).  I opted to add the packet to about 32 ounces of water.  I wanted the toys to be pretty well covered. I even added a little more water to get them more submerged.

Vilas didn't seem to mind that it was diluted. She first went after those frostbit carrots. Then she spent some time licking.  She grabbed a toy and pulled the whole thing out of the container. She licked and licked! She would "free" a toy and focus her attention on getting the goodies out of that. She was no longer interested in eating grass, so I think it was a success.  At least, mostly a success.

Look at that tongue!

After a long day in the yard, Vilas was quick to take a nap once in the house.  She was snoozing away on the couch while I sat next to her looking at something on the computer (amazing how the internet can keep you busy).  When I got up to go in the kitchen, Vilas followed me.  When I came back to the couch, there it was. A HUGE wet circle, bigger than a dinner plate!  She must have peed in her sleep. This has never happened before!

So I got right to cleaning up the mess, of course. That's when I realized that this was my fault.  When have I ever given her that much water?  Not sure I ever have. So the lesson learned is that I need to make smaller pupsicles.  Maybe I'll only put one treat-stuffed toy in the next time so I won't need such a big container.

The inspiration for this pupsicle came directly from the Kong Company.  They have a cute video you can watch on how to make these.