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Our gentle hearted Almandine, the inspiration behind Midwest Dog Blog, lost his battle with Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA) on December 30th, 2015 after 8 courageous months. In his honor, this dog jacket designed uniquely for him to easily put on and take off with a zipper up the back, will be sold in the Etsy shop Almandine's Apparel with 20% of all purchases going toward The Pet Fund. While Almandine faced a variety of symptoms including fur loss and edema, this jacket kept him warm without the strain of pulling his head and legs through traditional dog jackets. A variety of prints are available starting at $15. Please check out Almandine's Apparel on Etsy.

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Almandine and Pocket are excited to join their dog park friends this Sunday on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, MO!

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Don’t leave dogs in hot cars. 70 degrees is too hot for your pet!

aldf.org

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Althought Almandine is still recovering from Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (or we can just call it IMHA because that is so much easier), the specialty veterinarian has announced that he is officially in remission!  Each day he has continued to show improvement in energy, mood, and excitement over the spoonful of peanut butter that he gets twice a day (sssshhhhh, he doesn't realize it is full of his medicine).  If you would like to help out Almandine and support his recovery as well as the future of Midwest Dog Blog, check out http://www.gofundme.com/u7m5dgw.

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“STOP GIVING YOUR DOGS TREATS FROM CHINA!” - Keep Portland Weird

Super Crunchy Pumpkin Dog Treats

Inspired by a recipe shared with us from Keep Portland Weird, we tried out this pumpkin themed, brown rice based mix which makes the treats crunchier and is easier for our dogs’ stomachs to digest.

2 eggs 1/2 cup canned pumpkin 2 tablespoons dry milk 1/4 teaspoon sea salt 2 1/2 cups brown rice flour 1 teaspoon dried parsley (optional but freshens your dog’s breath so seriously consider it because we all know what “dog breath” is like) Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl, whisk together eggs and pumpkin to smooth.  Stir in dry milk, sea salt, and dried parsley.  Add brown rice flour gradually, combining with spatula or hands to form a stiff, dry dough.  Turn out onto lightly floured surface.  Roll dough between 1/4 – 1/2″ and use fun dog themed cookie cutters to punch out your shapes, gathering and re-rolling scraps as you go.  Place shapes on cookie sheet, no greasing or paper necessary.  If desired, press fork pattern on biscuits before baking, a quick up-and-down movement with fork, lightly pressing down halfway through dough.  Bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully turn biscuits over, then bake additional 12 minutes. Allow to cool completely on rack before feeding them to your dog.

Although pumpkin is out of season, Pocket was eager to begin crunching down on these treats and, little does he know, pumpkin is great for a dog’s digestive system all year long.  As long as you are using the canned kind, not raw, pumpkin is loaded with fiber and beta-carotene, which their body converts to vitamin A.  So if you’re wondering what to do with the leftover can of puree pumpkin from this recipe, you can mix some in with your dog’s kibble.  A small Chihuahua may only need a couple teaspoons with each meal but a dog as large as a Great Dane could tolerate as much as a half a cup.

Enjoy!

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Midwest Dog Blog would like to proudly introduce its newest addition, Pocket!  Pocket, a small puggle, was adopted from the Great Plains SPCA in September 2014 and was eager to begin contributing to the blog.  After eight months of preparation and initiation, Almandine believes he is ready to give his first review for Midwest Dog Blog.  Stay tuned for Pocket’s take on some super crunchy pumpkin treats.

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Almandine hasn’t been to any dog parks or tasted any specialty dog treats for MidwestDogBlog lately due to some serious medical issues. He recently needed an emergency blood transfusion and several medications. Dean would love to give his reviews of some new dog parks in the Kansas City area but he needs your help to get back to being his fun-loving self with plenty of energy to run and play with all the puppies. Please check out his GoFundMe page. Thank you. -Amber, the owner.

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Almandine hasn't been to any dog parks or tasted any specialty dog treats for MidwestDogBlog lately due to some serious medical issues. He recently needed an emergency blood transfusion and several medications. Dean would love to give his reviews of some new dog parks in the Kansas City area but he needs your help to get back to being his fun-loving self with plenty of energy to run and play with all the puppies. Please check out his GoFundMe page. Thank you. -Amber, the owner.

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This is some good advice.  Almandine loves to advocate for rescuing shelter dogs, but you must have some planning and preparation done beforehand.

Do you have a new puppy at home? Megan the vet shares some common new owner slip-ups:

Veterinarians are often the first people that get to interact with your new puppy, and we get to see what new puppy owners commonly struggle with as they travel through puppyhood. Here are a few of the...

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A pocket guide to pet food labels #Pet_Food #Infographic

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Spinach Bites (for dogs only)!

Ingredients: 3/4 cup whole wheat flour, 3/4 cup quick oats, 2 tbsp. grated cheese, 1 cup frozen spinach thawed but not drained, 1tbsp olive oil.

Preheat the oven to 350.  Combine all the ingredients and roll into golf ball size pieces of smaller for training treats.  An ice cream scoop could be used as well.  Place on greased baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.  Remember to allow them to thoroughly cool before serving to your furry friend.  Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to a week in an airtight container or frozen for up to 6 months. Almandine didn't mind if they were frozen, then microwaved for 8 seconds (microwaves will vary on this time), and served once cool.  Enjoy!

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Dog Park Review: Penn Valley Off-Leash Dog Park

Today, this country dog ventured into the city to check out a small 2.7 acre off-leash park located by the Liberty Memorial off 29th and Wyandotte in Kansas City, MO.

As much as Almandine is up for a car ride, he is not so keen on highways (the result of being thrown against the back of the passenger seat in a car accident when he was a puppy).  Regardless, he eagerly hopped his puppy butt into the floorboard of the back seat and we set out for the adventure.  Once off the highway and back on city streets, his little head pops back out the window to gather the smells of the city. 

We always arrive at a dog park with an open mind and hopeful for fun times and adventure.  That being said, we will simply describe the park as we experienced it.  After arriving at the park, Almandine was glad to see a double gated entrance leading to the main dog park and a smaller fenced section of the park for smaller dogs under 40lbs.  While the double gate is meant to ensure no dogs run out unintentionally, a service gate meant for lawnmowers and other maintenance vehicles was damaged and stood wide open.  It is recommended on other dog park review websites to bring your own “business bags” however the dog waste bags were fully stocked today.  There was no running water but thankfully some other humans were prepared for their pups and shared, ahem, intended to share although Almandine hogged the bowl, some fresh water from a recycled milk jug after a good chase and run with the dog pack.  By the number of empty milk jugs strewn about the park, we assumed the water had been dry for some time and these were left behind.

While we enjoyed the playful canines that accompanied us today, Almandine was rather disappointed by the small size of the park, the amount of litter, no running water, and still fearful that some other pup might sneak out through the broken gate.  The only thing left to do was take a nice stroll through the Country Club Plaza and stop for a treat at the Three Dog Bakery.  Yes, that made the trip worthwhile.

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Posted on lifewithdogs.tv in march of 2013 "Almost 100 dogs have been rescued from a dog fighting operation and 2 men have been charged after a federal multi state investigation into organized dog fighting, according to U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom.   The dogs were removed and transported by The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, along with help from the FBI, Missouri State Highway Patrol and the U.S. Attorney’s Office."

The wonderful veterinarians, workers, and volunteers at Wayside Waifs pictured above, who also get credit for giving Almandine his chance in life, have posted "Remember the large dog fighting ring seizure in March? Here's a snapshot of Dr. Liu working with one of those dogs. For 5 months Wayside Waifs helped care for these animals at a temporary shelter. We're thrilled to assist in the rescue efforts with our partner the ASPCA." 

Want a pet? ADOPT FROM WAYSIDE WAIFS! waysidewaifs.org

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No dogs allowed at the Kansas City River Market. Boooooooo.

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When life gets tough, Dean is one part of my pack that will always be there to lean on.

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Almandine can't wait to set off this firework tonight!

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Happy 4th of July from Almandine and Midwest Dog Blog.  We thank our soldier of the human and canine variety for the freedom we celebrate today. Thanks gunsandpups for the heartfelt photos on your blog.

Santa Rita, Guam (Oct. 27, 2006) - Petty Officer 2nd Class Blake Soller, a Military Working Dog (MWD) handler pets the head of his MWD Rico, at the War Dog Cemetery located on Naval Base Guam. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class John F. Looney