LunaStics

What is Quality?

A simple question: what is quality?

To us quality means only the best. The best ingredients added to the best baking methods results in the best product.

We use the best grade A beef and beef bones when making our broth. We add only the freshest chicken that we get from a local farm, Garden of Spices farm. Our carrots are sourced locally when the seasons allow, the flours that we use are of the highest quality and purity also. Our bacon is always grade A and our peanut butter is a nationally known big brand.

Everything that we use has always been and will always be grade A and of the highest quality that we can find.

This includes the equipment that we use to make LunaStics.

Our constantly increasing sales and our plans for LunaStics branded treats make it necessary for us to mechanize the making of our Stics. There will be no changes to our recipes, and your dog won’t know the difference, and maybe you won’t either. But we want you to know that though we are no longer making our Stics by hand we are still making them with love!

And that is a key element in quality also.

LunaStics are quality.

Today and every day.

Luna hates to have her feet touched.
I find it odd. She loves attention, loves getting petted and belly rubbed, loves getting her ears scratched, but move your hand toward her feet and she immediately tightens up and either mouths your hand or gives a little growl warning that she don’ like that.
I have not a clue why, she’s been like that since she was a pup. Even the groomer let us know that Luna hates to have her feet touched, to the point that the groomer doesn’t feel comfortable touching them. Sadly, as a result, she doesn’t get her nails trimmed as often as she should have them done. The last time her nails were done we were at the vet for shots and I commented about the feet to the Dr. She decided that we should trim those toenails, so we did!
Of course, first I had to put a muzzle on her as Luna hates to have her feet touched; then I have to put her in a sort of full body hold, especially keeping her head upright and away from her feet; then the Dr. could trim her nails. It went fairly easy for the Dr. once we had Luna controlled and I’m sure the waiting patients and their owners were somewhat concerned but we explained the commotion once the visit was done.
It’s just that Luna is a very talkative dog. And Luna hates having her feet touched. Since she was in a lot of discomfort and stress she had to let everyone know about it. She was giving out the most plaintive, wailing whine I’ve ever heard coming from an uninjured dog. And, boy, it was loud!
Keep in mind that she was in no pain whatsoever; she was simply being groomed against her will and muzzled. With every new toenail being handled the whining would increase in volume and intensity! And the Dr. was trimming very quickly and efficiently, the whole event was over in a minute and Luna was smiling afterward as if nothing had happened. But from the sound of her wailing while it was being done you’d have thought we were torturing her!
I know, it’s pretty bad having to take your dog to the Vet to have her nails done. But what can I say? It’s not a deal-breaker for our relationship, that’s for sure.
It’s just Luna being Luna.
And Luna simply hates having her feet touched.

DEXTER ENJOYING THE SHADE

Who is Leading Whom?

Luna loves to lead.

I think you get that if you’ve been reading these essays. It’s always been a challenge keeping her low in our pack hierarchy and I’m always reading and watching others to see which techniques seem to work with those dogs that are born alphas.

But this last week while at Woofstock 2016, in Chestertown, NY, I observed all types of dogs being handled by all types of owners.

Very interesting, it was.

The humans felt that they were the pack leader, this was evident; they would plead and cajole their dogs to “please do what I’m asking.’’ The dogs apparently felt that they were the pack leader because they would “do as they were asked” when they damn well felt like it.

Who is leading whom here?

It was a hot day, and we had a covered area with plenty of man-made shade and quite a few of the dogs would stop by and just drop in the shade (while also rutting around in the grass looking for LunaStics crumbs left by other dogs) to relax. Their owners didn’t really want to hang around and buy Stics, so they would start right up with “I don’t know what is up with her/him, she’s usually much more active.”

It didn’t matter, we certainly didn’t mind lending our shade and making new friends, there were LunaStics samples to share with the dogs and they were very appreciative to receive them. The people were okay, too! They would smile and be friendly and try to make small talk, but they weren’t really interested in buying treats. We knew who was leading whom, and as I said, we didn’t mind at all, of course; it was a very hot day even with the steady breeze.

One good source of dog knowledge that I found at Woofstock was a book written by a local author and fabler, Edward Pontacoloni. The book (http://www.roosterafable.com) is a great fable that features a real dog named Rooster, which is also the title of the book, and a sprite or pooka may be involved also! While it is a fable, the book describes dog training techniques that have been used successfully and it paints a great picture of the relationship between people and their dog(s).
Rooster, we miss you even though we never knew you.

Luna needs to be the alpha.

Just ask her.

I really don’t understand it. We have friends with multiple dogs in their household and Luna loves to go and visit with all of them. She knows all her dog friends by name; all I have to say is ‘let’s go visit Codie and Smokie’ or ‘let’s go see Blackie and Simon’ or ‘let’s go see The Boys!’ and she gets all excited and once in the car she tries to lead me on the route by getting in front of me in the car and leaning left or right, depending on which way I’m about to turn. She definitely knows who is who and where they live and she absolutely loves going to see any of them.

Because Luna needs to be the alpha; so she can dominate them.

It’s too funny. Just watch the pack that we’re about to invade; when I pull up they get all excited because they recognize the car and know that the guy inside has LunaStics to share. Trouble is he also has this dog he brings sometime….OH DARN IT! She’s here! The pack still gathers round, still barks and jumps hello; but with reservations; Luna is here and she doesn’t like it when you jump on her master or ask for an ear scratch. He tries, he’s an OK guy, what with having Stics and knowing how to pet a dog and all but man is it frustrating when he brings her along!

Because Luna needs to be the alpha; so she can try to play but then just scare the other dog away because she doesn’t really know how to play.

Luna, with all her siblings, was removed from her mothers’ side when she was 6 weeks old and we think she just wasn’t taught how to play properly. It’s too bad, because her desire is there, but it becomes overshadowed by her need to be the alpha. Which she was to her siblings from a very early age, and, of course, she isn’t allowed to be in our pack. So it’s her natural instinct to be the dominant one. The shame of it is that she doesn’t have any dog friends right now. Maybe she doesn’t need any. Maybe her pack is all she needs.

Her alpha would rather see her make friends with other dogs than try to dominate all the time. Her alpha would rather see her accept being the delta in the pack. Her alpha would rather see her being a well-rounded individual. Luna could care less.

Because Luna needs to be the alpha.

What’s in a name?
Luna was named for two reasons; her markings and her behavior. She is, as you know if you’ve been reading about her, a lunatic. Pure and simple. Crazy dog. She also is a Shepherd/Husky/Border Collie mix and has these brown markings just above each eye and when she was a young pup they were perfect half-moons.
Easy name.
Luna.
What’s in a name?
Her step-brother (a cat), is named “Mariko” which roughly means “child of the village” i.e. adopted child. This fits him perfectly because he actually forced his way into our household and then forced his way into all of our neighbors’ lives as well. Yeah, yeah, for you sticklers of Japanese names; OK, you’re right! His name should be “Marika” as that is the male version, but I wasn’t paying that much attention at the time and I thought he was a girl!
And yes, I also made that mistake with a cute(?) human once many years ago but that is definitely not a story for this blog!
What’s in a name?
We’ve just heard about a fantastic dog who survived falling overboard from a boat in the Pacific Ocean and survived for 5 weeks on an island the military uses for target practice.
Survived!
She was rescued by the military and rejoined with her owner, a fisherman who had already posted a moving obit for her on Facebook. She was a Shepherd/Husky mix with very blue and beautiful eyes. You could see her intelligence in the photos of her and at the time we were moved that she was lost, I can tell you. But the great part of the story is that she survived and is being reunited with her owner!
This is just great! A true win-win for any dog and their owner.
It caught us doubly because this particular dog, this fighting dog, this true survivor, is named Luna.
What’s in a name?