Winter Treats for the Dogs

As we walked out through the gently falling snow flurry to feed the animals this morning, it seemed the perfect time to bring my camera and realize a blog post I've been writing in my head for some time--about winter treats for the dogs.

One daily treat for the dogs is The Fight Club.  This usually involves Zephyr being on the ground while she is rolled over or chewed on by Hero.  It's great fun for Hero!  For Zephyr, I'm not so sure, although she keeps coming back for more.

Another exercise-sort of treat is Helping with Chores.  If that means chasing the tractor, so much the better!

Living on a farm, of course there are always edible treats.  One of Zephyr's favorites is Snowballs!  Not the sweet, coconut-covered ones from Hostess--just clumps of real snow!

Another treat the dogs enjoy every freezing morning is Poopsicles.  You can guess what those are made of!  There are two kinds--equine and bovine--equally delicious!

Whenever there's snow on the ground, another popular treat is one exhibited here by Zephyr:  Hoofsicles.  These are made when frozen chunks of snow, manure, urine and other tasty ingredients are cast off by the horses' hooves.

Here Zephyr gnaws happily on a Hoofsicle she found before Hero did.

This morning Hero invented a new treat, similar in name (though not in ingredients) to another grocery store treat.  This one is called Hay-Ho's.  It is made of a frozen chunk of hay and manure, full of healthy fiber!  In this photo, Hero demonstrates how to pull the pieces of hay off to get to the delicious, chewy center.

This pretty scene demonstrates one more treat available on our farm.  No, it is not the bird feeder for the birds (although they do love it).  The treat is Hero's--the chance to burst out the door every morning, scattering birds as he bounds toward the feeder.  Never fear--he's never caught one yet!