Birthday Wrap-up

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Ammo

A long overdue post, I bet you guys are wondering what exciting things I did on my day of birth (October 5th). And more importantly, what goodies did Mom and Dad get me?

Ammo the Dachshund // Birthday Wrap-Up

Ammo the Dachshund // Birthday Wrap-up

When it comes to presents, I’m an unwrapping fool! I can unwrap a present faster than you can blink – a glorious achievement!

Ammo the Dachshund // Birthday Wrap-Up

After the chaos ensued, I was left with some lovely Birthday gifts from my very generous parents.

Ammo the Dachshund // Birthday Wrap-Up

It was a very happy day.

Ammo the Dachshund // Birthday Wrap-Up

My Birthday bounty included a new collar from Mattie & Margot, a lime green hand-knitted sweater from By Chance Designs, a jar of Pet Fair Noshers to fill my toys, a toy and bag of cookies from my bestest friend Trooper, and a Kicker Box.

Ammo the Dachshund // Birthday Wrap-Up

I felt like the luckiest boy in the World! And after a little bit of celebratory barking, mom agreed to let me test out my new Kicker Box.

Ammo the Dachshund // Birthday Wrap-Up

The Kicker Box is a toy designed to challenge a dog, and get them thinking as they try to figure out how to get the treats out of the box by moving the nobs from side to side and up and down. And after about 5 minutes, I knew why they called it a kicker box…..

Ammo the Dachshund // Birthday Wrap-Up

….because I wanted to kick that dang box to the curb! Seriously, all I wanted was my cookies and this box was keeping them all to himself. This must have been some sort of cruel joke.

Ammo the Dachshund // Birthday Wrap-Up

But since I’m a pretty smart guy, I eventually figured out how to move the nobs and release my treats. It’s still a cruel joke is you ask me though!

Ammo the Dachshund // Birthday Wrap-Up

My 4th Birthday was loads of fun, and I’m so glad I got to celebrate it all week with all my friends. Now begins my countdown to Christmas, when I get to open all my presents from Santa! Yay!

Disclosure: I was not paid or perked to write about any of these products. I simply wanted to share all the goodies I got for my Birthday!

Birthday Week: Ammo turns Four!

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Ammo

Today is my Birthday! Hooray!

In the past four years I have been on so many adventures! From riding in airplanes, paddleboarding, performing with the Painting Ponies, painting pictures, and just lounging around the house – each day has been an amazing ride.

I’m looking forward to many more years of adventures – and I can’t wait to share them with all of you!

There are still so many things I have yet to do and see, and a World that is just begging to be sniffed by me!

So excuse me if I spend today shouting Hooray! a whole bunch of times, I’m just uber excited to be turning four – and I can’t wait to tear into my presents tonight.

Three cheers for me!

Now here’s to hoping I can stay awake for my party – being an adventurer is super exhausting!

Birthday Week: Dog Treat Round-up

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Ammo

I couldn’t decide what I wanted mom to bake me for my Birthday, so I decided to round-up some of my favorite dog treat recipes on the web right now.

My paws are crossed that mom will bake me one of these this weekend, because when your Birthday is on a Friday you get to extend it into a Birthday Weekend – it’s a rule!

Natural Dog Treat Recipe with Apples from 17 Apart

Ammo the Dachshund // Birthday Week // Natural Dog Treats with Apples

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 finely chopped or grated apple
1 beaten egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup cold water

Ammo the Dachshund // Birthday Week // Natural Dog Treat Recipe

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease cookie sheets. Blend flour and cornmeal in large mixing bowl, then incorporate apple, egg, oil, brown sugar, and water until well blended. Flour your workspace and roll out dough to desired thickness. Cut cookies to desired shape and size. Place dog cookies on baking sheet and bake 35 minutes. After baking, turn oven off and leave cookies inside for another 30-45 minutes until crisp. Allow to cool and store in an air-tight container.

Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits from Pink Pistachio

Ammo the Dachshund // Birthday Week // Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon applesauce

Ammo the Dachshund // Birthday Week // Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. Add wet ingredients and mix until well blended. Knead into a ball and roll out on wax paper to 1/2″ thickness. Using cookie cutters cut out cookies and place on an unlined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Store in an air-tight container.

Low Fat Carrot Dog Treats from Dog Treat Recipes

Ammo the Dachshund // Birthday Week // Carrot and Banana Dog Treat Recipe

Image via 17 Apart

Ingredients:

1 medium banana (ripe)
1 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup unsweetened applejuice
1/8 cup water (maybe more, as needed)
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (keep some handy for rolling)
1 cup rolled oats

Ammo the Dachshund // Birthday Week // Carrot and Banana Dog Treat Recipe
Image via 17 Apart

Directions: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, lightly spraying a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and sprinkling a little flour onto the surface you’re planning to use to roll out the dough. In a medium bowl, mash up the banana and mix in the shredded carrots. Then add water and apple juice. Stir. Next, add the oats and flour. Stir all of the ingredients together until they are thoroughly combined.

Using your hands, knead the mixture until a dough forms. Dump the dough onto the lightly floured surface that you prepared earlier. Roll it out until it’s about a half inch thick. Using a cookie cutter, cut into 3″ pieces. Place the pieces onto your lightly sprayed baking sheet. Bake the dog treats for 25 minutes.

Before “serving”, let them cool completely. Here’s a tip that you may find useful: If your dog likes a little more crunch to his treats, then turn off the oven and let the treats cool there overnight.

I don’t know about you, but I’m totally drooling!

Birthday Week: Get to Know Me

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Ammo

I thought it would be fun to dive a little deeper into the true me during Birthday Week, just like I did last year when I answered some of your burning questions. So with a little help from my mom we came up with 10 new questions for me to answer that will help you get to know me a little bit better.

Ammo the Dachshund // Birthday Week // Ammo turns Four

Q What is your all-time favorite thing to do on the weekends?
A This is a tough choice between spending time on the farm, and napping in my sunroom at home. I enjoy being at the farm to hunt for groundhogs and lay in the sun, but being at home has it perks too as my sunroom has an all around view of my yard, and my comfy worn in spot on the sofa.

Ammo the Dachshund // Sunroom napping

Q What is your favorite toy?
A Right now my favorite toy is a Strawberry made by Planet Dog. I love it because it tastes a bit minty, is fun to chew on (but this far indestructible) and mom has been filling it with peanut butter which makes it extra special!

Q Do you have any bad habits?
A Well not any that I care to admit! But if you must know, my mom says I bark a little too much at the critters in my backyard. Personally I do not consider this a bad habit when I’m just doing my job by protecting my fortress from intruders. And I guess if we are being truthful here, I also like to hump pillows – particularly the ones on mom and dad’s bed! I know, I am ashamed.

ammo the dachshund super hero

Q What is the next trick you plan to tackle?
A Well I had started learning how to barrel race like this speedy little dachshund, so perhaps mom will help me finish mastering this one. Although mom says she also wants me to learn to put away my toys at home – which doesn’t sound as thrilling to me.

Q Who is your favorite artist?
A Well besides my talented painting pony friends, I have fallen in love with the paintings made by the talented Kim from Yellow Brick Home after she painted my portrait (and the ponies) earlier this year.

Pet Paintings by Kim @ Yellow Brick Home - via Ammo the Dachshund

Q Where are all your super fun photos taken?
A I experiment with a lot of different places for my styled photoshoots (like work, my backyard, the spare bedroom in my house), but recently I’ve been setting up my backdrops in the sunroom at home. It seems to provide the perfect amount of light which makes me look extra adorable!

Ammo the Dachshund // Birthday Week // Get to Know Me

Q In the past 4 years, what has been your favorite adventure?
A It’s so tough to choose just one adventure, but I really have enjoyed when mom and dad took me to the corn maze (which reminds me, I’m due for a trip soon). I get to use all of my hunting and scenting skills to get us through the maze in the fastest time possible – and I have to say my maze skills have been quite impeccable!

Q What is your favorite blog to read?
A Oh gosh, how do I choose just one? You can check out my sidebar to see a bunch of the pet-related blogs that I love to read, but I guess if I had to choose just one to read I’d have to say I’m drawn to my newest blog find, Love and a Six-Foot Leash. It’s the pretty pretty pictures I tell you!

ammo the dachshund blogging outdoors

Q Do you enjoy being a shop dog?
A I very much love being able to go to work with mom every single day, and meeting lots of new people is one of the highlights of my day. However sometimes I just feel a little cooped up, and I get a little antsy having to spend my day inside all the time. But in the long run it definitely beats being stuck home alone all day, and I wouldn’t give up being a shop dog for anything!

Ammo the Dachshund at work

Q What is your favorite food?
A All of the above. But I guess if I had to choose just one, string cheese would be at the top of my list.

I hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know me a little bit better, and if you have anymore questions for me please be sure to leave them in the comment section below!

P.S. I have to make sure I say Happy 4th Wedding Anniversary to my mom and dad today! Kisses from your number one boy, Ammo.

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Birthday Week: B-day Photoshoot – Sneak Peek

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Ammo

It’s becoming a yearly tradition now to take “Birthday Themed” photos of me during the week of my Birthday. And while I can hardly wait to show you how my photo shoot turned out this year, I figure if I have to wait a few more days to open my presents – then you should have to wait to see my photos!

Birthday Week // Ammo the Dachshund // B-day Photos Sneak Peek

Torturous I know, but it will all be worth it when you can see me in my spiffy party hat made by my pal Baxter’s mom.

Birthday Week // Ammo the Dachshund // B-day Photos Sneak Peek

The good news is – only 2 more days until I’m 4!

Birthday Week: DIY Pet Birthday Bandana

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Ammo

Birthdays call for celebration, and what better way to celebrate than a spiffy new bandana to let everyone know it’s your Birthday!

And because I want everyone to celebrate with me, here’s a tutorial I created to help you make your own pet a celebratory bandana.

DIY Pet Birthday Bandana

Materials:

Fabric
Ruler
Cutting Utensil
Screenprinting Ink (or acrylic paint mixed with Textile Medium)
Sponge Brush
Paint Tray
Rubber Stamp (we hand carved ours, or you can find out how to purchase one here)

*some links contain affiliate links

Step 1: Using a ruler and cutting utensil, cut a bandana sized piece of fabric out of your material. We used a bandana I already had as a template, but you can also measure your pet’s neck and add about 4″ to be able to tie it. You might also opt to sew the edges of your bandana to prevent fraying before moving on to step 2.

Step 2: You will need your HOORAY! stamp for this part (my mom carved mine, find out how to carve a stamp here or find out how to purchase one here). Use your sponge brush to apply screen printing ink or acrylic paint mixed with Textile Medium to the stamp.

Step 3: Stamp your fabric in several places, re-applying paint after each one. Then allow to dry.

Adding another color can add to the overall effect.

And when you are all finished you will have a spiffy new bandana that’s perfect for celebrating my Birthday with me.

Happy Birthday to me! Only 3 more days until I’m officially 4 and get to open all my presents!

My HOORAY! stamp was inspired by a post on Squirrelly Minds.

The Birthday Boy

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Ammo

trooper - ammo the dachshund's best friend

Today is a special day, because it’s my best friend Trooper’s 5th Birthday!!

trooper - ammo the dachshund's best friend

Trooper has been by my side since the very beginning and I’m very excited to celebrate his Birthday with him today!

trooper - ammo the dachshund's best friend

He doesn’t know yet, but I got him a few goodies that I guess I’ll share with him tonight at his party. I’m a nice guy like that.

trooper - ammo the dachshund's best friend

5 years is a long time, but I’m very much looking forward to many more years with my bestest friend by my side.

trooper - ammo the dachshund's best friend

And Trooper can look forward to many many more years of me nipping at his heels!

Birthday Week: The End

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Ammo

Well it’s finally time to bid my Birthday week farewell. I am a little sad, but I think it’s time for some new adventures! I hope everyone had fun, and I’m glad you could join me in celebration of my Third Birthday.

ammo the dachshund - trashed party

I definitely had a wild week – evident by the amount of cleanup mom says I have.

ammo the dachshund - trashed party

It’s going to be hard to top Birthday week next year, so I’ll have to spend all year planning!

ammo the dachshund - trashed party

Now can someone tell me who ate all my Birthday cookies? Because it certainly couldn’t have been me.

Birthday Week: Memories

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Ammo

It’s inevitable. As soon as my Birthday rolls around my mom starts talking about how cute I was as a puppy – eventually leading her to break out the dreaded photo album. You know the one – where all of your embarrassing baby photos are on display to the World. So in the efforts of beating my mom to the punch, I thought I’d just share my baby photos myself – in the hopes of avoiding the embarrassing ones!