Une nouvelle recette pour le chien

Despite having spent almost $80 on highly recommended educational toys for the puppy, Dempsey's favorite toys are trash. Literally. An empty water bottle, a cardboard paper towel tube, a hole-y old sock -- you would think he's being raised by stray wolves.

There is a toy called the Kong that puppies are said to love. It's supposed to work like a puppy piñata: fill the rubber cone with treats, then let the puppy bat it around until the treats fall out. This is advertised to provide mental stimulation. (For the puppy.) Since we're neurotic about Dempsey being expelled from the training program, we really wanted him to play with the Kong and get smart.

Over lunch, I finally figured out how to make the Kong more appealing to Dempsey. Instead of using treats, I developed a new recipe. Here it is:

Le carrote avec beurre d'arachide
Ingredients
one organic baby carrot
1/2 Tbsp organic creamy peanut butter

Directions
1. Peel the baby carrot. This releases some carrot juice aroma.
2. Smear the peanut butter onto the peeled carrot.
3. Optional: Microwave on high for 5 seconds, just enough to warm the peanut butter and release some aromatic oils.
4. Insert peanut-butter-smeared carrot into the Kong.
5. Bon appetit!

Okay, so it's not quite as fancy as Doreen's recreation of entrecôte et sauce beurre blanc, but Dempsey says it's très "bone."