Top Notch Toys March 2017

by BONNIE GUGGENHEIM TNT Advertising Director & Associate Editor IT’S A SPRING THING FLOWERS, NEW PUPPIES & NATIONAL SPECIALTIES ETCETERA

A nother Westminster week- end is behind us and I’m looking forward to upcom- ing National Specialties for Affenpinschers, Brussels Griffons, Cavalier, Maltese, Poms and others for April. Lots of exciting new puppies and of course the wonderful new Specials dogs being campaigned in 2017. Warm congratulations to the Owner Handlers who had so much success winning Best of Breed at Pro- gressive and Westminster as well as the Toy specialties at the Pennsylvania and of course the Yorkshire Specialties grand and glorious shows. Both the Hotel Pennsylvania and the New Yorker did a fabulous job of taking care of exhibitors who came with mul- tiple dogs and they came from all over the world! The excitement in the lobby of the three hotels was felt throughout with friends

Top Notch Toys. Inquiring minds want to know what is happening in your world—email or call and advertise your success. Need help? Just let me know! Bonnie bonnie@dmcg.com 863.738.8848

Most of them are competing not just in the Juniors competition but against seasoned professionals and owner han- dlers. Keep up the good work! There has been a great deal of dis- cussion on feeding dogs commercial diets as some have had recalls and often multiple times. While there are great foods available exhibitors have inquired about cooking for their dogs so I have included a recipe for you to try. You can find online information for additional recipes. It is a lot of work to prepare food that includes all the nutri- ents your animals need so cooking is not something on my agenda.

SLOW COOKER RICE & BEEF

2½ lbs. ground beef 1²⁄ ³ cups brown rice 1 cup kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1½ cups butternut squash 1½ cups chopped carrots Optional: frozen peas or green beans

CHICKEN STRIP CHEWS Use boneless chicken breasts cut in appropriate size strips, put in the oven on a baking sheet at 325 degrees and bake until they are very well done.

Stir all ingredients in the crockpot and add 4 cups of water. Cook covered on low for 5 hours or you can cook 2 or 3 hours on high. Stir and cool; refrigerate what you do not immediately feed. This makes about 11 cups of cooked food.

getting together, showing off new dogs and in gen- eral having a hot time in the old town. Check out their ads in this issue! Several of these very winning Toys are ranked way up there or are number one in sev-

Cool and refrigerate any you do not use immediately.

eral different categories. Very exciting for the breed, the breeders and the handlers! Rankings are included in Top Notch Toys which will make it obvious a lot of exhibitors and breeders are doing all the right things in the whelping box and the show ring. The numbers make me feel there are still many serious and knowledgeable people who care about their respective breeds and the sport in general. Juniors are such a talented and hard working group that are the upcoming breeders and handlers of tomorrow.

Top quality commercial diets that are breed specific are my personal choice but the recipes on this page might be a fun option for your picky eater. I enjoyed meeting new people at the local Ocala dog shows and got lots of puppy kisses, too. Remember, do not get lost in the other magazines, be found in

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