briscothejrtdog

Blueberry Streusel Muffins Recipe
40 min | 15 min prep

12 muffins
    * 1 cup milk
    * 1/4 cup vegetable oil
    * 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
    * 1 egg
    * 2 cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour
    * 1/3 cup sugar
    * 3 teaspoons baking powder
    * 1/2 teaspoon salt
    * 1 cup fresh blueberries or canned blueberries, drained

STREUSEL TOPPING
    * 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
    * 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
    * 2 tablespoons butter

   1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
   2. Grease bottoms only of 12 medium muffin cups, 2-1/2 X 1-1/4 inches, or paper lined cups.
   3. Beat the milk, oil, vanilla extract and egg.
   4. Stir in the flour, sugar, baking powder & salt all at once until flour is moist (should be lumpy).
       Add the blueberries, combine and divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
   5. Sprinkle each using about 2 tsp of the prepared topping.
   6. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
   7. Remove from pan right away.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The room was quiet as everyone sitting on yoga mats in the lotus position concentrated on their breathing, feeling their heart rates slow.

It was all very relaxing, very Zen. Until one of the participants barked.

This yoga class was unlike most others.

Humans projected calmness as, seated or perched on mats in a circle facing instructor Courtney Weis, they performed the usual yoga positions: cobra, downward facing dog, bridge, chair, tree, triangle, warrior 1 and 2.

But the canine students reacted in a variety of ways — some yawned, some slept, some licked owners’ faces, some sniffed other dogs and a few looked perplexed, especially when they were lifted in the air like furry barbells.

On a recent Sunday, the yoga class for dogs and their owners — called doga — attracted a Jack Russell/cairn terrier mix, a golden retriever/basset hound mix, a Samoyed, a one-eyed pug, a Lhasa apso/Shih Tzu mix, two golden retrievers, a German shepherd and one client of mixed origin.

Ruffin’ It Resort in Madison, a hotel and day care center for dogs, began offering monthly doga classes in January for $15. Owner Renee Brantner Shanesy didn’t know what kind of response she would get, but now there’s a waiting list to join the eight students/dogs per session.

“It was just kind of a trial-and-error thing — let’s see how it is in the Madison market. But it’s been nuts,” said Shanesy, who opened Ruffin’ It Resort three years ago.

Shanesy knew Weis, the instructor, and they joked about offering a doga class. One class led to another, and that’s how Weis ended up sitting on a mat petting her 6-year-old golden retriever Nut and encouraging students to massage their dogs to calm them down.

“Dogs take cues from us. If you’re stressed out, they are,” Weis told the class as the 45-minute session got under way. “Dogs live in the moment, which is what humans are striving for in yoga.”

Most of the pet owners had never been to a yoga class before. Neither had the dogs.

While Weis demonstrated the various yoga positions the humans held the small dogs or used the big dogs for leverage and stability. A Lhasa apso/Shih Tzu named Dante wore a tiny T-shirt with the word Namaste — a traditional yoga greeting — on the front.

What quickly became apparent was the boat position, which is balancing on the hind end with legs and arms in the air, is easier for four-legged creatures accustomed to belly scratches. Both humans and dogs can easily do the downward facing dog position and the upward facing dog position because they were modeled on actual stretches performed by dogs.

Also apparent: Dogs can’t stand on one leg and use their paws to hold another leg in the air like a tree, no matter how hard they try.

Before offering the first doga class, Shanesy and Weis researched some poses from the Internet and talked to other doga instructors, veterinarians and animal chiropractors. There are few instruction manuals or DVDs, and although doga classes are offered primarily on the East and West coasts, only a handful of spots in the Midwest provide doga instruction.

Warren Garstecki, a yoga instructor at the Himalayan Yoga Meditation Society in Milwaukee, has heard of doga, though he’s never attended a class.

“If it attracts pet lovers to yoga, I suppose it could catch on. It will be interesting to see what happens with it,” said Garstecki. “Anything that encourages interest in yoga is good as long as it doesn’t get silly.”

Mostly it’s a fun way for owners to bond with their pooches. Lisa Marino, a yoga instructor from Sussex, attended with her Samoyed, Zamboni, who can perform the downward facing dog pose when prompted by the command “Yoga!”

Marino noted that humans and dogs sometimes get different benefits out of yoga, such as the boat pose, which tightens abdominal muscles on humans. Dogs, however, don’t much care about that.

“Dogs don’t really have to strengthen their abs; they don’t need a six-pack,” Marino said.

Weis has seen all types of dogs in the doga classes, from tiny Chihuahuas and dachshunds to mastiffs and German shepherds.

Although the dogs are always excited at first because they’re in a room with a bunch of other dogs, it’s remarkable how quickly they calm down, Weis said.


Title: Doga: It's yoga for dogs
Author: Globe Gazette and the AP
URL: http://www.globegazette.com/articles/2009/07/01/news/feature/doc4a4aa45a8e6a6072767787.txt
Accessed: 7.1.09 at 11:01 pm EST

Replace the subject line and body with your first blog post and hit send! Include pictures, an mp3, or anything else you want to share. It's just that simple.

Hi Everybody,

Do you need something for your Jack Russell Terrier, or do you have a friend that has a Jack Russell Terrier.  Perhaps you need a gift, treats (yum), food, books, DVD's.

I have it all on my website: www.myjackrussellterrierdog.com

Bet you will find something that you can't live without!!!

Hope to see you soon,

Brisco

Frontline is the brand to trust when wanting to protect your favorite furry friend. Hopefully, they are a Jack Russell Terrier like I am! My people use Frontline on me so they are assured I will not be bring ticks or any other small bugs into the house after a fun filled day of romping in the grass with my other doggie friends. I like Frontline best over the other flea and tick treaments becuase it is easy for my people to apply on my coat, and I do not have to swallow any pills.

Features of Frontline
    * Flea, flea egg, lice, and tick control for dogs and puppies
    * 6-dose supply provides flea, flea egg, chewing lice, and tick relief
    * For all 0-to-22-pound dogs aged 8 weeks and older
    * Easy 3-step application process
    * Package measures 5.8 x 1 x 4.5 inches; limited Satisfaction Guarantee

Visit MyJackRussellTerrierDog.com today to purchase Frontline for your favorite furry friend!

Barks and Wags to you!
Brisco the Blog Dog

http://www.myjackrussellterrierdog.com/Merial-Frontline-Plus-Flea-and-Tick/A/B0002J1FLW.htm

Wahoo hooo! Its lunch time! After a long run in the park, my people and I are back at the house making lunch. I heard something the other day about one of my people being on a diet. What is a diet? Something was said about everyone eating better, including "the dog." I know I have never been on a diet. Hope the food is still good.

Well, I got to eat a new kind of dog food. It was very flavorful and almost, though not quite, as good as getting table scraps. Maybe I like my people being on a diet after all, even if I do not know what it is.

Barks and Wags to you,
Brisco the Blog Dog


Visit MyJackRussellTerrierDog.com today to purchase your Artemis Dog Food.
http://www.myjackrussellterrierdog.com/Artemis-Fresh-Mix-Small-Breed-Adult/A/B000BLMWCM.htm

So today my people are starting their spring cleaning. They are working on cleaning the windows and the carpets today. One of the things about spring cleaning the carpets is my people realize that I am starting to shed my winter coat!

My people purchased a FURminator deShedding Tool to help with my winter coat shedding. This is such a neat comb. Other combs that my people have used hurt me by pulling too hard on my fur underneath. This one is so different. It still helps to pull out the loose hair underneath but it does not cut or damage the top coat. So, I still get to look pretty while my hair that is shedding is taken out.

"Hairs" to you and your people's spring cleaning!

Barks and Wags to you,
Brisco

Visit MyJackRussellTerrierDog.com to purchase the FURminator today!
http://www.myjackrussellterrierdog.com/FURminator-Large-Yellow-deShedding-Tool-with/A/B000FSN0A4.htm

So today I was able to go play outside and dig in the dirt! You see, my people started planting their garden this week, and I have had to be kept on a leash while outside because of all the dirt everywhere. Now that they are finished I was able to reclaim my domain again... and go on the hunt in the "wild" backyard. This time, after successfully navigating the "wild and untamed" blades of grass, when my people called me in, I did not have to get a bath or my paws rubbed with the stiff towel. My paws were treated to a new way of being cleaned, and I loved it! So quick and easy... painless too! My people were so happy with me, I got two Greenies today! Barks about that for sure!

Wags to you,
Brisco the Blog Dog