For All You Dog Lovers...

This is Philby. He is a VERY spoiled greyhound (as you can see from the fact that he has managed to take over the entire couch and ALL the pillows). He loves all kinds of treats, and will stand behind you in the kitchen hoping that you will accidentally trip over him and fall backward holding a steak.

Because he is so cute, however, I just don't mind (except when he is making a pest of himself at dinner parties). In fact, I tend to encourage it with new stuffed toys and left over pieces of chicken skin.

Yesterday, however, I entered a whole new world of pet pampering when I discovered a new reason to go to the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills. Cheese Rinds! Most dogs love cheese, but don't tend to be that discerning about whether they get Velveeta or artisinal cheddar. I have given Philby more than one pill buried in a slice of pasteurized processed cheese food. The problem with giving dogs cheese snacks to regularly is that it tends to do weird things to their tummies, and the snack lasts for all of 2 seconds and then they are begging for more. Not so with rinds of Parmigiano Reggiano! These rinds (also delicious thrown into minestrone soup) are the perfect dog treat. They are tough but tasty. Plenty of cheese still left on the rind, and since the rind is really just extra hard cheese, it's all natural! More like a rawhide chew than a cheese nip. Philby loves them, and so do I. I think it took him a whole 10 minutes to chew through it, and when he came back, I have never seen him look so happy! I picked up a whole sack of these rinds at the Cheese Store. People don't tend to want them (they don't grate up very well), so they are kind of like left-over bones at the butcher counter.

I don't know if you can pick these up at other cheese stores - I haven't asked - but you should!

Here's to happy cheese dreams - for you and your dog.