Off Topic: The Princess Diaries

Hello, my name is Princess Diaz and I'm a short haired Chihuahua. I live in Southern California and I own over 20 bones. I am 11 years old and I'm still feisty as ever. My surrogate mommy (the cooking diva herself, Armida) has been extremely busy at work and hasn't been able to try any new recipes to post on her blog, so she asked me to write on her food blog for today.

When it comes to food, I am NOT a finicky eater. I eat everything from chicken to beef, guacamole to ice cream, and even onions, sunny-side-up eggs and spaghetti. By the way, doggies love pasta, especially spaghetti. So the entire spaghetti and meatball dinner scene in the movie Lady and the Tramp is all true! I think that movie was based on a true story.

But, of course, we dogs can't eat human food all the time because sometimes it hurts our tummies. Now, I know there are a lot of dog foods and dog treats out there but there are only two that I really like. My favorite treat of all time is Purina's Beggin' Bacon Strips. Actually, this is what I eat all the time. Since I'm so small, I only need two strips and that satisfies me for the day. I also really like doggie treats from Trader Joe's. Of course, if I had my way, I would eat chicken every day. One thing you must keep in mind when feeding dogs is that a 28 to 30% protein to 12% fat ratio is optimal. That's why I stay in shape, although in the winter time I do tend to put on a pound or two.

But, just like people, dogs are very different in their tastes. What I like doesn't mean other dogs will like. However what we do have in common is that dogs need to stay in shape, too. My favorite exercise is to run outside in the front yard and roll all over it. I also run to the mailbox and get the mail on a daily basis. Because I'm so small, I don't need to do much because I can burn calories faster, but larger breeds of dogs do need to work at it. For example, Max, a cousin I haven't met (he is a large breed dog), emailed me that he likes to go to the Balboa Dog Park and to the Ocean Beach Park. Fortunately for us dogs in San Diego, there are a lot of places we are welcomed, including restaurants and parks and even pet-friendly hotels.

Well, it's time for me to say goodbye. I hope you liked my blog. Please leave comments and maybe next time I will try to make a doggie treat recipe and post it here. So let me leave you with my Halloween picture (I am dressed as Princess Leah from Star Wars) and some words of wisdom:

"Don't overfeed your pet but do over pet it!"

~Princess Diaz