My interview with Velvet!

Hi all,

Sasha here. I had the opportunity to interview one of my favorite pals and a fellow hound, Velvet the beagle. She is the chief taste tester of CiaoHound's store on ETSY. It is currently closed until the weather cools down to ship homemade treats again. They will be reopening soon though from what I hear, and believe me it is worth the wait. Well, on with the interview!

Sasha- So Velvet, how did you get into being a taste tester for such a yummy treat company as CiaoHound?

Velvet- Well, Sasha, ya know, sometimes it just comes down to being in the right place at the right time. Mommy was looking for a fun hobby to do and came across some dog treat recipes. She tried one (I thought it was delish), but she thought it was a little bland. After about 5 more tries and many more ingredients, she had a cookie she was happy with. I, of course, sat there at her heels the entire time. It was very tiring, but I hung in there, taste-testing each and every batch.

Sasha- Well, how neat is that to be such a faithful company employee being there from the start and all. I bet it was such hard work too working from the floor up so to bark.

Is it hard to eat all the oops that sometimes happen? We know they happen, and some of those experimental flavors might be pretty arf-ful.

Velvet- I love the oops! None of them are arf-ful they just don't look like Mommy wanted them to, especially in the beginning. She played with this tube thing that squirted uncooked cookies and they frustrated her so much that she just went ahead and cooked them and gave them to me. Oh, hehehe, then there was the whole frosting incident! Too thick, too thin, try, try again. She eventually gave up and I got a lot of (what I thought were just wonderful) frosted cookies. Lately, the only oops' are the ends of the bistro bites which are sometimes pointy, so I get those. Oh, and sometimes I jump up on the table and get some of those special ones with catnip in them. Mommy has had to start over quite a few times because of that. She doesn't put the catnip treats on the table anymore. I don't know why they call it catnip. Why not dognip? Dogs would love it, too; I know I do.

Sasha- Those silly humans will never learn that us dogs don't care what the treat looks like. That is a human marketing strategy. We are all about taste and smell. Glad you racked up on the human's unsightly mistakes though. I wish I could have been there for that. The catnip creations must be yummy with the idea of nipping cats. heehee. Not that I would ever do that! (Just in case any kitties are reading this.)

Does your mommy and daddy ever sneak a taste now and then? We know humans would eat them to if you let them. I hear they eat anything.

Velvet- Mommy and my sisters taste the treats once in a while, especially the muffins, but Daddy won't touch the stuff! My sisters said they're healthy treats. I eat anything and everything, so I can understand the temptation.

Sasha- I hear you there. Anything from the doorknobs down is mine. heehee. Strange that your Daddy won't eat them though. He must be a finicky eater.

So what is your favorite treat from the CiaoHound shop?

Velvet- I love, love, love everything! I love the crumbrulee treats sprinkled on my kibble and the cookies and the bistro bites. I really love trying new recipes! I guess my absolute favorite is the Sweet Potato Pie. It has sweet potato, peanut butter and honey in it. You can't beat that!

Sasha- Now, you're making me hungry, and I just had my daily kibble ration a few minutes ago. Oh, and it really isn't the same with out something yummy topping it for sure.

How do you find the time to work out while still "STEAK-ing" out the fridge between batches? I mean I have had those treats. They go in the fridge, and I just can't wait till they come out again. It is all I think about.

Velvet- Oh, I know what you mean, ... hey, wait a minute, .... how did you get some of my treats????? {{{Groan}}} Mommy says its nice to share. I'm glad you love them as much as I do :) Mommy moves the treats around so much its hard for me to keep track of where they are, so I sit and dance in the middle of the kitchen (Mommy does know what that little dance means, she just plays dumb sometimes and it makes her laugh, so she gets distracted). I think she is sending a video of my "technique". Using this method, I can get my exercise and my treats at the same time.

Sasha- Well, Um, you see the treats came to me in this little square box from the mail, and well, I just had to eat them. But, my Mommy made me share with my big brother, too. Mommies they are no fun when it comes to all you can eat treats. Loved the video by the way. I will have to work on my Beagle dancing to keep in shape.

From one hound to another, isn't it really hard to see all those yummy treats go out the door to someone other doggy's bowl? Oh, I can only imagine how much restraint it must take not to bite the mail carrier for taking those treats away from you.

Velvet- I didn't fully understand what those little boxes were for until this interview. I just knew treats went in the box and then out the door. Mommy would come back and not bring the box with her. It is very sad. If it weren't for the treats that stay behind, I would tear up those bad boxes, I know where she keeps them. She is going to send a picture of me watching the whole "boxing" procedure. You can see by the look on my face that it is a horrible scene to witness.On a personal note, Mommy is wanting to start some new hobbies so she can make stuff in advance and be able to work on them out of the house sometimes; treats have always been fresh-baked with each order and she won't have time to do that for several months. BUT, if you like her treats (and I know you do) she'll be baking on the weekends and posting on her blog what's available that week, starting mid-September when the weather cools down. If you have any questions, just email her at ciaohound@live.com, and, here's her blog: http://ciao-hound.blogspot.com/. You can see pictures of the goodies there streaming by from Flickr. MMMM, slideshow of food.

Sasha- Oh, I thought you knew about where those boxes went. Opps, I didn't mean to spill the kibble on that one. Good thing you have the left overs, or those boxes would be toast for sure. I enjoyed the pictures that you sent, too. I can't wait to see what creations your Mommy will come up with next. Just as long as she doesn't forget about us poor starving pets that need those delicious mouth watering treats. Oh, how I wish I new Mommy's paypal password cause I would order me some right now I tell you.

Thank you Velvet for the interview and thank your mommy with kisses from me for typing it all up for you. We better keep those humans around cause our paws sure do get tired from all this typing. Plus, they know how to scratch those hard to reach places so nicely.

Velvet- Thank you so much, Sasha, for the interview, too. I don't think we hounds get listened to enough and you know we have a lot on our minds.