My dogs are weird.

Domino (left) is codependent. Dusty (center) is OCD. Ripley (right) is ADHD. All three are passive-aggressive poodley-terrier mixes that lunge at the front window when something goes by and bark bark bark their fool heads off until it passes.

What calms the souls of these small, mad dogs?

Peanuts.

Every morning before we leave for work, we stuff Kongs with peanut butter. After we fill the Kongs, the girls (Dusty and Ripley) each lick a side of the spatula so that no peanut butter goes wasted. Unfortunately, Domino recently decided he wanted to lick the spatula, too. Now we need to look for a three-dog spatula. The peanut butter keeps the dogs so busy that we can leave without them trying to escape out the front door or whining like we were torturing them.

While we’re gone, they sleep. A lot. When we’re home, the craziness starts again. Domino barks at other dogs. Dusty barks at trucks and street cleaners. Ripley barks at everything. You might say it’s a little noisy around our house.

Whenever the din becomes unbearable, we grab a bowl full of unsalted, roasted-in-the-shell peanuts and start cracking. The rustling noises somehow penetrate the dogs’ lizard brains, and they rush right over. They watch with rapt attention, waiting for their turn to get a peanut. Mostly they are quiet, although Dusty grumbles if she thinks she’s not getting her fair share. While the dogs munch peanuts, the thing outside the window passes by, and the household returns to a brief, relative quiet. Until the next thing passes by.

Because of the dogs’ intense love of peanuts and peanut butter, the dogs pay full attention while I make peanut butter fudge. Dusty wants to make sure that no morsel of peanut butter fudge, no matter how small, reaches the floor.

Ingredients
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow creme
1 package peanut butter chips (12 oz. or so)

Instructions
Heat sugar, butter, and milk over medium heat to a full, rolling boil in 3 qt. heavy sauce pan, stirring constantly. Boil on medium heat until candy thermometer reaches 234 degrees F (about 4 minutes), stirring constantly.

Take the pan off the heat and start adding the peanut butter chips to the mix.

Once you’ve added the chips, stir in the marshmallow creme.

Stir until the mixture thickens and starts to look dull. Pour it into the foil-lined or buttered cake pan.

Let it cool for a couple of hours and then cut it into squares.