Peanut and Banana dog cookies

Ingredients:

• 3 teaspoons of coconut oil 
• 1 teaspoon of parsley
• Half a mug of white rice
• 6 tablespoons of oats
• 2 bananas
• 3 teaspoons of peanut butter (100% pure peanuts)
• 1 heaped tablespoon of uncooked rice

Leah exercising self-control

Recipe:

• Boil the kettle

• Add half a mug of rice to a pot

• When the kettle is boiled, fill the same mug with hot water and add to the pot

• Turn to a high heat and when it reaches boiling point turn off and leave to cool.

• Preheat your oven to 200° C /390° F

• In a large bowl add the coconut oi, peanut butter, parsley, oats, peeled bananas, uncooked rice- mix and mash all the ingredients together. 

• Line a baking tray with tin foil

• Melt some coconut oil in the microwave and pour/spread over the tin foil

• Add the cooked rice to the bowl and mix.

• Shape as desired and put on the baking tray.

• Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown.

• Leave to cool

• You can 'ice' the treats with peanut butter if you like. 

If you have large dogs and small dogs/cats then the shape I used for the treats could serve as a great portion size. The heart shaped part of the paw for large dogs and the 'toes' for small dogs/cats.

These homemade treats are fairly healthy for dogs, the coconut oil has many benefits including promoting a glossy coat and it could even help with arthritis.
The parsley could help with 'doggy breath'.
Peanut butter is a source of protein and contains vitamin E.
The oats are a good source of fibre.


Use a peanut butter that is low in sugar or and ideally sugar free and that does not contain xylitol (this is toxic to dogs)

Remember when feeding this cookies that they are a treat, and to feed in moderation.

Check out our Youtube video of when we made these treats and see what our gang thought of them: https://youtu.be/_mXkknsql80

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Keeping pets safe at Christmas

Keeping pets safe at Christmas 

Christmas is a busy time of year and it's easy to forget how many hazards lurk for pets. Cats love to attack the tree, and dogs want nothing more than to break into the pile of presents under the tree.

Providing safe alternatives, putting precautionary measures in place and keeping pets busy can help insure that you have a blissful Christmas with your pet.

What to avoid:

Many of the foods, drinks and even plants we have around at Christmas can be a 'no no' for cats and dogs. 

Dried fruit found in Christmas pudding can be high toxic to dogs and can even induce renal/kidney failure. It also contains things like sugar, alcohol and butter, all of which should be avoided with pets. Foods with a high fat content can sometimes cause pancreatitis if ingested by pets.

Alcohol, caffeine, dairy products  and chocolate are bad for pets year round, but there is more of them around over the holidays so be sure to keep it out of pets reach. 

Kids toys often look like dog toys to dogs so make sure to supervise children and pets to avoid upset kids if the dog chews or eats a Santa present that wasn't theirs.

If you are like me then you want your pet to enjoy the holidays as much as you do, and a big part of the holidays is the food! Refrain from sharing too much of of your Christmas dinner with your pet or giving them table scraps as these are usually high in salt and fat for your pooch or kitty.

What to have on hand:

Kongs are a great way to keep pets busy and preoccupied. You can give them their own Christmas dinner in one, you can include things  turkey, raw/gently cooked carrots, sweet potato, etc which makes for a healthy and yummy snack.

Emergency vet number- chances are you local vet office will be closed over the holidays so it is a good idea to have the number on hand so things go more smoothly in the event of an emergency.

Activated charcoal is something great to keep on hand, it can bind to and absorb toxins which puts your pet in less danger.In the evident a pet does ingest something like raisins or choclate then you can administer some before arriving to the vets office. When you call the vet they can talk you though a dosage suitable for your pet.

Safe Alternatives:

You might wonder what I mean by this, basically just giving your pet something else to do rather than what you want avoid, For example if your pet is chewing something like a Nylabone they can't chew tree decoration at the same time( though some might try lol).

If you would rather you cat not explore the Christmas tree, which is kind of a cat wonderland land when you think about it then make sure they have something more interesting to do, try things like hiding food and treats on cat trees and adding some catnip, even tie ribbons and toys to the cat tree (make it as festive as you like) so that they are kept busy with this.

You are only limited by your imagination here so feel free to get creative. I will post more ideas for this so make sure to subscribe to the blog for updates :)

Stay safe and enjoy!!

Easy homemade stew for dogs

Ingredients:

• 250g of pearl barley 
• 400g turkey mince 
• bag of carrots (5-6)
• 1 sweet potato
• 100g of chicken liver
• teaspoon of coconut oil
• 2 teaspoons of salmon oil 

Method: 

• Boil kettle of water (about a litre)
• Add to large pot 
• Turn up to a high heat on stove & bring to the boil 
• Peel & roughly chop the sweet potato
• Wash carrots & chop off the end, leave the skin on and chop.
• Add the 250g of pearl barley to the pot of boiling water
• Dice the livers
• Add mince and livers to the stew 
• Add the carrots and sweet potato 
• Leave boiling for 10 minutes
• Bring to a low heat for a further 30 minutes
• Leave to cool

This recipe would last two large dogs 5-6 days if even as a treat or to complement meals, portions can be frozen.