Lovin' Pomeranians (Part 2)

I first expressed my adoration for Pomeranians in a post dedicated to the breed after Scooter's cute little face became the 'poster child' for pomeranians on a breed website. That post, chock-full of cuteness has been a huge hit. And I don't blame you guys one bit. Pomeranians are just too deliciously cute to resist. So don't even try... cause I'm back today with round two. 

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Cuteness overload! Is your heart melting yet? 

Sparklin' clean

February is Pet Dental Health Month. My calendar tells me so :)

Last February, we shared our top tips for clean teeth. They ranged from various food & water additives, teeth cleaning toys, and our favorite store-bought & natural bones. In case you missed it, be sure to brush up on your doggie dental education. Pun intended.

Remembering to brush your dogs teeth isn't one of those second-nature things for most people. Count me in that bunch for sure.

That's why I've had a standing rule for years. Every time our dogs gets a bath, they also get their teeth brushed. I try to remember to brush in- between baths too, but this little rule is a sure-fire way to make sure they never go too long without a brushing.

So go ahead, give it a try. Your pups 'toofers will be forever grateful.

Will you be my Valentine?

Happy Valentines Day!

I made Scooter's sweet little heart collar by following the "5 Minute Valentine" tutorial found on PrettyFluffy. Her DIY heart collar was so cute on her border collie Soda that I just couldn't resist an attempt of my own. I think Scooter's turned out adorable, don't you? It justsohappened to snow overnight which worked out splendidly for an impromptu photo shoot.

I thought it would also be fun to share a Valentines themed recipe today. This is one that you can quickly whip up as an extra special treat for your dogs this year. Not only are these treats right in time for Valentines Day, they're also full of delicious heart-healthy ingredients.

 Directions: 

Preheat your oven to 375 F

In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients and stir together until well combined.

Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Roll dough into 1/2 inch balls and bake 15-20 minutes.

Remove from the oven, and allow to cool. Enjoy!

They look like little meatballs when finished, not the most appetizing
cookie to share with human friends, SO glad this ones for the dogs :)

How do you and your pup celebrate Valentines Day? What types of treats do you bake for your dogs?

Roasted

This isn't the first time you've heard me talking about pumpkin on this blog. And it won't be the last either. Pumpkin is awesomely healthy for our dogs. And they love it! Today I want to show you how easy it is to skip the canned variety and roast a pumpkin at home instead.

I already know what you're going to ask. So yes....I have had this pumpkin laying around on my counter since before Halloween. And yes, I know I'm lucky it didn't rot away on the counter. Don't judge me :)

In our Howl-oween post this year, I shared a kong filler recipe that called for canned pumpkin. The roasted pumpkin "recipe" (not sure I can call it that- it's too easy!)  I'm sharing today could easily be used in place of the canned pumpkin for this or any other recipe. So no excuse not to try this right away, since you've got a recipe to try already! You could bake it into biscuits, birthday pupcakes, the possibilities are endless. Honestly though, our dogs prefer to eat a few scoops of pumpkin mixed in with their kibble at night.

Roasted Pumpkin:

1. Start with a small "baking" or "cooking" pumpkin. These are much smaller than your 

traditional jack-o-latern, and are sold in the produce section of your grocery store  

{See photo of Scooter above for size reference}

2. Cut pumpkin in half, scoop out seeds and strings

Ready for the oven

3. Line a glass baking dish with aluminum foil. 

Place each pumpkin half open-side down and add 3/4 cup of water.

4. Bake at 375 degrees for about 1 1/2 hours. Pumpkin should 

be fork-tender and slightly browned when done. 

5. Let pumpkin cool completely before scooping out the cooked insides 

6. Store roasted and finished pumpkin in an air-tight container in your

fridge if you're not planning to make kongs, or other bake pup treats with it.

Final Product

 What have you been baking for your dogs lately? Who's planning on roasting a pumpkin this weekend? Oh just me then...

A little {pre} spring cleaning

I keep jumping to the conclusion that Spring is here already. We've gotten snow exactly one time this year (which has to be some sort of record low), and have had an extremely mild winter as far as we're used to. No snow combined with mild temperatures has let my mind wander ahead to next season. Our dogs' toy basket has gotten a little out of hand lately and the "spring cleaning bug" temporarily took over.

Toys, toys everywhere! I only keep about half of their toys out at a time because I rotate them to avoid boredom.Yet it still seems that toys laying around are a constant nuisance in our house. A little cleaning and organizing was definitely in order.

I started by sorting the toys into three piles: stuffed toys, plastic toys, and 'other'. Immediately all the stuffed toys went straight into the washing machine, and the plastic toys met with a sink of soapy water. Once they were clean, it was just a matter of deciding which toys stayed out, and which ones I wanted to pack away. I settled on re-purposing an old linen bag to store the rest of our dog toy collection away in the closet.

Ahhhhhh. It's so much better now that it's nice and tidy :) Notice how the toys look so nice and clean compared to the grunge-ified first pics?

What are you cleaning and organizing this week? Does anyone have organization on your list of resolutions? Better yet...are you and your dogs out enjoying some great weather?