Dog Treats: Weekly Experimental Post!

So, this last week I made some cut out treats.  I'm completely behind on this plan to do different treats each week, but it's mostly because I've picked up so many extra hours at work the last couple of weeks!

I bought some basic cookie cutters off Amazon in a few cute shapes, then ordered some custom designed cutters from HomePrint3D on Etsy.  Their customer service is AMAZING and I absolutely adore the work they did.

Idgie was also highly impressed

The recipe I used to begin with is a really simple milk-bone type recipe:
3/4 cup hot water
1/3 cup margarine
1/2 cup powdered milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
3 cups whole wheat flour
In large bowl pour hot water over the margarine. Stir in powdered milk, salt, and egg. Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Knead for a few minutes to form stiff dough. Pat or roll to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into shapes. Bake at 325 degrees for ~50 minutes. Cool. They will dry out quite hard. Makes about 1 1/4 pounds of biscuits. ((Make sure you put these on the middle rack... I had some on the middle and some on the bottom and the ones on the bottom were too done when I pulled them out!! ))

All three of the pups liked these treats as is with no extra seasoning in them. They're nice and crunchy and apparently tasty. =) I attempted a few batches with slight recipe changes and everything I tried, they loved. Beef or chicken broth in place of the water really got them excited. =) 

This recipe is pretty basic and nothing too thrilling about the cooking process - the excitement here is in the cookie cutters!!!! My initial batch was done with the cutters off of Amazon, and I used the fire hydrant and dog bone cutters for those.

After the etsy cutters came in, I had a blast making them with the logos!!

Each batch of dough made 12-16 of these larger cookies.

She really, really, really didn't want to hold still for this pic!!

Success!!!

My First Bama Bully event

Saturday morning I dove in head first to my first Bama Bully booth: GBHS' Barking for Bucks telethon.  My friend Apasra sent me there with $20 so I could get a shirt (THANK YOU!), Nick is coming by sometime a little later in the morning with Elsa, and I've got a few dog treats baked to help raise a little.

My southern side took over during packaging...

I'm pretty tired from working the night before (and somehow knowing I have to be back at work Saturday evening is making it worse...), but I am really excited because one of the ladies at work saw me making up the baggies and bought two of them from me right then and there!  That was encouraging because I was doubting all the effort I put into the setup (as usual).

I am not able to bring Idgie because I have only had her for one week.  Instead, Nick is going to bring Elsa by a little later in the morning.  I'll have enough time to setup and get settled in before she arrives and then he can walk her around a bit before she has to be contained at the booth with me.

I get there around 8:30 (I got held up trying to make a few extra treats after work) and meet Laura to finish setting up.  By nine the event has started and people are slowly trickling in.  Overall, people were really nice and interested in our adoptable bullies.  Nick brought Elsa around 10:30 and I had to leave to get to bed by noon.

She was a total ham and everyone loved it!

Nick and I walked around to the different booths before I had to leave. Everyone was really nice and I was surprised at how awesome Hollywood Feed is... they actually charge less for Canidae Life Stages food than I am paying off of Amazon!!! They also have a buy 10 get the 11th free with Canidae.  They gave us tennis balls that are a huge hit at the house!!

Puppy Photos Week of 7/13

Morning Dog Park Fun

Britta loves my tub faucet.

Meet Idgie!  She is going to be my first foster dog... hopefully she will be here Friday!

Buying Idgie and Elsa Silly Bums.  Britta already has one that came in her BarkBox and Elsa always loves to play with it, so I decded it was time for her to have one too.

Winding down after a long day.

Puppy photos! Week of 7/7

We just found out Brusters does puppy sundaes!!

Mommy, I think it's a little too tight...

Got a Kong wobbler this week to keep things varied and interesting at mealtime. 

New Kong! Donated the old one to the humane society. :)

I wanna pump gas too!!

This Week in Pictures

(Courtesy of India Lott)

This week in pictures

We bought an antler and she loves it!

Niners all the way!! I want to get her a cheerleading outfit before the season starts as well...

The vet isn't so scary if there's out-the-window happiness ahead of time!

Digging holes at Joe Wheeler. The dam is in the background. 

Cheering daddy's team on at kickball!!

June BarkBox #2 is Here!

So, here we are, a few days later, with a whole new BarkBox to brag about!

For anyone who missed it, the first barkbox that came this month was a HUGE hit with the pups!  It was technically Elsa's box, even though we share the treats equally.

My referral link is: http://ruv.barkbox.com/x/s7oA7g... You get 10% off your subscription and I get a free box.  

We currently subscribe for two Medium boxes since Elsa and Britta are about 25-30 pounds each.  There are three sizes and once the pups are a bit bigger, we will be subscribing to the Large box!

Now, for the goodies in Britta's box!

R2P Silly Bums Monkey Butt (could not find direct link)
Valued at: $10

This toy has a squeaker and crinkle material. It's ridiculous and funny and who couldn't love it?! I get the feeling I may be buying one for Elsa as well.

Tree Frog
Valued at: $10

This toy is so cute!  It specifically has a warning on it that says "not meant as a chew toy". I'm not even sure what to do with it if they can't chew on it. Somehow, no one is really interested in this frog. So the warning doesn't really matter for us!  I'm not comfortable donating it, so I guess we will just leave it around for supervised playtime. 

Banana Chips
Valued at: $8

These banana chips are toasted in coconut oil. Britta wasn't sure about them at first, but now she really likes them. As usual, Elsa just about eats anything and loved these. 

Primal Freeze Dried Beef Pieces
Valued at: $9

These freeze dried liver beef pieces are a HIT!

Overall value: $37... DEFINITELY worth it. =)

June BarkBox #1 Has Arrived!!

So, we have two BarkBoxes coming this month!!! Britta and Elsa each get a box and originally Nick and I were looking forward to it because it will allow us to have identical toys for them which means less tug-o-war sessions over the current favorite thing when they're together.
Instead, we have two completely DIFFERENT boxes that are showing up!!! I'm not even upset by this... the treats are always fantastic and this means Nick and I can split the treats up and each puppy can have four to five types of treats instead of only two or three!
This also gives me a chance to gush about the treats and toys that come TWICE as much as originally planned. =)

First off, let me just talk about customer service. BarkBox has it down!! We received a discount for having two boxes coming to our household, last month a toy didn't show up and they immediately sent us another toy, and I received an email from one of the owners just checking to see how we were liking our subscription.
For those of you that aren't familiar, BarkBox donates 10% of its proceeds to a different rescue each month.
My referral link is: http://ruv.barkbox.com/x/s7oA7g... You get 10% off your subscription and I get a free box.

We buy the Medium box for both of the pups since Elsa and Britta are currently somewhere between 25&30 pounds. The beauty of the subscription is that once they need a Large box, we can switch up to that!
 
So, now on to what everyone is reading this page for: the goodies that came in our first box this month!

Le Petit Treat - Quiche Lorraine
Valued at 7.1 oz for $11.99 

Treats in general go over well with both Britta and Elsa. These are going to be especially useful for training.  The two girls adored these treats and the heart shape is absolutely adorable!

Bocce's Chicken Cordon Bleu
Valued at 8 oz for $9.50 

These smell so good I want to eat them myself!!  The pups apparently agree since they almost instantly wanted seconds. :)

Harry Barker Cotton Rope Tug & Toss
Valued at $8 

This is a really good toy for Elsa. We are working on her becoming more interested in toys and building her prey drive some to help with her training.  This being both a tug toy and a ball, it's much more convenient for trips to the park!  I'm hoping it holds up better to her chewing than other rope toys we have had.

Edit: she has chewed on this constantly for the last three days and she hasn't broken any of the rope yet! This is a perfect toy for us!

Harry Barker Eiffel Tower Dog Toy
Valued at $12 

I was so excited when I saw this toy in the set! Mom is big into French impressionism and language and I'm a fan of the Eiffel tower and Monet myself. I'm really glad this came in Elsa's box because I think mom will get a kick out of it. Elsa is going to love anything I dangle in her face to play with, so I tend to get excited when I find something I like too. =) 

The best part? This toy has TWO SQUEAKERS IN IT!!

Edit: after only two days, this toy has a major hole in the bottom and a smaller one up top.  Elsa is a moderate chewer, at best.  It's adorable but NOT worth $12.

  

Overall Value ~$31
Six month subscription cost: $114 ($19/mo)
This box is definitely worth EVERY penny!

Stay tuned! The other BarkBox for this month should arrive in a couple of days!!  If the preview on my app is to be believed, it is a monkey theme. =) What items have you recieved in your BarkBox this month?

If you are curious about what comes in the small box, I recommend checking out My Subscription Addiction's BarkBox reviews!