Wet Noses Dog Treats

We have had a crazy 2 weeks! We've had a small rescued dog at our house for 48 hours followed by dog-sitting for a friend whose pup went into her first heat at our house. Then some friends came over with their doggy for a weekend, and finally, a family member came to visit with her new puppy.  In the midst of all these paws coming a going, we received a shipment of new treats from Wet Noses.  Their story is great! But knowing the following information hooked me.

"We bake our products within our own  facility using 100% human grade, organic ingredients. Our products contain NO CHEMICALS, NO ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, COLORS, PRESERVATIVES, CORN, WHEAT, OR SOY."

So, I ordered a variety of treats for my mutts to taste test.  It was even a treat for myself to open the box and find such cute packaging!  My kitchen counter looked like a doggy boutique but without the boutique price. Below is a list of the treats I ordered and their nutritional info (all of which is listed on their website).

DOGRANOLA

Ingredients:

Organic Rye Flour

Organic Peanut Butter

Organic Whole Oats

Organic Flax Seed

Organic Dried Cranberries

Organic Cane Molasses

Calories per Treat: 30

NO WHEAT, NO CORN, NO SOY… 100% ORGANIC

APPLES & CARROTS

Ingredients:

Organic Rye Flour

Organic Apples

Organic Carrots

Organic Whole Oats

Organic Canola Oil

Organic Molasses

Organic Ground Thyme

NO CORN, NO WHEAT, NO SOY

SWEET POTATO LITTLE STARS

Ingredients:

Organic Rye Flour

Organic Sweet Potato Puree

Organic Canola Oil

Organic Molasses

Organic Cinnamon

Organic Ginger

Calories per Treat: 6

NO WHEAT, NO CORN, NO SOY, VEGAN... 100% ORGANIC

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SWIRL

Ingredients:

Organic Rye Flour

Organic Cane Molasses

Organic Butternut Squash

Organic Canola Oil

Organic Whole Eggs

Organic Molasses

NO CORN, NO WHEAT, NO SOY, NO SUGAR, NO SALT

All the doggies that came over loved these treats!  That included my 2 large mutts, a chihuahua, boston terrier, jack russell and a long-haired dachshund.  However, if you have a picky puppy, they offer trial sizes in many flavors for only $1.99!  I should have gone with the full size, though.  Currently, they're offering a flat shipping rate of $5.  They also included one of their brownies for free!  We'll definitely be a repeat customer.

Treats! Fresh from Your Kitchen

The quality of ingredients in our dog's food and treats are slowly improving, even getting some attention in advertising.  I'm so glad it's getting easier to find healthy treats, but if you're still concerned about the ingredients in your dog's treats, why not try to make them yourself?  We have had a blast and saved some cash!  Here's a few of my dog treat recipes that have been approved by my Maeby and Kingsley... but they're not picky.


In case you're in need of some cute cookie cutters, check out these cute little sets. Before I found these, I made the mistake of spending a lot for what I've found to be over sized and over priced Martha Stewart cutters at PetsMart.  At least the cookies are breakable!


Peanut Butter Dog Treats

2 cups flour
1 cup peanut butter (creamy)
1 cup water
1/2 cup oatmeal
1TBSP baking powder 
1 TBSP Honey

Preheat oven to 375 and lightly grease baking pan.  In a mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder and oatmeal. Mix, then add peanut butter, honey and water. Stir until dough forms. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it and then roll it out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut the dough into desired size and shape. Place onto lightly greased pan and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool and store in airtight container.


Apple Cinnamon Dog Treats

2 cups flour
1 chopped apple, with peel for extra fiber
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 TBSP peanut butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon


Preheat oven to 375 and lightly grease pan.
Mix flour, oatmeal, apple, peanut butter and cinnamon together, adding water to make dough workable. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead and roll the dough out into 1/2 inch thickness. Cut and place on lightly greased pan and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.

Pumpkin Dog Treats

2.5 cups flour

2 eggs

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

2 TBS peanut butter

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.

Whisk together the flour, eggs, pumpkin, peanut butter and cinnamon in a bowl.  Add water as needed to help make the dough workable, but the dough should be dry and stiff.  Roll the dough into a 1/2 inch thick roll and cut. Bake for 40 minutes.

Refreshing Summer Dog Treats

16oz plain yogurt

2 mashed bananas or 1 chopped apple (peel on for extra fiber)

2 TBSP peanut butter

2 TBSP honey

Mix and spoon into ice cube tray and freeze.

Thanks to my friend, Penny Arnett, for taking these great photos.

Ikea Hackers!

I'm very excited to show off our Ikea hack we came up with for our doggies! It's a steal of a deal. You'll know what I'm talking about if you've ever shopped out elevated dog bowls. For only $27, you can make a very modern doggy diner. Ikea offers this table in a variety of colors, too.

Home made dog diner

Project made of:

Ikea Lack side table, white     $7
2 small stainless steel bowls   $10
1 large stainless steel bowl     $10

Grand Total                         $27



My husband simply used a dremel to cut out the holes to set the bowls into.  It may be smart to line the inside edges with foam to keep water from seeping into the table.  I haven't dont that, yet.  I also need to saw the legs down at least an inch or two, so their heads can be even with their shoulders when they eat.

The purposes of elevated bowls are two-fold.  1) The dog ingests less air, so they don't get as bloated.  This was Maeby's problem before the elevated dog bowls.  She would regurgitate her dog food frequently after eating.  2) It takes less stress off of the dogs joints.  Would you like to stay standing in a squat the whole time you eat?  I wouldn't!  This was to help Kingsley, who is predisposed to joint problems.  I highly recommend it for your doggy.  Dog diners come as short as 3" and as tall as 18."  If you would need a shorter version, Ikea also has a Lack rectangular shelf that would work perfectly!  I've actually seen people mount them to the wall at whatever height is appropriate for their dog and cut the holes in it for their dog's bowls.  It's very doggy chic when done that way, however you would have less color options.


I have seen some very good deals for dog diners that you don't have to build yourself.  I have to share a favorite of mine I found on Etsy.  How cute are these?!  Sold by ModPet, they are very unique!  If I had the space for multiple doggy diners, one for each of my dogs, I would do it!  They are only $38 - $48 depending on size.  ModPet also makes some very modern chic dog furniture.  You'll have to check them out!

There are plenty of other awesome doggy diners out there.  I just wanted to show off ours, really.  =)  I hope you check them out for your dog.

Dog Food

'We are what we eat', they say. Most of us know what a healthy diet is, even if we don't always put that knowledge to use. The same goes for dog food! Have you ever read the ingredient list on your dog's food container? If you have, do you understand it? I admit, I didn't do this until a couple of years ago when I got my newest addition, Maeby. She didn't tolerate the well known brand dog food I was buying at the time. My vet informed me of the importance of the ingredient list, and if you can't pronounce an ingredient, it probably isn't good. A friend and myself quickly started researching online to learn what other options were out there. We finally found a very helpful tool: Dog Food Advisor.

Dog Food Advisor categorizes dog food brands into star ratings; 1 star - 5 stars, 5 stars being the best. I discovered that the brand name dog food I was buying only had a 2 star rating. The website also breaks down each ingredient and tells you how it may benefit or harm your dog. It is very informative! You'll quickly learn what ingredients are wanted and what ingredients to avoid.

Because of this helpful website, I now buy a 4 star dog food at the same price I was paying for the 2 star dog food! It's amazing! I would buy a 5 star dog food, but it is simply a matter of price. I'm very content knowing that I have doubled the quality of my dogs' food without having to spend any more than I was. There seems to be a big price gap between the 4 star and 5 star dog foods. I will say, I tried a 5 star dog food for a couple of months, but my dogs simply didn't enjoy it. They're like me; they need a little junk to maintain a level of happiness.

I encourage all of you to check out this website and at least review the dog food you're currently feeding your pups. Who knows? Maybe, you can increase the quality of your dog's food without spending more. I hope you can!