DIY Dog Treats

We all know I love my dogs like they're my children.

This is partly because one of my dogs is extremely high maintenance.

Ripley the studly german shepherd you see below is highly allergic to...pretty much to life.

I'm not kidding...

He's allergic to cats, carrots, grass, sagebrush, birch, pecans, soy, wheat, corn, cow's milk, yeast, pork, beef,  mosquitos, 

house dust, about ten more different weeds,  potatoes, HUMAN skin cells (so our love), and numerous other things. 

It's kind of exhausting. 

But not as exhausting for him. The above picture doesn't really look like him anymore.

His fur has gotten dry and itchy, his nose is always running, and his bottom lip is extremely swollen.

So what are we to do?

Spend hundreds of dollars on allergy testing? Check!

Spend hundreds of dollars on immunotherapy? Check!

Spend even more money on grain free/gluten free dog food free of most things he's allergic to? Check!

I'm getting off topic. 

Needless to say Ripley cannot have a lot of things out on the doggie market today. 

I'm waiting on some new treats to come in but in the mean time decided to make my own. 

He's allergic to potatoes but not sweet potatoes... I don't get it but oh well...

I spent about $1 on one sweet potato and got a nice sized bag of doggie treats. 

All I did was slice them up into strips and bake them in the oven for about 5 hours. 

The oven temp was 225.

I checked on them every couple hours to make sure they were getting crispy but not burnt.

The dogs LOVED them. 

Tuesday Topics...

So in the spirit of being a better blogger. 

I need to get back on the Tuesday Topic Train... too many T's?

 What can I say I love alliteration. 

This week it is:

Six Favorite Things in Your House

Do my dogs count? I declare that they do!

Yes my 85lb baby is sitting on my lap. 

Spring 2009...

I know it's not six but...

Happy Tuesday!

High Five for Friday...

Let me tell you I am so glad it's Friday. I need a break.

I also need to fold the like 7 loads of laundry dumped on our guest bed...oops

I'm going to try...emphasize TRY to put up my shelves in my craft room. 

and I need to repaint the mirror frame in the guest bathroom. Hence why there has been no final post about it...Dang I am a slacker.

Anyways yay for Friday!

Yes I tried to get Roxy on Dog Shaming.

The sign says, "I finish dinner for my parents when they're not looking. Usually off the counter. I also bring down the dish (break it) when I can't reach." 

She's a thief. I took this after she ate the rest of the taco bake I made. 

She's also eaten my steak, roasted potatoes, a loaf of bread, a can opener (actually just chewed it), etc.

Buster's just very photogenic so I take a lot of pictures of him. The one on the top right was after he jumped in the tub and begged me to give him a bath.

The rainbow in the picture was one of the brightest I've ever seen. 

Seriously, the picture doesn't even show how bright.

Have a good weekend!

My babies...

Anyone who knows me knows that I love my dogs like they're my children. I know a lot of people believe that dogs should be treated like dogs but I just don't see it that way. My dogs live inside and are allowed to sleep in the bed and get on the furniture. They like to cuddle and sit on our laps (especially the 80 lb one!) I really do consider them a part of our family.

Buster is the handsome pug you see above. I have had him for close to 8 years now. He was originally supposed to be given to my Uncle but I fell in love with him so we kept him. He is literally the most loving dog I've ever met and no matter what is always by my side. Most people don't like pugs and think they're ugly (including the boyfriend) but I think he has always been adorable. I had a pug growing up so I'm definitely drawn to this breed. They are very loving and have lots of personality. Buster is amazing with kids too. I don't know if this is a pug thing or just a Buster thing. But my 2 year old cousin would pet and grab Buster and he never got mad or snapped, he always just sat there content with the attention. My cousin actually used to tell people that Buster was his best friend... it melted your heart. Doesn't he look so dapper in his sweater?

The large fellow you see above is Ripley or Ripples as I affectionately call him. He's an almost 3 year old german shepherd and the sweetest dog I've ever known. He can look a bit scary if you're not used to big dogs but trust me he's a huge baby. We always laugh when people say they're afraid of him because we know he's a big softy. The boyfriend and I got him when we decided to move in together. He's gotten a bit taller since this picture and is almost 6ft on his hind legs. He's TERRIFIED of fireworks and likes to sit on my lap on the 4th of July and New Year's Eve. One difficulty we face with him is that he has horrible allergies. We're pretty sure they're not food allergies since he's been on a grain free diet for over a year. He's also been chicken and fish free for about 4 months. The allergies seemed to get worse. So now we're thinking it's seasonal/environmental. I don't want to put him on steroid shots because I'm afraid of the longterm effects. But that may be inevitable if this next supplement doesn't help him. Even though he's constantly itchy and can't put on weight to save his life (because of the allergies) he's a very happy dog.


Roxy is the only other girl in the house and she is pure evil. Well maybe not pure but a large percentage. We got her as a companion for Ripley since Buster is old and grumpy and only wants to play for so long. She came to us from a local rescue and her living situation before wasn't so great. The way she reacts to some things we think she might have been abused. She was definitely neglected as far as attention goes. They don't really know how old she is but the best guess is that she'll be a year old come this September, October, or November. So she was about 5-6 months when we adopted her. She is very loving but she does have some rescue dog tendencies such as jumping and snapping. She does it out of love but it really hurts sometimes. She's ripped three of my shirts because she doesn't just jump, she plants her claws on your back and drags them all the way down. Trust me it feels as good as it sounds. Even though it's hard sometimes I still love her and Ripley really loves having someone he can wrestle with. Or in the case below...cuddle with.

I feel like a bad momma because I don't have any good pictures of Roxy by herself. She is a bit of wild one though so I don't think I'd ever catch her sitting still long enough to grab my camera.