Two-Ingredient Homemade Dog Treats

My sweet Caesar boy got a bath the other day. Although he was extremely well behaved, I know it isn't exactly the most pleasant experience for a dog. For that reason, I thought he deserved to be rewarded afterwards.

Not too long ago I saw a Facebook post about homemade dog treats, so I decided to give my own easier version a try. These treats took only a few minutes to mix together

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups Oatmeal
• 2 4oz jars Turkey/Chicken & Sweet Potato/Pumpkin Baby Food (make sure that baby food doesn't contain garlic, onion, or other ingredients which may be harmful to your dog. 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Grind up the oatmeal in a food processor.  
3. Add the baby food to the food processor and combine with the oatmeal to create a thick mixture. 
4. Use a spoon to drop balls of the oatmeal mixture onto a baking sheet. I did tablespoon sized balls for my big guy. 
5. Bake for approximately 20-22 minutes. Smaller sized treats will require less time. 
6. Cool completely and store in refrigerator. Recipe yields about 15 tablespoon-sized treats.

Caesar loved how these turned out and I was pretty impressed too! Since they were made with ingredients that I actually eat, I gave them a try too. Yes, I tried dog treats. They weren't bad! Now, I'm looking forward to experimenting with some other treat flavors in the future.

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That Time My Dog Taught Me A Life Lesson

I came home from grocery shopping yesterday to find a huge mess on the floor around the trash can. I don't kennel Caesar when we leave the house (or ever, really), because the most trouble he gets into while were gone is napping on the couch. I swear he's like a kid. He wouldn't dare hop up on the couch while we're home and he makes sure to jump off when he hears us outside. Well, the night before last, we had Chicken Marsala for dinner, so there were chicken wrappers and flour everywhere!

As much as I wanted to freak out and pop Caesar on the nose, I tried my very hardest to not be the bitch mom again. I could already tell he knew what he did was wrong by the sad way he was cowering around. I didn't even bother raising my voice (too much). Instead, I used some of the same techniques that I read about using on kids with the dog. I bent down looked him square in the eyes, and calmly but sternly said, "Caesar, no!"


And that was that. I cleaned up the mess, felt awesome that I didn't lose my cool, and everyone went on with their day. The whole time, I just kept thinking that this is exactly the approach I need to continue to take with the girls. It probably took less effort to remain calm than it does to get all worked up over little things.

Overall, yesterday was a much better day. It helped that Veronica was in school and Adri and I kept busy just as I was hoping. Thanks for all of your kind comments.

Today, we'll be taking a trip to the zoo. Hubster is working, so we're going along with another family. Thank God it's Friday, and we'll get to spend the next few days relaxing.

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Fun-Filled Weekend

Because of my little announcement yesterday, my weekend post is coming a day late. The drab weather finally let up (for the most part), and we were able to enjoy a nice weekend out and about in Hawaii. The weather has been crappy just about every weekend lately, and staying home has gotten extremely old.

Saturday afternoon started out with a trip to a local food truck rally. The food truck thing really took off in Miami just after we moved away, which has left me intrigued by it since then. I finally had my chance to go! This group hosts monthly food truck get togethers, but they're always in Honolulu, and that seems like a far drive just for food. Luckily, this one was 10 minutes away and it was bacon themed.

I was a little let down that not everyone stuck to the bacon theme, but I was still blown away by all of the varieties of food that were available! There was a Puerto Rican inspired truck that even had bacon empanadas. Holy yum! We walked the entire venue along with some of Hubster's work boyfriends, sampling treats along the way, but since the weather decided not to cooperate, we headed out.

NOT bacon flavored ice cream

Bacon mac & cheese wontons

Waffle dog topped with bacon, cheese & possibly syrup

The rendezvous location was boyfriend #3's house not too far away. The boys drank beers outside, the girls chatted inside, and the kids played and watched TV. In the evening, there was a man-date, and the girls continued to hangout for a little longer.

Sunday was a beach day that Caesar got to tag along on. One of the boy friends live literally across the street from the ocean, and part of the beach there has a dog section. I was afraid to let Caesar off of his leash, and according to the law, you're not suppose to anyway. Plenty of other dogs were, but since my big guy hasn't interacted with anyone lately, I was afraid of him taking off, and not listening. He did well, so maybe next time. If we do a next time.

My sweet boy wasn't a huge fan of the water and definitely wasn't feeling the waves. He had no problem hanging out in the sand and digging huge holes. The other dog that we were with (with no leash) had a great time running into the ocean to fetch a toy. If only my puppy liked the water. Still had a blast though! No little dogs were mauled which made the experience even better.

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Training a Fight Dog

I have seriously typed up this post three different times already. For some reason, I can't just figure out what I ant to say, and how to say it. I'll just start with what sparked me to write this.

On Sunday we took Caesar to the dog park on post. We don't have much of a yard for him to run around in, so even though he gets to play outside daily and sometimes I run up and down the stairs with him, it's nice to let him run loose at the park. The dog park is an old fenced in baseball field, so there is plenty of space. When we got there this weekend, there were a few other dogs. All much smaller than him, because he's 75 pound lab/pitbull mix. I worried a little since sometimes he can be overly friendly and playful and I didn't want anyone getting squished.

After sniffing some butts and running around a little, Caesar came back to a corner with us to do some sprinting with Hubster. I stand and watch. I can't outrun the dog. A new dog showed up, and just like it was a spiffy new toy, all the pups ran over to get their sniff on. No issues so far.

But then, this crazy bitch showed up. Literally. Haha! A little poodle thing was first at the gate to greet it, and the dog flipped out and attacked it. Being the awesome little gigantic hero that he is, Caesar ran over to the rescue, followed by Hubster. The poodle owners kind of just froze in terror as Caesar swept in and Hubs snatched up the little guy. Owners of crazy bitch did nothing. As Caesar was trying to meet the new dog, it snapped and attacked him. Think: standing on hind legs, angry growling, and lots of sharp teeth. The dog photos that I Googled were rather graphic, so I'll spare you and use these bears as an example.

Here at Fort Leonard Wood, and most other military installations that I'm aware of, Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, Doberman Pinschers, Chows, and wolf hybrids are deemed as "aggressive" breeds, and not allowed to live in housing on post. They always put the word aggressive in quotations also. In the past, we've had trouble renting off post, because some apartment complexes also ban these breeds.

Well, the dog causing the attacks on Sunday was none of the aforementioned breeds. For almost as long as I've been alive, I've always had an aggressive breed of dog. Two Dobermans and a Pitbull. You know, the breeds of dogs banned from living practically anywhere, because they'll chew through walls and kill your neighbors. We've NEVER had an issue any of the dogs being aggressive. In all honesty, it really does come down to the training. If you don't train your dog to not be a douche, it's going to cause issues no matter what breed it is.

Now that we're house hunting in Hawaii, I'm finding Caesar's breed to be an issue. Luckily, I got smart when we got a new vet here in Missouri and I omitted the Pitbull part when I was asked what kind of dog he was. His paperwork now says "lab mix" and I shouldn't have to worry about aggressive breed restrictions. In the future, he'll just be a lab mix. I don't what he's mixed with. Do you think his block head gives it away?

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Savannah Afternoon

If you're a tourist in Savannah, chances are that eating at Paula Deen's restaurant is somewhere on your to-do list. I've never personally been there, but I've heard from friends and family that it really isn't that impressive. My in-laws compared the buffet to that of Golden Corral. I'm not sure about you, but I'd rather only pay $9 for mass-produced, low quality, all you can eat food. I still love you Paula!

Anyway, we have our own favorite little breakfast/brunch/lunch spot in Savannah. It's kind of randomly dropped in the middle of one of the historic neighborhoods, and we weren't sure how to find it the first time we visited, but it's totally worth the search. Clary's is a fantastic little diner-style restaurant in the heart of Savannah with some of the best stuffed French Toast you'll ever have.

I've always had the breakfast there, but since we went in the afternoon this last time, I had a cup of soup and a sandwich. Their Tomato Basil Bisque was spectacularly creamy with plenty of cream cheese (also my secret ingredient in tomato soup) and chunks of tomato. I got a BLT sandwich which was loaded with tons of crispy bacon and perfectly toasted bread. Hubs got the Elvis, which is French toast stuffed with peanut butter and banana. Yum!

 

 

Since we were headed to Forsythe Park after lunch, we brought our dog along. They have tables out on the sidewalk, so you're welcome to bring pets to eat with you. They're super pet friendly and even brought Caesar out a bowl of water, along with tons of tasty doggie treats.

Even though the park wasn't too far away, we drove to make it easy with the babies and their stroller. I seriously love this park because they water fountains for dogs right under the people fountains. And it's just beautiful. I know it's weird, but I love that the grass was so impressively bright and green. I laid on a blanket with the dog for the majority of the time and Hubs and his mom played with the girls on the playground. Since SCAD is in the area there were plenty of hipsters, but probably just as many families doing the same as us.

Being stationed at Fort Stewart and it's proximity to Savannah and the beaches has been wonderful! We'll be pretty busy in the next couple of months leading up to our PCS, but hopefully we'll be able to make it out to Forsythe again. Maybe next time without the dog, since he was wanting to play with all of the other dogs there, most of which were half his size. The last thing I need is to be sued because of my hyperactive pet.

I was not compensated in any way for this post.

On The Go

The past two days have been a little more than hectic. I've been taking a Rear Detachment training though ACS and running around picking up and dropping off children at various daycare locations. I almost feel like a chicken with no head.

Yesterday, we had Caesar neutered. He was such a pleasant little creature after the surgery. All he wanted to do was sleep on the carpet. V was able to lay with him without being trampled and gnawed on. This morning, totally different story though. I had to lock him up so that Baby A could enjoy some tummy time on her own while big sis slept.

 

Guess what happened during tummy time..! My munchkin is officially on the move!! For a while she's been rocking back and forth on her hands and knees and today she finally started making strides forward. It won't be much longer until she's actually up and on the move. I can't wait until her daddy is here to see her!

We have a babysitter coming over tonight. It'll be the first time that some one other than family watches the girls. This mommy is going to enjoy some much needed grown up time over dinner and drinks.

Currently I'm working on a cheat sheet with all of the info that the babysitter will need. I'll share everything on the list once it's finished up.