When Life Gives You Lemons....Make Dog Treats!

As I adjust our foster dog to a new, high quality, grain-free diet, I've discovered that grain free treats are not a very affordable option.  With chihuahuas, a $6 pack will last well over a month, but with a malamute requiring lots of positive reinforcement, this is a great expense.  She ate an entire bag in two days (in my defense it was an itty bitty bag of treats for toy breeds) as we teach her that the crate is not a punishment, but a safe happy place where she is to sleep and use when she needs some time to herself.  Her manners thus far have been impeccable, but she has to be crated at night and of course we want to spoil her a bit as well. 

I looked online for recipes and came across several to try.  I went with a drop cookie style treat this time and they've been a big hit with her and the chihuahuas.  Of course I can't just make a recipe, I have to alter and adjust to customize it to my own specifications, so this is my edit on an original recipe found on http://www.morethanpaleo.com

Grain-Free Dog Treats

2 sweet potatoes

2 T ground flax seed

4 T water

2 eggs

1 C peanut butter

1/2 C coconut milk

1 1/2 C garbanzo flour

Steam and mash the sweet potatoes.  I sliced mine and put them in the steamer basket of my rice cooker, allowed them to cool, pulled the peels off, and mixed them together in my mixer with the whisk attachment.

Mix the ground flax with the water in a separate bowl and leave it on the counter while the sweet potatoes cook, they'll absorb the water and form a paste.

Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl to form a thick batter.  You may need to add more flour or coconut milk to your own desires.

Drop onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and cook at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Pull them out and press them flat then put back in the oven for 10-30 minutes depending on the size of the treat.  The small treats (about the size of a quarter) require 20 minutes total cooking time and the large ones (pictured - the size of a conventional cookie) require 30 minutes total cooking time.

Allow to cool and then test them on your happy dogs and foster pup.  I plan on storing them in a glass jar, and from what I read online, they will keep up to two weeks on the counter.  This batch made 40 small cookies and 15 large cookies.

A Reluctant Rescue

Life sure can be crazy at times.  I am not a fan of dogs, yet I own two rescued chihuahuas and love them, though not so much the male when he chooses to pee on my rugs.  Three days ago, I went to pick up some items from a friend's house and found her dog in less than desirable conditions.  Due to extenuating circumstances in her life, she is no longer able to care for the dog and has been attempting to rehome her with no success.

I came home, called Man, and told him we had to do something immediately because the situation was just no good, bad, awful and the puppy wasn't happy.  A few hours later we were back at the house collecting the dog and her various belongings.

When we brought her home we spent an hour on the front porch brushing, brushing, and brushing until she'd had enough.  We then brought her into the bathroom and washed her until the hot water heater ran out of water, but she still wasn't fully clean, we rinsed her and called it good until we could get her more settled and comfortable.  She'd been through so much already and the bath was a bit distressing so she'll get another bath on the next sunny day.

She's so full of fluff it's hard to tell she's thin, but the second picture (showing my embarrassing pile of recycling to go out) does show some of her leanness.

Man laid on the floor with her for an hour and a half before we walked her for the night and put her in the kennel.  She was utterly blissed out and started to relax.

There is an issue with Freyja, she's dog aggressive.  So at the moment we have my dog sequestered in my room with a small chihuahua paradise set up while we work on how to address her issues and safely attempt to integrate her with them.  I'm in touch with a malamute rescue as well as putting out feelers to local trainers to find out how to resolve her aggression in a safe, controlled manner.  I've had two serious inquiries into adopting her and have screened one out and told the other she is next on my list to come meet her if she doesn't work out in my home.

Since taking her in, I have been on the phone and computer calling and emailing everyone under the sun about her.  I've talked with the owner who had her prior to the people I rescued her from and got a great amount of her history under my belt and it's tragic.  She was bred multiple times and has been rehomed multiple times.  At some point in her life she developed dog aggression and the woman I spoke to rehomed her in the hopes she would go to a good home where she would not live stressed out by other dogs and loved.  Sadly, I am her sixth placement in her four short years of life and if I'm not her last, I want to be sure whomever she goes to will be  her final family.  She deserves to be loved because all she has to give is her love and she gives of it freely.

Now that she's settled in, she is utterly blissed out between all the love we have to offer.  She has labeled herself Protector of Children and when the kids went to school on Friday I walked her with us to the bus stop.  When the Yellow Flashing Machine of Death pulled up, she placed herself between it and the children in an attempt to protect them from impending doom.  Once she realized the school bus was a gigantic CAR full of excited children, it was all I could do to keep her off the bus because she wanted to ride with the kids. 

Girl came home from a sleepover with a stomach virus and Freyja has been nothing but a source of comfort to her between laying next to her on the couch and pacing outside the bathroom whining while Girl vomits and cries.  Once Girl was feeling a little better they got down on the floor together for some pettings and next thing you know, the belly was up for grabs and the world was good for a time.

The past few days have been hectic to say the least.  Helping her adjust, dealing with an ill child, and still keeping my other pets happy and content is taxing me to great lengths.  I am not very excited about adding another dog to my family and maintain a cautiously pessimistic outlook on the success of this venture, but it needed doing and I learned that when I want something done right, I have to do it myself.  So it's being done.