We can't forget about our little friends this summer! They enjoy the sunshine just as much as you do, unfortunately they can get heated pretty quickly. Why not cool them down with some easy to make frozen treats? Your pup will love you a million times more once he gets his paws on this yummy delicacy. The version I made is also great for cats, because let's face it, they tend to get jealous if I spoil my dog more than them! I'll include another recipe just for dogs at the bottom of this post!

You will need:

Ice cube tray

Can of tuna

Some water

A mixing bowl or Magic Bullet

A ziploc bag

Start by mashing up the tuna in your bowl or stuffing it into your food mixer. Don't drain the tuna water, it helps with the freezing. Add about half a cup of water to the mix.

Then mix up that tuna! I used my Magic Bullet, because really, it's my go-to kitchen appliance and takes 10 seconds. Yum... doesn't that just look delicious?...

Fill your Ziploc bag with the mix and cut a small hole in one end. This helps save you from making a huge mess while filling up the ice cube trays. Fill your trays and place in the freezer for a couple hours.

Let pets lick the bowl.  When they're nice and frozen, you can pop them out and let your pets have a taste! I recommend letting them chew on these on a tile floor or a plate, because I'm pretty sure you don't want tuna bits all over your house. You can store these in a plastic bag in your freezer for up to 6 months, so if you make a bunch you can always have some on hand!

Bear was super excited about this new treat! He snatched it right away from those pesky kitties and gobbled it up! Here an an alternate recipe for your pups only:

32oz. plain low or fat free yogurt
1 ripe banana
2 tbsp peanut butter (natural and salt free is best)
You can also add in other fruits like blueberries or anything that is safe for dogs to eat!
Mix it all together and follow the same steps above!

If you don't want to use yogurt, other freezable bases you can use are chicken broth, beef broth, water (like I did), fruit juices (natural or "no sugar added"), and baby foods (natural/organic fruit or vegetable blends). *make sure nothing has onion in it.

Do you think your pet would love these?! Give it a shot!

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Friday night started off pretty normal. D and I made a campfire out back while we waited for his friend to arrive from Michigan.  I roasted marshmallows as usual while D kept the fire going by cutting up 2x4s with a hand saw... yes that's how we roll. Even though our backyard is a forest, for some reason he insists on cutting up 2x4s the whole night.

Sorry for crappy cell phone pics...

I was cuddling my little Bear and we were having a good goofy time. Soon after, I noticed Bear just standing there with his back towards me. I told him to "come" to me and he didn't move. I proceeded to walk him around the fire pit towards the house, and suddenly my little Bear was not at all himself.  He stood there, his legs wobbling like he was about to faint.  His eyes looked glassy and tired. I picked him up and put him on the deck. I wasn't sure what was wrong with him but I knew something was up because I have never seen that look in his eyes before.

He sat down on the deck and I poured some cold water on his head, thinking that maybe he was too hot or something.  The whole time I was holding his head up because he looked like he was about to fall right over.  Then he threw up, and pooped at the same time. Something else I had never seen him do before. We brought him inside and laid him on the cool tile floor. He just laid there, panting and so sad looking, as I pet him and squirted water in his mouth with a syringe.

I was scared. I didn't know what to do and I had no idea if he should be taken to an animal hospital or not, and if he were to go, I had no idea where the closest one was.  Did he eat something poisonous outside?  Was he overheated?  I curled up on the floor with him with tears in my eyes and wished for him to get better fast.  I kept talking to him and telling him I loved him and he was going to be ok (because I like to believe he can actually understand me... ;)) and did all the things that I would have done for a human... got him a cold cloth for his head, made him try to drink water, etc.  I had no idea if these things would make a dog feel better or not, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try... and I couldn't just NOT do anything.

After about half an hour of laying there together, I got up to get something from another room. The little sweet boy pulled himself up out of his sickly state and followed me.  I was so happy!  He was moving again!  I sat with him some more on the carpet of our living room and he instantly started to look better.  He even started drinking the water I was providing for him out of the syringe. I'm pretty sure he thought it was a fun way to drink, because he wouldn't touch the water directly out of the bowl.

Then one of our neighborhood friends knocked at the door. Bear was back to his old self and ran to the door to greet him.  I was shocked at how fast he recovered from his random bout of deathly sickness.

This morning, I went out to the fire pit to clean up a bit. What did I find on the ground where I first noticed him being wobbly? My marshmallow stick with some marshmallow goo on the top.  I then put it together... the little guy was eyeballing my marshmallows all night long, and had probably tried to eat the goo on the top of my leftover stick.

The moral of this story: never give a dog a marshmallow.

Bonus fact: one of my nicknames for Bear has always been little marshmallow.
I'm just glad he's back to normal. I don't know what I would do without that little face.
xox dana Learn more »

Every month, my pup Bear and I have a little ritual we do. Actually, it's more of a necessity than a ritual.  Since the little guy is a Maltese, he's cursed with ever-growing fur.  I suppose I could let it grow all the way down to the floor so I would never have to sweep again, but I just can't deal with the thought of my little man sporting 80's metal hair. So every month, he gets his little haircut.

I used to put this in the hands of a dog groomer, and had a fabulous one when I lived in Toronto. I am super picky with how he should look though (and have mistakenly put him in the hands of inexperienced "groomers" in the past), and when my dear old groomer moved away I was forced to look for alternatives.

I purchased a professional style clipper set and snapped on a nice blade.  I had a friend who did dog grooming on the side, so she led me on the right path to which tools I should use.  Not only does this save me $50+ a month, but we have a good time while doing it!!!

The latest styling session happened last week. This is what my poor little pooch looked like before:

He looks so depressed in his shaggy coat doesn't he?

First I give him a nice bath in the bathtub. He HATES baths. As soon as I plop him in, he can't wait to get out!  Usually after a bath I will blowdry him, but I wasn't in a rush to do his cut so I let him air dry this time. Here he is hating life:

 He has to be absolutely dry and totally clean before I can cut him so I don't ruin the blade.  So in the meantime, he likes to dry himself off by running around in circles, throwing himself on his side and digging at the floor, and rubbing his face all over the carpet. It's quite a sight...

When he's all dry, I can start clipping his fur! I run the clippers all over his body, and leave his head, feet, and tail for the scissors. I've always liked to keep him kinda fluffy... and definitely not totally shaved.  He's my little Bear, he needs to live up to his fluffy name! The blade I have keeps his fur at about a half inch, maybe more.  You can use whatever blade you want depending on how long you want the fur to be.   I HIGHLY suggest that if you're going to cut your own dog's fur, invest in some good clippers and a blade (not the crappy ones that come with it with those awful plastic attachments). A choppy scissor-cut just doesn't look that great haha.

And just like that, he's back to his normal cutie pie little self. Ok, not "just like that"... this actually takes me a total of about 2-3 hours.

Kitty was jealous I was taking all these photos of Bear and literally stuck his face in the camera lens during one shot...

Love him <3

Do you cut your own pet's fur? Have you ever had any bad experiences with groomers?

xo
Dana Learn more »