Keepin it fresh and tasty

Being that it is summer time, and very hot where we live, we have to be creative when it comes to entertaining the adorabully pups. We really can’t take walks until late evening so everyone can get a bit restless.

I’ve tried ice cubes in water, ice cubes as snacks, and even a kiddie pool. All we get is a “are you serious” look and no fun. So I decided to give frozen Kong treats a try. With some creative googling I decided bananas and peanut butter was the trick. Most dog recipes called for yogurt and honey in the mix. Due to our sensitive tummies I decided to ditch those two ingredients. All I used was fresh bananas and peanut butter straight from the jar. Popped the bananas in the food processor, added a little water. When they were about half mashed I added a few tablespoons of peanut butter. I may have added a bit too much water but it worked. Filled all three Kongs almost to the top and stuck a dog treat out the opening as a little incentive. I then popped them in the freezer for a few hours. Once they were hard the pups, who were eagerly awaiting them, dove right in.

I may have gotten a little over ambitious with my batch size. I used 5 whole bananas. Ended up with a lot of extra mix. What’s a mom to do? Why not freeze them into easy to use cubes! I had just bought an ice cube tray a few days earlier so it was super convenient.

I ended up filling the whole tray up. Once they were frozen I just transferred them to a container.

Now I have easy to use frozen treats for the pups. They are a little big for the Kongs so I just cut them in half length wise and they’re perfect! I highly recommend this nice frozen summer treat.

Summer Days

These hot, long, sunny summer days have made us a bit lazy.  Once the thermometer hits the 100s every day people tend to hide away inside the ice cold AC.  We are included in this trend and sadly it has affected our blogging.  It can get quite mundane staying in until after dark.  Even the pups don’t enjoy going out in this weather.  The are out to potty then quickly begging to be let back in.  We’re lucky to have a nice shaded balcony that we sit out on in the mornings on the weekend but by 11am or so, it’s way too hot to stay out.

Enjoying the cool morning

 These longs days also result in lots of sunshine beaming through the windows.  With the air cranked high the dogs love to find the sunny spots in the house to toast up a bit. They’re also working on their tans for when we go to the lake.  Have to impress the ladies (and gents)

Devo’s getting his tan on

This is her “tough girl” look

But even with all the sunshine occasionally things can get a little boring around here.  We try to keep the dogs entertained with toys and kongs.  But sometimes Mom and Dad get a little bored and the pups have to suffer as a result.  There’s nothing like playing a little dress up to pass the day!! 

Hopefully we’ll be able to squeeze in a few summer time adventures up in the cooler mountains.  In the mean time our posts will be here and there.  But we’ll still be around and once those summer storms start and the weather cools down we’ll sure have many new stories to write about!

Toy Time!!

We love reading our fellow pittie blogs.  We get so many ideas for fun and exciting things to do with our pack. So when Love and a Six Foot Leash posted about making a homemade toy for their super duo, we thought why not give it a shot.  I had extra fleece sitting around from my dog bed project.  A little back story on me, I love crafts and projects but I am horrible at finishing them.  I am what many may call a procrastinator.  I call it just being an artist. So I decided one afternoon to give it a try.  I wanted something a little more durable than just a braid so I thought why not try using those skills I learned in high school making friendship bracelets. 

Just used a simple over under knot

I chose a fun floral pattern I had lying around and cut it up into 6 strips.  They were on the thinner side in order to make the knots successful.  I put all 6 together and made a knot at one end.  Then I used the over under knotting technique to make the rows.  I did forget that you are supposed to double knot on each strand to avoid curling.  I’ll try to remember that for next time.  It did make a fun curl in the toy which I think the dogs liked. 

It makes nice tight rows of knots

I made it pretty long because we have a lot of short, small toys and I wanted something they could really tug at.  I was very impressed with my finished product.  Now to see what the dogs thought.  Buddy was the first test. He LOVES to shake toys around.  Just smacking himself in the face.  This was no exception. 

Getting the official "Buddy seal of approval"

Next was to test it with the Buddy and Bella duo.  The love to pay together but haven’t really had any good long pull toys.  They had been using Buddy’s boomerang but that left very little room to pull.  I thought for sure they’d get the point that they could be far away from each other.  But instead they thought it was great to bite it as close to each other as possible.  Even thought that didn’t go as planned they still LOVED their toy. 

This is how they thought it should be used

Devo isn’t much of a toy player.  He prefers to coddle his toys and love on them.  By the time it was his turn for the new toy he just grabbed it and walked around the house with it.  He’s such a shorty that it would trail behind him or between his legs.  But he walked so happily with his head held high.  I haven’t gotten a photo of him with it yet but trust me, it’s adorable.

So, all in all, homemade toys are very successful.  I probably used a couple bucks worth of left over fabric.  Now a few weeks later it’s still in 1 piece and is played with daily.  M loved to play tug with Buddy. It’s long enough that we can use the couch arm as leverage and actually win the game!! Next craft project… making something with a squeaker for Devo. 

The final product

We’ve been busy!

A while back I posted about how we had a couple projects brewing up over here in Adorabully land.  Well, I finally have time to explain one of the fun projects.  It all started with me standing in the isles of Ross, Marshalls, and various pet stores staring at dog bed.  Totally unsatisfied with the selection and the price.  So I decided I will make beds!! In my mind it seemed easy enough. Find some adorable, soft, comfy fabric and put it together and stuff it with something.  Off to the craft store I went.  Picked out some adorable prints to match each dogs personality and thought up a design concept. I got the idea to make a knotted style bed. Easy, no sew, and cute.

Knotting away

 

It was quick and easy and looked so adorable with the knots forming a trim.  Each of the beds had a coordinating, contrasting bottom so it could be flipped over and be a whole other look!

 

All Done!

 

Now we just have to try it out!

 

He likes it! He really likes it!

 

 

Feeling the thrill of success, I decided to make another one right away for Miss Bella.  Her kennel is a little smaller than Buddy’s so I tried to size her bed accordingly. 

 

Uh Oh, it’s a little small

 

Bella’s turned out a little smaller than I had hoped, but she still loved it all the same.  I made Devo one as well but for some reason didn’t get any post production photos.  I had stuffed Buddy’s and Devo’s with some foam sheet I had left from a previous craft project. Bella’s was just an old blanket and stuffing.  It was time to tuck them all in for the night and let them enjoy they’re new special beds.

 

Snug like a bug in a rug

 

 

I really should have taken more photos.  I really shouldn’t have stuffed the bed with foam.  I really should have done it differently.

 

At first when I came home that day after making the beds, I thought I would see three dogs all snuggled in their new bed.  Instead I came home to this. 

 

RIP Pirate Bed

 

But I convinced myself it was just Buddy who killed his bed.  The other two were fine.  Nothing to worry about.  He destroys everything anyway.  But then a few days later….

 

RIP Monkey Bed

 

I have learned that foam and dog beds do not mix.  I realized after that the foam is hard and when they dig to make a comfy spot, the foam doesn’t move with the bed.  Lesson learned.  I have since changed my bed making style and am currently trying out a couple different techniques.  I’m making some beds for some friend and will let them see how they hold up. Since I know my dogs can destroy anything, I wanted to see how other dogs fair.  I have currently finished 2 of 5 beds I’m making. I’m testing out some new fabrics, some new techniques and styles. 

 

2 down 3 to go!

 

 

Only time will tell how successful these beds are and if I can keep it up!

 

The looks of dog comfort

The way to judge the comfort level of a dog is by seeing their face literally melt away. 

Laying on Dad and getting belly rubs brings that melt factor to an all time high.

 

Ahhhh that’s the spot

 

 

And when you have flappy lips, they tend to get a little out of control.

 

I think they might fall off!

 

 

 

Now if us humans looked like this it may be a different story. 

M.I.A.

 

We were on such a roll and then life came in the way.  I recently had to have surgery and still am in the recovery stage.  Hope to get some new blogs up and running this week.  I’ve had some great company this past week while recoverying. 

Buddy was always close by keeping an eye on me  Jumping up every time I moved to get something.

“You Ok Mom?”

 

And Miss Bella being a little farther away just enjoying the sunshine and just being there.

 

Nice and warm

 

 

And of couse Devo had to be right next to me. As close as possible.  He told me he was trying to keep my toes warm, I think he just wanted a good snuggle.  

 

"ZZZZZzzzzzz"

 

 

We do have a couple funny “tails” to tell about all this quality time.  Stay tuned….

For the Good Boys and Girl

Santa had heard how good the dogs had been this year.  Well, at least when the elves were looking.  So Santa was very generous when leaving the pups presents under the Christmas tree.  Santa (Grandma) bought them all new collars fromSirius Republic and new fluffy squeaky toys. 

The dogs each picked out their own pattern that they thought would perfectly match their personalities.  There was a lot of nose prints on the computer screen that day. 

Devo picked out a gorgeous orange argyle.  That surprised us, we didn’t know he was so preppy.  I didn’t think orange would look good with his beautiful red fur.  Devo knew better.   And wouldn’t you know, Santa even brought him a matching orange toy!!

Who knew Red Heads could wear orange??

 

 

 

Buddy picked out his collar right away as well. He knows how ravishing he looks in red.  Black and red are just a perfect combo.  His pirate bandana print was a perfect match.  I knew he’d look adorable.

Errrggg

 

Beautiful Bella had a much harder time picking out her perfect collar.  Being the fashionista she is, she wanted one for every outfit.  How could she choose?  Pink?  Purple?  Yellow?  or even a daring blue?  Surprisingly she went with a multicolored bone print.  Bella said it would go with ALL her outfits, plus she’s so beautiful on her own anything would look great.

Brown and Multi! The perfect match!!

 

 

After they were fully fashioned out the dogs spent some quality time with their new toys.  Devo is a cuddler. He will lick and love and snuggle with his toy.  Never breaking a seem, never killing a squeaker.  It’s his baby.  He’ll even use it as a pacifier. 

Insert snoring sounds

 

 

Then there’s Buddy.  The master of destruction.  He would rather “kill” his toy piece by piece until it is just the carcass. From there he will spend hours just carrying the wet, soggy, lifeless toy around everywhere he goes.

 

Lets make this toy good!!!

 

Needless to say, I spent the rest of the day cleaning tiny bits of fluff from all around the house.

 

Saturday Morning Snuggles

Dogs aren’t allowed in bed with Mom and Dad… except on a few special occasions.  One of those is on Saturday mornings when Dad goes to work.  I sleep in and he lets the dogs out to potty and will send one up for some special time. It doesn’t happen every weekend so they really enjoy the time together.

They each have their own style of snuggles that match each of their own personalities.

Buddy likes to sleep like I do.  Right on Dad’s pillow.  He tells me he’s just keeping it warm incase Dad comes back.  I know he really likes Dad’s smell and wishes he was home.

Then there is Bella. She is our dainty girl. Loves to lay under the covers and snuggle like a good girl. Always lays at the foot of the bed right by our feet.

But neither of them knows quite the BEST way to snuggle like Devo does.

He prefers to take up as much of the bed as possible. Sprawl out and snore away. There really isn’t anything better.

Welcome Waggs!

Lately I’ve become a big fan of a few pitbull blogs, Love and a Six Foot Leash , Two Pitties in the City, and a few others and I’ve been inspired to write one about our adventures out here in the South West with a house full of pittie love.  I’ve also decided to write this blog as a form of motivation to get out and be more active in our community. 

We are fortunate to live in a state that has no breed restrictions but we do still have a heavy overpopulation of  pit bull type dogs in our shelters, kennels and rescues.  So much so that rescues are constantly turning away dogs.  One of the causes of our shelter overpopulation is the economy.  Many families are being forced from their homes into rental properties or other family members homes.  Most rental properties do not allow large breed and/or “bully” breed dogs, therefore these dogs end up being given up.  Another aspect of the economy is pure and simple cash. Families are struggling to keep food on the table for themselves and can’t afford to feed their pets. 

We personally do not have the financial nor time resources to start a rescue, though that is a dream of ours.  We do not have the home space to foster at this time.  So we are going to use what resources we do have, ourselves and our dogs.  This will be the story of our journey, our lives, and our puppy tales.

One of our special boys, Devo