Vegan Mofo VI-Day 25: Doggone Delicious

My dogs won't stay still so I stacked them around my coaster.

My pup is four years old and today is the first time I've ever made her treats. I always plan to make her a little cake or something to celebrate our anniversary but I've yet to follow through. Luckily I do meet all my other obligations so I don't think she even knows to be concerned about homemade treats so long as she's getting treats.

These are "Peanut Butter Dog Treats" from Chloe's Kitchen. I had other recipes I wanted to try, but I couldn't find them. I decided to make these to use up some of the whole wheat flour I bought to make tortillas a few weeks ago. The ingredients were really simple. Flour, peanut butter, black strap molasses and water. There is an option to dip them in melted carob chips, which I would like to try another time. I need to hit up the bulk bins for that though. The only thing I didn't have was black strap molasses so I used regular. When I have money to burn I will splurge on some black strap. I mostly used natural peanut butter but I had to steal a bit of regular from my family because I used most of mine up on yesterday's peanut butter cups.

I wasn't able to press the dough into 1/4" thickness with my hands. I had to use a rolling pin. I think I didn't leave my peanut butter out long enough for it to soften. I have had bone cookie cutters for a while so I was excited to finally use them. I probably could have cut them larger but since most of the dogs I know are small, I decided to stick to the instructions and get about 50 smaller sized biscuits. Now that I know Penny loves them I can do a round of larger ones just for her. I tried one and thought it needed more peanut butter and a touch of salt, but I have more taste buds than my dogs.

Believe it or not, it wasn't my first time eating a dog biscuit. When we were kids, I foolishly asked my brother what was for dinner and he said, "dog biscuits, try one." Because I was stupid and did most things my brother told me to, I did. It was a pink milk-bone and from what I can remember it wasn't that bad. Of course now I take everything he says with a grain of salt.

This Time Every Year

 This week I celebrate four years together with Penny. I still can't believe my parents said I could bring her home, but luckily she has managed to win them over. You can't say no to that face! She's come with many lessons and I'm sure there are more to come, but I am ready to take them on one at a time. I've really grown and learned so much from her and I think she has had some good times with me too. My sister is rad enough to take our photo each year. She does such a great job, but it is easy when you have such lovely subjects, right? Happy Penniversary Everybody!

Trick or Treat

Check out my pup-kin! This is Penny's first Halloween costume and now I'm not sure it will be her last. I had no thoughts of buying one but last night we were at the pet store and the costumes were 75% off. I had an additional 15% off from my sister's fiancé, how could I say no? I was tempted to dress her as a cow or a pig, but her head is too large for the hoods on those. Then I saw the pumpkin cape and that sealed the deal. I got an xl so it would fit her length, but she is not round enough to fill it out so next time I'll get a large. I had to bribe her with cookies to get her to stay still so the first shot is before and the second is after.

Happy Halloween everybody!

 

mini update

* After almost two weeks back on the i/d, Penny is looking much better. I hate to admit it but something in that food does right by her. I went to the vet today to get more. I want to compare it to the science diet formula you can buy at the stores since my brother-to-be can get a discount for us. He's also trying to set us up for some free training classes.

* I am feeling really confident about walking away with that money from the weight loss bet. I think I lost 3-4 pounds already. So far it seems I am the only one who is making any effort, but I have to keep working hard and staying motivated. My sister and her boyfriend have a $100 side bet going so that is extra pressure. Since I've drafted my mom's dogs into my program, I weighed Carmela, the smallest dog, to see if she loses any weight by the end of our bet. I could not get Chloe on the scale, next time will just weigh myself with and without her.

* Yesterday I said goodbye to my Grandma C I'm pretty sure it was the last time I'd see her alive even if she didn't see me. She was asleep the whole time and would occasionally mumble a few words between snores and gasps. It's shitty to admit but I almost wish I hadn't gone. I am fighting like mad to keep that from being the last memory I have of her. I have tons of other great memories of her but the picture of her small wasted body is still burning my brain. I just want peace for her, no more pain. I know what will crush me most is to see my dad break down.

the dogs train us

I love "kids in the hall" and totally admit to being bossed around by 45 lbs of stubborn cuteness.

beegan at the beginning

For the past year Ms. Penny and I have been battling her digestive system. Ever since she came home "fixed" she hasn't been the same. She had diarrhea so often I started to call her "Scooter". The first few times I started crying as we walked because I could see how miserable she was. We did white rice/cottage cheese at first. She would do fine for a few days and it would start up again. Then she was on canned i/d diet, which helped out for a while. Then she had antibiotics and stayed on the canned i/d. That food is so ridiculously expensive. For a few months I was spending more money on hers than my own, but what are you gonna do?

After a while I was able to switch her over to the dry i/d food. I was glad to have her on dry since it should be better for her teeth and I won't lie, I was also glad to have a bit more money in my pocket. She did well on that formula for quite some time, but once again, she started having troubles. I started tracking her on my calendar and it seemed to be a regular schedule of every few days she would go "bad" again. I had been reading my own food labels for so long, I cannot believe I did not read hers. I feel horrible for feeding her that "prescription diet" for so long. Corn is the first effing ingredient. I cannot believe I dumped so much money on food that was not good for her. I remembered the vet said she might have developed a type of colitis so I dog md'd that to see what dietary changes I could make since I'd like to avoid meds where possible. One of the suggestions was to change the protein.

I started mixing Natural Balance Vegetarian with her i/d dry food a few weeks ago. She seemed to do fine for a few days, but you can guess what still happened. Over the weekend I decided to pull the i/d entirely and only give her the Natural Balance. She's also been eating the Bear Biscuits, which are veg but not vegan due to honey. She really likes them so I will keep them until I find a vegan alternative. So far she is doing much better. I haven't had any messes to clean and I have not heard her stomach gurgling away.

I've been doing more reseach on vegan dogs and I'm excited about the change. I ordered her a pound of Sam's Yams which I have read lots of wonderful things about. They should be excellent for her chewing urges and sweet potatoes are full of fiber. Hopefully this swap will stick and she can be a happier, healthier spoiled beegan dog.

p.s. The pic above is one of her first toys, an homage to "busy bee", which I think lasted at most two days.

love-a-bull

If your heart needs melting, look no further. I just ordered the Happy Endings Calendar from BADRAP, can't wait for 2010 and my dog can't wait for a walk so here we go.

rabbit rabbit

I'm crossing my fingers that all of the dog drama is winding down and I can start to get back on track. We went for a little jog this morning and it felt great, will be even better tomorrow since my new shoes should arrive today. I am trying to get back on the health wagon, have to start making menus and shopping smart again. There's lots of stuff I should be doing but am not, so I'm just going to have to take on one thing at a time.

I am re-learning to ride a bike. It's super embarassing, but I am doing great so far. I don't know why "easy" things like this are so difficult for me to do. It can only be because I make it that way. Everyone always made fun of me for being uncoordinated and so on, but now I am old enough to know not to listen to them. I am a little freaked out about going beyond our block since we live off a really busy street, but I know I will do it. Luckily it is a straight shot from our house to the grocery store so that will be a good first outing. I see myself "forgetting" items on purpose so I can bike to get them.

Oh and the second round of vegan twinkies had a more generous amount of filling, so I was feeling them more. The peanut butter s'mores from sweet & sara are amazing. I am glad I only bought one. Good thing they are kind of $$ for individual treats or I would buy tons. Since I was treated out I did not make cupcakes, but maybe tomorrow if it is cool/rainy like they say it should be.