Homemade Doggie Cookie Recipes!

I have created a tab at the top of my blog so there is now a section just for homemade doggie cookie recipes. I love to make doggie cookies but I only have 1 recipe and I found it online. I would love to let you know where I found but I honestly cannot remember. I am going to leave the recipe under my new tab so you can check it out. Stop by and leave me your favorite homemade doggie cookie recipe too!

Harry Barker Food Storage

Let me start by saying that I have the most boring container to hold Maverick’s food. BORING! And well, I am not a boring person, so I think it is time to rethink the storage container situation in our house. I started to do some research and I found the cutest website, Harry Barker. There is super cute dog stuff on this website and their food storage containers are no different. Here are a few examples:

Helvetica Collection

Toile Collection

All of their food storage bins are made from recycled steel and feature tight-fitting lids. They also have double handles and include an aluminum scoop. All of the bins on the website are FDA approved. Their sizes range from holding a 10lb bag of food up to as much as a 40lb bag. Plus there are matching treat jars. Bonus!

I guess that means that I am out of excuses to have a boring food storage container. I wonder what other cute things they have that I can order?

Doggie Duvets!

Yes, you read the title correctly. Today I am going to share doggie duvets with you. So if you are anything like me, you also get bored looking at your dog’s bed as well. Maverick’s bed doesn’t match my living room’s décor (due PetSmart’s selection not having anything that matched my living room). When he was a puppy, he tried to claw and chew his way through it. It’s a beat up, boring brown dog bed (btw, boring brown is officially a new color). Today I was searching the internet world for ideas and found these doggie duvet covers at Molly Mutt. Genius! You can pick out some great patterns like these from Molly Mutt…

Or you can use what is known as a stuff sack. For those of you that don’t know, a stuff sack is basically a huge laundry bag that you fill with clothes or old towels and stuff. It is basically a do it yourself doggie bed.

Thanks Molly Mutt for such cute patterns. Now it is time to shop!

Bath Time!

Does your dog like to take a bath? Haha neither does mine. But at least Maverick will sit in the bathtub looking like a huge, drowned rat until the whole ordeal is over. Maybe he is just used to it by now, or maybe it doesn’t really bother him to take a bath. Maverick has a skin allergy and has to be bathed at least once a week with a prescription formula shampoo (used to be twice a week…ugh). Fortunately for us, he is still a puppy and it only costs $11 at the local PetSmart grooming salon. But for those times when we can’t take him to the groomer or when he won’t need his special shampoo anymore, I am getting him Grooming Foam for Dogs from Earthbath.

All you have to do is rub him down with the foam and then towel him off. That is the easiest bath ever! This is perfect for travel or to keep in the car just in case. Maverick loves to get dirty outside playing at the dog park and now I can clean him before he ever comes inside and gets the house dirty. How did I not know about this product before?

There is also a hypo-allergenic version available, if needed. Log on to the Earthbath website to find a list of retailers in your area that stock their products.



Squeaky Steak!

I was very excited when Maverick’s first BarkBox arrived full of goodies. In the box were some treats, poop bags, an edible/interactive chew toy, doggie bubbles and a HUGE squeaky steak toy. I am sure you will hear about all the items in the box as time goes on, but today I want to tell you about Maverick and the HUGE steak.



For the most part, all of Maverick’s squeaky toys all sound the same – just a normal squeaking noise. But this toy has a very high pitched squeak and it drives my dog crazy. Here is the video of Maverick playing with his new toy.



The best part about the squeaking steak toy is he has been playing with non-stop since last night. As I was lying in bed last night trying to fall asleep while Maverick was in the living room with MJ, I heard him barking pretty loudly for a few minutes. I finally decided to get out of bed to see what the big deal was and saw that he was playing with his brand new squeak toy. I made the turn around the corner to find Maverick looking at me like “what?” and went back to barking at this steak. I naturally rolled my eyes and went back to bed. I love Maverick for alerting us when there is “danger” outside, but if that steak was the only danger present, I was not staying up for that. At that point, the dog was his daddy’s problem and I went back to bed. All kidding aside, Maverick plays with the toy non-stop and seems to love it (even with all the barking).

So where can you find this lovely toy? Buy it at Pet Projekt. They also have a chicken leg and mackerel fish. The best part about this toy is it seems indestructible. A must when dealing with Maverick!

Cute Collars

Nothing makes a statement for your dog like their collar. It is a tough choice to make for any dog owner. Will your dog have a plain collar? Plaid collar? Skulls and cross bones? The style and design of your dogs collar should reflect their personality. Take Maverick for example, we got him a skull and cross bones for his first collar. We thought “We want him to grow up to be a badass so he needs a badass collar.” Yeah we love Maverick to death but he isn’t what you might call “a badass”. He more of the “cute and loveable with some Opie thrown in for good measure”. So for his next collar (luckily he outgrew the old one) I ordered this preppy whale collar from Fairy Tale Collars on Etsy. They have some very cute collars, a large selection and the quality is amazing.



Mavericks Whale Collar from Fairy Tail Collars.





And I loved it! But he is about to outgrow this one too. Luckily his next collar is already at our house waiting for him to grow into it. It is a Gamecock collar (thanks Dad!) and I am very ready for him to wear it. But I was looking at new collars today (not sure why) and I came across these super cute collars from the website Shop Mimi Green .



Great selection of fabric collars from Mimi Green.




Great Option if you don't like the sound of jingling dog tags.





First Aid Kits

So my mom tells this funny story about our Dalmatian, Dixie, that we used to have and how she jumped out the car window. Luckily the car was not moving. It was stopped at a light or stop sign (I don’t remember which).

The story goes like this: My mom was headed out around town and took Dixie with her because Dixie loved to ride in a car. As my mom pulled up to the light/stop sign our dog decided to jump out the window and run across a field. My mom being the southern lady that she is said “oh darn!” (haha yeah right). So she pulls over to chase Dixie all around this field and back into the car. I can just picture my mom running around this field chasing our dog and it makes me laugh. Luckily no one was hurt and she got Dixie back in the car safe and sound.

But this story makes me think…What would happen if the dog jumped and got hurt? Or a snake bit her in the field? The point is are you prepared with an emergency first aid kit for your pets? They are very similar to a human first aid kit and I recommend every pet parent get one for their house and one for their car. Especially if you take your pet in the car with you or you are going to be traveling with your pet.

Here are some ready-made options you can purchase.



This kit is a small travel version and sells for $7.50 at E-First Aid Supplies.



This kit has a good selection for travel or home and it sells for $29.79 at First Aid Product.com.

Or you can put together your own kit. I have included a link from the American Red Cross and the Humane Society with the recommended items that should be included in your kit.  

Carolina Coonhound Cookie Company

In true Southern style I pamper my puppy with homemade dog treats. I have to admit that I got the recipe off the internet but they are so yummy. Maverick would eat the whole batch if I let him but of course I don’t.  Well today I got a coupon for gourmet dog biscuits from Carolina Coonhound Cookie Company and I cannot wait to order Maverick some cookies. What I love about this company is that they are made here in Charleston and get most (if not all) of their ingredients from local farmers. I love that this company is not only making healthy (corn, wheat and soy free) dog treats but that they are supporting the local farming community.



Tell me these don’t look yummy! They are the "not so chocolate, chocolate-chip cookies".

I can’t wait to get our order so Maverick can try them out!



Chuckit!

So Maverick has this cute dog that lives near us that he plays with all the time. Her name is Lucy and she is a 20 lb mix breed. When I make more “Mommy cookie” dog biscuits for Maverick I always bring some over to Lucy since she and Maverick are such good friends. To say thank you Lucy’s owner brought Maverick a new toy that is Lucy’s favorite. It is a Chuckit! toy. And it is now Mavericks favorite toy. This thing is super durable (which is key since Maverick is teething) and easy to play with. The only thing I need to teach Maverick is how to grab the ball and not the strap. Silly dog…

Here is the Chuckit! that Maverick received but they also have some very cool indoor toys on their website. I really need to check these out since the one he has is too tough to be thrown in the house. Here are some pictures of the indoor toys. Good thing I am heading to Petsmart today and I can pick some up…

 

BarkBox

There are a lot of great products and services out there for dogs and I want to introduce some of them to you. The first thing I want to share with you is...

BarkBox!                    

This is an amazing box that comes to your house each month and it is filled with goodies for your dog. You can customize it for the size of your dog so you don’t end up with dog bones made for a Great Dane when you have a tiny Poodle. Brilliant. I am super excited because I signed Maverick up a couple of days ago and  I am very excited to see what is coming in his box. You can get a subscription as low as $17 a month and they donate a portion of their proceeds to different pet charities.  That makes it worth it to me but Maverick gets some goodies each month.

Check out their website to learn more and get your dog signed up to get a box of their very own.

Welcome!

Good Afternoon! I just wanted to say thank you for stopping by my brand new blog. Just so you know a little bit about us...
My name is Lisa and my boyfriend, MJ, and I have the cutest huge puppy ever. His name is Maverick and he is a 5 month old Retriever mix. Poor little guy was found on the side of the road with his brothers and sisters when they were 8 weeks old. Luckily he got to come home with us a few days later! We all live in the beautiful city of Charleston, SC where life is laid back and we spend most nights with a glass of sweet tea.

This is Maverick right after we first got him. Trust me he is much bigger now! More pictures soon.