Author: lydia

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Recipes

New Year’s Resolution Cookies

I hope you are all out there working on your goals for the year, whether they are to fight for social justice…

Here’s a super supportive puppo participating in the Toronto #WomensMarch today. 13/10

A photo posted by WeRateDogs (@weratedogs) on

or to stop and smell the flowers…

One of my new year’s resolutions is to post more frequently, and Truffle’s is to eat more snacks, so here is our first recipe of the year!

This cookie is loaded with healthy ingredients: carrots, flax seed, coconut oil (keeps our coats pretty!) and arugula, which is nutritious for dogs, but should be given in small doses, and preferably cooked.

Ingredients

2 large carrots
1 cup arugula
2 tbsp flax seeds
1 large egg
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup of water

Preheat your oven to 350F. Grind your flax seeds in a food processor, then put them into the bowl of your stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl. Chop the arugula in the same food processor (no need to clean in-between), followed by the carrots. Add your egg and coconut oil, and mix thoroughly. Add the flour a bit at a time, and then the 1/2 cup of water.

Once your dough comes together, roll out to about 1/3 inch thick, and cut out into desired shapes. Bake for 30 min. Let cool, and enjoy!

As with all homemade treats, keep in the fridge, or freeze and defrost as needed.

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Happy New EARS!

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It’s been months since our last post, but I’m making a new year’s resolution to update this blog. Truffle’s resolution is to eat more snacks, and you can tell she is serious by those ears! Happy 2017 to all our dog and people friends!

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Gotcha Day!

We celebrated Truffle’s Adoption Day earlier this week. It’s hard to believe it’s only been a year since we brought her home.

I asked Truffle Dad for some adjectives to describe our first year with the pup. These was his list:

sleepless
frenetic
hairy
well-licked
gently chewed
bed ejected

She certainly makes life more interesting!

I figured since it was Gotcha Day, I should make her a Pokeball fruit plate (which was later blended into a frozen Kong treat).

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Happy first year, little one. Here’s to many more!

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Recipes

Orphan Dog Cookies

Around this time last year, Karen Schaver and her volunteers were gearing up for the Texas Freedom Ride. Lake County based rescue Orphan Dog homes 250 dogs every year, mostly in Northern California. Once a year during Karen’s summer vacation from teaching, they go farther afield. Last year, they went to Texas and brought back a van full of dogs from high-kill shelters. Truffle and her brothers were three of the lucky pups, and their people are very, very grateful.

I made these cookies in honor of Orphan Dog. Rescue puppies deserve healthy and high-value treats! These have been very popular at our favorite dog park…

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Ingredients

220g canned salmon, drained and picked through to remove larger bones
1 cup peas
125 g carrot
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup flax seeds
1 egg
3 tbsp coconut oil

Grind the flax seeds in a food processor, and move to a mixing bowl. Shred about 3 medium carrots in the food processor, then add 1 cup of peas and chop again. Add the canned salmon to the food processor to make sure any remaining bones are blitzed. (Salmon bones from tins should be safe for dogs and humans, since they’ve been pressure canned. They’re also a good source of calcium.) Add this wet mixture to 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1 egg, and 3 tablespoons of coconut oil, and knead by hand or in a stand mixer. Add extra flour if necessary to bring dough into a ball.

Once the dough comes together, roll out to a 1/2 inch thickness and cut into desired shapes. Bake at 375F for 15 minutes for cookies that break off easily (good for training), or 20-25 min. for dry biscuits. Either way, since these are made from fresh ingredients, make sure to store your cookies in the fridge or freezer.

Happy Independence Day, puppers!

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Deg-stinations! Park life!

Point Isabel in the Spring

Forgive this photodump–it’s been a busy few months here in Truffleland. Here are some of our favorite Springtime moments from the Point…

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Luka leads the Running of the Dogs!

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A rainy but fun April morning. Truffle got to play with a greyhound and a heeler mix.

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What’s better than a new friend? An old friend! A very happy reunion with the Livvy, the prettiest dobie pup!

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Who’s up for puppy charades? Truffle has no idea what Livingstone is acting out. 2 words… No baths?

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And, even better than an old friend, is a best friend. Nothing compares to Io.

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Except maybe family! We ran into brother Ben last weekend.

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Truffle in training to be a Zulu warrior…

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Wait… what? I can’t gopher that, no can do.

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Zulu warriors seem to get sticks, but they don’t get enough snacks. I’ll stick to being a puppers, thanks.

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May the Fourth be with you!

I took Truffle over to our local Unleashed by Petco on Force Friday last year. She had just chewed through her first leash. I think she just wanted some Star Wars merchandise.

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Here she is, showing off her Yoda ears.

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We came across these super cute Star Wars dog biscuits!

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The difficult decision…

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Han didn’t stand a chance. Truffle ate first.

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Today, Truffle is exploring her Light Side. But only because good dogs get more snacks.

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Deg-stinations! Uncategorized

Truffle’s 1st minibreak

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Truffle’s grandpeople were out from New Jersey last month, so it was time for puppy’s first minibreak!

Mark and I loved Dancing Coyote Beach on our first visit to Inverness. It’s a set of four cottages with a private beach and an amazing view (though you’d be hard-pressed to find a bad view in Point Reyes). Two of the cottages are dog-friendly. We returned when his family flew out for our wedding, and for this third visit, we brought Truffle along.

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She had a lot of fun running on the beach…

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Proud of her pinecone find.

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Was it Tongue Out Tuesday? Probably not, just practicing.

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It was a short but sweet getaway for humans and the deg. Until next time, Dancing Coyote Beach!

Categories
Recipes

Puppy’s 1st Birthday Cake

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A festive and healthy meatloaf cake for a special day!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup oats
1 medium carrot
1 lb lean ground turkey
3/4 lb chicken liver
Handful of frozen peas

Preheat oven to 350F.

Get your food processor ready for a triple shot… First, toss in oats and chop coarsely. Empty into a mixing bowl. Then chop carrots until they’re finely diced. Add the carrots to the oats.

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Rinse the chicken livers in water, then put them into the food processor and blend until you don’t see any big chunks. Add this to your mixing bowl, along with the ground turkey. Mix with a spoon until all ingredients are combined.

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Grease a cake tin with olive oil, then pour in your disgusting looking mixture.

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There’s really no way to stop this looking like vomit, but you love your dog, and it’s her 1st birthday so…

Bake at 350 for 1 hour, or until a meat thermometer reads 160 in the center of the meatloaf, er, cake.

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While the cake cools, peel and chop 2 potatoes. Boil for 15 min. or until you can put a fork through the chunks. Drain and mash your potatoes. They won’t be very creamy, but you’ll be ok. Frost the cooled cake with the warm mashed potatoes. Start with a scoop in the middle and work out to the edges, adding as you go. I was pretty happy that it started to look like fondant. Probably tastes better than fondant–let’s face it, that stuff is not for flavor.

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Once you’re happy with your frosting, decorate with frozen peas. You should be able to press the hard peas into the potato so they stay in place.

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Slice and enjoy! You can see photos of Truffle and her brothers enjoying their cake here.

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Park life!

Happy 1st birthday, Truffle, Lux, and Ben!

Truffle and her brothers are puppies rescued from a shelter in Texas by Orphan Dog up in Lake County. We don’t know their actual birthday, but we think it might be sometime this week. So today we celebrated at Point Isabel with Bennett and Lux. I baked a cake: ground turkey, chicken liver, carrot, and oats, frosted with mashed potato and decorated with peas. Will post the recipe soon, but for now, here are some photos of excited dogs.

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Truffle is ready for cake!

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Lux is diving in…

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This Great Dane wanted a slice but I didn’t see his people around to ask if it was ok for him to have one.

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Do dogs use plates? Sometimes.

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Handsome Ben!

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Wet butts. Happy day.

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Park life!

Turns out, Truffle is a huge Stones fan…

Last summer, when we were looking for a dog (Truffle hunting, so to speak), we noticed an adorable litter of puppies at the Milo Foundation. They were named after the Rolling Stones, and being rock stars and possible border collie mixes, they were quickly adopted.

We met “Mick Jagger” (now named Angus) a few weeks back. He and Truffle had a great time chasing each other around Point Isabel. We think we may have met another one of the Stones as well–Charlie or Ronnie?

This rainy morning, Point Isabel was a wet ghost town, but the dogs that were there were a ton of fun. Truff had an energetic run with pretty pit Bodie and his shy Great Dane brother Perseus who was celebrating his 4th birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY PERSEUS!

We walked on, and Mark asked me, “Is that one of the Rolling Stones litter? Is that Keith?” The owner said, “Yes, this is Keith!” We told Keith’s mom Anna that we’d met at least one of the brothers at the park, and that she should really try to get the band back together… 😉 A few minutes later, who should come by but Angus, I mean, Mick himself!

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Truffle loves a family reunion, even when it’s not her family. Really though, what a coincidence. We think we may have conjured Angus and his people to the park by talking about them.

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Keith is still named Keith, and is showing Truffle the business.

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We’re hoping for a reunion tour with the whole band. Maybe a benefit show for Milo? 🙂