Say I Ruff You the Homemade Way

Valentine's Day is a time show your love! We shower our significant other and loved ones with chocolate, candy and flowers.  As a matter of fact Valentine's Day is the second biggest day to give someone flowers, coming in second to Mother's Day.  Love is in the air so why not shower your most devoted companion as well?  And I am not talking about head pats and belly rubs, go the extra mile, get your whole family involved and make some homemade treats.  They are the perfect way to say I Ruff You!

 

Valentine Vittle:

Ingredients:

1 1/4 C wheat flour (plus extra for flouring rollout surface)
1/2 C wheat germ
1/4 C ground flax meal
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 C honey
4-6 Tbsp water, divided into 4 Tbsp and 2 Tbsp

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Mix the first four dry ingredients well in a large bowl.
3. Add honey and 4 Tbsp water and mix together.
4. Add additional water if mixture is not holding completely together.
5. By hand, knead dough into a ball.
6. On wax paper or a floured surface, roll dough our to 1/4-inch thickness and cut into heart (or your favorite) shape.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until bottoms are browned.

Makes approx. 3-4 dozen.

Recipe originally found on DoggyBuzz.com.

A Treat Giving Christmas

Kids will be kids, they love anything and everything that has fur!  When you ask my children what they want for Christmas they will tell you they want a puppy or a kitten, a cat or a dog, a gerbil or a hamster.  They LOVE animals and often ask to bring new one's home.  Well, we already have a frog, a fish, a lizard, a 1 year old dog and a 4 month old puppy.  This is where I draw the line....NO MORE pets.

Since we are not taking in anymore animals at the moment and can't give another one a furrever home I thought it would be a great experience for my children to do something for an animal that won't wake up with a special present this Christmas.  We sat down and came up with all sorts of fun stuff to do!  We got started a little bit late in the season so we decided to pick something on a smaller scale for this year (we also picked a pretty big project for next year).  I was so impressed with some of the ideas my kids thought of.  They truly came up with some very generous things that they would be willing to devote their time to.

I own a small dog treat business and my kids came up with the great idea of baking and packaging treats for some of the less fortunate animals.  I then helped them find and call a local shelter to see if they "needed" the donation.  Of course they were happy to accept!

Together we have baked about 50 bags of treats (and still baking) to take to the shelter on Christmas Eve.  My children did NOT want to take the treats early because they wanted the dogs to have something on Christmas day.

My kids have currently shown more excitement about giving the shelter dogs their presents than they have about Santa coming.  To me this is a big deal and it is great that they are learning the enjoyment that can be taken out of giving.  We have vowed to make this a new family tradition and hope the treats warm the bellies of the pups like it has warmed our hearts to give to them.

 

A Word Search Game



Teaching kids pet responsibility is hard work, but it's something you don't have to dread.  Find ways to make learning fun!  Here is a word serarch filled with all sorts of pet related words.  It's something fun to do with your kids on a snowy day! Your child can find the word and you can talk about the responsibility that comes along with each.

Download Word Search

Enjoy!

A Fun Coloring Page

Pets Add Life Poetry Contest

 

Are you a teacher with a creative bunch of kids or simply looking for a fun activity for your students?  OR are you a parent with a creative child that has a passion for writing?  PAL or pets add life is holding their 4th annual poetry contest!  All students that are in the fourth through eighth grades are eligible to enter.

Students are encouraged to enter as an individual or teachers can send in a package of poems from their classroom.  Poems should be no longer than 100 words and be pet themed.  Whether the student is writing about the love they have for their dog, giving their neighbors lizard a bath or having a sleep over with their Grandma's cat, each child is sure to have a great story about a pet, even if they don't have one of their own. 

Once the poems are perfected and ready to be submitted you can go online and submit them here or print out the submission form and mail the poem or poems to:

Pets Add Life
661 Sierra Rose Dr.
Reno, NV 89511

All poems will be judged and 6 winners will be selected (one from each grade level).  Winners receive a $250 gift card to spend on pet related products, a $1000 scholarship for their classroom to spend on pet related education and each winning poem will be published in national pet publication along side the winners picture and name (upon parent approval).

So what do you have to lose?  Get those creative juices flowing and enter today!! The deadline for all entries must be received by January 31, 2012, 5:00 PM EST.

GOOD LUCK!

A complete list of contest rules can be located on the PAL website.

Dog? Cat? Shelter? Breeder? How do you decide?

Getting a new family pet can be a very exciting and rewarding time for a child.  Before buying a puppy or kitten make sure to explore all of your options.  For example:  sometimes a puppy seems like a great idea until you get them home.  They steal the kids toys, "bite" or mouth the children during times of teething and they repeatedly jump up on the kids.  There is a good chance they will knock your kids over or steal their snack.  For this reason alone, if you have younger children an older dog might be a great idea.  Another plus of an older dog is it can put less stress on you as the parent.  Trying to potty train a new puppy with a toddler running around can present quite challenging.

Another question to ask yourself is what breed will fit into your family life.  Do you have a yard?  Are you an active family that will give a dog a lot of exercise or are you homebodies that might do better with a cat or less active dog?  There is a lot that plays into selecting the type and breed of animal that fits best with your family.  My suggestion to you is do your research and do A LOT of it.  There is nothing worse than bringing a pet home and having them not meet your expectations.

Next, you need to decide where you want to get your pet from.  There are many reputable breeders that can produce a great quality pet.  They allow you to perhaps know your pet from the time of birth and many times give you the opportunity to know both parents.  For many pet owners these are very important aspects and therefore this can be a great choice for a potential pet owner.  It can be a great bonding experience to take your family on weekly visits to see a pet that you have hand selected. 

Likewise, adopting a shelter pet can be just as rewarding.  It allows you and your children the opportunity to get to know the personality of many different pets.  Therefore you can get exactly what you are looking for. You can talk with your kids about how you will be giving a home to an animal that desperately needs one.  If you adopt from a place that is not a no kill shelter you can feel great about knowing your family saved a life!

Which ever option you choose please, please make sure that you read up and know what you are getting yourself into.  Involve your children every step of the way and make sure that there is good harmony between your children and the new pet.

Happy searching!

Cooking With Children and The Benefits It Has

It's getting to be that time of year where many days it's just too cold to go outside to play with your children. One of my all time favorite things to do on these not so nice days (other than curl up on the couch and watch movies) is to get my kids into the kitchen.  Yes, I love to bake and cook with my kids.  It so therapeutic and rewarding.

I have a great time teaching my kids how to cook and I know they love it to.  It not only provides us with quality time, but it helps provide them with a great foundation for later in life.  I feel that if they know how to cook they will be more apt to use these skills when they get out on their own.

I also know that the success they feel when we have created a delicious masterpiece gives them a sense of self-accomplishment which in turn gives children a huge self-confidence boost. Having your kids in the kitchen with you can be a great time to teach both healthy food choices and basic math skills. 

Lately my kids have been enjoying baking healthy treats for our pets.  I thought I would include a treat recipe for cats to help get you and your kids baking away!

Christine's Kitty Munchies
 
1/2 Canned mackerel - drained
1 Cup whole grain bread crumbs
1 TBS Vegetable oil
1 egg - beaten
1/2 TSP Brewer’s yeast (optional)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sized bowl mash the mackerel with a fork into tiny pieces.
Combine the remaining ingredients and mix well. Drop mixture by 1/4 teaspoonful’s on to a greased cookie pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Let COOL before serving to your pet! Store in air tight container in refrigerator.

Originally found: http://www.petloveshack.com/pettreats.html

Design Your Own Dog Collar by BOWWOWMEOW

                     

I just LOVE the Design Your Own Dog Collar by BOWWOWMEOW. Sometimes it's hard to find the exact collar design to fit your pups personality in the stores. Sometimes we want our pooch to have that one of a kind collar. Sometimes we are just feeling a bit crafty or want to keep our kids entertained for a while. Whatever the reason is this collar fits the need.

Available in small, medium and large this kit comes with a plain white adjustable collar and 4 permanent markers (red, blue, yellow and green). The durable collar has a "D" ring to attach a tag and a leash and has a plastic clip style buckle closure.

Great for creating that original collar for a special occasion or for everyday wear, this collar kit is sure to get your creative juices flowing. As much as I wanted to create a design I reluctantly let my 4 year old go to town. He loved it and is VERY proud that he created his dogs collar!

BOWWOWMEOW carries Design Your Own Dog Collars, Leashes, Jewelry, Party Collars, Scrapbooks and Pet Ornaments. The collar is available for $15.99 on the BOWWOWMEOW website.

If you think your product can pass the Secret Shopper Test, send an email to: SecretShopperBlog@gmail.com.

Fun Dog Facts To Share With Your Children

                  
 

FUN DOG FACTS

-          An adult dog has 42 teeth.

-          A dog’s smell is more than 1,000,000 times stronger than that of a person.

-          More than 1 in 3 families in the United States owns a dog.

-          Spaying or neutering your dog can help prevent certain types of cancer.

-          If never spayed or neutered a pair of dogs can produce 66,000 puppies in 6

           years.

-          A dog’s sense of hearing is more than ten times more accurate than that of

           a person.

-          The average dog can run about 19 miles per hour at full speed.

-          Dogs are mentioned 14 times in the bible.

-          A dog’s nose print is one of a kind, very similar to a person’s fingerprint.

-          The average body temperature for a dog is 101.2.

-          With an average lifespan of just over 11 years, the typical dog costs

           $13,500.

-          The only sweat glands a dog has are between its toes.

-          Dogs are omnivorous; they need to eat more than just meat.

-          Dogs have twice as many ear muscles as people.

-          Dogs will be submissive to anyone they feel is higher up in the pack.

-          People have been keeping dogs for pets for 12,000 years.

-          A female dog carries her puppies for about 60 days before they are born.

-          It is a myth that dogs are color blind.  They actually see color, just not as

           vividly as a person.

-          Obesity is the number 1 health problem in dogs.

-          70% of people sign their pets name on greeting/holiday cards.

Fun Cat Facts To Share With Your Children

                         

FUN CAT FACTS

-          Cats have over 100 different vocal sounds.

-          Calico cats are almost always female.

-          Cats knead with their paws when they are happy.

-          A male cat is called a Tom and a female cat is called a Queen.

-          Cats can get tapeworm from eating mice.

-          Most cats are lactose intolerant and should not be given cow’s milk.

-          An adult cat has 30 adult teeth.

-          Cats can run up to 30 miles per hour.

-          A cat can jump about 7 times its height.

-          A female cat carries her kittens for about 58-65 days before they are born.

-          The average cat sleeps 16-18 hours per day.

-          A cat’s sense of smell is about 14 times greater than a person’s.

-          A group of kittens is called a “kindle” a group of adult cats is called a

          “clowder”.

-          Cats have 5 toes on each front paw, but only 4 toes on each back paw.

-          Cats that fall 5 stories have a 90% survival rate.

-          Cats cannot taste anything sweet.