Exciting New addition to the Playing with the Big Dogs family.

Celebration for our new house guest. (excuse for the party hat.) Unfortunately as of yet I cannot get a picture of Simon in the hat because he wont hold still with it on.

Maya is unhappy that I still have the party hat

Okay so not really a new addition Maya is back with us for the summer! Her owner is traveling for school and we were happy to have her come back and visit. We have really missed her and it's fantastic to see how she has grown up. She is almost a year older than Simon so seeing the difference a year can make is really interesting.

Sadie thinks that if she has to wear the hat she should get treats.

 Maya is a lot more relaxed than she was as a puppy she naps more and gets into stuff less, but she loves to zoom around with Simon and with her slightly longer legs and her muscles she can out run him and he loves it.

I like this picture of all the feet.

She has been with us since Wednesday afternoon and her and Simon are best buds. It's funny most of the time it's either the pups or the girls but Maya is just to much fun so Simon and Sadie play with her more than each other. 

Maya is in in the middle on our hike today.

Today we went on a hike in the foothills and everyone had a blast. It was a very hot day so we didn't go for a very long hike but getting to go somewhere we hadn't been before with the dogs was a lot of fun. We were the only group out there so we had the hills to ourselves for our adventure. 

Simon looks super happy on the hike.

Simon took the first step toward his future today. When we took him hiking we used an x-back harness which is the type of harness used in dog sledding. He is getting used the the feel of pulling in an X-back harness to start him on the path to being a sled dog. Simon loved it. he pulled for all he is worth and when you see a dog do what he is bred for and it clicks it is magic. I can't wait till he is older and we start to skijor and really tap into that genetic potential. 

Sadie is always doing weird things with her tongue. 

Happy dogs!

They love to hike.

The dogs are having a great day.

 We are very excited to have Maya visiting we plan to have a wonderful summer with the three dogs with lots of hikes, walks, and training fun.

Simple Tuna Treats.

I am going to walk you through one of my fall backs for making treats. This recipe is great because I normally have the stuff already in my house, it's super simple and it's a treat my dogs love.


Ingredients:

1 cup of almond flour. 

1 egg

1 can of tuna

Directions:

preheat your oven to 375 I apparently took the picture and didn't see that it was at the wrong temp  but it shows that is is not a delicate recipes and there is some wiggle room in the directions. I ended up having to cook mine for an extra 4 minutes after I found out but it is not a big deal.

Mix all ingredients in bowl including egg shells and the water from the tuna can. Remember that simple part?

Cook for around 20- 22 minutes for crunchy treats or less if you want chewy treats. You can just roll them into balls or use a cookie cutter. I am going to roll mine into balls and cook the rest in the dog bone shaped cookie sheet. 

I use almond flour for these because so many dogs have grain allergies or sensitivities to grain that I avoid it when I can but you could also use whole wheat flour or potato flour to make the treats.  

Of course when making dog treats I have some supervisors watching my every move. There are some modifications I sometimes use for example if I had a little fresh parsley or mint I would have chopped it up and stuck it in the treats as well.

Sadie is ready for the cookies to be done Simon is just happy he is getting to hang out in the kitchen.

All attention on the person with the mixing bowl.

Simon knows where the food comes from.

Can't move without them noticing.

Sadie will still stand guard.

Sadie likes them.

This was the least blurry picture of Simon I could get.

See! But Simon likes them too.

The biggest thing I would like to change to this is I would use a dehydrator if I had one. They help remove extra moisture from the treats and help them last longer. To try to make them last on my end I stick them into a tupperware and will either leave them in the fridge or freezer. In the freezer they can keep for a few months in the fridge you are lucky for a few weeks.

Let me know if you make these and if your pups like them. The only dog who hasn't like them so far has a history of not eating fish.