Sarafina got an awesome bandana today! Hand made by her best friend Kirsten!

Today is always a busy day, I hate Tuesdays. But luckily I have Sarafina to come home to instead of a dull dorm room. I have been considering switching her to a fresh foods, partially raw diet as she hates kibble. I will be sure to post the first picture of her chomping on a chicken neck, ew. Anything for my girl though!

P.S. wasn't Sarafina the stinkin cutest puppy ever?

Sarafina and her best pal Buster went for a walk today at the Hopkinton State Park. If you live in MA it is one of the best parks to take your dog. It has a beach where Sarafina loves digging holes.



In the summer, Framingham State Park is great also because they have a doggie area where your dogs can run off leash and go swimming in a pond. I can't wait for it to be warmer out so we can go swimming!

So this week has been busy, but I did get around to making Sarafina some valentine's day treats! I made her these yummy biscuits in a cute heart shape!

Chicken and Cheese Heart Biscuits

Ingredients:

• 5 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup of cheese (or more!)
• 2 tbsp of ground flax (excellent source of omegas!)
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup corn oil
• 2 eggs
• + heart-chaped cookie cutter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet using either 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil.
2. Combine the ingredients and mix well.
3. With clean hands, roll the dough out to 1/4 to 1/2-inch thickness and use a heart-shaped cookie cutter. If you have a small dog or a large cookie cutter, perforate the cookies with a fork down the middle to break apart easily after baking. Instead of a cookie cutter, you can roll the dough into 1/2 to 2-inch balls and place them one inch apart on the greased cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 25 - 35 minutes until they turn golden brown. Baking times will vary based treats’ size, the altitude, and your oven.
5. Cool cookies on wire racks, as far away from your dog as possible (they might try and snatch some!).
6. After treating your dog, store the rest in the refrigerator or freeze.

The recipe usually yields around 2lbs of cookies, but depends on cutter size and thickness of cookies. 

So recently I have been busy fostering a blind lab/golden mix named Stella. She is such a doll! I can't say enough good things about her. If anyone is interested in adopting her please contact me! She is the best :)

I went to an awesome seminar last night on "Veterinary Homeopathy" presented by the New England Pet Hospice (http://www.newenglandpethospice.com). I have become increasingly interested in the field of Veterinary Homeopathy ever since I adopted Sarafina. Some of the most interesting information is alternative flea and tick prevention. I hate having to put any type of topical pesticide on Sarafina. I have found an awesome alternative! Amber Stone necklaces for your dog! They are so cute and they also repel fleas and ticks by resinous aromatic terpines, released by the necklace when it rubs against your pets fur. It also repels them through electrostatic properties of the amber. Check them out at www.amberstonepets.com. I will be ordering one for Sarafina!

After a long day at school today, I come home to Sarafina and feel so bad for having to leave her! I love playing fun, mentally stimulating games with her. This one is real fun! Especially since Sarafina has quite the nose on her, nose work classes in the future? I think yes! I call it:

Hide and Seek!
I take Sarafina and put her in the bathroom and close the door. I take a really smelly treat (Salmon Jerky works good!) and I drag it on the carpet all around, making a trail. I then will hide some pieces under or around things (not visible to the eye though!). And then I let her out of the bathroom and she goes wild! She starts to smell the trail and she always finds all the treats! You can also take plastic cups and hide a treat under one, and see if your dog can find it!

It is a great way to have fun, especially on a rainy day. Hope your dogs enjoy it as much as Sarafina does!

One thing that Sarafina loves is Doggy Ice Cream! But it is so expensive! I came up with a new homemade recipe that is super easy!

Doggie Peanut Butter Frozen Yogurt!
You will need: 1 cup of peanut butter (organic is best!), 1 cup of plain yogurt, small chopped up fruit (I like to use either bananas or peeled apples), and cupcake papers.
What you do:
1. Place the peanut butter into a microwave safe bowl and microwave it for approximately 10 seconds. 2. Take the yogurt and combined it with the softened peanut butter in a bowl. Tip: try not to use the yogurt straight out of the fridge, it may be too cold and harden the peanut butter before you can combine them completely.
3. Cut up fruit of your choice and mix it into the peanut butter/yogurt.
4. Take a teaspoon and spoon out the yogurt into cupcake paper liners (you can use a cupcake pan, but they seem to hold up just fine by themselves in the papers).
5. Place the yogurt in the cupcake liners in the freezer.
6. Then bone-appetite!

You can make as much frozen yogurt at one time as you want and you can also add honey!

For Sarafina she gets so excited she tries to eat the block all at once, so I chop it up into small pieces in a dog bowl for her and she loves it. I also sometimes sprinkle training treats or food over it!

Hello! My name is April and this is my blog all about dogs! I am currently a Vet Tech student and have a lot of advice and information to offer. My dog is Sarafina! I rescued her last September from Virginia through an aussie rescue, New Spirit 4 Aussie Rescue (www.ns4ar.org), they are awesome check them out! She is an aussie (mini I think) and I love her! I will start posting fun recipes and interesting facts soon!