It was a really nice day just cuddling up with my dogs. They treat me like a napping station, so I gave them lots of scratches while they passed out.
I like to make them stuff from time to time. Not too often, because I like to keep them healthy, but 1-3 times a month, they’ll get something different.
Dinner: Kibble Soup
My dogs LOVE the Chicken Topper from Bark. I taught Mila when she was young to make choices, so I’ll often present her with two choices. Often times, Chicken topper vs Beef or Pork topper. She’ll often motion and paw at the chicken topper. August, unfortunately does not understand yet, so he just tries to lick every topper I present to him from the lid, lol.
Ingredients List:
- Healthy Grains Kibble
- BARK Chicken Topper
- Water
- Parsley
- Optional: Soft Treat
I sprinkle some chicken topper on to modestly coat their kibble. Add water until it almost covers their kibble & a couple shakes of parsley. Toss it in the microwave for 10-20 seconds each. Just for the kibble to expand and get a little softer to chew for them, but who doesn’t like a warm meal. I usually top their food with a soft treat on the side (Pork & Apple Soft Bakes) & bone appetit.
Dessert/Snack: Autumn Pie Filling
I buy the dogs their own apple sauce cups without sugar, since they don’t need that in their bodies. Carob Chips are a fun chocolate substitute for dogs. And yes, while there is sugar in whip cream, they go crazy for it. Thus the no need for extra sugar & why I only treat them to these fancy shenanigans so rarely.
Ingredients List:
- Sugar Free Apple Sauce Cup
- BARK Pumpkin Topper
- Carob Chips
- Optional: Whipped Cream
- Optional: Soft Treat
In a bowl, I mix together the apple sauce, pumpkin topper, & carob chips. Served in their own respective bowls. Topped on the side is a dollop of whipped cream and I like to put a soft treat (I usually use Buddy Biscuit Soft & Chewy Dog Treats, but I have a lot of Holiday treats still, so they’re getting Pumpkin treats).
Optional: Sometimes, I forgo the topper and just add cinnamon. My biggest takeaway is, DO NOT GIVE THEM NUTMEG. So put away the pumpkin spice.
Dessert/Treats: Coconut & Goat milk Pupsicles
I have these cute pumpkin pie molds that are a tad bigger, but you can freeze treats in. It gives them something to do and keeps them busy for a good while, so I planned on filling them with a bit of coconut & goat milk for them later this week. I had a lot of mixture left, so I plan to either freeze the rest, or bake some into some dog biscuits/cake for them later this week. I’ve forgotten to do anything for August’s Gotcha day, so I might spoil them with some Pupcakes.
Ingredients List:
- Coconut Milk
- BARK Goat Milk & Blueberry
- Molds
Mixing Coconut Milk & Goat Milk with Blueberries topper together. I pour these into cute dog bones/paws mold so that I can give them a frozen treat sparingly.
You might have noticed that I really like BARK products. I’m not trying to endorse them, but they have a wide variety of toppers & fun rubber treat molds/holders. Before we got August, Mila used to be a picky eater. I knew VERY well what she did and didn’t like, but she had a tendency to get bored with the same kibble, so we purposely bought small bags and rotated the flavor (Chicken, Salmon, Beef).
Obviously, the toppers were put on sometimes to make the food more appetizing, but we couldn’t put toppers on EVERY meal. She would be incredibly spoiled if we did that, but we also didn’t want her to starve. Even though we did have to force her to starve a few times. The ol’ “oh you’re not eating this right now? then I guess back in the bag it goes” technique. She’d eventually eat because she HAD to. I guess by then she was spoiled. Buying the smallest bags of dog food is also pointlessly expensive if you can just buy the largest. We were basically buying new bags every month, which was near the cut off of when she would start to get bored.
Anyways, Mila eventually grew out of the behavior once we brought August home. Now that there was a new dog that could potentially eat her food, she became less spoiled. We now have a handful of toppers and the largest dog kibble bag in ONE flavor, hoozah!
Although, she was a pain, it basically became habit to do something a little extra with their food here & there. Mixing them in yogurt, apple sauce, or even just on whipped cream for them. They seem happy just watching me prepare their meals. It’s a little silly, but watching them eat eagerly and come to show off their good eats to me is one of the best parts of the month. I love our family. <3