The Mouser turns 3 (or 21 in dog years)

Mouse turned three years old and I decided that I needed to throw a little celebration. N rightly pointed out that I had never made a cake for any of the other dogs, but I was determined to be more organised this time. 

The night before her birthday I threw together a carrot and peanut butter cake. The recipe is as follows.

Ingredients

1 egg, 1/4 cup peanut butter (I used unsalted), 1/4 cup cooking oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cup shredded carrots, 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, creamed cheese

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degs F (175 degs C)
2. Combine egg, peanut butter, oil and vanilla in a large bowl; mix well
3. Stir in the carrots and mix thoroughly
4. Sift the flour and baking soda and fold into the carrot mixture
5. Spoon batter into greased cake tin
6. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto serving plate
7. Spread the cream cheese over the cake while it is still warm for 'icing' and add whatever decoration you see fit

Final Result

I kinda spooned the batter in the cake tin into this rough shape and then cut the head out to be a bit more round. It was supposed to look like a duck but I think it was more like a chicken by the end of it, not that Mouse minded one bit! 

I tried some of the cake myself and it was actually pretty nice. You could add some honey if humans were going to join in on the celebrations.

She waited nicely for the photos to be taken without trying to chow down on the cake. I attribute this partly to my 'leave it' training, and partly to those strange little fires on top of the cake that she wasn't quite sure about. She seemed quite relieved when I blew them out.

She was a bit perturbed that I made her sit in front of the yummy cake for photos, then picked it up and took it into the kitchen.

I cut the cake up, and of course Mouse got the biggest piece. She was very excited about it. Barbie and Bender appreciated their pieces also. 

It's OK her eyes didn't actually pop out of her head....

The blur effect makes Bender's teeth look huuuuuuge.

Of course Bender finished off all the crumbs on the plate to save me from doing much cleaning up! 

Tuna Fudge training treats

For training, it's important to have some very high value treats on you. Usually treats that have a 'high value' to dogs are actually human food, not those prepackaged, dried, salt filled treats you can buy in the supermarket (I'm looking at you, Schmackos!)

Dogs are so easy to cook for, and I think the best rule is keep it simple - you can make something your dog loves with just 4 or 5 ingredients.

I have been experimenting with 'tuna fudge', and here is my recipe.

350g of canned tuna (do not drain)
300g of plain flour
40g of grated or powdered parmesan cheese (optional)
2 eggs
garlic powder (optional)

Combine all ingredients, and add water if necessary (I always have to add water if I bought 'no drain' tuna cans), mix with an electric beater until it becomes a cake-mix like consistency. Well a chunky cake-mix. Transfer to a buttered cake tin and cook in the oven for about 45 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.

This is one cake where I am not keen to lick the beaters. As is the usual tradition in houses with human pups, here we let the kids lick the bowl.

It goes brown on the top and shrinks away from the edges a little when it's done. It will be a little gooey in the middle if you have added parmesan. 

When it's cool and 'set', cut into treat sized pieces. The result will not be too messy in your pocket as long as the weather is cool. Keep the bits in a nice sealed container in the fridge for the longest life.

Barbie and Bender certainly love these treats, and heartily endorse them. They always hang around in the kitchen when I am cutting them up. 

In search of Tougher Balls

DOG (Bender's) RULES

1. If I like it, it's mine.
2. If it's in my mouth, it's mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it's mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
5. If it's mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.
6. If I chew it up, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it just looks like mine, it's mine.
8. If I saw it first, it's mine.
9. If you are playing with it and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine.
10. If it's broken, it's yours.

I went to City Farmers today to buy kibble, pig's ears and foam tennis balls. I must say, their shelves looked a bit bare. The still have a supply problem with Hills Science Diet so the shelves were bare there. I managed to get some Hills for the cats, because Mittens is a fussy blighter and won't eat anything else. They were giving away a 3kg bag of Nutro dog food to people who had a City Farmer's card and got their newsletter, so I grabbed that, and got my 15kg bag of Advance. I got 10 pig's ears but there really weren't many to choose from in the tub. Then I went to get some new balls for Bender. There were only 3 left! I bought them all. They have certainly increased in price, I remember when they were only $3 each, now they are $5.50!

Anyway, inspired by the lack of reasonably priced treaties, I decided to make some peanut butter dog cookies when I got home.

½ cups water(add more water later if required)
½ cup oil
2 eggs
3 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
½ cup cornmeal
½ cup oats

Blend wet ingredients together. Whisk dry ingredients together and mix into wet mixture to form a ball of dough. Roll out and shape. Put onto a non-stick cookie tray or lightly greased one. Cook 20 minutes at 400 F. Turn off oven and allow the biscuits to cool in oven until crisp and hard. Store in airtight container.

I gave one to Barbie, and it went down very well. I think I will make more dog cookies.

In other news, we met some house sitters last night. We have made a decision, I think, so the furkids will be well looked after while we are away. We will have to stock up on food before we leave. I hope that City Farmers have plenty of balls and pigs ears!