Our address has changed.
To connect to doggie home ec. part 2, 
please click here.

turkey patties

We made up a huge supply of turkey patties. They are not as perfectly formed as the fancy storebought kind, but just as healthy and much less $$.


Ingredients-
* collard greens and carrots:


* 15 pounds of ground turkey that needs to defrost and be cleaned. I cleaned the turkey with hot hot water and apple cider vinegar before using.


* Puree the vegetables. I always add a big splash of apple cider vinegar and oil. Tonight we added a bit of olive oil.


* Once the vegetable are ready, this is when you mix in "breadcrumbs". "Breadcrumbs" for Meena and Heidi are pureed oats and pureed flax seed. They offer nutritional benefits and help form nice burgers.
Just sprinkle in a bit at a time until it thickens.


* Add the mix to the turkey. I like to do about 60-70 percent meat, the rest vegetables and some grains. The percentage is different for every dog.


* Mix all ingredients together, weigh out the size of the patty you need, and proceed to making patties.
I like to separate my patties with little squares of wax paper. Also, these vintage pyrex casserole dishes are excellent for storing patties.




You can serve the patties raw, or you can cook it if feeding raw food isn't your thing.

Serve to your dog.
Enjoy!

collard green cookies...

These are collard green cookies. They are a huge hit with Meena and Heidi!


Getting set up to roll the cookies...


Isn't the dough a lovely shade of green?


Cutting out cookies...
* please note, i only had the patience to cut out maybe a dozen cookies with the cookie cutters. after that, i just made little balls. :P


Hot out of the oven...


Filled up a vintage fruitcake tin with some xmas cookies.


If you would like to make some, here is what I did. I don't like to follow recipes. I like to pretend I'm Nigella Lawson and just effortlessly tossing ingredients aroung to make something magnificent.

Ingredients:
2 cups of chopped collard greens (spinach would also work)
1/3 cup of cottage cheese
3 cups of whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
water
garlic powder

* Puree the collard greens in a food processer until they are almost liquified. You will need to add a little water. Just add a little bit at a time.
* Add the cottage cheese to the pureed greens and mix.
* Add the flour and baking powder to the mix until a dough forms.
* Roll out the dough and cut out shapes.
* Dust the tops with garlic powder
* Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. For crunchy cookies, let bake another hour, or so, at 150 degrees.

Let the cookies cool.
Serve & enjoy!

Cranberries and yogurt

This is a great thing to feed your dog if they suffer from UTIs.
* 32 ounces of yogurt and 12 ounces of pureed fresh cranberries...


* Mix together and serve a couple tablespoons with dinner...



* You can also make yogurt & cranberry frozen treats (better in the summer)...


* Yogurt frozen treats...


yum!

Getting ready to bake some dog treats...

Check back later for results and recipes.

Holiday Shopping for your Pet...

For the dogs...
* Check out the Etsy Gift Guide for pets here. Also, some of our favs are located on the right hand side of this blog.----->

* Super cool stuff at Retro Pup. Love the Eames and Barkcloth dogbeds!

* Perhaps some music for your dog...cds available here.

* Dog military jackets available here.

* Spa packages available at Happy Tails Spa.

* Lots of cute stuff at this Dog Pet Boutique. The poop bag holders are very cute!

* These have been mentioned here before, but they're just so darn fun, check out wigs for dogs here.

* Lots more online shops, full of great stuff, available here.

M & D's Chicken Stew

Ingredients include: one whole chicken, one cup rice, collard greens, carrots and squash.

1. Cook the rice according to package directions...


2. Wash and chop up the vegetables...


3. Put whole chicken into pot, fill with water and cover. Let simmer until the chicken is falling off the bone...


4. Strain chicken and save the broth. VERY IMPORTANT-remove all of the chicken bones. Cooked chicken bones are bad/dangerous for dogs.


5. Take the boneless chicken and break it up into small bite size pieces, and add the cooked rice...


6. Put your chopped vegetables into the saved broth and let simmer until tender...


7. Add cooked vegetables and broth to the chicken and rice. * Please note, with the vegetables, I only added about half of the cooked veggies to the stew. The rest I freeze for later.

8. Let cool and serve. Doggies enjoy!

Patterns and recipes from HGTV

* Peanut butter dog recipe here, from Kobe Dog.
* Breath buster mint dog cookie recipe here, from The Chocolate Lab.
* Hemp dog collar pattern and directions here, from The Modern Pet.
* Dog harness vest pattern here, from the Twisted-Cow.
* Poop bag holder pattern here, from the Chocolate Lab.
* Doggy doughnut recipe here, from Moddog Bakery.
* Dog dress pattern here, also from Moddog Bakery.


**HGTV patterns and recipes found here.

Doggy DNA testing

You can finally find out what breed your dog is...check it out here. Also, check out this news report from ABC news.

grain free kibble dog food

We are testing out some grain free kibble dog foods that work with a raw food diet. We wanted something for those in between times: when we are out of groceries and need to shop, and for when life gets too hectic to prepare meals.
Here are several we're testing...
* Solid Gold-Barking at the Moon
* Force-dehydrated raw dog food by The Honest Kitchen
* Nature's Variety- Raw Instinct
* Innova's Evo Grain free kibble

Bravo! Issues Nationwide Recall of Select Poultry Products for Dogs and Cats, read all about it here.

The FDA recommends that everyone follow appropriate pet food handling guidelines when feeding their pets. Read about it here.

Lab Tests Find Lead, Other Toxins in Pet Toys Sold at Wal-Mart. Click here for link.

Chip Implants Linked to Animal Tumors, click here to read article.

"green" pet products

I found a recent article, in an issue of the Chicago Red Eye, on "green" pet products. Thought I would pass along some of the links. Just click on the names to link to their websites...

Spa Products:
Cain & Able
Cyber Canine
Spot Organics

a bit of everything:
Earth Doggy
Planet Dog
Only Natural Pet

Food:
Austin's Natural Pet
Merrick Pet Care
Natura Pet Foods

Collars, beds & toys:
Earth Dog
Simply Fido
West Paw Design
World Wide Design

Cleaning and lawn care products:
Eco-Wise
Holy Cow Cleaning Products

just for fun!

fz

oatmeal-yum!

Every Sunday morning is oatmeal day at our house. Meena and Heidi love it!
I start soaking the oats Saturday night, so they are good and mushy by Sunday morning. This way the oats are easier for the dogs to digest. I usually mix in a tablespoon of yogurt, and drizzle on some blackstrap molasses. Easy peasy!

Sunday is sort of their fasting day. They will also get some sort of treat to work on during the day, like a bully stick or a raw meaty bone. This also makes Sunday teeth cleaning day. Chewing on a bone helps scape off any tartar build up on their teeth.

Dog Days of Summer...

Hello!


We are still around, trying to enjoy every last bit of summer here in Chicago. We plan on coming back regularly in the fall with recipes, crafts, news bits, etc.


Here are a few things from the summer of 2007:
* First of all, Oprah is now feeding her dogs a homemade diet made up of cooked meat, vegies and rice. She did a little segment on one of her shows, click here for info. She got her dog nutritional info from this Veterinarian, Dr Marty, who specializes in holistic treatment and nutrition. Thank you to Oprah for helping to raise awareness of good nutrition for your pets, and homemade diets!

* Wal-Mart pulled dog treats, read here.

* We found a dog food company in Chicago that makes healthy gourmet meals and treats for dogs. Click here for more info.

* For cool dog stuff for you and your pet, check out the Etsy Dog Mafia. They are a group of artists and crafters that make all sorts of unique pet stuff.
Speaking of cool stuff at Etsy, check out the doggy t-shirts at Beebee Mod- super cute! Check them out here.

* Michael Vick is a very bad man! NFL suspended him-yay! Check out the dog toy replica of M.V. The company apparently is using a portion of the profits to raise awareness of dog fighting and other animal charities. Also, check this out: someone gave their M.V. trading cards to their dog to chew and destroy, now the cards are for sale on ebay-ha! Here is the article, and here are more links to Vick collectibles, wonderfully destroyed by dogs, for sale on ebay. * Thanks for the links lil' G!

Well, hope you're enjoying your summer. We will be back soon...

Meena and Heidi xoxo

school's out for summer!

Hey Guys!
It's Meena and Heidi.
We just want to thank you for keeping our Mom entertained and informed.
We think she is starting to go a little bananas, so we're giving her a break. We're even eating STORE BOUGHT dog food, to help her out. We are loving the Nature's Variety raw diets and Evo cans.
Hope you all enjoy your summer.
We may be around for some random summer school classes, and definitely back in the fall. You can check in with our Mom here.
Take care everyone!
Love,
Me & D
PS out mom sends her love too...

Ten ways to stop puppy mills

1. Do Not Buy Your Puppy From a Pet Store That puppy who charmed you through the pet shop window has most likely come from a large-scale, substandard commercial breeding facility, commonly known as a puppy mill. In these facilities, parent dogs are caged and bred as often as possible, and give birth to puppies who could have costly medical problems you might not become aware of until after you bring your new pet home.

2. Make Adoption Your First Option If you’re looking to make a puppy part of your family, check your local shelters first. Not only will you be saving a life, but you will ensure that your money is not going to support a puppy mill. There are many dogs waiting for homes in shelters all across the country―and an estimated one in four is a purebred! Your second option is breed rescue. If your heart is set on a specific breed you haven’t been able to find in a shelter, you can do an Internet search for a breed-specific rescue organization.

3. Know How to Recognize a Responsible Breeder If you’ve exhausted your options for adopting and are choosing to buy from a breeder, remember that responsible breeders have their dogs’ interests in mind. They are not simply interested in making a sale, but in placing their pups in good homes. A responsible breeder should screen you as thoroughly as you screen them! Read the ASPCA’s responsible breeding statement to find out more about how a responsible breeder behaves.

4. See Where Your Puppy Was Born and Bred One sign that you are speaking to an unscrupulous breeder is that they will not let you see the facility in which your puppy was born. Always ask to see the breeding premises and to meet both parents (or at least the mother) of the puppy you want to take home. You should also ask for an adoption contract that explains―in terms you understand―the breeder’s responsibilities, health guarantee and return policy.

5. Internet Buyers, Beware! Buying a puppy from the Internet is as risky as buying from a pet store. If you buy a puppy based on a picture and a phone call, you have no way of seeing the puppy’s breeding premises or meeting his parents. And those who sell animals on the Internet are not held to the Animal Welfare Act regulations―and so are not inspected by the USDA.

6. Share Your Puppy Mill Story with the ASPCA If you have—or think you have—purchased a puppy-mill puppy, please tell us your story. Every bit of evidence gives us more power to get legislation passed that will ban puppy mills.

7. Speak Out! Inform your state and federal legislators that you are disturbed by the inhumane treatment of dogs in puppy mills, and would like to see legislation passed that ensures that all animals bred to be pets are raised in healthy conditions. You can keep up-to-date about current legislation to ban puppy mills by joining the ASPCA Advocacy Brigade.

8. Tell Your Friends If someone you know is planning on buying a puppy, please direct them to our puppy mill information at ASPCA.org. Let them know that there are perfectly healthy dogs in shelters waiting to be adopted.

9. Think Globally Have a webpage, a MySpace page or a blog? Use these powerful tools to inform people about puppy mill cruelty by adding a link to our puppy mill information at ASPCA.org.

10. Act Locally! When people are looking to buy or adopt a pet, they will often ask the advice of their veterinarian, groomer or pet supply store. Download and print our flyers and ask to leave them in the offices of your local practitioners.

**To learn more, click here.

candida

Read the new article on yeast overgrowth/candida at the Only Natural Pet Store. Includes symptoms and natural remedies.

Filler in Animal Feed Is Open Secret in China

"Filler in Animal Feed Is Open Secret in China", read the entire article here.

veggie and rice mix

Toss the following ingredients into a pot, cover with water, let simmer until veggies are tender and the rice is cooked...
2 cups rice
1 bag carrots~chopped or pureed
1 head broccoli~chopped or pureed
1/4 clove of garlic~chopped or pureed (optional)

Let cool.
Serve as a side dish with your dog's favorite meat or poultry!

Pattern for a knitted dog sweater here.

Diet pills for dogs, this is just sad to me. Another article here.

Read about the cancer dog diet here.

Check out the dog food list for information on all the different types of dogfood. Find out what foods are made with only US suppliers, and who outsources to other countries.

List of toxic plants for pets here.

Homemade Dog Toys

I found this completely random website with a section on "Homemade Dog Toys". Well, I couldn't have been more thrilled to find some dog/crafty/fun things to try.
Check out the free & easy tutorials:
Tug-O-War Ball
Summertime Outdoor Toy
Recycled stuffed animals
Braided Tug Toys
Beef Broth Rope

dog food recall updates

I have mentioned this site before, seriously check out The Dog Food Project if you haven't already. This is one of the best sites for any questions you may have regarding dog food.

"FDA: Pet food tainting might be intentional
Plastics chemical can make feed appear more protein-rich"...read the article here.

"The Healthiest Petfood in the World", read about it here.
Their products include: Evo, California Natural, Karma, and more...
I think these are all great dog foods. They are a little pricier, but absolutely worth it.
(Thanks S&G for the link).

Royal Canin dog food recall:
"Although we have no confirmed cases of illness in pets, we have decided to voluntarily remove the following dry pet food products that contain rice protein concentrate due to the presence of a melamine derivative". Check out the site for more info.
(You were right S, I missed that one).

Blue Buffalo recall, get more info here.

"Natural Balance said it was recalling all its Venison and Brown Rice canned and bagged dog foods, its Venison and Brown Rice dog treats and its Venison and Green Pea dry cat food"...read more here.

The new "House Pet Magazine" is out.

Some great dog food recipes here.

Natural tick and flea care here.

pretty spring bandanas

These adorable bandanas are from Jinny's Closet @etsy.
Each came with cute buttons, bells, and name charms.

treat your dog to some hair color, check out these great colors.... i've always wanted a blue or pink poodle.

etsy + pets = petsy ~ cool handmade stuff for pets

take a look at sock dogs. get little stuffed animals that look like your pet, and help a good cause.

one more time...
spring associated with liver and gallbladder functions

spring shopping list and liver detox

little doggy tutus...

yikes!

YOUR WHOLE PET
Bigger than you think: The story behind the pet food recall
By Christie Keith, Special to SF Gate
Tuesday, April 3, 2007

"The March 16 recall of 91 pet food products manufactured by Menu Foods wasn't big news at first. Early coverage reported only 10-15 cats and dogs dying after eating canned and pouched foods manufactured by Menu. The foods were recalled -- among them some of the country's best-known and biggest-selling brands -- and while it was certainly a sad story, and maybe even a bit of a wake-up call about some aspects of pet food manufacturing, that was about it.
At first, that was it for me, too. But I'm a contributing editor for a nationally syndicated pet feature, Universal Press Syndicate's Pet Connection, and all of us there have close ties to the veterinary profession. Two of our contributors are vets themselves, including Dr. Marty Becker, the vet on "Good Morning America." And what we were hearing from veterinarians wasn't matching what we were hearing on the news.
When we started digging into the story, it quickly became clear that the implications of the recall were much larger than they first appeared. Most critically, it turned out that the initially reported tally of dead animals only included the cats and dogs who died in Menu's test lab and not the much larger number of affected pets.
Second, the timeline of the recall raised a number of concerns. Although there have been some media reports that Menu Foods started getting complaints as early as December 2006, FDA records state the company received their first report of a food-related pet death on February 20.
One week later, on February 27, Menu started testing the suspect foods. Three days later, on March 3, the first cat in the trial died of acute kidney failure. Three days after that, Menu switched wheat gluten suppliers, and 10 days later, on March 16, recalled the 91 products that contained gluten from their previous source.
Nearly one month passed from the date Menu got its first report of a death to the date it issued the recall. During that time, no veterinarians were warned to be on the lookout for unusual numbers of kidney failure in their patients. No pet owners were warned to watch their pets for its symptoms. And thousands and thousands of pet owners kept buying those foods and giving them to their dogs and cats.
At that point, Menu had seen a 35 percent death rate in their test-lab cats, with another 45 percent suffering kidney damage. The overall death rate for animals in Menu's tests was around 20 percent. How many pets, eating those recalled foods, had died, become ill or suffered kidney damage in the time leading up to the recall and in the days since? The answer to that hasn't changed since the day the recall was issued: We don't know.
We at Pet Connection knew the 10-15 deaths being reported by the media did not reflect an accurate count. We wanted to get an idea of the real scope of the problem, so we started a database for people to report their dead or sick pets. On March 21, two days after opening the database, we had over 600 reported cases and more than 200 reported deaths. As of March 31, the number of deaths alone was at 2,797.
There are all kinds of problems with self-reported cases, and while we did correct for a couple of them, our numbers are not considered "confirmed." But USA Today reported on March 25 that data from Banfield, a nationwide chain of over 600 veterinary hospitals, "suggests [the number of cases of kidney failure] is as high as hundreds a week during the three months the food was on the market."
On March 28, "NBC News" featured California veterinarian Paul Pion, who surveyed the 30,000 members of his national Veterinary Information Network and told anchor Tom Costello, "If what veterinarians are suspecting are cases, then it's much larger than anything we've seen before." Costello commented that it amounted to "potentially thousands of sick or dead pets."
The FDA was asked about the numbers at a press conference it held on Friday morning to announce that melamine had been found in the urine and tissues of some affected animals as well as in the foods they tested. Dr. Stephen Sundlof, director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine, told reporters that the FDA couldn't confirm any cases beyond the first few, even though they had received over 8,800 additional reports, because "we have not had the luxury of confirming these reports." They would work on that, he said, after they "make sure all the product is off the shelves." He pointed out that in human medicine, the job of defining what constitutes a confirmed case would fall to the Centers for Disease Control, but there is no CDC for animals.
Instead, pet owners were encouraged to report deaths and illness to the FDA. But when they tried to file reports, there was no place on the agency's Web site to do so and nothing but endless busy signals when people tried to call.
Veterinarians didn't fare much better. They were asked to report cases to their state veterinarian's office, but one feline veterinary blog, vetcetera, which surveyed all official state veterinarian Web sites, found that only eight had any independent information about the recall, and only 24 even mentioned it at all. Only one state, Vermont, had a request on their site for veterinarians to report pets whose illnesses or deaths they suspect are related to the recall. And as of today, there is no longer a notice that veterinarians should report suspected cases to their state veterinarians on the Web site of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
The lack of any notification system was extremely hard on veterinarians, many of whom first heard about the problem on the news or from their clients. Professional groups such as the Veterinary Information Network were crucial in disseminating information about the recall to their members, but not all vets belong to VIN, and not all vets log on to VIN on the weekend (the Menu press release, like most corporate or government bad news, was issued on a Friday).
But however difficult this recall has been for veterinarians, no one has felt its impact more than the owners of affected dogs and cats. While the pet media and bloggers continued to push the story, the most powerful force driving it was the grief of pet owners, many of them fueled by anger because they felt that their pet's death or illness wasn't being counted.
Many of them were also being driven by a feeling of guilt. At Pet Connection, we received a flood of stories from owners whose pets became ill with kidney failure, and who took them to the vet. The dogs or cats were hospitalized and treated, often at great expense -- sometimes into the thousands of dollars -- and then, when they were finally well enough, sent home.
For some, the story ended there. But for others, there was one more horrifying chapter. Because kidney failure causes nausea, it's often hard to get recovering pets to eat. So a lot of these owners got down on their hands and knees and coaxed and begged and eventually hand-fed their pets the very same food that had made them sick. Those animals ended up right back in the hospital and died, because their loving owners didn't know that the food was tainted.
To many pet owners, the pet food recall story is a personal tragedy about the potentially avoidable loss of a beloved dog or cat. Others have a hard time seeing the story as anything more than that -- with implications beyond the feelings of those grieving pet owners. Which brings us to the bigger picture, and questions -- not about what happened but about the system.
How did this problem, now involving almost every large pet food company in the United States, including some of the most trusted -- and expensive -- brands, get so out of hand? How come pet owners weren't informed more rapidly about the contaminated pet food? Why is it so hard to get accurate numbers of affected animals? Why didn't veterinarians get any notification? Where did the system break down?
The issue may not be that the system broke down, but that there isn't really a system.
There is, as the FDA pointed out, no veterinary version of the CDC. This meant the FDA kept confirming a number it had to have known was only the tip of the iceberg. It prevented veterinarians from having the information they needed to treat their patients and advise pet owners. It allowed the media to repeat a misleadingly low number, creating a false sense of security in pet owners -- and preventing a lot of people from really grasping the scope and implication of the problem.
And it was why Rosie O'Donnell felt free to comment last week on "The View": "Fifteen cats and one dog have died, and it's been all over the news. And you know, since that date, 29 soldiers have died, and we haven't heard much about them. No. I think that we have the wrong focus in the country. That when pets are killed in America from some horrific poisoning accident, 16 of them, it's all over the news and people are like, 'The kitty! It's so sad.' Twenty-nine sons and daughters killed since that day, it's not newsworthy. I don't understand."
In fact, Rosie didn't understand. She didn't understand that the same government she blames for sending America's sons and daughters to die in Iraq is the government that told her only 15 animals had died, and that the story was about a pet "poisoning accident" and not a systemic failure of FEMA-esque proportions.
Think that's going too far? Maybe not. On Sunday night, April 1, Pet Connection got a report from one of its blog readers, Joy Drawdy, who said that she had found an import alert buried on the FDA Web site. That alert, issued on Friday, the same day that the FDA held its last press conference about the recall, identified the Chinese company that is the source of the contaminated gluten -- gluten that is now known to be sold not only for use in animal feed, but in human food products, too. (The Chinese company is now denying that they are responsible, although they are investigating it.)
Although the FDA said on Friday it has no reason to think the contaminated gluten found its way into the human food supply, Sundlof told reporters that it couldn't be ruled out. He also assured us that they would notify the public as soon as they had any more information -- except, of course, that they did have more information and didn't give it to us, publishing it instead as an obscure import alert, found by chance by a concerned pet owner, which was then spread to the larger media.
All of which begs the question: If a system to report and track had been in place for animal illness, would this issue have emerged sooner? Even lacking a reporting and tracking system, if the initial news reports had included, as so many human stories do, suspected or estimated cases from credible sources, it's likely this story would have been taken more seriously and not just by Rosie O'Donnell. It may turn out that our dogs and cats were the canaries in the coal mine of an enormous system failure -- one that could have profound impacts on American food manufacturing and safety in the years to come."

Christie Keith is a contributing editor for Universal Press Syndicate's Pet Connection and past director of the Pet Care Forum on America Online. She lives in San Francisco.

Tyson the Skateboarding Bulldog

If the petfood craziness has got you down, check out this...I could just keep watching it over and over. Not only is Tyson truly amazing, he is also so cute!

more pet food recalled

This is just really awful. Read the new updates here. The list of recalled dog foods just keeps getting longer. Please check here to make sure your pets food isn't on the list.

Pet Food Updates

"FDA Finds Melamine in Wheat Gluten used by Hill's Pet Nutrition Company Initiates Recall of Dry Cat Food ".
More updates here and here.

FDA Warns Iams, read about it here.

Recipe for an easy home cooked meal for your pets is here.

Lola's Thai Twist Kibble recipe here.

Dog Food Recall

Here is the link for the list of dog foods included in the recall, there are almost 50 brands. From the press release, it mentions the recall is for a "cuts and gravy" style pet food in cans and pouches.

new bandanas for Me & Dee

check out these adorable bandanas from Jinny's Closet at Etsy...




Also, check it out, my old boss opened up this pretty swanky doggy day care in New York.

to do list

LEBA III & Petzlife~ for cleaning teeth of dogs & cats

Read this article~ Holistic Support for Chronic Coughs and Asthma at ONPS

Sign up for the new Pet Boutique & Spa magazine

PetsMo, an online dog forum, has reviews for pet places in your city. Here is Chicago's site.

Animal Haus dog beds look very nice. They are located right here in Chicago.

Pet Lifeline Home Rescue~ Plan what will happen to your pet if you get hurt or die

Read MORE THAN YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT ANAL SACS OR WHY IS MY PET SCOOTING?

Dental Health Care for Your Companion
by Dr. Larry Siegler
Read the article here.

Here is the link for Oxyfresh.com~pet oral healthcare products. Thanks Sandy!

to do list

Kaycee's Life Bowl~ to buy for Meena
Scared Poopless ~ to read
Flealess Market at Stay dog hotel and spa, in Chicago ~ to check out

new bandanas

Check out these great collars the girls got from Jinny's Closet. The bandanas are reverseable with a unique button closure. Check out the shop for super cute stuff for dog, and people too! The headband in the middle is for me :).