A New Home

We are moving! Not domains or anything like that, but physically moving!

Several weeks ago we found a home and fell in love with it. Our offer was accepted.

We went out there (again) today, and I snapped some pics. I believe the woofers will love it.

I hope to eventually have some animals for this barn.



Walk out basement with a dog door!









Neeko will love swimming in this pond.



And this creek.















I cannot wait. This is a pretty ideal place for me and my rotten dogs.
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Friday Photos

Our week in pictures.

Some yummy chicken hearts dehydrating.



Scenes from an early morning walk. So excited that fall is here.






I love how beautifully she poses at times.



I walked into the back room, and found all three on the couch with him.



All three trying out the new Coolaroo bed.









My awesome neighbors are involved with a Golden Retriever rescue. Their rescue's annual picnic is next weekend. I put together a goodie basket for them to raffle off. I had planned on attending, but have to work and do a 5K that day.


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Recent Raw Meals and Prep

Pork hearts.



Turkey breast chunks, lamb spleen.



Turkey breast chunks.



Wild turkey leg, sheep liver.



Beef short rib, venison loin, sheep liver.



Pork hearts, lamb spleen, duck foot.



Blue Ridge Beef ground green tripe.



Duck necks and lamb liver, thawing.



Lamb liver, cut into chunks to be individually frozen.



Duck necks, beef heart, lamb liver.



More turkey breast chunks and lamb spleen.



Beef heart chunks.



Rabbit kidneys.



Chicken leg quarter, rabbit kidneys, beef liver.


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Coolaroo (Kuranda Style) Elevated Dog Bed Review

As I have said before, I just love getting mail!!

We have went through quite a few dog beds in this house.  Mostly stuffed, and one (expensive) orthopedic crate pad for the princess.  They are good for a few weeks to a few months, but once a tiny string or bit of unraveling appears, they are goners.  The dogs destroy them after that.  Not only that, these stuffed, often fleecy, beds are dog fur magnets.  No amount of vacuuming can keep dog fur from accumulating on them.

I have frequently read and seen Kuranda beds for dogs.  Some can be used indoors and out, they are easy to clean, and considered quite sturdy, almost indestructible.  They are also supposed to be good for dogs with joint issues, which I fear Neeko has.  But spending approximately $150 for ONE bed wasn't something I felt up to. 

My boys seem to prefer to lounge on the hard floor, and the princess alternates between the "dog couch" and the floor, so a bed wasn't a true necessity.  I had toyed with the idea of purchasing a bed of this style for a few months, thinking that Neeko would enjoy lounging on it outside in cooler weather.

I had read some good reviews about Coolaroo's elevated pet beds, and found one for a great price on Amazon.com, so I could not resist.  I ordered it two days ago and received it today!  Talk about speedy shipping!

It came inside a larger brown shipping box.  I was kind of surprised by how small the actual product box was.

All the materials.  Four rods, four legs, four screws, one cover.  That's it.

The cover is breathable and flea, mite, mildew and mold resistant.  The entire bed is easily washed by just hosing it down.

It wasn't terribly difficult to assemble, though I ran into a couple hitches.  Mostly because I was having difficulty lining the screw holes up together, especially on the last one, as everything was pretty tight.

The finished product.  It probably took me about 25 minutes to put this together unassisted.  I could not find a screwdriver, and did not want to walk out to the (detached) garage, so I used a butter knife instead.  I promptly sat on it, and it supported me well, and was pretty comfortable.  It sort of reminded me of the cots that we napped on in preschool.

While the dogs were eager to assist me with it's assembly, I politely refused their offer.  They can occasionally make things difficult to accomplish, believe it or not.  After assembly, everyone had to try it out, with Neeko having first dibs.

I was initially concerned about the size, with the fabric area measuring 43.5" x 31.5", but I think it will work just fine.  Neeko made herself quite comfortable on it immediately.  The Coolaroo website lists the size Large (what we ordered) dimensions as 51.1" x 31.5", but this includes the length where the legs extend past the fabric area. 

I am very pleased with it, particularly for the price.  I will probably be ordering two more of these, so each dog has their own. 

Does anyone have any recommendations on other indoor/outdoor elevated pet beds that they like?

Disclaimer-I purchased this product, and was not asked to review it.  All opinions are strictly my own.

Presto Dehydro Dehydrator Review

 Having used my Presto Dehydro Dehydrator twice now, I have decided to officially review it.

So far, I have made dehydrated beef lung and chicken heart dog treats with it, and both have proven to be a huge hit.

Dehydrators and other methods of food preservation seem to be making a comeback.  Perhaps it is because of zombie apocalypse/doomsday preppers, people wanting to be less reliant on others for their food (i.e. homesteaders), or people looking to return to a simpler way of life.  Maybe more people (like myself) are interested in making homemade dog treats, so that they can feel confident they are giving their dogs goodies that are wholesome and pure.  Who knows?

I purchased this on a whim a couple of weeks ago at a big box store for about $45.  This model is fairly basic, and simple to use.  It comes with the base, four trays, and lid.  Additional trays and accessories such as fruit roll sheets can also be purchased.

The base, trays, and lid are all made of plastic.  The trays and lid are dishwasher safe, which is important to me. 

Both pictures show the dehydrator with all four trays and lid in place.  The top photo is what the dehydrator looks like when in use.  The bottom photo shows how the trays can be alternatively stacked to conserve space.  This is also important to me, as I have limited pantry/cabinet space.

As previously mentioned, this dehydrator is pretty basic, which is not a bad thing.  It does not have a timer, a thermostat, or a power switch.  One simply loads the trays and plugs it in to begin dehydrating.  An instruction book with dehydrating times and "recipes" is included.  The times given are estimates, as ambient temperature and relative humidity will impact dehydrating times.

The finished chicken hearts.



Overall, I am very pleased with this.  It is no frills, easy to use, and does what is says it will do at an affordable price.  I eventually plan on using this to dehydrate some fruit and herbs for myself, as well as many more dog treats.

Disclaimer-I purchased this product, and was not asked to review it.  All opinions are strictly my own.

Wolfdog Howling (Video)

While out and about a couple of weeks ago with Faolan, I was treated to this.



I apologize for the quality, it was shot with my phone.  Little boy has such a deep howl.

Black & White Sunday

I just love this girl, so very much.

 

 

 

Homemade Dehydrated Chicken Dog Treats

I decided to use my new Presto food dehydrator again today, this time to dehydrate chicken hearts.  I previously made beef lung treats using it.  Off to a nearby ethnic grocer I went, where one can purchase packages of chicken hearts only, as opposed to a mix of hearts and gizzards, that seems to be mostly gizzards.

Yummy chicken hearts.  My dogs eat these raw on occasion.

 I purchased two packages of chicken hearts, about 2.25 lbs, or 36 ounces.  This completely filled three of my four trays, and the top tray was over half full.  Note the varying sizes of the hearts, and the fat caps present on some of them.

 

 

I put the lid on the dehydrator, and plugged it in. 

 

About 30 minutes in.  Of course I could not resist peaking.

 

After about four hours.  At this point, they were still squishy when pressed upon, and quite moist.  The house did smell faintly of cooking chicken.

 

I ended up letting them dehydrate for about 11 hours. 

 

 After 11 hours, they were firm, slightly crunchy/crispy feeling.  I unplugged the dehydrator, and let them cool.

 

After cooling, I weighed them.  36 ounces of chicken hearts (according to the weight on the packages) netted me a little over 11 ounces of treats.

 

 

The woofers love these!  I will be sharing some with a friend of mine at work. 

 

A couple of things I figured out today as part of my dehydrator learning curve: 

1. I should have removed the fat.  Some of the treats are kind of "greasy" because of this.  But neither I, nor the dogs, are complaining.
2. Next time I dehydrate chicken hearts, I will cut them into smaller, uniformly sized pieces.  Because the dogs ADORE these, they will make great training treats, and I want them to be a bit smaller for that purpose.

Because of the fat, and the fact that they contain no preservatives, I will be storing these in the refrigerator. 

 

I really feel good about giving these treats to my dogs.  No questionable ingredients, preservatives, or fears about how the treats are made.  Now that fall is here, I will be making/baking some cookies for the as well.