October 2015 - Stylish Paws

Month: October 2015

28
Oct
2015

Happy Halloween!

categories: Oscar

Happy Halloween (for Saturday)! Oscar and I enjoy dressing up for all occasions, and halloween is no different. Oscar is the best model and dresser-upper! Somehow he just understands that I would like a super cute photograph of him in his crazy outfit to share with the world. Other times, he knows that its super cute to just run around the house looking like a dog ghost or play in the garden with his doggie-sunnies on. Either way Oscar is absolutely fine with dressing up, which of course makes my heart explode with love and happiness!

Halloween is an occasion where anything goes and you can be as crazy and creative as you want. The crazier the better, but please be careful as to how far to go with your pets. After all their safety always comes first!

Here are some fun and safe ways to enjoy halloween with your pets…

Dressing up: When it comes to dressing your pooch up in cute and funny costumes, you need to know their limits. The costume should never affect your pups ability to see, walk, breathe or hear. Your pup should be comfortable. You can visit the Stylish Paws online store for some cute Angry Bird dog jackets www.stylishpaws.co.za/shop2

Sweets: It is a well known fact that sweets and chocolate are a definite NO for our furry loves! Keep all sweets and chocolate out of reach to your pooch, but don’t exclude them in getting some tasty treats. Make them some of their own halloween goodies to enjoy. Below are a few ideas-

Scary carrot fingers

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup flour

1 egg

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/3 cup fat free milk

1 tbs olive oil

1 green pepper

Directions

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees. Mix together the egg, carrots, milk and olive oil, then add the flour and knead the dough. Break off tablespoon sized pieces and shape them into fingers. Place them onto a greased baking tray and cut a piece of green pepper to make the finger nail. Bake them for 20 minutes. Let them cool and dry out over night. Let your pooch enjoy his halloween fingers! Store them in an airtight container or freeze them.

Pumpkin Fro-Yo

Ingredients

1 jar pumpkin puree

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup natural Greek yoghurt

Directions

Blend all the ingredients together until smooth. Pour the mixture into ice trays or halloween shaped moulds (I definitely need to get some). Freeze for a few hours. Let your pup enjoy his fro-yo treats! Keep frozen.

Decor: Halloween decor is fun, but you need to be careful of chocking hazards when choosing your fun decorations. Dangling cob webs and plastic insects can catch your cats attention and can be a hazard. Keep candles on high tables and shelves or use battery operated ones instead. Raw pumpkin lanterns are the perfect decoration.

Trick or treating: When you take your furry love trick or treating to show off his fabulous outfit, please pay attention to his mood and anxiety levels. Your pooch may not react to people dressed up as well as you think he will.

Most of all, have fun with your pets and neighbours! Halloween is a night filled with silliness. Look after your furry loves and enjoy dressing up with them.

Thank you for reading.

15
Oct
2015

Frozen Pup Treats

categories: Recipes

Summer is here and we hope you are having as much fun as Oscar and I! Having pool parties, picnics in the garden and late evening walks. When temperatures are extreme, Oscar doesn’t enjoy being active. And that includes getting up to drink his refreshing water! So I came up with a solution that not only keeps him cool and hydrated but entertained too. He gets to enjoy delicious frozen treats and he doesn’t need to move from his comfy spot under the tree.

We all love popsicles and frozen yoghurt…. So why not make some that your furry love can enjoy too. Here are 10 really easy recipes that your pooch will love!

Strawberry ice:

Ingredients

A few strawberries chopped up small

Distilled water

Ice tray

Directions:

Place a few pieces of chopped up strawberry in each compartment of the ice tray. Fill with the distilled water and freeze. Oscar loves this one! Keep them frozen.

Rooibos tea ice pops:

Ingredients

2 Rooibos tea bags

2 cups of boiling water

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

squirt of honey

Ice tray or popsicle maker

Directions

Steep the rooibos tea bags in hot water for 10 minutes. Remove the tea bags and add the cinnamon and honey. Stir and place into an ice tray or popsicle maker. Freeze for a few hours and let your pooch enjoy. Keep them frozen.

Peanut butter and banana frozen snack:

Ingredients

1 banana

Natural Greek yoghurt

Smooth peanut butter

Silicone cupcake moulds

Directions

Thinly slice the banana. Place a dollop of the natural Greek yoghurt into the silicone cupcake mould and place a slice of banana on top. Then place a dollop of peanut butter on top of the yoghurt and banana slice. Freeze for a few hours. Let your pup enjoy his snack! Keep them frozen.

Rooibos tea and mint ice:

Ingredients

2 Rooibos tea bags

2 cups boiling water

Fresh mint leaves chopped up

Ice tray

Directions

Steep the rooibos tea bags in boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove the bags. Place a few pieces of chopped up mint into each compartment of your ice tray then fill with the rooibos tea. Freeze for a few hours. Keep frozen.

Apple and parsley:

Ingredients

Unsweetened applesauce

Fresh parsley

Fresh mint

Ice tray

Directions

Sprinkle the freshly chopped up parsley and mint into each compartment of the ice tray, then place a dollop of the unsweetened applesauce on top. Freeze and let your furry love enjoy. Keep frozen.

Banana and coconut:

Ingredients

1 can coconut milk

1 banana

Silicone cupcake moulds

Directions

Slice the banana. Pour the coconut milk into the silicone cupcake moulds until they are half way. Place a slice of banana into each one, then fill them to the top. Freeze for a few hours. Your pups will love this one! Keep frozen.

Frozen watermelon

Ingredients

Seedless watermelon

1 cup fat free milk or coconut milk

Popsicle maker

Directions

If you can’t find seedless watermelon, make sure you remove all seeds from the fruit! Place the chopped up watermelon into a blender, add the milk and blend on a high speed until the ingredients are nicely blended. Pour the mixture into popsicle moulds or an ice tray and freeze. Keep frozen.

Strawberry frozen yoghurt

Ingredients

Strawberry yoghurt

Natural Greek yoghurt

Ice tray

Directions

Place a dollop of strawberry yoghurt in each compartment of the ice tray, then place a dollop of Greek yoghurt. Freeze for a few hours and let your pup enjoy-this is one of Oscar’s most favourite frozen treats!

Peanut butter frozen yoghurt

Ingredients

Peanut butter

Natural greek yoghurt

Ice tray

Directions

Place a dollop of peanut butter in each compartment of the ice tray, then place a dollop of Greek yoghurt. Freeze for a few hours and let your furry love enjoy.

Giant frozen treat:

Ingredients

Cubed fruit (watermelon, apple, strawberries, blueberries etc)

Distilled water

Big bowl

Directions

Fill your bowl with distilled water and simply add all your fruit and freeze. Your pup will have fun licking and enjoying the fruit surprises that pop out every now and then!

We hope these frozen treat recipes keep your pup cool, hydrated and entertained this summer 🙂

ps- All these recipes are as yummy to humans as they are to our furry loves!

Thank you for reading.

08
Oct
2015

Keeping your pets cool in summer

categories: Summer Love

Just like we need to keep our pets warm in winter, it is important that we keep our pets cool in summer. Oscar is prone to over heating so I have to be aware at all times and make sure he is kept cool on hot summer days. Dogs are prone to heat stroke because they don’t sweat like us humans do. They mainly cool themselves down by panting.

Here are a few ways I like to keep Oscar cool in summer:

I take him swimming. Oscar has his own little splash pool which he likes to sit in and cool off. Some dogs love to swim, so this is a great way for them to cool down. You can also fill the splash pool with ice and see what your pooch does-I’m not sure oscar will enjoy this idea haha!

You can tie a wet bandana around your pooches neck. I like to soak it in ice cold water then tie it around Oscar’s neck. It works like a charm.

Because Oscar loves to laze around, his favourite spot is under the air-conditioner. If you don’t have an air-con, a fan will also do the trick.

If your furry love has a long thick coat, consider taking them to a groomer. The groomer can take care of the thick undercoat and make sure your pup feels the cool breeze. Beware when shaving your pups fur completely as this can cause them to get sunburnt. The top coat of your pet protects their skin from the sun as well as allows them to feel the cool breeze.

Your furry love can also get sun burnt in the same way we can. There are pet sun screens available so make use of them. Their nose and ears are particularly susceptible to sun burn, so apply a little sun screen to these areas if they are going to be exposed to the sun for a while.

Remember to exercise your furry love either in the early morning or late afternoon. NEVER walk your pooch during the heat of the day! When walking your pooch be sure that the pavements and other surfaces are not too hot as this will cause blisters and burns on your pups paws.

Make sure your furry love has access to clean iced water at all times. There is nothing more refreshing than drinking a glass of ice cold water on a hot summers day-give your pooch the same!

Most importantly, enjoy being outdoors and having fun with your furry love. Make summer memories you will never forget!

Thank you for reading.

02
Oct
2015

It’s October!

categories: Calendar

Happy October everyone! You can download your free Stylish Paws October calendar.

Download your October calendar here