Month: March 2016

Hoppy Easter

In October last year, we decided to expand our family and we adopted two gorgeous bunnies! Valentine and Duchess are two super cute fluff balls that are always up to mischief. Duchess is the girl, the ringleader and the boss-but then most of us woman are… (hahaha).

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Valentine by nature is quite a chilled little guy, he isn’t too shy and loves cuddles and kisses. Duchess on the other hand is quite shy and only comes to you on her terms, but when she does, she basks in the kisses and cuddles she receives. When she has had enough she lets you know and swiftly hops away. They are absolutely adorable and of course Oscar adores his babies too. Every morning there is a kissing and sniffing ceremony that is too cute for words! Valentine is more forthcoming in these ceremonies, but Duchess is slowly coming around. She is royalty after all and does things when and if she feels like it. Meal times are my absolute best. Watching them devour their daily salads and learning which greens they love and which fruits they are not too keen on is the perfect way to spend my morning. I grab a cup of coffee and Oscar and I just sit and watch them enjoy.

oscar and bunnies

They are curious little creatures too. I am forever thinking of new ways to keep them entertained, giving them new toys to play with and things to gnaw on. They get bored quite easily so it is important to give them new things to throw around and investigate. Something as small and insignificant (to us) as a toilet roll holder can keep them entertained for hours. Bunnies, as I have come to realise are extremely clean pets. They are forever grooming themselves and each other. Duchess will sit and lick Valentine and make sure he looks in tip top condition, of course while he falls asleep!

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Now I am most certainly not saying rush out and adopt a bunny for Easter! For 10 years I have wanted a bunny to love and cuddle, and now I have two. I am over the moon with happiness, but I did my research and made sure that I could provide the very best for Valentine and Duchess to keep them happy. It takes, time, dedication and money to raise any pet and bunnies are no exception.

I am so excited to spend their first Easter spoiling them and loving them, of course with Oscar and my human man too 😉 Here are some of Oscar’s Easter spoils this year as well as spoils for Valentine and Duchess. So if you have pet bunnies spoil them over Easter too…

paw Oscar’s Easter Box

Why not create a fun and exciting Easter box for your pup… Here are some goodies you can include that are available in the Stylish Paws online store. Click here to browse.

A new collar and leash set

A comfy and warm jacket

Non-slip doggy socks

An adventure harness

A doggy bowtie

green jacket

paw Mini Donuts

Every pup needs Easter treats to enjoy! Now these are not the healthiest treats I have ever made, but they are oh so yummy. You and your furry love can enjoy these as a little Easter spoil…

Ingredients

2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar (please do not use Xylitol!)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbp melted butter

2 eggs

Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tbp milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

food colouring

sprinkles

Directions

Using an electric beater, beat together all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl for 5 minutes. Plug in your mini donut maker, or preheat your oven to 180 degrees and prepare your donut trays. Fill your donut trays with the mixture and place them in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until cooked and slightly golden. Remove your cooked donuts and gently place them on a cooling rack to cool. Repeat the process until your mixture is finished. I have a mini donut maker so I will be using that. Pour enough mixture into each donut ring, close the lid and leave it for 10 minutes or until cooked and lightly golden in colour. Once cooked, scoop the donuts out gently and let them cool on a cooling rack. Carry on making your donuts until your mixture is finished. Once all your donuts are cooled, they can be iced. Mix together the icing ingredients and add your food colouring to the desired colour you are looking for. Carefully dip one side of your donut into the icing and place back onto the cooling rack, sprinkle with some pretty sprinkles and let them dry. Once the icing is set you can enjoy these yummy treats with your furry love! Savour these moments in life, they are precious.

donuts

My real Easter Bunnies: Valentine and Duchess

Because we now have bunnies in our family, of course they need to get spoiled too! Here are some goodies that Valentine and Duchess will be enjoying this Easter…

paw Bunny Basket

Valentine and Duchess will also get an Easter box this year filled with fun things to keep them entertained as well as some yummy homemade treats.

bunny selection

paw Toilet roll holders filled with hay and their favourite fresh herbs.

paw Toilet roll balls filled with their favourite herbs. Bunnies love to toss things around and these can come apart and they can roll and throw the rings around. It is a real winner.

How to make them

Take a toilet roll holder and cut it up into rings. Carefully intertwine the rings so they eventually make a ball. Squeeze herbs into the crevices and let your bunny roll them around and have fun.

valentine toilet roll

paw Homemade treats

Make something your bunny can enjoy over the Easter holidays.

Ingredients

1/2 cup rabbit pellets

1/2 cup oats

1 ripe banana

1/4 cup butternut

Directions

Cut up the butternut and dry roast it in the oven until soft. You can also boil it until soft. Grind the dry ingredients using a food processor so they become fine and of a flour consistency. Once the butternut is cooked, mash it using a potato masher.Mash the banana and add both the banana and butternut to the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly so a dough forms. Roll your dough out and using small cookie cutters cut out your bunny treats. Place them onto a greased baking tray and bake for 30 minutes or until cooked. Once cooked, turn the oven off and leave the treats to cool and dry out in the oven. Once cooled you can let your fluff ball enjoy his homemade speciality! Store them in an air tight container.

bunny treats

paw Easter hunt

Oscar’s favourite game is ‘find it’, so what better time to play than on Easter morning! You can hide the contents of your pups Easter box around the garden or just opt for hiding his treats like I do. Watch his excitement as he races around searching for his hidden treasures…. It is the most wonderful thing to watch. If you, like me, have bunnies to love, you can include them in the Easter hunt too. You can hide their homemade treats around their hutch and places they are allowed to run and play. This will provide excellent entertainment for them and for you 🙂 Don’t forget to get your camera out and snap away so you can always remember these wonderfully happy moments!

valentine and duchess

oscar eating donut

Have fun with your furry loves, of all kinds! Enjoy giving them gifts and baking them special treats, I know I will 🙂

Thank you for reading

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For the love of pretzels

It’s no secret that I absolutely love baking for Oscar! I never buy shop bought treats for him because I know I can make him treats that are tastier and much healthier too. I love trying out new recipes and Oscar is happy to let me know whether he likes them or not…

This week I decided to make him pretzels. Everyone loves pretzels right? So I made Oscar a healthy batch that he can enjoy, and he loved them!

oscar pretzel

paw Oat and Apple pretzels

Ingredients

2 cups oat flour

1/4 cup oats

Squirt of honey

1 egg

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

Directions

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees. Add all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl and mix until a dough forms. If it too sticky to work with then add a little more flour. Take two small pieces of the dough and roll them into a tube the size of a pencil. Make a U shape with each tube, twist the ends together and fold back to form the pretzel shape. Gently place the pretzels onto a greased baking tray and lightly brush them with egg wash. Bake for 25 minutes or until cooked and golden brown. Let the pretzels cool before allowing you pup to enjoy. Store them in an airtight container.

pretzels

paw Flavour variants

You can make your pretzels any flavour to suit your furry loves pallet! Here are some great combinations your pup is sure to love:

Carrot and apple

Peanut butter and apple

Apple and banana

Pear and apple

oscar looking at pretzels

paw Sweet Potato pretzels

Ingredients

200g sweet potato

1 cup wholewheat flour

1 tablespoon oats

1 egg

Directions

Peel the sweet potato and chop it into cubes. Place it in a saucepan of boiling water and let it cook for 20 minutes or until soft and cooked. Drain the sweet potato and allow it to cool, then puree it either in a food processor or mash it using a potato masher. Add the flour, oats and egg and mix it together until it forms a dough. If it’s too sticky, add a little extra flour. Take two small pieces of the dough and roll them into a tube the size of a pencil. Make a U shape with each tube, twist the ends together and fold back to form the pretzel shape. Gently place the pretzels onto a greased baking tray and lightly brush them with egg wash. Bake for 25 minutes or until cooked and golden brown. Allow them to cool and store in an airtight container. Your pooch will love these.

oscar eating from me

oscar eating pretzel

Enjoy baking for your furry love! He will know that you have taken time out to make him something special…

Thank you for reading

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He’s in dreamland…

I often find myself watching Oscar as he appears to be having the most awesome dream. Jowls twitching, nose sniffing and feet seemingly running. I find it hysterical to watch and often reach for my camera or phone to film my boy having the time of his life in dreamland. But the real question is, Does Oscar dream?

me and oscar

I’m happy to admit that Oscar doesn’t get the gold medal for being the most active boy on the block but he is the most happy-go-lucky soul I have ever met. Happy to snooze under my feet in the office, happy to fall asleep next to me while I watch my favourite t.v shows, happy to sun tan with me and of course he is happy to snuggle up in bed. I would say Oscar’s favourite pass time is sleeping. So let’s explore whether Oscar does dream or not…

The simple answer is yes. While we do not know for sure what our beloved pups dream about, studies have shown that they enter a state of deep sleep just like us humans do. It is during this deep sleeping period that Oscar has his various dreams. It is also said that smaller dogs will dream a lot more each night than larger dogs will. Puppies also dream more than adult dogs because they are processing the new information they learn each day.

Obviously I would love to ask Oscar what he dreamt about last night and have him answer me, but unfortunately that is not the case. We can only speculate that his dreams are similar to mine. Replaying the days events of chasing birds, eating his treats and barking at the clouds.

While your pups sudden growls and howls may be alarming, please do not wake him from his dream. Your pup needs deep uninterrupted sleep for healthy brain activity. Think about how you feel when you have suddenly been woken up from your dreams…

Waking your pooch from a deep, dreaming sleep may startle him and this could result in him lashing out. A startled pup needs a moment to assess his surroundings. So please let your pup sleep.

The positions our furry loves sleep in can tell us how comfortable and happy they are at that particular moment. Oscar has many sleeping positions, but here are a few of his favourites and what they mean.

paw Side sleeping: We call this one ‘sleeping like a human’ since Oscar always has his head on a pillow and is covered by his comfy duvet. This is said to be a very restful and comfortable sleeping position. It means Oscar is comfortable with his surroundings without the fear of threats.

side sleeping

paw Curled up like a ball: This is the most defensive position. Oscar will tuck his feet and tail tightly under himself and nudge his head close to his body too. It isn’t a very restful position and it can also mean he is cold and trying to keep himself warm.

curled up

paw Legs up: When Oscar sleeps in this position, it shows absolute relaxation and comfort. He doesn’t have a care in the world!

legs up

paw Curled side sleep: This is a favourite for many of our furry loves. Oscar will sleep on his tummy, slightly curled up and cosy. This is a comfortable position to for him to sleep in and it allows him to jump up quickly if need be.

curled side sleep

It is important that your pooch has at least one super comfortable bed to sleep on. Yes, Oscar is very spoilt and has three of his own dedicated bed, plus he uses the couch and the outside furniture as his resting spots too. If you wouldn’t sleep on your pups bed then you shouldn’t expect him to either. Please make sure you provide him with something comfortable and clean.

You can browse the Stylish Paws online store for handmade beds click here.

Thank you for reading.

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