Bark City Doggy Daycare

The holidays are starting folks, and it starts with Halloween. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Whether you are trick-or-treating this year or just staying home, you can still celebrate! I have already bought candy for all the two-legged children walking the neighborhood. Candy is delicious, but it is not the best for our health. It's definitely not healthy for your dog. Below, I have gathered a few recipes for your beloved canine in lieu of store bought candy. But before you get cooking, please read these safety tips for animals on Halloween: Keep human candy away from pets. A lot of the candy given to humans can be toxic to your pet, only give your furry family member treats that are made for dogs. Don't keep lit pumpkins around your pets unsupervised. Keep wires and electrical cords out of reach from chewing mouths. Don't dress your pet up in a costume unless they are comfortable being in a costume. Don't leave your dog out in the yard on Halloween. ...

If there is one ingredient every dog owner should have in their cupboard, it should be canned pumpkin. Keep in mind that when I say canned pumpkin, I do not mean pumpkin pie filler. That item contains ingredients that are toxic to your dog. I mean the 100% canned pumpkin. Or, if you want to get fancy, you can roast your own pumpkins and freeze them for later use. Adding a bit of pumpkin to your dog's diet is great for their health. A bit of canned pumpkin helps with both diarrhea and constipation. And, it's loaded with nutrients. Specifically, fiber and beta-carotene which the body converts to vitamin A. You do want to make sure you do not feed your dog too much pumpkin. Too much Vitamin A can be toxic to your furry family member. The right dosage is about a couple teaspoons per day for a smaller dog and a couple of Tablespoons per day for a big dog. Pumpkin seeds are also a great addition to your dog's diet. They are filled with protein, amino acids, fiber, iron, ...

A Kong has limitless options on what you can stuff into it. As long is it isn't something potentially poisonous to dogs like onions and chocolate. The easiest way to fill a Kong is to turn it upside down (biggest opening facing upward) inside a coffee cup. The coffee cup holds it in place while you spoon in the filling. Filling options can be as simple as a favorite canned dog food or can be a mixture of household ingredients that you have on hand, such as: Roasted Sweet Potato and Peanut Butter: 1/2 roasted sweet potato with out the skin 3/4 c. of peanut butter 1/4 c. of flax seeds 1/2 cut oats ~ Mix all the ingredients together and spoon into an ice cube tray. Place in freezer. When frozen, you can take an individual cube out and place in the Kong. Coconut Banana 1 cup of plain yogurt 1 tsp. of coconut oil 1 sliced banana  ~ Mix all ingredients together and stuff into your Kong. Place Kong into freezer until frozen.   Chicken and Pumpkin 1 jar of ch...

Thinking about planting a garden? If you are the type of person who has always wanted a garden, but has a dog and are not sure if the two can co-exist together, here are some helpful tips! Get to know your dog's personality : Is your dog a sunbather? A loyal companion that sticks by your side? A runner that uses your yard as a race track? Observe your dog's personality and how he/she uses your yard.  Avoid anything formal that sticks out: You will want your garden and yard to be a cohesive unit that flows together. That one thing that sticks out like a sore thumb, will of course, draw your furry friend's attention! Establish Pathways for your racetrack : If you have the kind of dog that runs and runs and runs and runs, they have probably established some worn paths in your yard. Keep these paths, but make them part of your landscaping. It's best not to build your vegetable garden right in the middle of your dog's racetrack. Unless you want them running right ...

These fancy dog treats are relatively easy to make and have lots of good things in them. Valentine's Day is a little under a month away, why not start plotting a gift basket full of these cookies for your favorite canine friend? Here is the recipe:  Ingredients 1/3 c. rolled oats 2 1/3 c. unbleached flour 1/4 c. pumpkin seeds 1 Tbsp. flax seeds 4 carrots 1 apple 1/2 c. peanut butter 1 tsp Better Than Bouillion Vegetable base 1 Tbsp honey 1 egg 4 pieces of bacon (cooked) 1 Tbsp bacon grease Step 1: Using your food processor with the grating blade, grate the carrots and apples. Transfer them to a medium sized bowl. Step 2: Swap out the grating blade on your processor for the standard blade. Add the rolled oats, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds and bacon to your processor. Grind them up. Add them to the carrot apple mixture. Step 3: Add the remaining ingredients to the medium bowl and mix. Once everything mixed thoroughly, transfer to a floured surface. Roll out your dou...

Homemade pizza dog treats. What more can a dog ask for? For these treats, you can use store bought sun-dried tomatoes OR you can use sun-dried tomatoes that you have made from your garden tomatoes. I prefer to make my own, because honestly, I always feel like store bought sun-dried tomatoes have a funky taste for my human taste buds. I have no idea if my dog feels the same way. Plus, I always have a ton of tomatoes by the end of the summer from my garden. If you are not the gardening type, and also think store bought sun-dried tomatoes taste funky, you can always buy tomatoes from the store. Before I move onto the actual pizza dog treats, I will first walk you through sun-drying your tomatoes in the oven. It is a relatively simple process that has a lot of wait time. You will need: tomatoes, basil and salt for the drying process: Preheat the oven to 200-degrees, cut up your tomatoes and de-seed them by gently pressing the seeds out of the pockets with your thumb. Then, sprinkle ...

Maple. Bacon. Ice. Cream. This recipe is adapted from  Apron Strings . The Apron Strings version is for humans. My version is for canines. It is dairy free and has two ingredients that are considered "super foods": Coconut and maple syrup.   Coconut oil has antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and antimicrobial properties. That is a lot of "anti". Because of this, it can support your canine against illness and help speed the healing process. You can read more about it here . (and all the other amazing health benefits.)  Maple syrup is rich in Manganese, zinc and natural antioxidants. It also has a lower Glycemic Index than regular sugar. But let's face it, sugar is sugar and it's not entirely good for dogs. They should only have it occasionally. So, this recipe is a sometimes treat. Do not try to substitute with artificial sweeteners--which are poisonous to dogs. Adapted For Dogs--Maple Bacon Kong Filler Ingredients: 1//2 lb of bacon 4 egg ...

The countdown is beginning! Well actually, one of my two-legged children started the count down right after Halloween. Christmas is getting close. Too close for my comfort because I am currently sitting on my couch with a stuffed up nose, body aches and a cough. While my heating pad is keeping me warm and cozy, I am thinking about the fact that I should be out there getting all my stocking stuffers. Oh, did I mention that Bark City has stocking stuffers? Yes, we do! And only a limited supply--it's a first come first serve kind of deal. One of the stocking stuffers I would like to highlight today is the Instant Eggnog. In fact, I am tempted to try a cupful to see if it will cure my cold.  This eggnog is only available for a limited time. If you don't get it at Bark City, you can order it online (for a limited time) from the Honest Kitchen website. It is: 100% Human Grade Made in the USA No by-products No preservatives No corn, wheat,  soy or GMO The ingredi...

I found this recipe on The Gracious Pantry and decided to give it a go for myself and my four-legged family members. I did alter the recipe, because the recipe on "The Gracious Pantry" had some ingredients toxic to dogs. If you are making it for your dog, please use the recipe below! The original recipe calls it "Ice Cream", but I beg to differ. It is more of a sorbet, since none of the ingredients even remotely resemble anything creamy or dairy like. I doubt my dogs care whether or not it is correctly termed "ice cream" or "sorbet". But let me tell you, if you go into eating this thinking you are getting a creamy dessert, you will be disappointed. None the less, it is a delicious treat that can be put into a bowl, cone or Kong. This recipe is really simple and healthier than conventional ice cream. Below the recipe, I have outline the health benefits of some of the ingredients: 4 bananas 1 cup pumpkin Puree 1/3 cup maple syrup 1 ...

This coming Sunday will be Easter. In some homes, that means a big Easter ham with all the fixin's and baskets full of candy and CHOCOLATE for our two-legged family members (aka.. humans). But, we must be extra careful during holidays to make sure our four-legged family members do not get into the candy or the dinner. Some ingredients (like chocolate) are poisonous to dogs . Here is a handy list I made last Thanksgiving as a quick "go-to" list on what dogs can and cannot have from the table. Though, now that I am looking back on this list--- I forgot chocolate on the bad side! As an alternative to fretting over what our dogs can and cannot have, I have gathered a list of 5 dog treat recipes that you can make for your dog to eat while you are eating the people's food. Here 'ya go: Just click on the link provided at the bottom of each image to bring you to the actual recipe. Honey and Ham dog treats from Doggy Dessert Chef Easter Brunch Scramble form ...

For the last couple weeks, I have written about two products Honey Bees produce: Honey and Royal Jelly . This week, I will write about:  Bee pollen is the plant pollens collected by worker bees that is combined with plant nectar and bee saliva. It is then packed into pellets in the hive and used as a food source for male drone bees. Historically, it has been touted as a complete food source. It is composed of about 40% protein , free amino acids, a multitude of vitamins, minerals, folic acid, enzymes, co-enzymes, antioxidants, Quercetin , carotenoids and rutin . Once ingested, it is rapidly and easily absorbed into the body. Within just two hours of ingestion, it can be found in the blood, cerebral spinal fluid and urine. Throughout history, Bee Pollen has been used for a multitude of medical problems as well as to correct an unbalanced diet. It should be noted, that not much research has been done on the actual validity of the health claims other than case studies by in...

 For the last few weeks, I have been highlighting different dog treats that can be found in our candy store.The next company (and last for a while!) is Polkadog Bakery . Polkadog is a small canine bakery in South Boston. All of their treats are handmade from scratch every morning. Their ingredients are locally source from neighborhood suppliers. Large dog treat manufacturers often have raw materials shipped to them from all over the country or world. This causes a decline in quality and increases the risk of food contamination. Because Polkdog gets all of their ingredients "right around the corner" they have optimum control over what goes into their treats and what stays out. In fact, they control every aspect of their bakery from resources, to mixing and baking the ingredients to even hand-packing the finished products and shipping! Their treats are superb and dogs absolutely love them!

The candy store treat company I am going to highlight this week is Bosco and Roxy's . We first learned about them at a dog convention in Las Vegas this past summer. They are based out of London, Ontario Canada and founded by fellow dog boarding facility owners, Michelle and Jamie Crook. Michelle and Jamie wanted to give the dogs special treats while they were boarding, so they started baking from scratch. Word slowly spread about their treat's awesomeness and soon people were asking if they could take them home. The treats have quickly spread across North America, yet they still retain that homemade touch. This image was found on their Facebook page. Click here to "like" them. All of their cookies are hand cut, baked and decorated. Their ingredients are human-grade and they carry wheat-free options for those sensitive stomached pups. We also like that they have many different themed cookies to choose from, so we can pick our treats according to what...

We launched our Dog Candy Store in December. It took us quite a while to decide what treats to carry. After all, we only want the best treats available to our clients! I would like to take these next few weeks to highlight the companies we decided to use. Today, is Bubba Rose Biscuit Company . Bubba Rose was started in 2006 by Jessica and Eric Talley. They started making dog treats for their two rescue dogs, Bubba and Rose. From there, it kind of took off! Now they have been featured on NBC's Today Show, People Magazine, NY Times Style Magazine, Modern Dog...and MANY more... trust me, the list is really long. I didn't feel like typing them all out. They also have a cook book you can buy. (See picture to immediate right.) What I like about Bubba Rose is that every treat is wheat, corn, soy, gluten free AND baked in small batches in their bakery in NJ. All the meats are locally sourced, free-range, grass fed and hormone and antibiotic free. They not only care about dogs,...

 Bark City has been planning and plotting some super secret ways to make our facility an exciting experience for both you and your dog. We will be announcing different additions throughout the next year (We like to keep our customers on edge and guessing with anticipation!) Our first announcement happened this Howl-ween: Yep, that's right. We will be opening a candy store for your canine family members. We figured there is enough candy around for humans, but our little pups get left in the dust. We want to change the phrase, "Like a kid in a candy store." to "Like a puppy in a candy store." (I am coining that phrase as of now...) If you happened to stop by our facility during Howl-ween for the costume contest, you probably saw a glimpse of what some of the treats will look like: Aren't they great?! Aside from the candy, we had some great costumed pooches come in for our contest. You can see all of the costumes on our Facebook page . Here are...

Last spring, I planted a few innocent mint plants in my garden in order to ward away pesky bugs that were eating my bean plants. Being a novice gardener, I did not realize how rapidly mint can spread. This year, I have enough mint to start my own mint farmer's market. I've become very innovative on different ways to use my mint. Minty Dog Treats Ingredients: 3 c. whole wheat flour 3/4 c. beef broth (If you want to make your own broth you can follow these instructions , but substitute a meaty beef bone from your local butcher instead of chicken) 1/3 c. unsalted butter 1/2 c. powdered milk 1/3 of a banana mashed 2 Tbs. of minced fresh mint leaves Preheat your oven to 350-degrees. Mix all the ingredients together. If the dough seems too sticky to roll out on your counter, add small amounts of flour to your dough until it is the right consistency. Then, simply roll out your dough and grab a cookie cutter! Cut out your favorite shapes and place them on a greased cook...