DIY Cheese and Garlic Dog Treat Recipe – Canine Cookery

Find out how to bake healthy cookies for your dog with this very simple no-fuss recipe. I experimented with a new design web-site to create this visual step-by-step guide!

This post serves two purposes. The first rather obvious one is that I want to share this easy dog treat recipe with you. My dogs love these and I feel happy knowing exactly what has gone in to their treats! My long-time followers may recognise this recipe from a previous post, Canine Cookery – Healthy Cheese and Garlic Dog Cookies. The reason that I am rehashing this content is part of the reason behind the second purpose of this post!

So recently, I have been thinking that Fluffy Tufts could do with a bit of a makeover. I don’t know about you, but I was getting a bit tired of seeing the old site banner (the one with the doggy mugs!). You may (or may not) have noticed the new banner featuring all the gang. Let me know what you think of it in the comments!

Then, the other day, I came across a great post from the blog ‘We Live in a Flat‘ about adding text to photos. I would suggest you check it out as there are some great ideas there. She kindly advised me to try out a design website called Canva, and below you can see one of my first designs!

I would really love to hear your thoughts on the info-graphic. What do you like/dislike about it? Would you like to see more visual posts in future or do you prefer to read text?

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Pin the Tail on the Poodle – All about Pinterest!

So, here at Fluffy Tufts we have taken the bold move of joining Pinterest. Let’s get pinning!

Pinterest is a social network tool that I have never given any consideration to before now. A friend suggested that I join as she thought I would really enjoy it. So last night, I sat down to have a look. I have to say that she is right and I also don’t know why I hadn’t joined before.

I spent an enjoyable hour or two looking through hundreds of pet-related pins. Then, as I started to get to grips with the site, I started to design a few boards of my own. I have lots of ideas for future boards, but didn’t want to go mad pinning everything straight away! These are the boards I am working on so far:

• – Get Fit with Fido: a series of pin showing you lots of ways to keep you and your dog in shape!
• – Tried & Tested: this will feature all the toys, treats and accessories that the Fluffy Tufts gang use!
• – Serious Cattitude!: Cool felines and feline accessories from around the web!
• – DIY Dog Treats: Homemade treat recipes for your canine pal!

What do you think of Pinterest? Have you any recommendations for a Pinterest newbie like me? What kind of boards would you be interested in seeing? Tell me in the comments.

Have a look at the Fluffy Tufts pinterest profile. Follow if you like and we will follow back!

Pogo at the Beach! (Wordless Wednesday – 23 April 2014)

Fluffy Tufts is participating in the Blog Paws blog hop. Come and join the fun!

If you are on twitter, you can follow Pogo the Poodle. He would love to hear from you!

Fun at the Dog Park!

There is a lovely park close to where I live, Marlay Park. I often walk there with the gang. Sometimes, I will meet friends or my brother and we will sit outside the cafe and have coffee and cake! They do a delicious vanilla latte there.

Marlay Park was one of the first parks in Ireland to open a dedicated dog park. Usually in parks here, dogs are allowed off the lead in any area of the park at certain times of the day. I prefer this method as poor Casper is too anxious and overwhelmed when faced with all the other dogs at the dog park.  It is better for me to wait until the allocated times and choose a quiet area to let him off.

However, since Pippa joined our gang, I have found that I frequent the dog park more often. It is great to have a secure area where she can have a good run and really stretch out her legs. I made a video of a great day that Pippa and I had at the dog park with a friend and her two Swiss Shepherds, Okami and Yuki.

Would love to hear what you think of dedicated dog parks? Are dogs allowed to be off-lead where you live? How do you ensure that your dogs get enough exercise?

Happy Easter to All!

This is the life! Some coffee and half an easter egg. Nom nom nom! The dogs will be getting an Easter treat too…but it won’t be coffee or chocolate. Come back tomorrow to find out what they got! What are your plans for the day?

And a gentle reminder not to share your chocolate with your dogs. Mine put on their most expressive begging eyes, but I stay firm. No chocolate for dogs in this house!

We Wish you a Merry Christmas!

I don’t even know if I have any readers left at this stage! My year has been very busy and unfortunately, Fluffy Tufts had to take a back seat. I will have a bit more time in the new year, so I really hope I can update you all and start sharing our adventures on a more regular basis!

Things to look out for: a new addition to the gang, some exciting news for me and Mr Fluffytufts, extremely cute dog trick tutorials and lots more…

Happy Holidays to you all!

Flurries, a Fall and a Daring Rescue!

We have been having a very strange spring here in Ireland. From what I’ve seen on the news, we are not the only country to be experiencing unseasonal weather at the moment.

A week or so ago, right at the end of March, we woke up to a blanket of fresh snow! I couldn’t believe my eyes. We decided to pack up the car and headed out for a drive in the country with The Lads.

We drove through the Dublin Mountains and onwards into the Wicklow Mountains. Funnily enough, the further we drove, the less snow there was. There are many public walks throughout Wicklow, so we decided to stop off at one of these and take The Lads out for a hike.

It was really a lovely day. The Lads enjoyed exploring the forest, sniffing every inch of the place! They even had fun doing their own version of agility, jumping tree stumps, climbing steep banks and running along felled trees. While we were walking, a sprinkling of light powdery snow fell delighting us all.

Unfortunately, the day was spoiled considerably when Jimmy fell down a steep embankment!

Mr Fluffytufts had stopped to take a photograph of a waterfall while I continued along the path with The Lads.  Jimmy was trotting along the edge of the path when suddenly a pile of shale slid out from under his paws and he went rolling down the embankment. At first, I couldn’t see him as he had rolled into the undergrowth. Thankfully, when I called out to him, I spotted the red of his jumper moving.  Next, was the question of how to reach him… I tried but wasn’t able to climb down myself.

Jimmy got himself out of the undergrowth but in his panic he went to bolt in the wrong direction. I don’t think I ever yelled so loudly in my life! Pogo and Casper joined in by barking, and together, we were able to catch Jimmy’s attention.

I maintained eye contact with him and asked him to ‘climb’. The others were encouraging him on by barking and whining for him. He tried, but the bank was too steep and he kept slithering back down.  I then instructed him to ‘wait’ and was relieved and proud when he waited perfectly till I was able to attract Mr Fluffytufts’ attention.

Mr Fluffytufts was the hero of the day! He came running up the mountain path and without hesitation, climbed down the bank through gorse and brambles until he reached Jimmy. We checked Jimmy over and apart from a few scratches, he was fine. Needless to say, everybody went back on their leads till we got back to the safety of the car!

My Day at Crufts

It was a very early start for me, with the alarm clock going off at 4.30am! The plane was packed with other dog lovers heading to Birmingham to spend the day at the the world’s greatest dog show, Crufts!

Having lived in Birmingham for several years, I knew exactly how to get to the NEC and in no time at all, I had collected my pass and was queuing to enter. I chatted to a lady who’d travelled with her Heelwork to Music Club, all the way from South Africa. They had a member competing in the International HTM Freestyle, so they’d come to cheer her on. Now that’s a supportive team!

The KCAI stand was in Hall 5, so I was sent in that entrance. I actually couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the size of the place. Stalls selling everything you could possibly ever need for your dogs. I spent an hour or two wandering around, picking up goodies for the lads. I will do a post over the next few days reviewing my purchases!

I watched a little bit of the breed judging in the rings in Hall 5 also. Then I headed off to explore the other four halls!

The International Agility was taking place in the Main Arena and one of the members of my training club, Declan Dolan, was representing Ireland with his collie, Bonnie.  I made my way to the Arena in plenty of time and caught the end of the Agility Teams Small Semi-finals. It was exhilarating to view such brilliant dog/handlers teams. The Beacon Smalls went on to win in the Finals. Click here to view their winning run!

Next in the Arena, the International Agility Jumping Round. The competitors had to do a jumping round in the morning and an agility round in the afternoon. Only the top sixteen would make it through to the Finals in the evening. I was really rooting for Declan and Bonnie.

I met Declan at my first ever agility competition. I had had a terrible round with Pogo. He was so excited about the show that he wasn’t focused on me at all. He even tried to climb the judge! As I left the ring feeling humiliated, Declan approached me and very kindly gave me some great training tips and advice. He made me feel a lot better about everything. It was some time later before I realised that this man was Declan Dolan, top agility handler and Crufts winner!

Declan and Bonnie went on to come 2nd in the Finals that evening and I was there in the arena cheering them on. Their round is at 12 minutes if you would like to watch it.

I could ramble on for hours about all the things that I did and saw at Crufts. I had a brilliant day and really hope to go again next year!

Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho, it’s off to Crufts I go!

Just a very quick post as I am busy packing up to go to Crufts! I was very lucky to have been given a free pass from the Kennel Club as part of their new KCAI (Kennel Club Accreditation Scheme for Instructors). My plane leaves at 6.30am, so want to get an early night so I can enjoy the day tomorrow.

This will be my first time attending Crufts and I am bursting with excitement. My plan is to go to the agility ring in the morning to support Irish competitor Declan Dolan and his dog Bonnie who will be competing in International Agility. Then I will go and pet dogs at the Discover Dogs exhibition. Finally, I plan to shop till I drop and hopefully get lots of goodies for The Lads!

My camera battery is charging and I will try to get lots of great pictures so that I can share the day with you all! Look out for a Crufts update over the next few days. If any of you have any Crufts advice or tips, please let me know in a comment. Thanks!

Poodle Picnic! (Wordless Wednesday – 6 March 2013)

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