***POST WARNING***

Serious cuteness overload!
Little Miss gets her first bed

I did warn you!

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Happy Birthday to you – Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday dear doggie – have a cake

 

 

 

We now bake gluten free Birthday cakes. They are available in peanut butter and apple or peanut butter and carrot – they have a yogurt and peanut butter ‘icing’ and are topped with grated carob curls.

I had one in the shop to share – and they have gone down a storm.  I have had just one refusal from a greyhound – and one little chap had to be shown how to eat it as he had never had cake before – but he soon got the hang if it.

They cost £4.50 for a single layer heart shape about 4″ across – and at the moment they are collect only from the shop.

Alfie is legal!

I finally got round to getting Alfie a name tag – and I got the most wonderful tag

I love the heart shape – and it’s thinker than normal.  And I love that you can see someone has engraved it – not a machine.

But – you know me – have to fiddle!  Alfie has several collars (and I always getting a new one!) – so I wanted an easy way to swap it about.
If you would like to get your own disc made – the link is here

https://www.consciouscrafties.com/handmade-gifts/personalised-2-5cm-heart-pet-id-tag/

 

 

 

 

 

When you come to the end of your lollipop

– To the end, to the end, of a lollipop,
When you come to the end of a lollipop,
Plop goes your heart!

The yellow honey bee fabric has been my most popular E-V-E-R.  If I could get another 10 metres I would – – but it’s all gone –  this is the very last scrap
The last little useable bits have gone into a couple of poo bag holders and a couple of key fobs.  These last bee goodies will be in the shop soon!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week’s bake

Anyone who makes scented candles – or soap – should make a peanut butter scent.  I have been baking with peanut butter all day – and the house smells amazing!!!

2 experiments – First pup cake peanut butter and carrot – gluten free
Bit of work still to go in to the proportions – peanut butter is such an odd thing to work with.  All the tester don’t seem to mind though – it’s gone down very quickly.  I also had a try with coconut oil.  First time I have used it – but everyone keeps going on about it and I have never tried it.  Don’t like it – won’t be swapping my olive oil.  It is way too heavy and greasy for what I want – and it’s not a wet enough ingredient for something that is wet and not a solid.  I will use the rest of the jar up in a human bake that needs butter – that may be better.

Second bake – luxury ‘chocolate’ cookies.
No our type of chocolate of course – a grated carob bar  – and – good old peanut butter – yumms

You’re fired!!!

honestly – I think I should sack my ‘tester’ dogs – they just love everything!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week I have come up with  a new invention – Caribbean Crush.  It’s pineapple – mango and banana – and the dogs can’t get enough of it!!

This is the weighing station – the final part of the process.  I think I am finally there with all the labeling – I have just started to add colour coding so you can see at a distance the different types.  This one is not Gluten free – but it is vegetarian – and as there are no egg in it – it’s vegan too.

Gosh we have come along way!

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Alfie update

I am soooo proud of the Alfster – – he has gone 1 whole week being dry in the house!  That is so amazing – not 1 single ‘accident’ – and he fetched me to his paper space so show me what he had done – so that shows that he is starting to get muscle / brain messages happening – gosh – so proud!!

Bare in mind that 4 months ago this dog had never had any personal contact at all – no idea of what snuggling was – how to get on a sofa – and was totally freaked by the TV – how far have we come!

Yeah – next week we will have ‘accidents’ – and we still have such a long way to go – – but ‘this week’ – scrummie puppie takes all the prizes

This weeks bake

I am way behind this week – I haven’t finished yesterdays chores – never mind starting to days!

This week I have done my first fully gluten free bake for public sale.  I have used Buckwheat flour (it’s not a wheat – it’s a flower) – and a coarse ground polenta (maise).  It makes a beautiful silky dough – I would still like a bit more of a rough texture – and gives a really crisp biscuit.  My 2 main testers can’t get enough of them – they are hopeless as testers really – they love everything!

A comment was made about the work that goes on behind the scenes re the paperwork for DEFRA – so I thought I would show you my stack of books

 

I have a ‘goods in’ book to write what ingredients come in
a rough notes recipe  book of mixes I am working on
a diary log to write down what I have done in the kitchen that day
a technical file with all my procedures and risk analysis for each recipe
and – a final recipe book for when I am finally happy with the mix and the control procedures

 

 

 

 

 

It did take me hours of practice to get the system organised – but I have got the evening’s paper work after a bake down to about 2 hours now

The treat boxes have launched on-line HERE

More products will be added as I bake more stock

 

Bit of housekeeping needed

I have been doing really well with my reorganising.  I have my high desk clear and undercontrol – the kitchen counter is clear and fully useable again – even the back room floor is nearly clear – may even be able to vacuum soon!

The elephant is the room – – – my big office desk!!

Serious head down and clear the backlog of paperwork and listing is needed this week!

 

 

SOoooo- where can you get the very best hand baked dog treats then?

This a very serious matter – no laughing needed there poochie!!!

Posh Dog bakes are getting so popular more people want to know where they can get their paws on them!

The bestest doggie news is that the treats are now available in 2 real bricks and morter shops and on line.

shop outlets –
No 26
26 Kempock St, Gourock PA19 1NA
no website – but contact on facebook  no 26 HERE

The Kitten and The Goat
9 New Shambles, Kendal, Cumbria LA9 4TS
website – www.thekittenandthegoat.co.uk

The treats have a long shelf life – and I am baking all the time – so you should get a decent verity when  you call in for your treats.

On line –
www.thekittenandthegoat.co.uk  – in The Posh Dog section

www.consciouscrafties.com – in The Posh Dog Clothing Company shop

when you are shopping on line please bear in mind we are not a mass production factory – I hand bake a limited run of whatever  takes my fancy.   Stock levels chance  – flavours change – the yumminess stays the same – and – as always – just ask if you want something

AND I can do requests – special diets and dietary advice are all part of the service

Any shop looking to stock seriously real home baked dog treats email me @ kittenandgoat@gmail.com

This weeks bake

This week I thought I would experiment with buckwheat flour.  It is gluten free – and I want to be able to offer that option.

It is a really fine, light flour – and I missed the bran roughage of the wholemeal flour.  I obviously could not add a bit of bran – so I added some oatmeal.  Technically oats are Gluten free – but because they are grown / processed along side wheat – they are at risk of cross contamination and you can’t call them that.  Long term I need to find some sort of roughage to add instead of the oats.

The buckwheat makes a really light, crisp biscuit – which my 2 little testers liked!

This week’s bakes

Sorry – My silly camera has decided not to transfer photos – so I have been a bit stuck!!

I have finalised the Cheese Love recipe this week.  I have added more cheese and a portion of rolled oats.  Oats are really healthy – they are good for the heart – give you extra fibre – and add texture to the treats.

I am also working on a colour coding system so that you will be able to see clearly if a product is vegetarian – vegan – gluten free – low fat and so on.

Alfie Update

Who’s a smoochie puppy then?

So – vet check up today – William’s boosters were due too – so we all went – Rachel is amazing with them – how many vet consultations have you had that take place on the floor at dog level!

Rachel was really pleased with the progress that Alf has made these past 2 months.  He has put on weight – his coat looks amazing – his teeth are cleaner – he is standing up sooo big and tall – – and – – he is interacting with others.  He is so keen to learn and get involved – and is responding to the outside world – bless him – he is trying sooo hard.

Because of his start in life Alfie has a special type of worming tablet- and he has to have one every month instead of the normal 6 or 12 months.  All puppies are born with worms – but – because of our treatments in the UK they are blasted out of the dogs system in the first 12 months and you just have to keep it topped up.  Alfie has not had this and we have to take extra care for the next few years.

The same thing applies to his other parasite regime.  Normally a dose of Frontline every 4 – 6 weeks will take take care of this – but because of his street life Alfie has a mite problem.  We use advocate – a stronger, slightly different formula than normal that includes a chemical to control mites.  Apparently they will be there even though we can’t see them – and they are a bad thing!

I am so proud of him and the progress he has made is such a short time

This week’s bakes

This week I have baked liver treats – still my most popular bake – using fresh lamb’s liver from Lee round the corner.I am actually at the point where I need to do 2 bakes a week – so I am going to get some fruit on the way home and bake again tomorrow.

Bev over at Ribbon Reel Printing – who has done all our labels for years – also makes clear stamps.  She has made the cutest stamp from hubby’s logo.  It’s our same doggie doing the baking.  I am absolutely thrilled with it – thank you Bev.

Alfie Update

I made a HUGE mistake the other day.  I told Alfie off!!

I was tired – and cranky – and I wanted to get on with what I was doing – and he was barking and carrying on and I needed to talk to someone – so I barked back and tapped his bottom.

– Totally normal training reaction  – for a totally normal dog.

The instant I had done it I thought to myself – you silly cow – you can’t do that!

And Alfie went of in a total panic and hid for the rest of the day.

A split seconds loss of concentration – bugger!

That’s the thing with trying to train a nervous dog – my training rule book has totally been thrown out of the widow.  No normal rules apply.  You can’t scold a nervous dog – not can you put them in their place or dominate them.  You have to coax them out to do the right thing.

So – he went off and hid in absolute terror for the rest of the day – he would not be coaxed into bed to snuggle – and it was 2 days later that he started to interact with me again.  I feel such a muppet – but it was a really good wake up call.  Alfie has made huge progress in the past couple of months – but it has only been a couple of months and there is such a long way to go yet.

Last week his toilet habits were disastrous to say the least – was that a consequence of his telling off and him losing confidence?  or just a bad week?  Who knows – this will be a long road of humps and bumps – but I hold my hands up – I could have done better this week.

A couple of days later – we are in recovery mode!  I think I am forgiven

This weeks bake

Dogs love vegetables – they really do!

This week I have started developing a new bake – Vegetable Nests.  Made with fresh grated vegetables – and kept rough looking.  I have not pureed the vegetables first and I have added rolled oats – I made them into small ‘nest’ shapes rather than rolling and cutting so they look chunky and rustic.I am going to sneak in a quick extra bake tomorrow – I seem to be desperately short of a selection and there won’t be any for in the week.

I am also going to make 2 different sizes of each bake.  I have loads of small chaps who like a little treat – but there are the bigger guys too.  The weights will be equal – but you will get more in the small bites bags.

This week’s bake

This week I have made Salmon Nibbles – mainly because I have just bought a new fish shape cutter.
Alfie adores them – he nearly took my fingers off for one when they came out of the oven – and he’s been bumping me ever since.  He was even brave enough to ask a customer who comes in every Thursday morning to pick up this week’s bake for one – that’s HUGE progress.  She was so chuffed that he went up to her.

I did experiment with adding a bit of wheat bran (English and organic) into the dough.  It did make the treats more crisp – but I found it dried the dough out quite a bit more than normal and I had to add more olive oil than I usually do.  Unless anyone can give me a good reason that it adds healthy benefits to the treats – once the pack has gone I will go back to oatmeal or try something else to add a bit more texture.

My paperwork is now with the DEFRA vet and I am waiting for my kitchen inspection to find out what else I need to or change.

Candy Gram for Keiser

Poor little Keiser got beaten up the other day.  I am actually hearing of several dogs that have been attacked lately – perhaps it’s the lighter summer evenings and more people out – don’t know – but this little chap (and his owner) came out of it the worse for wear.  Nothing major – but it’s the shock as much as anything.

Anyway – I have to send him a little care package didn’t I – he is just such a poppet.

 

 

The boxes I bought make super gift packages – I can’t wait until I get my full licence so I can sell on line properly.  My paperwork is with the government vet at the moment – I am waiting for his feedback.

Summer colours

It’s been a rough week health wise – but I have finally managed to get a few collars in summer colours made.

This is Williams new collar in the seaside theme – Alfie ate the buckle off his old one!

 

 

Here is the selection so far – I will be listing them in the shop as soon as the camera battery has recharged and I can take photos.

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This week’s bake

I swapped some curtains for a huge jar of peanut butter this week – I love swaps – so this weeks bake is the final working of the peanut butter cookie recipe.

The cookies are now a much better texture – not as solid – but still as crisp.  I used an egg to break up the peanut butter – the eggs are amazing at the moment – they are nearly all double yolks – and a little water to make a more ‘sloppy’ mix for the flour to soak up.  I have also added a little bran for texture and roughage.

so far – it’s a thumbs up from Alfie and Sukie

Make over

I originally made this little dresser for my mum’s anniversary.  I have been using it as yarn storage in my summerhouse work shop – there is loads of shelf space and a cupboard to hide things in.  It’s years old and very dated – but it’s solid pine and a lovely little piece of furniture and I wanted to keep it.

I got some of the new Rustoleum Furniture Paint because it’s designed to use directly on the surface with no prep or sanding – which will make things so much easier for me to cope with.

It has taken me 3 weeks to repaint it – 2 coats of Chalk White all over (inside as well) – and a coat of sealing polish – and new door knobs!!

I am so thrilled with it – especially the ‘diamond’ door knobs.  I will finish filling the shelves with my knitting machine cones after I get my new carpet down.  My winter blankets are hidden in the cupboard – and my old 1890s Singer sits on the top.  It looks amazing with my black and white scheme