When I brought home my first Papillon, Sophie, she was so small she could fit into the palm of my hand.

What she lacked in size she made up for in attitude. She would play dash-and-hide with our 55 pound Belgian Malinois, Winifred. She quickly discovered her voice—and has been using it liberally ever since. And she refused to sleep alone. After two sleepless weeks, Harry and I finally caved in and let her sleep with us.

Sophie-on-Red-Chair

Sophie

One of the biggest challenges of raising a small dog is house training.  Little dogs just don’t want to brave the wind, rain, cold weather, tall grass or bugs when there’s a perfectly good floor inside.

I’ve always been a carrot rather than the stick kind of gal, so I figured I would liberally reward Sophie when she did her business outside. “Good peepee!” “Good poopoo!” “Nice potty.”

And she would get a treat.

Sophie was so thrilled with this arrangement that she could muster up five, six, seven bits of business in a single outing, locking eyes with me the whole time to make sure I acknowledged her accomplishments.

This house training system worked so well that we also used it on our second Papillon, Sarah.

Of course, with all this handing-out-of-treats business, we must keep a jar stocked with treats in the house at all times. I certainly buy treats in bulk. But the best treats—the ones the little dogs love above anything else—are the ones Mom makes with simple ingredients and her own two hands.

dog treats 2

These are their favorite biscuits. They don’t have the multi-syllabic ingredients of the store-bought treats.  They are filled with wheat flour, cheddar cheese and oats. And I enjoy making little shapes, such as hearts and fish. I need to find a tiny cat-shaped cookie cutter too.

Sarah on Pillows 02

Sarah

ARF!

Here’s where I found their favorite dog biscuit recipe.

Share and Enjoy:
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • email
  • FriendFeed
  • LinkedIn
  • Technorati
Robin

12 Responses to “Dog Biscuits: From Mom With Love”

  1. Kylee from Our Little Acre Says:

    Awwww! Thanks for posting this pic of your baby! And what a good dog mommy you are.
    Kylee from Our Little Acre´s last blog ..The Dirty, Decaying Detritus of My Garden My ComLuv Profile

  2. Kylee from Our Little Acre Says:

    Oh. Only one photo showed when I first read this. I see both of your girls now! Soooo sweet!
    Kylee from Our Little Acre´s last blog ..The Dirty, Decaying Detritus of My Garden My ComLuv Profile

  3. Mr. McGregor's Daughter Says:

    They are so cute & pampered! I never made biscuits for my dogs, but I did train a sighthound to come every time I called her with the biscuit reward method. It’s so much more effective than punishment ever could be.
    Mr. McGregor’s Daughter´s last blog ..For a Good Time, Read This Book My ComLuv Profile

  4. joeltheurbangardener Says:

    What a cutie! Great recipe find -I’ll pass it on to my mom who is always looking for healthy treats for her allergic pooch.
    joeltheurbangardener´s last blog ..Hey Blotanists, Appalachia Needs Your Help ASAP My ComLuv Profile

  5. Tennille Says:

    What a pretty girl! She knew you would cave on the sleep situation … it was all a matter of time.
    Tennille´s last blog ..Peanut Butter and Frozen Yogurt Sandwiches My ComLuv Profile

  6. Carol Says:

    I live in the same area as you and was wondering where you got your girls? A breeder nearby?

    Thanks!

  7. Katie/Gardenpunk Says:

    Thanks for sharing the recipe. Thankfully we’ve been lucky with our dog and I can just say, “Go potty and I’ll let you back inside” and magically, he does! Perhaps such a good dog deserves tasty homemade treats.

  8. Lynn Says:

    What cute little doggies! And I’m sure they love your special homemade healthy treats! That’s just too cool that you make your own treats!

    On a related note, I trained my 2 cats to shake hands using treats. Animals can easily be trained with treats, I’ve found! Most animals want to please. Maybe I can start making homemade cats treats, too…

  9. Gail Says:

    They are adorable and do they get along with the girls and boys in the coop? gail
    Gail´s last blog ..The Remains Of The Garden~ November 2009 My ComLuv Profile

  10. Rick Says:

    Dee
    Thanks for the link to the recipe. I now have that stored in my digital cookbook.
    Rick´s last blog ..Do we live, or do we die… My ComLuv Profile

  11. Rick Says:

    Opps! One should always read what one types before hitting “SUBMIT” Not Dee, but Robin owns this blog! Boy is my face red…
    Rick´s last blog ..Do we live, or do we die… My ComLuv Profile

  12. Stacie Morris Says:

    This is so awesome!!! Would you give out your recipe for you dog treats??

    Dog Boarding Reno
    Stacie Morris´s last blog ..Home My ComLuv Profile

Leave a Reply

CommentLuv Enabled

Right Now at Bumblebee

March 7th, 2010

It’s official. Dawn over at Owl Hollow News won the Grocery Gardening drawing.  Congratulations, Dawn. I hope you enjoy the book.

What’s on your plate today? The weather here is sunny and at least not frigid. I’ll continue my early spring garden cleanup and also clean and repair bird houses. The bluebirds have made their return and are already checking out the real estate. What a joy to watch over my Sunday morning coffee.

Robin

Share and Enjoy:
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • email
  • FriendFeed
  • LinkedIn
  • Technorati

March 6th, 2010

I find this one of the most anxiety-producing times of the year in the garden.

As I head outside and begin the winter cleanup, the whole summer garden thing just seems incredibly overwhelming. There’s so much to do. And I’m just one person out there. Honestly, I felt like sitting down to have a good cry about mid-afternoon. But I managed to put one foot in front of the other and actually got a good amount of tidy-up work done. Tomorrow will be more of the same.

Thank you everyone who left a comment explaining how you approach reading and leaving comments on blog posts. The cumulative input has been extremely helpful. The overall consensus is that you’ll read comments if it’s an interesting discussion. You don’t usually subscribe to comments because it clogs up your email box. And you’ll only check back to see if the author has responded if you’ve left a question. That about sums it up.

On another note, I have selected by random number generator the winner of Grocery Gardening. She’s been notified. When she responds back, I’ll announce who she is.

Thank you everyone!

Robin Ripley

Share and Enjoy:
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • email
  • FriendFeed
  • LinkedIn
  • Technorati

February 22nd, 2010

My lawn is a wreck.

I went outside to re-fill the bird feeders—AGAIN. The parts of my lawn that don’t look like the frozen tundra resemble a swamp. With every step I take my foot sinks down at least an inch. Walking to the feeders I can see my path in the mud.

I also see that we lost one small ornamental tree by the driveway as well as one of my rose trellises, which succumbed to the weight of the snow.

Spring better hurry up and get here. I have a lot of work to do.

Robin

Share and Enjoy:
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • email
  • FriendFeed
  • LinkedIn
  • Technorati

February 17th, 2010

Are you sick of everyone talking about the weather? I am too, but here goes…

There is so much snow on the ground, I don’t know when it’ll all melt. On top of that, much of it has iced to the extent that moving it from one place to another requires a pick ax. Walking in the back yard to fill the bird feeders is like walking on a bumpy ice rink. There are trees and bushes that need a bit of first aid to remove partially broken branches, but I don’t dare risk skating across the ice with my pruners. Not yet anyway.

Still, there is hope. Although we’re expecting snow flurries today, the weather should warm up into the forties in the next few days, providing some melting relief.

But really, all this unrelieved WHITE is getting to me!

Robin

Share and Enjoy:
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • email
  • FriendFeed
  • LinkedIn
  • Technorati

View archived notes »

Robin Ripley's currently-reading book recommendations, reviews, favorite quotes, book clubs, book trivia, book lists