First heat
If you’ve got a little female puppy at home, first heat might catch you off guard, so it’s not a bad idea to make some preparations ahead.
What should you make your dog for Christmas dinner?
We treat dogs as family members, and it's understandable that we don't want to leave them out of our Christmas dinner tradition, but we shouldn't share our food with them, so what should we give them?
Christmas is certainly a holiday of feasts. We spare no expense on a variety of cookies, canapes and open sandwiches; in short, our tables are covered with food. Seeing our dog's sad eyes begging for at least a tiny bit of that goodness may make it harder for us to enjoy the abundance. We start to feel guilty and we want to give our dog something,
But as we know, human food does not belong in a dog's stomach. So what should we do? Deny ourselves the goodies, or hide somewhere in the corner to eat in secret? How about preparing our dogs their own goodies that won't hurt their belly and that they are sure to enjoy?
An alternative to Christmas dinner is simple. Your pets can have the same as you, only in a modified form. Whether you're having fish or schnitzel, separate a portion for your dog (or even your cat) before cooking, don't salt it or pepper it (and don't bread it) and cook it in water or steam rather than frying it. Be sure to debone the fish thoroughly, or blend it up.
You can also prepare a dog version of potato salad. Just leave out the mayonnaise, onion and pickle. You should also reduce the amount of potatoes, or use sweet potatoes instead. You can add more vegetables such as tomato, carrot and peas. That would make it more like a shopska salad, wouldn't it? Instead of a salad you can also serve dried vegetables.
Instead of getting into production, as there is enough work to do on Christmas Eve, I would rather give my dog or cat a high-quality can of food. This year I chose one with a side dish, but last year it was a meat monoprotein can with added fresh vegetables.
You can also make your pets happy with their own cookies. To learn how, read the article Making homemade treats from canned meat. However, the healthiest and easiest option is buying healthy and even functional treats. If you want to indulge your dog and give him a good amount, choose a light version.
If you give your dogs their own menu, you will also eliminate their desire to steal goodies from your table at an unguarded moment. Of course, some dogs still won't be deterred, so better keep food out of their reach. Especially nuts, chocolate, cocoa, coffee and sugar are dangerous to dogs. They should also avoid salty snacks.
How do you celebrate Christmas Eve? Do you include your dogs in the celebration, do you cook them special food, or do you just buy them gifts?
Related articles
Dogs at work
Domestic dog is the oldest domesticated animal and it has provided accompaniment to humans for 14 thousand years at the minimum. During this time, it underwent numerous changes and a long development. All the dog breeds of today are a result of human...
How to tame a chinchilla? Guard yourself with patience
With their appearance, the chinchillas just attract cuddling. They look a bit like plush toys and their eyes like beads give them a friendly and a kind-hearted look. But don’t let yourself be fooled! These rodents are definitely no phlegmatic pets with...
Dogs and horses
I am not much of a horse person, but from time to time, I like to go horse riding. Usually, I leave my fuzzy friends at home. The presence of horses upsets them. When I was getting my dog fellows, I didn’t think about the fact that not all the breeds...
Dogs may be more similar to humans than we had thought
Like master, like dog. You have probably heard before from someone that your dog fits you very well or maybe even, that you look alike. At least to me, it happens very often. However, that dogs sometimes tend to behave like people and they resemble us...
Why do dogs dig?
If you take pride in your nicely groomed garden and your dog belongs to the category of the so-called diggers, it probably doesn’t make you very happy. However, frantic digging in earth doesn’t please not even us, who wink at a few holes in the grass....
How to train calling with a whistle?
Calling a dog is without any doubt one of the most important commands that the dog should reliably master at any situation. Most often, we call the dog using the command “come”, but we can also emphasise it with a whistle. It pays off mainly in...
Five myths about dogs
I have always thought, that I know my four-legged fellows to their last hair, but there’s always something that manages to surprise me and there’s always a lot to learn from them. Some of the myths are so deep-rooted, that one doesn’t even fall upon...
How do the dogs and cats hear?
Simply put: much better, than us, humans. And cats even hear much better than dogs. But from experience, I can say, that it also depends on what and whom they want to listen to. How is it with dogs?
How to unteach your dog to beg?
Does your dog beg for food at the table? Do they beg even from strangers when you’re at a restaurant? Then you should know, that you are one-hundredth percent guilty of this yourself. If a dog learns to beg for human food, it is an educational mistake....
Dog Puzzles
When the weather is lovely rather for ducks than dogs for a longer period of time and long walks don’t come into question, my fluffy friends are getting get bored at home and start with their shenanigans. I always try to think of a home activity to...
How to keep your “little bull” busy? With sports for bull terriers, not even you are going to get bored
Recently, my friend has bought a puppy of a Staffordshire bull terrier. It didn’t take long for her to find out, how much energy is hidden in this tiny bitch. And not even several hours long walks weren’t enough to tire her. And that’s precisely what...