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Six DIY Holiday Treats For Your Dogs

December 15, 2017 by Mary Telesz

holiday treats for your dogsThe Christmas season is here, as you’ve probably noticed on a recent trip to the store. Christmas decorations have started to adorn the shelves at your local supermarket, so it’s time to start preparing for this festive season. If you’re a pet owner and want to give your dog a special treat this year, why not get creative and make some DIY dog treats?

Arts, crafts, and baking all help to make Christmas memorable, and it’s extra special when you get the chance to include your canine in the fun. Plus, making your own dog treats at home assures you that your pet is getting the most natural and beneficial ingredients. It doesn’t matter if you’re a great cook, because you can use easy dog treat recipes that don’t involve a high level of cooking skill. From mint to peanut butter, you and your dog will enjoy licking the spoon when you’re baking in the kitchen. Here are six DIY holiday treats for your dogs:

Apple Mint Christmas Dog Bones

Apple and mint Christmas dog bones are a festive green color, and you can replace the green food coloring with spinach if you prefer a natural alternative. The ingredients include rolled oats and applesauce, resulting in a tasty treat that your dog will love.

Gingerbread Dog Cookies

Gingerbread dog cookies are lots of fun to make, because while you’re making a batch of gingerbread human cookies you can add some dog ones to the baking tray too! Traditional icing is not recommended for dogs, but you can actually get icing suitable for dogs so you can draw little faces on your dog’s cookies too. A dog won’t really care if their treat is decorated, but you’ll feel great knowing how much effort you put into baking for your dog.

Christmas Cookies

Calvin’s Christmas cookies is a recipe designed by a dog owner who felt bad that their dog couldn’t enjoy a lot of the luxurious food around Christmas. Their beagle would be wide-eyed and drooling at all the human desserts, so Calvin decided to make something their pet could enjoy.

Dog Candy Canes

holiday treats for your dogs candy canesThe idea of dog candy canes is so fun. Making these may take more effort than some of the other recipes, but the idea of hanging your dogs canes on the Christmas tree or putting them in a cute baking box is too cute to resist.

Mutt Mints

Mutt mints are a tasty combination of mint, honey, and wheat. The recipe is relatively simple and your dog will definitely enjoy these.

Carob Molasses Dog Treats

Carob is a healthy alternative to chocolate that is suitable for dogs. Carob molasses dog treats is a simple recipe that is low in purine, making it a better choice for preventing kidney stones in your canine companion.

Fall and Winter Pet Health

Now that your dog has a wide variety of Christmas dog treats to choose from, you can also ensure their Christmas season is enjoyable by taking good care of their health. Your pet’s health during the winter season is important because the cold weather can make their immune systems more vulnerable.

There are a number of ways you can take care of your dog during the winter. Regular grooming is essential to help them on their way to shedding their summer coat and developing their winter one. If you neglect a regular grooming routine, your pet will have dead hair that is prone to clumping and can become itchy and irritated. Make sure your dog is comfortable by giving them a thorough brush at least once a week.

The cold temperatures during winter mean that you need to make sure your dog is, at the very least, dry and comfortable. If you keep them outside, make sure their kennel doesn’t have any cracks or holes in it so that heat isn’t escaping. You might even want to improve the comfort level of their kennel by adding insulation on the inside or fortifying it on the outside. If they have blankets, and have been in the cold rain, make sure it’s nice and dry for them going to sleep at night. Alternatively, you might just want to bring them inside for the winter.

holiday treats for your dogs taking careFinally, to take good care of your pet this season, it’s imperative to monitor their eating habits and increase the amount of food you give them daily. The cold weather means that they use more energy keeping themselves warm, so make sure you take this into account when feeding them. All in all, these considerations will help you and your dog to enjoy a fun Christmas season together.

Filed Under: Family Dog

Contact Paw Pals for More Information

Paw Pals specializes in professional dog walking, dog sitting, and pet sitting services. One of our reliable, adult staff members will keep your pet safe, while providing your pet the love and care they need when you are away. Contact us to learn more!

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Paw Pals Pet Sitting, LLC
14001-C Saint Germain Drive #213
Centreville, VA 20121
(703) 345-1695

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Centreville – 20120, 20121
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Paw Pals Pet Sitting
Paw Pals Pet Sitting
4.9
Taylor Smith
Taylor Smith
21:22 03 Oct 21
I never worry when Mary and team take care of my dog!
Michæl Silva
Michæl Silva
21:38 01 Jul 22
Mary at Paw Pals Pet Sitting is the greatest! She has helped me train my pooch Chico how play nice with other dogs and for that I am extremely grateful! A+A+A+A+A+A
Kwi Kim
Kwi Kim
22:37 17 Jun 22
I hired Paw Pals based on my sister’s referral. Meet & greet was very thorough and detailed. I was surprised that my finicky cat came to check the sitter out. Subsequently, a sitter watched my cat over several separate visits, and it was clear through the visit reports that my cat loved the sitter. All the visits were completed having followed my directions & with professionalism.I would highly recommend Paw Pals to anyone who’s looking for a dependable, personable, & professional sitter.
Joseph Walter
Joseph Walter
19:55 13 Jun 22
Paw Pals provided a large number of photos of our pets along with a personalized message on how our pets were doing with every single visit. I would highly recommend using Paw Pals, we'll be continuing to use them whenever we go on vacation.
Ashley Manning
Ashley Manning
09:50 11 Jun 22
Highly recommend as pet sitters!Initially, a sitter from the company will visit the house to meet the pets and learn where everything is. Tatiana took careful notes and we got her some spare keys.While we are away, Paw Pals sends sitters to come and look after our boys. They feed them, scoop litter, bring in mail and packages, and they will even manage trash, recycling, blinds and lights so that everything is comfortable for our kitties. Each time they check in, we receive an email message with updates and pictures, which is so comforting when we are on the road.Also, if you don’t let Paw Pals know when you are home, they assume something has happened and will continue to care for your babies. If something were to happen, I know they would be okay.Five stars for Paw Pals!
Brian Wood
Brian Wood
04:08 22 May 22
We have used Paw Pals for a number of years now and would highly recommend to anyone looking for help with their pets. Great communication from owner Mary and flexibility to make adjustments in schedule as life changes over time. Have had a consistent set of walkers who have gotten to know our pup and the various walking routes around our neighborhood quite well.
Lesley Bush
Lesley Bush
13:58 18 Mar 22
We can't rave enough about Paw Pals. They took care of our 18 year old Cat and 20 year old Chinchilla while we were away and when our flight got cancelled, they were so accommodating and available last minute for an extra day. We worked with Jen to coordinate visits from Miko and Danny. I loved the pictures and updates on how our Lil geriatric guys were doing. Thanks a million, Paw Pals!! Our special pets were so well cared for.
Sebastian Barnes
Sebastian Barnes
01:06 17 Jan 22
I have used Paw Pals for several trips over the last few months, and they have been phenomenal every time! Mary is extremely kind and responsive, and she makes sure that my cat and dog have the care that they need every time I am out of town. All of the pet sitters that I've had have been incredibly sweet to my pets, and they treat them like their own! Will gladly continue using Paw Pals every time I need a sitter.
Julie Shildt
Julie Shildt
17:45 14 Nov 21
It has been a pleasure doing business with paw pals. We have used this company for several trips we have taken over the past 6 months. They have been wonderful caretakers for our 2 cats. Anytime there is ever a question they don't hesitate to give us a call and they leave the best notes and pictures in the emailed report of each visit. We are so glad have found such a great company.
Andrea Hall
Andrea Hall
22:45 03 Oct 20
I wasn't sure about hiring a new doggie walker service... after all they are our kiddos... my babies were in great hands and I felt relaxed having them in their care. Thank you for everything!
Katie McCune
Katie McCune
19:19 15 Jul 21
I honestly cannot recommend Mary and her whole crew enough! We started using Mary originally about 7 years ago to stop by occasionally when our Aussie Lana was younger. Over the next couple years Lana stayed with Mary and her family for a couple weekends when we went on vacation. When we moved to our new house in Manassas, Lana stayed with Sam, who lives in Manassas, overnight for moving day, and did great. Right before the pandemic, we adopted our second Aussie, Goose, and Mary recommended a fantastic trainer for him.We now have weekly walks for the dogs, and they love all of their walkers! Trevor, Paul, Hazel, Sofie, and probably a couple others have helped Goose get used to more people, and have helped my husband and me when our schedules are crazy.Paw Pals is our go-to for any help with our dogs, so I highly recommend them!
Alexandra Hill
Alexandra Hill
22:43 23 May 21
I was a nervous mommy to leave my cats with a sitter service for the first time. Paw Pals went above and beyond to care for my cats and ease a nervous mommy. I already made a reservation to use them again!
Cindy Welgoss
Cindy Welgoss
13:12 27 Nov 20
We have been using Paw Pals for several years, and through a variety of pets that we have loved. Mary and her team have always been *exceptional* in every way. They are professional, courteous, and truly love our fur family! Mary herself is an organized and stellar administrator of her pet care business, keeping detailed records of our pet’s needs, scheduled pet visits, payments, and balance due easy to keep track of as the pet owner. The pet caretaking team is reliable and trustworthy. When our dogs see any of their Paw Pal friends, they get SO excited to see them! Follow up comments are left via text to keep the pet owner informed of the visit and how the pets are faring. Paw Pals has allowed our family the peace of mind to leave our pets at home, for work, weekend getaways and longer times away when necessary, where they are the most comfortable and familiar. We are grateful to Mary and her team for giving us the ability to enjoy pet ownership without feeling tied down. The responsibility of having pets comes with the need to keep them safe and comfortable at all times, and Mary and her team affords us this when our family has to be away.
Dr Tammy Cashion
Dr Tammy Cashion
21:11 12 Mar 19
We have used Paw pals pet sitting on multiple occasions for our bunnies while we are away. Many pet sitters are not interested in small pets however; Mary and her team, are amazing and we trust her implicitly! We are very happy with the outstanding service we have received from her team including texts and photos of our pets when we are out of town. They always go the extra mile and we highly recommend them!
Kristin Conrad
Kristin Conrad
16:00 16 Nov 19
We are so grateful we found Mary and her team at Paw Pals. They are exceptionally responsive, amazingly organized and detail-oriented.We have such peace of mind when we travel knowing our home and pets are so well cared for. Paw Pals is the best pet sitting service we’ve used, and we’re so happy we found them.
Katie Russell
Katie Russell
15:01 17 May 20
Paw Pals is fantastic! I have had a great experience with Mary! Compassionate, professional, responsive, and prompt! Thank you!
Phillip Evans
Phillip Evans
14:38 11 Jul 20
When we adopted our new dog in January, Paw Pals agreed to walk her and give her some outside time so she wasn't in the crate all day. She loved her dog walker and you could see her excitement every time the walker showed up. We moved out of the area but would recommend Paw Pals to anyone needing someone to care for their pets.
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