Organizing Your Pet's Items

If you subscribe to Good Housekeeping you might have read the article on organizing your pet's items. I did and it got me thinking about what items the article mentioned and which I utilize already.
1. A rubber mat under your the food and water dishes. I picked one up last Christmas while they were on clearance. I think I paid around .47 cents for a snowman. If you wanted the dish to match the season or be less seasonal you could watch for after season clearances to pick one up. Many times the Christmas ones are things like snowflakes or in the spring you could find one that has flowers etc. The purpose of the mat is to help with keep the area clean. I think these are a cheap alternative to a pet food dish holder.

2. A pillow for your pet. The one in the article was from L.L. Bean and carried a hefty price tag. You could use online codes and watch for sales to score one for a better price point. Or you could make your own. I picked one up from Walgreens a while back with some register rewards I had got. I also had made my pet one for less than ten dollars with some old t-shirts, fabric and pillows(google pet pillow for pattern ideas if you are crafty.). My dog loves pet pillows and I consider it a worthy investment. Make sure that if you buy a pet pillow from the store it's washable. If you ever deal with fleas, allergies or odors, you will want a pillow that can be washed.

3. An organizer that will hold your pet toys. I got a neat little container during Target's back to school clearance( a great time to pick up organizers on the cheap!). It holds my pets squeeky toys, ropes, leash and other items. It helps keep my living room trip free and my dog knows exactly where she can find her toys. I have a co-worker that keeps her pets toys in a drawer in an ottoman. A cute tote bag would work too. Be creative with how you keep your pets toys in a way that works for you.

Pedigree Coupon

There is now a 1.00 off Pedigree Good bites snack available on coupons.com. The Meaty Bone buy one meaty one get a free box of biscuits is still available as well. The Pedigree coupon expires 3/12 and the Meaty bone 4/11.

20 Ways to Make Your Dog Happy

From the P&G Monthly Newsletter, 20 Ways to Make Your Dog Happy.

Microwave Dog Biscuit Treats

This recipe is from the Badger Kennel Club Cooking for Fido recipe book.

1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup dry milk
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup shortening
1 tbls bouillon granules
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1 tsp sugar
1 egg slightly beaten
1/2 cup hot water

Combine flour, cornmeal, milk, oats and sugar. Cut in shortening. Add egg, bouillon and hot water. Knead 5 minutes. Roll 1/2 inch thick and cut out into favorite shapes. Microwave at 50% power for 5-10 minutes, rotating plate.

Homemade Dog Treats

Dog treats can cost a pretty penny if you don't stock up great deals with the opportunity comes along. I was looking at dog treats yesterday in Target to see what the price of Pupperoni treats would be after my coupons I found on coupons.com. They would still run about 1.64 for a 6 oz bag. That's a little higher than I would like to spend on a bag of treats that will last maybe a week. Every feel the disappointment when you open a bag that looks large to find it's mostly just air(and this is not just limited to dog treats, chips, other snack items included). Another option is to make your own dog treats.

My sister gave me this really cute dog treat kit for Christmas. It included a book of dog recipes and a pack of cookie cutters in dog friendly shapes, think fire hydrants, bones etc. Here is a recipe my sister shared with my several months ago. She was even kind enough to send a bag of them. My dog loved them!

Here is what you will need
1 tsp beef bouillon
1 egg
1 jar bacon bits
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 instant non fat dry milk
2 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour

Combine ingredients. Cut into dog friendly shapes, depending on the size of your dog will be on how you decide to cut them. When my sister made them she used medium size shapes like stars and moons. Bake in the oven at 375 for 10 minutes or until done.

New coupons out

Did you sign up for the 3 bag challenge at Science Diet? I did and got a $5.00 off coupon. They emailed me saying that if I had a UPC code to enter I would receive another $5.00 off coupon!
If you haven't signed up for the challenge there is still time to do so.

Coupons.com reset the Pupperoni and Meaty Bone coupon. The pupperoni coupon printed off at 1.50 for me this time! They both expire in March.

The Rachel Ray dog food sample is has a new link up, go here for more information.

Mail Call

I recently received my free sample of Rachel Ray's new dog food line. In the box included two coupons. One for a dollar off Rachel Ray dog treats and one for 2.00 off a bag of dog food. Look for the dog food one within the actual sample of dog food. The treat one should be with the your welcome note.

My dog scarfed up her sample right away. Then again beagles are highly motivated by food.