{RECIPE} Beef and Carrot Meatball Puppy Party Snacks

I have a tendency to go a bit (just a wee little bit...) overboard on birthdays. Haha! My package of beef was bigger than needed for the turf layer of the Surf'n'Turf  Dog Birthday Cake and I already had pre-cooked ground beef on hand in the freezer so in an effort to be slightly practical, I baked dog-friendly meatballs with the extra beef instead.  Meatballs are quick to make, easy to handle/serve, freezer friendly, and can be defrosted as individual extra special treats or to top/crumble onto food. Since carrots are Humphrey's favourite veggie, I included some grated carrot in his birthday meatball mix.

{RECIPE} Fish Bone Dog Treats (Made with Fresh Fish)

When I make fish treats, I usually use a water-packed tinned fish for dough and fresh fish for special treats like jerky, but since I already had a fishy food processor to clean and more fish than was needed for the surf layer of the Surf'n'Turf Dog Birthday Cake, I decided to experiment. When I use meat/fish in baked treats, it's also usually already in ready to serve form, whether tinned or precooked and chopped, so I adjusted my baking methods somewhat for these treats to cook a little longer and slower than my usual quick bake and (optional) then dehydrate. 

DIY Squeaky Sprinkle Cake "Birthday Bonenut" Bone Dog Toys

Humphrey loves his squeakies and it has been a while since I made a new stuffed toy for his toy stash, so for his birthday I made two new little softies shaped like bone birthday cakes with rainbow sprinkles. They were nicknamed "bonenuts" for looking like sprinkle donuts in bone shape. Hehehe... They're a cross between Humphrey's old Love Bone and his monogram H donut toy, and he was a very happy little birthday boy with new toys.

DIY Personalised Dog Party (or Anytime!) Bandanas

Oh those faces! I love these two cuties to bits, but like most siblings, they are suitably unimpressed when Mom dresses then in matching outfits for a posed photo. Haha! I refer to them as milestone mugshots. Our boys still have their reversible birthday bandanas (love these!), but I made new any-occasion personalised bandanas and created an extra for Humphrey's new little (no longer so little) bestie, puppy pal Cooper.