Tag Archives: Dog Treats

Care and Feeding of Canine Companions, Dogs, Padfoot

Gift Wrap Your Treats

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If you enjoy ripping into your packages on Christmas, you know how your favorite canine feels tearing into a toilet paper roll, a favorite form of enrichment at CARE. This is a safe treat for when your dog is unsupervised. I like to give one to Padfoot when I leave him at home, to give him positive associations with being alone.

Start with an empty toilet paper roll (cut down paper towel rolls also work) and a handful of hard or semi-soft treats or kibble. A variety of tastes adds to the stimulation. Here I’m using dehydrated liver, slices of pupperoni, and calming chews.

Fold down the sides, then the ends.

OPTIONAL: use a muddler to tamp down the folds from the inside. the handle of a screw driver also works. 

Fill with treats, leaving about an inch at the top. I had room left, so I tossed in some Milkbone Minis.

Fold over the ends and voila!

Care and Feeding of Canine Companions, Dogs, Padfoot

Padfoot Treats: Lick Mats

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Padfoot loves lick mats. While you can puree things like chicken broth, pumpkin, green beans and carrots to smear on the mats and freeze, it’s dead easy to smear on peanut butter—Padfoot’s absolute favorite—and stud it with small treats and freeze it. I have 2 silicone mats I keep in the freezer for when I need them. I punctured a hole and slid a carabiner through so I can clip it to the inside of his crate (Padfoot is not the instrument of mass destruction that Gypsy was, so I don’t worry about him chewing it up). The only thing I don’t like is the textured surface makes them a pain to clean. 

CARE makes lick mats with frisbees and carabiners, smearing the concave side with the goodies and hanging them on the outside of dog kennels, facing in. The dogs have to work a bit and there’s no danger of an unsupervised dog chewing up the frisbee and choking on plastic. These are also much easier to clean.