And as the word ‘vet’ in the title might give away, by best friend I mean my dog. I mention him a lot and sneak in a photo at any opportunity, but I’m not sure he’s ever been formally introduced. So here we go…
Rocky, a.ka The Little Wolf. Not actually that little or wolf -like these days, but it’s what I called him when he was wee and it stuck. He’s actually 50 kgs- ish of German x Belgian Shepherd. He’s hairy, noisy, unruly and over protective. He spends his days either at my feet or under them, and I absolutely adore him.
It’s a big deal being a dog owner. They bring a lot of love and companionship to the table and place all their trust in you to keep them right. Happy and healthy, cared for and nourished. Nutrition is a key to the health and wellbeing of our four legged friends.
Let’s be honest, The Wolf is not ‘just a dog’. He is absolutely one of the family. For better or worse, one of us. I’m a house wife ( or do we say home maker now? ) and I enjoy cooking for and caring for my family. So just like everyone else, I want the wolf to have a quality diet. I want him to have a little treat.
And I’m happy to put a bit of effort in to make that happen. Like spending a morning baking him some lovely heart shaped dog biscuits.
All of that to say, I was very happy to be sent a Vet Chef treat box to try out with The Wolf. The box is quite similar to the meal and baking boxes we humans can subscribe to. A letter box sized box of loveliness that comes with a recipe card- in this case, Venison and Beetroot Love Hearts- a heart shaped cookie cutter and almost all of the ingredients you’ll need, portioned up and ready to go. All I had to add was a couple of fresh eggs.
I like baking. I suspect it’s another thing where I have more enthusiasm than talent, but I do enjoy it. Baking for my best friend? Even better. Plus, baking dog biscuits mans no licking the spoon and no over indulging by having ‘just one more’. Win.
The recipe is easy to pull together – a good thing, like I said more enthusiasm than talent- and came packed full of things that bring goodness. Seaweed powder, beetroot powder, oats, dried venison. The beetroot powder gave the mixture and the resulting biscuits a pretty pink tint. The Wolf doesn’t care much either way as long as they taste good, but this was a shared experience for he and I, and the pretty tint made me happy. Little things.
Bit of a glitch when I couldn’t find the rolling pin, but in the spirit of adapt-and-overcome I used a bottle of champagne instead. Not sure if that’s an classy little touch or utterly desperate, but it got the job done. Answers on a postcard if you know where my rolling pin went?
The recipe didn’t specify that you should talk your dog through the whole process, but I did and I think everyone should. He wasn’t leaving the kitchen once he got a sniff of the ingredients coming together. Best to involve him. I talk to him all the time, actually, whatever I’m up to. He’s a good listener.
The eagle eyed among you might have spotted that the image of the box I shared is for ‘ ‘Amber the Cockapoo’ not ‘Rocky the Naughty Shepherd’. I had to use an image of the complete kit from the lovely people at Vet Chef, because Rocky got to the box before I did. The smell of the ingredients was pure temptation. The recipe might be virtuous, my dog not so much.
I suppose that’s what you want as a dog mam owner, isn’t it? A dog that is happy and healthy, full of energy and curiosity. Happy and healthy enough to get into a bit of mild mischief here and there.
Ten minutes in the oven and the biscuits are done. Once cooled they’ll keep in an airtight container for ten days or in the freezer for up to three months so nothing needs to go to waste. Speaking of which, all the packaging can go into household recycling, even the egg shells went into the compost bin. It felt good that this little box was all love, zero waste.
I was kindly sent the Vet Chef box via Napo Pet Insurance. Rocky’s little trick of ripping into his recipe box demonstrated beautifully the need for insurance; pets do silly, unexpected things. Luckily, no harm done beyond some ripped cardboard this time. But you never know what might happen, so it’s good to have them covered.
Thanks to Napo Pet Insurance, Rocky and I were able to try the Vet Chef box for free. All opinions are genuine and my own; I’d never review or recommend something I didn’t genuinely love.
Having established that my dog is a lovely liability, put me in good company. Tell me the silliest or naughtiest thing your dog has ever done?
Helen x
Lovely post. Gorgeous looking fellow too.
As for bonkers things done by dog, eating two advent calendars wasn’t great.
Oh and housewife/homemaker is properly described as multitasking polymath… easily the most challenging job ever.
That’s a lovely comment, thank you so much. I’m with dog, I could happily eat two advent calendars in a day. The Wolf did once finish off a Skittles birthday cake left on the side. Checked the ingredients to see how worried I should be and realised it probably shouldn’t be consumed by man or beast.
Ha! The day after we got him, Dog ate an orange polenta cake. Was crapping flapjacks for a week. Lesson learnt.
Dogs are the best! I don’t have any of my own but I am god-mom to several. All different, all delightful, and each one naughty and adorable! Thanks for a fun post–and Wolf is a gorgeous dog!
Thank you- I think him very handsome, but I’m utterly biased!
Sadly I don’t have a dog any longer but I enjoy my friend’s animals where possible and am often called to dog-sit which is a great pleasure for me and a happier time for the dogs, none of whom relish being left along for long. Love your Wolf and although I doubt if I could take him for a walk – he looks much too strong for me – I’d gladly house-sit him and talk to him.
He is very strong, luckily he does more or less listen to me when he’s on the lead. AA good thing, as I’ve no doubt if he wanted to do as he pleases I’d struggle to stop him! He’d love to be talked to all day, he just loves company and attention. And he gives plenty of both in return! Thank you for your lovely comment Mari, hope all is well with you.
He’s a lucky pooch! I’ve only once had a dog – we had a pet Bassett Hound when I was a teen. She was as daft as a brush. Her pet hate was umbrellas and she would just about climb your leg when she saw one.
He’s absolutely spoilt rotten. I’m sure he has no idea he’s a dog. Isn’t it funny what they are wary of? My big, bad wolf will fend off intruders and guard the homestead… but a wood louse scuttling across the floor has him backing away 🤦🏼♀️
😆
Of course your dog is your best friend and part of the family, makes complete sense. And cooking special meals for him is definitely the right way to go.
Thanks Jonno, I think the Wolf agrees with you entirely!
I also bake for Zeph and his special favourite is liver cake! I believe it’s what’s known as a ‘high level treat!’. As a Border Collie, Zeph only weighs in around 20kg and most of that is his coat, so he’s a lightweight compared to your wolf. I had a long haired GSD at one point and I have a soft spot for this breed 😍 Now I’m off to have a look at Vet Chef…
Zeph is a beauty, and it’s nice to hear I’m not the only one who bakes for the dog. I think- well, know- that I’m a very soft, sentimental dog owner. And we are surrounded by military dogs and working dogs all of whom know their place! Do let me know if you try Vet Chef!
Your Little Wolf is absolutely gorgeous Helen and my word what a cared for animal. The biscuits are such a creative treat. One day, lord only knows when, Sladja and I will finally settle down in one place and when we do a pet is top of our list.
I 100% recommend having an animal about the place, they bring so much. I’m firmly Team Dog, obviously! Funnily enough, I was the one who resisted getting a pet for years. Too much work, we move too much, too much extra cleaning and so on… turns out all of that is true, I just don’t mind as much as I thought I would!
Those little biscuits look tasty my Skye would love them. One day we bought some expensive cheeses in our local cheesemonger. I put the cheese on the table and went to speak to my partner. Suddenly we heard some paper noise by the time we arrived at the table we saw the cheese paper on the floor with no cheese in it and of course a very guilty dog. He had for £7 of cheese he did have a good nap that day 🤣.
Skye is a dog after my own heart- I often eat myself into a cheese nap 😆 Our four legged friends can be very naughty!
I love that your Wolf was watching you when you baked. Hugo is right there as soon as the fridge door opens or the bread bin. He can lie down and watch a Sunday roast cooking for hours. 🙂
Yes- nothing is so well guarded in this house as the kitchen. And he too will hear any cupboard or fridge open!