Thanksgiving Safety Tips

This is the season for holiday feasts for people, but this can also be a time for stress for your pets. Here are some tips to keep your pets happy during the holidays.

Turkey Time
A little turkey may be ok for your pets, just make sure it's well cooked and there are no bones. Cooked poultry bones can be bad your your four legged friends. Undercooked turkey can contain salmonella and can lead to food poisoning for your pets.
Sage Wisdom
Herbs like sage can make your feast taste savory, but these herbs may contain essential oils and resins that can cause gastrointestinal upset and depression if ingested in large quantities - especially cats.

No Yeast for the Beastie
Raw bread dough can be a double whammy for your pets. It can expand in the stomach requiring surgery to remove, and the yeast can create alcohol during fermentation and because their bodies are so much smaller than ours it can easily lead to alcohol poisoning.
Raw Eggs
Cake batter or anything containing raw eggs can cause salmonella in pets just like in humans.
A Little Goes A Long Way
Mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, boneless turkey, or even a small bite of pie may not hurt your dog, but even slightest dietary changes can lead to stomach upset, diarrhea or even worse—a condition of the pancreas known as pancreatitis. Often fat trimmings are the leading cause of this condition. Any dietary changes can upset their digestive system, so keep the splurging to a minimum.
Me Too!
It is often tempting to give them some table scraps while we are chowing down on a feast fit for a king. Often those poor pathetic "sad faces" are too much for us to resist while we are stuffing ourselves. It can be a fun and safe time for them as well during the meal by indulging them with some healthy treats, a long lasting chew, or loading up an interactive toy for them to play with during dinner. These will occupy them while they feel they are getting something special along with everyone else.

Happy and Safe Holidays from the Bigwag Team

Baking and Kitchen Secrets from Bigwag Dog Bakery

Many of you may already know some of these, but this is the best collection of them that I have seen so far, so I thought I would share:

• Brush beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to yield a beautiful, glossy finish! (you probably already knew this one.. just thought it would add to the validity of the tips ;)
• Storing Cake -- If you store half and apple in the container which you are storing a cake, the cake will retain its freshness.
• Dropping Cookie Dough -- To get cookie dough to drop without sticking dip the spoon in milk first.
• Potato chip bag open again and they're all stale and yucky?? Pop them in the microwave for 30 to 60 seconds, let stand for two minutes and they'll be crispy again. (obviously take out of foil bags if in foil bags)
• A good trick when you go away on vacation is to place a baggie with a few ice cubes in the freezer. If a power failure occurs while you are gone and the food thaws and then refreezes you will know about it when you get home.
• To keep milk past it's expiration date add salt. A pinch of salt in a gallon will do it. The salt slows the rate of bacteria growth.
• Don't panic if your soup's too salty: Add cut raw potatoes and throw them away once they are cooked and have absorbed the salt. Your soup's saved!
• Potatoes will take food stains off your fingers. Just slice and rub raw potato on the stains and rinse with water.
• Place a slice of bread in hardened brown sugar to soften it back up!
• Substitute half applesauce for the vegetable oil in your baking recipes~you'll greatly reduce the fat content! (Example: 1/2 cup vegetable oil = 1/4 cup applesauce + 1/4 cup oil)
• Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator it will keep for weeks!
• Save your store-bought-bread bags and ties~they make perfect storage bags for homemade bread! (mostly for us super 'savers')
• Mash and freeze ripe bananas, in one-cup portions, for use in later baking~no wasted bananas (or you can freeze them whole, peeled, in plastic baggies)
• Transfer your jelly to a small plastic squeeze bottle~no more messy, sticky jars or knives! This also works well for homemade salad dressing!
• To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes!
• Cottage cheese will remain fresher longer if you store it upside down in the refrigerator. This slows the effects of oxidation.

Now, some of you may ask, "but you guys make dog treats, why would I want kitchen tips from you?". Yes, while that is true and it may seem weird that a dog bakery is sending out kitchen tips, we do have a fully functional commercial kitchen, using human grade ingredients. The only real difference is that we don't add any sugar, salt, or artificial anything. Ok, maybe it's still a stretch. ;)

Preparing Your Home for the "Howlidays"

Hey Everyone!

The Christmas shopping ads are airing on television, Santa Paws is coming to Bigwag this Saturday and you can't miss the Christmas decorations on the shelves at stores across NWA.  It definitely seems that the holidays are upon us.  And while that's stressful to us, it can also be stressful to our pets (although not because they're looking for that perfect gift...) Linda Kosecki of our local Bentonville Camp Bow Wow was generous enough to allow me to post their tips for prepping for the Howliday here.

Prepping for the Howlidays

Contributed by Linda Kosecki, owner, Camp Bow Wow 

As most of us decorate and prepare for holiday guests, friends and family, making sure the house is safe and pet-friendly should still be top of mind. Here are some suggestions below on how you can puppy proof your home and also fun ways to entertain your pet indoors so everyone can enjoy the festive holiday season together!

When puppy proofing your home for the holidays, remember to:

• Tidy-up electrical cords/wires: Dogs love chew toys so don’t entice them with a ball of wires from the holiday lights or extra extension cords lying around. Choose to zip-tie the cords together so they are kept neat and tucked behind furniture. Also, cord covers are a great idea for those extension cords running along the floor.

• See what your dog can get into by getting down on the floor. Be careful with floor plants as some can be harmful to your pets if eaten and keep low cabinet doors closed at all times.

• Have a variety of chew toys and stuffed animals for your pet to play with that are NOT the same colors as your holiday decorations. Think bright, neon colors so not only your four-legged friend know the difference, but you can easily spot when they aren't playing with the right toy.

• If you rearrange your home during the holidays, be careful what furniture is included in the play area. As dogs get excited they get clumsier and a new arrangement of furniture will create a different traffic pattern for them to get used to!

For more information on Camp Bow Wow, visit their website!