Dog Helios life jacket..

Like the majority of spaniels we meet at the beach, Freddie is usually part drowned rat, part sand monster combined. He loves the chase his ball into the waves lapping at the sand and has recently started to become more adventurous bounding a little further out.

Living in the North East the coastline is beautiful and we are extremely lucky but the waves can be a little rough.

Last week I had one of those heart in mouth moments, in which I almost wades into the sea after Freddie. Freddie got really brave and went further out for his ball then usual and started to make his way back into shore as a massive wave came over the top of him. If felt like a lifetime passed before his little head popped up and he doggy paddled back to shore. Whilst telling my mum about this ordeal she told me to buy him a life jacket, but being the spoilt little puppy he is, Nanna and grandad bought him one.

The life jacket we have is the Dog Helios dog go swimming life jacket and can be found on Amazon.

 

 

On the way back from a weekend in the North West, we called at a beach for a test run. The waves were big and we lost a tennis ball... but I must say, I definitely felt a lot more relaxed knowing that Freddie was a bit safer. Even though he didn't go for more than a paddle today. For a dog who doesn't really like wearing coats, Freddie was not bothered by the life jacket. I think he had a great time playing with his ball in the sand.

 

 

 

The beach we visited was Horden beach; in County Durham. This beaches has no dog restrictions, all year round.

I can't wait for Freddie to try it out when he eventually gets brave enough to go for a proper swim, hopefully on a trip into the Lake District but for now I will have peace of mind when he is playing in the waves should he be taken by surprise again.

Lots of woof,
Chloe&Freddie x

Trio of tempting treats...

Freddie loves all food, whether he should be eating it or not.. There have been a few incidents involving stolen food; he is oh so cute but oh so naughty at times.

Based on my trusty tester being bound to eat whatever I created, I decided to give my hand at homemade treats. Because nothing beats home cooked food, even for dogs. 

Using ingredients already in the kitchen...

I baked three different treats, the third was going to be a little different but having recently moved, my nutribullet base is still in a box so I couldn't turn the oats into flour. Freddie didn't seem to mind one bit.

Three treats using only three ingridents each...

1. Banana&peanut butter bites
You will need... half a ripe banana (easier to mash up), a heaped teaspoon of peanut butter and a sprinkling of gluten free oats.

To make... mash the banana mix in the peanut butter, then add and mix in the oats. Spoon onto the baking tray and pop in the oven till golden brown and firm on top. (The oven was at 180 degrees Celsius)

2. Apple and carrot frittata 

You will need... one apple, carrot (I used one and a half small carrots) and one medium egg.
To make... grate the apple (be careful not to include the core) and carrot and sqeeze out the excess juice, in a dish wisk the egg and mix in the apple and carrot form into little paties and place on a tray and bake, I had mine in the oven for 15minutes and they stayed together when I lifted them off the tray once cooled. 

3. Ham Flapjack

You will need... one medium egg, enough oats to make the mixture stiff (a similar consistency to flapjack) and a few slices of ham, although any lunch meat would work. To make... wish egg in a dish, add in ham and mix, then add enough oats to make a relatively stiff consistency. Had they have worked so well I would have weighed them. I then spooned into a tray and put them into a preheated oven for around 20 minutes. Once out of the oven I marked with a knife into squares and left to cool. (Just like you do with flapjacks). 

Really simple and went down a treat!

This is Freddie's I'm cute, feed me or rub my belly pose.

Lots of woof, 

Freddie&Chloe x