Oxo Mandoline

I bought this mandoline quite a while ago and didn't use it much.  I have used it a lot lately and I love it!  I slice sweet potatoes for dog treats and although the orange in the sweet potatoes stains the white plastic, I'm okay with it.  It's easy to pull apart and clean.  I wash it by hand.  There are numerous blades to use.  It's very sturdy although it's plastic; it's lightweight too. Everything stores neatly on the mandoline, except the fairly large hand guard.  One small downside is taking the other blades off the gadget when I clean it.  It may not be neccessary for me to pull them all off, but I do.  I don't want water to get trapped while it's drying.  I think I paid about $40 for it at Target.  It's worth the money if you want and easy way to slice fruits and veggies.

Here is the company website for more information:

OXO

Nesco Dehydrator

I had my first experience with a dehydrator.  They sure are easy to use!  My only critique is there isn’t an on and off switch; it’s either on or unplugged each time I move the food to a different tray.  I used a mandoline to slice the sweet potatoes and loaded up the dehydrator.  Super easy!  Although, I followed a suggestion in the booklet to microwave the sweet potatoes to do whatever it said – I can’t remember the fancy reason why.  It made the sweet potatoes sweat, so I’m not sure if it shortened the dehydration process or not.  The sweet potatoes took FOREVER in the dehydrator!!  I expected them to take about 6 hours since the booklet said carrots take 6 hours.  I think they were in the dehydrator for about 8 hours.  The oven only takes 3 hours, but there is less user error and I don’t have to think about it if I use the dehydrator.  I guess depending on the amount of time I have to make more Ruger (our dog) treats will determine the method of drying I use in the future.  PS I bought a bag of “Natural Sweet Potato Rawhides” for $7+ to see how different they are to what I make for Ruger. 

The bag I bought only has about 10-15 “rawhides”, they are soft, not crunchy at all (not a good or bad thing, just a difference) and only last about 15 seconds when Ruger gets a hold of one.  I’ll stick to making them myself.  For only a few dollars I can make dozens of treats; 3 sweet potatoes filled the 4 trays in the dehydrator and 2 pans for the oven.

(This is before the shrink up)  If you want to try the oven version - Cut the sweet potatoes into rounds or the long way for longer treats.  We like the "chips".  Cut them about 1/8-1/4 inch thick (a mandoline is very helpful as sweet potatoes are tough to cut).  200 degrees for 3 hours, flip at 1 1/2 hours.  Make sure to watch them towards the end of the cook time so they don't burn.  I've tried different thicknesses and cook times, so you may have to tweak the temperature and/or time a little.

Omega Paw Treat Ball

We bought this Omega Paw Treat Ball when we were going to pick up our puppy.  It has a single hole to fill it with treats or food.  We use the dog's food and he loves it.  It has become a special treat while he is crated during the morning hours.  The ball is easy to fill and it doesn't dump a bunch of food all at once.  I definitely recommend this ball!  This type of treat toy is not cheap though.  I think we paid over $10 for this ball at Petco, but it's made of a heavy plastic and will last for a very long time.  You can get this ball on Amazon for about $11.

DogTagArt.com

I loved making a dog tag for our new puppy!

Some of the tags on the website are hysterical.  You can create your own tag or chose a design.

Check out DogTagArt

The company offers to reprint your dog tag if it ever fades or rubs off FOR FREE.  How great is that??  We bought the large tag - it's about the size of a quarter and it cost about $13 with tax and shipping.  The company printed and shipped the tag within 24 hours!  It's a very lightweight tag with a glossy finish and it came with a plastic ring to wrap around the tag to make it jingle less.  Honestly, I didn't know what the plastic ring was for and I almost threw it away, but it makes the tag quieter as our puppy runs around and/or sleeps at night.