Blueberry Banana Cake Balls Safe For Dogs

The holidays can be a very dangerous time of year for our pets. Between the Christmas tree and all the food that is set out for gatherings, we need to keep our pets in mind. Offer your furry, four-legged friend Blueberry Banana Cake Balls - safe for dogs and humans alike. 

**CLOSED** Be sure to read until the end for your chance to win a $100 gift card to Swanson Health Products. *Open to United States and Canadian residents, excluding Quebec. A huge thank you to Swanson for providing the gift card for this giveaway. 

* This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

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It is the season of giving, but be careful before you give your pup some goodies off the snack table. There are plenty of food items that are often offered during this time of year that are dangerous and/or toxic of our furry friends. For example, if a fruit and cheese platter is set out, don't be tempted to offer your dog some grapes. Also, those cookies - yeah, chocolate is toxic to dogs. 

Not only can the food options be dangerous, but it can be a hazard to have our pets hanging around during large gatherings. I remember a few years ago, we brought our pup to a family Christmas Eve party. She loves to be in the kitchen in hopes of getting any spills - she acts as though we don't feed her! Well as the ham was coming out of the oven, Roxi was standing right next to the oven door and received a nice hot ham juice shower. 

Luckily, she didn't get hurt. She did spend the next several hours trying to lick off all the ham juice. 

If you are still having the urge to involve your furry friends in your holiday festivities, then make sure they have some goodies that are safe for them. These blueberry banana cake balls are simple to make, require minimal ingredients, and are safe for both humans and pups. The recipe makes quite a few cake balls, but they are freezer friendly so you can have them on hand all year long. Just make sure to thaw them completely before offering them to your pup. 

And if you want to make these, be sure to enter the giveaway below for a chance to win a $100 gift card to Swanson Health Products. You can purchase the oatmeal, or plenty of other food items to stock your pantry. One of my other favorite items to purchase from Swanson are essential oils. I'm addicted to peppermint oil.

Click to tweet: Make your pet Blueberry Banana Cake Balls this holiday!

Blueberry Banana Cake Balls Safe For Dogs

Recipe by a traveling Wife

Total time: 15 minutes
Yield: 32 pup cake balls

Ingredients

• 1 cup Frozen Blueberries, thawed
• 1 large Banana, very ripe
• 1/4 cup Water
• 2 cups Oats

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a blender (this Ninja is my favorite), blend together the thawed blueberries, banana, and water.
3. Pour in a large mixing bowl and stir in oats until well combined.
4. Press or squeeze mixture into small balls. I used a 1/2 tablespoon to ensure they were all the same size. (Note: the balls will not roll in your hand without falling apart. It is best to squeeze the mixture until it forms a ball).
5. Place cake balls on a lined and grease baking sheet.
6. Bake for 9 minutes and allow to cool completely before serving.
7. Leftover cake balls can be stored in the refrigerator or for a longer period of time in the freezer. Please ensure that the cake balls are completely thawed prior to offering them to your dog.
8. Enjoy!

A Traveling Wife & Swanson Health Products Winter Giveaway

Do you make any special treats for your furry friends during the holiday season?
Have you heard of Swanson Health Products before?
PIN for later. 

DIY Paw Art

Roxi is beyond happy about her Paw Art thanks to Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser for compensating this shop. All opinions are mine alone. #BeyondSnacks #CollectiveBias
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It is no secret that my pup, Roxi, is treated like my child. A and I have completely spoiled her since she was adopted over 6 years ago - check out her adoption story. She was at our wedding, has traveled with us, been with us during some great times and some not so great times, and she pretty much runs the house. 

Just because A and I don't have any human children yet, doesn't mean that we don't want memorabilia around the house of our fur-child. I thought it would be fun to make some Paw Art. Side note: she did not think this activity was fun or entertaining. 

Click to tweet: How cute - DIY Paw Art. I want to try this with my furry friend.

I was clean out of canvases, so while I was at Target I picked up some new ones and fresh non-toxic paint. I also wanted to make sure we had some new snacks on hand during the process of making art because Roxi isn't a big fan of people messing with her paws. I found Purina Beyond White Meat Chicken Cutlets Natural Dog Snacks and thought they were a good option because they are grain free (like her food) and the number one ingredient is chicken. They also get some bonus points because they are made in the USA. 

The items you will need to make your own DIY Paw Art is;
- canvas of any size (or card stock to go in picture frame)
- small paint brush
- non-toxic water based paint (any color)
- dog
- dog snacks
- paper towel or painter's palette
- towel and bowl of water for cleaning
*optional: stencils and pencil

I started by gathering all of my materials and headed outside with the pup. I bet she wanted to sunbathe until I opened the Chicken Cutlets snack bag, then I completely had her attention.

I had already stenciled the letters to spell 'LOVE' but omitted the 'O' because I wanted to use Roxi's paw for that. I used old stencil lettering from when I was in school and drew them on the canvas with a pencil. I then went back with a small paint brush and filled the letters in. 

There are two ways to achieve this Paw Art; 1. dip paw directly into the paint then onto the canvas, or 2. use the small paint brush to paint the pads of the paw then place paw onto canvas. Both worked fine for us but gave completely different looks. I used the first option on the canvas and the second on the cardstock. 

With a gentle press of the paw, you have an adorable piece of Paw Art to place around the house. 

Click to tweet: Look how cute this DIY Paw Art is.

Next time you are shopping at Target, you can enjoy this Cartwheel offer of 10% off Purina Beyond Dog Snacks, available from 10/4-10/31.

Do you like to place art or photos of your children or pets around the house?
Have you ever made art with your furry friend?
Do you need to entice your pets sometimes? 

Dogs - They Have The Life

Dogs - you're either a dog person or you're not. And if you are not a dog person, you probably aren't reading this post.

A and I were on our way to the park the other day with our dog, Roxi. I was thinking about all the sweet pups she would meet in the park and at the dog beach. This is when my mind started to wander.

There are so many actions that are only appropriate for dogs to do. I mean, imagine if we introduced ourselves to someone new, only after sniffing their rears. Just not going to happen!

Because my thoughts were so random and entertaining to myself, I had to share them with you. Here you have actions that are socially acceptable for dogs to do and will cause all the side eyes if you were to try them. Enjoy!
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Dogs - It is 100% appropriate, and mostly imperative, to sniff the rear of any dog you walk by. 

Humans - If you sniff the rear of a stranger you might get punched. Or arrested. 

Dogs - That dead fish you just walked by - go back and be sure to roll around on top of it. 

Humans - Roll around on dead fish and you will never, ever have friends. 

Dogs - Be sure to verify your neighborhood is safe and sniff the streets while going for a walk. Ooh, a fresh poo - you must mark right next to it.

Humans - Peeing in public will get you some sort of ticket... if you are caught. 

Dogs - Bark profusely to tell your human that there is a squirrel or bird or a leaf in your back yard. It's only to protect them.

Humans - Start yelling for no particular reason and you will look insane. We judge humans, not dogs.

Dogs - Sleep all day. There's nothing better to do.

Humans - You don't get the opportunity to sleep during the day. It's work, work, work. 

Dogs - Sit, lay, paw, speak, rollover - all just to get a treat.

Humans - Tricks won't get you treats. They just won't.

Dogs - The uglier the pooch, the more love it will get from strangers.

Humans - If you're ugly then you are ugly. Sorry!

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Those are just a few of my crazy thoughts. Perhaps all of you left and will never return to this blog again.

Click to tweet: Dogs have the life - http://bit.ly/1Mo5tt9 Also, it's not appropriate to sniff a stranger's rear via @atravelingwife

What are some other actions that are acceptable for animals but not for humans? I need a good laugh. 

Unleashed - Anniversary Vacation Pt. 2

Today I bring you another post filled with loads of photos. 

Here is part 2 of my 4 part vacation recap. Yesterday I shared 

with you all our hotel room, so go check it out if you missed it.

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The Hubby and I were so lucky to have such great beaches to visit with our puppy while we were at Monterey Bay. It was crazy how one particular beach would not allow dogs but if you walked 10 steps to a 

certain direction, dogs were allowed. It didn't make any sense to us.

Once we became a bit more familiar with the area, we knew where we could take Roxi and what beaches we could let her off her leash. But we didn't just visit the 

beaches with her, some days we went on our own to enjoy some quiet, alone time.

 Carmel Beach was amazing because Roxi could run free. She has never really been outside in public with her leash off and, of course, she did not know what to do. Her freedom lead to this...

 It was chilly the whole time we were on vacation but I could not complain because 

I have been dying to wear sweaters and you all know I love scarves.

 You could see the famous Pebble Beach Golf Course from Carmel Beach, 

where we planted out butts and the dog.

Of course, not all beaches were okay with dogs off their leash which is completely understandable because some people cannot control their dogs, us being one of them?. But our puppy didn't care. She liked to stalk the birds and then charge them.

 Like I said earlier, we occasionally went the the beach on our own not often though.

 The best part of our whole vacation was being able to walk a few feet from our room to be 

right on the ocean. After touring Monterey or Carmel, it was nice to return to 

our room and walk right out to the ocean to see the dolphins play.

Part 3 and 4 will be posted next week.