Charlie the Ranch Dog goes to School by Ree Drumond

This post contains affiliate links; I was not compensated for the following review. All opinions expressed are my own.

It is almost the end of the month, and that means we have a new book to share for the Poppins Book Nook!

The theme for September is School!

At the end of this post be sure to enter the giveaway and visit all the other fun ideas the Poppins Book Nook bloggers have for you! 

Ree Drummond has written a series of books featuring her lovable Basset Hound Charlie. The kids and I love them all!

The latest one Charlie Goes to School  is our new favorite.
Why?
Because not only does Charlie's family have a Basset Hound as we do, they also homeschool. Charlie the Ranch dog sees all the fun and learning that is going on and decides he should start his own school for farm animals. It is a funny story full of illustrations which make you want to go join Charlie on his ranch.

We read it at bedtime and then the next day the kids treated our Basset, Butter, to a very comfy Story time.

We decided it would be a great idea to write to the real Charlie the Ranch Dog and his mama Ms. Drummond to tell them how much we loved the new book. Miss K wanted to let them know all about Butter and how much he loves chicken and playing with our kitty Perry. We have them all ready to post, I just need to track down a good address.

Some online resources you might like to use if you want to hear about the adventures of Charlie the Ranch Dog and write him a letter too!

• Listen to Ms. Drummond read Charlie the Ranch dog at Barnes and Nobles Online story time (Free)
• We have a previous post about teaching letter writing skills.

Thanks to Enchanted Homeschooling Mom the Poppins book Nook bloggers are co-hosting a giveaway for It's Back To School We Go!: First Day Stories from Around The World .

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Here are the participating bloggers this month!

Enchanted Homeschooling Mom - 3 Dinosaurs - Monsters Ed - Chestnut Grove Academy - Growing in God's Grace - Royal Little Lambs - Life with Moore Babies - Teach Beside Me - The Usual Mayhem - Mum Central - Fantastic Fun and Learning - Kathys Cluttered Mind - Toddler Approved - Growing Book by Book - Adventures in Mommydom - B-Inspired Mama - The Fairy and The Frog - Edventures with Kids - Learning & Growing the Piwi way - A Gluten Free Journey - Preschool Powol Packets - To The Moon and Back - Our Craft ~N~ Things - Fresh Farm Adventures - Are We There Yet? - Afterschool for Smarty Pants

Piwi Kids Summer Fun: Making Healthy Dog Cookies!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Thanks for visiting!

Making toys and treats for Perry and Butter is at the top of our Summer to-do list. Recently the kids had fun mixing up some Blueberry flavored treats for Butter. Miss K was itching to try all the cookie recipes in 'Feeding your Best Friend Better' by Rick Woodford. You can check out a review of this cookbook here.

We started with Blueberry Moons. Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC, kindly agreed to let us reproduce the recipe here.

Blueberry Moons (makes 100 cookies)

1 cup Frozen Blueberries

1/4 cup Beef, Chicken, Fish Stock

3 tablespoons Olive Oil or Safflower Oil

2 Cups Whole Wheat flour

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Microwave the Blueberries and stock in a Microwave safe bowl on high for two minutes. Combine Blueberry mixture, Flour, Baking Powder and Cinnamon in a food processor and pulse for about a minute or until the mixture gathers into a ball. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 10 inch square. Transfer to a baking sheet and cut into 1 inch squares with a pizza cutter. Bake for 25 minutes for a soft cookie or 40 minutes for a crunchy cookie. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet before breaking them apart at the cut lines.

The Kids really wanted to try out the new cookie cutters we bought when we ordered the book!

Allowance per day (1 inch square cookie): 10lb dog (2 cookies) 20lb (4 cookies) 40lb (6 cookies) 60lb (8 cookies) 80lb (10 cookies)

 Here are a look at the finished product....

 And the taste test.....

They were very popular! Here is Butter giving me 'sad eyes' for more!

Copycat Frosty Paws Recipe

We are excited to be part of the 2nd Annual Summer Celebration Giveaway Hop, hosted by Happy Mothering and The Vagabond Studio along with the Green Moms Network! We are excited to bring you eco-friendly prizes to help you celebrate the start of Summer! After entering my giveaway, be sure to visit the other blogs listed under the Rafflecopter form for your chance to win more great giveaways. 

Photo source

If you are looking for a way to help your Dog to beat the heat then try this recipe from 'The Dog Food Dude'. Our Basset Hound loved them! This recipe has been reproduced thanks to the kind Permission of Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC. They have also give us a copy to giveaway!

Peanut Butter Banana Ice 'cream' (makes 12 cubes)

Author note: The Molasses is included not only to sweeten the Ice 'Cream' a bit but also to provide important nutrients like Calcium, Iron, Magnesium and Potassium. Be Sure to buy Blackstrap Molasses to ensure that it contains the most important Vitamins and Mineral; other forms of Molasses are mostly just sugars. The Peanut Butter in this Ice Cream increases the fat content, so it is higher in calories. Please note the reduced feeding amounts. For older dogs with sensitive months, allow the frozen cubes to thaw for a few minutes before feeding.

Ingredients:

1/2 Ripe Banana

1 Cup plain Low fat Yogurt.
2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter (Natural style Preferred)
2 Tablespoons Blackstrap Molasses

Mash the Banana well in a medium bowl. Add all of the remaining ingredients and stir until smooth. Spoon into an ice cube tray and freeze 4 - 6 hours. Allowance Per Day (by dog weight): 10-20lb -1 cube, 40lb -2 Cubes, 60lb -3 cubes, 80lb -4 cubes.

Now onto the Giveaway!

One Lucky winner will receive a copy of Feed Your Best Friend Better: Easy, Nutritious Meals and Treats for Dogs and an Eco friendly Dog travel pack including a H204K9 Stainless Steel Dog Water bottle and an Earth Rated Poop Bag dispenser. The retail value of this prize is $40.

For more recipes and our review of this book:

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This contest will run through June 30, 2013 at 9:00 pm PST (July 1, 2013 at 12:00 am EST). The winner will be chosen the following day and announced on Learning and Growing the Piwi Way. No purchase necessary. US entries only. Must be 18 years or older to win. The Publisher provided me with a Free copy of this book to Giveaway.  I  had already purchased a copy and was under no obligation to review it. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to Learning and Growing the Piwi Way and not to Facebook. Please note that Learning and Growing the Piwi Way, Happy Mothering, the Green Moms Network and the Summer Celebration event bloggers are not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. We have represented each sponsor with the expectation they will fulfill their prize and in a timely manner. We will contact the sponsor regarding your prize(s). The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. I will make every effort to assist you obtaining your prize. If there is an issue with a sponsor, please notify the blog you won a prize from within 4-6 weeks for assistance, after that we may be unable to assist you.

Feeding your Best Friend Better: Book review and Recipe samples

I really want to share a book we discovered in our efforts to raise a Healthy Puppy. Our Siamese cat eats a grain-free brand of food for his allergies and we wanted to make sure our Puppy eat well too.  Unfortunately Butter the Basset Hound had different ideas.

 He was not a fan of kibble unless it was the  multi-colored chemical filled stuff  that he had been weaned onto. If the new brand was mixed with the 'Rainbow kibble' he would just bark at it! If we cooked him chicken, brown rice and veggies, it would vanish in seconds! All of this drama this led us to a guide by  'Dog Food Dude',Rick Woodford.

Feed Your Best Friend Better: Easy, Nutritious Meals and Treats for Dogs is the product of a journey the author began when his dog, Jackson was diagnosed with Cancer. He set out to help his best friend by studying Canine nutrition and cooking him healthy meals. After years of helping many ailing dogs feel better, including his buddy Jackson, Rick Woodford is now sharing all his research and 85 vet approved recipes. These recipes are for complete meals, dishes you can share, Treats and Cookies. Other sections in the book are:

• A Balancing act: Nutrients in a Dog's Diet explains Canine Nutrition  to 'the rest of us'
• Warm nosed Meals for Ailing Dogs are recipes are for specific conditions such as allergies, Weight loss and Arthritis.
• Choosing a commercial dry dog food opens your eyes to all the things that should (and shouldn't be) in the food you are purchasing (if you aren't going to be feeding 100% home cooked)
• A more meaningful Mealtime is a helpful chapter which address behavioral issues associated with food.
• Determining Portion size
• Feeding Growing Puppies.

The Piwi Family's Review:

The thought of cooking an extra meal for Butter seemed a bit crazy. Thankfully of the recipes in this book require little preparation and cooked in a casserole dish or the slow cooker. The treats and cookies are no more difficult than an average cookie recipe and our kids had a blast making them. Only human grade ingredients are used so there is no real ick factor about using your regular cooking utensils etc. The only thing I was 'grossed out' by were a few recipes that call for Organ meat I am not sure this Plant eating Mama will ever get her head around cooking up hearts and kidneys. Sorry Butter!

Currently we are feeding 50% Homemade 50 % Store bought. Butter is content to eat the better quality dry kibble when we mix it with the Rick's Puppy stew recipe. We are spending less than we would be on the expensive kibble because he is eating less of it. The ingredients are generally already in the pantry except for the meat which we purchase in bulk specifically for butter. Overall we are spending less on his food but he is eating better. From an eco friendly perspective I really like the idea that we are creating less waste are not feeding our dog the fillers and chemicals that we wouldn't touch ourselves.

Butter's favorite recipes (so far) are the Blue Moon Cookies and Peanut Butter Banana 'Ice cream' treats. The list of Kong stuffing ideas are also proving extremely useful.

We would recommend this book to all Dog Parents, It would also make a great gift!. The easy to understand information on Canine nutrition alone made it worth the purchase. The Dog and owner approved recipes are the icing on the Pup-Cake!

Sample recipes from the book:

We were kindly given permission by Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC to reproduce some of the recipes we have tried...

Piwi Kids make Blue Moon Dog Cookies .

Peanut butter ice 'Cream' treats

 You may also like our Giveaway which runs from June 21-June 30 as part of the #Celebrate Summer Giveaway hop!