Muffins, biscuits, biscotti, and other pastries that we humans eat usually contain ingredients dangerous — or even deadly — for our dogs. Wouldn’t it be nice if they can enjoy these yummy treats like we do? Believe it or not, they can now. Whole Pet Kitchen Pet Deli & Bark-ery makes this all possible!

Shantee and the Canine Crew got the chance to try these gourmet treats for Dog Fashionista. Whole Pet Kitchen gave us a sampler of their menu, different varieties of yummy dog treats. I made everyone in the Crew try each variety, and just like humans, each of them had their own favorites But no doubt, the entire Canine Crew went crazy over the Beefy Biscotti and muffins (Banana-Oat Pupcakes and Liver Muffins).

I’ve been hoping the Beefy Biscotti will last till Christmas so the dogs can have something special that day, but Shantee had a different idea:

The little critter just wouldn’t stop asking for a piece! Shelf life of the muffins is only three days, but ours didn’t even last two. The dogs already devoured the muffins before reaching recommended shelf life!

Pixel finished hers ahead of Shantee, who ate really slowwwwww. I don’t know, but she usually eats slower than the slowest moving turtle whenever she enjoys the food. Probably so it would last longer? Or maybe she wanted to show the other dogs she still had more when they already finished theirs — just like what she did to Pixel in the photo below. Naughty, naughty!

I have no doubt my dogs enjoyed Whole Pet Kitchen’s treats. But what I liked about it more is the fact that the treats are very healthy for the dogs. Giannina Gonzalez, the chef behind Whole Pet Kitchen, makes sure that all the ingredients are safe and of high quality. Handmade and even tasted by humans, Giannina had her vet friends test the “healthiness” of the treats even before adding them to her menu to ensure that the treats are totally safe for pooches. And yep, even I tried it. First time for me to ever say that in this blog: I tried the dog treat! It wasn’t so bad, kind of like those healthy, sugar-less biscuits I’ve tasted before. I didn’t try the Liver Muffin though… I left the tasting of that to the dogs!

The idea of a “liver” muffin might not be so appealing to us, but it’s the best-seller to my pooches. Actually, I think they really love the beefy stuff. And I have a feeling most dogs will like it too. They can be given as treats, as rewards for training, or even as “dog party food” if you’re into that. Whole Pet Kitchen even offers round cakes just for your dogs on order basis. You get to choose from a Banana-Oat Pupcake or Liver Pupcake base, topped with a choice of Sweet Potato – Cream Cheese, Sweet Potato – Peanut Butter, or Sweet Potato – Mango Frosting. You can also choose the color of the icing for your dog’s cake message: Carob (brown), Turmeric (yellow) and Cream Cheese (beige).

Check out Whole Pet Kitchen’s website for the full menu and product prices. If you want something special for your pooch this Christmas and New Year, then Whole Pet Kitchen is your best and healthy option

My dogs’ first experience with Beggin’ Strips was almost two years ago, sometime in January 2011. Since then, my pets’ reactions to Beggin’ Strips never changed. Shantee remembers she’s a dog, Kubrick turns into the most well-behaved dog that even Cesar Milan would be proud of! Patatats, our old and loyal Aspin, becomes as young as a pup. Popoy, also an Aspin, turns his hyperactivity to maximum level. Now that we have Pixel and Leica Lens joining our canine crew, we’ve got two more pooches turning like lunatics whenever they see that yellow package of Beggin’ Strips!

There’s no way I’m going to try the Beggin’ Strips myself, but I can’t say I’ve never been tempted No, I’m not crazy — I’m just very curious. I can’t help but wonder why my dogs are so crazy about it! It must be the bacon smell, the taste… I don’t know. But for sure, there is something about Beggin’ Strips that my pets enjoy so much.

Well, there is definitely something about Beggin’ Strips that we humans will like — Beggin’ Strips cost only about Php75 a pack. It’s affordable enough that my husband doesn’t mind if we included one in our cart whenever we buy groceries. A piece is quite big, so I usually break them into smaller pieces. Besides, my dogs are mostly toy dogs anyway.

You can get Beggin’ Strips at most pet shops and even grocery stores. They now come in three different varieties: Beggin’ Strips (Bacon), Beggin’ Strips (Bacon and Cheese), and Beggin’ Littles. Beggin’ Littles are made for pooches like Shantee — strips of smaller pieces — but my dogs haven’t tried it yet. I’d probably get them Beggin’ Littles one of these days though!

By the way… Did you know your dog can be one of the lucky few who might win packages of Beggin’ Strips for FREE? Yep, you can! Join Kubrick’s 11-11-11 Online Birthday Bash on Pinoy Dog-Lover and get a chance to win amazing doggie prizes! Hurry, deadline for joining is until December 2 only

A shaved Shantee with Eukanuba bags, two months ago

I was honestly a bit skeptical when we were asked for our dogs to try Eukanuba for two months. We’ve already had a bad experience trying out other brands of dog food, and I wasn’t sure if Shantee was allergic to the formula that Eukanuba uses. Anyway, since we have a lot of other dogs who aren’t allergic to specific dog food brands, we decided to give it a try. If all else fails with Shantee and Kubrick, at least our other dogs can try it out.

We did the usual “dog food transition,” where we slowly added Eukanuba Adult Maintenance Small Breed Formula (with Prebiotics) to my pets’ meals. Shantee just loved it, and even picked out the Eukanuba bits and left the other dog food brand kibbles on her dog bowl. Kubrick, on the other hand, wasn’t as “accepting.” The first time he was able to have an all-Eukanuba dinner, he barfed it out the next day. We thought the Eukanuba formula wasn’t for him, but as it turned out, he apparently didn’t chew the kibbles well. Shantee already finished her meal and was waiting right beside Kubrick’s bowl for his left-overs — Kubrick was so anxious to finish his meal so Shantee wouldn’t get a piece. For their succeeding meals, we made sure Kubrick wouldn’t feel threatened if Shantee finished her food early. From then on we didn’t encounter any more problems.

Shantee used to be so difficult to feed. I guess she was getting tired of her usual brand. We used to buy the same brand for the past two years with only the different formulations as variety. Kubrick will eat just about anything that fits (or doesn’t fit) his mouth. Except for that one-time barfing, he ate his daily Eukanuba meal with gusto Shantee is the picky eater, but surprisingly, she loves Eukanuba.

Since Kubrick was already healthy even before the Eukanuba experiment, he remained healthy after the 2-month trial period. But on Shantee, the changes were very noticeable. She gained weight: she went from 3kg to 4.2kg in two months following the recommended Eukanuba formula intake. Her fur grew back, and seemed softer than it was before. Her fur usually takes on a coarser texture when she hasn’t had a bath in about a week, but for some reason, it wasn’t as coarse as it usually becomes. After lacking nutrients in post-pregnancy, Shantee’s back to her usual healthy, bubbly self

For the purpose of this experiment, we discontinued giving her Nutri-Plus Gel for the past two months. It was a risk, but thank goodness Eukanuba went through. The dog food gave her back the nutrients she needed, even without vitamin supplements.

A happy, healthier Shantee!

One of the things we liked about our pets’ old brand was that it made the smell of my dogs’ poop almost odorless and easy to clean up. Apparently, the Eukanuba formula doesn’t only provide the dogs the needed nutrients, but also makes their poop’s smell tolerable and clean-up wouldn’t be difficult.

Aside from the obvious improvement in my pets’ health and eating habits, Eukanuba is also affordable. It’s not dirt-cheap like those you can buy at a hardware store, but it’s definitely cheaper than their usual dog food, which is probably the most expensive brand for small breeds in the market today. A 1.5kg pack of Shantee and Kubrick’s usual dog food costs the same (if not more) as a 3kg pack of Eukanuba Small Breed Formula with Prebiotics. That’s like getting twice the amount of dog food — to think that the servings needed for daily intake are based on their weight. Meaning, Shantee and Kubrick don’t necessarily require a whole cup of kibble per meal because of their weight and size.

The verdict?

Well, Shantee became healthier, Kubrick remains healthy. Their fur improved. Both Shih Tzus apparently love its taste. Poop’s smell is almost orderless. Best of all, it’s affordable. Offhand, I’d say this experiment was a success.

And yep, we’ve decided to switch the dogs to Eukanuba. We just bought a pack from their vet a week ago to last them another month. Even Pixel, the last of Shantee’s pups, is on Eukanuba’s Puppy Formula now

To learn more about the product, please visit the official Eukanuba website. If your dogs are like mine (small breed), you might want to check out Eukanuba Adult Maintenance Small Breed Formula, which we had for the experiment and is currently our choice for our little fur-babies daily food intake

Thanks to MyPetChannel.tv (thanks again!!!), my doggies were able to happily try out a dog food endorsed by Animal Planet: Nature’s Plan. See the pic? Shantee just couldn’t wait to taste it!

This pack of Nature’s Plan lasted two weeks with Shantee and Kubrick — daily feeding, about 3 cups each. I didn’t notice much change in Kubrick, as he’s always been fat and healthy, but it’s different with Shantee.

For one, she didn’t get any allergies. As a Shih Tzu, my dogs are usually very sensitive with the kind of dog food they eat, that’s why we don’t feed them the cheap kind of dog food you find in grocery and hardware stores. Dog food that aren’t good for them (though not necessarily bad per se) can result to hair loss and rashes. Luckily, my pets reacted quite well to Nature’s Plan — no allergies, no hair loss, just healthy, happy doggies!

Nature’s Plan is especially formulated with 100% natural ingredients. Maybe that’s the reason why Shantee and Kubrick didn’t get allergies. The brand prides itself for having no corn, no wheat and no by-products — dog food ingredients that can usually cause allergic reaction.

As a nursing mother, Shantee has been needing vitamin supplements lately. We give her pet vitamins daily to boost her up, but since giving her Nature’s Plan dog food, she fattened up considerably. Maybe it’s because she liked the taste, or maybe it’s because of the dog food’s complete vitamins and minerals… Either way, it helped her a lot!

Shantee and Kubrick’s stool during the two weeks of having Nature’s Plan weren’t so bad either. Stool wasn’t totally scentless (what stool is anyway hehe), but it looked healthy — not too soft, nor too hard… Stool consistency seemed just right (I didn’t touch it, eww), as Shantee and Kubrick seemed to have an easier time relieving themselves while on Nature’s Plan

I’m actually seriously considering switching my pets to Nature’s Plan after this short trial. Their current dog food is quite expensive. It’s definitely good for my pets, but if you’re feeding two adult dogs, buying three packs of dog food monthly becomes very painful to the wallet. Nature’s Plan seems to be a good and a bit cheaper alternative (as one pack lasts them for two weeks already), and it’s still all-natural and packed with nutrients. Besides, Nature’s Plan is also endorsed by Animal Planet, our all-time favorite television channel!

To learn more about Nature’s Plan, visit their official website.

Want to win a 9kg of Animal Planet Nature’s Plan dog food? Head over at MyPetChannel.tv and check out the My Pet. My Planet. Photo Story Contest! HURRY! Deadline is on April 5, 2010. Goodluck!

Natural Balance Roll-A-Rounds

It’s actually one of the first gourmet pet food store I’ve seen in the metro. They offer a huge variety of pet food and treats—all of them organic, all-natural.

I was a bit skeptical buying a whole lot of dog treats for Shantee and Kubrick. They weren’t used to such kind of goodies—and those pet treats don’t come cheap. A small pack of the Natural Balance Roll-A-Rounds (lamb-flavored dog treats) costs Php99, while the Breath-A-Licious dental treat is Php55 each. My little dogs aren’t really used to this kind of treat, so we thought it prudent to buy just one of each in case they didn’t like them.

Breath-A-Licious

So how did Kubrick and Shantee find them? Well, let’s just “like” is an understatement—they absolutely loved the treats! They went gaga every time I bring the package out of the plastic container I kept it in to preserve the crunchiness, jumping up and down until they got a treat!

Next time I’m in Shangri-La again, I’ll be sure to buy more for my little doggies.

Bow & Wow
Unit 539, Level 5
Shangri-La Plaza Mall
EDSA corner Shaw Boulevard
Mandaluyong City
Phone: (632) 638-33-72
Fax: (632) 638-29-70
Website: http://bowandwow.com.ph/