Dogster

Mix three small jars of baby food (chicken or beef flavor), 9 tbsp powdered milk, 6 tbsp ground flax seed, and 8 tbsp wheatgerm. Roll into walnut-sized balls and bake on a greased cookie sheet for 10 to 13 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until the bottoms look a little brown. Refrigerate to store.

Remember that these cookies, while healthy, do contribute extra calories. So just one or two a day is enough for Santa’s little helpers.

Helen Fazio and her dog, Raja, are world travelers. Visit their blog and follow them on Twitter.

Give the oil supplement for a couple of weeks, and you should see marked improvement in skin texture and greatly reduced scratching, if the scratching was initially caused by dry skin. If it doesn’t clear up, talk to your vet.

Helen Fazio and her dog, Raja, are world travelers. Visit their blog and follow them on Twitter.

If you’re interested in learning more about dog food, check out The Whole Dog Journal, a wonderful independent publication that has extensive reviews of dry and canned varieties.

Casey Lomonaco owns Rewarding Behaviors Dog Training in Binghamton, NY.

Whip together 1 can pumpkin (not pie mix), 3 eggs, half a cup of skim milk (or unsweetened soy milk), half a cup of brown sugar (it is a holiday!), and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.

Pour into a wholewheat pie shell and bake at a preheated 375 degrees F for 60 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Your dog’s pumpkin pie will be rich and not too sweet!

Helen Fazio and her dog, Raja, are world travelers. Visit their blog and follow them on Twitter.

Look for products that are touted as natural, organic, or all-natural. This blog post helps explain the differences. Be aware that former staples of the doggie world, such as rawhide, are now considered by many experts to be an unhealthy choice when shopping for dog chews. Read up — and ask questions before you shop!

Lauren Hope leads customer service for the online dog lifestyle shop Fido Dog Treats.

In a blender, mix up one cup kefir (plain and low-fat is best), several ounces of unseasoned chicken stock, a slice of cooked liver, 1/4 lightly steamed organic carrot, a dollop of canned pumpkin (make sure it’s pure pumpkin, ‘k?), a splash of organic apple juice, and a few banana slices.

Top with a teaspoon of crushed flax seed and a small spinach leaf and serve in a stainless-steel bowl. Your dog will love you for it! Arrrooooooooo!

Leslie May and Johann (the dog) are the founders of Raise a Green Dog, an online portal for all things green and healthy for your dog.

Consider substituting a blueberry or two as a treat for a good dog. A handful of berries will help a little chowhound make it till dinnertime. Everything in berries is good for your dog, and nothing is harmful. Naturally, too many berries might cause diarrhea, so find a balance and let your dog enjoy the benefits of tasty antioxidants!

Helen Fazio and her dog, Raja, are world travelers. Click here to visit their blog, and click here to follow them on Twitter.

As your dog ages, the importance of dental health increases and her degree of tolerance for anesthesia decreases. Good lifetime dental hygiene means you should never have to decide between the danger of anesthesia and the toxic effects of an infected tooth.

Helen Fazio and her dog, Raja, are world travelers. Click here to visit their blog, and click here to follow them on Twitter.

For the first week, just keep track of everything you feed your dog each day for a seven day period. This means everything: every nibble. And measure everything: a cup of kibble, a half-inch bite of string cheese, a teaspoon of peanut butter, a quarter inch slice of salami. Record it all on a daily chart. After one week, it’s going to be easy to cut out some of those incremental nibbles and cut that kibble down by ten percent for starters.

Helen Fazio and her dog Raja are world travelers. Click here to visit their blog, and click here to follow them on Twitter.

Helen Fazio and her dog Raja are world travelers. Click here to visit their blog, and click here to follow them on Twitter.