Cassie DeNisco

Homemade Dog Treats

May 1, 2020

This quarantine has turned me into the homemade dog treats queen. If you read my last post about puppy products you need, then you would know I am a strong advocate for minimal ingredient treats. If you wouldn’t eat them for yourself, then why give it to your pup? I’ve started to make homemade dog treats and I’ve dedicated this blog post to my absolute favorite recipes!

4 Ingredient Dog Biscuits

Ingredients:

1 Banana

1 c Pumpkin

2 c Whole Wheat Flour

1 egg

Directions:

This is one of the best recipes for dog biscuits. Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Mash up your banana and then mix it with the pumpkin and egg. Slowly start to add the flour and begin mixing with your hands. Once the dough forms, roll it out and add whatever shape. Bake for 25 minutes and let harden before you indulge with your pup! (These store for about a week)

Dog Peeps

Ingredients:

1 c Honey

1 c Water

1 tsp Vanilla

1/4 tsp Salt

3 tbls Unflavored Gelatin

Coconut Flour

Silicone ice cube trays

Directions:

First start by combining 1/2 c of water and gelatin in your mixing bowl. While that is sitting, start stirring the honey, 1/2c water, vanilla and salt in a sauce pan on a medium to high heat. The temperature of the mixture should reach around 240 degrees which will take about 6-10 minutes. After the mixture is the right temperature, add to the gelatin and mix in slowly. Put your mixer on high until you reach a fluffy consistency. Grease your silicone trays and then carefully pipe your fluff mixture into the trays. Let this set for at least 4 hours (I did overnight) and then remove from the mold. I dusted mine with coconut flour because they were still tacky and then let Sky enjoy!!

Puppy Pops

Ingredients:

1 Banana

1 c vanilla yogurt

1 tbls Peanut Butter

Directions:

These are my go to treats for Sky! She loves them. First add all your ingredients to your blender and then pour into silicone ice cube trays. Let set and then store in your freezer. Take one out whenever you want to give your pup a sweet treat! These are my all time favorite homemade dog treats!!

As you can see, these homemade dog treats are first so easy to make but second pretty healthy. Too much sugar for dogs isn’t good but making sure they are getting in fruits and veggies is so important. I love knowing exactly what is in Sky’s food so these homemade dog treats are perfect for us!

Follow me for more recipes on Pinterest @cassiedenisco!

Puppy Products You Need Right Now!

April 17, 2020

It’s hard to believe that Sky is now 10 months old! I’ve been putting together a list of puppy products you need right now these past 7 months. These months have had some of the best and hardest times of my life. People really aren’t kidding when they say puppies are as hard as babies. My list of responsibilities has grown but I wouldn’t change a thing because she is always the best part of my day.

One major thing I’ve learned from having a puppy, similar to a baby, is you have to do what’s best for your own dog regardless of the tips people give you. It’s always nice to hear what products people love or training tricks they have but you have to be flexible because something that one person loves might not work for you and your pup. This list is full of products and things I’ve come to love for Sky and would reccomend you and your pup try out!

1. Hut or Play Pen

We soon found out that Sky hated her metal cage. No matter how comfy we tried to make it, she would just freak out in it. After some research, we found this mesh play pen from Amazon and she is so comfortable in it. We use it similar to how we would use her crate but it’s just more cozy than a normal cage. This was a serious game changer!

2. Car Seat

I will never drive with Sky again without her car seat! We used to just keep her on my lap in the passenger seat but she started to get so crazy, not to mention it’s not the safest for her to not be tethered to something. This K & H Pet Bucket Booster was pricy, but we bring it inside when she’s not using it and it doubles as a bed in my kitchen for her. This a puppy products that changed the game for us. It’s seriously awesome because it keeps her safe and she loves to be in it!

3. Antlers over Raw Hide

For so long I remember getting raw hide bones for my families’ dogs but they are not good for them! Once they eat the raw hide it can expand in their stomachs and then make them sick. We switched to antler chews for Sky because as she gets older, she does need something to chew and these are more natural. We get them at all stores like Walmart, Petsmart, or PetCo and they keep her busy and happy!

3. Ear Cleaners

With Sky being a French Bulldog, her ears stand straight up and attract so much dirt. She even got an ear infection because we weren’t doing the best job cleaning them. We found a cleaner that you pour into their ears, let it sit for a second and then have them shake out. After that, we take a cotton pad and just gently pull out the extra wax that didn’t already come out. It definitely is more effective and helps to keep her ears healthy.

5. Velcro Harness

This is another Frenchie tip but I do think velcro harnesses are really great for all dogs. We noticed for Sky, normal harnesses don’t sit correctly on all of her muscles and she needed one to come up higher on her neck and leave more room for her shoulders. We love this Voyager Harness from Amazon not only for the quality but for the price as well. We’ve actually gone through two harnesses and I don’t think I’ll ever buy another brand, unless I want a patterned one!

6. Fruitables Dog Treats

What I’ve learned about treats is that if you wouldn’t eat them yourself, you shouldn’t give them to your puppy. I like to get minimal ingredient treats. It’s good to know exactly what the ingredients are and I would eat myself. I love the Fruitables dog treats because they are minimal ingredients and the actually smell good. I also love that they help Sky get in her fruits and veggies that are so good for her.

7. Toothbrush & Toothpaste

Dental hygiene is so important even in dogs so as weird as it sounds, brushing your dogs teeth should be a step in their weekly routines. Sky actually doesn’t hate having her teeth brushed but I find her tooth brush and paste does much better then the cleaning stick treats. I prefer just putting the little silicone brush on my finger because I can really move around her teeth. Starting with a good oral hygiene routine now will set your puppy up for a great mouth as they get older. These puppy products are a must get.

8. Kong Products

Not only are these a yummy treat for your pup, but they also are a tool for you to use to keep them distracted! The puppy phase is definitely tough, especially working from home so I loved giving Sky a little peanut butter or a few small treats in here when I needed her to play quietly. I highly recommend these because they help to keep you and your puppy sane!

9. Training

I was definitely skeptical about enrolling Sky in training programs. With her breed and what I’ve read, they’re usually pretty easy to train but I’m so glad we signed her up. We use clicker training and to this day, it still works. I would look into it if you’re looking for a training method for your dog. We found a beginner class at our local Petsmart and not only did she learn tricks, she also got to socialize with so many puppy friends which was great!

10. Gates

Sky came home on a Saturday and by Monday our house was already gated. Baby gates are so helpful because they allow her to roam freely in the room we’re in, without her heading to another room. With working from home, I would just keep her in whatever room I was in and it would make my life so much easier. Everyone I know agrees gates are a must get puppy products.

Getting Sky was seriously the best time of my life so far and she is the greatest companion. I know a lot of you are thinking about getting puppies or just got one because of quarantine so I say just do it. I hope this list of puppy products is so helpful! As long as you can afford them and will give them the love they deserve, it’s always the perfect time to add a new friend to your home.

Follow me on Instagram : @casssiedenisco

Follow Sky on Instagram : @skythefrenchgirl

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My Fall Night Routine

November 3, 2019

Fall is totally my favorite time of year because of the change in weather. Summer is fun but the coziness of fall is my absolute favorite. My first night routine post was pre puppy so everything is so different now. I thought it would be fun to show you my chill fall night routine. Here’s a night in my life!

10/30/19

I get home different times from dance but the first thing I always do is take a shower. Because I’m a dance teacher and I’m moving around for my job, it’s inevitable that I’m going to need to shower. After that I start my dinner. Usually I’ll have already meal prepped for it, meaning that I have already cut up the veggies and the meat and just need to throw it all in the oven. Prepping it beforehand seriously makes like so much easier and it helps me to make sure that I’m eating healthy. While we eat, we like to feed Sky too around 7. This ensures that she eats but also that she won’t be around begging us for food. She usually doesn’t but just in case she decides to start that habit she can’t.

After dinner in my fall night routine, I like to hop right into skin and hair care. Usually while we eat I like to keep my hair up in a towel. It soaks up the water and then I use the It’s a 10 leave in conditioner to detangle it. I really love it because it makes my hair so smooth. It also acts as a heat protectant for when I’ll style my hair in the morning. After that, I’ll always wash my face in the shower so I start using my Drunk Elephant and Clinique products. I use my Clinique toner first and then go in with Drunk Elephant’s T.L.C Framboos and Eye cream. Skin care is so important so no matter how tired you are make sure you get to it!!

Once all of that is done in my fall night routine, it’s finally time to walk Sky and head to bed to watch a show. Since I’m writing this in October we did watch American Horror Story and Halloweentown High last night to get us in the Halloween spirit. Sky will usually head right to bed once I put her in my bed which means that I have time to actually sit and watch a show without her running around and being her crazy little self. I usually will walk her one more time around 10pm before bed and then I’m in bed before 10:30 since someone likes to wake up at 7am.

I hope you enjoyed reading my fall night routine! It’s pretty chill and relaxing which I need after a long day with the puppy, school, work, and my internship. Let me know in the comments below if you do anything special for your fall night routine.

Follow me on Instagram: @cassiedenisco !

Life Updates!

October 16, 2019

Wow I can hardly believe that we’re halfway through October so I decided it was time to do some life updates. Seriously can’t figure out why time moves so quickly. We’ve had Sky now for 3 full weeks and I honestly am absolutely in love. She is the most perfect pup and I am so impressed with her intelligence.

Overall, she’s doing really well with potty training. We only have accidents in the house once every few days and she really knows when she needs to go out. One of our biggest challenges is still putting her in the crate overnight. I know that it’s best for her but she cries so much. I would let her sleep on my bed with me but I’m worried she might fall off and my bed is quite high off the ground. We also don’t totally trust her yet for that long without going potty, and I don’t think I even want to imagine cleaning up that mess. Other than that we are doing great and she seriously is such a fun puppy to have!

In other news in life updates, I have also accepted an internship. I’m currently working with a digital marketing agency and I absolutely love it. It’s exactly what I want to be doing. I am so lucky that I was able to find something with such flexible hours and so close to home. I’ve also been with this internship now for about 3 weeks and I feel like I’ve learned a lot. At the same time, I also am working on the skills I already had.

Digital marketing is basically what I do for this blog. From writing and designing websites to promoting it on social media, in a sense I’m my own marketing person. I think it’s so cool that this is actually a job that people have because it’s fascinating. I work on the social team so I get to create graphics for Instagram and come up with captions. There’s a lot of hashtag research involved as well which is something I can apply to my own blog and posts.

With all that is going on in my life I definitely have had moments that I feel overwhelmed. I actually wrote a blog post about all of this change as it was happening. Although, I just didn’t share the details but you can read it here. I was doubting myself for so long and now that I’ve let go I am seriously so happy. Friends in life come and go but you have to be your own cheerleader 100% of the time. I really was able to learn that this year and I know how capable I am of handling any type of situations. 2019 so far has been a crazy year and I can only imagine where else it will take me.

Hope you enjoyed reading my life updates. Stay tuned for more because 2019 is not over yet and there’s still so much more to come!

Sky’s Instagram: liifewithsky

My French Bulldog Puppy!!

September 22, 2019

I am so excited to finally share with you my new french bulldog puppy! She’s a cream French Bulldog and only 3 months old. Her name is Sky and I am absolutely obsessed with her.

Jordan and I picked her up on Saturday from a french bulldog puppy breeder in New Jersey and we are so in love. She’s very playful and has been constantly keeping us on our toes. We had been looking at Frenchies consistently for the past 6 months and randomly came across Sky’s breeder on Monday. We had been talking back and forth and ended up becoming obsessed with her.

Like I said, she is only 3 months old and is crate trained but we have started potty training today so that we can get into a good routine. She is my first dog although I have been around many. If you have any puppy tips, leave them in the comments below, I’m all ears! Also, let me know if you have a french bulldog puppy or any of the bully breed.

Be on the lookout for more Sky pictures and now blog posts dedicated to all of our furry friends. Follow our adventures on her Instagram: liifewithsky

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