I’m sure it’s happened to all of you before; You’ve tried to treat your cat with a lovely new toy and within 5 minutes, she’s gotten bored of it and decided to play with an empty box instead! 

Maybe now is the time to give in to your creative state-of-mind and turn some every day objects in to fun cat toys! Here are just a few ideas to get those creative juices flowing!

Medicine bottles.

Ever since she was a kitten, my cat has had a strange fascination with my medication bottles! But of course, it is never a good idea to just hand them a bottle filled with pills just in case they have what it takes to take those special child-proof caps off! 

If you have some old medicine bottles laying around, you could easily turn these into a fun cat toy! Simply empty the bottle and scrub the container really well. Instead of medication, fill it up with dry beans or dry rice, put the cap back on and voila!

Baby Gym.

Old baby gyms could easily be transformed into a wonderful cat gym! Just remove the baby toys and instead, hang some feathers on strings and bottle caps from chords on it instead. Be sure to keep the chords fairly short so your cat doesn’t get tangled in all the string!

Yellow Pages.

Perfect if you have lots old books or an old ‘Yellow Pages’ lying around! Just open the book on random pages and sprinkle them with Catnip. Put some catnip on the outside of the book as well. Now, sit back and watch your cat roll and flip her way through the book!

Toilet Paper Roll.

It might be a little messy to clean up, but it will definitely entertain your cat. All you need is a PVC pipe, clothesline and a roll of toilet paper! Simply run the clothesline through the pipe and place the toilet paper roll on the pipe. Tie the ends of the clothesline together and hang the final piece up on a doorknob or cabinet door and voila, lots of fun for kitty!

How about some tips to make dog training fun for both you and your dog?

Repetition, repetition, repetition.

When training your dog it is always good to do the same routine every day. You should use positive experiences to praise your dog. Use your creativity to make your routines very positive and fun. Perhaps you could try turning your training into a special play time routine? 

Unlike us, dog’s don’t understand the difference between positive and negative attention so make sure your routine involves a lot of fun, positive and very frequent reinforcement.

Dogs love pleasing their owners so they learn best when they receive praise! Perhaps try using the treat system! Whenever your little friend listens to you, you can reward him with a treat! This is a very good system to use when you are house training a new puppy. Just give him a little pat on the head and a delicious treat whenever he relives himself outside!

More tips on training your dog can be found here: http://www.dogtrainingtips.com/

Toys are an absolute ‘must’ in an animals life! Besides fighting boredom, they can also help prevent certain problem behaviours from developing.

As some of you might know from previous experience, cat’s can be rather picky when it comes to enjoying a toy. Sometimes they quickly push their new shiny toy aside for an old newspaper and other times it can’t get enough of a catnip toy mouse!

Dogs on the other hand are often more than happy to play with any object they come across, which means you will have to spend some time monitoring your pet-friend’s playtime to avoid any “unscheduled” activities! Shiny squeakers are often one of many dogs’ favourite toys. If you are planning on buying your little friend one of these, remember to make sure the squeaker is buried in its centre. Your dog may feel that he must find and destroy the source of the squeaking so it might be good to monitor your dog whilst he’s playing with it to make sure the poor thing doesn’t accidentally ingest it!

A few safe suggestions include a very hard rubber toys like chewing bones, as they are great fun to chew on and to carry around. Or if your dog enjoys the occasional tug war, perhaps buy him a rope toy. These are usually available in “bone” shape with knotted ends and can provide hours of endless fun!

You could keep a variety of toys available for your dog to play with at all times. Perhaps provide him with one toy to carry, one to “kill”, one to roll, one to “baby” and one to chew. That way there will always be something there to entertain him, whatever mood he’s in!

“Hide and Seek” is a fun way for dogs to enjoy something new and get rid of excess energy whilst they’re stuck indoors on a rainy day! “Found” toys are often far more interesting and appealing than toys that are directly introduced to them. So perhaps spend some fun, quality time together and make a little interactive game out of finding toys or treats.

A doggy holiday!

I used to feel a little bad and to blame for going on summer holiday and having to leave my little man behind. I’m sure I’m not the first dog owner who doesn’t look back without feeling a little guilty and sad. And of course, family members or friends would come feed him and walk him and play with him, but it never felt like it was enough. And unfortunately, it isn’t always possible to take him along on holiday with you either!

Choosing the right boarding kennel in London can be quite tricky. As I was looking around forums to find some recommendations or alternative suggestions from fellow-dog owners, I came across a company called Elm Tree, ‘pet hotel’. Intrigued by the sound of it, I contacted a member of their staff and arranged a viewing. Unlike many other dog boarding kennels, London based Elm Tree is very conveniently located and has an outstanding four acre plot - So the dogs have plenty of space to exercise, play or just relax and enjoy a little nap in the sun.

When it comes to dog boarding kennels, London based Elm Tree pet hotel is absolutely marvellous. Their kennel suites include a separate leisure and sleeping area. Their suite guests even get their private, fully covered exercise area! And if you, just like myself, are still a bit worried about leaving him behind - for three pounds a day, they have numerous kennels which are equipped with online ‘Pet Watch - So you can see him play whilst you’re away! 

Besides their luxury boarding kennels, London’s Elm Tree’s facility, includes full grooming facilities, an indoor gymnasium, 24 hour on call veterinary services as well as secure outdoor paddocks! They can even provide your dog with “extra woodland walks” in the hilly Fields Forest or arrange a chauffeur service to pick your dog up and return him back home after his own little holiday! 

Elm Tree’s facilities and staff are so attentive and caring, my dog absolutely loves going there for his own little holiday. And with all the loving attention and long walks they’re giving him, I’m surprised he even wants to come back home at all!

What product will provide the best nutrition for my little pup? Are all pet-food products safe? What product contains the healthiest ingredients? These are just a few burning questions many of us pet owners have. Here, at Elm Tree Kennels, we want to provide our little guests with the best of the best! Therefore, our pet food brand of choice is James Welllbeloved.

Wellbeloved is a range of natural hypoallergenic dry food that will provide your dogs, cats and ferrets with a fully balanced diet. Their speciality is to avoid using many ingredients which are renowned for causing food intolerances - so their cat and dog products do not contain beef, wheat, wheat gluten, dairy products, eggs, pork or soya. Instead they use the finest natural ingredients with no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.

This brand is definitely be a good choice if you are worried about your little friend having allergic reactions to some ingredients used in the usual commercial pet food!

If you want to know more about Wellbeloved pet food, head on over to: www.wellbeloved.com

Just came across this picture! How cute is he? 

Looks like he’s having a wonderful birthday!

This got me thinking, no dogs birthday should go unnoticed and I thought that maybe this special. and very simple, pupcake recipe might help you all give your little pet-friends a day to remember!

Pupcake Ingredients:

2 eggs 

1 large apple

1 1/2 cups wheat flour

1/4 cup oatmeal

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup water

Frosting Ingredients.

2-3 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons plain yogurt

8 oz Neufchatel Cheese (low fat cream cheese)

2 tablespoons honey 

Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C) and grease the muffin tins.

Core, slice and mince the apple. 

In a large bowl, mix the flour, oatmeal, baking powder and baking soda all together. 

In a separate bowl, blend together the yogurt, water, oil, eggs, honey and honey before stirring in the apple and cheese. Finally, add the two mixtures together and stir until well mixed.

Spoon the final mixture into the muffin tins and bake for about 20 minutes in the center of the oven. Let the cakes rest in the tins for a few minutes before removing them and leaving them to cool further.

To make the frosting you simply combine the Neufchatel cheese, yogurt and honey until the mixture is all smooth! Add a bit of flour to thicken the frosting until it’s a good spreading consistency. 

Finally, frost the pupcakes and voila! You’ve got yourself a great start to a wonderful doggy birthday!

Unfortunately, Dogs and fleas come hand in hand at times. Here at Elm Tree Kennels we do everything we can to keep rid of those nasty little things. 

We understand some dog owners aren’t too keen on using commercial flea sprays and shampoos, so here are a few, very easy to make, home made flea remedies which work just as well!

Flea Spray.

Mix 1 cup of water with 1 cup of white vinegar and simply pour the mixture in an un-used spray bottle and you’re good to go! 

Flea Shampoo.

Mix 1 cup of filtered water, with 1 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar and 1 cup of Dye-free, unscented, liquid dish soap.

Use the mixture the same way you would use any other dog shampoo. Leave the mixture on for 5 minutes before rinsing.

If you want to repeal ticks and mosquitos at the same tim, you could add a few drops of lavender oil, lemon oil or peppermint!