Family traditions, and how we included our dogs.
Please note that the blog post you are about to read was written by a dyslexic dog mama with ADHD. Here’s what’s going on inside my brain…
Tis the time of year to celebrate different family traditions. So how can you incorporate your pet into some of these that you celebrate, and what if you have a dietary issue also?
For our family, one thing was advent calendars. When I was a child it was known at the end of November the Advent Calander would be hung on the fridge. Well, taped it on and hope that it would hold and not fall off through the night.
That slim box with 24 doors that you would fight to open to get small waxy chocolate out of. The chocolate wasn't that great but it was family memories and the fact I could have chocolate first thing in the morning. Yup, I know the AC has religious ties. Do I remember them, heck no lol?
Fast forward to the 2010s when some pet food companies started with an advent calendar for dogs. I was excited! At that time there wasn't even AC for adults just the simple ones found at many stores. There may have been a few fancy chocolate ones but I can't even think of a name.
Before I was diagnosed with Celiac I had bought one of these AC for Morgain and Shannon. And yes, I was a horrible dog mom as I broke the treat into two. To be honest I bought one AC as they were not cheap and getting two was out of my comfort zone.
Over the years when Bark'n up the green tree was developing and making dog treats, I had looked into AC. The only reason I hadn't done it was that the custom packaging was expensive and I didn't know if any dog parents would want them.
Fast forward to 2022, there are advent calendars of all kinds and dogs too. Are any of the sweets gluten-free? Nope!
In 2020 I had a bright idea, I was seeing in flyers the wood fillable advent cal. So I purchased one, it wasn't inexpensive but when I realized I could put two treats in a drawer it worked.
During the first two years of having it, I made the treats. It was fun, Miss P would guard the oven and Mackay would be excited running back and forth asking if they were done yet. It was an interesting show that both of them put on.
2022's emotional ups and downs had me in a mentally hard place. So I decided to buy healthy treats. I picked a treat that Willow would like and something I wouldn't make.
I am glad that I had that moment of thinking outside of the box by using a wooden advent calendar. It has paid for itself the two years. As the cost of buying two disposable ones adds up, let alone that waste of packaging.