Making: Dog and People Friendly Chewy Sweet Potatoes Treats + the weekend

Before finding out the state of Piri's infected tooth and growth, I had wanted to buy a food dehydrator to make him homemade treats. With his kidney disease, he is limited in what he can eat and while we have been finding commercial treats that have low protein levels, I thought it would be nice to make him something right from our own kitchen.  I played with the idea of homemade treats for about a month and kept this dehydrator on my Amazon "save for later" list. And when I still felt compelled to do this, I bought it as soon as the new year came around.

Piri has been on and off with sweet potatoes. He once loved them steamed but then got sick of them. I started to bake them, which made him love it again and so I thought a soft and chewy kind would also be up his alley. 

The dehydrator arrived the day I found out about his tooth and growth. I thought hard about whether the soft and chewy snack would be good for his teeth. Perhaps he would have a hard time biting into it. I had my doubts, but instead of returning it, I thought to still try it out. Maybe it would be ok for his teeth and maybe he would really like it. 

We always have sweet potatoes around the house. Oh and for some reason I feel like I have to emphasize that they are Korean(?) sweet potatoes {I say Korean because I can only find them at the Korean grocery store}. They look a bit different than the ones sold at Trader Joe's which is more orange-ish in color.

I filled a large pot with some water and inserted a steamer inside. I took a handful of sweet potatoes, washed them and sliced them in half. They steam a little faster this way. 

I checked in between 10-15 minutes into steaming and stuck a chopstick inside to see if they were ready. Once it goes in smoothly, they are ready to be taken out. Don't steam them too softly otherwise when you cut them they'll lose form and break. 

After letting them cool, peel off the skin {it should just slide right off} and cut the sweet potatoes into long rectangles pieces. Thickness, I'd say, maybe the size of your finger. 

Load them on your trays {mine came with 4 trays} and start dehydrating.

My dehydrator doesn't have an on and off button {you plug in to turn on and take the plug out to turn off} and doesn't have an option to put in your own timer and heat setting {the model above the one I got is digital and has these options}. It is set at one temperature, 165 degrees.

I let my sweet potatoes dehydrate for about 7 hours {checking in on them every now and then from the 5th hour and sneaking in a bite to test softness and chew level}. And they came out great.

Piri had a couple of treats. At first he did drop them - I am assuming because he thought they were too hard to chew or the texture felt a little foreign to him - but he did eventually eat them. I cut them up into bite sizes, which I think helped him. 

I had some too. They are TASTY! But I also realized that they stuck to my teeth a whole lot, and I imagine would stick to Piri's teeth, which isn't good. 

This treat would be great for dogs and for people. But for the sake of my dog and the state of his teeth right now I decided to go back to baking sweet potatoes for him, which are much softer and doesn't stick to teeth, and continue to making these for me and Yangkyu. We plan on also drying our herbs and fruits as well and making this Korean side dish, which is one of my favorites. 

Our kitchen isn't big and we have limited storage, which was one reason why I thought long and hard about buying a dehydrator. I have to be honest and say that it still bums me out that Piri can't have them - the main reason we got the dehydrator. I don't think we would've purchased one if it was just for our use to dry herbs and things. 

But we have it now and so we will have to make the most of it. 

What are you doing for the weekend? 

I have a couple of meet and greets with new dog clients on Saturday and I hope to get some reading and crafting done. I have a fun DIY I want to do and the perfect doggy guest to help me out.

I've stopped doing DIYs for the DogVacay blog - it was super great working with them in the beginning where my voice was kept in tact in the posts I submitted, with minor edits here and there, but the last two posts, I had started to work with a new person and had my blog posts edited heavily, which I understand, but wasn't all too comfortable with. In the end, the posts didn't really feel like mine or my voice {even though they were being signed off with my name} and they weren't exciting to do anymore. And so I decided to stop and bring the DIYs back to my space. It's been a long time since I've done a doggy DIY here {or any DIY for that matter}, but I'm very excited to be doing them again for our space. I am also grateful for the chance to have contributed to the DogVacay blog and it has certainly been a really great experience.

Here's to new adventures, friends! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Letters to Piri // 08

 Dear Piri, 

Happy New Year! It's 2016. The Year of the Monkey. The year when amazing things will happen. 

Did you know? My childhood cocker, Bobby, only lived to be 7 years old. So when you came to live with me when you were 7, I wished and prayed that you would live a long and happy life. You're going to be 17 this year. It's hard to believe that I made that wish nearly 10 years ago. Despite all your circumstances right now - with your eyes, ears, kidneys, heart and now gum and tooth - thanks for sticking it out. Thanks for just being here and wagging your tail and making us feel like the most special people on earth. 

You know though.. I do feel so terrible and sometimes I wallow in thoughts like.. maybe if you met a more diligent and thoughtful person you wouldn't be suffering from a tooth infection, a swollen gum, an uncomfortable growth in your mouth now. Maybe you wouldn't have kidney disease or heart murmur. Maybe your ears would be better and your eyes, too. Maybe you would be the healthiest 16 year old there is. Maybe... 

I'm sorry I didn't catch your tooth ache earlier. I didn't know that was why you were sometimes dropping your food from your mouth. 

I noticed that your vision at night is worse. I noticed you wondering what I was standing on our deck and came to sniff. Then you realized it was me. I noticed you miscalculate the step up to the deck. Twice. Oh, Piri...

What do you dream about? Sometimes you come out in my dream. The funniest one was when Yangkyu and I were on a walk with you and you pooped so much but we only had one tiny little poop bag. I mean you pooped a ridiculous amount of poop. Do we come out in your dreams? I hope we're not doing anything similar to what I just described you doing.

There is a place out in Utah where the stars are so big and bright and huge. It's called Moab. It would be nice to go with you, Piri. 

Or feel the warm sand on the beaches of Florida. You'd like that. I remember your face and the touch of the sand and sun when we were at Virginia Beach. That is such a fun memory, isn't it?

So I got this thing. It's called a food dehydrator. I thought I could make you chewy sweet potato snacks. It came yesterday when I found out about your tooth. I'll try to make them bite size and more on the softer and chewy side. Maybe you'll like them. 

There are so many good things out there for dogs now Piri. Top grade dog food, treats, beds, toys, gadgets and things. I do sometimes get caught up in all the frenzy. I do sometimes wish I can feed you "the best." I do sometimes get sad that you can't have "the best." But you know, I've learned to come to terms that what we're doing now - what we are giving you now - must be working. It must be working for us. And in the end that is what matters. That is our best. Right? 

But I do wish those pet subscription monthly service boxes had special boxes catered to senior dogs with kidney disease. Ha. 

What would you put in them? 

Yangkyu makes us all laugh doesn't he? He provides the comic relief during the stressful times and the sad times. How does he find the silver lining all the time? How does he manage to make us all laugh? Can you see inside his heart? Is it crying, too? 

I'm sorry for waking you up again. I told you before. I like getting close to your face and mouth and just smelling you and touching you. I love the way you smell. 

I know. You love the way we smell too. 

Every time I am skyping with my parents you are asleep. They always call out to you though - "Piri! Piri!" - even though I have told them a hundred times that you lost your hearing. I know they know. We do that too. We are always calling our your name and talking to you. I think my dad feels a little heavy in his heart, Piri, when he sees you. I think he remembers when he used to care for you when you were a little puppy and then an awkward teen and a mature adult. I think he realizes now that you are older than him! And I think it breaks his heart that you are going through health issues. I think it also makes him realize and gives perspective of where he is in his life -- with his age and health. 

Why do we get weaker and sicker as we age? It's not fair. 

I heard you bit Dr. Klein while she was examining your teeth yesterday. Aigh. We heard you probably bit every single vet tech who gives you Sub-Q fluids. Aigh. They sure do care for you a whole lot for you to be getting away with it and getting all their attention every time you walk in through the door. 

I was making an appointment yesterday and the receptionist asked for your name and our last name. When I told them she said, "Oh Piri! I know Piri Yoo!" 

When Yangkyu went with you to get your Sub-Q fluids last week, another receptionist was checking you in and realized who you were and she said "Piri! I was just checking out the Christmas card you sent us. It's hanging on our wall." 

They are good people. I trust that you are in good hands. 

I hope you know that we all love you Piri. Hang in there, ok? 

Love, 

The girl who gets tempted to wake you up and nuzzle her head against yours. And the girl who will probably give you a bath today, or some time this week. 

** Yesterday we found a growth - a lump, bubble - inside Piri's mouth. We rushed to the vet in the afternoon and found out that there are two issues going on. 1. Piri has an infected tooth and 2. the growth. Unfortunately there is a risk of putting Piri under to remove the growth and send it in for a biopsy and for our vet to extract his infected tooth and clean the area. She thinks the risk of going under is greater than what is going on inside his mouth right now. If the growth is cancer (which is rare) then there is a chance that it can spread. The growth can pop on its own, which means we'll have a lot of blood to deal with, but having it grow larger can mean that it will hamper him eating. It was hard for our vet to give us a recommendation - to risk him not waking up or to go on with his growth and tooth infection. She told us to wait 2 weeks and monitor whether the lump will get bigger and if the situation gets worse we'll have to decide what is best. I have been reading different ways to sooth and give relief to any pain he may be feeling. The gum around his infected is swollen and has covered up the tooth. Despite all this, Piri had a hearty appetite yesterday, eating all his meals and snacks. We are still using Petzlife gel on his teeth and gums every morning and night but that won't do anything for the tooth that is already infected. I hope we can manage this and that he won't and is not in a lot of pain. I had many regrets yesterday for not being more responsible and was very hard on myself. I cried a lot and felt terribly guilty. One more diligent task in cleaning his teeth would've maybe meant one more comfortable day for him as an elderly dog. I'm sorry, Piri. I'm so very sorry.

I spy...

A little Westie girl named Nala wanting some lap time while I worked on the computer last night. 

So we are actually taking a little break from our break to look after Nala. Piri's Place is officially closed though for the next couple of days until we re-open again, although we don't have any bookings coming up. 

My body is feeling a bit like it's been body slammed a million times over. I have been running since November but with busy guest dog schedules last month, I haven't ran since December 21. Before Nala was dropped off yesterday, I ran my usual route and man was it hard. And it was cold. I forgot to put on gloves and I was pretty sure my hands froze and fell off somewhere on New Braddock Rd. It's even colder today and I am contemplating on whether running is a good idea. 

I have been sitting in front of my computer, trying to finish my cup of coffee, playing with Nala here and there and trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do today for the past hour, but really all I have been doing is listening to Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" on repeat. Over and over and over again. For an hour, guys. 

I know I need to bake some cookies today. White chocolate and macadamia. But I don't have a cookie jar to store them in. Rats. To be honest with you, I have been thinking this same train of thought for the past two weeks. "Oh I need to bake cookies today. Oh yeah, but I don't have a cookie jar or any kind of storage to put them in." Mentally move "bake cookies" task to the back burner. 

I need to crochet or knit something. It's my cowl. Oh and some dolls. Yoda. Yeah, that's it. I need to crochet an amigurumi Yoda. And try a mitten pattern. And a hat and maybe a scarf, too. 

See my mind is just a rambling mess and I can't organize my thoughts and tasks. I have put "crochet and knit" on my to-do list for the past week and I haven't done it because it isn't specific enough. Crochet what? Knit what? So I have been just looking at the task list and skipping it because I tell myself "I'll get to the specifics later" and I never do. 

Did I mention already that my body feels like it's been body slammed? A million times over? 

My elbow hurts. Why does my elbow hurt? Is it from moving my arms while running? I need some salon pas. Yangkyu hate the way that stuff smells. I don't care for the smell - I just like the way it feels. Maybe I'm just an old soul {for some reason Yangkyu associates salon pas with old people}. 

Oh and Piri needs a bath. 

Yangkyu's work shirts need to be ironed (they have been sitting in the closer un-ironed for about a month now. Maybe two.). 

I still need to figure out Piri's insurance. 

And organize my messy craft bins. 

Research DIYs to do. 

And make a couple of videos as well. 

Don't you love how this rambling blog post turned into yet another task list for myself? 

First day of the year

We made it to midnight.

I could've sworn we'd fall asleep by 10:30 pm. The dogs all passed out at 9 pm and Yangkyu and I started to play Diablo 3 expansion on Playstation 3. The game kind of puts us to sleep and so by 10 pm I was fighting to keep my eyes open. We were going to call it a night but then we decided to see what was playing on HBO. I haven't had HBO since I was a kid but we recently got the channels and we're slowly turning into serious couch potatoes. We ended up seeing Blended with Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler. The scene with the ostriches really annoyed me and well the whole movie was just really.. let's say not my cup of tea but it kept us up until 11:45 pm. And miraculously the dogs also got up at 11:50 pm and we all got to countdown together and ring in the new year. 

I thought it would be a slower and easier day today but we were still busy with doggy guests leaving and arriving. But our busiest, fully books days are all behind us and the last of our guests will leave in a couple of days. We'll be taking a few days off to recharge and clean. 

We took down all our Christmas things today. It always feels a little sad to have all the lights and bright colored ornaments come down, but today I felt a certain kind of eagerness. An eagerness to hurry and pack up the past and get this present/future thing going. We have lots of things we still have to try for and look forward to and I'd like to get on with it.. perhaps. 

I usually don't like this type of music but I have been listening to Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud on repeat for days now. I just turned 37 but the song makes me wonder what I'll be like when I'm 70. No, what me and Yangkyu will be like when we're 70. I wonder what it will feel like to look at him and how he's changed. How I've changed. Will we still feel the same? Will it still feel like now? Will I remember how we met? How we felt then? Then for some reason I wonder how sad I will be when it's time for us to say good bye. Such a terrible thought isn't it? I've jumped ahead about 40/50 years -- there is much to enjoy now to think about when we'll be old and grey. But that song has got me thinkin' and when I think I think pretty deep. Is this an introvert thing? 

Our home smells like baked sweet potatoes lately. It's Piri's latest craze. Well us too. He's been into the whole steamed sweet potatoes for a while but then he was kind of over it until a week ago when I baked one out of the blue. He gobbled it up and we've been baking them on the daily. Just pop a few in for about an hour on 400 degrees. Wash em first and poke holes all around with a fork. You'll know when they're done -- I just slice them and poke them with a knife and when it goes in smoothly, oh they're done. 

Just an ordinary day for a day that is celebrated to the nine and anticipated for an entire year. 

Piri's Year in Review

This is our fourth year doing this and it gets a bit more fun each year. This year though we had some scary moments, which made looking back a bit more sadder than usual, but we're happy and so fortunate to have Piri continuing on and being as healthy and active as he can be despite his circumstances. 

Right now Piri is just waking up from his sleep - he's cleaning himself and looking over at me from time to time with his big eyes. I can smell him - his breath and his coat. We love his distinctive smell. (He then proceeded to scratch at the gate to go downstairs to do his business - he has since come back up and is on his bed again napping. My sweet old man.). 

Here is Piri's 2015 Year in Review from, well, our point of view.


**Piri's Year in Review - 2014 - 2013 - 2012

  // This year was the year of naps. This is one of my favorite spots to nap because it's right next to the front door and I get to get up and bark at people and then go back to sleep again. // 

  // My human wanted to dress like me -- look at him here copying my style. // 

// And my humans and I solidified our bestie status with this charm. I wear it on my harness and my human girl on her keychain. // 

  // There are more frequent trips to the vet's office now for the occasional checks on my kidney levels and bi-weekly Sub-Q fluid therapy. I don't like it much and my human girl is always saying "I'm sorry, Piri," which makes me feel bad and so I try to make the most of it."  //

  // But I still don't understand bath time. 16 years of this and I still don't like it. // 

  // The winter was a cold one and so I made like a burrito and slept through most of it. // 

  // But I got up to play in the snow and my humans made me a cool snowman. I peed on him. // 

  // I wanted to come in the house like this because I was trying to look like the Phantom of the Opera but the human girl said no and wiped off all the snow. She's no fun. // 

  // Then one morning I looked out the window and spring was here. // 

  // And I got so happy and ran out to the backyard to tell my humans that spring was here, which means my birthday was coming up soon. // 

 // And in March I turned 16. My human girl made me a sweet potato cake with my favorite peanut butter filling cookie on top. She also proceeded to tell everyone she met out in public that I turned 16. She likes to embarrass me sometimes but that's ok. I still think she's cool. // 

  // We went on more car rides as the weather got nicer. It's one of my favorite things to do -- ride in cars with my humans. // 

  // We went to view cherry blossoms in DC - it's our thing to do every year. // 

  // And baseball season started. I met this neighborhood team called The Old Timers. I liked that. // 

  // I also got a cool new ride this year. It helps me go out with my humans when I get tired. And get this. The roof opens up. It's a convertible. My humans don't even have a convertible. //  

  // And I got my own spaceship too. Or at least I think it's a spaceship.... this is a spaceship right? // 

  // My human girl tickled me every morning.// 

  // And introduced me to new flowers. // 

  // And I got lots of new things this year -- like treats and blankets and toys and bowls. There was also a new kind of shampoo. I said we can return that but I don't think they understand what I was saying. // 

  // I went to see President Lincoln. // 

 // And the White House too. "Bo! You there?" // 

  // And got festive for Memorial Day weekend. // 

  // But then I got really sick. I was in the out of the vet's office so much. I lost my strength and my appetite. My human girl cried a lot. I tried to tell her I was ok but she looked so worried. I felt so bad. Sometimes she came up to me smiling and nuzzled my face and said that everything was going to be ok. But then I saw her go in to the kitchen or the bathroom and she would cry again. I wanted to get better but this time it was harder to do. // 

  // I couldn't go out and greet my human like I do every day. I always go out and greet him and I felt bad that I couldn't. But this time he came over to me and greeted me. He held my hand until I drifted off to sleep. // 

 // Lamb Chop also stuck by my side so that I can feel better. Usually I'm kicking Lamb Chop off my bed but not this time. Thanks Lamb Chop for being a good friend. // 

  // My humans took care of me and they read me all get well messages people have been sending me. And then I started to get my strength back little by little. And then my appetite came back too. I was feeling better. But my human girl was still crying - then I realized she was crying because she was happy. Humans are so weird. But I like my weird humans. I think they love me a lot. And I love them too. // 

  // As a get well present, my human girl made me a new mat. It's made from their old bed sheet. I like that because it smells like them. And I like their smell. // 

  // I think my humans know that I like their smell. They keep making me a new bed that is nice and warm and toasty and it always smells like them. // 

  // When I was 100% better again I teased my human girl every time she tried to take a picture of me. // 

  // But I flashed a smile for her from time to time. She tries so hard to get good pictures of me. Always teasing her would be mean. // 

  // My humans celebrated their anniversary, or what they like to call Family Day, because it's the day we all officially became a family. I got to sleep on a cool bed. // 

  // And we watch the sun set from our hotel balcony. It was nice. // 

  // Then one day the house turned upside down. My humans kept running from the house to the truck and back again. I didn't know what was going on but I followed them around doing the exact same thing. Who said senior dogs can't run? // 

  // And then we woke up to new hard wood floors. My humans are crazy. // 

  //  I continued to get cranes from people. Thank you!! // 

  // And I got a tree too! This is my tree -- Piri's Tree. // 

  // And I napped some more on the humans' bed. // 

  // I became a Jedi Knight. But fell asleep during my mission. Oops. // 

  // And then the time of year when my humans dress me up in ridiculous outfits came around. // 

  // But they carved me a pumpkin again and so all was forgiven. // 

  // I hung out with my friends Hiro and Mini. // 

  // And tried to make new ones at The Home Depot but this one was rude. It didn't say hello back. // 

  // Election Day came around and I got to go to the polls with my humans this year. // 

  // This again. I have learned to just tune it out. // 

  // My humans were telling me what a good boy I was throughout the whole year and they must've been right! I got so many presents for Christmas this year. // 

 // Life is good with my humans. Happy New Year everybody. See you in 2016! //