Puppy Birthday Cake

Today is Pippin's birthday! His first birthday, to be exact. Today he is enjoying lounging around in the sun and munching on a lollipop shaped rawhide.

Yes, I am one of those people that celebrates the birthday of a dog. Of course I do! He is part of the family, after all. And we are all so happy for it. I can't imagine not having this snugly, lovable pup around. Last night, after dinner, we had Pippin's bestest friend Bo over to play with him and Scout. Pippin's sister even made an appearance!

^It was so hard to get a picture of this little girl, she moves so fast!^

They hadn't seen each other since they had been adopted, it was fun to see their reaction to meeting again. Pippin was mostly just a little snot; he hasn't really been around girl dogs, or any dog smaller than him for that matter (she is quite a bit smaller than him, 4.5 pounds, while Pippin is 10 pounds now), and I'm sure she smelt somewhat familiar to him. He just didn't know what to think about her running all around his house. He warmed up to it, well only just a little bit, but he did stop trying to intimidate her, after a while. We joked about how he was probably just mad that she got adopted before him :) He'll definitely have to learn some better manners.

Puppy Birthday Cake, adapted from here:

1 cup whole wheat flour or brown rice flour
(white, bleached flour isn't good for pups!)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

optional topping:
1/8 cup cottage cheese, spread thinly
a handful of your dog's kibble

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 8 in round cake pan. You could make some little cupcakes, if you prefer. Combine the flour and baking soda. Whisk in the peanut butter and egg. Add in the oil, honey, vanilla, and lastly the shredded carrots. Stir thoroughly with a spoon. Pour batter into your prepared pan and flatten out evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool in the pan for ten minutes and then transfer to a wire rack. Let it cool completely. Decorate with cottage cheese and kibble bits, if desired, before serving.

Your dog will likely love this and gobble it right up. Be cautious of not letting him eat too much. As delicious as it is, I doubt he wants a belly ache!

Hopefully you'll have a dog like Scout around to clean up everyone's mess. And don't worry, we had these treats for the humans.