Watermelon has always been a summer favorite for Bailey. Who wouldn’t love this juicy sweet fruit that bursting with hydration on a hot day?! Sliced, cubed, blended- whatever form it’s in, Bailey will eat it!
Wanting to get in on the poolside watermelon mojito club!
This summer, I decided to make kid-approved 4th of July fruit kabobs. I had seen this idea on Pinterest where you use a cookie cutter to create a shaped watermelon topper and line the bamboo stick with fresh blueberries. Of course, Bailey got one…because she doesn’t have any issues with food aggression, eating just the fruit off of the stick is not a safety issue for her. That being said, I wanted to create a 100% pup-safe/owner-approved version of this tasty summer treat to share.
I started brainstorming how to make an edible “stick” to hold the fruit- could it be with a pretzel rod? Maybe, but I wanted something more healthy. As I reached into her “OMG” treat cabinet, it hit me…these are the perfect solution!
What’s an “Omg” treat, you ask? Well, these “bones” are a special treat that I keep in stock for over 6 years now. I stumbled across them in a natural dog food store, here in CT, and knew they were the perfect enticing mega treat to train Bailey with. Let me preface, young Bailey had an issue with listening when distracted by squirrels, moving bicycle tires, etc. and we also had a growing incidence of wildlife roaming the yard. As an off-leash, otherwise well-behaved, and attentive pup, I knew something had to be done for her safety. I read online about using a code word with your dog; a simple one-word call that would reap a great reward and only be used in emergencies. For training purposes, I bought the smaller (but still enticing) bone “stix”, anticipating a lengthy training process. Bailey’s code word was supposed to be “come.”, which worked on good days and she grasped the concept of THAT treat drawer being opened after it.
As time passed, in typical Bailey fashion, she decided that she would finish what she was chasing/ barking at and then come running in for that big treat. For some unknown reason, the word morphed into “come…….oh my goodness!” (high pitched)…it was gold. She stopped everything she was doing, looked at me, and decided that something about that high-pitched and mysterious offer sounded worth it. The promise of those words was indeed worth it as she got the bigger version of these bones. From that day on, “oh my goodness” has been the code word that she yearns for me to say. I owe her successful training to these bones.
It’s important to note that I highly recommend training your dog on an emergency word and using a treat that is exclusive to that word so as not to lose its appeal. So now her “OMG” treats are these big, but not the biggest (shhh don’t tell her, I like to keep options open if she regresses) Earth Animal “no-hide bones”. That being said, for these treats, I use the less formal little sticks.
These are the small bones for training code word. As a sidenote: This company, established in CT, is a stand up company that puts small businesses first. During the Covid pandemic, they kept business going for small family owned store fronts by supplying only to them while being out of stock online and through their own online store. I cant recommend this company and these digestible “bones” enough. We have been their #1 fans since 2015 and will continue.
Ingredients:
- Watermelon
- Blueberries
- Skewers/treat sticks
How To Make:
- Slice the watermelon into thick slices.
- Using a cookie cutter (any shape or design that’s not too dainty with work fine), cut out the shape and set it aside.
- Slide the bone through the center of each blueberry followed by your watermelon topper.
- You can also freeze these kabobs!
Products I used in this recipe:
The one I used was purchased years ago on Amazon, this set is similar.
Earth Animal No-Hide Stix. For the skewer, I use Bailey’s all-time favorite “bones”. We stumbled across these when she was a pup and have been their #1 fan since. I highly recommend them!
As a sidenote: This company, established in CT, is a stand up company that puts small businesses first. During the Covid pandemic, they kept business going for small family owned store fronts by supplying only to them while being out of stock online and through their own online store. I cant recommend this company and these digestible “bones” enough. We have been their #1 fans since 2015 and will continue.
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