Sometimes we'd love to make a treat with our own hands to show the love we have for our pets. But there may never seem to be enough time as the usual recipes we see may be a little too time consuming. Never fear! We have found a simple recipe that not only you'll love, but your dog will love too. 

This recipe was seen at that dog dancing guy's blog. We tried it. We loved it. We couldn't keep it to ourselves :) 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of wholemeal flour
• 1 carrot
• 1 cup of sweet potato, diced
• 2 generous tablespoons of peanut butter
• 1 egg

Recipe:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius 
• Chop the carrot and sweet potato into cubes and place on the boil
• In a mixing bowl, combine flour, egg and peanut butter
• Once the sweet potato and carrot are soft, take them off the boil and drain the water out. With a potato masher (or a fork) mash them to whatever consistency you like
• Add this to the mixing bowl and then combine all the ingredients with a wooden spoon, you may need to get your hands dirty at this point to combine it all into a ball
• Roll out the dough mix between two sheets of baking paper to your desired thickness, make sure you sprinkle a little extra flour to stop it sticking
• Get your cookie cutters out and cut out the shapes, placing them on a lined baking tray
• Put them in the oven for about 20 minutes until they get a nice brown colour
• Wait for them to cool a little before they're ready to eat, and there you go!

It's recommended that you keep these in the fridge. 

Did you make a batch? What are your favourite homemade treat recipes? 

Let us know on our Facebook Page! 

If you don't know already, the Pets Palace story all started from a love of pets. We're proud to say that this hasn't changed at all as we continue to partner with various organisations and causes we strongly believe embody our love for animals. So it is always a delight to hear from the organisations we support about how it has made a difference. 

Just recently, we received a very welcome email from Give a Dog a Bone, Keep Kitty Happy who presented us with a certificate to show their appreciation.

We'd like to thank Nicole and the team at Give a Dog a Bone, Keep Kitty Happy for all the great work they've done. We're sure the animals that received their gifts at the shelters loved them. 

Thank you Give a Dog a Bone, Keep Kitty Happy for your love-filled efforts, we really appreciate the email and certificate you sent us.

The Team at Pets Palace

Hi Bonnie and Ilana

Please see attached certificate. I am sending this to you in appreciation of your involvement and support of this appeal. Also something for you to pop in the window to say thank you to all your customers and others who make a donation to this appeal.

Thank you for supporting this appeal and therefore making a difference in the lives of many of the animals in shelters at Christmas.

I look forward to having you on board again next year.

My very best wishes,

Nicola

We hope you like our brand new site!

We'd just like to take the time to thank our loyal customers, friends and their pets for supporting us for many years.

We hope you like our new look website, we have heaps of new products and promotions to come. Please feel free to Contact us if you need anything at all. 

These are some of the changes we'd like to share with you:

• Our Cheaper Shipping Rates (You can see here).
• Our Blog which provides helpful tips, reviews and news from the team at Pets Palace.
• The new Quickview feature where you can view items and add to your cart without having to move to a new page. 
• Plus the "Notify Me" button which appears when a product is temporarily out of stock. Click on it fill out some details and you will be automatically notified via SMS or email when it's available.
• New Members Login. Create an account and we will securely save your address details for a Quicker Safer Checkout process. Plus view past orders online 24/7. Not to mention automatic signup for our Loyalty Points Program.

We're very excited now the new website has launched and we hope you let us know what you think!

Have a grrreat day checking out our new site.

The Team at Pets Palace Australia.

We love to see abandoned and lost pets find new homes. That's why we love the fantastic work that Sydney Dogs and Cats Home does. In fact we partner with Sydney Dogs and Cats Home by having some of their kittens in-store for adoption.  

But when adopting a new dog what should we consider?  

1. Think about their personality and experience over their breed and age

We all love puppies and how cute they are. However, many dogs are in fact given up for financial reasons rather than behavioural problems. One way to ensure your future dog is great with the kids is to adopt a dog that has lived with kids (or whatever trait that you are looking for). 

2. Energy Levels

As the demand for apartments continues to grow, yet you still want a high-energy dog, here is some food for thought. If living in an apartment with a high-energy dog, you must be able to provide them with enough physical and mental stimulation by taking them for daily walk, daycare visits etc. If you can't commit to these things, then you should consider a lower-energy dog to ensure you will be their forever home.

So if you're on the look out for a new doggy family member, please consider adopting from great places such as Sydney Dogs and Cat's Home. You're not only helping the dog that will become a part of your family, you'll also be helping the rescue of other animals in need.

Your dog's diet is essential to ensure they stay healthy, happy and looking great.

We love our dogs very much and we always want the best for them don't we? A diet is just as important to our dogs as it is to us. So when we choose what food we are going to feed them, it's definitely not something we can take lightly. There are so many choices that it can be quite overwhelming to know where to start! That's why we came up with this 5-step guide to help you choose the best food for your dog's diet. 

Step 1. Life Stage 

What stage is your dog in? It's very important to know that dogs have different needs at different stages in their lives. That's why feeding them appropriately will make a world of difference. For example, if you feed an adult dog puppy food, it may become overweight. But if you feed a puppy adult food, it may not be getting the high amount of calories, proteins and other nutrients that are essential for their growth. 

Step 2. Food Types

Apart from different foods that are created for different life stages, there are also various food types. These are: wet canned food, semi-moist and dry food. What is best for your dog will vary from dog to dog. Consider trying out different types of food to find out which one is best for your dog, but dry food is the recommended type most often. 

Step 3. Switching Between Foods

After you've chosen a new food for your dog, understand that it will take time to switch over to the new food. So consider making a slow transition (7-10 days) over to the new food as a sudden change can make it hard to digest. Slowly mix in the new food with the old and gradually add more of the new till the old food is phased out. 

Step 4. Ingredients

High quality ingredients are naturally going to be the most nutritious not just for you, but for your dog too. Foods with meat, fish, or eggs listed as the primary ingredients are going to be the healthiest for your dog. We understand that high quality dog food may be slightly more expensive, but it will mean your dog will be getting much more nutrition than it would from the cheaper brands. Also keep in mind that just because a brand of food is more expensive, it does not mean that it is always of higher quality. 

Step 5. Checking Your Dog's Health and Progress

After a month on the new food, it's wise to check how your dog has adapted to it. Bright eyes, shiny coat and good energy levels will be indicators that your dog is getting the right nutrition from the food. 

And there you have it! 5 steps towards a healthier and happier dog if you're looking to choose what food is best for your dog's diet. Happy feeding!

One of the most common forms of intercat aggression occurs between cats that formerly were best friends. This type of cat attack can be emotionally upsetting to the victim cat as well as owners. In many instances, the unexpected attack results from redirected aggression when the aggressor lashes out at a surrogate target since the actual target can't be reached.

But a common scenario occurs when one cat from the household leaves home to go to the groomer or veterinarian. When the cat returns home, former kitty friends either snub or outright attack the treated feline. It almost appears that the cats don't recognize each other.

Actually, they don't.

Scent Communication Rules

Cats communicate with vocal, visual and scent cues, and the cat's unique scent serves as the ultimate kitty identification tag. When they sleep together, groom each other, or simply rub against one another in passing, cats share scent. Think of this communal scent as a sort of color-coded system that identifies them as belonging to the same family.

When a cat visits the veterinarian, he smells weird upon his return. He's been handled by strangers, perhaps bathed or treated with medicines that smell funny, and may even be ill and smell unhealthy. He's wearing a foreign smelly name tag the other cats don't readily recognize. Those "stranger danger" kitties won't let him get close enough to establish his identity.

When the household cats greet the returning cat with hisses, he naturally gets his back up and acts defensive, too. This situation can escalate beyond the posturing, particularly if the ill cat continues to make trips to and from the vet clinic.

How To Stop Aggression After a Vet Visit

Confident kitties usually work out their short-sightedness in time. But you can speed up the process, and prevent worsening of relationships, with these tips.
• Try to schedule routine veterinary visits for your cats at the same time. That way, they all smell similar after being handled by clinic staff.

• When a cat is ill, his body chemistry can make him smell funny and other cats often change their behaviour toward him even before the vet visit. Segregate an ill cat from the others, especially if they're treating him poorly. Cat-bashing just raises the stress levels of all involved, and the longer it goes on, the more time it will take to reverse.

• Segregate the kitty returning from the vet in a room alone for at least half a day. That gives him time to self-groom and remove all the icky clinic smell from his fur, which is so offensive to his cat buddies. It also allows the treated cat time to decompress from the stress of the vet visit so he's less on the defensive. All the cats may be more willing to become reacquainted after a cooling off period.

• Use a hand towel to pet-pet-pet the other household cats. Pay particular attention to the best-friend cat, rubbing the towel against his cheeks. This gathers the best-friend cat's signature scent, which can then be rubbed over the vet-visit cat to help re-establish communal family scent.

• Monitor the first several hours of the cats interaction, and segregate the treated cat immediately should there be a cat-bashing/hissy incident.

• For some situations it may be helpful to scent all the cats with a strong-smelling pleasant odour that not only makes them alike, but also distracts them from cat-bashing. For instance, rub your hands with the water from canned tuna, and stroke the back of each cat. That should encourage them to self-groom and potentially groom each other-creating a renewal of the family scent.

1 – If my dog moves his tail it’s because he’s happy 
Actually, A dog moves his tail when he gets excited, this can be either positive excitement or in a negative way such as nervousness.

2 – If my dog’s nose is warm, it’s because he is sick
In fact, you should always use a thermometer to know if your pet has a fever or is sick or not. The temperature of the nose is not a reliable indicator and may be misleading.

3 – A dog can’t distinguish between colours
Not true! For sure, a dog’s sight is different than that of humans, but a dog can distinguish almost every colour except red and green.

4 – Big dogs need more space than small dogs 
This is not just a question of size but of breed. For example, a border terrier needs a lot of space even though it is a small sized dog. Also a Great Dane is a good apartment dog due to the fact it needs to do far less acitivity than much more active breeds to achieve the same level of health.

5 – Milk is a good nutrient for cats
This is incorrect. After two months, milk can in fact cause intestinal disorders. Milk should be replaced by water once a kitten has reached this age.

6 – You shouldn't touch a kitten because his mother will reject him
This isn't true. If you touch a kitten it is likely to get used a human presence more quickly, it won’t reject its mother or visa versa.

7 – Feeding your dog raw meat will make him aggressive
Feeding a dog raw meat has not been proven to cause aggression, other behavioural factors are the cause in aggressive dogs.

8 – When your cat purrs it means he is happy
Not necessarily, Cats also purr when they're experiencing something intense, such as pain and also happiness. If you knew the cat well I think it would be easy enough to tell which is which.

9 - A cat's whiskers have no real purpose
This is not true! A cat uses its whiskers to measure distance and is a guide for fitting into spaces. You should never cut or trim your cats whiskers for this reason.  

Note: whilst we take every precaution to make sure our sources are correct and reliable, we always recommend speaking to a Vet when in doubt about your pet's health or behaviour.