Here are some fun activities and facts that can be enjoyed by people, kids, and animals alike. Try the following recipe for homemade dog treats. Kids can help mix and shape them. Your furry canine friends will enjoy them any time, especially during training sessions.

Snappy Homemade Treats for dogs

-Preheat oven to 350°F.
-If using fresh liver, first process in food processor until baby food consistency.
-Combine liver with rest of ingredients. Knead a few times until smooth. Refrigerate dough about an hour for easier rolling and shaping..
-When chilled, roll out 1/4 inch thick on  floured surface. Cut into small diamonds or squares with a knife or use a cookie cutter*.
-Transfer to lightly greased cookie sheets and bake for 25-30 minutes  or until lightly browned and crisp.
-Cool completely on wire rack before feeding. Use care as hot treats may cause injury!

Store covered in the refrigerator. Use within a week or so.

* Inexpensive metal or plastic bone shaped cookie cutters are available at many stores in several sizes. Locally, they can be purchased at craft stores like AC Moore and in cooking and craft sections at other local retailers.

Training tips

• All dogs make better pets when taught some basic obedience commands. Come, sit, down, stay and off are readily picked up by most dogs with 5-10 minutes of consistent daily training.
• Come is the first and most important command most dogs learn. It should always be said in an upbeat "happy" voice and never said in anger.
• When beginning the teaching of a command, the use of positive reward is always helpful. Positive rewards can be a loving hug or belly scratch, a favorite toy, or small food treats. As the dog learns to respond, rewards should become less frequent but use them often in the beginning of each new command you are teaching.
  
• If using food rewards, placing the food treat in your fingers and holding your hand between your eyes will help the dog maintain eye contact with you and focus.
• All food rewards are not equal, some are held in higher regard by dogs than others. Observe how your dog responds to the reward he is given. Up the ante if he seems disinterested in the treat being offered. Higher level food rewards preferred by many dogs might be a hot dog cut into many "pennies" and then each penny cut into quarters. These can be bagged in small portions and frozen.
• When training. reward only positive responses to the commands being given. The goal is to teach the dog to relate a command with a positive outcome (reward).
  

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