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I got the really amazing opportunity to go visit Stoney Creek Tamaskan yesterday, and oh the puppies! 

7 of the most absolutely beautiful puppies, guarded by an incredible mother in Kira.

I didn't want to leave! The puppy breath, the little wiggly bodies cuddling up...oh the babies are just so darn cute you wouldn't want to leave them either. (forgive the hair look, they loved digging around in my hair...)

Then let's add in the pack of adults, literally.

I got approval from the entire pack, which basically translates into ear licks and climbing up for cuddles (depending on their size, you might just hope the climb happens while sitting down, lol).

Tamaskans are a very rare breed dog, not yet acknowledged by the AKC. They are part of the ARBA (American Rare Breed Association) where they win awards like crazy. Their history is also very interesting, and most people consider them wolves, however they are not in fact wolves.

I was amazed to find they do still single track, unlike canines I am more familiar with, and have the ability to turn their front wrists the way we do. This allows them to turn on a dime, and makes them amazingly good at doing things like running on a sled team.

Thank you so much to Joann, for letting me take part in such a unique experience with the adults and puppies.

I love me some Tamaskans! Especially those Stoney Creek Tamaskans!

There are many things I am thankful for this year, so I want to recognize those things with Thanksgiving coming up...

I am thankful to have an amazing family, and fantastic parents who are supportive of me no matter what I do. 

I am thankful for the blessings of friendships that have become more like family, and the support and love, not to mention crazy questions you answer any hour of the day or night. 

I am so thankful to all of those friends we have met because of Bear Bones Bakery events, your support of the treats, of me as the baker, and of the amazing canines you have treated with our various Bear Bones Bakery treats. Also, thank you so much for sharing your stories with me...I look forward to hearing more, and sharing more with your canines through the years to come.

I am thankful for all the family that left an impression on me, no longer here. Because of them, I am who I am, and a special thanks to Grandma W for teaching me to bake. Without family both here and passed, and supportive friends (thank you Jo and Mark, I love you both for your friendship and support), Bear Bones Bakery would never have become.

And when thinking of the Bear Bones Bakery existence, I have to thank my special canine, Grizzly. He is the inspiration behind the Bakery name, my lovable Bear. 

So with many blessings having been part of this past year, from my house to yours, have a fabulous Thanksgiving.

Megan

Today we had a bazaar at Edgewood High School in Trenton. I have to say, the student athletes were amazing and so incredibly helpful both in setting up and carrying out and they were polite, sincere and genuinely kind. It was such a pleasure to meet all of them, and Grizzly was happy to let them come pet him!

We also saw many friends that had prior met us at other events, and it was great to see them returning for new Bear Bones Bakery treats! I was not surprised to sell out of the full size Peanut Butter treats, or the Peanut Butter Training Treats.

However, selling out of the Bacon, Bacon in both sizes was a bit surprising!

I haven't quite figured out what sells, since prior events sold out of the Meatball, and left me with Bacon!

But I was so happy with the day, that we signed up for next year's event (check events for details, I will post it soon). And to have a request to come back in the spring for an event that is in the works for the Edgewood band (by the person who runs the BSA event that I loved attending).

Yes. Yep. Oh Yes, Grizzly and I will be happy to be there!

Thank you Edgewood, thank you to those friends we saw again, and those we got to meet.

Grizzly says 2 paws up, now he needs a nap!

Okay, so that Bakery Brain started out sort of as a joke, but has become the way friends and family know my creative baking juices are flowing...Usually followed by, something along the lines of don't be surprised if I don't answer the phone for a while! And they all know to leave a message.

It occurred to me, however, that you may wonder where the flavors came from for Bear Bones Bakery. Since you already know the title came from Grizzly, my handsome boy...maybe I should explain more about the Treats themselves.

When I was young, my mother passed away, so her mother taught me how to bake. I have been baking treats for my personal dogs more years than I care to admit...starting out with Chicken, then Beef, then Peanut Butter (although I forgot to write the ingredients down for the recipe, I recreated it to great success once again, thank goodness). Those became the foundation flavors of Bear Bones Bakery. Adding, again because of Grizzly, the Puppy Mint.

And yet, I wanted to find something to represent other people in my life and keep them part of this Bear Bones Bakery because they have been supportive of me through life, as well as this new venture that I so love!

Grandma, who always had meatballs on the stove when I came driving up to the curb, and I could smell from the second I opened the car door, was the reason behind Meatball. And every time I smell them cooking, or open a box for a customer to smell, I smile because Grandma would be smiling at being represented.

Then I added Bacon, Bacon to the menu. Bacon, so good, it had to be mentioned twice. The hubby LOVES bacon, ok so do I, and this one I will claim for him.

I have added other flavors at bazaars, that are not yet on the menu online:

Poppa Bear, is in honor of my Daddy. He eats fresh fruit with cereal and a bit of yogurt for breakfast every morning. I had to play with the recipe a bit, but this one is a hit.

Cranberry, reminds me of summers in Wisconsin, and because a request was made for some at Barktoberfest this year, I heard the request, and made this flavor. The bakery brain, however, is working on making it maybe with my favorite cranberry flavor, Cran-Raspberry?

Pumpkin Pie was after one of Mom's recipes, and had oats inside. Punkin' Pie because that is what Baba calls Grizzly (no oats).

Apple Pie, well gosh, what could be better?

Chewy is Bananas is after Grizzly's sister Chewy, who bobbles her head every time she runs, and we just can't call her nuts!

Chocolate Banana, from memories of making them and freezing them to eat as treats when I was younger...but in a way safe for canine's to enjoy.

Indian Rice, because I love a restaurant in NC that serves amazing Thai food...it's also good for Grizzly, who gets stiff hopping in and out of the van because it has just a titch of turmeric added.

Movie Night, okay, started out because of the BSA Troop 725 event, and because every time I eat popcorn, both dogs drool.

Pina Colada, let's be honest, was something I used to love to drink, and the smell just makes everyone smile.

Loaded Potato. Wow. Okay, so I used to go to bazaars a long time ago, one of which had the BEST loaded potato soup. Memorable. 

Elvis's the King started out as a music theme since several bazaars are in support of bands at the high schools. It's a peanut butter and banana flavor that got both Grizzly and Chewy shaking (nope, not going to say like hound dogs)...

SOOO...

Then we have to move onto the other options that have come about and why...

TRAINING TREATS

While visiting in NC, and handing out samples (yes, I became quite popular at the dog park), one of the pet parents asked about making smaller sizes for smaller dogs. Then asked about making smaller amounts for hostess gifts to people with dogs (since you typically bring a hostess gift to the two legged friends, and why not for the 4 legged ones?).

These treats have become incredibly popular at events.

GLUTEN FREE

Having several canines, including those taste testers (oh, the canine horror to make that list, lol), being gluten free, I considered making GF Bear Bones Bakery Treats part of the menu. The trick, however, was how to make the quality, while using the more expensive ingredients, and still being the other thing I always consider, a good value.

At another High School event, I was asked about Gluten Free. So it brought that Bakery Brain back into action, and after test baking for the quality, I decided to add Gluten Free in the Foundation Flavors. 

Now that you know how I think, let me know what you think!

Grizzly and Megan (aka Bakery Brain) are interested!

And, yes, Megan is still thinking about other flavor ideas.

Don't be surprised if you see more options available in 2020!!! Let's hope Megan can keep up with the baking ideas...

Do you have a canine that is gluten free?

I know of several that truly get ill from even limited amounts of gluten. One was my cousins beautiful Maggie, who has since crossed over the rainbow bridge, but will always be part of my Taste Testing Team in my heart. Without her I would not have tried some of the flavors that have popped up into my head, or ways to make them so that she could enjoy them without becoming ill and needing a vet visit.

My Kona friend, and his new sister Wren, are both gluten free. Although Kona can eat an entire lamb shank, bone and all, gluten causes him problems. Wren seems to eat everything from silicone dog bowls to furniture and car interiors, so I am sure she has a cast iron stomach. However, with Kona's issues, it is much safer to keep them both gluten free.

Some pet parents prefer gluten free diets for their canines, some for medical reasons.

And because of this, I have decided to offer Gluten Free flavors in the foundation flavors.

In the very near future, you will be able to order Gluten Free Bear Bones Bakery Treats in:

Chicken

Beef

Peanut Butter

Puppy Mint

Please let me know what you think, Grizzly and I would appreciate it!

I have been asked several times about the ingredients in the Bear Bones Bakery Treats.

Bear Bones Bakery Treats are made with food grade ingredients, without preservatives or additives. If Megan doesn't approve, they don't get baked for sale. Then they go through Grizzly testing (and I have yet to find a flavor he doesn't like).

There are several flavors still in the works, and will not get posted online for you to order for your canines until Megan thinks they are just right. After all, we want you to feel good about sharing these treats with your favorite friend, knowing it is safe for him or her to eat. 

For those of you wanting more information, here goes:

Bear Bones Bakery Treats May Contain the Following:

Wheat flour, flour, margarine, extracts, broth, baking soda, spices, applesauce, potato flakes, assorted fruits, assorted vegetables, rice, oats, pumpkin, yogurt, peanut butter, cheese, tea (decaf), juice, unflavored gelatin, coconut, banana chips, sour cream, coconut milk, ricotta, milk, water, baking powder, molasses, sugar, brown sugar, popcorn, cornmeal, egg, honey, bacon bits, buffalo, chicken, tuna, salmon, duck, sausage, liver, cream cheese, cottage cheese, cornstarch.

If you are wanting to find out what different flavors Megan is trying out, please feel free to email megan@bearbonesbakery.biz. We would be pleased to add you to our customer base, and let you know what is coming up! Because your canine will love these quality Bear Bones Bakery Treats, just like Grizzly and his friends!

I was so excited to set up at Hamilton High School last Friday night, because it showed me that Bear Bones Bakery is a Family Affair.

This is two fold: 

First, my amazing daughter came to help me set up, and saw for the first time what flavors of Bear Bones Bakery treats as well as the new Training Treats were available. She was very excited to help, and did a fantastic job with the flavors of Training Treats (we sold so many with her great display, it will now be part of my displays from now on). What I was happy about, was that she was excited about the entire concept. 

Don't get me wrong, my daughter is always supportive of me, as I will always be supportive of her. That goes without saying. What made this mother feel good, is that she was smelling the flavors, raving over the options, and said she was proud of me. Okay, lets be realistic here, I cried. Good tears, but still. 

Secondly, there were so many families there at the event, excited to smell, touch, and decide on Bear Bones Bakery flavors to purchase not only for their own canines, but for grand-pups, and even a few pup-nephews and pup-nieces. Yes, they couldn't pass up the chance to purchase for their favorite canines.

Grizzly met some great friends, both canine and two legged. He was proud to follow me out from behind the table to greet people. He is part of the Bear Bones Bakery family, that's for sure. And he is just pleased to be part of the team, from taste testing, to greeting customers, and still takes care of me as my service dog. 

I am thrilled that this concept of mine, with baking (something that started in my Grandma W's kitchen on her old glass bowl kitchen aid mixer) being something I love, combined with family both biological and of choice  being so supportive... This Bear Bones Bakery family will just keep growing!

By the way, those of you getting the treats, you are part of this journey, and part of the Bear Bones Bakery family! Thank you for your continued support!

My dear friend Joann, who is the breeder of some AMAZING Tamaskans, does quite a lot to socialize and entertain her pups before they head out to their new homes...

She shops on chewy.com for toys to make the pups interact and figure out how to get their treats. Mind you, she also sent them to their new homes with Bear Bones Bakery Chicken flavor Training Treats.

Since Grizzly is on that horrible 4 letter word (diet), and is my taste tester, I decided to head over to chewy.com and do some shopping of my own. 

Look, just look, what I found! I am so darn excited!

  

            Nina Ottosson by Outward Hound Dog Tornado Interactive Dog Toy           

      

  

            JW Pet Whirlwheel Flying Disk Dog Toy, Color Varies, Large           

      

  

            Ethical Pet Spot Seek-a-Treat Flip N' Slide Treat Dispenser Dog Toy, Blue           

      

  

            Ethical Pet Dura Brite Treat Ball Dog Toy, Color Varies           

      

  

            Ethical Pet Seek-A-Treat Shuffle Bone Puzzle Dog Toy           

   

Okay, so it also helps that I can easily take the seek a treat things to bazaars, and let him amuse himself with Training Treats...he didn't understand why those boxes people were opening to smell weren't being shared with him! Now, not only can I have it there, but might just show people shopping other ideas for the yummy Bear Bones Bakery Treats.

You might notice the squeaky frisbee...Grizzly is a squeaky toy fanatic, I am hoping he might just chase a frisbee if it squeaks.

Okay, so the ball is for my Chewy, hoping she learns to play too. Treats are a GREAT motivator at my house, as you can imagine.

So with the holidays coming up, go head over to chewy.com and shop for some of these great treat hiders, then head over here and order your Training Treats! Any canine would be thrilled to get these neat toys and our yummy treats!

Do you roll lots of dough like I do? Probably not, but wait until you see how easy it is...

The absolute most annoying thing I have attempted to use to have consistency with rolling out my dough was a set of little rubber bands that went on the ends of the regular rolling pins that I have in mass quantities (inherited from many family members through the years as they know I love to bake).

Those little things are difficult to get onto the rolling pin, and after two passes over the dough, they fling off of the ends. Not exactly a plus to ease and speed of rolling dough.

So in an attempt to find a much easier answer I hit up the internet on a search and was absolutely amazed at what a great product I found!

 This is called a Uniform Pastry Pin (and it is available at kingarthurflour.com). 

This has made life so much easier for me, that I ordered multiples, and even left one at my parent's house in NC!

You don't have to be a full time baker like I am to appreciate this amazing tool. But I promise you it is well worth the purchase!

Roll out your cutout cookies with ease, uniformly, and with little effort!

My few pieces of advice, roll from the inside, not on the edges, and order several! They come in 1/4" and 1/8".

Enjoy!

This weekend Grizzly and I went to our first event with our Bear Bones Bakery treats! It was so comfortable being there around a bunch of fantastic Boy Scouts and their parents and leaders, we felt thrilled to be part of this amazing event.

By the way, shout out to Melissa for setting it up, and all of her helpers and scouts for the way they handled the entire event! You guys were fantastic! I can't wait to come again next year!

We were in the basement of the church, where Grizzly immediately got comfortable on the tile...he had fun by the brand new Bear Bones Bakery sign (thank you to Jeff from canopybanners.net for his amazing work on the banner, and the ease of setting the stand up see picture below). He loved when people came by to see him!

That was not a surprise to me at all, Grizzly LOVES attention! He is the perfect Customer Greeter for the bakery! 

We set up before most people arrived:

Not bad for the first time setting up...:) I just love the Chinese carry out boxes and those amazing labels!

And when we started selling, I was somewhat amazed how well we were received with our products. Now, I know I have been cooking them for my personal pets for--GASP--over 40 years. So I know the quality is there in every treat I make. What I was thrilled about was how well the Training Treats sold; they were the highest seller of the day! They outsold even the original Chicken and Beef recipes!

Grizzly couldn't figure out why Mom opened treats for people to smell and didn't share them with him. I kept reminding him once boxed up, they weren't for him to taste test anymore.

I had a blast being there, as you can probably tell by my smile (sorry, I am not the best at taking selfies).

Thank you all who came out to support the BSA troop 725, to those who came to support Bear Bones Bakery, and to everyone for their feedback... Now, off to start baking for Barktoberfest!

Hope to see you all there!

(check out the events section to see where we are going to be setting up this year!)

I love hearing from my family. I am proud of the family that I have, and wish we all lived closer like when I was younger.  I always have enjoyed my Aunt Helen very much, and was thrilled when she called me today out of the blue.

Today I also had a little bit of a tear, because she told me she is proud of me and the person I have become. Okay, so she also mentioned that had I been at home while my Uncle was being put onto a DNR, she and I would have probably both said things we shouldn't...LOL. I think I learned to speak up from Aunt Helen; she has never been afraid to speak up for the underdog.

My Aunt Helen has always bluntly told me whatever I have needed to hear, even when I didn't want to hear it, and I respect that very much. The conversation was amazing, and just keeps reminding me of why I enjoy and love her so very much.

After asking about how I was doing, and telling her that I have my first holiday bazaar coming up so am baking up a storm...and Grizzly is drooling in the kitchen constantly while I bake the yummy treats...

My wonderful Aunt Helen told me a story about a woman that lives near her and Uncle Bob, who found a recipe for dog treats and made some for their dog Daisy (this was a while back, as Daisy has passed over the rainbow bridge). And apparently this woman left them on the counter to cool and left to run errands.

What made me laugh was that her son and his friend came home from school, saw the treats, and proceeded to eat them thinking they were for them. Oh how I cracked up!

The treats I taste test for Bear Bones Bakery are made with human grade ingredients. Yes, I do taste test them prior to practicing the baking method to harden them to be nice and crunchy. We both found humor in the fact that not only did the boys eat dog treats, but I do too!

There are many things I have learned from my cousin's beautiful Maggie. And it is with a very sad heart that I say she passed over the rainbow bridge.

Maggie was an amazing dog, full of love and life. She absolutely adored her humans, and made that very clear. She let my Grizzly into her home, and did so with dignity. Although, for a few minutes his size intimidated her... however, not for long!

With a long history of having food allergies, a special dog food, a special diet, Maggie was one of the first thoughts I had when trying new flavors. She was so sweet, I wanted to share love in the Bear Bones Bakery style with her, in a way that she could enjoy. I was excited to send her some and know that she could eat them with no issues!

What I was very surprised about, was my cousin telling me that she softened the treats for Maggie to be able to eat them easier. Coming from me, who is trying to make the treats harder with my new baking process, GASP!!!

However, it makes sense that while some canines have issues with diets, others might have issues with eating due to age or other reasons. For that reason, I am sharing something else I learned because of Maggie...

If you have a canine who loves the Bear Bones Bakery treats, but is in need of something to soften them up, here's what my cousin did for Maggie:

Get a cool whip container.

Break up the treats into smaller pieces if you want (she did for Maggie).

Put a piece of bread into the cool whip container.

Close it up tight, and it will soften the treats.

Now, I personally have not tried this, but if it worked for Maggie, I'm sure it will work!

You will ALWAYS be part of Bear Bones Bakery's taste testing team in our hearts. And as an end comment, Maggie, you left a lasting impression on me, and I love you!