Happy Birthday Orbit – I can’t believe you’re Two

[ 5 minute read with birthday photos and her pupcake recipe]

I can’t believe how fast time has flown by. Orbit’s first name before she came to us was Piglet. She was the largest in her litter and has a bottomless pit of a stomach.

To this day she spends an extra 15 minutes licking her bowl after her breakfast and dinner. As if she didn’t get enough food.

We’re pretty low key about our birthdays in our home. We like to quietly celebrate as that person or in this case … dog child would want it so.

We started off with an early morning walk. Not too early. Orbit likes to sleep in.

I decided today was going to be Orbit’s day. No “photo shoots” where she has to pose for treats and a photo. Today she was going to be a puppy dog that did whatever the heck she wanted without me asking her anything except for to get in and out of the car on the way to the beach (we went twice on her birthday).

Later that afternoon we did another walk at Fiesta Island with Gillythebugg and Supernova_theBoston.

I’ll admit I snuck some InstaStory shots. Couldn’t resist myself.

During our walk I reflected on her last year.

Happy to report it was quite uneventful (as in trips to the vet). You see if there’s trouble Orbit will get herself into it.

Her first year she ate the inside of a stuffed toy. Thank goodness she pooped it out.

That fall she climbed her crate and jumped up onto the counter and ate 9 bars of fun chocolate candy. She was one bar away from having toxic poisoning. That week I picked up wrappers from the garden. And thankfully her X-rays came back clear.

Thankfully the year between 1 and 2 she stopped getting into trouble.

When we added Orbit to our pack … I was initially worried that Maggie wouldn’t accept her. But after a tense week, they soon became best friends.

In any event – her birthday was just what we wanted.  A day to appreciate Orbit.  And although I worked … we didn’t post her birthday on Social Media until today – a day later.  I think I like this new tradition.  Allows me to snuggle and cuddle with her and focus all my energy on her instead of my nose being in my phone.

And now sweet Orbit you’re two and I just want to share a few things I love about you.

I love how you cuddle. And how I can tell you completely relax because your head will get heavy against my tummy.
2. You’re never short of kisses either. You’ve got a 99% accuracy in giving anyone you love in trying to give a french kiss. We’re still trying to teach you not to stick your tongue in our mouths but somehow you haven’t figure this one out.
3. I love how you follow me around from room to room. And how curious you are about what I’m doing even if it’s just housework. How you want explore with all your senses especially when you paw and stick your muzzle to smell what’s going on.
4. And you keep me real. You don’t listen. Either that or I need to spend more time with you. I’m happy you finally learned how to “high five”. It only took a year. But I’m ok with that.
5. And lastly I love your grumpy face. I know your expression doesn’t match your personality because deep down I know you’re the sweetest; and you’re my heart dog.

Now because you have allergies I’ve learned how to bake.

To make your cupcakes gluten free I used a gluten free four and egg substitute in place of eggs.

Also this cupcake has quite a bit of shredded apple to minimize the flour you consume.

And lastly since you’re allergic to goat dairy too, I used sheeps yogurt for frosting topped with roasted unsweetened coconut flakes.

Ingredients for Gluten Free Pupcake for your Allergic Dog

Pupcake

2 cups gluten free flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup natural peanut butter
Equivalent to 2 eggs using the egg substitute
1/2 cup water
1 cup shredded apples (about 2 apples)
1 rounded tablespoon of honey

Frosting

1 small container of sheep yogurt
(you can add honey – I opted not to – to keep the sugar low)

Topping

1 tablespoon of toasted unsweetened shredded coconut
A few blueberries

Directions
1. Preheat over to 325 degrees
2. Take a baking sheet and generously slather on coconut oil
3. In a large bowl, mix flour and baking soda. Add the peanut butter, honey, oil and egg substitute. Once that is mixed in – fold in the shredded apple. At this point you might also just use your hands – it’s easier.
4. One it’s all mixed, spread it out onto the baking sheet. I kept it about a half inch thick.
5. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes until the top is lightly golden brown and springs back when touched. Once it’s ready take it out of the over and place it on the counter to cool.
6. To cut out the circles, you can use a round cookie cutter or in my case, a glass. Next time around I’ll probably use a smaller glass or even use a shot glass. My dogs are small so mini pupcakes I think would be better.
7. Once you’re ready to do the frosting – open up the yogurt, and stack the layers 2 or 3 high with yogurt in-between the layers. On the top layer I topped it off with the coconut flakes and berries.
8. I saved all the scraps for treats. It should keep for a week.

Notes: This recipe was inspired by one from A Cozy Kitchen but I modified it with the substitutes above and cut the recipe in half because my dogs are small. You can also substitute out the gluten free flour for grain free options which I found via this link.

Prep time before baking was 15 minutes, bake time 15 minutes, and then add another 3 minutes to add frosting.

As an added bonus – this pupcake is good for Humans too so enjoy it with your pup.

If you enjoyed this recipe – please feel free to pin it onto one of your Pinterest boards.