With all of the recent pet food scares, a lot of dog and cat owners have been gun shy about going back to their favorite (or, should I say, their pet's favorite!) brand. But have you ever thought about actually cooking for your dog?

By sheer coincidence, I was watching a Will & Grace episode last night where they got a dog and Will was actually cooking fancy dog food for the puppy. But a lot of people do it in the real world too, because pets are like a member of the family. There's even a beer for dogs!

You have to make sure you're using ingredients that are safe for dogs and that it actually fits into their diet. Here's a link to several recipes, including one for the Rrrruvery Rrrrisotto recipe mentioned in the article. It's probably good to check with your vet too.

Well, if you and your pup are going to indulge in a little ice cream together, why not go all the way and actually share a meal?

I'm not sure if it's available here in the US, but Judge's Choice of Japan (website translated from Japanese via google) offers a new type of dog food that you can enjoy, too. For the dog's health, the foods contain no onions or peppers, and for both of you, there is only a minimal amount of fat and sodium. The meals are sold primarily in department stores, and can cost up to 3,000 yen (about $25). But hey, that's still cheaper than a sushi dinner for two!

[via: CrissCross]

What's the first thing we think of to eat when the temperatures rise? Ice cream.

For people, ice cream is a great way to cool off, but for dogs, stuff like sugar, chemicals, and chocolate could be bad news. But our best friends should still be able to cool down with a frozen treat, so 1000 Licks has come up with a frozen treat made from a base of yogurt made especially for dogs, and they're not in "dog" flavors like chuckwagon steak, fish, and liver. These treats come in peanut butter, banana, pumpkin, and cinnamon.

The website says they're treats for your and your dog to enjoy, and I'm not quite sure if that means you can eat them too, but heck! If they're good enough for Fido, they're good enough for me!

[via: CoolHunting]

Sticking to more traditional dog foods, avoiding the fattening gourmet products, is probably the best way to keep your dog trim and happy, but getting Fido out for a few extra walks isn't going to hurt anything, either. We don't want our pets to be denied some of the simple pleasures in life, so keeping a treat or two on hand as a reward is a great idea. The Paw-resian Bistro carries a wide variety of edible and inedible treats for your pooch, from cookies to clothes. The most intriguing offering is a play on the classic French madeline, redesigned to be a healthy snack for man's best friend. The Sunny Carrot Madeline dog treat is shaped just like a real madeline, but lacks the butter and sugar they usually have. Instead, it is full of flour, oats, wheat germ and carrots. Perhaps it isn't gourmet by our standards, but I'm guessing that Fido will love it all the same.

The founder of Mighty Mix dog biscuits insists, however, that while the same ingredients are used in both the dog food and the nutritional supplement (Raw Dry Nourish), they are not the same. The powder is a natural, high-powered nutrient-rich food combining flax seeds, green-lipped mussels and something called deer velvet (which doesn't sound at all appetizing).  She is also sending 42 tons of maize in addition to the 6000 emergency packs. The food should feed 140 orphans for two months.

TV New Zealand has a video clip on the story.