Orland Park Farmer's Market Has Gone To The Dogs

Donna Dyxin loves to bake. She also loves dogs. She thought, "why not combine the two?" She did and in 2005, Buddy's Biscuit Bakery was born. 

This is her sixth year at the farmer's market here in Orland Park, where she and her husband Charles have been selling their all natural doggie treats since the company's inception. 

The Dyxins have five dogs of their own. Buddy, a wired hair pointer that the business is named after, is their eldest dog. They also have two brussel griffons and a chocolate lab. They said that raising the dogs is a breeze compared to raising their now-grown four children. Donna Dyxin has such appreciation for the unconditional love she gets from her pets and considers them her best friends.

Baking dog treats wasn't always Dyxin's thing. A retired IT manager for FEMA, Fermilab and the Department of Energy, Dyxin has worn many hats. She oversaw seven national labs' IT projects and worked in contract management with the Department of Energy for the federal government. She is also trained in weather spotting and is a part of the volunteer Emergency Response Team for Will County.   

When she is not volunteering for Will County and keeping an eye out for dangerous storms, she is busy baking treats Buddy's Biscuit Bakery.

Dyxin said her goal is to provide dogs with wholesome and healthy treats that everyone can afford. She offers dog bone shaped buscuits for $1 and prices her items with the customer in mind in order to appeal to their budgets.

Buddy's offers different items depending on the season as well. One item that is available around this time of year, in honor of the 4th of July, is the Red, White and Blue biscuit which contains strawberries, bananas and blueberries. 

Also available are the Budsicles, which are biscuits on a stick. The stick is an edible dog chew that reduces tartar and plaque on teeth. Her best sellers are still her all natural doggie biscuits that come in flavors such as Cheesee Bacon, Peanut Butter and Apple. Also available are Cranbeary, Peanut Butter Nut Crunchies, Pumpkin Pumpkins and Benni's Pizza.     

The Scarnavack family visited the Buddy's Biscuit Bakery booth at the farmer's market last Friday in search of something to replace their dog's rawhide chew. They worried that the rawhide was making their dog sick due to the dog's digestive issues after chewing on the rawhide and eating parts of it. 

Dyxin said that some items marketed for dogs are actually not good and/or safe for dogs to eat. She said that rawhide is not meant to be eaten, only chewed. When dogs eat the rawhide it can cause gastrointestinal issues, sometimes even blockages, which in severe cases can be fatal. 

She offered them an alternative in the form of a cow femur that was coated with beef jerky and marrow for their pooch.  

She suggests checking the ingredients and doing some research.  Both are very good suggestions, and she's always willing to answer a question while at the market.

Visit Buddy's Biscuit Bakery's website or their facebook fan page for more infoformation.