Carrie, when we bought a Liberty apple tree, many years ago, it was just a whip (single stem with no branches). We were told to plant it and then trim the top so that it was no higher than our belly buttons! We did that, and ended up with a lovely apple tree several years later. However, we lived in VT at the time, which is a lot cooler than TX.
I hate to throw anything away, so I would at least try planting them and hope that they survive.
As for the dogs, it sounds as if they need more entertainment
Linda